A Ghostly Demise author likes her mysteries light

USA Today bestselling author Tonya Kappes has a new release in her Ghostly Southern Mysteries series, A Ghostly Demise. When it comes to the paranormal, there are two distinct camps: believers and nonbelievers. Kappes is a believer and discusses how her own experiences help her to write this funny mystery series.

“I wrote my Ghostly Southern Mystery Series for readers to get lost in a good mystery with some laughs along the way,” Kappes said. “I don’t want them to think so hard they are exhausted after reading. I want them to have a good time trying to solve the murder. I want them to know they can sit down, read a couple of pages of one of my books where they will giggle, get a mystery and get lost from their day-to-day grind.”

But, murder is only one part of the equation for Kappes. Her other ingredients for A Ghostly Demise included ghosts and laughs. Kappes said, “I have a girlfriend who’s family owns and operates a funeral home. Some of their stories were not only fascinating, but also hilarious. I began to play the what if game. What if I had a sleuth who was an undertaker? What if the mystery had to do with who killed her client? What if the client couldn’t cross over until the sleuth helped solve their murder? It all fell into place and I was off and writing.”

When Kappes decided to write about the life of an undertaker, she decided to learn more about the job. “I had to do research on what a day in the life of an undertaker looked like. I definitely learned a lot and so glad I’m a writer and not the undertaker.”

Some people don’t believe in spirits or ghosts, but I do. First hand, I experienced a ghost in my 100-year-old home.

Kappes is from a small town in central Kentucky where she said there were some unusual people. “I loved incorporating some of those quirky characteristics to make the town itself come to life in the series. I think the town is as much of a character as the main sleuth. I use a lot of southern charm because it’s what I know. I think it layers the story and pulls the reader into the plot, leaving them wanting to come back to Sleepy Hollow and the gang in the Ghostly Southern Mystery Series.”

Not only did Kappes learn about undertakers, but unwittingly took up residence with a ghost. “Some people don’t believe in spirits or ghosts, but I do. First hand, I experienced a ghost in my 100-year-old home. After I bought the home, I quickly made the screened in back porch into a walled office. Immediately things started to go bump in the night. All the water faucets turned on every morning around 3:33 a.m. Items that I use every day would turn up missing, like my hair dryer, clothing iron, camera and would show up in my kitchen cabinets on the dishes I use every day.

“My dogs would turn their heads and watch something in the air as they wagged their tails. After much research and talking to the elderly in the historic neighborhood, I discovered that a young girl lived in the home in the early 1900s and had special needs. She loved the back porch and looking out into the wooded area behind the house. She lived with me for five years.”

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Kappes said she wasn’t bothered by living with the ghost, but ran into problems when it was time to move. “I had decided to move into another historic home in the area and put my house up for sale. Houses in this area sell in hours. I had contract after contract fall through and three months later the house was still on the market. I sought professional help in the paranormal area and was informed that Martha Meyers—my young ghost—loved my family and wouldn’t let us sell.”

“I found out where Martha was buried and ‘took’ her back to her grave and let her know we were selling the house and she needed to rest in peace. My house sold two hours after I got back from the graveyard. My story was even featured on Fox’s Darkness Radio with paranormal ghost hunter and member of Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures Dave Schrader. It was a lot of fun.”

Learn more about Tonya Kappas, A Ghostly Demise, or other books in the Southern Ghostly Mystery series on her website at tonyakappes.com.