"As readers of Deb Atwood’s blog Pen In Her Hand know, Atwood is passionate about ghost fiction. Since 2011, Atwood has read, re-read, and written about ghost literature. 31 Ghost Novels to Read Before You Die presents a selection of the best of these posts.
Among the books discussed are old favorites (The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson) as well as some indie gems few people will know about (The 20’s Girl, the Ghost, and All That Jazz by June Kearns). There are ghost novels for every reader, in genres ranging from historical to literary to romance. "
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So, here's the question: Was my insomnia the result of an inability to abandon Bag of Bones until the final sentence?
Probably.
All I know is the night I started Stephen King’s novel, 2:53 AM found me munching cheddar cheese rice crackers and ploughing through page after page of Bag of Bones.
I was in love with this story from the first, empathizing with writer Mike Noonan as he struggles to come to terms with his wife's untimely death. I could not help but root for widow Mattie, her precocious daughter Kyra, and Mike who falls in love with both of them and joins their battle against a heartless and powerful grandfather.
I have to say that two thirds of the way through the book, the narrative veered into dark territory, and I experienced reader shock. My mistake. This is, after all, Stephen King. What began as a sweet damsel in distress love story (I don't mean that in a pejorative sense as Mattie possesses plenty of spunk and courage and strength) of the good guy vs. bad guy variety morphed into GOOD vs. EVIL on a magnified scale. (I’m thinking of the Richter scale here, and yes, I was quaking.)
Deb Atwood holds an MFA and lives in California with her husband and rescue dog Nala. Her time-slip novel Moonlight Dancer was selected as a front page Featured Review by Book Ideas. Deb's work has appeared in numerous anthologies. Her interests include ghost fiction, Korean culture, quilting, and, of course, reading.
Connect with the Author here:
Character Casting
Character Casting
What a fun idea this is! From the 31 Ghost Novels to Read Before You Die anthology of reviews, I selected The Face by Dean Koontz to cast with my dream team. Here are my choices:
Dad aka Channing Manheim. Channing Manheim is known as The Face, the most dazzling of Hollywood actors. I had to go with Matt Bomer from White Collar who truly has one of the most beautiful faces I've seen.
Ethan Truman. Ethan Truman is the head of security for Channing Manheim. I chose Josh Duhamel from Safe Haven because he looks like an intelligent detective.
Fric Manheim. Fric is the precocious and lonely child of Channing Manheim who just needs someone to love. He could be portrayed by Jacob Tremblay from the movie Room.
Corky Laputa. I see Danny DeVito bringing a quirky malevolence to this anarchist evildoer.
Brittina Dowd, the tutor. I see her as Sharon Gless from Burn Notice. The tutor is a minor character, but I had to include her because I'm a tutor and because her teaching philosophies are so ridiculous.
Hazard Yancy, Los Angeles detective and close friend of Ethan, would be played by Larenz Tate from Game of Silence.
Ghost Duncan would be aptly portrayed by Jeffrey Dean Morgan from the series Supernatural.
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