Travel Channel: The Dead Files

What does a Travel Channel series about ghosts have to do with writers--specifically this writer? It all began over a year ago when I got an e-mail from a gal at the Travel Channel, wanting to know if I'd be interested in being on a show called The Dead Files. It's a reality series about an ex-NY detective and a medium who investigate claims of haunted buildings. While she (the medium) walks the house and gets her impressions of the ghosts who linger there, he (the detective) does the research to find out who these people are and what their tie is to the house. This particular show was going to be investigating a supposedly haunted restaurant in the Sedona area, not far from where I live. 

I've seen shows like this before, where experts often weigh in on unique phenomena or occurrences. While I hardly consider myself an expert on anything, I have noticed that many of these people are authors. When I expressed some trepidation about being an "expert" on anything in Sedona, I was told that they particularly like having authors on because authors "know how to tell a story."

Well, count me in.

We filmed the show just about a year ago. It took the better part of a morning and was a lot of fun. The crew were very organized, very professional, and knew how to get things done. I worked with Steve DiSchiavi, the investigator. While Amy did her mediumistic walk through the restaurant, Steve and I talked about the prior inhabitants of the area, primarily Native Americans and cavalry and their inevitable conflicts. Having just researched a time travel book about this very time and place, I was pretty familiar with the events. 

We were originally told the episode would air last fall, but for whatever reason, schedules got juggled and now the show will air this Saturday night, March 18. There is an encore showing on March 19, all on the Travel Channel. I hope you'll tune in and see what we discovered about the haunted restaurant in Sedona.

And by the way, if any of this sounds familiar to my regular readers, it's because I "borrowed" the concept of the ex-cop working with a medium to solve mysteries for my Lacey Fitzpatrick and Sam Firecloud series. The first book, Ghost Walk, was released a couple of months ago. Book 2, Skin Walk, will be out soon, and Book 3, Star Walk is about half done. I'm very thankful to the Travel Channel and the people of The Dead Files for inspiring my latest creations.

Lacey Fitzpatrick is an ex-LAPD detective with an axe to grind. Tainted by the betrayal of her drug-dealing cop boyfriend, she’s on a quest to prove to herself—and the world—that she’s still a competent crime-fighter. In order to do that, she teams up with Sam Firecloud, a half-Navajo man who communicates with ghosts. With his talent and her research, they tackle troubling unsolved crimes, but their latest case is the toughest. They have to solve a murder—where no record of a murder even exists. Can Sam glean enough information from the victim’s ghost to unravel the mystery, and can Lacey convince the authorities that the murder actually happened?