SubscribeSomething is haunting Monroe House in Cambria, a quiet picturesque town in California. No matter what your guess might be about exactly what is doing the haunting, let me assure you that you are not only wrong, but way off. This book will surprise you!
Parker and Lily are newlyweds who get married and purchase Monroe House on the same day. They intend to open up a Bed and Breakfast. Before they can even get started, tragedy strikes, and Parker is left to pick up the pieces, unsure if he even wants to make an attempt.
He is a stranger in this small town where everyone knows everyone else. He has no idea what is required to renovate Monroe House, other than a certainty that the ugly victorian wallpaper must go! Parker finds that Monroe House comes with an awkward, skinny, caretaker named Eleanor, who can’t be talked into leaving, and Lily’s grandmother is basically causing him trouble. What else could go wrong? Plenty!
Eleanor has seen, heard, and experienced some terrifying things during her stay at Monroe House. Instead of describing them, she waits, and lets Parker, (and the reader), see for himself. As time goes on, Eleanor and Parker make all sorts of plans about just what they should do, and a friendship is started.
Parts of this book really freaked me out, they were that scary! I haven’t had the pleasure of being frightened by a book in a long, long time. This is one of those books where you get to the end of a chapter and can’t wait to read the next one, and the next one, because you just have to know what happens next. It’s more than just a scary “ghost story”, however. This is a book with something for everybody. Scary things that go bump in the night, love and romance, lots of really funny scenes, and even some lesbians! Chapters ten and eleven are laugh-out-loud funny, which I found balanced nicely with some of the scary-as-hell chapters.
Don’t miss out on this one, it’s a real treat.
Richard Taylor was kind enough to do an interview for Bookwyrm U. S.. What follows are my questions, and his answers, for all my readers to enjoy.
Jen Thorpe:Your book describes Cambria so vividly that readers will feel like they are right there, walking around town. Readers might be inspired to visit Cambria, and see the sights. Do any of the places mentioned in your book exist? Did they ever? Is there a real “Monroe House”?
Richard Taylor: Actually, everything mentioned in the book actually exists EXCEPT Monroe House. Since the book was published I’ve been approached numerous times with the question, is Monroe House Squibb House, or J. Patrick House? It’s neither, merely a figment of my imagination. Actually, Monroe House is far too big a place for Cambria, which for the most part is made up of far more modest buildings. The one building that could have been Monroe House is now The Burton Inn, but of course it’s located in the wrong place. The Brambles, Cambria’s granddaddy restaurant, is architecturally accurate except for being single story.
JT:I had very vivid pictures in my head as I was reading your book. You have described the scenery, and the settings so well, I could just about see it. From the beach with the driftwood, to the monstrous victorian wallpaper in the house, to the stars in the sky, it was all right there to be seen. Are there any plans in the works to make this book into a movie?
RT: It’s a little early to be thinking about a film sale. THE HAUNTING OF CAMBRIA is a debut novel and it’s only been out for several months, so I’m hoping word of mouth will work for it. I’ve had a couple of inquiries from producers I’ve worked with in the past, but they too are waiting to see if it will have the appropriate impact. Early reports are that it is selling well, so we shall see.
JT:Some of the characters in the book, the “historians”, seem to be passing on local urban legends to Parker and Eleanor when they start asking questions about the history of Monroe House. Did you come across any actual urban legends about Cambria before you wrote the book? Is there anything really haunting some part of Cambria, that you know of?
RT: You know, I ran into a reader at The Cookie Crock, Cambria’s only supermarket (well, mini-supermarket would be more accurate) and while she was praising the book profusely a passerby asked, “Oh, is the book really about Cambria?” My reader said, “Oh, no, but it’s really good!” As far as she was concerned, HAUNTING OF CAMBRIA had nothing to do with the real town at all! I started writing the novel the week I moved to Cambria five years ago and finished it Halloween night (Boo!), so the truth is, I was an outsider then (as I probably am now). I took great liberties — well, truthfully, I lied a lot. It’s fiction, right? I’ve had several readers approach me with ghost stories of their own since then, but in each case it was long after the book was written.
JT:Most of the book comes from the viewpoint of Parker, with all his “typical guy” kinds of thoughts. Later in the book, in a few key parts, the viewpoint switches over to a female character, Laura, and now the reader is getting her very female point of view. Often when authors write characters that aren’t the same gender as they are, the internal dialogue of the character is a bit “off”, but you have done a great job here. Did you need to do any additional work to get the thoughts of Laura to be so authentic? Or was it just as easy as writing what goes on inside Parker’s head?
RT: Hm, interesting question. I’ve just finished a novel told from the point of view of the female lead. Is it harder to write from within the head of the opposite sex? Yes, of course it is. Thankfully most of my early readers (the ones who provide editorial guidance) are women, so that helps. Jackie, my wife, mocks me into understanding women better, sometimes, so that helps. Much of what makes Laura work is her relationship with her father. Laura’s older sister was brutally raped, so her father explained to her that what happened to her sister wasn’t about male sexuality. Laura’s father saves men for her, which of course is what parents do, they provide models to imitate. The truth is, I think, men and women are very much alike except by degrees. They are as capable of every human failing, they love, they hate, they envy, they can be kind, caring, generous. I have a line from my new novel, THEY FEAST, that I’m proud of. It delineates the difference between how men and women approach sex: Men tend to see women as art, while women tend to see men as literature, for character. Of course, every generality is wrong much of the time.
JT:The book ended with all the questions answered, and still the potential for there to be a sequel. What’s next? A book that takes up where this one ends, or something entirely new and different?
RT:I sold THE HAUNTING OF CAMBRIA to St. Martin’s Press/TOR as a series. They have tentatively okayed a second book, VAMPYR OF CAMBRIA, but as yet we haven’t signed a contract. In the interim I’ve written two books, STONES SKIPPING ON WATER, a reincarnation thriller, and just today finished THEY FEAST, which is billed as a vampire story for the new age. Stones hasn’t been placed yet. The book marketplace is very difficult. My editor at TOR told me it’s a miracle to sell a first novel, and to have that novel do well is an even greater miracle. A lot rides on how well HAUNTING OF CAMBRIA does commercially. The reviews thus far have been nothing less than sensational, so I’m hopeful.
JT:Something I often wonder when I read a book is: “What does this author like to read?” Your book has a little something for everyone. It’s a ghost story. It’s a love story (well, I guess it’s actually more than one love story). Parts are terrifying, and other parts are laugh- out- loud funny. There are even parts that might almost be considered “travel writing”, because Cambria is an actual town in California. Whose work do you like to read, and how did those authors influence your writing, (if at all)?
RT:Cambria is a writer’s town, you know. Until recently absurd humorist Christopher Moore lived here. His novel LAMB is one of the best I’ve read. Katherine Ryan Hyde also lives in Cambria. She wrote PAY IT FORWARD, which is considered a classic by many. My favorite of her books is WALTER’S PURPLE HEART, which is a very low-key, lovely and romantic reincarnation story. I love Stephen King, of course, but most of the horror writers leave me dissatisfied. My favorite writer is J.K. Rowling. I’ve read the complete Harry Potter series. I read the last book in forty-eight hours. It was wonderful. I don’t think any one writer influences me. though. Not one of my books is like another — why repeat yourself?
JT:Just out of curiosity, what grows in your garden at home? Do you have any houseplants? What kinds?
RT:Ha-ha! Trick question. Read the book, get the trick! To answer your question seriously, we don’t garden. We allow our neighbor to grow tomatoes in our back yard. Jackie requests that certain kinds of flowers are planted (she’s in a wheelchair, so she doesn’t garden herself). As for me, I spend most of my time inside my head. I tend not to garden in there.
JT:What music did you listen to while you were writing this book? What made you choose to listen to that in particular?
RT:My taste in music runs to the abnormal. I love soundtracks. I collect movie soundtracks, combine them into one long orchestral work and then play them on my iPod. Some of my favorite pieces are MEET JOE BLACK by Thomas Newman, THE DA VINCI CODE by Hans Zimmer, CIDER HOUSE RULES by Rachel Portman, among others. I love romantic classical pieces, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Ravel, Fauré, those guys. Delius, Dvoråk, Grieg too. My favorite symphony is Beethoven’s 6th. I love the 9th, too, but without the vocals. I’m not an opera guy.
JT:Where on the internet can my readers go to keep up to date about the when and where of your upcoming book readings and signings?
RT:www.hauntingofcambria.com. Thank you very much.
JT:What was the most interesting, or the strangest thing that has happened at any of your book signings or readings? I’m always curious about what it’s like to do those.
RT:One woman drove a long distance to buy the book. More than twenty miles. One woman bought seven, to use as gifts, Christmas, I think. The manager and assistant manager of one store each bought a copy. I thought that was wonderfully odd. One woman was going to buy it for her child. No, I don’t think so. Frankly, I’m always amazed to find people wanting to buy it. It’s a new and thrilling (yes, thrilling) experience for me. I think the one thing I’m not prepared for, and this exceeds your question because it’s about reviews, not signings or readings, and that’s how enthusiastic people seem to be about THE HAUNTING OF CAMBRIA. No one has ever used the word ‘brilliant’ in the same sentence with my name before (they described an aspect of the book, not me). I’d prepared myself for critics to hate it — you know, you prepare yourself for the worst — but so far every review has been at least good and most have been enthusiastically positive.
JT:Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview with me!
RT: Thanks, Jen.
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