Say Hello To Charlotte's World

I am proud to be hosting Charlotte's most unusual interview today. Charlotte Volnek is a Muse author and I am happy to have her today. This interview is from her upcoming release Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island. So sit back with a cuppa, a cigarette or a bagel and enjoy!

Meet Jack Dahlgren

Well, hello there young man. I’m glad you’re here. It’s Jack, right? Would you like to tell us a little bit about your story?

Hi. Yeah, thanks, I’d like to share a little bit about my adventure with you. As you said, my name is Jack…Jack Dahlgren. I’m the main character from C.K. Volnek’s Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island, a ghost story for tweens. I’m 12, almost 13. I like to remind my dad of that. He treats me like such a baby.

So, where are you from, Jack?
I’m from Ohio. My dad moved us to this beach house on Roanoke Island about two months ago. I wasn’t too happy about leaving my old home. It was the only place I’d ever lived. But Dad got laid off last year, so when my Great-grandma Ellis left us this house on Roanoke Island, he was excited. Said it was the answer to his prayers. Some prayer. He went to scope it out and found a job in Manteo. That was it. He up and moved us, not even asking if it was okay by me.

What is Roanoke Island like?
It’s an island off the coast of North Carolina. Lots of trees and the beaches. Dad thought I’d love to live on an Island. Like that’s the cool thing to do or something. The ocean is pretty cool, but for me to live here, it’s awful. None of the kids at school want to have anything to do with me, always teasing me about our creepy house. They say it’s haunted. It does look like it. It’s pretty run down and Dad is either at work at the marina or fixing on the house. He never has any time for me. He won’t even let me go exploring in the woods or go up on the bluff ... not since Kimmy’s accident.

Who is Kimmy and what happened to her?
Kimmy’s my little sister. She’s six. She fell off the bluff next to our house two weeks ago and is in the hospital. The bluff isn’t that high, but she hit her head on a rock and she’s been unconscious since. Dad blames me for her accident. I’d do anything to take it back. I didn’t know she’d followed me up there! But Dad thinks it’s all my fault. I guess he’s right, because I wasn’t supposed to be up there either.
Mom’s been with Kimmy since she fell. I wish she’d come home. I miss her. And it seems I’m always in trouble with Dad, especially when she’s not here. He’s so mad at me. He promised I could get a dog when we moved to the island. But he hasn’t mentioned it since the accident. Now, I’ve found this big Mastiff. He’s a cool dog and I’ve got to find a way to make Dad let me keep him. That dog needs a good home and he’ll be great to have around. He’s already saved me from whatever that thing was I came across in the cave. It would’ve killed me if it hadn’t been for that dog.

What is this thing you found in the cave? It sounds scary.
It’s hard to explain. But, it is scary. It’s really big and ugly…and stinks really bad. This guy I met, Manny, says it’s pure evil, conjured up a long time ago, from when the first colonists landed on Roanoke Island in 1587. It has something to do with the mystery of the Lost Colony. I read about it in history class, how 117 colonists disappeared...gone…without a trace. I think this creature had something to do with it.

That is quite a mystery. Who is this Manny you talk about?

Manny’s cool, even if he is an adult. He’s a Native American Shaman. And he’s going to teach me how to whittle. He seems to know what this thing in the cave might be and says I’m the only one who can stop it.

How can you stop it?

I don’t know yet. Manny says I have to figure out what it is and why it’s here. He says he’ll help me, with some of his magic, but I have to be the one to stop it. And I have to stop it before Kimmy comes home. I promised her when the ambulance took her away that I wouldn’t let anything ever hurt her again.
Plus, if I can stop it, maybe Dad won’t be so mad at me anymore. It’ll show him I’m responsible and then he’ll have to let me keep that dog. But first, I’ve got to solve this mystery and destroy the monster...destroy it before it destroys me.
Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island, by C.K. Volnek. Due out September, 2011 by MuseItUp Publishing.