The Ghosts of Fort Ord

After she becomes pregnant with twins, Olivia is haunted by nightmares of dead soldiers. Her husband Michael passes them off as the result of indigestion. He doesn't believe in ghosts. When Olivia holds Griffin, her newborn baby boy, a feeling of dread comes over her. When she holds his fraternal twin Teddy, she feels nothing but joy. As the boys grow up their dissimilarity in looks and behavior becomes increasingly apparent. Griffin keeps to himself, playing alone with Mr. Budge, the ventriloquist dummy his grandmother gave him for Christmas. He grows fat and jealous of his twin brother, who's athletic and popular with schoolmates. After Teddy dies from a mysterious fall while hiking with Griffin, Olivia and Michael move to a town next to an abandoned military base. Griffin has left home to live with a relative. As Olivia explores the ruins of old Fort Ord, her recurring nightmare is about to become reality.

About the Author

Karen Truesdell Riehl is an award winning actress, novelist and playwright. She acted and directed in professional and community theatre for 30 years. Her writing achievements are remarkable, given her lifelong battle with dyslexia. She couldn't read until the age of ten. Karen's memoir, Love and Madness: My Private Years with George C. Scott, tells of her 30-year liaison with the international film star, which resulted in the birth of their out-of-wedlock love child. Karen's honesty and willingness to reveal her clandestine affair makes for a compelling page turner, as well as insight into the plight of unwed mothers in the 1950s. Watch for her play, Bad Girl, based on that experience, scheduled for publication in the Spring of 2014. Her novel, Freedom's Sins, tells the story of scandal in a fictional Indiana town, the Peyton Place of the Midwest. After studying her family history and learning of the hardships and joys of the early 1900's, she wrote Saturday Night Dance Club. Here's what Trudi LoPreto, of Readers' Favorite, said about the book: "Saturday Night Dance Club is about real people with a perfect touch of fiction, pulling it all together into one great story. This is a must-read for the history buff, the romantic, and the family saga fan. Male and female readers alike will find something appealing to them, touching them in a special way. Don't miss this one!" Living for several years in Terre Haute, Indiana and North Conway New Hampshire, near the home of Peyton Place author, Grace Metalious, inspired the writing of Freedom's Sins. Getting lost for several hours near the abandoned military base in Monterey, California scared her into writing The Ghosts of Fort Ord. More recently, she and her husband's many overnight weekend getaways on the famous Queen Mary has her busily writing The Ghosts of the Queen Mary. She looks forward to publishing it in the summer of 2014.

Reviews

News