But I Smile Anyway…

I am excited to welcome my blog pal, Sheila Skillman to my blog, today, to tell you a little bit about her new release, Paranormal Warwickshire. Having grown up in Warwickshire, I was intrigued, and more than happy to be a part of this particular blog tour.

Let me hand you over!

First of all, thank you very much, Ritu, for allowing me this space on your blog to introduce my new book Paranormal Warwickshire to your readers.

Warwickshire is a county steeped in the supernatural, as befits the county of Shakespeare and the many ghosts and spirits that he conjured up in his works.

The towns and villages of Warwickshire, its castles, houses, churches, theatres, inns and many other places both grand and everyday have rich and complex stories to tell of paranormal presences.

In this book I investigate several stories at places such as Guy’s Cliffe, the Saxon Mill, Warwick Castle and St Mary’s Church, Warwick; Kenilworth Castle and Stoneleigh Abbey; Nash’s House and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, as well as in the towns of Rugby, Nuneaton and Leamington Spa.

I explore the spiritual resonance of each location, recounting the tales of paranormal activity associated with it and examining the reasons for this within the history of the place.

What made me want to write about the paranormal?

I’ve long loved ghost stories, and among my favourites are classic tales of the macabre by such masters as Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins, and Henry James. There are many brilliant contemporary writers in the genre too, foremost amongst whom we may find  Susan Hill. I remember listening to her at a local literary festival, and speaking of The Woman in Black, she said, “I have never known a story grow legs and run away from me like that one did.”

From my early teens I would eagerly pick up books about curious paranormal cases, and I loved watching TV dramas like Tales of the Unexpected and an adaptation of The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde. More recently I’ve read books such as Shadows in the Nave by Paul Adams, Eddie Brazil and Peter Underwood, and The English Ghost by Peter Ackroyd (these authors are all experienced researchers in the field).

You’ve probably guessed that I’m one of those people who will alight upon a book saying Haunted this or Paranormal that in any tourist gift shop, wherever I may be in the country. And I couldn’t, of course, resist The World of the Unknown: All About Ghosts, first published by Usborne in 1977, and re-issued last year in response to popular demand. 

The key to our fascination with these stories, I believe, is the emotional and psychological effect they have on us. Most of us go about our everyday lives making assumptions about the world we live in, which generally obeys the laws of science. But I, in common with many others, am intrigued by that eerie encounter with the unexpected, when we stray into the borderlands of the unknown.

And I do, of course, love the current TV drama series Ghosts – a brilliant script which cleverly twists the classic paranormal tropes.

How did I start to write Paranormal Warwickshire?

I began by frequently visiting the locations I describe in the pages of my book.  I discovered new things about them each time I returned. Initially, I wrote blog posts about them, in my series Places of Inspiration.

Then a writer friend suggested I gather the posts together in a book. She said she’d certainly read it, and it would need lots of pictures too. I decided to call it Spirit of Warwickshire. When I read out a chapter to my local writing group, I received a positive response, and subsequently approached a few history publishers with the proposal. Amberley Publishing were interested and said they wanted it for their paranormal series. I was only too happy to fulfil that brief, as you can imagine. 

The next stage was to sign the contract with Amberley – a very exciting moment! I then went round all the locations with my photographer son, joining ghost tours, listening to people telling their stories, and of course building up a good selection of photos, many of which are in the book.

I do hope those who read Paranormal Warwickshire will enjoy reading the stories as much as I enjoyed researching them!

Thank you so much, Sheila, for introducing your book to my followers. I was honoured to be given a copy in advance, which I enjoyed reading immensely.

My Review:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A fantastic book filled with tales of ghostly sightings across the county of Warwickshire. SC Skillman has found some intriguing stories and researched their background and possible origins. The results are fascinating and eye-opening.  I especially loved the accompanying photographs, old and new, showing the different castles and buildings where these events are said to have taken place. Warwickshire was where I grew up, and we regularly visited places like Warwick Castle, Kenilworth Castle, Stratford-Upon-Avon and Leamington Spa, so this book held an extra special interest for me. Thank you to the author for providing me with an arc, for an honest review.

Buy Links:

https://www.amberley-books.com/coming-soon/paranormal-warwickshire.html

http://www.warwickbooks.net/preorder

https://www.waterstones.com/book/paranormal-warwickshire/s-c-skillman/9781445698267

https://www.kenilworthbooks.co.uk/signed-books

Social Media Links:

Website and blog: https://scskillman.com/ 

Amazon Author Profile:  http://bitly.ws/9SK9

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

LinkedIn

Sheila lives in Warwickshire, and writes psychological, paranormal and mystery fiction and non-fiction. She is a member of the Society of Authors and the Association of Christian Writers.

She began her publishing journey with a duology of novels Mystical Circles and A Passionate Spirit. This was followed by a non-fiction book Perilous Path: a writer’s journey. Sheila is currently working on the second novel in a new gothic fiction series. 

She posts twice weekly on her blog at http://www.scskillman.com and she also gives author talks to local groups.

Sheila was born and brought up in Orpington, Kent, and studied English Literature at Lancaster University. Her first permanent job was as a production secretary with the BBC. Later she lived for nearly five years in Australia before returning to the UK.

She has now settled in Warwick with her husband and son, and her daughter is studying at university in Australia.