Interview & Giveaway: Cricket Baker Author of The Ghosting of the Gods

About the Author
In 2001, Cricket began a journey to fulfill her childhood dream of being an author. Somewhere between raising three sons, moving 3 times, pondering the mystery of life and death, and obtaining a Masters of Education, she found time to develop her writing craft. Many seminars, workshops, and book drafts later, she found her voice with The Ghosting of Gods.

Cricket’s writing combines her appreciation of strong storytelling with a passion for haunted settings and deep spiritual questions to create fiction that is both entertaining and thought-provoking. She especially loves books which are either supernatural or dystopian, so her first novel incorporates both these genres.

In addition to working as a counselor for teens, Cricket spends time developing her next writing project as well as sharing her thoughts on writing and spirituality through her author website at http://cricketbaker.com and on her Tumblr blog, Mystical Scribbles of the Scribe, at http://cricketbaker.tumblr.com. 

What inspired you to write The Ghosting of Gods?
I finished reading The Glass Lake by Maeve Binchy, and in a fit of grief that it was over, that I could know nothing else about those characters, it came to me with a dreadful force: I HAD to write my own novel. And so, I plotted for my characters to be mine as I long as I needed them to be.  

Has a character ever done anything that surprised you?
Yes. My protagonist, Jesse, did the one thing I never thought he would do. It’s toward the end of the book.

Favorite quote?
I have a new one lately. Well, it’s a return to an old favorite.  It’s a sage observation from the freaking amazing mythologist, Joseph Campbell. Read it slowly...know it deep inside: “The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.”
What draws you to this particular genre?
I call my novel a supernatural dystopian.  My inborn love affair is with haunted scenes. I can’t get enough of supernatural, ghostly stuff. Been this way since I was a kid--I would roam library shelves looking for cover art which promised the story inside would frighten me with the Otherworld. As for the dystopian aspect, I need to write a story that’s suspenseful but also meaningful. Dystopian novels are all about highlighting what goes wrong in society, so that the reader can be prodded to SEE.  And OMG does the world need young generations to SEE.
If you could be any bird, what would you be? Why?
That’s easy-peasy. An owl. I’ve had a thing for owls ever since middle school language arts class when we were studying Greek mythology and I saw a picture of the goddess Athena with an owl on her shoulder. My teacher explained the owl was a symbol for wisdom.  So here was a girl god, and she had wisdom on her shoulder. I wanted an owl, too. I wanted wisdom, which is to say I wanted Truth.
What is your favorite television show right now?
Big Bang Theory. I like nerds. I used to be one. (wink, wink)
What are some of your writing habits?
I do NOT wait for inspiration. I summon it, which means I allow it to come.  Who knows where ideas come from? It’s a magical, mystical thing. The best part of writing is the creativity of it, and that simply happens when you’re relaxed and feeling alive and happy. My method for getting “into the space” of writing is to be quiet a short while without thinking (a simple definition of meditation), feel appreciation/love for all that my life is, casually remind myself to trust the Creative Process...and then I deliberately “go” to a creepy, haunted world (while listening to a thunderstorm soundtrack with my son’s expensive gaming headphones). Writing is not about being clever and working hard. This is what I’ve totally found to be true: When you’re feeling open and all good inside, this expansive feeling fills your chest, and then, creativity flows. It’s wonderful. You can write for 8 hours, and it’s not work.
Which character’s perspective in The Ghosting of Gods did you find the most challenging and enjoyable to write?
The most challenging was the coven scientist Elspeth. She remained a mystery to me for a long, long time. The most enjoyable was Poe. I love him. I identify with him in many ways, though he is a much better person than I. What we have in common is the whole poetry, horror, and God thing.
Any new projects in the works?
I have two projects on my laptop right now. One is a sort of sequel to The Ghosting of Gods.  Some of the characters are back, some aren’t. Mostly, though, I’m working on another ghost story set in a secluded town that can’t be found unless you’re invited.  You don’t want to be.
What is the question you wish interviewers would ask, and the answer to that question?
That’s hard. Interviewers ask good questions. Uh... Huh. Well. Okay, how about this: If you had to choose between reading and writing, which would you choose?

Writing is an absolute high for me, but my reply would nevertheless be quick and easy: Reading!

About the Book
Jesse, an apprentice exorcist, defies his priests when he learns his sister is in danger…even though she’s dead.  When he’s exiled to a haunted world, Jesse must unravel the mystery of what ghosts really are if he is to save her.  He plunges into a deadly game of hide-and-seek.  The players include denizens draped in monkish robes, ghosts with matted eyes, the dead who tunnel underground in terror, and…Elspeth.

A coven scientist, Elspeth is both respected and feared for her abnormal spiritual powers.  Jesse needs–craves–the knowledge of ghosts which she possesses.  Elspeth tempts him in other ways…but is she a spiritual prodigy, or dangerously insane? The coven scientist begs him to trust her.  He doesn’t.  But he wants to.

Caught in a world on the brink of spiritual evolution, Jesse struggles to understand Elspeth even as frightening contacts from his sister force him to face the secret, shattering meaning of a verse he knows well:   “Blessed are the poor in ghost.”

Trailer

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