A reclusive widow accused of witchcraft. A transcendentalist preacher haunted by his past. A killer who draws their inspiration from the morbid works of Edgar Allan Poe.
The Widow of Pale Harbour
When I sat down to write my new Gothic romance, I looked to the rich and dark history of New England for the different threads of my story. Here are my top five inspirations:
Castle Tucker
The inspiration for the fictional setting of Castle Carver in The Widow Of Pale Harbour, Castle Tucker is an architecturally unique mansion that was built in 1807 along the Sheepscot River in Wiscasset, Maine. A gracious piazza on the second floor looks out over green fingers of land and vast, gray skies. I envisioned a tumultuous love story, filled with dark and chilling happenings that would reflect the striking landscape.
Edgar Allan Poe statue/ stories
The works of Edgar Allan Poe play a key role in The Widow Of Pale Harbor. I’ve always loved the dark and heart-wrenching work of Poe, or in the words of one of my characters in The Widow Of Pale Harbour: “He writes so beautifully, so full of pain and heartbreak. His stories are romantic beyond anything." Just when you thought that Boston couldn’t get any more Gothic, you learn that Poe was actually born there. Unfortunately, Poe was not as enamored with Boston as we are with him today. He was constantly in a battle with the city’s literary critics and newspapers. In fact, the statue erected to honor Poe in 2014 has him facing away from the city, symbolizing his disdain for his hometown.
The Lighthouses of Maine
There’s nothing more quintessentially New England than an old lighthouse at the end of a rocky promontory. Driving along coastal Maine, there are so many lighthouses to explore, each unique and beautiful in its own way. And did you know that Poe’s last, unfinished work, took place in a lighthouse?
Concord
Concord, Massachusetts is famous for lots of things, including being the birthplace of the American Revolution, Concord grapes, the home of Louisa May Alcott, and some stunning foliage in the autumn. It was also a hotbed of transcendental thought in the mid-nineteenth century thanks to residents such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Bronson Alcott, Henry David Thoreau, and my fictional transcendentalist preacher, Gabriel Stone. Gabriel brings these new ideas to the sleepy town of Pale Harbor, but are they ready for a new way of thinking that will challenge their superstitious ways?
The Old Burying Grounds of New England
You can’t walk a block without tripping over a historic cemetery in New England, and I knew that a Gothic story set here wouldn’t be complete without a scene in one. The jumbled stones with their death’s heads and weeping willows are the perfect silent witnesses to a gruesome clue left by a killer on the loose.