Ask the Author: H.E. Bulstrode
Answered Questions (8)
H.E. Bulstrode
We did experience it in the same way, and simultaneously. As for why the supernatural interests me as a theme for fiction, much of that appeal probably derives from having grown up in a family where belief in such phenomena was strong. One of my grandmothers used to regularly attend spiritualist churches, and a number of family members were convinced in the reality of ghosts and their own personal experiences of hauntings. From an early age, however, I always wanted hard evidence to back up such beliefs, and there was none.
Ghost stories are one of the oldest genres of fiction, and I've always found them entertaining. They come in many different varieties, and I tend to enjoy those that are rooted in folklore in some way.
Ghost stories are one of the oldest genres of fiction, and I've always found them entertaining. They come in many different varieties, and I tend to enjoy those that are rooted in folklore in some way.
H.E. Bulstrode
I have only ever had one experience that could be interpreted as supernatural, insofar as I can find no rational explanation for its occurrence. This involved myself and my wife when we called into a church in the Lake District one damp and dreary afternoon last October, and was incorporated into my tale 'The Ghost of Scarside Beck'. Now, as to the precise nature of what happened, that I cannot reveal without spoiling the content of the story, but what I can say is that we were the only people in the church at the time. As to whether or not there was something else present, our minds remain open. We are both highly sceptical by inclination, and thus found the incident highly perplexing.
H.E. Bulstrode
Write what feels right for you. Always seek to improve your writing style.
H.E. Bulstrode
Being able to spend the day doing what I love: creating alternative realities.
H.E. Bulstrode
It was prompted by an unusual find whilst holidaying in a French gite.
H.E. Bulstrode
Inspiration for stories comes from many different sources. Ideas for shorter pieces of fiction – short stories, novelettes and novellas – tend to be prompted by direct experience, observation of something unusual, or even a dream should it be particularly vivid. I also read widely, taking in a lot of history, folklore, politics and science, as well as fictional works. It’s all grist to the literary mill. Longstanding interests in certain issues, such as the conflict between freethought and dogma, constitute the kernel of my forthcoming novels.
H.E. Bulstrode
Sit down and write.
H.E. Bulstrode
H.E. Bulstrode I currently have a number of projects in development with ideas mapped out for a number of novelettes, novels and a short story or two. My major project which I have been working on since early last year is my first novel - ‘Pendrummel: Gwen Gwinnel’s Return’ – which will be published in spring 2017. The action opens in seventeenth-century Cornwall, where the villagers of Porthcarrack are beset with superstitious fears arising from a report of a supernatural visitation; fears that are dismissed by Thomas Pendrummel, who appears intent to press on with his latest voyage, but at what cost? An age-old and all-too-real threat, animated by a lurid religious fanaticism, lurks somewhere out to sea, stalking the imaginations of the parishioners.
I am also working on two shorter pieces which I intend to release this year. The first of these - 'The Rude Woman of Cerne' - is a Dorset-based satire on contemporary social attitudes and preoccupations, rather than a tale of mystery; a straightforward exercise in humour. For readers who prefer something mysterious liberally dosed with an element of the uncanny - ‘The Cleft Owl’ - a tale of the occult based upon real events that took place in late seventeenth-century Devon, will appear a little before Christmas.
I am also working on two shorter pieces which I intend to release this year. The first of these - 'The Rude Woman of Cerne' - is a Dorset-based satire on contemporary social attitudes and preoccupations, rather than a tale of mystery; a straightforward exercise in humour. For readers who prefer something mysterious liberally dosed with an element of the uncanny - ‘The Cleft Owl’ - a tale of the occult based upon real events that took place in late seventeenth-century Devon, will appear a little before Christmas.
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