i am a ghost magnet
Some women attract money.
Some attract trouble.
Some attract handsome men.
I seem to attract ghosts.
When I was a little girl, my school bus driver, Mrs. Hill, visited me in the middle of the night to explain she wouldn’t be taking me to school anymore. The next morning, the school called to tell my parents she had passed away in her sleep.
That was my introduction to the strange.
Over the years I’ve seen, heard, and felt things I can’t fully explain. Not in the dramatic Hollywood sense. Spirits don’t usually appear in perfect detail and ask me to solve mysteries.
Instead, the experiences arrive quietly.
A hand on my shoulder when I need comfort.
A laugh at exactly the right moment.
A feeling that someone I loved is still nearby.
And occasionally, something that makes me question my sanity and then laugh about it later.
One spirit seemed particularly attached to an antique sofa in my living room and would happily settle against the pillows humming to herself. Honestly, I understood the appeal. It was a nice sofa. My hope is that one day it ends up with one of my nieces so I can haunt the hell out of them from it.
Those experiences sparked my imagination and eventually inspired the Trudy Hicks Ghost Hunter series. The more encounters I had, the more I wondered about the stories people leave unfinished. What happens to love after death? What regrets linger? What unfinished conversations remain?
Those questions became books.
Today I write stories filled with ghosts, witches, magic, demons, impossible love, and the belief that darkness is never the end of the story.
I’ve been called a witch more than once. To be fair, I do own a pendulum, and I give a surprisingly good reading. But if I’m honest, I’ve never been very good at practicing magic for myself. Helping other people find their way? Absolutely. Remembering to follow my own advice? That’s still a work in progress.
When I’m not writing, you’ll usually find me dreaming up new worlds, chasing impossible ideas, spending time with the people I love, and looking for proof that magic still exists in ordinary life.
Because I suspect it does.
And if a ghost happens to stop by while I’m writing, well… they’re always welcome.