The Vanishing (25 page)
Authors: Wendy Webb
Writing this book was such a joy. I had a lot of fun coming up with all of the twists and turns. I fell deeply in love with Andrew McCullough, I wished I could live at Havenwood (even with its ghosts), and I adored Amaris Sinclair most of all. I think she’s my favorite character in any of my books so far. I had a great time writing
The Vanishing
, and I hope you had a great time reading it.
That’s really what it’s all about for me. With my novels, I’m not trying to define a generation, right any great wrongs, or change the way you think about the world or your place in it. I just want to craft a good story that will delight you, entertain you, grab you and not let go, and send some shivers up your spine along the way. As I’m writing, I really do think of you curling up after a long day with a cup of tea or a glass of wine and one of my novels. I love nothing more than when a reader says to me: “I couldn’t put your book down!” For a writer, it doesn’t get much better than that.
With that in mind, I offer my sincere thanks and everlasting gratitude to:
My wonderful team at Hyperion, including editor in chief extraordinaire Elisabeth Dyssegaard, marketing guru Elizabeth Hulsebosch, and publicity maven Kristina Miller, along with everyone else who worked so hard on this book, from the eagle-eyed copy editor to the artist who designed its fabulous cover. It has been such a pleasure to work with you all.
The best agent in the business, Jennifer Weltz, and her fantastic
cohorts at the Jean Naggar Literary Agency. I am so incredibly lucky to have you in my corner.
The staff at
Duluth Superior Magazine
, a monthly lifestyle magazine where, when I’m not writing and promoting novels, I am the editor in chief. Especially to founder Marti Buscaglia, publisher David Hileman, art director Matt Pawlak, sales and marketing diva Toni Piazza, and web editor Asha Long, I thank you for putting up with the hectic schedule of an author on a book tour. I couldn’t juggle it all without your indulgence of my absences, and I’m proud we haven’t missed a beat despite me doing readings and author events here, there, and everywhere.
The booksellers and librarians who have promoted my books, hand-sold them to readers, and recommended them to book clubs. Getting my books into the hands of readers has meant everything to me, and I am profoundly grateful. I also thank you for opening your stores and libraries to me, promoting my readings, and working with me to get people in the door. I especially appreciate the author dinners and other events you’ve organized around my visits—a simple reading becomes a party, and who doesn’t love that?
The people who have come up to me or written to me with ghost stories. One question I always get at readings is, “Do you believe in ghosts?” My answer: “If I didn’t before, I do now.” That’s because at every one of my readings, someone will tell me a ghost story of their own. Sometimes it’s a “things that go bump in the night” story, but usually it’s a personal tale of something otherworldly that happened when a loved one passed away. These are heartfelt stories and I’m honored that people share them with me. Please keep sharing—I love to hear them.
And finally, thanks to all of the readers who have attended my events, read my books, and are waiting for the next one. When I’m writing, I’m thinking of you, remembering your comments and questions, and hearing your voices whisper in my ear. Thank you so much for being my muse.
The Fate of Mercy Alban
The Tale of Halcyon Crane
Discussion Questions
(Please do not read these before you read the book. They will spoil the ending!)
- Did you have sympathy for Julia’s predicament caused by her husband? Do you think it’s possible for one spouse to be ignorant of the other’s illegal activities? And was the very current issue of Ponzi scheming too real-world for this gothic suspense novel?
- Under what circumstances would you accept a live-in job offer from a stranger?
- The character of Amaris Sinclair is complex and ever changing. Sometimes she seems very old and frail; sometimes she seems young and vibrant; sometimes she seems to have ulterior and sinister motives for inviting Julia to Havenwood. What are your impressions of her? Did you trust her? Why does she seem old and young at the same time?
- Wendy Webb has said that, in all of her novels, the setting inspires the story. How much did Havenwood color the story for you? Could it have been set anywhere else? If so, where? Does Havenwood remind you of anyplace you have ever seen or been to?
- Do you believe in legends like the Windigo? Had you heard of it before, and if so, what might have inspired the region’s native people to create tales about such a horrible monster?
- Animals play a big part in this story. How does the trio of Malamutes fit into the narrative? Were you comforted by
their protection of Julia against the strangeness of Havenwood, or did you wish she was completely on her own? Has the intuitiveness and protection of animals had an impact on your own life? - When Julia arrives at Havenwood, she begins to see spirits and hear voices. She believes she has been hallucinating because of stopping her medication cold turkey. What would you think in the same situation? If you saw something that you really believed was a ghost, would you stay in the house?
- Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever seen one?
- Do you have much knowledge about the Spiritualist Age? Do you think the majority of psychics during that time were charlatans preying on wealthy people who were desperate for word from their departed loved ones, or legitimate? How do you explain the popularity of the movement among people like Edgar Allen Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Charles Dickens? Are there any psychics working today who you think are legitimate?
- Can psychic ability be passed down within families, like musical ability?
- Is Adrian Sinclair sinister, menacing, dangerous, a good guy just trying to help his mother, or all four?
- Who do you think set the fire?
- Is Drew the immortal Andrew McCullough? Is Julia the reincarnation of her great-great-grandmother? Is there anyone you would wait a lifetime, or travel through time, for?
- After the first séance in the house, an evil spirit was called forth. Yet Andrew McCullough stayed in the house and raised a family there. Why?
- Did you have any idea that it was Julia, not Amaris, in the mental hospital?
Desperately seeking “a perfect read for a dark and stormy night”?
*
The Fate of Mercy Alban
A novel by bestselling author Wendy Webb
An IndieNext Pick | A Midwest Connections Pick
Long-buried family secrets, a packet of old love letters, and a lost manuscript plunge Grace Alban into a decades-old family mystery about a scandalous party at Alban House, when a world-famous author took his own life and Grace’s aunt disappeared without a trace. The night has been shrouded in secrecy by the powerful Alban family for all these years. Grace’s mother intended to tell the truth about that night to a reporter on the very day she died—could it have been murder? Or was she a victim of the supposed Alban curse? Grace soon realizes her family secrets tangle and twist as darkly as the mansion’s secret passages, and she and her teenage daughter may very well be its next victims.
A Hyperion Trade Paperback available wherever books and ebooks are sold.
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*
Philip Margolin
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 by Wendy Webb
Cover copyright © 2014 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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First ebook edition: January 2014
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ISBN 978-1-40130-597-0
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