I love a good anthology, and when an anthology is about ghosts, the West, and the supernatural, AND has a story in it titled ‘Don’t Eat the Pickled Eggs’…you know I’m going to be grabbing a copy! Please enjoy with me, Kaye Lynne Booth’s blog tour and introduction of her anthology, Spirits of the West.

Do you believe in ghosts? I think there is something inside every one of us that makes us want to believe, but not all of us do. That’s what makes a good ghost story so attractive. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy a good ghost story? I know I do.
I also believe that every story carries a grain of truth. We bury many real-life experiences and dreams in the subconscious, but often, they are not content to stay there, so we allow them to poke their heads up and see the light of day through our stories. Encounters with the spirit world often fall into this category, because we’re afraid that to talk about them out in the open will label us as crazy. Often, we begin to doubt our own senses and what we know to be true, and soon the memory is buried and we seldom think about it, let alone talk about it.
I believe in ghosts. I’ve had numerous encounters with the spirits in my life. Too many for me to doubt the existence of ghosts and spirits. And every paranormal story I’ve ever written has that little grain of truth from a true-life encounter embedded within it. Spirit encounters make great story fodder, often resulting in a story that makes you think long after you’ve set the book down. The story that I wrote for the Spirits of the West western paranormal anthology, “Don’t Eat the Pickled Eggs”, is no exception, although the encounter described was not my own.
When I heard my friend’s tale of how her boss came to her one night before anyone knew he had passed, I knew this tale would eventually find its way into one of my stories. She recognized the fact that it could have been a dream, but still claimed no doubt that it had really happened. She and her boss had always had feelings for one another, but he was married, so those feelings had been denied for many years. Her story was so powerful that it gave me chills and goosebumps, just hearing her tell it, perhaps because of the sexual nature of the encounter. It was so intimate, so personal that even if it had been a dream, I knew that she believed it.
I sat on the idea, letting it simmer in the story cooking pot of my mind, like the ingredients in a good stew, for several years until the time came when I was trying to come up with a western paranormal story for the Spirits of the West anthology. I took the idea of un-acknowledged love and a final good-bye and placed it in a western setting, and I truly hope I was able to capture the same feeling that I got when listening to her tell it. The very nature of this idea creates a mystery, resulting in a western paranormal murder mystery, creating what might be a totally new genre. The addition of the colorful character of Stinkweed was added as a means of revealing the truth of what actually happened to Hiram. It’s a story that I enjoyed writing, and one that I hope folks will enjoy reading. You can get your copy of Spirits of the West here.

Kaye Lynne Booth is a freelance writer, editor, and novelist. She writes poetry, short fiction, and children’s books, as well as literary and gardening articles. She holds dual MFA in Creative Writing – Genre Fiction and Screenwriting, and will soon be earning an M.A. in Publishing.
Her first novel, Delilah, was published by Dusty Saddles Publishing in 2016. In 2019, she founded WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press and now publishes her own books and anthologies, as well as the work of others. She also promotes herself and other authors through WordCrafter Book Blog Tours and her authors’ blog, Writing to be Read.
This is such an interesting post. I have never had an encounter with a ghost, but I am not closed-minded to the idea. I have always loved ghost stories and live in a house that is purported to be haunted. The spirits of the members of the criminal gang who died in this house have never given me any trouble or revealed themselves to me. Thanks for hosting Kaye, Jessica, and for your support of Spirits of the West book tour. I think the two shorts stories in this book are among my best.
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I don’t ‘think’ I’ve ever had an encounter with a ghost, but there was this mangy black cat that used to hang around the house I grew up in… problem was, we didn’t have a cat! You’d see him out of the corner of your eye, and when you’d look, he’d be gone. I swear he was a ghost. Oooo! Shades of ‘Nethergate’!!!
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How funny to think that all of the encounters I have had throughout my life, and neither of you, Jessica nor Robbie, have ever had one. It doesn’t seem fair. I can often identify who it is visiting me, and I’ve had visits from my son, our dogs, and my mother and grandmother, among the various anonymous spirits that have said ‘hello’ on occasion. When I know it to be a loved one, it is comforting, even if it gives me goose bumps.
Jessica thank you for hosting for the “Spirits of the West” book blog tour, and for your kind words about me and my story. It’s a wonderful anthology, filled with western paranormal stories that leave the reader thinking long after the story has ended. And Robbie’s two stories “The Thirstyland Journey” and “The Ghost in the Mound” truly are some of her best writing.
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It’s my pleasure, Kaye! I hope the anthology’s a roaring success!
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Haha, yes, cats have a bad reputation, don’t they? You never read about creepy and evil ghostly dogs.
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cool post, I never had encounter with a ghost/s… but I believe they exists :))
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There are too many unexplained things in the world to discount them, eh, Ray?
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They do, indeed. Thanks for visiting us here, Victoria. 😉
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Ooo, it sounds like a spooky-fun anthology. Haha, I love Ms. Booth’s tee shirt.:-)
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I know, me too!
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Thanks, Priscilla. That’s why this is my “author photo”. It is a really great anthology, with some very unique stories. I hope you decide to give it a try. 🙂
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That sounds like quite a tale.
And the title intrigues me (probably because I love pickled eggs).
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I know, right? That title got me in too!
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I hope my story doesn’t spoil your appetite for them, Staci. Lol. I hope you give it a go. Thanks for reading and commenting here. 🙂
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Ditto on encounters with the supernatural here. I’m a believer, too.
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As I said to another commenter, there are just too many unexplainable things that happen to discount the supernatural, if you ask me!
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Thanks for visiting us here, Mark. I wonder if non-believers enjoy ghost stories as much as believers and those riding the fence. Or does their disbelief spoil their appreciation for paranormal tales?
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Hard to say…
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That title is hilarious – but I would never eat pickled eggs. Definitely not for me. But an anthology about ghosts? Absolutely.
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Thanks, Teri! I loved that title too. Sure makes you wonder about the story behind it 🙂
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Pickled eggs were often available in saloons of the old west, and they play a big role in this story. But I wouldn’t eat them either, Teri. We share in the appreciation of a good ghostly tale. I hope you’ll give the stories in Spirits of the West a try.
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This does sound like an excellent anthology. I love the combination of ghosts with the Old West. I’m a fan of both, although I would NEVER want to meet a ghost in person. Love the title of the story, too!
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Well, maybe if they were a nice ghost I wouldn’t mind. Like Slimer from Ghostbusters. He was a cutey!
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Encounters with spirits can be scary, but I think encounters with harmful spirits are rare. I’m not psychic or anything, but I have had ‘visits’; but even unidentified spirits I’ve encountered have seemed pretty benign, just letting me know they are present.
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Who new paranormal westerns was a thing? I thought Jessica invented it! The anthology–thanks to my new interest in this type of story–sounds fascinating.
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Hahahaha! No, I most certainly did not! There’s a whole sub-genre called ‘weird western’… everything from ghosts, vampires, zombies, to dinosaurs!
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Thanks for your comment, Jacqui. Many are stories that will leave you thinking. I hope you’ll give it a try. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Writing to be Read and commented:
For Day #4 of the “Spirits of the West” book blog tour, we’re over at Jessica Bakker’s blog. Drop by to learn more about my story in the anthology, “Don’t Eat the Pickled Eggs!”. See you there.
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This sounds like a fun anthology, Jess. I’ve been seeing more paranormal westerns lately and hope this fun genre gets more and more attention. Many congrats to Kaye Lynne with her new release and tour!
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Maybe I chose the best time to release my series? Stupid, dumb luck, but hey, even a stopped clock is right twice a day, eh?
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Great timing. You got the award for novelty (pun intended). 🙂
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Bahahahahaha!
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Thanks for visiting us here, Diana. 🙂 It would be great for this genre to gain more attention. I’d love it. But for that to happen, I think it would first have to grow in popularity for writers. It was difficult to get entries for last year’s contest, because of the western paranormal theme, and I barely received enough to create a book. Not many western authors, and of those, even fewer that write in the paranormal sub-genre. I was hoping to raise interest in the genre with the theme requirement, but….
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I think mash-ups are going to be more and more popular, Kaye Lynne. It’s a niche genre for sure, but all genres start out that way, right? You’re just ahead of the curve. 🙂 Congrats!
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I absolutely love that title, and my brother has even made his own pickled eggs. They came out pretty good, and I loved them on salads.
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I love the title, too, but I can’t imagine actually eating real pickled eggs… kind grosses me out!
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Imagine a vinegar dressing on a salad with sliced boiled egg. It’s pretty good.
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Really? Okay, maybe on salads. I hadn’t considered salads. My mom used to pickle stuff. Not eggs, but veggies. It’s a lot of work. Kudos to your brother.
Thanks for the comment. You’ve offered me food for thought. (Bad pun).
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Makes me want some pickled eggs on a salad whilst visiting with my old ghost dog.
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