Authorpreneur Dashboard – Mary Castillo
Lost in the Light
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
A SOUL HELD CAPTIVE… One October morning in 1932, Vicente Sorolla entered the white house on the hill and was never seen again. Now, Detective Dori Orihuela witnesses his brutal murder in her nightmares. Drawn to this tough but tender woman, Vicente materializes out of her butler's pantry and asks her to find his lost love, Anna. Dori wonders if she's not only about to lose her badge, but also her sanity. Instead, she learns how to live and love again from a dead man who becomes her friend. A finalist in the Daphne Du Maurier Award for Excellence in Paranormal Mystery, LOST IN THE LIGHT takes us back to the wild days of Prohibition when whiskey could turn a poor boy into a king. Mary Castillo's latest novel weaves romance, history and mystery into an unforgettable tale of ghosts, romance and mystery.
Book Bubbles from Lost in the Light
We'll take it slow
This is one of my favorite Gavin and Dori scenes from Lost in the Light. Actually that's a lie, I also love the scene when she tackles him on the floor of the front parlor and then there's the ending ... you get the picture. I loved watching them get closer as a couple.
You made him feel this small
Lost in the Light went through many many drafts. But it came to life after I watched one of my favorite films, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and I thought, what if Dori Orihuela, this tough and extremely skeptical police detective befriends a ghost? Even better, he would be a swaggering bootlegger and smuggler from the Roaring '20s and be the devil on Dori's shoulder. Vicente stands out in this scene because he so flagrantly flaunts his criminal past to Dori. He knows she's a cop and he can't help but tweak her nose a little. And yet, what I loved about writing this scene is that we get insight into what he's really feeling. He is burdened by guilt and remorse; he can see how his pride kept him from the happiness he'd so wanted.
One of my favorite lines in the book
"Eighty-something years is a long time to go without a drink" stayed in the book from the very first draft. Vicente was a character born with teeth and hair and ready to tell me all about himself. I just had to try and catch up.
Have you ever felt like someone is watching you?
I grew up in a haunted house. Either you think I'm a weirdo or you've had experiences you can't quite explain. The ghost I grew up with wasn't a murdered bootlegger, but writing about the sense that someone else is in the room with you, or that someone is walking a bit too close to you was a lot of fun. Of course, I'd get a bit creeped out even though my current home is ghost-free ... as far as I know. But when I feel the emotions my characters feel, the story is coming to life.
