L.P. Simone is a multiple award-winning author and blogger. She has published two novels: Charlotte’s Ghosts: The Mystery of the Vanishing Boy and The 2012 Prophecies: Heir of the Jaguar, compelling works of middle-grade fiction that have been honored with numerous international literary awards including a Literary Titan Book Award, an American Legacy Book Award, a Feathered Quill Book Award, and a Next Generation Indie Book Award.
A voracious reader, L.P. also has two book blogs: Liv4MGlit and Liv4YAlit, where she shares reviews of books for young people.
L.P. earned a Master’s Degree in Latin American Studies from Georgetown University and a Masters’ Degree in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She worked as a school librarian in Washington, DC where she also taught History and Writing, and taught English in Guatemala.
Today, she lives and writes in Washington, DC.
This one-on-one interview shares Simone’s background and experience writing Charlotte’s Ghosts: The Mystery of the Vanishing Boy.
Tell us about Charlotte’s Ghosts: The Mystery of the Vanishing Boy.
Charlotte’s Ghosts: The Mystery of the Vanishing Boy is a dual voice novel for middle grade readers that explores the bonds of love that persist even beyond death.
The spring before 7th Grade, Charlotte tragedy strikes. Dad won’t be coming home from Afghanistan. Her mother packs her up and moves her across the country to Manassas, Virginia, to a new neighborhood, a new school, and a new life, one without her mighty, fearless, beloved father.On the Civil War battlefield near her home, she meets Jeremy, the ghost of a young Union soldier. When Jeremy disappears right before her eyes, Charlotte knows, somehow, she must help him find peace. Through her efforts to help Jeremy, she begins to finally face her own loss.Jeremy’s story unfolds in alternate passages. In 1861 when the Confederacy secedes, Jeremy Turner wants nothing more than to join Lincoln’s army and shoot himself some Rebels, if only his mother would sign the enlistment papers. He abandons his family farm and leaves behind everything he loves, before finding his way into the bloodiest war in American history.
Readers explore Charlotte and Jeremy’s individual journeys, witnessing both their challenges and their discoveries. Ultimately, Charlotte helps Jeremy find his way home, and she begins to realize that her father’s love lives on in her, because those we truly love are never truly gone.
What inspired you to write Charlotte’s Ghosts: The Mystery of the Vanishing Boy?
Visiting a Civil War battlefield turned park near me, I felt overwhelmed by the thought that thousands of soldiers died on the very ground where I stood. I found myself grieving for them as well as those they left behind.
I lost my mother at 13, so I know intimately what it’s like to lose a parent as a young person.
I wrote Charlotte’s Ghosts as a way to examine my own journey through sorrow and to support those who are experiencing loss. In reading the book, my hope is for readers to understand that love’s bonds do not break, despite the pain we feel when someone we love is gone.
In the words of Hellen Keller, “All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.”
How did your background and experience influence your writing?
As a young person, before the internet and smartphones, or hand-held games, I spent many long car rides escaping into books or inventing characters and stories of my own.
Then after earning a Masters’ Degree in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, I found a way to explore my own grief and longing by writing Charlotte’s Ghosts.
What is one message you would like readers to remember?
Love lives on, even when those we love are gone forever.
Purchasing the Book
Charlotte’s Ghosts: The Mystery of the Vanishing Boy has received favorable reviews from well-known literary organizations, authors, and reviewers around the world. Book Excellence writes, “Charlotte’s Ghosts is a gripping adventure where the past and present collide in a tale of loss, friendship, and a touch of the supernatural.” In addition, Booklife writes, “A cozy contemporary paranormal mystery offers an opportunity for a gentle historical perspective on war and loss in this time-crossed middle grade novel.”
The book is available for sale on Amazon, Google Play, and other online bookstores. Readers are encouraged to purchase their copy today: https://www.amazon.com/Charlottes-Ghosts-Mystery-Vanishing-Boy-ebook/dp/B0C77VVTX2
To connect with L.P. and learn more about her work, visit: www.dragonsongpublishing.com. You can also find her on Facebook and Instagram.
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