Author Chris Eboch with a Haunted book.
Children’s book author Chris Eboch is getting spooked.
Her new series, Haunted, is about a brother and sister who travel with their parents’ ghost hunter TV show. In each book, the TV show researches a new ghost at a new location. The kids try to help the ghosts, while keeping their activities secret from meddling grownups.
“I try to blend spooky action, humor, complex character development, and the occasional exploration of tough issues,” the author says. “Most of all, I want these to be fun and exciting, especially for boys who may be reluctant readers.”
The series, for ages 8-12, went on sale August 4 with two books, The Ghost on the Stairs and The Phantom Pilot. The Knight in the Shadows will follow in October. The Ghost on the Stairs is set at a Colorado hotel haunted by a ghost bride from the 1880s who is waiting for her missing husband to return. The Phantom Pilot features a steamboat pilot still trying to prevent a long-ago disaster. The Knight in the Shadows has a Renaissance French squire trying to protect a sword on display in the Metropolitan Museum in New York City.
Ms. Eboch moved to New Mexico in 2002 from the Seattle, Washington, area. She teaches writing workshops for children and adults in New Mexico and elsewhere.
“I started writing a novel as something fun to do while looking for editorial work,” Eboch said. “I was astonished when it actually sold.” That first novel, The Well of Sacrifice, is a historical drama set in ninth-century Mayan Guatemala. The book, for ages nine and up, is used in schools to teach students about the Maya. Kirkus Reviews called the book, “[An] engrossing first novel…. The novel shines not only for a faithful recreation of an unfamiliar, ancient world, but also for the introduction of a brave, likable and determined heroine.”
Ms. Eboch has also written two inspirational biographies in the Childhood of Famous Americans series. Jesse Owens: Young Record Breaker and Milton Hershey: Young Chocolatier were written under the name M.M. Eboch. She has five nonfiction books in print as well.
Ms. Eboch is now at work on Haunted book 4, The Ghost Miner’s Treasure, which was inspired by the story of The Lost Dutchman's Mine. Book 5 is tentatively titled Remember the Alamo Ghosts. “I hope readers will enjoy them as much as I do,” Ms. Eboch says, “and the series will have a long life.”
For more about Chris Eboch, visit http://www.chriseboch.com
