Character Interviews – My Past, Your Future

 

Callum

 

What is your profession?

I’m a history professor from the University of Edinburgh. I’m teaching in Vermont for a year and using this opportunity to research American history. I have a particular fascination with the Revolutionary and Civil War periods. My favorite part of researching is going to cemeteries and reading headstones. I love looking at the graves and wondering about the lives people lived.

 

When did you realize you were gay, and how did your family react?

I knew early on, in young adulthood. I didn’t tell my parents before they passed, but I like to believe they’d have been supportive.

 

Are you religious?

Nope. I’m a lapsed Catholic. As a child I was a fervent believer, but that belief evolved as I grew up and learned about the history of religions and the violence inflicted on peoples of other faiths. Now I believe the Bible is a great work of fiction.

 

Do you believe in ghosts?

Absolutely not. I’m grounded in reality, not fanciful thinking. Might there be spirits? There are stories, of course, but I believe those are sightings made up by people trying to rationalize things they’ve seen.

 

How do you explain the Civil War soldier you encountered in the cemetery?

Well, I’m sure he’s a sentry of some kind. Of course, I can’t explain why he disappeared while we were speaking, but I intend to go back so I can get to know him. He has a story to tell, and I’m here to listen. Aye, and he’s easy on the eyes.

 

 

Elijah

 

What is it like to be a ghost?

Well, frankly, not fun. I’ve been haunting this cemetery in Willow Springs for over one hundred and fifty years. I’m ready to move on.

 

Move on?

I must be in Purgatory—that place between Heaven and Hell. I’d prefer to ascend to Heaven, but at this point I’d take a descent to Hell if it meant moving on. I’m tired of watching the world go by and not being able to interact. There are many marvels in the world, so much progress having been made, and I am allowed to enjoy none of it. There’s even been a black president, and while I watched the celebrations, I was unable to participate.

 

How did you die?

In the second Battle of Fort Wagner in South Carolina.

 

How did you wind up in Vermont?

My home was the Deerbourne Inn in Willow Springs. The townsfolk made a headstone to mark my death. I woke up here during the Winter Solstice over a hundred years ago, and I’ve been here ever since.

 

When did you realize you were gay, and how did your family react?

I knew from an early age. Of course, sodomy was illegal, and I never said a word. By that point I was an orphan, adopted by a local family. Then the war began and I met a man in the army. My whole life changed. I still miss Cornelius dearly.

 

What about the Scotsman you encountered?

At first I believed he was speaking to someone else, but he and I were quite alone. I’m certain he wasn’t talking to me, but I’m going to go back tomorrow to see if he reappears. If he can’t see me, that’s okay because at least I get to observe him. And he’s attractive, so that’s not a hardship.

My Past, Your Future Synopsis

Callum MacLaren, a professor from Scotland, visits Willow Springs, Vermont during the Winter Solstice to study and explore the rich history of St. Joseph’s Cemetery. His encounter with a sexy soldier in a tattered Civil War uniform is a captivating puzzle, and the more he learns, the deeper his attraction.

A hundred and fifty years ago, Elijah Freeman was killed during the Second Battle of Fort Wagner and woke up in Willow Springs, the only home he’d known. Alone, he roams the town, unable to leave or interact with a single soul until an intriguing Scot addresses him. Even stranger, the man can see him, hear him, and touch him–a sizzling caress that leaves Elijah aching for more.

But will Elijah return to his ghostly form when the magic of the solstice fades, or is Callum’s love enough to keep him in the land of the living?

Was a graveyard female or male? The place could be an it, but assigning a gender felt more

appropriate. That somehow humanized something most people avoided at all costs but that he loved almost as much as life itself. There was something about walking about the graves, reading dedications and plaques, that always gave him a sense of life. The inhabitants might be dead, but their spirits lived on, and if he was lucky, would offer their stories and share their lives.

 

Mindful of the flashlight, he clapped his hands, trying to get some circulation back. It was damn

cold, and now that night had fallen, the temperature was dropping precipitously. At least he’d worn a parka, thick socks, sturdy boots, and a wool cap.

 

He’d accomplished enough for the day. Better to make an early start tomorrow morning.

Calculating the shortest trajectory, he headed to the exit but only made it a dozen steps before coming up short.

 

A figure loomed in front of him, not thirty feet away. Since he’d believed himself alone, this was

an unexpected turn. He used the flashlight to examine the solitary person, mindful of not shining

the light in the person’s eyes. His eyes? Yes, most likely a man. Shorter in stature than himself, and on the average side. The man leaned against a grave and glared indolently. Both Callum’s torch and the light of the moon illuminated him. Weren’t they due for a full moon on the solstice in two days?

 

“Hello.” Nothing to be lost by being friendly.

 

The man didn’t move, just continued to stare.

 

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Even though Gabbi Grey is a firm believer in happy endings, she makes her characters work for it in every romance she writes, no matter what the genre. From contemporary to BDSM, they are penned late at night in her home on a beautiful British Columbia mountain surrounded by magnificent trees and every conceivable woodland creature—including bears.

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