All posts tagged: Simone St. James

Simone St. James returns with a dank and creepy roadside motel in upstate New York, a cold case, and dual timelines, plus its loose connection to Bates Motel, murder, ghosts, and serial killers

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By Leslie Lindsay  An atmospheric and troubling mystery set in upstate New York at a run-down roadside motel teeming with ghosts–both literal and figurative.  ~FICTION FRIDAY | ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ Something hasn’t been right at the roadside Sun Down Motel for a very long time, and Carly Kirk is about to find out why in this chilling new novel from the national bestselling and award-winning author of THE BROKEN GIRLS.  New York Times  USA Today Bestseller  Upstate New York, 1982. Viv Delaney wants to move to New York City, and to help pay for it she takes a job as the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel in Fell, NY. But something isn’t right at the motel, something haunting and scary. Upstate New York, 2017. Carly Kirk has never been able to let go of the story of her aunt Viv who mysteriously disappeared from the Sun Down before she was born. She decides to move to Fell and to visit the motel, where she quickly learns that nothing has changed since 1982. And she …

Wednesdays with Writers: Master of suspense and eerie ghost tales, Simone St. James tackles her most suspenseful tale to date about friendship, secrets, cold cases, the Holocaust, decaying boarding schools, and so much more in THE BROKEN GIRLS

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By Leslie Lindsay  A chilling and disturbing tale of secrets, friendship, justice and…a ghost at an abandoned boarding school for girls… I tore through THE BROKEN GIRLS. It has all the elements I absolutely adore in a book: great, atmospheric writing, a gutsy protagonist, an old decaying building, secrets, mysteries and a ghostly haunt. Told in alternating POVs–and time periods–(1950s and 2014), THE BROKEN GIRLS is a break-out suspense novel from the award-winning author of THE HAUNTING OF MADDY CLARE. If you’ve read that one, you’ll see how the style is similar, yet different. This  one is more suspenseful, more action-driven, but the writing is just as good . I love how St. James resurrects the history of the land where the old boarding house sits. The story is definitely eerie and unsettling, but handled in such a realistic and believable way. What if ghosts were really just manifestations of things that haunt you and not something beyond your control? THE BROKEN GIRLS touches on just that. Throw in a cold murder case from 1994, …

Write On, Wednesday: Interview with Simone St. James–Ghosts, Books, Agents, & More

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By Leslie Lindsay I am super-excited to share a new-to-me author, award-winning Simone St. James. She writes gothic ghost stories that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Toss in a little love and a great setting—the lost era of the 1920s—and you’re in for a very compelling read. Leslie Lindsay: Simone, thanks so very much for being with us today. I must admit to just now reading your 2012 debut, THE HAUNTING OF MADDY CLARE and I love it! It’s dark, it’s gritty, and it definitely makes me think. But not just anyone can pull off a ghost story without it appearing contrived. What kind of research did you do to fully understand ghosts and ghost hunting in the 1920s? Simone St. James: Hi Leslie, thanks for having me! The idea for MADDY CLARE wasn’t based on any specific historical fact. People were as fascinated by ghosts in the 1920’s as they are today. There were psychical research societies, though they were considered eccentric and not taken seriously. …