Shameless plug as it's Hallowe'en

Happy Hallowe'en to one and all!

Bearing in mind the date, I am today going to do a shameless plug of my non-fiction book, Ghost Walks of Brighton.

I mean, if you can't plug a ghost book at Hallowe'en, when can you? (Well, any time and as much as possible really, if you want to get sales, but you know what I mean.)

I've always been interested in the paranormal and had toyed with the idea of writing something about it but I wasn't sure what, exactly. That was until I came across the call from Country Books about a series of ghost walk books they were putting together, and that they were looking to expand the series further.

Having known Brighton for many years, and the interesting history it had, I suggested this to Dick Richardson, the publisher and he was happy to go ahead. What I really enjoyed was that, although it is a series, Dick didn't have a specific format he wanted to go with, it was up to me as to how I wanted to do it, and how long it was, etc.

First of all, I did all the research and gathered stories and tales, choosing the ones I felt were best included and weeding out ones that didn't fit or were a bit vague. Being fairly local, I was also able to draw on a couple of experiences from friends and relatives. Once the stories were there, I had to put them into place.

Now, I am not known for my navigational skills. Rather I am known for my total lack of them. Thankfully my husband has excellent ones so, with the help of a big map, we plotted the locations of the tales and then condensed them into actual walks, keeping them within certain areas, although it's possible for them to be put together to make longer ones. Then came the time to walk them and try them out. There were a few changes along the way which I noted down and applied to the manscript once we got back. Although we had done the 'Lanes' one on a separate day, the others were all done together, on quite a long and fairly tiring day! It was all quite fun and exciting though!

If you're interested in the subject, the book is still a good read, even if you aren't able to do the walks. Several people I know have gone this route because they either are not able to physically do the walks or aren't local enough so don't feel you need to miss out!

The paperback can be bought at Brighton's Waterstones, or direct from the publisher here. There's also a Kindle version which is available at Amazon here

If you choose to have a read, I hope you enjoy it - and Happy Hallowe'en!