In this week’s instalment of “Author(ized) Accounts of the Paranormal and Unexplained,” Roma Cordon, author of Bewitching a Highlander, will tell us the story of a bedside visitor she had while visiting a historic inn in Pennsylvania…
About fifteen years ago, I stayed with my husband at the Logan Inn in Bucks County, New Hope, PA. We decided to stay there because the Logan Inn (before its most recent renovation) was a quaint pre-American Revolutionary War building. And the ambiance was quite charming, during the daylight.
On the first night of our stay, while I was asleep, sometime after midnight, someone started to shake me, and a woman’s voice said “Wake up! Wake up. Why are you here?”
Half asleep, I sat up in bed, opened my eyes, and glanced around. I saw nothing but pitch blackness. But I could swear there was someone standing next to me, by the bed. You know, like when the hairs at the back of your neck stand up, and there’s something heavy in the air, right next to you.
Palms sweating and heart pounding, I shook my husband awake, and told him there was someone else in the room with us.
He got out of bed, turned on the lights, and searched everywhere, under the bed, the bathroom, closets. But, it was just us two.
For the rest of the night, I couldn’t bring myself to fall back asleep.
At breakfast the next morning we found out from other guests that the Logan Inn and Tavern was built in 1727 by New Hope’s founding father John Wells. John Wells ran a ferry across the river, to and from New Jersey. The original name of the Inn was the Ferry Tavern. The Ferry Tavern provided George Washington and his troops a place to camp, eat, drink, and they kept their wounded there.
And guess what, we found out the place is haunted by several spirits. One of the servers said an old infamous spirit still shows up for his meal and a beer. And they also said that past owners, who have long since passed, still try to make themselves useful around the place.
Had a real ghost visited me? Perhaps thinking I was intruding in her room? Or had I awoken from a bad dream? We can never know for sure. But I will say this, there’s a 50% chance that we spent that night with a real ghost in our room!
Author Interview
The Night Librarian: What a spooky encounter! I don’t blame you for not being able to fall asleep after that… I love when people find out after an encounter that a place is rumoured to be haunted. Tell us, how do you do research for your writing?
Roma: Research is fun for me. For Bewitching A Highlander, I travelled to Scotland and visited places like the Isle of Skye, Dunvegan Castle, Eilean Donan Castle, the Isle of Harris/Lewis, etc. I spoke to tour guides and shop owners. I consulted with spell craft references (visit romacordon.com for a partial list). For period costumes, Milla Davenport’s The Book Of Costumes was helpful and for architecture Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill’s Classic Georgian Style’s book was a wonderful source. Plus, it goes without saying, where would we writers be without Wikipedia, Google, and Pinterest.
The Night Librarian: Bewitching a Highlander has such an intriguing title! What five words would you use to convince people to read it?
Roma: Forbidden Love, Dark Secrets, Magic.
The Night Librarian: Ooh, I’m already bewitched! Where can we find out more about you and your writing?
Roma: I just completed the manuscript for Scottish Highland Warriors Book II. What happens when an unstoppable British Army Colonel named Slade MacLean, dead set on revenge and retribution, meets an unbendable Jacobite Rebel spy by the name of Phoebe Dunbar? Stay tuned to find out!
See News & Events on romacordon.com for more on my writing, or if you are into podcasts, check out CamCat Unwrapped for my interview. I am also active on Instagram and Twitter. Or if you are looking for more novels in the historical romance fantasy genre, check out BookBub and GoodReads for my weekly book reviews. I’m also on Facebook, but not as much as the other social media platforms.
Roma Cordon works in the finance industry and lives in New York City. During the evenings and weekends, she is a passionate author. She is a member of Women’s Fiction Writers Association, an active member of the RWA-NYC Chapter and a PAN (Published Authors Network) member of RWA national. Roma earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in New York. During a trip to Scotland with her husband the idea for the Scottish Highland Warriors series was born.
Follow Roma: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter/X | Goodreads | BookBub
Breena, a healer with a touch of witchery in her blood, embarks on a dangerous search for her missing father. She arrives on Coll, seat of the treacherous Campbells and meets the future chief to the Dunbar Clan, Egan, when he rescues her from an ornery sentry. Egan Dunbar may cut a dashing figure, but can she trust him?
Egan is on Coll to keep the peace between the feuding Campbells and Dunbars. He catches Breena in a lie but still helps her, to pay back an old debt. But he fully intends on finding out why the alluring Breena is lying.
As their attraction ignites like a firestorm, Breena and Egan realize a future together could trigger deadly consequences―a clan war.
Is Egan willing to betray his clan for love, even though he knows Breena is keeping secrets?
Can Breena trust Egan with her family’s secrets and put those she loves at risk?
Bewitching A Highlander is available in EBook, Audio, Hard Cover, Paper Back, Large Print, and is sold wherever books are sold.
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