Mystery author Nita DeBorde is in the house today. She’s chatting with me about her new cozy paranormal mystery, Ghost Agents.
Bio:
Nita DeBorde is a published author and teacher from Houston, TX. Writing and teaching are her two major passions, though traveling and being dog-mom to a crazy Staffordshire-Boxer mix named Mabel are high on the list as well.
Nita has taught high school French for more than 20 years and absolutely loves her “day job” job (about 95% of the time). She loves to travel, and not surprisingly, France is her favorite destination, though her home state of Texas runs a close second.
She is also a huge history buff, which comes through in her fiction writing, and particularly in her latest novel, Ghost Agents, a genre-defying, cozy paranormal mystery with a little sci-fi and romance thrown into the mix. Ghost Agents: Revelations, the 2nd book in the Ghost Agents Trilogy, is slated for release in March of 2022.
Nita’s first novel, Project Lachesis, is currently available in both Kindle and hardcopy format from Amazon.com.
Please tell us about your current release.
Ghost Agents is a genre-defying, cozy paranormal mystery with a little sci-fi, romance, and Texas history thrown into the mix.
Synopsis:
An organization that has operated in secret for centuries… a mystery that threatens to burn it all to the ground… and she’s the only agent who can stop it…
To the residents and tourists of Galveston Island, Claire Abelard is the friendly young woman who works at the local candy store by day and leads ghost tours of the island’s haunted locations by night. They don’t realize this persona is a cover for Claire’s real job as an agent of the Bureau for Historical Preservation, a clandestine organization that monitors and assists energy projections, or the entities more commonly known as “ghosts.”
When projections begin disappearing from around the island, Claire worries that history may be repeating itself. She launches a dangerous investigation and uncovers a sinister, arcane organization whose agenda threatens not only Galveston’s ghosts, but everything she has worked her whole life to protect.
The truth behind the disappearances rocks Claire’s world to its core, proving that ghosts aren’t the only things that can come back to haunt you.
What inspired you to write this book?
One night, I was on a ghost tour in Galveston. We didn’t experience any paranormal activity at all that night and I speculated to a friend, “Wouldn’t it be crazy if someone actually coordinated the “performances” ghosts put on during these kinds of visits, deciding when and where they show up and what they do?” The story idea grew from there.
I am a huge history buff, and I find it sad that so many people think history is boring. As this story developed, I saw it as an awesome way to work in a little history through the characters of the projections in a way that would hopefully be entertaining at the same time.
Excerpt from Ghost Agents:
That night around midnight, Claire drove to the northern side of the island near the cruise ship terminal. She prayed Bettie had gotten word to Jean Lafitte about their meeting. Considering Jean had been a notorious pirate when he was alive, it was no surprise his energy projection could be unpredictable and unreliable.
In life, Jean had conducted a good portion of his pirating activity in both Galveston and New Orleans, so his ship still travelled from one city to the other, completely at the whim of its captain. If whatever Jean wanted to talk to Claire about was as serious as Bettie made it out to be, though, maybe that night he would actually show up when and where he was supposed to.
Claire parked in the lot next to the Harbor House Hotel and made her way toward Pier 21. She was keenly aware of the fact that Drew and his team were somewhere inside the building. She could faintly sense his energy and wondered if he sensed hers, too. With a firm shake of her head, she forced her thoughts back to the task at hand.
She took another look around the pier. There were a few people milling around the dock, but this would have to do. Given the fact that Jean would be arriving on a large ghost ship, there would never be an ideal time or place to meet him, but the less tourist traffic there was the better.
She was a few minutes early, which gave her plenty of time to find a place for the meeting. It needed to be somewhere dark and secluded, where she would be less likely to be noticed or interrupted. Eventually, she found a spot not far from the Harbor House, just beyond the glow of the lampposts on the dock.
A drunk tourist staggered past her hiding spot and she glanced down at her watch. She had been waiting in the shadows for at least fifteen minutes, ten minutes past her scheduled meeting time with Jean Lafitte. She frowned, even though she had expected he wouldn’t be on time. Jean liked to make an entrance. After all, as Bettie had reminded her the other night, he was a pirate.
Ten minutes later, Claire was about to return to her car when she felt a massive ripple of energy coming toward her from the water, accompanied by the sound of cannon fire. Jean had probably been waiting, gauging her irritation and frustration until he knew his appearance would have an optimal effect.
She stepped out of the shadows as the shimmering form of Jean’s ship, The Pride, materialized in front of her. The ship was resplendent as it glimmered in the moonlight, nothing like the dilapidated, seaweed-covered images Hollywood liked to portray.
What exciting story are you working on next?
Currently I’m finishing up the second book in the Ghost Agents trilogy, Ghost Agents: Revelations (due out in March 2022), and working on the third book, Ghost Agents: Retribution (estimated release in November 2022).
I am also in the brainstorming stage of a couple of off-shoot short story series – Ghost Agents: Legacy, which will follow agents throughout various historical time periods, and Ghost Agents: Lone Star, which will focus on the history and haunted locations in Texas.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I’ve always considered myself a writer, ever since junior high when I first started working on short stories. I always had a writing notebook with me, and I even completed two novels during my high school years (though I haven’t gone back to look at them because I’m sure they’re high school quality work!)
I didn’t publish my first novel until 2014, and that was mainly a personal project, just to prove that I could set my mind to it and get the project done! It’s always been a dream to be a published writer, but I hadn’t actually completed anything until then.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I wish I could write full-time, and I am working toward that as a goal in the next few years. My “day job” is being a high school French teacher. I really do love teaching, but I would like to be able to pursue writing full time. I have to make time to write, usually early in the mornings and on the weekends and during school breaks.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I’m not really sure, but I know I have to watch out for using the word “just” too much… i.e., “I just want you to know…”, “He’s just so stupid…”, “That’s just what I said…”
I’ve been pinged by editors for this in the past, but it’s part of how I talk, and I like for my stories to feel personal. I’m willing to cut down from over 300 uses (in one draft of my novel!) to somewhere in the 200s, but I’ll never get rid of them altogether! 🙂
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
As a child I wanted to be a teacher and a writer (no BS… I’m totally serious!) I feel blessed that I’ve gotten to do both of the things I love and feel passionately about.
Links:
Website | Facebook | Twitter
Thanks for being here today, Nita.
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