Paranormal | Chelsey M. Ortega

Favorite Books I Read in 2022

Posted on January 8, 2023 by Chelsey M. Ortega

If that title feels like a mouthful, it is. You see, if I had titled this post “Favorite Books from 2022”, it would give you the impression that I was going to tell you about my favorite books I read in 2022 that were also published in 2022. That is simply not the case because I am nowhere near that caught up on my to-read list.

Shouldn’t this list have come out sometime in December? Perhaps. It is common to publish “The Year’s Best” in December, not January. However, I was going to finish two books on December 31st, so if they were going to make this post, I had to wait a few days.

Out of the 69 books I read in 2022, 16 make it into the “best” category. Here are my favorite reads from 2022:

Lord of Druemarwin by Helen C. Johannes is the sequel to The Prince of Val-Feyridge. Together, they make The Crown of Tolem series. Both books follow a larger plotline of a fantasy world separated into three kingdoms. The three kingdoms used to be one. A descendent of the original king, Prince Arn is on a military campaign to reunite the three kingdoms. On this campaign he meets a seemingly magical healer named Aerid, and an intense enemies to lovers storyline brings us through the unification of two of the three kingdoms. The sequel gives us a new couple: Raell and Naed. Naed is the new Lord of Druemarwin, an important principality in the third kingdom. Raell’s father is a Lord in Arn’s kingdom. The two met at the end of Arn’s and Aerid’s story, and their attraction to each other works with Arn’s plans for the kingdoms. There are, of course, players who don’t want a unified kingdom, and will sabotage Naed’s and Raell’s relationship to prevent that. Naed and Raell come from different worlds. And after successfully proving that he fits in hers, it’s Raell’s turn to prove she fits in his.

I devoured both of these books. I normally read 2-3 books at a time, rotating chapters. (Don’t judge, I just simply can’t read only one at a time.) But with both of these I paused all my other reading and read only this series, it was that good. I loved the complexity of the characters. The obvious care Ms. Johannes had taken in world building. And of course the danger mixed with romance – I always need some action and excitement with my love stories. I hope more stories in this amazing world are on the horizon.

Revolting by Maureen Atsali is a fated mate romance on the Dreame reading app. The reason this one made the list is because it is so unique from other fated mate stories on Dreame.

Revolting starts out as a trope that I generally don’t care for: the Alpha doesn’t want his mate, but his wolf won’t let her go, so he keeps her prisoner while he sleeps with other women. I almost stopped reading. But then, Ms. Atsali went off the traditional path and gave us a wonderful story about a strong woman escaping her abuser and mate bond, and taking charge of her life.

Nina’s father (Alpha of her pack) sets her up in an arranged marriage with the Alpha of another pack they need an alliance with. Alpha Nolan turns out to be her fated mate, but he doesn’t want a mate. He goes through with the marriage, but treats Nina horribly. Nina overcomes the mate bond, rejects Nolan and runs away. Her short time in Nolan’s pack earned her some friends who hate how their Alpha is treating her, and they run away with her, and work on creating a new pack.

If you like fated mate stories, this one is definitely worth a read.

The Last Tudor, The King Maker’s Daughter, The White Princess

I have been a huge fan of Philippa Gregory since I was 17. My high school English teacher lent me his personal copy of The Other Boleyn Girl and told me he thought I might like it. I loved it. It’s still my favorite Philippa Gregory book to this day. And that book put me on the path to becoming a high school history teacher.

I like Ms. Gregory’s form of historical fiction. She focuses on women, which gives her less factual information than if she were writing about a man. This leads to lots of hole filling on her part. Because of this she is often criticized for inaccurately depicting many of her characters; but she always explains why she deviates from the commonly accepted narratives – and she usually has some merit with those reasons. Even if I disagree with an angle she might put on some events and characters (which is rare), I respect her reasons why.

The Last Tudor is about the three Grey sisters: Jane, Katherine, and Mary. They were the final living Tudor relatives of Elizabeth I. Jane’s fate is the most well known: queen for 9 days and ordered to the execution block by her own cousin Mary I. Katherine survived Mary’s reign, but not Elizabeth’s. She married for love and gave birth to two boys. Because her husband was high born as well, her children were threats to Elizabeth and her throne. Elizabeth separated them, and Katherine died alone and heartbroken. Mary thinks she will avoid Elizabeth’s jealous gaze if she marries a widower of a lower status. But Elizabeth will never allow her relatives to be happy while she isn’t.

The Kingmaker’s Daughter is about Anne Neville, Richard III’s wife. Her entire life was a constant roller coaster. As the Yorks and the Lancasters fought for the throne, her family rose and fell depending on who was king – with her dad in the middle of the fighting. Anne and her sister, Isabelle are her father’s only legitimate children, making their marriages of utmost importance in his political games. She was first married to the Lancastrian heir, and widowed in a few months. She later married Richard in secret, putting her back in the royal family as her husband was King Edward IV’s youngest brother. Many familial dramas and battles later, Anne became Queen of England. But being queen isn’t the glamorous life her childhood dreams imagined.

The White Princess covers the early years of Elizabeth of York’s marriage to Henry Tudor. Princess Elizabeth was going to marry the winner of the Battle of Bosworth: Richard III or Henry Tudor. Either way, she would be Queen of England. Richard was supposed to be the obvious winner, but last minute turncoats caused a Tudor victory. Elizabeth and Henry’s marriage was a constant rotation of hatred, love, and suspicion. The part of their marriage this book highlights surrounds the legend of Elizabeth’s missing brothers – the princes in the tower. In Gregory’s series, the older Prince, Edward did die, but the younger brother, Richard was smuggled out. He returns as a grown man, married, and ready to get his family’s throne back. Elizabeth is torn between protecting the inheritance of her own sons, and her baby brother whom she thought long lost.

The Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris

I came across the world of Sookie Stackhouse from a facebook comment of all things. I had commented on a Harry Potter fan page meme about turning the books into a TV series. I said that I had yet to watch a TV series that stayed true to the book. In fact, I consider most TV series adaptations fan fiction because most only keep the characters names and maybe small aspects of the original plot. Because TV series have so much more wiggle room than movies, they can add characters and side plots and all sorts of other things, then all of a sudden it’s no longer the same story. I gave the examples of Pretty Little Liars, The Vampire Diaries, and Witches of East End. The replies to my comment focused on The Vampire Diaries, and we went down a vampire hole, with one person recommending HBO’s True Blood. My personal mantra is to read the book first, so here I am, reading the Sookie Stackhouse series before I sign up for HBO so I can watch True Blood.

Sookie is a barmaid in Bon Temps, Louisiana. She has struggled her whole life because she can read minds. Everyone in Bon Temps knows, but tries to pretend it’s not true. People avoid her and treat her as less than. Vampires have recently gone public, and when Sookie meets a vampire for the first time, she is pleased to learn she can’t read vampire minds, which gives her a nice break. Saving a vampire, Bill Compton from drainers (human hunters who drain vampires of their blood), and her special ability throws Sookie into the supernatural world. Throughout the series she gets involved in vampire conflicts, shifter conflicts, witch conflicts, and fairy conflicts; all while trying to figure out a steady love life.

There are thirteen books in the main series, starting with Dead Until Dark, which was published in 2001. In 2022 I read books 2-8. I’m currently on book 10, so I haven’t finished the series yet. But so far I have loved Sookie’s story. I think my favorite thing is Sookie’s growth throughout the series. In the earlier books she lets people walk all over her – a mixture of southern manners and trauma from being bullied for being different. As we get into the later books, Sookie finally starts standing up for herself and calling people out when they mistreat her. I also love all the worldbuilding done for all the supernatural species Sookie encounters.

Hands down, my #1 books from my 2022 reading list was the Sookie Stackhouse books. I look forward to finishing the series, and I can’t wait to watch True Blood.

Jillie by Olive Balla is an amazing suspense novel. 12 year old me would have read this over and over again – shout out to my two member club I founded with my cousin: The Mystery Hiking Girls. Jillie, the titular character, has been recently orphaned and taken in by her older sister and her sister’s abusive husband. One day, her sister is being beaten up by said husband, and Jillie stabs him to protect her sister. The stab is lethal, and Jillie ends up in juvenile court. The beating put her sister in a coma, which sends Jillie to her dead brother-in-law’s parents’ house. His vengeful and selfish family makes Jillie’s life a living hell, so she runs away. The rest of the book covers Jillie’s adventure as she evades her brother-in-law’s family, the police, and befriends energetic elderly twin sisters – who get their own spin off called Code Murder. Like The Crown of Tolem series, I paused my other reading to devour this book, and Olive Balla’s other books are now on my radar.

The Bridgerton Series by Julia Quinn

Like many other new Bridgerton fans, I came across these books after falling in love with Daphne and The Duke of Hastings on Netflix. I read the first three books before Season 2 came out, so now I’m ahead for future season releases. In 2022, I read books 3-5, which cover Benedict’s, Colin’s, and Eloise’s stories.

For those of you who don’t know, the Bridgerton series is about a family of eight siblings and their mother in early 1800s in London. As each child reaches marriageable age, Violet Bridgerton goes to great lengths to get her children married. Each book is about a different member of the Bridgerton family and their love story with their future spouse.

What I love about Julia Quinn’s storytelling, is she takes common tropes that can feel overdone, and makes them fresh and new. One of my least favorite tropes is fake dating, and yet I devoured The Duke and I. I always enjoy a good enemies to lovers, so The Viscount Who Loved Me was a given that I would love it. (I also deeply connected with Kate because during my teenage years, my cousin always got the guys.) I will be the first one to tell you that Cinderella retellings are overdone, and yet An Offer from a Gentleman drew me in immediately. What makes this one so unique, is the story starts with the ball, and the main plot focuses on two years later. By the time the reader gets to Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, we are ready for Penelope to get her happy ending, so one can easily overlook the friends to lovers trope if it isn’t your thing. And in To Sir Philip, With Love Eloise is our sunshine trying to figure out if Mr. Grump Sir Philip will make a good husband (a.k.a. opposites attract).

A side theme that Julia Quinn covers quite nicely is the historical culture surrounding the taboo of talking about sex – especially among the young ladies. She creates the perfect mixture of humor, awkwardness, and compassion. Poor Daphne goes into her wedding night knowing nothing. Violet tried to talk to her about it, but was so embarrassed herself, the entire conversation was cringe. Kate was better prepared, but went in viewing it more as a duty rather than a way to grow closer with her husband. Sophie, having spent most of her life as a servant – and servants see and hear more than they should – is the most prepared. Penelope is just as unprepared as Daphne. And Eloise tells her mother she doesn’t need the talk because she forced one of the recently married servants to tell her all about it when she was a teenager. I find all of these scenes really important and enlightening because I also grew up in a really conservative family and religious culture, and so I was able to connect to many of the conversations.

Overall, Bridgerton is sexy, romantic, and hilarious.

Here’s to a great 2023! I hope the books I read this year are just as entertaining.

Thanksgiving in a Paranormal Story? A Conversation with B.L. Allen

Posted on November 10, 2022 by Chelsey M. Ortega

In April 2022, debut author B.L. Allen’s first book, To Haunt or Be Lost was made available for readers. I read it in October of this year, and when I got to chapter 21, I immediately knew that I wanted to highlight her book as one of my November posts. Chapter 21 highlights Thanksgiving, and while I’m sure other authors have done so in their work, it’s not something I have come across often in the books I read.

Before we get to that chapter, let’s summarize To Haunt or Be Lost. The main character, Lori, is an only child in her early years of college. Lori has social anxiety and is studying art. Her younger cousin, Agatha, comes to live with Lori’s family when Agatha’s parents die in a car accident. Agatha and Lori don’t get along, and now have to live together and share a car. This puts Lori riding the bus to college every day where she meets a young man named Gabriel who she develops feelings for. Simultaneously, Lori gets thrown into Agatha’s desire to get vengeance on the other driver involved in the accident because they survived. And all of this requires Lori to dig up difficult memories from her past and finally heal from them using the help of the last beings she believed in: ghosts.

Agatha and Lori have a rough past. They are both only children, and were forced into frequent sleepovers when they were kids. Agatha believes in ghosts and witchcraft, and Lori does not. During one of their sleepovers, an incident occurred where one of Agatha’s magical seances physically harmed Lori and sent her to the hospital. Not believing in magic, Lori is convinced that Agatha purposefully injured her; while Agatha stays firm in her claim that a spirit had possessed her and hurt Lori. Both Agatha’s and Lori’s parents believe Lori, and the two girls are no longer forced to see each other anymore. The next time they do see each other, it’s Thanksgiving at their grandparents house, and Lori is prepared to defend herself.

Lori packs pepper spray because her parents have decided to forgive the whole incident, and she is expected to do the same. During dinner, Agatha makes faces at Lori from across the table, and even draws her finger across her neck while glaring. Towards the end of dinner, Agatha’s mom proposes everyone say what they are thankful for. It starts out as normal stuff: family, home, health, jobs, etc. When it gets to Lori, she says:

“I am thankful for pepper spray, which I can use to defend myself with if I’m in danger.”

Lori’s comment causes a short awkward silence. Then it’s Agatha’s turn, who says:

“I am thankful for this body that I am able to live in.”

And with those two comments, Thanksgiving was ruined. But was it really? Is it really Thanksgiving if that crazy family member doesn’t say something?

I enjoyed To Haunt or be Lost. I’ll admit, it took me a while to like Lori. I thought she was a judgmental spoiled brat in the beginning. But her redemption arc is well done. So, I reached out to B.L. Allen – okay, I admit, she’s my cousin, so it didn’t take much to send her an email – and she agreed to a digital interview! So, for the rest of the post, enjoy getting to know B.L. Allen.

How did you come up with the storyline for To Haunt or Be Lost?

To Haunt or Be Lost was an idea that came to me rather quickly, in a way that I’m not sure I can fully explain. It was October of 2015 and I knew I wanted to participate in NaNoWriMo, which was only a couple weeks away. I had other story ideas, but I wasn’t excited about them at the time. One day I was goofing around with my husband when I threw a blanket over my head and said “I’m going to bury myself alive to cheat my way into the spirit world!” and at that moment a whole story started to click in my head, or at least that’s when a bunch of separate ideas conglomerated into one. I made a quick outline for the idea in a notebook, and then wrote the first draft that November.

Several key parts of the story were actually inspired by real life events, which is perhaps my way of taking “write what you know” a bit too literally. For example, when I was in college I took public transportation to school, which is at the center of a major plot point in the story. When I took the bus, there was this older woman who would sit next to me on the bus nearly every day, which lasted a few months I think. She never said anything to me, but she’d come straight to the seat next to mine and sit down quietly for a few stops before getting off. I thought maybe I felt like a safe person to her, since there are often creepy individuals who take the bus and it can be scary to talk to them. We had a strange unspoken agreement that we were “bus buddies” keeping each other safe, and I liked that. So in To Haunt or Be Lost, I took that idea of an unspoken friendship/agreement and made it a romance.

The story also involves repeated mentions of a worry doll, which I had no knowledge of until I was visiting my sister’s work one day. One of her co-workers had just come back from a trip to Guatemala, and had bought a bunch of worry dolls as souvenirs for everyone in the office. My sister and I each got one, and I really liked the concept of speaking to this tiny doll about your worries, putting it under your pillow, and letting it worry for you so that you wake up with a weight lifted off of you. Regrettably, I seem to have misplaced my worry doll, but I’m sure it’s in a box somewhere and I’ll find it again one day.

But perhaps the main focal point of To Haunt or Be Lost is the relationship between the main character, Lori, and her cousin, Agatha. At this point it shouldn’t be surprising that Agatha’s personality was directly taken from people I know in real life, although I won’t name names because if they’re reading this it might be awkward. I had one friend who was quite bubbly, but I also often butted heads with her. She was more of a friend who was convenient, but not really someone I meshed with very well. Lori and Agatha’s relationship is strongly inspired by my relationship with that particular friend. I had another friend who enjoyed witchcraft, and would teach us fun witchy things like how to predict the number of kids you’ll have and what letter your soulmate’s name will start with. This friend also would do tarot card readings for our group, which was especially fun around Halloween. I’m sure my mom wasn’t too happy about that, but it was all in good fun. Ultimately I combined my bubbly friend and my witch friend together into one character, and Agatha evolved into my favorite character in the book. Lori, on the other hand, happens to be my least favorite, but it might be because she’s a bit of a self-insert.

When it comes to communicating with the deceased, how much of the technique that Lori and Agatha do is research based and how much did you create for world building?

As far as how much of the spirit communication was made up and how much was based on research, I’d say it was about fifty-fifty. Some aspects I invented specifically as a means to progress the story, and other things I based on what I had read about. When it came to Bloody Mary, I tried to keep it as close to what the childhood game of summoning Bloody Mary might be like. The candles, the chanting of her name, the turning in circles and waiting for something to jump out and scare you…it was all part of that familiar sleepover experience many kids attempted with their friends and dared each other to do at one point. When I was a kid, my friends and I even went so far as convincing ourselves that our elementary school was haunted by Bloody Mary. Strange spots on the wall? Must be blood. A classmate acting strangely? Must be possessed. We were invested in this conspiracy and wholly believed we were ghost hunters on a mission to protect the school.

Agatha also performs seances, which do have some truth surrounding what a seance might look like such as holding hands and creating a circle of candles, but as far as chanting in Portuguese and painting blood symbols go, I’m pretty certain I made those things up if I remember correctly. Also something that’s central to the story is that believing in ghosts is what causes a person to be able to see them, thus explaining why Agatha can see ghosts, but Lori cannot. This was made up for the sake of the story progression, but I quite like how it played into certain plot twists.

One of the ghosts that Lori meets is Bloody Mary, who is supposed to be Mary Tudor or Mary I of England. When it came to her physical appearance and personality, how much was based on the historical record, the paranormal record, and your own imagination?

The chapter where Lori meets Bloody Mary is actually my favorite chapter in the book. She is strongly inspired by Mary Tudor and it’s implied in To Haunt or Be Lost that that’s who she was meant to be in life, but in reality it’s not entirely known if the legend of Bloody Mary stemmed from Mary Tudor or some other Mary. I based her physical appearance mostly on Mary Tudor, although I chose to describe her hair as black because I thought that might be creepier. As far as personality, I based it off of the supposed paranormal experiences surrounding Bloody Mary. Primarily, Bloody Mary is described as an evil and dangerous spirit, although sometimes is seen as friendly. I leaned into her evil side more, but also attempted to humanize her. I asked myself: if she was a real person, and if she were, for some reason, waiting to be summoned from bathroom mirrors at sleepovers all over the world, what might she say to these people? Anger and misery felt like the most appropriate emotions for her. Angry it’s a game to people, miserable to be haunting the earth forever, but also accepting this fate in a strange and twisted way.

Out of all the holidays you could have highlighted, what made you choose Thanksgiving?

The honest answer, which is a ridiculous answer but is absolutely true, is that it was Thanksgiving at the time I wrote it. Because it was a book I was writing for NaNoWriMo, which takes place in November each year, I was staying at my husband’s grandparents’ house for a few days that month while still trying to churn out the first draft of my story in only a month’s time. I was stuck and didn’t know how to progress the story, so what did I do? I took from my surroundings, which is a common trend for me. Because Thanksgiving was what was going on at the time, that’s what I wrote about. So stupid, but it actually turned out well in the end I think. It gave me an opportunity to highlight family dynamics that otherwise may have never been highlighted, especially since Agatha’s parents are known to be deceased at the start of the book. The Thanksgiving chapters, which are set in the past, help to show her parents and their personalities more, making it an extra gut-punch knowing that in the present time they are actually dead. I also had a unique opportunity to make Thanksgiving a little bit…creepy. Sure, Halloween might be the go-to holiday for ghosts, hauntings, and spooky things, but taking a holiday of gratitude and giving it a sinister twist with Agatha’s creepy behavior was strangely satisfying.

Is there anything from Lori’s Thanksgiving dinner that was inspired from your own Thanksgiving memories? What are your Thanksgivings like?

Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that varies from year to year. It all depends on which side of the family I’m spending it with. In my husband’s family, they have the tradition of going around the room and asking everyone to name one thing they are grateful for, which is exactly what Lori’s family does as well. Fortunately though, my Thanksgivings don’t typically feature a crazy cousin out to kill me.

What’s the next step in your writing career?

I’ve now had a taste of the self-publishing world and have learned a lot. I’ve done some things right, and some things horribly wrong, but going into it I knew that the first book was primarily going to be a learning experience. I should probably note I was only 21 when I wrote the first draft of To Haunt or Be Lost, and I’m nearly 28 now. To say my writing has evolved tremendously over the years would be an understatement, and my next book will have so many more layers and depth than past stories I’ve written. Although I suspect that my second book will be a learning experience as well, I already know many ways I’m going to approach my next book differently. I’m currently working on another standalone book, and this time it will be longer than my first book and will also be less inspired by people and events in my personal life. In fact, it’s more largely inspired by various religions and cultures around the world, and of course it’s a ghost story because those are the types of stories I like the most. Get ready for heavy topics like suicide, familiar legendary beings like the Grim Reaper, as well as heartbreaking backstories for a wide array of characters. Don’t worry, I’m sprinkling in some dark humor and an overarching theme of hope as well. I refuse to believe the afterlife is meant to be bleak, although perhaps it can seem that way. I will be self-publishing again, and my next book should release sometime next year, although I do consider myself a professional procrastinator. Once I feel like a more seasoned author, I might try my hand at traditional publishing.

I hope you enjoyed learning about B.L. Allen and her writing inspiration. To Haunt or Be Lost currently averages 4.17 stars on goodreads and 4.6 stars on Amazon. It can be purchased as a digital copy or paperback.

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