I'm pleased to welcome Darcia Helle back to the blog today. Darcia writes the Joe Cavelli, Paranormal PI Mystery series. Out of the Darkness is the second book in the series and was released last month.
Kathy: Do you believe that suspense is heightened when a paranormal aspect is involved?
DH: Interesting question! I don’t think the suspense is necessarily heightened, just different. A straight-up suspense novel with no paranormal aspects can have me on edge from start to finish. That kind of suspense feels real and relatable. With a paranormal suspense novel, the story often plays with the individual reader’s discomfort with the unknown. Some people scoff at the paranormal and would never find suspense in those stories, while others feel intense anxiety at the very thought of things they can’t see or predict. Ultimately, I think the degree of suspense depends on three things: the specific story, the writer’s ability to connect, and the reader’s preferences.
Kathy: Do you believe in ghosts?
DH: I believe there is something more than what we’re able to see in our day-to-day lives. Whether that’s a temporary energy left behind, a lingering spirit in transition, or a permanent ghost is a question I like to explore in my writing.
Kathy: Have you had any paranormal experiences?
DH: Yes. In fact, I’ve had a whole lot of unexplainable experiences.
To start, I grew up in a house with a playful ghost. My family assumed the ghost was the man who built the house, since he also died there. When I was in my early twenties, I briefly lived in an apartment with intensely bad energy. The place just felt off, if that makes sense. My second month there, I started to feel something (unseen hands?) rubbing my shoulders and playing with my hair. I admit to having an active imagination, but I’d never before and have not since felt anything touch me.
I predicted my grandfather would die on a certain evening, because I’d seen it in his eyes. I predicted my grandmother’s death, to the exact hour, because—and I know this is crazy-weird—I found a dead butterfly on my pool deck. There’s a story about the butterfly and the connection to my grandfather, so it all made perfect sense to me.
In the house where I currently live, my ceiling fans randomly turn on. This started only a year or so ago, and I’ve lived in this house for more than 16 years. The first time it happened, I was alone in the house, reading, and suddenly my ceiling fan started spinning on high. I watched it for a minute, said hello to whoever had joined me, and asked that he/she turn off the fan because it was chilly. The fan gradually slowed down until it was off. Since then, occasionally I’ll walk into a room and find a fan spinning on high. It happens with all the ceiling fans, and there’s nothing wrong with our wiring.
And, yes, I’m perfectly comfortable acknowledging I might be crazy. 😊
Kathy: Was there a specific inspiration for this story?
DH: Not that I’m consciously aware of. Joe Cavelli wasn’t supposed to have a series at all. I released Into the Light, the first in the series, as a stand-alone novel, with no plans to revisit the characters. Then one day Gus popped into my head with a story to tell. That might sound odd, but it’s how all my books start. My subconscious is apparently an active place that randomly tosses characters and their stories at me. I’d like to say I plan these things, but I have little control over what goes on in my head.
Kathy: Are you able to share any future plans for Joe Cavelli?
DH: I can say he’ll be back with a different ghost at some point. I have several ideas for books in this series, and the opening scene of the next one already written.
Kathy: Will you share any other upcoming books?
DH: My problem is always more ideas than time. I currently have ideas for and, in some cases, the start of five different novels of my own, plus two that I’m co-writing with my friend and fellow author Maria Savva. The one I think is winning out over the others is a stand-alone psychological suspense novel. I won’t swear to that, though, because everything is subject to change in the early stages. In order to turn an idea into a novel, I first have to connect not just with the story, but with the emotions. I have to feel the characters. Ultimately, I follow the loudest and most insistent voice in my head.
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Out of the Darkness
by Darcia Helle
on Tour March 1-31, 2019
Synopsis:
Book Details:
Genre: Paranormal Suspense Published by: Indie Publication Date: February 12, 2019 Number of Pages: 300 ASIN: B07KJGZY9F Series: Joe Cavelli, Paranormal PI Book 2 Purchase Links: Amazon |Goodreads
Read an excerpt:
Joe put the few dishes in the dishwasher, made himself another cup of strong coffee, and said, “Okay, Gus. Let’s see if we can figure this out.”
He walked out of the kitchen, Gus’s voice trailing after him. “Where are we going?”
“My office.”
Joe stepped into the room that was the smaller of the two spare bedrooms. He crossed over to his desk, opened his laptop, and switched it on.
“This is your office?”
Joe sat in his padded leather chair. “My home office. I have another, professional place, with an assistant. No need to go there, though, particularly since she doesn’t know about—” He waved his hand in Gus’s general direction. “—you. This.”
“She doesn’t know you talk to ghosts, is what you’re saying?”
“Right.”
“Afraid she’d think you’re crazy?”
“No. It’s just not something I feel like sharing.”
“You banging her?”
“Jesus. No.”
“Huh. I thought all guys banged their secretaries.”
Joe heard the dry humor in Gus’s tone, though the statement still irritated him. “No, all guys don’t. And I said assistant, not secretary.”
“Same thing, isn’t it?”
“No. But it doesn’t matter anyway. I’m a one-woman man.”
Joe opened a browser page, then the Tampa Bay Times website. He typed ‘Angus Smith’ into the search bar and clicked the Enter key.
“What are you doing?”
Gus had a gruff way of asking a question that made it sound more like an accusation. One minute Joe felt bad for Gus, and the next he wanted to punch Gus in the face. If he could see Gus’s face.
If Gus even had a face. Did ghosts have faces, or were they just invisible blobs of energy? Joe was too tired to deal with this.
“I’m trying to find out how you died,” Joe said.
“Why?”
“I don’t know, Gus. Because it’s a place to start? Figure out how you died and maybe I’ll figure out why you’re stuck in the dark? Unless you have a better idea?”
A huff, then, “No. I got nothing.”
Gus kept silent while Joe scrolled down and clicked a link. Gus’s photo stared back at him from the screen. Seeing the person for the first time was always an odd experience. He couldn’t help but form a picture of each ghost in his mind, based solely on the voice and the little he knew about who he or she had been. Sometimes he was way off. Other times, like now, he was pretty close.
“That’s a crapass picture of me,” Gus said.
Joe studied the grainy image accompanying the article. Buzzcut. Deep brown eyes. Tattoo snaking down the side of his neck, disappearing into his shirt. He seemed to be snarling at the camera. The article put him at 6’3”, 230 pounds, and Joe could see it was all muscle.
He didn’t address the quality of the photo, ignoring Gus while he read through the article. He double-checked the date on the article, then said, “You’re missing.”
“What d’you mean, I’m missing? I’m right here.”
“I mean, you were reported missing. Last Friday, so three days ago.”
“Missing? That makes no sense, since I’m dead.”
“No one appears to know you’re dead.”
“Huh.”
“Do you remember where you were when you died?”
“No.”
“Were you sick? In an accident? Traveling somewhere?”
“I don’t know!”
Joe leaned back and closed his eyes. He forced himself not to react to Gus’s abrupt tone. The guy had every reason to be upset, though this mess sure as hell wasn’t Joe’s fault.
“Who reported me missing?”
Joe opened his eyes and scanned the article. “Cat Loring.”
Silence. Joe waited a moment before adding, “Says she’s your live-in girlfriend.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you remember the last time you saw her?” Joe felt a cool wall of air pressing around him.
“Are you leaning on me?”
“I’m trying to read the article.”
Joe suppressed a shudder—barely. “It doesn’t say much. You left the house at your usual time on Thursday morning. You’re not answering your cell phone, and no one has seen you since.”
“I don’t remember.”
“What’s the last thing you remember?”
Silence.
“Gus?”
“The very last thing? Hell, I don’t know. I might’ve been at a bar with some buddies. I might’ve been driving my truck. Or having sex. It’s all a jumble.”
“Did you and Cat fight the last time you saw her?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. Maybe.”
“Could she have killed you?”
Gus snorted a laugh. “Cat? Kill me? That’s funny, Mr. Detective.”
“Yeah? Why is it so funny?”
“She just wouldn’t.”
Joe rubbed at his burning eyes. “Tell me about your relationship.”
“Why?”
“Maybe it’ll trigger a memory. Help me figure out where your body might be.”
“Well, shit.”
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Excerpt from Out of the Darkness by Darcia Helle. Copyright © 2019 by Darcia Helle. Reproduced with permission from Darcia Helle. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
