Author Gail Priest is chatting with me about her new women’s fiction with a paranormal twist titled, Soul Dancing.
Bio:
Gail Priest has a passion for women’s fiction. Her degrees and work in theatre and counseling psychology inspire her stories of healing from trauma and secrets within families. A dash of romance and her love of second chances are always in the mix. The settings of her novels are influenced by her time spent on the coast of New Jersey and the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
Gail lives in New Jersey with her husband and their Havanese dog, Annie. When she’s not writing, Gail can be found reading or looking for birds and sea glass along the beaches and bays of the East Coast.
Gail is the author of Soul Dancing, the Annie Crow Knoll Trilogy and Eastern Shore Shorts. She’s a member of The Women’s Fiction Writers Association, Eastern Shore Writers Association, Novelitics Writers Collective, and the South Jersey Writers Group, where she was named Writer of the Year.
Welcome, Gail. Please tell us about your current release.
When ninety-year-old Shirlene Foster dies, she is shocked to wake up in another woman’s body. Even more surprising, she’s in a hospital delivery room, about to give birth. Fearing no one will believe her, she attempts to hide her true identity, but acting like a twenty-year-old proves impossible, and she realizes she must tell someone.
Cameron Michaels vowed to raise his niece after his brother abandoned his pregnant girlfriend, Rain. But after Rain has the baby, she changes… drastically. When Shirlene confesses she is inhabiting Rain’s body, Cameron hesitates to believe such a wild story, but it does explain Rain’s complete transition.
While adjusting to her new life and relishing her second chance at motherhood, Shirlene struggles to keep her growing attraction to Cameron in check. But Shirlene soon discovers that her new body may not belong to her for long.
What inspired you to write this book?
Forgiveness, healing, and second chances are themes in all my novels and short stories. My graduate degree is in Counseling Psychology with a focus on family therapy. Family dynamics always fascinate me, especially when there are secrets and loss. Soul Dancing is a different approach to these themes with the paranormal element.
Excerpt from Soul Dancing:
“I’m not sure how to tell you this.”
“Well, you have to. Just spit it out. What the hell is going on with you?” I ask.
Rain bites her lip.
“Alright, let’s start with why you were at Jefferson Hospital. Is there anything wrong? Are you sick?”
“No.”
“Did you go there yesterday too?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Were you visiting someone in the hospital?”
“Yes.”
I’m going to lose control if I have to keep prodding her. “Who?”
“My husband.”
I leap to my feet. “What?”
A lady walking her French bulldog glances our way.
“Sit down,” Rain whispers.
I have no desire to sit, but I do and clench my jaw.
“It’s not what you think.” She straightens on the bench.
My head is about to explode. “You’re married? Is the baby his?”
“No.”
“Is it Chase’s?”
“Yes. Well, I guess so.”
“You guess so?” My heart is pounding in my chest. If it’s possible for a man to have a stroke before he’s thirty, I’m about to have one.
She blurts out, “I don’t know for sure because I’m not Rain.”
“What the hell are you saying?”
She clasps and unclasps her hands. “Rain’s gone. She died in the delivery room.”
“Have you lost your mind? You’re sitting right next to me.”
“I’m not Rain,” she repeats. “I died, too. Well, I left my body at any rate and saw the light but fought it because I thought my elderly husband couldn’t manage without me. Then somehow.” She takes a deep breath. “I was transported into Rain’s body during her final moments of labor. When Rain let go, I took over.” She begins to cry again. “And now Stan needs hospice. I want to bring him home to take care of him.”
“Stan is your husband?” I can’t believe I’m asking like this situation is normal or even plausible, but I can’t have her crying. I am overwhelmed with the need to comfort her, but I’m too pissed to think straight.
She nods and runs her wrist under her nose.
“And who the hell are you? Sorry. Who are you?”
“My name is Shirlene Foster.”
I instinctively shift away from her on the bench.
“I’m not sure who Arlene’s father is. Only Rain could tell you. But nine months ago, I was in my own body dealing as best as I could with cancer.”
I hesitate to ask, but the situation is so absurd that I do. “How old are you?”
“I’m ninety.”
I notice I’m tapping my right heel, a nervous habit I stopped back in my teens. I settle my foot on the ground. “This isn’t happening.”
“Tell me about it,” she pronounces. “One minute I’m in excruciating pain. It melts away, and I’m seeing a bright light. After that I’m in a nauseating vortex. Then I have labor pain in a body with tattoos and enough piercing holes to sink a ship.” She finishes her rant, and her voice softens. “But I have a baby.” Her turquoise eyes meet mine. “Arlene is amazing.”
“Totally.”
She briefly touches my hand and energy flutters in my chest. If it’s not a stroke, it’s the beginnings of a heart attack.
I slip my hand away. I can’t help myself. “Rain, is this some kind of sick joke?”
“I’m not Rain, and I’m not sick or insane. This is absolutely terrifying, and I need you to believe me.”
What exciting project are you working on next?
I’m working on my next novel, Jackson’s Jetty. I’m also considering turning one of my plays, A Thing with Feathers, into a novel.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I’ve been a theatre artist (acting, directing, and teaching) my entire adult life. I began writing my first play, Eva’s Piano, in 1996 while I was spending the summer at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts. That is when I first considered myself a writer.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
At this point in my life, I’m an adjunct professor in the Theatre and Dance Department at Rowan University. I’m on campus two days a week. That gives me plenty of time to write.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Outlining a story first kills my creativity. I don’t write in any sequence. I write whatever the characters are telling me or showing me, so I jump all over the plot timeline. But the experience is cinematic for me.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
An actor.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
In addition to Soul Dancing, I’m the author of the Annie Crow Knoll Trilogy and Eastern Shore Shorts. If readers are interested in birds and books, they can join my Facebook Group, Gail’s Birds of a Feather.
Links:
Website | Universal Link to Soul Dancing | Facebook