Tag Archives: Katherine Traylor

Spirits in the Dark by Katherine Traylor

OUT NOW! Spirits in the Dark by Katherine Traylor

Trista has always loved abandoned houses and the paranormal. Now that she’s at college only fifteen minutes from the notoriously haunted Hollow Street house, she knows exactly where she’s spending Halloween. She packs a bag, puts on her favorite vintage dress, and sets off, hoping to spot the ghost of the young, dark-haired woman who’s said to haunt the house’s living room.

Fellow student Keira does not like abandoned houses, and she isn’t particularly interested in ghosts. Visiting the Hollow Street house was not how she’d planned to spend Halloween. But her little sister, who loves all things spooky, has begged Keira to check out the haunted house next to her university, and Keira has trouble saying no. She doesn’t expect to see anything supernatural, so it’s quite a shock to find herself face-to-face with a mysterious young woman in old-fashioned clothing who seems to have appeared from nowhere.

When the two ghost-hunters come face to face, each mistakes the other for the ghost she’s looking for. How tragic, they both think, that such a beautiful person should have died so young. Of course, things aren’t as bleak as they seem, and the two women might find themselves pleasantly surprised … if they can make it to the morning. Because real entities haunt the Hollow Street house, and they’re anything but friendly.

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Summerweek by Katherine Traylor

OUT NOW! Summerweek by Katherine Traylor

Belle was once lady-in-waiting to the Queen — the only woman she ever loved. When their one night together ended in scandal, Belle was sent home in shame, knowing her chance at love was lost forever. Now she can only watch from afar as the woman she loves goes through life like a planet circling a different star.

Hope returns with a mysterious note in the Queen’s own handwriting, inviting Belle to try once more to win her lady’s heart. With enough luck, and enough courage, she may have the chance for a happily-ever-after most people could never dream of.

But the palace is full of enemies, and with the Queen’s heart still unknown, is Belle heading for victory … or disgrace?

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Guest post by Katherine Traylor

In late July of 2019, I visited Prague for the first time. Coming from Seoul (the sleek, unsleeping, fluorescent-lit city where I’d spent the last six years), I couldn’t quite believe Prague was real at first. A gingerbread wonderland of Art-Nouveau caryatids holding up sherbet-colored townhouses, under a sky so fresh and blue it seemed to come from a cheesy stock photo, the city captured my imagination. I spent my first three days there walking up and down the streets, taking picture after picture, and listening to lots of Florence + the Machine and Of Monsters and Men. Sitting on a crowded bench near Old Town Square, I scribbled out the first lines of what would become the story Summerweek.

This story isn’t technically historical, as it isn’t set in any real place; but if you can imagine a small, peaceful, Central European country, ruled by a succession of benevolent royal figureheads, you’ll have a good picture of the place where Belle Neumann grew up. It is the late 18th century, and Belle (a former lady-in-waiting) has lived a full year in the shadow of the scandal that drove her from the palace where she fell in love with her queen. Taking courage from the summer sunlight — and from a mysterious note that reminds her of happier days — Belle dares to hope that she and the Queen may have a second chance at love.

I’ve always loved fairy tales, and Cinderella in particular has made a pretty indelible mark on my psyche. Cinderella stories show up in ever corner of popular culture, even in places you wouldn’t think to look for them. Yes, Ever After, the beautiful 1998 movie with Drew Barrymore, probably added a few threads to Summerweek’s tapestry. But so did Pride and Prejudice, a Regency novel about lost chances, misunderstandings, and knowing when to stop catering to propriety and speak from the heart. Though Pride and Prejudice isn’t technically a Cinderella story, and neither is Summerweek, both stories have a lot of the key ingredients: a couple held apart by their stations in life; a few fated, magical meetings; a ball.

I’m almost always a fantasy writer. It’s very rare for me to write a story without a single ghost, witch, or prophetic dream to move the plot along. But when I was writing Summerweek, I never felt the need to add a spell or a curse or a supernatural being. This is a story about two women, their love, their insecurities, and what becomes of them. I like to think that the magic is still there, though; Summerweekis a fairy tale from the Once upon a time… to the happily ever after. I hope that you’ll read it in that spirit, and that you’ll enjoy the story as much as I’ve loved writing it.

Much love, and keep safe!

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