Can You Believe? Resurrecting Harry.

 

A big welcome to our guest blogger Constance Phillips. Constance is the author of Resurrecting Harry. Here's what she says about creating a believable world for readers.

 

One of the key elements of writing paranormal and fantasy books is creating a world in which your reader can believe. Of course, with these brave new worlds, the possibilities are endless. Often the worlds we create look nothing like this one we live in.

None of that matters if the reader understands the universe we create and trusts that it can exist according to the rules we’ve outlined.

 The world I’ve created in Resurrecting Harry is one where Harry Houdini escapes the confines of death to return to this world and help his beloved Bess come to terms with her mourning. He is charged with saving her from a path of self-destruction.

Seems like a pretty unbelievable premise, even if you accept that a new life exists after we pass from this one. But the process – and one I hoped I’ve done well – is to create a set of circumstances that allowed my reader to believe.

That kind of unyielding faith is it the cornerstone of what made Houdini so successful. In his act, it was essential that he get his audience to believe he could transcend time and space or move unmovable objects to escape his confines, even though it was only an illusion.

Faith, love and belief in a spouse are the emotions that would keep a widow in mourning longer than normal. The desire to keep an illusion alive could keep a heart lost in grief and unable to move forward. Teaching that woman to believe in humanity, and the healing power of love, is quite a task.

And that is the heart of Resurrecting Harry, learning to believe.

 

A Blurb from Resurrecting Harry:

Can the greatest escape artist ever known break the grim reaper’s chains to save the only woman he’s ever loved?

In order to save Bess from self-destruction, Harry Houdini puts his afterlife on the line by entering a wager with purgatory’s keeper. He gives Harry a younger face and body, and a new name: Erich Welch.

Bess clings to his promise to deliver a coded message from beyond the grave, determined to provide the bridge for him to cross, even if that means befriending her husband's sworn enemy.

Erich needs to help Bess over her loss and put her on the road to healing, but will any good come from resurrecting Harry? 

Bio

Constance Phillips lives in Ohio with her husband, two ready-to-leave-the-nest children, and four canine kids. Her perfect fantasy vacation would involve hunting Dracula across Europe with her daughter, who also digs that kind of stuff. When she's not writing about fairies, shifters, vamps, and guardian angels, she's working side-by-side with her husband in their hardwood flooring business.

Constance is actively involved in her local Romance Writers of America chapter (MVRWA) and the Southeast Michigan chapter of the United States Pony Club. When not writing or enjoying the outdoors, she loves reality television or can be found at a Rick Springfield concert (just look for the pink Converse high tops).