Paranormal & Fantasy

So what’s “The Other Me” all about?

I decided on that identifier for this section because if you’ve followed my work, you know I’ve spent years writing science-based novels. Please stay with me now, don’t let that word, Science, drive you away. This’ll get better, I promise.

In my medical thrillers, the texture of each book is real science, but in all of them I try to push what’s possible a step into the future, usually producing horrific results for one or more characters in the story.

My New Orleans mysteries feature a medical examiner, so obviously, in them, I include a lot of reality-based forensic investigation. There is however, one continuing character, Grandma O, an old Cajun lady who seems to know things beyond what can be measured and weighed. And I admit, because I’m a scientist by training, she makes me nervous.

So, I’ve surprised myself with a new book that I can only describe as a paranormal mystery. And frankly, in keeping with my feelings about Grandma O, I’m uneasy about it. Why? For one reason, I’m not sure my fans will follow me into this territory. For another, like the main character in the story, I’m uncomfortable with things I can’t explain.

But this story came to me, not in pieces, but all at once, like a package on my porch. For a long time, I tried to ignore it, writing other books while it sat hidden away in a dark corner of my mind. Occasionally, it would come into the light and I would tell the story to friends. And every time I described the ending aloud, I got chills. Every single time. A writer friend, whom I respect greatly, said the story was, “magical” and she advised me to stop everything I was doing and write it. So, please, give GARDEN OF THE LOST a try, and let me know what you think.

-Don Donaldson