Inside A Grey Resort: Intuition and the Unexplained with Wendy M. Kok

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Any authors pilot? Where stories collide? When the authors waiting, let curiosity guide. All genres invited. From horror history. Unravel the tales at our podcast heartbeat.

SPEAKER_03 0:24

Welcome to the Author Spotlight series. This is where we step behind the pages to meet the people who create the stories we love. We'll talk about their latest book, their writing journey, and the story behind the story. And probably a few things neither of us plan to talk about, because around here the best conversations have a way of taking us somewhere unexpected. And today I'm putting Wendy M. Coke in the spotlight. Wendy, welcome to Travel Time Stories. We're so glad you're here. Well, thank you so much. It's so glad to be here. Very nice to be here. I'm excited. We are too. And before we dive into the book, I'd love for you to introduce yourself and tell our audience a little bit about you.

SPEAKER_02 1:05

For sure. Thank you so much for having me on the show. I've always enjoyed reading and writing. And even since I was a little girl, I wrote a lot of little stories and poems and things. So yeah, I'm a part-time writer, author. I also am a massage therapist. And I also host a Juicy Pear podcast. And I love having creatives on the show. And I enjoy everything about the paranormal. And uh please forgive me today. I'm a little under the weather, but I'm excited to be here for sure.

SPEAKER_03 1:38

Well, thank you so much. I'm glad that you're here too, and we'll both get through this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No worries. And today we're gonna go behind the pages of a gray resort. The gray resort is a young woman who goes fishing in the Wisconsin North Woods. She encounters this mysterious stranger, and suddenly we're dealing with romance, dark secrets, and something supernatural lurking beneath the surface. Now, Wendy, I've gone fishing before, but apparently I've been doing it all wrong. So, where did the story begin?

SPEAKER_02 2:12

Well, I have to tell you, my parents, I was raised on a summer lake resort in northern Wisconsin. Uh, the town is called Tomahawk. I changed the name of the town in my books, um, but it's four hours north of Milwaukee, northern central Wisconsin, beautiful place. It had eight cabins, uh, it was on the lake. We also had a pool. I didn't realize then how good I had it. Right. It was an amazing place to grow up. However, there was paranormal activity that happened in the woods across the street, also in that whole area. Was very quite eerie. And uh, on top of that, I had a little bit of a sixth sense when I was growing up. And I didn't know what to do with that. So I thought all of that would make a great premise for the book, a great resort.

SPEAKER_03 3:01

Yeah, and it definitely did. And I wondered about that when I was reading the book. I was like, hmm, I wonder if Brooke's abilities and stuff are based loosely on something that you yourself have or experienced. Yeah, you said it.

SPEAKER_02 3:17

You said it right there, yes. Um, so it's kind of based on my character, yeah. There's elements in the book that of course I made up, and you'll know. But there are some uh true things in the book, for instance, with the grandparents, that's a true story, um, right in the beginning. And uh yeah, I thought that would make an interesting read. You know, I had a book in me. I it took a long, quite a long time to write. Um at the time I was in the throes of parenting, and I have two sets of twins. They're older now, but oh my god, it was during that time. And I needed sort of an outlet. So, and it took yeah, eight years to write, but uh I really, really thought I captured something special, and I was insistent on getting it out into the public. Um, that part was difficult. I didn't know anybody in the publishing industry, I didn't know anybody, any other authors. I had one author friend and she was helpful. She read the book, and the first thing she said is, Oh my god, this has to be a series. Because when I wrote it, I didn't write it thinking it was gonna, you know, the story was going to continue. And she said, Oh, it absolutely has to. You you have to do this. You can't leave us hanging.

SPEAKER_03 4:30

Right, exactly. Yeah. It is a good cliffhanger though. I get upset when the cliffhangers are not done well, and yours was really done really well. Well, thank you.

SPEAKER_02 4:42

Yeah, I kind of left the door open. Yeah, I just didn't when I wrote it, I didn't, I thought, oh boy, I just thought it would be quite challenging to my, you know, to try and make it into a series. And uh I did. It ended up being three books. You know, when I was writing some of the things in the story, I was kind of like shaking because I was like, oh man, this is good. I this is good. Should I include it? And I kind of didn't want to include the part about uh with the grandparents, but I thought, you know what, this is gonna make it really I just I decided to do that.

SPEAKER_03 5:14

Yeah, I I'm glad you included that part because I really love that part. And I can I can totally relate to that part as well. I've had experiences like that all of my life. Wow. And okay. In fact, one of the experiences that I had involved my uh grandmother after she passed and her coming to visit me and us having this whole big conversation. Oh my.

SPEAKER_02 5:36

Yeah, so we can have you on my show and talk about that. So when I read that part, I was like, oh, I love this. Yeah. God, good, good, good. Yeah, that that was the goal. And also there was some very eccentric people. I'll tell you one of my well, I'll hold back because I do have a favorite character in the book because it's based on a real person.

SPEAKER_03 5:57

I love that. So the the setting is the Wisconsin North Woods, and like you said, it's because your family had a resort there, and so you grew up in the area. But there's also something interesting about places like this because they can be incredibly like peaceful during the day and then potentially very dark you know at night. And did you intentionally play with that contrast? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 6:24

I feel like in my book, the North Woods is actually a character in itself. Yeah, I really made it very atmospheric. That's kind of how I tend to write. I like to try to, you know, place the reader right in the center story so they kind of see and you know feel what's going on. And uh, you know, I like to write about things that are unseen, things that are felt, and people just don't talk about. And I just felt, you know, there was just such a wealth of information regarding that whole area. I mean it is there's a story up there, um, whether there's Indian burial ground or whatnot, but it's very eerie. That whole area is very eerie.

SPEAKER_03 7:05

Yeah. Wow. I love stuff like that. So I may have to go check it out sometime.

SPEAKER_02 7:11

It is so neat. I take my daughters there. Um, I've taken my daughters uh to the resort, and it's just it's really great. They love it there, and it's it's very beautiful. The trees are just huge. They, you know, they I mean, I don't know. There isn't a place like it. I don't know. There's just something very special about it.

SPEAKER_03 7:30

Yeah, it sounds like it. So tell us about Brooke. Who is she when we first meet her before everything gets strange?

SPEAKER_02 7:39

So Brooke is a young woman, she lives on this resort. Um, she's trying to find herself, really. She loves to fish and she kind of keeps to herself. And, you know, it starts out, it's in northern Wisconsin. She goes fishing and she encounters this stranger, and because of that, um, her reality is not what she thinks it is. It's it's completely, you know, turned on its head, and it just kind of starts from there. She goes fishing and then she encounters something very strange. And uh yeah, I just took the story from there.

SPEAKER_03 8:11

I love that. And can you tell us anything about the mysterious stranger without giving anything away?

SPEAKER_02 8:17

So he he was not supposed to be in that area. I'm gonna try not to give too much away. He wasn't supposed to be in that area, however, there was something about the young woman that really intrigued him, intrigued him. So he got a little bit closer. She was on her dock, and uh, there's something about him that's very unusual, and it caught her attention. And because of that, um, they kind of collide. And uh yeah, he was he was sort of intrigued by her.

SPEAKER_03 8:46

And did you know from the beginning where their relationship would head, or did that just come as you were writing?

SPEAKER_02 8:53

No, it usually most of the time I write, I just I don't plot anything out, I just kind of let the creative juices flow. I just let it, you know, you know, where it leads me. Um and then I kind of hone in. The the the challenging part for me is honing it all in and making sure it makes sense and organizing it in a cohesive way. And um, but I my ultimate goal is for the reader to want to turn the page, not like, oh, I gotta finish this book. No, that they actually are excited about it, wants to turn the page, wants to know what's going on, and wants to read something a little bit different. You know, I wanted my story to be different.

SPEAKER_03 9:36

Yeah. Not cookie cutter. Yeah. Well, you definitely made that happen with me because this reader stayed up till 3 a.m. to finish the whole book because I couldn't stop. It was so good. Oh my gosh. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_02 9:49

That is such a compliment. That is such a compliment. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 9:54

So, did you enjoy making us wonder whether we should trust this mysterious stranger or not? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 10:01

I, you know, we were talking off recording, you know. I I have a lot of big hopes and dreams for this whole series. And I the opening scene, I could just I can kind of see in my mind's eye how it's gonna happen when she's fishing. And I wanted him to be, of course, dark and mysterious. And uh, but there's elements there that uh intrigues him, uh, he intrigues her. Yeah, and I just kind of wanted it to develop organically as you kind of read through the chapters.

SPEAKER_03 10:29

Yeah, and you did that really well too, because it does. It's not like all of a sudden, boom, you know, here's what's happening. You it has that element of mystery and wondering, okay, is he good? Is he bad? You know, is anything gonna happen with them? Will she ever see him again? You know, it has everything.

SPEAKER_02 10:49

And I and I like that a character, I like to have different sides to a character too. I think it makes them very interesting as opposed to just being all completely bad or good. There's a little bit of both kind of simmering there with him. And um, I kind of like that too.

SPEAKER_03 11:05

Yeah, I mean, that makes a character more realistic because uh we all have good and bad in us. It just depends on, you know, which way we lean, choices that we make, that kind of thing. So true. So true.

SPEAKER_02 11:18

It makes the story interesting too, because you know, you you want to maybe have the reader be able to relate in some way to the characters.

SPEAKER_03 11:27

Yeah, exactly. So your hook promises us romance, dark secrets, and something supernatural. Of those three ingredients, which one was the seed that started the story?

SPEAKER_02 11:39

I think, you know, there's a part in there where somebody sees a UFO. See, there's a lot of different things going on. That really happened. My mom saw one in that area. A bunch of people did, and uh, it was in the later 60s, and uh, she was so scared that she called the police. And uh they they had gotten a lot of different calls and they didn't know what it was, and yeah. So I think that on top of the sixth sense sort of thing, I thought that would make a good uh, you know, a good idea for the book, and I wanted to write it down, and I think it was kind of helpful for me to write these things down, and it was a little therapeutic in a way, because I was trying to figure out where that information was coming from regarding like a sixth sense, you know. I didn't know. And at that time they just didn't talk about that sort of thing at all, you know. Yeah, you didn't really. Yeah, it wasn't discussed at all. So yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:37

So how do you balance the romance with the suspense without one swallowing the other? I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 12:45

I just it's funny. Um when I want to write, I have no problem really with the creative juices flowing. I I don't try to balance anything, uh, I just write it and then I then when I go through it, like I went through it hundreds of times and thought, oh, that's I don't want that in there, that's too much. I try to get rid of all the unnecessary things, you know, just with the goal in mind to have that reader want to turn the page, but do it in a natural way, you know? Yeah. Um, I don't know. I liked to kind of blend both together, and I think I've done that. Um Northwoods Thriller, Paranormal Romance.

unknown 13:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:24

Yeah. So what would you say is scarier to you? The supernatural thing you can't explain, or discovering that someone you trusted isn't who you thought they were?

SPEAKER_02 13:35

I think the latter, because if you if you've uh known someone for a while and you you've pegged them and you you you know you know who the kind of person they are, and then they turn out to be something completely different, that that's pretty scary. That's uh the unexpected, you know, uh being caught by surprise, no one really likes that. And uh yeah, I would say the second one.

SPEAKER_03 13:57

Yeah. And so you kind of mentioned it earlier, but out of all the characters in the book, who's your favorite and why?

SPEAKER_02 14:07

I love the Cassie character, she is fantastic and she's based on a real person. She's passed on, she's been passed on for quite a while, so but I've changed names and things. But I absolutely love her persona. She is just really extremely vibrant, and I hope I caught that on the pages of my book. You know, she had the white blonde uh beehive hair, ruby red lipstick. She was very loud, she laughed loud, she told dirty jokes, she was extremely inappropriate, but yet in her own sophisticated way, you know, she we were in the North Woods, and she was just a dichotomy. She she was so different. Um I'd never seen her in a pair of jeans. She was always in dressed in a nice pantsuit. And her, you know, when my parents, so my parents would have these parties too, these picnic parties. And I remember her walking, and her cabin was not, it was right next door to the resort. And her and her husband would come walking, and I'll never forget, she would just she'd be all dressed in the nines, and she'd have a drink in one hand and her little Yorkie terrier in the other, and she would just like and say, Hi doll, how you doing, doll? And she was the life of the party. She yeah, she was great.

SPEAKER_03 15:25

She's definitely my favorite character in the book. I definitely got that from her character. The whole time I was reading, I was like, Oh, she's the pistol of the story. That's what that's what I kept calling her.

SPEAKER_02 15:36

Wait till you read about her in the other two books. Oh boy.

SPEAKER_03 15:40

I can't wait. I'm looking forward to that.

SPEAKER_02 15:43

Yeah. An awakening is quite different. There's a lot of different characters, and it kind of um, yeah, I'd be interested to see uh your take on it. It's quite different.

SPEAKER_03 15:54

All right. Yeah, I'm excited to get to read books two and three. It's gonna be a minute before I can get to them, unfortunately, since I'm doing all these interviews with all these people.

SPEAKER_02 16:03

I can't imagine the pressure. I don't know if I'd be able to handle the pressure, like, oh my God, I gotta read so many books. It's a good thing, it's a good pressure, but I I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 16:13

It is a good pressure, and I'm enjoying it because I mean, I've had all these, we've had all these different genres so far, so it's really great. Uh, but also I think uh when I had the ideal and just threw it out there before really thinking through anything, I didn't realize how many people would want to be involved. I love that though. It's so good, Shannon. It's a good problem to have. I know. My co-host though was like, we gotta read how many.

SPEAKER_02 16:43

Oh my gosh. Yeah, the stress though. I'm so glad you read mine though. I'm so glad. And I love reviews. Absolutely love reviews. If you like them, yeah, if you like the books.

SPEAKER_03 16:55

Yeah, I'm definitely gonna be putting my review up after we get done with this recording today. And and it's definitely a good review, definitely five stars. So listeners, listeners, you definitely need to get this book because it is great.

SPEAKER_02 17:08

I want to thank you for supporting indie authors too. I I really do. It is a lot of work, and uh thank you so much. It's it's wonderful.

SPEAKER_03 17:17

It is, and one of the reasons, well, two reasons why I had the ideal of doing this, and I wanted to figure out a way to help support indie authors because uh prior to starting the series on our regular podcast, Travel Time Stories, we've interviewed several indie authors, not just about their books, but about, you know, other stories in their life as well. And one of the things they talk about is the struggle of being an indie author, getting your name out there and getting support.

SPEAKER_02 17:46

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_03 17:46

It's like a whole other job.

SPEAKER_02 17:48

You know, you think you're done with the book and you get it out there, it's your baby, but then then the work is not done. You know, it's constant. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:58

It's it's yeah, and it's also not it's not an easy path to take. I mean, most people think, oh, well, they're an indie author, you know, it that was easy for them. No.

SPEAKER_02 18:10

I I remember right before I was gonna print off my book, I lost half the book on my laptop. I lost it and I thought I was gonna go insane. I mean, I think I can't think of a worse thing for a writer is to have all your hard work lost. Um, my printer broke, you know, it just there was a there was a bunch of different things that happened. I'm like, you know what? I am gonna keep this book, it is going to get published. I am going to jump over these hurdles uh because I really believed in it. You know, I really believed in it. Um, you can't really go in it for the money. That's not um, if that's your intention, it's not gonna work.

SPEAKER_03 18:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:49

I just kind of something in me, you know, I want the story out. I want it to be, you know, entertaining. I want people to be entertained when they're reading it. I want to take them away from the you know regular daily life, you know.

SPEAKER_03 19:04

Yeah, exactly. And also not just being an indie author, but if you go self-publish, that's a whole nother ball of wax there. And so much to learn and so many hoops to jump through to self-publish. Yes. So I'm learning that I'm learning that the hard way now because I have two books that are in the works, and I'm planning on self-publish, and I'm just learning all the ins and outs and things I'm gonna have to do. It's like, oh my God. There's so much to it.

SPEAKER_02 19:35

There's so much. The one plus is that you keep the rights. It's all it's your baby. So if it goes forward and comes into a movie or whatever, then that that's really beneficial.

SPEAKER_03 19:46

Yeah. And I think that's one of the main reasons why I want to go the self-published route and be an indie author. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:55

It's cool. It's hard work, but yeah, I think it's cool. It's worth it. It's definitely worth it. If I, you know, when I get a new review, it's like Christmas time. I absolutely love it. I I really do. You know, um if I've made somebody happy because of what I've written, or if they saw something of themselves in the book, or just if they've been entertained, then I that makes me really that's very satisfying.

SPEAKER_03 20:22

Yeah. How do you handle a negative review?

SPEAKER_02 20:26

Well, you know what? I my books aren't for everyone. And I don't want to and you know, when you're writing, and every writer will have this, like, oh, I could make this so you know, if you cater your particular book, your baby, to what everyone, everyone's comments about it, it's gonna be such a watered down, boring piece of material that it's just then it's not a it's not really a good story. So when you hone in and really go there, it's not gonna be for everybody. And I don't want it to be for everybody. You know, uh, I I could choose, do I want to make a book that's gonna make everybody happy or is more, you know, in line and not so out there or whatever. I don't know. I just think it'd be boring. So that's fine with me. Try not, I try not to take it personally. Of course, that's really hard to do, but you know.

SPEAKER_03 21:21

Yeah, it is, but you're right, it's your story, and you have to write your story your way. Yeah, and it's not a good thing.

SPEAKER_02 21:30

And you can't make everybody happy, you just can't when it comes to the public. Everyone has all their opinions and things, and uh yeah, but the people that like my book really like it, like really like the series. So that's cool. I like that. Yeah, yeah. And I'm just saying, you know, Stephanie Meyer and the Twilight series, I think they're ready for another series. That's I'm just putting it out there.

SPEAKER_03 21:54

It has nothing to do with vampires, but yeah, they definitely are, and as a former Try Hard. Uh, I say that yes, this series is definitely needs to be out there and we're ready for it, even though it doesn't have vampires. Right, right. Oh, I love it. I love that you're Twi Hard.

SPEAKER_02 22:11

Yeah, you really gotta come on my show. We gotta figure that one out. Yeah, we do. Yeah, for sure. A lot to talk about.

SPEAKER_03 22:17

Yeah. So we did touch on the supernatural and talked about that with the fiction. You said that you've had a sixth sense since you were young. So I'm assuming that you believe in ghosts. Yeah, for sure. I do. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:34

I've never seen them, but I've experienced them and I've felt it. It's more of an intuition thing. Intuition for me. Like when I've had these things where I would know when certain people were not gonna be on this earth anymore. And it was just it was very odd and and strange, and I didn't know where that kind of information was coming from. As a little girl, you just you don't, you know, and you know, I thought it was coming from a bad place. And then, you know, I've had people over the years say, hey, no, that's a gift, it's a gift from God, and you can decide what to do with it. Now, I don't think I'm special. I feel like everybody has that ability and intuition. They just have to use it, you know. Some people don't, some people find that scary. I kind of like to know what's going on. You know, I had to close the door on it when I was taking care of my kiddos and stuff, I just didn't really have the time and it was overwhelming. Like I would go to the grocery store and I would somebody would brush past me and I would I don't know, kind of know things, and I'm like, okay, this is a little much. So I kind of close the door on it. So yeah, um, it's just I guess it depends on what you want to do with the ability.

SPEAKER_03 23:48

Yeah, I believe the same thing that everybody has the gift, they have to learn how to hone in on it, I guess you would say, and and and how to use it, and if they even want to use it. And like you say, if you if you currently know how to use it and it gets too overwhelming, you can turn it off.

SPEAKER_02 24:09

Yeah, for sure. Yeah. That but that eleph but then again, that element of the unseen is just I find fascinating. You know, and I can get that from places, I've gotten it from automobiles. Oh, yeah. I've I have another story in the works, a short story I have to tell you off recording about something that happened that very intriguing and interesting.

SPEAKER_03 24:32

Nice. Okay, great. I can't wait to hear about that. So, do you believe that an experience has to be explainable for it to be meaningful?

SPEAKER_02 24:41

Absolutely not. Yeah. Sometimes if you try to put it into words, it's not gonna make any sense. You know, you you're inner knowing, you know the meaning of it and if it was meant for you, a sign or a um circumstance. Uh, if you try to explain it, especially to certain people, it's not gonna, it's not gonna be effective. You know, sometimes things are just better left on side, I guess, you know.

SPEAKER_03 25:05

Yeah, I can agree with that. So, where does spirituality fit into your life now?

SPEAKER_02 25:11

Well, I pray. I pray every day. I believe in God. You know, I'm not religious per se. I'm more spiritual. I mean, I do go to church every once in a while, but yeah, I do pray every day. And I just want to see the good in people and try to be good and do good. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:27

That's the same way that I am, and also my co-host Dan. We both call ourselves just spiritual. We do believe in God, we pray to God. Oh, yeah, but we don't participate we just don't participate in organized religion on a regular basis. Yes, we go to church from time to time, but yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:45

Yeah, yeah, and that's okay.

SPEAKER_03 25:46

I mean, it's your personal preference, you know? Right. Yeah, that's what I say. Everybody has their choice and preference and for sure. So when you're writing your supernatural fiction, how much comes purely from your imagination and how much comes from things that you may personally have experienced?

SPEAKER_02 26:08

So I'll take maybe a experience and I'll I guess jack it up as you said, you know. I'll, you know, and I'll just really take it to uh, you know, the next level and the next. Um, because I just find it interesting, or what if that happened, or what if, you know, I tr I I go down all kinds of rabbit holes. So there's no pet. I've been told that write drunk, edit sober if you if you're a drinker. That is so true because it's like there's no you're not very you're not guarded, so you can just write whatever, and then you know, when you're sober during the day, whatever, you can go through and edit it. There's not many rules. I just I like that. I like that way of writing. I've written sometimes all through the night. You know, when I get busy, one thing that I do and I try to do is I try to keep like a notebook with me in the car or just around me because I find inspiration from all kinds of things. And even like when I'm beginning a story, I have no idea how where it's gonna go and how it's gonna end until I've done it. And I like that. Now I think they call that a pantser if you just kind of write by the seat of your pants, is as opposed to a plotter, like when you plot everything out. And I don't know, maybe it's my ADHD or whatever, but I to me just trying to plot all that out sounds like way too much work. Just go and do it. I just write it and I usually just jump in. It makes my job, my work a little bit harder when I'm you know trying to get it organized, but that's just that's just how I write.

SPEAKER_03 27:44

Yeah, I think there's a lot of us out there that are that same way. Yeah, I'm not a plotter at all.

SPEAKER_02 27:50

Oh, I mean, because I could like I don't know where the story is going. So how am I gonna do, you know, how do I want to know about the plot or whatever? Now later on I will, but if I have to do all that before I even write the story, it's like, okay, I don't have that kind of energy.

SPEAKER_03 28:06

No, I'm not gonna do it. Exactly. Yeah. I just let the story speak to me and just write out what what is speaking to me regarding the story, and then after it's all out, then I can go back and you know, yeah, piece together, move things around, that kind of thing. But yeah, I can't plot it out from the very beginning.

SPEAKER_02 28:24

No, I can't either, you know, I just can't, or I try to force it. I don't like to force anything, you know. I just let it go where it needs to. And I've I've written chapters where I spent a lot of time on the chapters, and then as I'm going through it, I'm like, nope, that just isn't right for the the story or the book, and I've just tossed it. I've done that many times, wasted a lot of well, not it's not wasted, I guess, because then once you toss it out, you know what you like and you know what you don't like, right? So it's honing in but that's the hardest part for me is honing in and getting it organized.

SPEAKER_03 29:00

Yeah. So a gray resort is what we've been talking about, but it's actually book one of a series, and the series is called The Thousand Years of Crooked Forest, correct? Yes, yep. And so now that you've written all three books, because all three books are now out, people, so you don't have to wait around. You can get all three books at once. I got the picture, I got them here.

SPEAKER_02 29:27

If you I don't know, oh yeah, yeah. And then I just love the colors of this. The Raven and Awakening.

SPEAKER_03 29:35

Yeah, I do too. Love that.

SPEAKER_02 29:37

And then the choice. And then there's a little there's a young man there.

SPEAKER_03 29:42

Yeah, see that the choice.

SPEAKER_02 29:44

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 29:44

Wow. Okay. And so when you finished the first one, you said you didn't know that you were gonna create something larger. It just kind of yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:54

When I wrote the whole book, I thought, oh my god, and it took eight years to write. I was like, there's no way I'm going to make this into a series. I mean, it wasn't even a forethought at all. I just I wanted to get the book done, is what I wanted. And then I had a few friends say, like, what are you doing? Why are you stopping at this? There's a story to be told here. You're just leaving this hanging. Let's continue on with it. And I'm like, okay, but how many books should I have? And my one friend said, three, do a trilogy. And I'm like, okay, all right, that sounds good. I'll do it. And it's funny, I took it to heart and I did. I love that. So I wrote an awakening that took like two years, and that came out during COVID. Okay. Yeah. And then um the choice I got out very quickly. It was uh 2025, 24. The choice. Yeah. But yeah, if you would tell me like many years ago that you're gonna, you know, publish a trilogy, I would have been like, no way. I I would have no way, wasn't even thinking that way at all. But I'm glad I did, you know. Yeah. Um, when you get to when you develop the characters, it's kind of cool. They kind of live in your head, and you you kind of have like dialogue with them and like, oh, okay, I I'm gonna add that in the book, or that would be cool to entertain. And yeah, that that was interesting. Yeah, I bet so. I have a kind of a fun story that I just kind of thought about. So this is kind of like a a very strange thing, but this is it definitely a sign. So in my third book, The Choice, I have a character called Avalon. Avalon is not like a common name, right? I mean, right. I've never I'm I've heard it maybe one other time. So I go skydiving this summer. I went skydiving. Guess the name of my tandem skydive partner.

SPEAKER_03 31:45

Oh my god. Avalon.

SPEAKER_02 31:47

Avalon. Wow. Isn't that crazy? So to me, that was sort of a sign from up above. Uh uh, seriously, because what are the odds? So I went with a good friend of mine and she was like, Oh my god, you you are skydiving with Avalon. And I at first I was like, What? What are you talking about? And uh I couldn't believe it. I just I could not believe it. That's I mean, I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 32:12

That's pretty wild. I mean, I I've heard that name, you know, a few times as a as a proper name. Yeah, but more so I've heard it like uh as a name of places, you know, a place or something, not necessarily a person's name.

SPEAKER_02 32:27

It's a place. I've heard of as a abalon is a place, can't remember quite where it's at, but yeah, I I've heard of it as a place, but not a as a person. So when I found that out, I was like, that's really strange.

SPEAKER_03 32:40

Yeah, that is really strange. So what can you do as an author now that book one Wendy didn't know how to do? Oh boy.

SPEAKER_02 32:48

Well, I did not have a website or anything like that when the book came out. Yeah, I would say probably a good working website. I didn't realize how important that is, you know, because you people are like a website, but yes, it is still important, you know, and keeping your readers engaged through something like that. Like I I try to do like a I gotta post a short story or you know, like uh what I'm doing now. Um just to keep things fresh. I I think that's important. Marketing is really important, having bookmarks to, you know, help market your book is good. I didn't have that in the beginning, but I do that now. Yeah, just little things like that to get the word out about your book.

SPEAKER_03 33:29

I love that. That's great advice. So out of the three books, do you have a favorite?

SPEAKER_02 33:34

Well, they're all interesting in different ways because it it was different points of my life. So they're they're very special, but I guess I I would have to go with the first one because that's what started it all. So I'll just go with the first one. But they all have very interesting and special things about them. They're like your kids, you know. Yeah. You don't want to say, Oh, I like one better than the other. Yeah. Even if you do, you don't admit it out loud. Right. Right.

SPEAKER_03 34:05

Yeah, you don't really want to say it out loud, but I I probably just I would say the first one. Okay. Awesome. Well, I have to agree, even though it's the only one I've read so far. But after I finish all of them, I will let you know of the three which was my favorite. Okay, okay, cool. Yes, please do. I love that. So usually before we wrap up, we do a rapid fire question round, Wendy. Okay. So just like this or that type questions. So lake or forest. Lake. Well, yeah, lake. Sunrise or midnight. Midnight. Romance or mystery? Romance. Ghost or cryptid. Ghost. Tarot cards or Ouija board. Tarot cards. Ouija boards are a little scary. Right? Especially if you've watched any horror movie, you know. Oh my god, I know. Stay away from the Ouija board. Yeah. So cabin in the woods or haunted hotel? Cabin in the woods. You're alone in a cabin at 2 a.m. There are three knocks at the front door. Are you opening it? Absolutely not. No way. Absolutely not. So would you rather know that ghosts exist or never find out? I want to know if they exist. I know they exist, but uh, yeah, I I want to know. Gotta know. And the final question: if your life were a book, what would the title be? Boy.

SPEAKER_02 35:31

The different girl. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 35:33

That's lame. I'll come up with something better in about a half hour watch. Right, exactly. That always happens that way, doesn't it? It does. So annoying. So, Wendy, you're you're writing books, you're hosting your podcast, you're exploring all these questions about spirituality and things we can't necessarily explain. What are you curious about right now?

SPEAKER_02 35:56

Well, I'm working on another book, and it's gonna be a standalone book. I'm very excited about it. And I'll tell you off recording kind of what it's about, but um it's kind of based on one of the characters actually in The Choice.

SPEAKER_03 36:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 36:09

And uh I'm really excited about it. It's got all the things, and I can't wait to get it out. And it'll probably be out in probably about two and a half, three years, but that is what I'm working on now. I can't wait for it to get out either. I have the cover of the book, I have everything, just gotta write it.

SPEAKER_03 36:26

I love that. So, is there anything else that's coming down the pipeline besides that for you, either as an author or the podcast?

SPEAKER_02 36:36

Well, um, I continue to have people on my show. If anyone is interested in coming on a juicy pear podcast, uh, just go on a juicy pearpodcast.com. I have a form on there. Um, you can fill it out. I love having creatives on the show, anybody talking about the paranormal psychics, if you've had an unusual experience, you can go on Wendy M. Coke Author.net to see where I'm going with my writing journal and journey. Yeah. So I'm just busy writing and having guests on the show and just being continually inspired by people.

SPEAKER_03 37:11

I love that. And uh, do you prefer that people find you on your website or do you also have social media where we can find it?

SPEAKER_02 37:20

Yeah, I mean, you can follow me on Instagram and Wendy K-O-K4 on Instagram on TikTok. It's Wendy M. Coke author. Um, I'm not on TikTok as much. I try to get on there and I'm on Facebook as well as Wendy M. Coke author. And yeah, I love uh the more the merrier. Yeah, I love telling people what I'm doing and what writing I'm doing.

SPEAKER_03 37:42

And yeah. Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Wendy, for joining us and letting us go behind the pages of a grave resort. It's been a lot of fun. Thank you so much for having me on, Shannon. I appreciate it. Thank you. And to everyone watching or listening, you can find Wendy's information in the episode description and on our website, traveltimestories.com. Her book will also be on our book recommendation page with the link to purchase. And remember, every book has a story, but so does the person who wrote it. So tune in next week for another episode of the Author Spotlight series. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 38:17

So join us each week in the land of the arts. In the Author Spotlight, we capture the heart with every story shared. A new world takes light. As we gather tonight.