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GUEST POST
Randy Overbeck, author of Blood on the Chesapeake
THE STRANGE IS SOMETIMES
RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU
The
minds of mystery writers work in mysterious ways.
I
came upon this traditional, two-story, red-bricked school building with this
perfect widow’s walk atop the second floor, complete with white railing around
three sides. And I pictured a naked, dead body hanging from one cracked post.
Weird, huh?
I guess I should introduce myself.
My name is Randy Overbeck and I’m the author of the new ghost story/mystery, Blood on the Chesapeake, which features—among
other usual twists—you guessed it, a naked, dead body hanging from a widow’s
walk atop a high school.
Have you
ever visited a place, been so captivated by everything about the area, you
thought you might’ve just found your perfect place? That was my response to the
Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Charming, quaint resort towns nestle into
coves along miles and miles of undulating shoreline, the quiet blue-green
waters of the Bay stretching out in all directions and, when you take time to
watch, breathtaking sunsets over a multi-colored canopy of trees. Then, when I
learned of the unusual duality of the history and culture of the area, I was
hooked. The hallmarks of a proud New England heritage like fishing and shipping
run deep throughout the Chesapeake area, but the region also with roots still very
much in the south. The area was home to infamous slave plantations, where the
freedom fighters Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman were both born. It is
little wonder that the area’s loyalties were divided during the Civil War.
I thought it’d be interesting to explore this
historical dichotomy in a work of fiction. I wondered, in this most peaceful
and beautiful setting on the Chesapeake Bay, what if something happened in a
small town, something so horrific and vile—like some kid being lynched from
that widow’s walk—it was buried deep in a town’s memory, an ugly secret
festering below the surface? This is the intriguing (though entirely fictional)
premise of my new book, Blood on the
Chesapeake, a ghost story/mystery about a thirty-year-old murder and the
newcomer who uncovers the secret—with a little ghostly help.
Oh and the whole story did all start
with a widow’s walk atop the school in the photo above. I actually encountered
that school building in another small town, this one in an actual New England
town in Maine. Okay, so I took some liberty in transplanting it to the Eastern
Shore, but that’s what literary license is for, right?
Early
reviews for the novel have started coming in and I’m thrilled the response the
book is generating.
William
Kent Krueger, Edgar Award winner and best-selling author of Ordinary Grace wrote: “Blood on the
Chesapeake is a tale to be savored in a darkened room, with an eye to
all the possibilities lurking just out of sight.”
Here’s what Hank Phillipi Ryan, best-selling author of Trust Me, thought of Blood on the Chesapeake: "Timely and original, this contemporary ghost story
is genuinely entertaining! A terrific, one-sitting read.”
Blood on the Chesapeake has even garnered
notice across the pond. UK thriller writer, Zoe Sharp, author of Fox Hunter, penned: "An absorbing
and genuinely creepy debut tale that will have you gripped to the final
chapter!"
As I travel, I keep my
eyes and imagination open. When you possess the strange mind of a mystery
writer, especially a weird ghost story/mystery writer, you never know where the
next inspiration is going to come from. Perhaps a painstakingly restored
Victorian mansion?
Dr. Randy Overbeck is a writer,
educator, researcher
and speaker in much demand. During his three plus decades of educational
experience, he has performed many of the roles depicted in his writing with
responsibilities ranging from coach and yearbook advisor to principal and
superintendent. His
new ghost story/mystery, Blood on the
Chesapeake, will be released on April 10, 2019 by The Wild Rose Press. As
the title suggests, the novel is set on the famous Eastern Shore of the
Chesapeake Bay, home to endless shorelines, incredible sunsets and some of the
best sailing in the world. Blood is
first in a new series of paranormal mysteries, The Haunted Shores Mysteries.
Dr. Overbeck’s first novel, Leave No
Child Behind, a thriller about the terrorist takeover of a Midwest high
school and one teacher’s stand against the intruders, won the 2011 Silver Award
for Thrillers from ReadersFavorite.com. Dr. Overbeck is a member of the Mystery
Writers of America and an active member of the literary community. You can
follow him on Twitter @OverbeckRandy, friend him on Facebook at Author Randy
Overbeck or check out his webpage, www.authorrandyoverbeck.com
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