Hi everyone,
This is part two of my two-part blog about the making of my
paranormal/mystery romance, In Another World. In my previous blog, I talked
about the origins of the story idea and the overall theme of the book. In this
blog, I’ll share some insights into the “cop stuff” I needed to know for the
story, the paranormal elements of the book, and how I finally got the title.
Before I get started, here is the book summary and links:
IN ANOTHER WORLD
A Paranormal Mystery/Romance Novel
Disgraced psychic medium Julie Kershaw has finally met her
soul mate. The problem is he’s dead… and his spirit haunts the car she just
bought.
The spirit of Detective Eddie Mahoney is determined to find
his killer and needs Julie’s help. At first, she refuses. She’s tired of being
called crazy and swore she’d never use her abilities to speak to the dead
again—even if Eddie is handsome and charming.
Eddie persuades Julie to contact his former partner, Lou
Kaplonski, to ask him to reopen his case. Skeptical, Lou dismisses Julie as a
fake—until she proves she can communicate with the dead—and he finds out Eddie
has a lot to say.
Julie channels Eddie’s spirit and together with Lou, the
unusual trio tracks down leads and follows clues to solve Eddie’s murder. The
case takes them down a dark and dangerous path filled with secrets, where
nobody can be trusted.
As they work to find his killer, Julie falls for Eddie.
Funny, smart, and sexy, Eddie is the guy of her dreams—and he doesn’t look or
act the least bit dead. To her surprise, Eddie discovers a clever way they can
be together, and they begin an ethereal romance.
When Lou’s investigation brings him too close to the killer,
his life and Julie’s are put in danger—and Eddie may be the only one who can
save them.
Order your copy here:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09R11STRN
All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/bpw16g
Read reviews here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/in-another-world
***
In Another World is a mystery/romance, and although I’ve
written dozens of romances, I never wrote a full-fledged mystery before. Some
of my short stories and novels have mystery elements where an amateur sleuth
investigates something, but this was different. The book borders on being a
police procedural, and I knew I had to get the details of the “cop stuff”
right. For that, I turned to an expert—Uncle Rich.
My uncle Rich was a retired police captain and had pretty
much seen everything in his 20+ years on the force. Several years ago we were
at a wedding and he asked me, “What’s new?” I told him, “I’ve got this idea for
a story…”
From there, I gave him the rundown of the plot and started
asking him lots of questions. When I told him I had “jurisdiction issues” about
the location of Eddie’s body, he said, “Location, location, location.
Jurisdiction follows the body; it doesn’t matter where you’re from, or where
you work. If you’re from Los Angeles and your body is found in Memphis, it’s a
Memphis case.”
I asked Rich a million questions and I learned a lot. His
advice was excellent and I incorporated some of our actual conversations into
the book as dialogue, usually when Lou or Eddie explains something to Julie.
Rich also pointed out that Eddie and Lou wouldn’t have to
explain how to solve a murder to each other. For them, it’s their job, it’s
routine, something they do all the time. That made things a little easier, because
I didn’t want to make the book too “police” heavy and bore the reader or bog
down the story. I included just enough “cop” details to make Eddie and Lou’s
investigation authentic while keeping the reader hooked.
It saddens me to report that Uncle Rich passed away
unexpectedly several months before the book was finished. He never got to read
the final version, but I’m sure he’s proud of the book, and me. Thanks again,
Rich. I couldn’t have done it without you.
As much as I tried to be “real world” accurate with the
police procedural aspects of the book, I let my imagination run wild with the
paranormal parts, especially Julie and Eddie’s relationship.
I’ve met dozens of mediums, psychics, and intuitives over
the years (at workshops, in classes, on ghost tours, etc.) and I always ask
them questions about what they see, how they receive messages, and how they
discovered they have these abilities.
The answers vary from person to person. Some mediums see the
dead as clear as a living person, others see them in their mind’s eye or feel
their energy and sense things about them. Several mediums I talked to were born
with the ability to contact the dead, some learned how, and others only were
able to communicate with the other side after a near-death experience. I used
this information to explain why Julie can do what she does, and how she “sees”
Eddie.
When I was writing the book, I knew I needed to make Eddie
as “real” as possible for the sake of the story. I had him appear in full form
(as a living person) to Julie, and gave them a clever (and easy) way to
communicate. Eddie’s ability to connect to Julie helps him become a
full-fledged character. He’s as “real” as any other hero in a romance—complete
with a backstory, flaws, and other issues—but he just happens to be dead.
Eddie’s and Julie’s relationship becomes so solid (in a sense), that readers
forget Eddie isn’t alive.
In the book, Julie says their situation is unique and she’s
not even 100% sure how this is all possible, but she goes with it, and so do
readers. This bit of creative license with the paranormal worked for the story,
although it’s not how mediums interact with spirits in the real world.
And speaking of the real world, the title was a bit of a
challenge. I had been working on the book for years (see part one of the blog
for more on that) and I never had a clue about the title. I just called it the
“ghost cop” book. Well, when I was in the final proofreading stage, I figured
I’d better start thinking about a title.
I wanted the title to convey the mystery/paranormal/romance
aspects of the book. I spent hours brainstorming on the title. (As some readers
may know, titles don’t come easy to me. I’ll be writing a separate blog about
that soon). I played around with different combinations of words, annoyed
everyone I knew for suggestions… And what did I get? Nothing. So I gave up for
a while.
Then one day, my husband and I were driving to my friend’s
house and listening to music when Dwight Yoakam’s song, “In Another World” came
on. I didn’t pay it much attention at first, then I started listening to the
lyrics with my book in mind, from Eddie’s and Julie’s point of view—and it
clicked. I played the song again and then declared, “There’s the title!”
“In Another World” works on many levels: Julie is living
part of her life in another world/realm, Eddie takes Julie into/exists in
another world of his own, and poor Lou is dropped into another world he never
knew existed. Of course, Dwight’s song isn’t about psychics or spirits, but the
lines; “Bound by love that never strays/In another world/We’ll be okay” really
reminded me of Eddie and Julie at the end of the book.
And while I’m talking about the music in the book, I want to mention my use of Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams” toward the end. My mother LOVED Roy and I was raised on his music. It seemed only fitting that I borrow a few lines from Roy, as an homage to my mother. (She also passed away before the book was finished.)
When Lou is really down in the dumps, he hears the song and
it connects him to Eddie. I’ve always loved the lines “In dreams/I walk with
you/In dreams/I talk to you” —because as Julie says in the book (and this is a
real quote from a psychic) the dead can (and do) communicate with the living in
dreams. I believe that to be true, and maybe Roy knew it too, when he wrote the
song. (And yes, “Blue Angel” appearing in
the book is no accident, either.)
This concludes my second blog about In Another World. I hope
you’ll read the book and get drawn into this mysterious “other world” filled
with drama, humor, and incredibly interesting characters
Until next time, happy reading!
Kelli
