Jennifer C. Wilson is the next Crooked Cat Books author to be featured in this series.

She writes writes fiction with an intriguing twist. Her characters are ghosts — not just ordinary ghosts but historical ones. Or as she puts it, she writes “historical fiction with spirit.”

Kindred Spirits: Westminster Abbey, the next in her Kindred Spirits series, will be launched this summer.

Here are Jennifer’s responses to my 6Ws — who, what, when, where, how, and why. (How does end with a W.)

Who is author Jennifer C. Wilson?

Jennifer is a marine biologist by training, who spent much of her childhood stalking Mary, Queen of Scots (initially accidentally, but then with intention). She completed her BSc and MSc at the University of Hull, and has worked as a marine environmental consulting since graduating. Enrolling on an adult education workshop on her return to the northeast reignited Jennifer’s pastime of creative writing, and she has been filling notebooks ever since. In 2014, she won the Story Tyne short story competition, and has had several pieces published online. She is also part of The Next Page, running workshops and other literary events in North Tyneside.

What does she write?

She writes ‘historical fiction with spirit’ – the tagline for her social media, which Rob Walton of North Tyneside Writers’ Circle kindly came up with. She’d not heard the phrase ‘paranormal historical fiction’ before it was the genre assigned to her novel Kindred Spirits: Tower of London. The Kindred Spirits series follows a group of historical ghosts, carrying on with their ‘lives’ in historical buildings, in contemporary settings. This has been the Tower of London and Edinburgh’s Royal Mile so far, with Kindred Spirits: Westminster Abbey due for release in summer 2018.

When does she write?

Whenever she can! Working fulltime, it can sometimes be hard to make it onto the laptop in the evenings, but that’s what nice, long weekend days are for.

How does she write?

It depends. At writing group, travelling or when out-and-about, words go by hand into the notebook, being transferred into the master file later, but when at home, it’s direct onto the laptop. She tries to write something every day, just to keep the momentum going for whatever project is currently underway.

Where does she write?

Every so often, she tries to write in the spare room, where there’s a nice, neat desk set up, but the truth is, Jennifer watches way too many murder mystery programmes on television, and cannot abide having her back to the whole flat, especially when it’s getting dark… So instead, she writes at the dining table, usually with either a CD or the television on, for background noise (she cannot write in silence). In 2018 though, she’s planning to experiment with writing out-and-about more, including heading to local libraries, where she’s less likely to get distracted by piles of paperwork which need sorting!

Why does she write?

Because she loves it, and as long as people are willing to help her follow her childhood dream, by publishing and reading what she writes, she will not be stopping. She’s always loved stories, and could never visit any historical building or site without making up some tale or other about the people who had been there before. Having an outlet for those is a dream come true.

More:

Kindred Spirits: Royal Mile was released by Crooked Cat Books last summer, and follows the adventures of the ghosts of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, primarily Mary, Queen of Scots, and her small band of courtiers, but also the young piper who was sent into the tunnels beneath the Mile to see where they led, and of course, lovely little Greyfriar’s Bobby makes an appearance. Each ghost has their own problems to deal with, including Mary herself, when her second husband, Lord Darnley, turns up and starts causing trouble, just as she’s trying to resolve the melancholy of her father, King James V of Scotland. The universal Amazon link for this can be found here.

Other works:

Jennifer’s debut novel, Kindred Spirits: Tower of London, was released by Crooked Cat Books in October 2015, with Kindred Spirits: Royal Mile following in June 2017. Her timeslip historical romance, The Last Plantagenet? Is available for download from Amazon.

Jennifer C. Wilson on social media:

Jennifer can be found online at her website, on Twitter and Facebook, as well as at The Next Page’s website.