I am thrilled to have on my blog this month cosy paranormal mystery author Karen Hamilton-Viall. From her adventure in seeking out the grave of a real life mid-nineteenth century London Metropolitian officer who inspired a character in her novel, to seeking purpose during the pandemic as so many of us did, she brought to life a truly intriguing mystery series and its main character, Ada Baker.
Feel free to take a paragraph to introduce yourself.
Karen Hamilton-Viall is a new British author whose debut novel, a paranormal murder mystery titled The Curious Life of Ada Baker, has been published by Cranthorpe Millner. She lives in the countryside on the Essex/Suffolk border; a land of cosy thatched timber frame cottages and chocolate box villages. The sort of villages where you could imagine Miss Marple roaming around. This location inspired her to set her novel there in the fictional town of Sudfield. She’s been writing stories since she first learned to pick up a pen but only dared to dream in recent years that she could become a published author.
What made you start writing?
I’ve always loved writing, as far back as I learnt to write sentences. It’s something that’s always been part of me. When I was young, it was short stories and poetry. Then, when I was older, I started earnestly trying to write novels.
And what drew you into cosy mystery and fantasy?
I’ve always loved the genres, as far back as I can recall. I read Agatha Christie as a child and a lot of Enid Blyton. I watched all the cosy crime shows too, Poirot, Miss Marple, Murder She Wrote, Columbo, etc.
My fascination with the strange goes back a long way too. My mum used to buy me Misty annuals as a kid and a comic book about strange tales. She also brought me my first book on ghosts. As I got older, I became fascinated with werewolf and vampire stories. I read a lot of Anne Rice Novels. I dipped into horror too, I loved Christopher Fowler’s horror books. His horrors were made up of the everyday things around you. I recall one that had the lion statues in Trafalgar Square coming to life and attacking someone. I’m fascinated with the idea that fantastic things could be hiding behind the veneer of our everyday lives. I wanted my novel to feel like that too. Most people can’t see the things that Ada can, but it doesn’t mean they’re not there.
How many books have you written now, and how many are published?
I suppose Ada is my third book, although I never finished my first book. It was an erotic/fantasy/horror called The Beyond. It was very wordy and descriptive. My second book is called The Invisible King. It’s an erotic fantasy, the idea for it came to me in a dream. It’s finished but I don’t think it’s good enough for publication. I wrote it just for me. The Curious Life of Ada Baker is the only published book so far, but my intention is to make it into a series. I’ve already made a good start on book two. I also write a lot of short stories, particularly for my Godson’s. Every Christmas, I write them a new Christmas story and record myself reading it to them. I always think, what better gift than the gift of time and creativity.
I read on your blog about Robert Branford. What was the experience of visiting his grave like given the inspiration he gave you for “The Curious Life of Ada Baker”?
I’m so glad you’ve asked this. You’re the only person to pick up on this so far. Robert Branford was one of the first mixed-race officers in the Metropolitan (London) police force, in the mid nineteenth century. I came across his story in a newspaper clipping and felt inspired to include him in my story. He was the illegitimate child of a white mother, and an unknown father. It was a huge stigmatism at that time to be illegitimate. He joined the Met in 1838, did well, and rose to the rank of superintendent before he retired in 1866. The author Stephen Bourne has kindly written a piece about him, which is included in the back of my book. Stephen specializes in writing about Black British History.
Robert came quite late to the story. I’d already written a lot of the book before I found out about him, but I hope to include him more in future stories. Little Waldingfield, the village he lived in, is the only village where I’ve used a real name. Most of the other places in my novel are fictional but based on real places in the area. It’s a lovely little village and Robert is buried in the grounds of St Lawrence’s church. Even today it’s a sleepy little spot but in Branford’s day, it must have been little more than a hamlet.
As I arrived, I was struck by the peace and serenity of the place. The graveyard is overlooked by ancient cottages that abut its edge. I found myself wondering if Branford had lived in one of these and if he’d thought, “One day, I’ll be buried there.” My heart skipped when I found the grave. Somehow, I was lead straight there. I said a quiet prayer to him, telling him of his inclusion in my book and I hoped that he didn’t mind. It really helped bring another dimension to him for me. No longer was he a character but a real flesh and blood man, who was lying buried somewhere beneath my feet.
Your website says the pandemic in 2020 brought life to standstill, as it did for many, which encouraged you to write more. Did you find writing at that time to help with the standstill?
I did yes. Like many of us, I felt completely helpless. I normally work in schools and at historic sites running school history workshops but suddenly nobody wanted ‘hands-on’ anymore. We’d taken 15 years of love and hard work to get our business to where it was, so we didn’t want to drop it and find other jobs. My husband started a temporary gardening business but as I can’t drive, and we live in a village with a poor bus service, I was more restricted. I decided to write and try to finish a novel. I’d been inspired by my friend Helen Jr Bruce. She’s 14 years younger than me but has already published two novels and is working on her third. I found her truly inspirational. It was a case of, well if she can do it, surely, I can. I set myself a target number of words to write each week, which I usually exceeded. It gave me a purpose and made the lockdowns feel like less of a waste of life. It was an escapism for me and very cathartic. I couldn’t control what was happening in the real world, but I could control what happened in my little make-believe world.
“The Curious Life of Ada Baker” has been out since Sept. 27 of this year. What, if anything, did you do to prepare for its launch?
My publisher, Cranthorpe Millner, have been amazing. They sent me long lists of stuff that I could be doing to prepare for the launch. I did think about self-publishing, but they’ve been a brilliant guiding hand to me through the process. They had me doing all sorts of things, looking up shops that might want to stock the book, thinking of magazines, radio shows, etc, who might like it. I had to imagine what my typical reader might be like, which was helpful in working out where to market it. They also arranged a bookstagram tour for me on Instagram. I’d never heard of doing this before. They had me create some very novel book promo to send the ARC readers. They all received a copy of my book, one of Ada’s business cards, a typed letter from Dennis, the poltergeist character in my story, and a recipe written in invisible ink by Mrs Entwhistle, the Edwardian cook in my story. It can only be revealed by a UV torch which I also sent them.
I also found a local bookshop in Colchester and asked my publishers to arrange a book signing there. I’ve been trying to grow my social media following to get the word out about my book. I even ran a competition for people to win a copy, as well as other spooky goodies. As much as I love my online followers, I’m now trying to find ways to meet people in person, so I’ve been writing to local library services.
What made you decide to make Ada a psychic?
The book started with one idea. What if a psychic could harness the abilities that a dead person had accrued in life. If a spirit knew how to drive a train, then Ada could drive a train. She does this by letting the spirits temporarily posses her. She’s always still there but she takes a back seat for a while and lets them steer her body. Mrs Entwhistle is a brilliant cook and she’s always using her knowledge to prepare food for Ada, but during the story Ada has to call on some far more unusual ghostly skills.
Where is your book set and why did you choose that setting?
It’s set in rural south Suffolk, England. It’s part of an area called East Anglia, on the East Coast of England. It’s just a short distance above London but far enough away to feel very different. I moved here back in 2005. I used to live in South-East London but my husband hated it there. We’d visited the area in our hobby as re-enactors and decided to move here. It’s chock full of medieval and Tudor thatched timber frame cottages, with pastel coloured pargeted walls (pargetting is artistic plasterwork patterns).
The book is set in the fictional town of Sudfield but it’s based loosely on Sudbury in Suffolk and other places in the area that I live. It’s a lovely part of England but isn’t visited as often as other places like the West country or the Lake District. It deserves to be better known. In hindsight, I wish I’d based my book entirely on real places. I guess I chose it because I love the area so much and people always say write about what you know. I think a little of south London has crept into the novel too. The house I grow up in was a 1930s semi-D and was the inspiration for Ada’s home.
Do you know any real-life psychics?
When I started writing the novel, no I didn’t, but I’ve spoken with several since then. One of my friends is psychic, she came to it via a near death experience. I’ve also met a few psychics in ghost investigations I’ve attended, and I also interviewed one, Mike Baker. I’d already written my novel when I found him. He’d written a book about his own experiences as a psychic detective, and I interviewed him for my blog (https://www.karenhamilton-viall.co.uk/post/me-my-shadow-an-interview-with-psychic-medium-mike-baker) . He made a prediction of where I should go to find a publisher and as it turned out, he was correct.
Who are your favourite authors?
I read a lot of nonfiction. History books in particular, but more recently, books about the supernatural, psychics, folklore, witches, etc. If I had to pick one author, I’d say Neil Gaiman. He’s a master storyteller and I’m in awe of his writing. If I could be a tenth as good as him, I’d be happy.
Another writer I love is Adrian Bell. He’s been dead for 50 years now but there’s something about his writing style that I love. I got drawn into reading his books after watching a TV segment on him and his book Corduroy. I’ve read every one of his books now.
I also love Jane Austen; I’ve read every one of her books and Elizabeth Gaskill. I love beautiful descriptions. I think it was Elizabeth Gaskill who instead of describing a tapestry as being old, said something like, ‘A tapestry which had been woven by fingers that had long since turned to dust’. I thought that was such a beautiful way to describe it. I’m quite an eclectic reader as you can see.
What challenges do you encounter writing paranormal cosy mystery?
I think fantasy writing is freer than writing a book about a historical event. Even though you’re writing about something quite intangible like ghosts, it still has to feel like something that could happen. I did some research amongst friends about what they liked and disliked in novels and that was something that came across very strongly. People tend to still have very fixed ideas about what a ghost can and can’t do, even though most people haven’t experienced one. We’re very guided by media and books. One beta reader was adamant that a ghost couldn’t type or do delicate things, but I knew from another friend’s experience that they could. There are no definite rules for ghosts, just people’s perceptions which can make it difficult to write something that feels convincing to everyone.
What other genres have your explored in writing?
My writing has always had a fantasy basis but other genres are included within my writing, romance, erotica, horror.
Have you had any real paranormal experiences? (I find paranormal stuff fascinating, personally!)
Yes, quite a few. When I moved out of home at 19, I moved into a top floor flat of an Edwardian terraced house (early 20th century). I wasn’t thinking about ghosts at all when I moved in. Britain has an ancient history, and it was a relatively new home. Shortly after moving in, we’d hear heavy footsteps stomping up the stairs. You’d expect to hear the flat door open, but it never did. Then a minute later it would start again. We laughed at it to begin with, but I think that annoyed the spirit and the activity picked up. One day, as I was home alone sitting in my room, the arms of the long sleeve t-shirt that was hanging on the back of the door lifted into the air. I ran over to it, dragged it off the door and stomped up and down on it. I even saw him briefly in the bathroom as a shadow figure. In the end I found myself trying to make peace with him, acknowledging he existed but being firm that I needed to live there too and the activity died down after that. I think he just wanted to be acknowledged as existing. He went on to inspire the poltergeist character of Dennis in my novel. I’ve always wanted to go back there and say to the current owners, ‘Have you experienced anything odd?’
I also had an experience at Michelham Priory in Sussex. I was lucky enough to stay in the Managers flat for a couple of weeks. On a couple of nights, I was woken up by loud dragging noises, as if a piano was being dragged. We got up to investigate the source of the noise but could see nothing. My husband and I both felt a whirlwind going around our heads. It was only years later we saw on a TV show called Extreme ghosts, that a previous manager had experienced something very similar to us. That felt good, a sort of vindication that our experience had been real. I think it’s a very haunted house.
I’ve also had quite a few smaller experiences. They all outlined in more detail on my blog.
How many books are going to be in Ada’s series?
I don’t know yet. I’ll keep writing until I feel that there’s nothing more left to say for her and it reaches some sort of natural conclusion, but I have an idea for book three already.
And where can readers find you on social media?
I’m pretty much everywhere, Twitter https://twitter.com/FantasyKaren, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarensFantasyFiction , Instagram @karenhamiltonviallauthor, TikTok @kazhoney.
I don’t have YouTube but I’m hoping at some point to make a podcast, I’d like to create one about writing but it’s just a dream presently.
My website is: www.karenhamilton-viall.co.uk
I want to thank Karen for being here and sharing her fictional world with us. It’s been an absolute pleasure! Please check out her website and blog for more information on her book and her fascinating writing journey!