Practicing for Dorian's

I’ve been practicing all week for this weekend’s reading at Dorian’s Parlor . Actually, you could say I started practicing last weekend, wh...

Everybody Hates Leah?

I’ve written about Maggie Fox on this blog, and I’ve written about Kate . But I haven’t said much about the third Fox sister – the one var...

Meet the Relatives

Last week, I received an unexpected message on Facebook from a descendant of the Fox sisters! This lady, who lives in a neighboring county ...

Teenage Celebrities and T-Shirt Giveaways

On my class field trip today (in between rainstorms, hikes through the swamp, and begging kids to quiet down on the bus), I chatted with som...

Liked the Book Better? Don't Blame the Screenwriter!

Today’s blogpost stems from two Twitter Chats I attended recently. In last week’s YAlitchat , writers and educators were discussing how teac...

Visiting Kane's Tomb

The next entry in my series of intriguing Pennsylvania graves ( caged graves , the ticking tomb , multiple graves for Anthony Wayne ) is a s...

The Celebrity Romance

As soon as the press discovered that gentleman adventurer Elisha Kane was courting the spirit medium Maggie Fox, newspapers scrambled to pri...

Meet the Romantic Lead

Perhaps it’s time to introduce the love interest in We Hear the Dead . He’s not the typical boyfriend you find in a YA novel, although I’m ...

March 31, 1848 -- Spiritualism Born 162 Years Ago Today

One hundred and sixty-two years ago today, in the hamlet of Hydesville in upstate New York, there was a small commotion surrounding the hous...

Dr. Kane's Volcano

It’s probably time I explain the volcano picture at the top of this blog site. People who are familiar with the historical characters in We ...

Witches and Rappings

Last night I had the honor of attending the mid-winter concert of SATORI , a professional chamber music ensemble based in Pennsylvania’s Leh...

A Spirited Hoax -- Part 2

With little more than a clever prank, two adolescent girls hornswoggled scores of adults into believing they had a special power to communic...

A Spirited Hoax -- Part 1

Uncle Albert, are you with us? Knock twice for yes ... It's a recurring theme in popular media. Whether Patricia Arquette is solving cri...

Optimism in a New Decade

All in all, I'd have to say that 2009 was a good year for me. My short story "Necromancer" was published in the first volume...