Today I have a guest post from Dawn Meredith, who kindly agreed to follow up my review of her book with some more insight into it. I was intrigued about the concept behind Letters from the Dead, and asked her why she wrote the story and how it came about.
Why I wrote Letters from the Dead – by Dawn Meredith
Some influences are so deep in the subconscious we don’t even know they are there, however, with Letters From the Dead I know exactly when the book began to develop in my brain.
About thirteen years ago my uncle passed away and I was there, in that light filled room, the moment he sighed out his last breath.
His eyes were wide and incredibly blue and he was surrounded by his women – wife, three daughters, nieces. I witnessed something beautiful and life affirming.
Later, as I put together a slideshow of his life for the funeral service I saw an uncle I had never known – the young, hunky blonde surfer dude, for one thing!
The stories of a person’s life are incredibly important, to be celebrated.
Don’t hate me, but writing this book was easy! I spent five months planning and five months writing. It just flowed out of me like a river.
Other stories have had to be excavated. Painfully at times, but not this one. The first page won the 2016 SCBWI Conference Writer’s Award in Sydney.
I have always been interested in afterlife theories. And this is where the subconscious is so freaky. I just figured out LAST WEEK when explaining the book to someone that Matt Damon’s movie ‘Hereafter’ had been an influence, deeeeeep down.
My character, Delia Fox, can read a person’s life when she makes contact with their skin, for up to six hours after their death. She can go back in their memories as far as childhood. She even reads the wispy memories of a newborn found in the forest.
Delia uses this gift to help solve mysterious deaths, much to the ire of many police officers and criminals.
What young, naïve Delia doesn’t realise at the start is that this ‘work’ represents a great danger to herself. That even falling in love can be deadly.
This book is an exciting adventure in so many ways – it’s not just about the perils and joys of Delia’s life, but the lives of those she touches; those fleeting snapshots that leave you wanting to know more.
You can find more about Dawn at her website: https://dawnmeredith.com.au/
Keep up with Dawn at her blog: http://speckfick.blogspot.com/
You can find Letters from the Dead on Amazon.
