{"id":200,"date":"2017-10-31T16:07:50","date_gmt":"2017-10-31T20:07:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/korysteed.com\/?p=200"},"modified":"2017-10-31T16:07:50","modified_gmt":"2017-10-31T20:07:50","slug":"meet-aletta-thorne-and-her-paranormal-romance-the-chef-and-the-ghost-of-bartholomew-addison-jenkins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.korysteed.com\/index.php\/2017\/10\/31\/meet-aletta-thorne-and-her-paranormal-romance-the-chef-and-the-ghost-of-bartholomew-addison-jenkins\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Aletta Thorne and her Paranormal Romance ~ The Chef and the Ghost of Bartholomew Addison Jenkins"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome, Aletta. Your new novel,\u00a0The Chef and the Ghost of Bartholomew Addison Jenkins<\/strong><\/i>, sounds intriguing.<\/p>\n

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The Chef and the Ghost of Bartholomew Addison Jenkins-cver<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All authors have their own reasons for writing a book. What are yours?<\/b><\/p>\n

Reason number one?\u00a0 I like ghosts.\u00a0 I live in a house that has some.\u00a0 For real\u2014we\u2019ve been investigated and written up and everything. One of our ghosts knocked down a heavy brass floor lamp one afternoon while I was at work in my study.\u00a0 That is not fiction!\u00a0 Our ghost hasn\u2019t done anything that dramatic in a while, but often, the chandelier over our dining table swings back and forth when we have guests. I knew I had to write a ghost story soon.<\/p>\n

What would you like readers to take away from your story? Does it contain a message?<\/b><\/p>\n

Mostly, I\u2019d like my readers to have an excellent time!\u00a0 My book is set in 1982, and that was a fun era.\u00a0 My characters who aren\u2019t ghosts are chefs and people who work with food, and doing that in the 80\u2019s (I was a chef myself, then) was really fun.\u00a0 As for a takeaway \u2026 hmmm.\u00a0 I guess my message is to not be afraid of anything\u2014even having a one-nighter with a ghost!\u00a0 Although a ghost with a broken heart\u2014that you might want to be careful with!<\/p>\n

Did you face any obstacles or challenges while writing the story and if so, what were they?<\/b><\/p>\n

This was my first \u201cgrownup\u201d romance.\u00a0 I have written under another name for young people, and I have written a lot of poetry.\u00a0 Romance offers you the chance to tell the whole truth about a relationship.\u00a0 You don\u2019t have to cut away to waves crashing on the beach when things heat up.\u00a0 I needed to keep a paper fan by my computer at first\u2014you know, for when I was getting a little red-cheeked \u2026 but that challenge turned into a wild ride indeed.\u00a0 Plus, I\u2019ve never had my husband so interested in what I\u2019ve been writing\u2014ever!<\/p>\n

What have you learned from the main characters in your story?<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u2019m in a long and happy marriage.\u00a0 My characters reminded me how lucky I am to have that\u2014and also how exciting the beginning of a relationship can be, and how we sometimes trust the wrong people but manage to end of with the right ones.<\/p>\n

How much emphasis do you put on supporting characters to move the plot of your stories along? Have any of your supporting characters ever gotten their own story?<\/b><\/p>\n

There is a supporting ghost character in this book named Geoff.\u00a0 He\u2019s not the romantic lead, but he was tons of fun to write.\u00a0 He\u2019s a trickster, a tease.\u00a0 And he\u2019s really important in the plot.\u00a0 I think a good sidekick is important.\u00a0 My main character is named Alma (after Alfred Hitchcock\u2019s wife).\u00a0 Her best buddy, Mary, a fellow chef, is living an open life as a gay women in 1982. I\u2019d love to star her in something somewhere down the road.<\/p>\n

What or who influences your writing?<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b>Everything<\/i> influences my writing.\u00a0 I read my colleagues on Evernight\u2014but I also read poetry and literary fiction.\u00a0 The \u201cserious\u201d book that won the big literary award this year was essentially a ghost story!\u00a0 And the new romance I\u2019m working on right now takes place in a tiny house because I\u2019m morbidly fascinated with them.<\/p>\n

What is your writing process? Are you a patnser or a plotter, or a little of both?<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u2019m a pantser!\u00a0 I do keep notes, but not extensive ones.\u00a0 I usually know more or less where I want a book to go, but sometimes my own plots surprise me.\u00a0 I had no idea the major plot twist in The Chef and The Ghost of Bartholomew Addison Jenkins<\/i> was going to happen\u2026until it did!<\/p>\n

Do you have any author idols and if so, how would you like to meet them?<\/b><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t have true idols.\u00a0 The authors who I think have written real masterpieces aren\u2019t around anymore anyway.\u00a0 I was a chef in the 80\u2019s, but I\u2019ve spent most of my life teaching high school English, so my big writing heroes are folks like Nathaniel Hawthorne and Mark Twain.\u00a0 By the way, have you ever seen a picture of Hawthorne as a young man?\u00a0 He was seriously hot.\u00a0 Maybe time travel\u2026<\/p>\n

What are your three favorite books by other authors and why? You don\u2019t have to limit this to three. (I know I can\u2019t.)<\/b><\/p>\n

Oh, Lord.<\/p>\n

Cider House Rules<\/i> by John Irving.\u00a0 Anything at all by the British novelist Sarah Waters (okay, she may be a bit of an idol, but I\u2019d be scared to meet her.\u00a0 She is so, so good.)\u00a0 A Wrinkle in Time <\/i>by Madeleine L\u2019Engle (I do write YA, too).\u00a0 That book is now and always my North Star. I tend to fall in love with whatever I am reading at the time.<\/p>\n

What do you do in your down time to feed your soul?<\/b><\/p>\n

I DJ on an internet radio station I run with my friends, and I sing choral music.\u00a0 I listen to huge amounts of music\u2014classical and rock and roll both.\u00a0 I read about making classic cocktails, make classic cocktails, and sometimes drink them!\u00a0 And I\u2019m still a very passionate cook with damn good knife skills if I do say so.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next on your literary horizon?<\/b><\/p>\n

I have publications coming soon in the poetry and young adult world.\u00a0 My alter ego has been busy!\u00a0 And there\u2019s that tiny house romance I\u2019ve started.<\/p>\n

What is important in your life and why?<\/b><\/p>\n

My patient and loving husband and my family.\u00a0 My mom\u2019s 93 (she doesn\u2019t know about the ghost romance!).\u00a0 My sister, who has done some amazing Op-Ed and humor writing.\u00a0 My two spoiled kitties.\u00a0 And getting to write every day.<\/p>\n

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Editor’s Pick<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Blurb:<\/b><\/p>\n

Halloween, 1982. MTV is new, poodle perms are the rage, and life just might be getting better for Alma Kobel.\u00a0 Her ugly divorce is final at last. Her new job as chef at Bright Day School\u2019s gorgeous old estate is actually fun.\u00a0 But the place is haunted\u2014and so is Alma\u2019s apartment. Bartholomew Addison Jenkins\u2019 ghost has been invisibly watching Alma for months.\u00a0 When he materializes one night, Alma discovers Bart\u2014as he likes to be called–has talents she couldn\u2019t have imagined\u2026and a horrifying past. Can you have a one-nighter with a ghost?\u00a0 And what happens if you decide one night is all you want\u2014and end up ghosting him?<\/i>\u00a0 Some spirits don\u2019t like taking \u201cno\u201d for an answer.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Aletta Thorne<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Excerpt:<\/b><\/p>\n

A ghost is watching me eat an omelet. <\/i>\u201cWhat\u2019s your name?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBartholomew Addison Jenkins,\u201d he said. \u201cThese days, I just use Bart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese days. But you\u2019ve been here since you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSince 1784,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich was when you died, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI must tell you, dear lady, saying that to one of us is considered rude. In better ghostly circles, that is. Some of us are not aware we are dead. Some of us do not like to be reminded of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you called yourself my<\/i> dead\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Bart threw his head back and laughed. \u201cNo, no, no. I\u2019m<\/i> not sensitive about it. Geoff Brussy is, though, terribly but he always was a hothead. I swear he acted as if he was ignorant of his own passing for at least a century. Forgive me, Alma. Finish your supper.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you know my<\/i> name. Oh. Because you live here. So I guess you see and hear\u2026\u201d Everything<\/i>. He\u2019d have seen me do everything I\u2019ve ever done in this apartment\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cI try not to spy,\u201d Bart said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m often asleep. Daytimes almost always. Some evenings, too. Ghosts are capable of sleeping for years. Depending on what we\u2019ve been up to, of course. We\u2019re made of energy and sometimes, our energy \u2026 just dissipates<\/i>. So our acquaintances tend to \u2026 vanish. It\u2019s quite upsetting. I\u2019ve lost a number of friends that way. Other ghosts, I mean. Dissipation is hard on our \u2026 um, relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour relationships<\/i>?\u201d said Alma.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsn\u2019t that what you call it, these days? Or do you still say \u2018having lovers?\u2019 People said that for quite a while. You\u2019ll forgive me. I slept through half of the nineteen sixties. The residents of this apartment in the 70s were\u2014what do you call it again? Pot heads. Boring.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGhosts have \u2026 relationships<\/i>?\u201d Alma remembered her metaphysical poetry class from New Paltz. \u201cThe grave\u2019s a fine and private place, but none, I think, do there embrace,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOops. Guess I mentioned death again. I\u2019m sorry. I didn\u2019t mean to\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Bart chuckled. \u201cOh, that\u2019s fine. Andrew Marvel. Good. Very good. \u2018To His Coy Mistress.\u2019 He was utterly wrong, of course. About embracing. Of course, it\u2019s a bit \u2026 challenging for us, but hardly impossible<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alma shook her head. She\u2019d finished her omelet, and put her plate in the sink.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease,\u201d said Bart. \u201cI\u2019ve been wanting to talk to you for months and months. Why don\u2019t you finish your wine in the living room? I\u2019ll turn over the record. I\u2019ve been enjoying the music. Both sides of that album are really very good. I like \u2018The Fountains of Rome\u2019 too. We couldn\u2019t have imagined Respighi during my days in the flesh.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll turn over the record<\/i>. Oh, because you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do<\/i> like to keep up. Who poured you wine from the \u2026 refrigerator? Although, I don\u2019t understand why people of your age prefer it so icy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alma followed Bart into the living room, still wondering why things didn\u2019t seem odder than they were. She remembered the Casper the Friendly Ghost cartoons she\u2019d seen as a little girl. This ghost was acting\u2014well, perhaps a bit more flirty than friendly. He only glowed a bit as they walked through the dim hallway that connected her rooms. You can hardly even tell he\u2019s translucent<\/i>. What had he seen of her<\/i>, though? She was glad her frustrating night with Sid had been at his place.<\/p>\n

As Bart bent over the turntable and flipped the record, the reading lamp by her couch highlighted the silver buttons of his coat. She curled up on the couch and put her wine glass on the glass-covered orange crate she\u2019d turned into a coffee table.<\/p>\n

Bart sat beside her, suspiciously close. He put an arm over the back of the couch, and Alma shook her head again. That\u2019s the old sneaky-arm trick\u2014like a high school kid<\/i>. It\u2019s kind of cute<\/i>. She pulled her legs up under herself, and they quietly listened to the music.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right,\u201d she said after a few minutes. \u201c\u2018Fountains\u2019 is really good, too. I almost never listen to that side.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bart made a quiet harrumphing noise.<\/p>\n

Do ghosts clear their throats?<\/i> Apparently so.<\/p>\n

\u201cDear lady,\u201d he said. \u201cAlthough I do try not to snoop, as you would say, I have indeed observed your solitude. Let me assure you, your life will soon be happier.\u201d He slid even closer to her.<\/p>\n

Okay. Now the ghost is absolutely coming on to me. This is really happening. Oh, hell\u2014why not? He\u2019s not bad\u2014for a dead guy.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cUm, Bart?\u201d she said. His eyes really were a startling color\u2014almost bronze\u2026 \u201cYou can\u2019t actually be\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Bart set his fingertips on her cheeks, looked into her eyes, and sighed. Then he smiled. \u201cYou think this is a ridiculous situation. It\u2019s not<\/i> ridiculous,\u201d he said. \u201cNot at all. Allow me to demonstrate \u2026 with your permission, m\u2019lady.\u201d<\/p>\n

Somehow, that was funny, and Alma giggled. \u201cGranted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bart\u2019s hands were impossibly soft and gentle\u2014and his touch had some of the same fire-and-ice buzz that she\u2019d felt before in the kitchen when he\u2019d tried to get her attention. He guided her lips to his, and gave her what would have been a tiny peck\u2014from anyone else. It shot a bolt of fire straight through her.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh<\/i>,\u201d she said. It took a minute to get her breath. \u201cWow. That was\u2026 Do ghosts usually have relationships<\/i> with\u2014I don\u2019t know how to say this without getting into it all again \u2026 people who are still alive?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, actually. In fact, I\u2019ve never heard of it. Ever.\u201d His hands were in her hair now, and urgent.<\/p>\n

Buy Links:<\/b><\/p>\n

Evernight Publishing<\/b><\/a>:<\/b> http:\/\/www.evernightpublishing.com\/the-chef-and-the-ghost-of-bartholomew-addison-jenkins\/<\/p>\n

Amazon<\/b><\/a>:<\/b> https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B076WJK63L\/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1509121154&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Chef+and+the+Ghost+of+Bartholomew+Addison+Jenkins<\/p>\n

Social Media Links:<\/b><\/p>\n

Facebook:<\/b> https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/alettasghosts<\/a> & <\/b>https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/aletta.thorne.3<\/a><\/p>\n

All purpose writing blog: <\/b>https:\/\/chrispygal.weebly.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome, Aletta. Your new novel,\u00a0The Chef and the Ghost of Bartholomew Addison Jenkins, sounds intriguing. All authors have their own reasons for writing a book. What are yours? Reason number one?\u00a0 I like ghosts.\u00a0 I live in a house that has some.\u00a0 For real\u2014we\u2019ve been investigated and written up and everything. One of our ghosts … Continue reading “Meet Aletta Thorne and her Paranormal Romance ~ The Chef and the Ghost of Bartholomew Addison Jenkins”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-promoting-other-authors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.korysteed.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.korysteed.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.korysteed.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.korysteed.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.korysteed.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.korysteed.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":204,"href":"http:\/\/www.korysteed.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200\/revisions\/204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.korysteed.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.korysteed.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.korysteed.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}