Haunted Ends: Soul Searcher
by Elizabeth Price
GENRE: Paranormal Mystery
BLURB:
"On Halloween night, the newly remodeled Juniper Hotel celebrates its grand reopening. That night, the hotel’s new owner, Rocky Rapaport, learns there’s more to the haunted hotel than he bargained for. A dark mystery is hidden within the walls of the old hotel, and it’s up to Rocky, his ghostly partner, Sam, and the Haunted Ends team to save the hotel from demonic destruction.
Meanwhile, the Haunted Ends television show sets off on an RV road trip across the Arizona desert. The cast takes a detour camping trip to Quartzite to explore the mysterious legend of the Red Ghost. After, they continue on to Flagstaff to investigate a haunted hotel with an unusual history."
Excerpt:
The cashier proceeded to ring up the umbrellas. “This is some weather we’re having. Stocking up?” she asked.
“We’re hosting a big party tonight and I don’t want my guests soaked,” Rocky explained.
She took up the umbrellas, smirking when she came across the smiley face one. She held it up in question.
“For a friend,” Rocky returned.
“I take it your friend has a big funny bone?” she asked.
“Well… ah,” Rocky paused, uncertain how to answer the question. “He… used to. Long story.”
“Hey, don’t I know you from somewhere? You’re on TV, aren’t you?” she asked with excitement.
“Well, yes. Haunted Ends. We’re shooting a Halloween show at the Juniper tonight, down the street,” he mentioned.
“$218.72,” she tallied. He handed her a credit card, and she ran it. “Is it true that that old hotel is haunted? I’ve heard rumors,” she asked as she handed back his card.
“Sam, you want to answer her?” he asked, stirring Sam from his bubble gum fantasies.
He floated over to Rocky, setting a pack of gum on the counter. “You wouldn’t happen to have this in wintergreen, would you? I have a serious case of corpse-breath,” he asked.
The cashier’s bottom jaw dropped to her chest.
Rocky gathered his bags of umbrellas. “Yes, it’s haunted,” he returned. “Sam.” He motioned they were leaving.
Sam followed Rocky from the store, not bothering to look at the cashier. He and Rocky had played the same game so many times before, he knew the woman would remain in shock for at least a half-hour. Good thing for her there weren’t many customers in the store.
“It’s a power trip for you, isn’t it?” Sam accused.
“After years…” he quickly opened the van door, slipping inside. He tossed the bags of umbrellas into the back of the van while he adjusted his wet jacket. “Uh.” He flipped the water off the top of his spiky white hair then rung the water from his long ponytail. “Right… yes, it is. After years of being called a freak for seeing ghosts, I can finally have my revenge.”
He turned to the passenger’s seat, noticing Sam watching him. “Let me guess, you want to point out this is one of those times it’s good not to have a body?”
“Actually, I was curious why you bought eighteen umbrellas and didn’t think to use one,” Sam mentioned.
Rocky stared blankly at Sam for a long moment, then glanced at the bags of umbrellas. “Son-of-a-BITCH!”
Interview with Elizabeth Price
How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?
I've always enjoyed paranormal stories, especially ones that claim to be authentic. In the past, I would often seek out haunted locations and talk to those who live/work there. There's usually something exciting or unusual about the site or the ghost(s) who haunt it. I find that the stories are more interesting than the ghosts themselves. Sure, I've seen and even talked to a few ghosts, but how that came to be in their predicament is far more exciting. There's more to a ghost's story than walking the hallways of a hotel or jumping off a bridge every night for the past three hundred years.
What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
The Haunted Ends crew is a fun bunch of characters who can’t help but get themselves into trouble. In Soul Searcher, this was more of a personal quest. I fell in love with the Red Ghost story on my many trips camping in Quartzite. The Red Ghost is a real legend about a giant ghost of a camel left behind during the Civil War, and many claimed they had seen him roaming the Arizona desert. It’s a fascinating piece of American history that few know about, and I wanted readers to know about it.
What was the hardest part of writing this book?
Not adding all of the locations I wanted to. I had deleted an entire chapter of the crew visiting Prescott and meeting Big Nose Kate, but I felt it gummed up the storyline.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
The characters. Beyond Sam and Rocky, who are a crazy team in themselves, I love the different personality of the humans and ghosts in the story. Moonbeam, a ghost the team met in the second novel, Whispering Lilly, is back in this book. I also enjoy exploring my other characters, such as Marcus and Paul, as well as the newest crew member, Peg.
Were there alternate endings you considered?
I thought about taking the crew all the way back to the Juniper Hotel again, but it was better to end the story where they were.
Can you share some stories about people you met while researching this book?
I had researched a lot about Arizona ghosts. But, again, I was limited in what I could add to the story for it to make sense. My favorite was the Red Ghosts. I contacted the head of Arizona’s Urban Legends, who was very helpful. Also, my father-in-law, James Anderson, was a wealth of knowledge about Arizona's history. He and I visited the grave site of Big Nose Kate in December 2021. And, of course, I made sure to leave her a $1 bill.
What genre of books do you enjoy reading?
Real stories paranormal sightings, but not so much paranormal romances. I also enjoy a good horror story or science fiction, especially military Sci-Fi. Lately, I’ve been into reading Plath and Poe.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Elizabeth Price is a native of Southern California. From a young age, she enjoyed researching the paranormal, unexplainable, and urban myths. This curiosity manifested into her love of mysteries and science fiction – which later led to her career as a writer. Elizabeth graduated California State University Fullerton with a Bachelor's Degree in Communications. She spends her free time with her husband, Michael, at the beach, exploring haunted locations and urban myths, and you can often find her visiting her favorite mouse-owned theme park.
Connect with Elizabeth Price
Facebook ~ Goodreads ~ Instagram ~ Twitter ~ Website
4 comments:
Thanks for hosting!
Thank you for hosting Haunted Ends - Soul Searcher!
Congratulations on your release of Haunted Ends: Soul Searcher, Elizabeth! Great interview and I enjoyed the excerpt, I also, enjoyed following the tour and learning about your book, which sounds like a thrilling read for me to enjoy! Good luck with your book and I hope the tour was a success!
Thanks for sharing it with me and have a splendid day!
Looks like such a good read.
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