Book Spotlight: Ghost Encounters: The Lingering Spirits of North Devon by Helen Hollick with Kathy Hollick

 

Everyone assumes that ghosts are hostile. Actually, most of them are not.

You either believe in ghosts or you don’t. It depends on whether you’ve encountered something supernatural or not. But when you share a home with several companionable spirits, or discover benign ghosts in public places who appear as real as any living person, scepticism is abandoned and the myth that ghosts are to be feared is realised as nonsense.

It is a matter for individual consideration whether you believe in ghosts or not, but for those who have the gift to see, hear or be aware of people from the past, meeting with them in today’s environment can generate a connection to years gone by. Kathy and Helen Hollick have come across several such departed souls in and around North Devon and at their 18th-century home, which they share with several ‘past residents’.

In GHOST ENCOUNTERS: The Lingering Spirits Of North Devon, mother and daughter share their personal experiences, dispelling the belief that spirits are to be feared.

Ghost Encounters will fascinate all who enjoy this beautiful region of rural South-West England, as well as interest those who wish to discover more about its history... and a few of its ghosts.

(Includes a bonus of two short stories and photographs connected to North Devon)

cover design: Avalon Graphics
cover artwork: Chris Collingwood

 

 Buy Link:

 Universal Buy Link: https://mybook.to/GhostEncounters

 This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

 HELEN HOLLICK

Known for her captivating storytelling and rich attention to historical detail, Helen might not see ghosts herself, but her nautical adventure series, and some of her short stories, skilfully blend the past with the supernatural, inviting readers to step into worlds where the boundaries between the living and the dead blur.

In addition to her historical fiction, Helen has written several short stories, further exploring themes of historical adventure or the supernatural with her signature style. Whether dealing with the echoes of the past or the weight of lost souls, her stories are as compelling as they are convincing. Through her work, she invites readers into a world where the past never truly lets us go.

Helen started writing as a teenager, but after discovering a passion for history, was published in the UK with her Arthurian Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy and two Anglo-Saxon novels about the events that led to the 1066 Battle of Hastings, one of which, The Forever Queen (USA title – A Hollow Crown in the UK) became a USA Today best-seller. Her Sea Witch Voyages are nautical-based adventures inspired by the Golden Age of Piracy. She also writes the Jan Christopher cosy mystery series set during the 1970s, and based around her, sometimes hilarious, years of working as a North London library assistant.

Helen, husband Ron and daughter Kathy moved from London to Devon in January 2013 after a Lottery win on the opening night of the London Olympics, 2012. She spends her time glowering at the overgrown garden and orchard, fending off the geese, helping with the horses and, when she gets a moment, writing the next book...

 KATHY HOLLICK

Diagnosed as severely dyslexic when she was ten, Helen pulled Kathy out of school at fifteen to concentrate on everything equine.

When not encountering friendly ghosts, Kathy's passion is horses and mental well-being. She started riding at the age of three, had her own Welsh pony at thirteen, and discovered showjumping soon after. Kathy now runs her own Taw River Equine Events, and coaches riders of any age or experience, specialising in positive mindset and overcoming confidence issues via her Centre10 accreditation and Emotional Freedom Technique training. EFT, or ‘tapping’, uses the body’s pressure points to aid calm relaxation and to promote gentle healing around emotional, mental or physical issues.

Kathy lives with her farmer partner, Andrew, in their flat adjoining the main farmhouse. She regularly competes at affiliated British Showjumping, and rides side-saddle (‘aside’) when she has the opportunity. She produces her own horses, several from home-bred foals.

She also has a fun diploma in Dragons and Dragon Energy, which was something amusing to study during the Covid lockdown.

 

Authors’ Links:

Helen:

Website: https://helenhollick.net/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelenHollick

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helen.hollick

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/helenhollick.bsky.social

Amazon Author Page: https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/helenhollick

Blog: supporting authors & their books https://ofhistoryandkings.blogspot.com/

Monthly ‘newsletter’: Thoughts from a Devonshire Farmhouse.

https://thoughtsfromadevonshirefarmhouse.blogspot.com/

Kathy:

Website: https://www.white-owl.co.uk/

Facebook: North Devon - Taw River Equine Events https://www.facebook.com/groups/1491518561152309

 

Book Spotlight: Ghost Encounters: The Lingering Spirits of North Devon by Helen Hollick with Kathy Hollick

 

Everyone assumes that ghosts are hostile. Actually, most of them are not.

You either believe in ghosts or you don’t. It depends on whether you’ve encountered something supernatural or not. But when you share a home with several companionable spirits, or discover benign ghosts in public places who appear as real as any living person, scepticism is abandoned and the myth that ghosts are to be feared is realised as nonsense.

It is a matter for individual consideration whether you believe in ghosts or not, but for those who have the gift to see, hear or be aware of people from the past, meeting with them in today’s environment can generate a connection to years gone by. Kathy and Helen Hollick have come across several such departed souls in and around North Devon and at their 18th-century home, which they share with several ‘past residents’.

In GHOST ENCOUNTERS: The Lingering Spirits Of North Devon, mother and daughter share their personal experiences, dispelling the belief that spirits are to be feared.

Ghost Encounters will fascinate all who enjoy this beautiful region of rural South-West England, as well as interest those who wish to discover more about its history... and a few of its ghosts.

(Includes a bonus of two short stories and photographs connected to North Devon)

cover design: Avalon Graphics
cover artwork: Chris Collingwood

 

 Buy Link:

 Universal Buy Link: https://mybook.to/GhostEncounters

 This title will be available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

 

ABOUT HELEN HOLLICK

Known for her captivating storytelling and rich attention to historical detail, Helen might not see ghosts herself, but her nautical adventure series, and some of her short stories, skilfully blend the past with the supernatural, inviting readers to step into worlds where the boundaries between the living and the dead blur.

In addition to her historical fiction, Helen has written several short stories, further exploring themes of historical adventure or the supernatural with her signature style. Whether dealing with the echoes of the past or the weight of lost souls, her stories are as compelling as they are convincing. Through her work, she invites readers into a world where the past never truly lets us go.

Helen started writing as a teenager, but after discovering a passion for history, was published in the UK with her Arthurian Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy and two Anglo-Saxon novels about the events that led to the 1066 Battle of Hastings, one of which, The Forever Queen (USA title – A Hollow Crown in the UK) became a USA Today best-seller. Her Sea Witch Voyages are nautical-based adventures inspired by the Golden Age of Piracy. She also writes the Jan Christopher cosy mystery series set during the 1970s, and based around her, sometimes hilarious, years of working as a North London library assistant.

Helen, husband Ron and daughter Kathy moved from London to Devon in January 2013 after a Lottery win on the opening night of the London Olympics, 2012. She spends her time glowering at the overgrown garden and orchard, fending off the geese, helping with the horses and, when she gets a moment, writing the next book...

 

ABOUT KATHY HOLLICK

Diagnosed as severely dyslexic when she was ten, Helen pulled Kathy out of school at fifteen to concentrate on everything equine.

When not encountering friendly ghosts, Kathy's passion is horses and mental well-being. She started riding at the age of three, had her own Welsh pony at thirteen, and discovered showjumping soon after. Kathy now runs her own Taw River Equine Events, and coaches riders of any age or experience, specialising in positive mindset and overcoming confidence issues via her Centre10 accreditation and Emotional Freedom Technique training. EFT, or ‘tapping’, uses the body’s pressure points to aid calm relaxation and to promote gentle healing around emotional, mental or physical issues.

Kathy lives with her farmer partner, Andrew, in their flat adjoining the main farmhouse. She regularly competes at affiliated British Showjumping, and rides side-saddle (‘aside’) when she has the opportunity. She produces her own horses, several from home-bred foals.

She also has a fun diploma in Dragons and Dragon Energy, which was something amusing to study during the Covid lockdown.

 Helen and Kathy Hollick

Authors’ Links:

 Helen:

 Website: https://helenhollick.net/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelenHollick

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helen.hollick

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/helenhollick.bsky.social

Amazon Author Page: https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/helenhollick

Blog: supporting authors & their books https://ofhistoryandkings.blogspot.com/

Monthly ‘newsletter’: Thoughts from a Devonshire Farmhouse.

https://thoughtsfromadevonshirefarmhouse.blogspot.com/

Kathy:

 Website: https://www.white-owl.co.uk/

Facebook: North Devon - Taw River Equine Events https://www.facebook.com/groups/1491518561152309

 

Inspiration behind Kindred Spirits: Ephemera By Jennifer C. Wilson

An Author's Inspiration 

Kindred Spirits: Ephemera 

Jennifer C. Wilson

Since writing the first of the Kindred Spirits novels, the world just won’t leave me alone – not that I want it to!

Any new place I visit, or even when I revisit old favourites, I find myself thinking: Which ghosts might be found here, and what would they be up to? At the same time, a lot of places didn’t necessarily have an obvious story that could carry a novel’s worth of conflict, adventure, etc. That’s where the Kindred Spirits Shorts concept came in; getting to explore places and people, but knowing that I could stay within the word count which felt comfortable for the story I was telling.

The overall result was, for me at least, a sense of fun and freedom, allowing me to play with ideas, and I really hope that fun comes across in the reading of each story too.

In terms of direct inspiration, three of the pieces were written specifically following a call-out for different projects – Leicester, Hampton Court Palace, and Jailbreak. As for the others, Eurostar was written as a competition entry, but in the end, just didn’t fit the bill, and Pere Lachaise was written in the Eurostar departure lounge four years ago, as I was thinking about having visited the cemetery the year before. I’d seen a play about Abelard and Heloise and found them fascinating.

Hampton Court Palace

For York revisited, I was writing a compromise. I’d had the (I thought) brilliant idea of a detective being killed in the line of duty, then helping partner solve crimes from beyond the grave. It was only after I’d sketched out the whole plot that I realised I was entirely copying the concept of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased). A bit of a rewrite was needed on that one…

Windsor Castle

The final story in the collection takes us to Windsor, a location which several people have asked about over the last couple of years, and having written Kindred Spirits: York, I now had a lead-in. I loved visiting the castle when I was in Windsor for work years ago, and with so much history, I wasn’t short of ideas for which ghosts could be about.

For each of the stories, once I’ve chosen my location or lead characters, that’s when the research starts. I know it’s a slightly bizarre concept, the ghosts of historical characters pottering around contemporary sites, but even though I’ve got the supernatural element on my side, I think it’s really important to have the facts as accurate as I can. Luckily, I love the research, and it can become inspirational in itself when a connection I hadn’t picked up on suddenly leaps out of a book at me.

I really hope readers enjoy the collection, and the keen-eyed amongst you might pick up on where the story might be going next. I’ve already started that research…

  

The afterlife is alive with possibility…

In this collection of stories, we follow kings and queens as they make important (and history-defying) visits, watch a football game featuring the foulest of fouls, and meet a host of new spirits-in-residence across the British Isles and beyond.

Be transported to ancient ruins, a world-famous cemetery, and a new cathedral, and catch up with old friends – and enemies.

Because when the dead outnumber the living and start to travel, the adventures really do begin.

Kindred Spirits: Ephemera is a charming collection of stories about your favourite ghosts!

Included short- stories are

Kindred Spirits: St Paul’s Cathedral

Kindred Spirits: Jailbreak

Kindred Spirits: Carlisle Castle

Kindred Spirits: The Sisterhood of Hampton Court Palace

Kindred Spirits: Leicester – Return of the King

Kindred Spirits: The Jewel of the Wall

Kindred Spirits: Eurostar

Kindred Spirits: Père Lachaise

Kindred Spirits: York, Revisited

***

Purchase Links

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon CA

***

About the Author

Jennifer C. Wilson

Jennifer C. Wilson stalks dead people (usually monarchs, mostly Mary Queen of Scots and Richard III). Inspired by childhood visits to as many castles and historical sites her parents could find, and losing herself in their stories (not to mention quote often the castles themselves!), at least now her daydreams make it onto the page.

After returning to the north-east of England for work, she joined a creative writing class and has been filling notebooks ever since. Jennifer won North Tyneside Libraries’ Story Tyne short story competition in 2014, and in 2015, her debut novel, Kindred Spirits: Tower of London was published by Crooked Cat Books. The full series was re-released by Darkstroke in January 2020.

Jennifer is a founder and host of the award-winning North Tyneside Writers’ Circle, and has been running writing workshops in North Tyneside since 2015. She also publishes historical fiction novels with Ocelot Press. She lives in Whitley Bay and is very proud of her two-inch view of the North Sea.

You can connect with Jennifer online: Blog • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • Amazon

Ghostly Faces and Invisible Verse Found in Medieval Text

Jeanna Bryner
Live Science

A page (49r) of "The Black Book of Carmarthen" showing the stylized drawing of a dog and text in the margins. Credit: National Library of Wales

Ghostly faces and lines of verse previously invisible to the naked eye have been uncovered in the oldest surviving medieval manuscript written entirely in Welsh.
"The Black Book of Carmarthen," dating to 1250, contains texts from the ninth through 12th centuries, including some of the earliest references to Arthur and Merlin.
"It's easy to think we know all we can know about a manuscript like the 'Black Book,' but to see these ghosts from the past brought back to life in front of our eyes has been incredibly exciting," Myriah Williams, a doctoral student at the University of Cambridge, said in a statement. "The drawings and verse that we're in the process of recovering demonstrate the value of giving these books another look." [See Images of the Black Book and Ghostly Faces]
In 1904, Sir John Williams, the founder of the National Library of Wales, bought the book, which measures 6.7 by 5 inches (17 by 12.5 centimeters). Only recently did Myriah Williams and Paul Russell, a professor at Cambridge's department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic (ASNC), examine the pages of the book.

The ghostly faces as visible under different parts of the spectrum in "The Black Book Carmarthen."
Credit: National Library of Wales

View full size image

"The margins of manuscripts often contain medieval and early modern reactions to the text, and these can cast light on what our ancestors thought about what they were reading," Williams explained. "The 'Black Book' was particularly heavily annotated before the end of the 16th century."
Williams and Russell said they think a man named Jaspar Gryffyth, a 16th-century owner of the book who copied his name in Hebrew onto the book, likely erased such "reactions." These verses and doodles would've been added to the manuscript over centuries as it was passed from one owner to another. "He fits the time frame for the erasures, which we know would have been in the late 16th century, but we can only speculate that he might have been the one to take it upon himself to 'cleanse' the manuscript," Williams told Live Science in an email.
Using UV light and photo-editing software, Williams and Russell revealed glimpses of some of the erased doodles. For instance, page fol. 39v of the newly visible work includes ghostly faces and a line of text accompanying them, which date to the 14th or 15th century, Williams said. On the following page, fol. 40v, a full verse, possibly dating to the 13th century, came to light. "There is one more drawing so far that we are still working on," Williams said.
"What we have discovered may only be the tip of the iceberg in terms of what can be discovered as imaging techniques are enhanced," Russell said in the statement. "The manuscript is extremely valuable and incredibly important — yet there may still be so much we don't know about it." [10 Words in Medieval Voynich Manuscript Decoded]
Scientists think a single scribe collected and recorded the book's contents, ranging from religious verse to different types of poetry, over that individual's lifetime. The text in the 54-page book changes from large script written on alternating ruled lines of vellum to later pages with much smaller lettering and lines that are much closer together.
Williams, who studied the manuscript for her doctoral dissertation, has some favorite pages and verses, she said. Her favorite page, fol. 49r, holds various styles and layouts, along with an example of the scribe's penchant for writing on the book's margins. "It also contains a fantastic stylized image of a dog, possibly a greyhound," Williams said, adding that the book's scribe likely made the drawing. Two verses were also added, likely by this scribe, on the right margin of 49r.
"I am also fond of the central poem of this page, a short series of verses cursing a goose for pulling out the eye of Gwallawg, the figure after whom the poem has been named by scholars," Williams said.
In another entry, the legendary hero Arthur describes the virtues of his men in order to gain entrance to a court, the researchers noted. Two prophetic poems are attributed to the famed Merlin, as well, with the first poem of the book a conversation between him and Welsh poet Taliesin.
And in a text entitled "Englynion y Beddau" (or "Stanzas of the Graves"), a narrator claims to know where some 80 warriors are buried.
Williams said she hopes to continue to improve the reading of the newly revealed work on page fol. 40v and to learn more about the scribe's process of collecting works for the book. "Furthermore, I hope that I can use the information that we have gained from the margins and gaps to continue to develop a picture of the life of the 'Black Book' after the 'Black Book' scribe had completed his work," Williams said.