Ghost Train

This story begins in Kyoto Japan in the year 1877 in the early years of the Meiji Restoration Era. Maru Hosokawa is the daughter of a samurai thrust into the life of a geisha starting off as a geiko. Maru’s father surrendered his life as a samurai to become a merchant and had Maru work at the geisha teahouse to help rebuild the family wealth. This isn’t the life Maru pictured for herself as she constantly must deal with a very abrasive okassan, unreliable friends & insecurity at home. During the summer festivals Maru sees things others cannot, ghosts. In search of answers a kitsune (fox spirit) offers to help Maru in exchange for Maru helping it confront a demon causing havoc for Kyoto at nightfall. Plagues sweep through the city, more ghosts appear, blood stenches the streets & rumors of a Samurai rebellion are on the rise.

Research, Writing, Pacing & Characters

Nearly a year ago, on November 4^th, when I did an Authors In The Media Q&A With Natalie Anna Jacobsen, I asked if her journalism skills helped with writing Ghost Train which she replied yes. She wasn’t kidding. The research & writing is excellent as I felt immersed in the story and felt as though I was with Maru and Fox aka kitsune the descriptions came to life. The pacing was slow at times but not to the point where I wanted to quit reading. Maru is my favorite character, I like Fox. Fox is a great friend who helps Maru see that she had more courage and strength than she knew & sometimes we all need that reminder when we feel lost or insecure. I like Satoshi, the historian character too that came toward the end, he seemed to be eager to record his history while also embracing learning new things.

Overall

Overall if you are interested in historical fiction with folklore and magic mixed in especially having to do with Japan, I recommend Ghost Train which will be available on October 15^th. Thank you, Natalie Anna Jacobsen, for the pdf copy of the novel & doing the Q&A with me!