Book Publisher Writes Spooky Thriller As Her First Novel
Haunted Echoes by Julie Ann Howell of The Peppertree Press adds a chilling twist to the term ‘writer’s block.’ Set in a quaint old bed and breakfast in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, the wild beauty and charm of the New England countryside makes a compelling setting for an old-fashioned ghostly romp.
SARASOTA, Fla., (April, 2010) – Independent publisher and children’s book author Julie Ann Howell debuts her own first novel, Haunted Echoes, a paranormal tale of evil and courage.
Drawing upon her own experience as a writer and publisher who has helped hundreds of authors, Howell’s heroine Sarah Reddington brings to life a writer’s thirst to uncover a mystery. The quest to reveal a 200-year-old truth sets in motion an escalating series of haunting and increasingly violent events leading to a nail-biting climax.
The story unfolds in an old-fashioned bed and breakfast in picturesque Cape Elizabeth near Portland, Maine, and seamlessly incorporates the rhythms of life in a small New England town punctuated by the steady pounding of Atlantic surf on rocky shores. The Victorian style bed and breakfast sets the mood as Howell craftily imbues an old doll, trunk and skeleton key with the power to raise gooseflesh and keep readers glued to the pages.
As a publisher, Howell wanted her first novel to be beautiful as well as a good read, she said, and illustrated the book throughout with quotes from each chapter surrounded by an intricate Victorian-era dragonfly brooch. “I love Victoriana; that feel of the antique or old and anything that is haunted or has a story behind it,” Howell says. “I feel everything has a story behind it.”
About the Author:
Julie Ann Howell is author of the novel “Haunted Echoes” as well as three children's books. Along with raising her three children and earning her teaching degree in early childhood education as an adult student, Howell launched a literary magazine, The Pepper Tree, in Sarasota, Fla., in 2004 and subsequently launched The Peppertree Press, an independent publishing company, in 2006. Since then she has helped hundreds of authors get their own books in print. More information is available at www.julieannhowell.com.
2010 * ISBN 978-1-936051-69-4 * $19.95 * Hardback Original * 202 pages
Published by The Peppertree Press
Contact: Sue Engelhart, Publicist phone: 941-926-4245
email: Sue@SueEngelhart.com