During 2021 and 2022, and more particularly the Covid lockdown, I started writing a somewhat light-hearted tale, as I really needed to lift my spirits, about a psychic/time-traveler who took a somewhat unorthodox approach in escaping the stress of the pandemic. Recently, I decided to turn this story into a Kindle Vella. I hope you’ll check it out, and as always the first three episodes are free to read.
The Most Unlikely of Places
The Covid 19 lockdown is profoundly disturbing for everyone, but for Cecilia Jamison, it’s unbearable. Being a highly sensitive psychic, she can’t escape the emotions of others. Locked in her tiny apartment, she is going quite crazy. So, she does what she must to escape, even temporarily. She time travels to an obscure Puritan village in the past. And once there, she falls under the spell of the enigmatic Reverend Bradshaw, someone who might actually have more in common with her than she thinks.
I have a little writers’ club within my family, as every one of us is a published author, though granted, all working in different mediums. During our get-togethers/meetings, we often have long discussions about movies, television series, books, short stories, video game plots, limited series — pretty much everything under the sun that has to do with writing in some aspect. We analyze what works, what doesn’t, and what we can learn from it all.
And turning back the clock even a bit further, I used to appear in a number of stage plays while I was in college. During that time, I came home one summer and agreed to take part in a locally produced soap opera. It was the era of the over-the-top nighttime soap-operas like Dallas and Dynasty, so our little production on the local open channel was a bit of a parody of these sudsy offerings. What I did find interesting was that coming from a background of stage performing, it was important I adjust my acting and dial it down quite a bit for the subtlety of the small screen. On the stage, you are always encouraged to go bigger so the people in the back seats can see you, but the camera, being so close up, catches all the small nuances. And if you don’t adjust, you seem to be overacting.
Getting back to writing, just like acting, working in different mediums of writing demands its own rules. A short story is very concise and focused on perhaps one element of the narrative. A novel is a different beast, depending on its length. It can be very focused if short, though needing usually more complexity and more characters, and several threads or layers of plot — maybe more if an exceptional length. Now a book with intended sequels is really just a piece of a book, a part of an overarching narrative — big picture and little picture stuff. And of course, all of these loose rules are made to be reinvented and broken at times by a skilled writer.
In my writing, I’ve primarily come from a background of short stories and novels. Some of my novels are longer, but I would say predominantly on the shorter side. I usually have a plot worked out or at least the endgame of a book, though I have found some narratives like to take a twist and turn that is unexpected. I did write one series of books, The New Orleans Paranormal Mysteries that weren’t hard sequels as each book focused on a different character.
And this meandering brings me to my point — Kindle Vella. As you might know, the last three books I’ve been working on have been in the Kindle Vella medium, a sort of episodic/serial format. It is really up to the author how long the story goes on. For me, as I’ve said, I like to have an end game in mind. This format has brought its own “gifts” for me so to speak. As well as developing some narratives that needed to get jump-started it has also taught me patience. These stories I’ve found have to unfold at their own pace. Some episodes are character-driven, fleshing out that aspect of the narrative, and some plot-driven. There has been an interesting flow in writing this sort of episodic tale, definitely trying to always leave the reader with a reason to return as well as taking my time with developing the story without overstaying my welcome. It really has been a gift working in this medium. I suppose the old adage there are lessons in everything is true. I am about to begin the final arc in my paranormal romance, Dumaine Street. I confess, when I began, I couldn’t clearly see where this story was going but now, I see the path home. Of course, there are always opportunities for unexpected turns. And I, as well as the readers I hope, look forward to those.
Thanks for Listening,
Take Care,
Evelyn Klebert
Dumaine Street
Voices in her head, catastrophic emotions, hallucinations, Rebecca Wells is more than convinced that she is losing her mind. And as a last-ditch effort, she contacts a self-professed counselor who seems convinced that he can help. Gabriel Sutton has abandoned the world of medicine to navigate a realm filled with psychic phenomena. Diagnosing Becca with extreme empathic abilities, he struggles to help her stabilize her gifts while trying desperately not to fall in love with his patient.
I’ve begun work on the book and eBook versions of The Lady in the Blue Dress. It’s exciting seeing this work move from Kindle Vella into a regular book format. For anyone interested in reading the book now, it is posted in its entirety on Kindle Vella but should be released in the traditional book and eBook format sometime this summer.
The Lady in the Blue Dress
Mika Devalieur desperately wants to deny her beloved grandmother’s last wish, but she can’t. Reluctantly, she travels from New Orleans to rural Virginia to deliver a priceless Pre-Raphaelite painting into the hands of James Clairmont, someone she’s never laid eyes on before. But something isn’t right, and James Clairmont knows much more about her family and the painting than he is letting on. There are so many secrets about him, about her, and most especially, The Lady in the Blue Dress.
Some years back a good friend of mine and I had a pact that every Halloween we would write each other a Halloween story. After a few years of this, I wrote one entitled “Wolves” which was the story of a sort of vigilante who was on the hunt for a diabolical werewolf that had killed her parents. Well, it turned out the werewolf in question wasn’t so diabolical but rather an enigmatic European fellow who at present was a carpenter who built his own furniture. A few years down the road, this particular character, Ethan Garraint, made another appearance as a supporting player in a Halloween story that I called “The Broken Window.” At this point, I was beginning to get the feeling that my werewolf needed a solo outing. So, I decided to write The Broken Vow: Vol. I of the Clandestine Exploits of a Werewolf. This story took Ethan Garraint, or rather Etienne at that time, through a very tumultuous period of his life when he lived with the Cathars at Montségur in Southern France, and hundreds of years later was in New Orleans tracking down a mysterious entity who had largely been responsible for their massacre. Within the novel, I explored some mystical concepts as Etienne was essentially mentored spiritually by the Cathar people. I always knew that I would write a sequel to this book and that the tone of this new one would change a bit. It would have to be a love story. So, as I’m finding Kindle Vella to be a very productive conduit these days, I decided to put The Story of Enid on Kindle Vella where it can function as either a stand-alone tale or a sequel. Once I complete it on Vella, I will be publishing it as a regular book and eBook. So, if you are in the mood for a werewolf tale that is just a bit unusual, I hope you’ll drop by Kindle Vella and check out The Story of Enid: The Clandestine Exploits of a Werewolf. (The first three episodes are free to read)
Take Care,
Evelyn Klebert
When one realizes that a long-lost soulmate has been reincarnated, it poses some complications. When you have been a werewolf fThe Story of Enidor nearly a millennium, the complications explode exponentially. Ethan Garraint understands that he should stay far away from Erin Holt, but she is in his city, New Orleans, and possibly in danger. And the truth is, he doesn’t want to stay away. He only wants to remind her of the lifetime they lived long ago, when they were more than lovers, when they became legend.
Voices in her head, catastrophic emotions, hallucinations, Rebecca Wells is more than convinced that she is losing her mind. And as a last-ditch effort, she contacts a self-professed counselor who seems convinced that he can help. Gabriel Sutton has abandoned the world of medicine to navigate a realm filled with psychic phenomena. Diagnosing Becca with extreme empathic abilities, he struggles to help her stabilize her gifts while trying desperately not to fall in love with his patient.
I have just posted the 23rd episode of The Lady in the Blue Dress at Kindle Vella, so it is officially complete. I am very happy with the way the story turned out. At one point, I had adapted the premise into a short story, but I really think the longer version fleshes out the intricacies of the narrative much better. In any case, the story will remain posted at Kindle Vella if anyone wants to read it, but I also have plans of releasing it as a book and eBook later this Spring. I also still have another on-going story, Dumaine Street (nine episodes in), at Kindle Vella – just saying. 🙂 For those who are interested.
Take Care,
Evelyn K.
Mika Devalieur desperately wants to deny her beloved grandmother’s last wish, but she can’t. Reluctantly, she travels from New Orleans to rural Virginia to deliver a priceless Pre-Raphaelite painting into the hands of James Clairmont, someone she’s never laid eyes on before. But something isn’t right, and James Clairmont knows much more about her family and the painting than he is letting on. There are so many secrets about him, about her, and most especially, The Lady in the Blue Dress.
Recently, I have featured one of my novels, Sanctuary of Echoes, on the home page of this website. The Metairie Cemetery, located in New Orleans, dominates and figures prominently in the plot of this particular book. I have spent a lot of time over the years walking its quiet pathways and taking photographs of its magnificent statues and structures. The site was actually previously a horse racing track, founded in 1838 and later converted into a cemetery in 1872. The cemeteries in the New Orleans area are often referred to as Cities of the Dead as so many ornate above-ground crypts exist that house generations of families. If you ever get the chance to spend some time walking through these old cemeteries, you’ll understand that instead of only a place to remember those who have passed on, the statuary and monuments stand as a type of museum, marking time with its haunting and exquisite craftsmanship. I’m posting some of the photographs below that I’ve taken over the years.
I am very excited to announce the launch of a brand new Kindle Vella story called Dumaine Street. I’ve so enjoyed my experience with writing episodes of The Lady in the Blue Dress that I decided to start a new paranormal romance embroiling a different sort of love story with some of my favorite places in New Orleans. As with all Kindle Vella Stories, the first three episodes are free and you can access the episodes through your Kindle or through your computer if you enter Kindle Vella. And as an added bonus, if this is your first time at Kindle Vella, you get your first 200 coins free. So I hope you drop in and check out Dumaine Street.
Dumaine Street
Voices in her head, catastrophic emotions, hallucinations, Rebecca Wells is more than convinced that she is losing her mind. And as a last-ditch effort, she contacts a self-professed counselor who seems convinced that he can help. Gabriel Sutton has abandoned the world of medicine to navigate a realm filled with psychic phenomena. Diagnosing Becca with extreme empathic abilities, he struggles to help her stabilize her gifts while trying desperately not to fall in love with his patient.
Evelyn Klebert 