Whittington Inn and the Ghosts That Dwell Therein...

In the South Staffordshire District of Staffordshire, England, is a very lovely village known as Kinver. Within this village one can find The Whittington Inn. According to some, this old manor house was built in 1310 by Sir William De Whittington, knight at arms. Believe it or not, according to the genealogy charts, Sir William is a many times great grandfather of my husband. More than likely, okay very likely, this is why I chose to share the ghostly goings on at Whittington Inn... Well, that and the fact that my novel, Bound by Oath and Honour, now in Audio, begins in Staffordshire.

Whittington Inn, Photograph by Peter Broster

Anyway, as you might expect, the inn boasts a rich history. I'll give you just a few examples.

What Lurks Inside the Forest of Cannock Chase...

So, you might ask, "Where on earth have you been, Debbie? I mean you haven't posted a thing for well over a month now...and really...how boring is that?"

Well, the answer to that question is---I've been busy catching up with life, and working on my latest work in progress. What could be better than all that? However, I do want to take a minute and tell you all that we now have an audio version of my sweet fantasy Romance, Bound by Oath and Honour, narrated by the fabulous Andrew McDermott! Do you love that "warms you all the way to the bone, spine tingling in a most fabulous way Irish accent? Then this audio book is definitely for you!

Cover created by Debbie Taylor! What do you think?

Yep!

Anyway, since malevolent shifters are the antagonists in this book, I thought I'd share some of the crazy goings on in England--all purported to be true--that inspired the villains in my book.

In central England there is a lovely, but spooky forest known as Cannock Chase. There are those who will tell you encounters with enormous felines, ghostly canines, werewovles, and even creatures akin to Bigfoot have become a common thing for those who venture inside the woodland. We even have a newspaper report as recorded in the Stafford Post, April 26 in the year 2007 relating to this that states:

The Fork in the Road...

At the age of twenty-seven, George Bond, first-born son of Hugh and Elizabeth Linaker Bond, said goodbye to his home and family in North Meols, Lancashire, England. From this beautiful place, countless generations of Bonds had lived out their lives. They worked the sea as well as the farms...and had been content. But something different stirred in George. He saw a great big world out there and he wanted to explore it. And so one day he traveled to Liverpool. He booked passage on the SS Lucania and during the summer of 1898, arrived at Ellis Island in New York.

From there, he intended to work his way across the United States, save up some money, and then by way of San Francisco, book passage on a ship sailing to Australia. 

Frisco Utah, Ghost Town