Welcome to FIVE QUESTIONS. In this feature on my blog, you'll learn about new and exciting books from the author's themselves. You'll hear about the book, their characters, the inspiration behind the book, and other insider details. All through five simple questions.
Today, we are hearing from Terry Friedman about her new novel BONE PENDANT GIRLS, which is available now.
What is your new book about?
Andi Wyndham has been able to communicate with spirits since she was a kid. When a bone pendant carved into the likeness of a girl's face calls to her at a gem show in Pennsylvania, she can't resist buying it and a sister piece. When she discovers the girls are missing runaways and the pendants made of human bone, Andi is drawn into a mystery that will force her to confront her gifts, her guilt, and the ghosts haunting her.
Of all the characters in your book, which one do you relate to the most, and why?
I'd love to be like Andi's friend Fiona, but I'd probably end up in jail. She curses like a sailor, drinks like a fish, and is wise as well as wise-cracking. Fiona can shoot a water moccasin snake in the eye--according to her. She's the free spirit I am not. I even named my dog after Fiona. She's not much like her either, but she is a loyal friend. I'd love to be Fiona for just a day. Oh, and I wouldn't mind being a short Barbie look alike either.
What do you hope the reader takes away from your book?
Despite the scary cover, it has a soft human side. It's about parent and daughter relationships and guilt and forgiveness. It's about one decision that can change your life forever and about making the wrong decision and forgiving yourself. It's about hope and moving forward.
What's the most interesting or unusual thing you learned while researching for this book?
In researching how to identify species in bone, I discovered how to tell ivory from resin from animal bone.
A Sisters in Crime field trip took me to a morgue in Bucks County. The instruments I saw there were quite different from the forensic machines I viewed at the FBI headquarters in Quantico. Loved the Quantico wall of guns with stories to go with each. Still wondering why someone was eating oysters outside the building that housed the FBI cafeteria.
Of all the books out there, why should readers choose this one?
When I talk about the characters, friends will often stop me to ask if I'm describing real persons. They are real to me, and I hope readers feel that way too. My book is not just mystery or paranormal or horror. Bone Pendant Girls is the quest motif wrapped around ghosts, an evil villain, and characters struggling to morph the past into the present and find a happy future. I hope this is the kind of book where readers will finish and miss the characters the next day.
BONE PENDANT GIRLS is available now, and can be purchased at the following retailers.
Bookshop.org - Supporting Local Bookstores