Ghostshow Live! by Christopher Degni

 Happy Release Day to Christopher Degni!

"Spooky yet emotional, Ghostshow Live! explores the effect of past trauma on the present, the struggle between looking back and looking forward, and the many meanings of belief."

I had the pleasure of reading an ARC copy of Ghostshow Live! and man, what a debut! There were plenty of creepy and unsettling moments packed into this little novella. Degni writes beautifully and has a talent for evoking very distinct emotions through words. I could feel what the characters were feeling. My only complaint is I wanted more! I'd love to have seen the ghost hunting be fleshed out a little more and a little more build-up towards the end, but I think that's always the challenge with shorter books. I thought the ending was perfect, especially for those who love a conclusion tied up in a pretty bow. I definitely look forward to reading more of Degni's work.

The synopsis is as follows:

When Tessie Gold's former reality show co-host contacts her with an idea for one last (live!) reunion episode featuring a unique “haunted” house, she's hesitant to agree. Her bad-tempered mother is dying, and Tessie is struggling to move beyond her Ghostshow past to become an archaeologist. The stain of being a reality TV ghost hunter has finally started to fade. But the residuals are running out, and Tessie needs the money to care for her mother and secure her own future.

As Tessie gets closer to the house, it seems to be taunting her. A vision on a plane ride. A seemingly possessed waitress. A companion back from the dead. But Tessie doesn’t believe in ghosts…

You can read a short Q&A with Christopher Degni below!

Q: Congratulations on your debut novella! What made you decide to take the step from short stories to your own novella?

A: Thank you! I've always loved writing at all lengths--I think my shortest published piece so far is 80 words and Ghostshow is my longest. After working on short stories for a while, I wanted to start with longer projects because they let me explore characters and situations in more detail. From a process perspective, I wanted to get into something that could keep me busy for a while, to really let me sink my teeth into it. Short stories can get tiring, because once you're done with one, you move on to the next, and all of a sudden you need a new idea, new characters, new setting, new everything! So staying in one place for a bit longer is a nice change of pace. It's a challenge for me because I'm naturally a lean writer (as those who've read Ghostshow can attest to).

Q: Ghostshow Live! seems to mix a ghost story with a little grief horror. What made you decide to insert an emotional element into the story? What does the story mean to you?

A: There's definitely intended to be an emotional element in Ghostshow. I've always found that horror works best for me if there are emotions intertwined with the horrific element. In particular, in haunted house stories, the house usually represents something the protagonist needs to work through, and I wanted to follow in that tradition. It makes the horror scarier, more concrete, and it helps me (and hopefully my readers) bond with the main character so that when the bad stuff starts happening, they really care! Stephen King said “I try to create sympathy for my characters, then turn the monsters loose" and who am I to argue?

For me, this story is about people being held back from what they really want to do by others and by their own baggage, and how those two factors can easily interact and strengthen each other. It's about how childhood dreams meet the cold light of adult reality; but hope isn't necessarily lost.

Q: What are you planning to do next? Is there another novella or maybe a novel on the horizon?

A: I've been dreading this question, because the way I work, I have about a billion things going on at any one time, and I never know which one my brain is going to let me work on from day to day (I'm a very subconscious-driven writer). That said, the two projects that might be of interest to this audience are: (1) a novella (or maybe novel) about a man looking for a second chance and the (dark) magical tattoos he thinks will help him and (2) a cosmic horror collection of five interlinked stories that all revolve around a pattern called a "quincunx" (that's just a fancy word for the pattern on the 5-face of a die... and yes, this whole collection came about because I think the work "quincunx" is super cool).

If you're looking for a quick read to maybe get you out of a slump, or if you want something short that packs an emotional punch and creeps you out at the same time, click here to get a copy of Ghostshow Live!