An Interview with Author Jane Greenhill
This month Jane Greenhill joins us to discuss her newest release, The Leprechaun’s Curse (The Wild Rose Press, August 5, 2024).
Born with a passion to read and write and heavily influenced by Nancy Drew mysteries, Jane Greenhill recalls her first writing experience on an old Underwood typewriter, plunking away at the keys while she wrote about hiding clues in oak trees. Fast forward through marriage and motherhood and Jane's now advanced to a laptop and her characters speak to her from other planets.
Welcome to the blog, Jane! We're glad you've come to visit.
Your website mentions you worked for a police service. Does what you learned through this work influence your writing? If so, in what way?
I joined the police service when I was eighteen as a civilian. I had been accepted at three Universities in Toronto for Journalism. I decided to "work for a year" because why would you want to study when you could look at hot guys in uniform. I met and married my hot guy (forty years ago now), and my first two books were police based. It’s so handy having a retired Forensics officer in the house.
For fun: Please describe your writing space for us.
I have two, one extreme to the other. I have the kitchen table at my cottage with a lake view and one at home with all the blinds down as my dog Teeka sits on the back of the sofa and watches for any movement in the backyard.
Where is your favorite place to visit?
Probably Newgrange in Ireland. Elmville from The Leprechaun's Curse got into major mischief there and my husband and I went to visit it. It was built five hundred years before the pyramids, by hunters and gatherers, yet they lined it up with the summer solstice for seventeen minutes.
Please tell us a little about your novel The Leprechaun’s Curse and the story world you've created for it.
Elmville has lost his coin which balances his yin and yang. As a result, throughout the centuries he’s been an evil little Leprechaun. I created a world where Leprechaun’s live as well as one which interacts with humans. In Ireland in castles you often hear noises, perhaps it’s the Leprechaun’s venturing from room to room through a maze in the walls.
Can you tell us more about how you came up with this idea and what readers can expect?
My father’s family was from Ireland, and I always had it on my bucket list to visit there, which we did. My book is like a cozy fantasy with a dollop of love stories between the characters.
What did your research process look like for this story? Did you do a majority of it prior to beginning the writing process or did you research as you as went along?
I did research as I went along. I’m more of a pantser so I let my characters take free rein. Ireland is such a mystical country and venturing through the centuries was fun.
Did you find anything surprising during your research that influenced the story’s plot?
Newgrange is so old, and they’ve only developed a portion of it. I was able to incorporate the past with Elmville as well as the present with Elmville to connect with characters from today. It created a wonderful bridge. Also Dun Laoghaire has an amazing history and lighthouse, which Elmville used to his advantage and caused chaos.
Inspire us: Do you believe in the concept of a Muse? What is yours like and how did you “meet” them?
I have two. My first muse is Teresa Reasor, a fellow author. We first met through an online writing group so many years ago. She inspires me and lets me bounce ideas off her as does she with me. She writes SEAL books and while our writing styles are completely different, our friendship has endured many years. We give each other the kick in the butt when we need it. We finally met in person years ago at a Cracker Barrel in her hometown and she’s amazing!!
My second is my husband Geoff. He is great for working through plot lines and playing the devil’s advocate to work out the issues before I sit down to write. He’s always cheering me on and is awesome. Plus he does all the cooking.
What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your work?
Never mess with a leprechaun.
Can you give us a sneak peek into what you’re working on next, and what readers can expect from your future books?
I just finished one based in Newfoundland entitled The Rings of Loviatar. This one involves model trains, an archeologist and Bell Island, NFLD. Not to mention the Deity of Doom and Disease.
About The Leprechaun’s Curse
Elmville, a mischievous leprechaun, is desperate to retrieve his long-lost gold coin. Without it, the delicate balance between good and evil within him becomes skewed. But the elusive coin has fallen into the hands of the Tobin family, and Elmville will stop at nothing to get it back. Through the centuries, he’s relentlessly haunted the Tobin's descendants, leaving a wake of destruction and death in his path.
Meanwhile, Kitty and her mother, Annie, arrive in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, modern-day tourists with their own emotional baggage. Neither has a clue about the curse, nor do they believe in leprechauns.
After centuries of searching, Elmville’s desperation has reached a fever pitch as he grows even closer to his ultimate goal. Dun Laoghaire is filled with Tobins.
Will Kitty and Annie and their newfound Tobin friends survive Elmville’s wrath, or will his nefarious ways threaten to claim yet another victim?
Excerpt
KITTY
LAS VEGAS, U.S.A.
3 MONTHS AGO
I shifted gears in mom’s 2014 Honda Civic, my head bobbing as I sang along to the radio cranked to Luke Bryan’s “Knockin’Boots.” Nevada’s State Road Route 375 was the most destitute highway I had ever traveled. No traffic lights, no streetlights, no nothing. The only company was Luke and the scrub brushes lining the highway, and the occasional cacti breaking up the monotony.
Clouds played peek-a-boo with a full moon. Headlights from a transport truck appeared like two beacons, reminding me I wasn’t alone on the road. The enormous vehicle sped past, shaking the car as I fought for control. I lowered the window, the sound of a coyote howling in the distance, surprisingly in tune with Luke.
Static replaced Luke’s voice as clouds covered the moon. The only light remaining was from the high beams. Stabbing at the radio buttons, the static rose into a high-pitched screech, and I instinctively covered my ears with my hands.
My phone buzzed as Mom’s name flashed. I glanced up to see my headlights illuminating a short green man standing in the middle of the road. Warts covered his prominently hooked nose, his face creased with inch-deep wrinkles. A green bowler hat with a silver buckle on the front was resting on ears larger than pancakes. A happenstance grin revealed razor-sharp teeth and clapping revealed fingernails talon-sharp. He barely came to the bumper of my car, his short legs dressed in tartan shorts, and his feet jammed into slippers with the toes curled. Little silver bells were attached to the top. I slammed on the brakes, yet the speed didn’t lessen. Slapping my sweaty hands back onto the steering wheel, I attempted to regain control of the car. The wheel spun like a Ferris wheel, as I endeavored to avoid the creature.
The car roared off the asphalt, crushing the scrub brush, the undercarriage of the car scraping against rock from the Pahranagat Range as the vehicle picked up speed, careening across the open landscape, plowing into the base of a billboard advertising a local brothel, the driver’s side crimping like an accordion.
To learn more about The Leprechaun's Curse visit The Wild Rose Press.
Thank you for visiting with us, Jane, and reminding us to never mess with a leprechaun!
Until next time,
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About the Author
Minnesota-based author, Joie Lesin is a life-long fiction writer and the author of The Passenger. She has long been fascinated by anything otherworldly including ghosts. She loves to write a good ghost story—especially when it includes a touch of romance.