The Ghost Files, Volume I by Apryl
Baker
Cherry blossom lipstick:
check
Smokey eyes: check
Skinny
jeans: check
Dead kid in the mirror:
check
For sixteen year old Mattie Hathaway, this is
her normal everyday routine. She’s been able to see ghosts since her mother
tried to murder her when she was five years old. No way does she want anyone to
know she can talk to spooks. Being a foster kid is hard enough without being
labeled a freak too.
Will Mattie be able to find out the truth before the killer
finds her?
Q and A:
Q: So tell us a little bit about Apryl
Baker.
A: Well, in a
nutshell, I’m the crazy girl with an imagination that never shuts up. Seriously,
sometimes I can be mid-sentence and I’ll get an idea and stop talking so I can
write it down.
Terribly rude, I know, but my friends and family are used to
it!
Q: Mattie is a very, well,
let's call her unique. What inspired you when you created that little
bundle of
attitude?
A: LOL! She is that, isn't
she? Well, honestly, I had some foster kids living down the block
from me and I had the opportunity to get to know them. It took me the
better part of a year to get them to trust me enough to open up. I
have to say they were the bravest, most courageous kids I've ever met. They are
tough as nails, loyal only to each other, and they will break your
heart. Some of the stories they told me made me want to just
cry. Don't get me wrong, there are tons of great foster homes out
there, the one they were in at the time I got to know them was one of those,
but there are just as many bad ones as well. I got to hear up close
and personal just how bad some of them
were.
Those experiences shaped those kids into the people they
were. They all had serious trust issues and sometimes the haunted
look in their eyes made me hurt. When I got the idea for this story,
Mattie in my mind was a foster kid. I wanted to show people that
those kids are more than just the tough facade they show to the world, that
they are vulnerable and sweet underneath their layers of shields. I
rolled all their attitude into Mattie and there's a little bit of each of them
in her.
Mattie Louise Hathaway is that tough as nails foster kid who
looks after her own and will deck you as soon as look at you, but underneath
all that attitude, there's still a sixteen year old girl who's scared, alone,
vulnerable, and well 16! She still notices the cute guy while being
that sassy, snotty brat!
Q: I know that most writers have to have music
when they are writing. Let's face it, music has inspired so many
different stories over the years. What was on your playlist when you
wrote The Ghost
Files?
A: Wow, well, I did listen to a
ton of different music, but these were my
favs:
Fall Out Boy: My Song Knows What
You Did In the Dark (this song alone is responsible for the last five
chapters of the book!)
Evanescence: Bring Me Back To
Life
Bruno
Mars: Just the Way You
Are
Demi
Lavato: Heart Attack
Taylor Swift: I Knew You Were
Trouble
Taking Back Sunday: Make Damn
Sure
My
Chemical Romance: I Don't Love
You
My
Chemical Romance: The Ghost of
You
Korn: Freak On A
Leash
Dashboard Confessional: Slow
Decay
Valora: I Waited For
You
Q: What advice would you give struggling
authors in today's market?
A: My best advice is to never give
up. I still have stack upon stack of rejection letters sitting on my
desk. It sucks! That will never change. You write
this amazing story, polish it up a hundred times, then send out the query
letter you slaved over for weeks, only to get rejection upon rejection upon
rejection. Huge blow to anyone's confidence. Here's the
thing though, you have all these rejection letters, but it only takes that one
yes to make it all better. I almost gave up on writing, but I'm so
glad I didn't. I have an amazing writing group, an agent that
believes in me, and a publisher that is downright awesome. Just
believe in yourself. You can't see your dreams come true if you don't
keep trying. Give yourself a minute to wallow in pity, then get up,
dust yourself off and try, try again!
Q: So why should we all rush out to buy The
Ghost Files?
A: That's simple! It's awesome!
No, really, it's a fun, but scary read. I have been advised by all
the Wattpad crew who read it before it was published that you cannot read it in
the dark. Scared them senseless. There's a hint of romance, but the
book itself is centered around the mystery of who killed Mattie's foster sister
and the fact that Mattie now has to face her own weirdness. She can
see ghosts? Um, not something she advertises. Then there's
Officer Dan...yum, all I'm saying.
About the Author:
Growing up in a small town, I learned a lot of values
and morals, I also learned parents have
spies everywhere and there's always
someone to tell your mama on you. So when you get grounded, what is there left to do? Read! My Aunt Jo gave me my
first real romance novel. It was a
romance titled "Lord Margrave's Deception." I remember it fondly. But I also learned I had a deep and
abiding love of mysteries and anything
paranormal. As I grew up, I started to write just that and would entertain my friends with stories
featuring them as main characters.
Now, I live Huntersville, NC where I entertain my family and watch the cats get teased by the
birds and laugh myself silly when they
swoop down and then dive back up just out of reach. The cats start yelling something fierce...lol.
I love books, I love writing books, and I love entertaining
people with my silly stories.
Don't forget to check out Apryl's other books, The
Promise and The Awakening!
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Enter to win a signed print edition of
The Ghost Files just by Liking Apryl's Author page on
Facebook!
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