Featured Interview With Claire Gem
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
A native of New York State, I lived a number of years in Florida, Texas, and North Carolina before settling in central Massachusetts. I’m an animal lover, and have owned and raised horses and Persian cats over the course of my life. I share my life now with a Boston Terrier named Chopper, and my office with two angel fish aquariums. The bubbling water, along with the soft instrumental music I play while I write, keep the words flowing.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
The school library of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel elementary school was very small. I think in the six years I attended, I read every book in its collection—at least once. Each month, a box arrived from one of the larger libraries in the area, and each student was permitted to borrow one book. It was the highlight of the month.
I started writing after my seventh grade English teacher gave me an A+ on an essay assignment, and took me aside to encourage me to pursue writing. That’s all the encouragement I needed.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My library is filled with a hodgepodge of genres, from nonfiction historical to romance to books on parapsychology. I have always been fascinated with the paranormal, which led me to earn a certificate in Paranormal Studies from Duke University’s Rhine Research Center. I keep books on hand about real-life hauntings and unexplained phenomena to inspire my writing.
My taste in romance authors is as varied as my library: I listen to the late, great Barbara Michaels for goosebumps, Kristan Higgins for heartwarming laughter, and Susanna Kearsley to stimulate my curiosity. Nora Roberts’ recent Boonesboro series is one of my favorite works of hers.
I am an audiobook addict, and tend to listen to whatever genre I’m writing at the time for inspiration.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Set in the fictional town of Caldwell, N.C., “Phantom Traces” is the contemporary story of Abigail Stryker, a young librarian struggling to revive the antiquated and reportedly haunted Harvey Library. A pipe-smoking ghost has suddenly begun hurling books at anyone he doesn’t like, and if the haunting isn’t stopped, the library will be shut down. Abby enlists the help of the very handsome history professor Jack Wood to figure out what has stirred the spirit of the library’s founder, and why he’s still trapped within its walls after over 100 years. In so doing, they uncover a tragic, 19th century tale of love, and discover one of their own.
Addressing the themes of May-September romance and the heartbreak of Alzheimer’s, “Phantom Traces” combines a modern love story, a historical tragedy, and a spooky paranormal in a multilayered, fast-paced plot guaranteed to take the reader on an emotional ride.
The book was actually born in a library, and began as my first attempt at National Novel Writing Month. This is a challenge to write a complete novel of 50,000 words in the 30 days of November.
On November 1st, 2013, I took my laptop to a local, old library and parked myself in a back corner.
I wrote the first two chapters of Phantom Traces that day, and by month’s end I had 54,000 words, and The End.
Over the next year, I edited and embellished the rambling draft, and grew it to a complete, 95,000 word novel.
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