Today on my blog I welcome Christine Verstraete, who has written
several novels inspired by the Lizzie Borden saga. Her first book cast Lizzie as
a zombie hunter, explaining that Abby and Andrew Borden had to be struck
down—they were undead. Her second has just released, and it focuses on a key member
of the story, Dr. Bowen, who lived across the street and was called upon to assist
in the earliest moments of discovery of Mr. Borden's body (if I may use the word
"discovery" loosely....)
Without any further ado, here is Christine answering a few questions
I posed, and some excerpts from her book. Welcome, Christine!
Hi Erika, thanks for inviting me to your blog!
What compelled you to
write about Dr. Bowen?
Dr. Bowen is a fascinating
character since, as you know when you start reading the Lizzie Borden trial
transcripts, you realize that the doctor was quite involved in the aftermath of
the Borden murders. Maybe too involved? So much isn’t explained about certain
actions he and others took that you can’t help but read between the lines! One
of the police officers at the trial testified that he saw the doctor burning a
suspicious note. Even the newspapers described him at the trial as appearing
rather protective of Lizzie. An interesting relationship that raises some
questions, it seems.
The fun part of writing this book
was taking the Borden story in a new direction. This was such an unexpected,
horrific and shocking event for many reasons that I had to wonder: despite
Bowen being a medical professional, how did this event really affect him? Did
it haunt him? And did the history of Fall River play into the evil in the city?
Does Lizzie appear in this book also?
Lizzie is such an integral part of
the story that you can’t leave her out, but she doesn’t appear in this book in
person. However, she is one of the haunting elements of the story. That’s all I
can say without giving it away!
About The Haunting of Dr. Bowen, A
Mystery in Lizzie Borden’s Fall River:
The short
supernatural-flavored mystery (141 pages) is on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited and print.
http://getBook.at/HauntingofDrBowenAuthor website: http://cverstraete.com
Gruesome deaths haunt the industrial city of Fall River, Massachusetts.
Dr. Seabury Bowen—physician to the infamous Lizzie Borden—swears he’s being stalked by spirits, though his beloved wife thinks it’s merely his imagination. But the retired doctor insists that neither greed nor anger provoked the recent sensational axe murders in Fall River. Rather, he believes the city is poisoned by bad blood and a thirst for revenge dating back to the Indian and Colonial wars.
Now, two years after the Borden murders, Dr. Bowen is determined to uncover the mysteries stirring up the city’s ancient, bloodthirsty specters. Can he discover who, or what, is shattering the peace before Fall River runs red? Or will he be the next victim?
Part mystery, part love story, The Haunting of Dr. Bowen reveals the eerie side of Fall River as witnessed by the first doctor on the scene of the legendary Borden murders.
An excerpt of The Haunting of Dr. Bowen, A Mystery in
Lizzie Borden’s Fall River
Prologue
“Never did I say to anyone that she had
died of fright. My first thought, when I was standing in the door, was that she
had fainted.”
—Testimony
of Dr. Seabury W. Bowen, Trial of Lizzie Borden, June 8, 1893
“Why won’t anyone believe me? Why, Phoebe,
why?”
Dr.
Seabury Bowen shoved back the shock of white hair hanging over his
forehead and wiped a wrinkled hand across his stubbled chin.
His appearance, like his surroundings,
could stand a bit of major housekeeping, not that he cared a whit.
“Here, it’s here somewhere,” he mumbled.
The old man rummaged among the giant pile
of documents, books, and whatnot littering the large walnut desk in his study.
Several minutes later, and after the search through dozens of loose papers, he
saw the faded red book lying beneath a tottering pile. He pulled at it, sending
the rest of the stack falling like so much unwanted garbage.
The good doctor, but a shadow of his once- robust self, flipped the
pages. He stared at the offending journal entry before setting the book aside
with a heartrending sob.
Chapter One
“I
saw the form of Mr. Borden lying on the lounge at the left of the sitting-room
door. His face was very badly cut, apparently with a sharp instrument; his face
was covered with blood.”
—Testimony
of Dr. Seabury W. Bowen, Trial of Lizzie Borden, June 8, 1893
The man reached toward him with long, lean fingers. Dr. Seabury Bowen
blinked and tried to make out the features of the unknown figure standing in
the corner. The unexpected visitor had a broad, dark face and what looked like
a band across his forehead. Bowen stretched out his arm in turn and jumped when
their fingers touched, the jolt surging through him like the electricity he
knew would soon replace all the gas lights.
“Seabury, dear, are you all right?” His wife, Phoebe, sounded concerned.
“What’s wrong?”
Bowen breathed hard. He bolted upright and held a hand on his chest,
trying to catch his breath. Still stunned, he gazed about the room, disturbed
at the odd shapes until he recognized familiar things… the bureau, the armoire,
the paintings on his bedroom walls. He swallowed and nodded.
“Ye-yes. I-I’m fine. A bad dream, that’s all it was. Just a dream.”
“A bad dream? Dear, you’re breathing so hard, your heart must be
pounding like a drum in Mr. Sousa’s band! Are you sure you’re fine?”
The doctor took his wife’s hand and kissed it, relieved to feel his
heartbeat return to normal. He had to admit his reaction worried him for a
minute, too. “I’m fine now, Phoebe. Really, it’s all right. Go back to sleep.
I’m too wrought up to rest. I think I’ll go downstairs and read awhile.”
He gave her a loving smile before he rose and slipped on his robe, his
thoughts in a whirl. To tell the truth, these dreams or hallucinations or
whatever they were appeared to be getting stronger and more frequent. Not that
he’d tell her, of course. It made Bowen wonder if he was losing touch with his
faculties, something he’d never dare mention. Nor did he want to even entertain
the thought, but he did. Am I going mad?
Am I?
Here's Christine's first book:
Enjoy the macabre reading!! And thanks for visiting today, Christine! :)
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