Morgan Spellman is the author of the Abby Spector Ghost Mystery series, consisting of Say I Boo, Roses are Red, Violet is Dead, and the upcoming Camp Spirits. Though the first two books came out in 2023 and 2024 respectively, Camp Spirits is anticipated for release soon on July 22nd.
Abby Spector starts her adventure as a stage magician but an accidental, yet opportune, ghost experience leads her down a path of paranormal investigation. From a rich mansion in the winter, to a bed & breakfast around Valentine’s, to a summer-fun camp, this series is varied in all the right ways. Complete with a nerdy sidekick and blossoming gay romance, these mysteries are full of spooky paranormal experiences, cozy sapphic vibes, and humor. They are quick, feel good reads with enough twists to keep you guessing.
While each of them can be read as standalones, I found the character growth sweet when read from the beginning. It’s absolutely worth it to start with Say I Boo before diving into Spellman’s upcoming release.
Fandom Spotlite got a chance to ask Morgan Spellman some questions about his mystery series, both in specifics and writing process generals.
Fandom Spotlite: How does it feel to have your third book, Camp Spirits, being published?
Spellman: It’s exciting! I’ve worked on this series for so long, it’s nice to finally be able to talk about it! It’s also a bit nerve wracking, knowing strangers are going to read something you’ve put your heart and soul into—especially with characters that readers are already familiar with and will have their own expectations for. ARC readers seem to be enjoying it, so that brings a sense of relief that it’s resonating with readers, which lets me focus more on the thrill of the release.
FS: What is one lesson you’ve learned throughout your writing journey that you’ll never forget?
Spellman: Outlining. Plotting/Outlining ahead of time has saved me hours—if not days/weeks/months (dare I say years?)—of revision. I’m naturally what they call a pantser— someone who writes ‘by the seat of their pants’ without an outline to see where the story takes them. I’ve written too many manuscripts this way only to reach 80,000+ words and realize I just got to the actual start of the story. Now I plot everything ahead of time. I still leave a lot of room for exploratory writing, but I have a basic synopsis to keep me on track.
FS: Can you talk about the process of working with Holly Dunn and a book cover artist? Did you pitch the idea for the covers or did she come up with the premise?
Spellman: Holly has been delightful to work with! I had an idea of the type of cover I wanted and a few examples of similar book covers for inspiration, but the cover design is all Holly. For the first book in the series, Say I Boo, all I knew was that I wanted the cover to include the characters, the haunted house, and winter vibes. Holly came up with a few concept designs from there, we chose the best one, and she turned it into the gorgeous cover you see on the shelves!
FS: Why did you decide on a camp setting for book three of the Abby Spector series?
Spellman: I wanted each book in the series to have a seasonal feel with a setting that played into that— Say I Boo takes place in a remote estate just before Christmas, and Roses are Red, Violet is Dead takes place in a charming Bed and Breakfast around Valentine’s Day. For the third book, I knew I wanted to play into the summer vibes, so I brainstormed a few places associated with summer and picked the one that would be the most fun to make haunted.
FS: Did you have any camp experience to help guide the writing or did the inspiration come from consuming media?
Spellman: As a child, I went to summer camps often, but I only did the traditional overnight outdoor summer camp once and I was miserable. I skipped as many activities as I could to sneak into my cabin (or the air conditioned office) and read! Most of the other camps I attended involved more academic activities (and air conditioning). My dad was outdoorsy and would frequently take me on outdoor adventures, so I have a bit of experience with camping, canoeing, rock climbing, etc, and I definitely read a lot of summer camp mysteries to get a feel for what’s out there. I highly recommend The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson and The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager for anyone looking for a good summer camp mystery—although they both lean more towards Thriller than the Abby Spector Mysteries.
FS: What’s your writing process like?
Spellman: I have a very visual imagination, so I usually start with a concept or vibe for a story (for Say I Boo, it was childhood friends reunited in a haunted house) and visualize different scenes and characters until the story starts to come together. Once I have an idea of the story I want to tell, I develop my main characters and the antagonist, since I see them both as driving the story. For mysteries in particular, I create a list of at least three main suspects before deciding which one is the culprit. In the first two books in the series, I had this decided before I started writing, but the culprit of Camp Spirits actually changed from the first draft to the final version—that was a challenge to revise (but definitely worth it)!
FS: When did you know that you were going to have a sapphic relationship for the series!
Spellman: Oh great question! When I first started writing Say I Boo, I considered myself sapphic (as a trans man, I’ve since moved away from self-identifying with that term) and I knew I wanted to write a main character that was sapphic as well. My goal was to write a fun mystery reminiscent of the classics, with more LGBTQ+ representation. As soon as I introduced Mina, I knew she was going to be the love interest—but I hadn’t planned it until she showed up on the page.
FS: What’s your best advice when it comes to marketing books?
Spellman: Figure out where your audience is and be intentional about how you message your book. When I first started Marketing, I was spending most of my time on social media platforms that weren’t giving me the most value, which led to wasting time that was better spent writing. I eventually realized that one well crafted post shared to the right audience is better than a dozen posts being shared to a large audience at random. This is especially true for marginalized authors in our current political climate when social media can quickly get bogged down with hateful comments or heated debates. I’ve drastically cut back what I share on social media for my own well-being and instead share more personal posts in my newsletter or in closed groups, where I know people are more likely to be interested and supportive.
FS: As someone who hasn’t seen Buffy (and wants to), what are two reasons to watch it? What are two aspects from the show that inspired the creation of Abby and your first book Say I Boo?
Spellman: Oh there are so many reasons to watch Buffy, it’s a classic for a reason! If I had to pick 2: 1. Badass women slaying the patriarchy 2. Lesbian Witches. But seriously, the storytelling is great—it’s an emotional roller coaster of triumphant wins, hilarious moments, and heartbreaking tragedies that echo the real dangers of our society. Besides the supernatural aspect, that’s probably what I pulled from the most in my writing—even though most of the tragedy happens before the story of Say I Boo, there’s a sense of grief that comes from talking to the dead and from Abby’s past. I wanted to stay true to those feelings while still writing something uplifting that could be considered a comfort read so I strived to create a careful balance between the sadness and the more exciting whimsical moments of Abby’s sleuthing. That, and the badass women trying to balance their real life while fighting supernatural entities!
FS: What classes would Abby, Lucas, and Mina choose to play in Dungeons & Dragons?
Spellman: Abby’s creativity and flair for the dramatic would make her a great Bard. Lucas would be a Wizard, for sure—he’s all about the books. Mina’s harder to classify—she would probably pick a fighter or a barbarian, but I could also see her going for a rogue.
FS: What was your favorite scene from Camp Spirits? (Feel free to be vague if you want to remain spoiler-free!)
Spellman: It’s hard to pick—I love all the twists and turns of the mystery, the ghostly appearances, and Abby’s growing relationship with Mina. One scene that comes to mind is when Abby and Lucas are discussing the mystery while canoeing with the campers—it’s not a pivotal moment by any means, but it captures the amusing chaos of the summer camp as they’re trying to have an important conversation while the kids are splashing each other and spinning Lucas’s canoe.
FS: Do you identify with one character in particular? Or did you find pieces of yourself in all your characters?
Spellman: I find pieces of myself in all my main characters. I can definitely get very enthusiastic about things the way Abby does, and I’m an avid reader and tea-drinker like Lucas. In Camp Spirits in particular, Paxton has a special place in my heart because he’s the first trans man I’ve written. When I first started Camp Spirits, I was still exploring my gender and I wanted to write a relatable trans character, so my initial concept for Paxton was based on what I might have looked like if I had transitioned in high school. He’s changed a lot since that version, but there are still a few things we have in common—we were both on the swim team and lost a close friend in early adulthood.
FS: Are you interested in writing any other genres?
Spellman: I love writing stories with fun adventurous vibes, so I can absolutely see myself writing adventures in other genres. I recently wrote a (currently unpublished) Sapphic Cozy Fantasy and am currently working on a Fantasy Romance. Readers can stay up to date on my writing endeavors by joining my newsletter at MorganSpellman.com to receive monthly updates on what I’m writing, reading, and more.
FS: Do you believe in ghosts and/or had paranormal experiences?
Spellman: I don’t believe in ghosts, but I probably should since I’ve seen one! When I was twelve, I was staying at an old bed and breakfast in Virginia. I woke up in the middle of the night and there was this transparent outline of a woman standing at the foot of my bed. I was terrified. I shut my eyes and opened them again, and blinked and she was still there! She turned to look at me but before she could, she faded from sight. When I finally got up the courage to move, I left myself a note to remember in the morning that this wasn’t a dream. Other than a ghost, I don’t know what that could have been. A hallucination? A trick of the darkness? Whatever it was, I’m glad I’ve never seen it again!
FS: Can readers expect a fourth Spector book? What other ghost experiences are you thinking of exploring?
Spellman: While there isn’t currently a fourth book in the works, I’d never say never. I have a few ideas of future directions Abby’s adventures could take, but I’m focused on other projects at the moment.
Thank you to Spellman for agreeing to an interview! I’m always intrigued to learn more about an author and their process when I fall in love with their work.
All of Spellman’s books are available to purchase (or pre-order) from Amazon: Say I Boo, Roses are Red, Violet is Dead, and Camp Spirits.
Morgan Spellman can be reached at his website, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
Check out my June Reading Wrap-Up that included all three of Spellman’s books.
