Ask the Author: Jack Massa
Answered Questions (2)
Jack Massa
Hi, Patricia.
Thanks so much for your question. I am so pleased you're enjoying the Abby Renshaw adventures.
I am working on the next story now. It takes place the following summer, when Abby has returned to Harmony Springs. I had planned to make it another fairly short one (because, quicker to write), but it is growing deeper and longer as we speak. When will it come out? I hope by the end of this year.
- Jack
Thanks so much for your question. I am so pleased you're enjoying the Abby Renshaw adventures.
I am working on the next story now. It takes place the following summer, when Abby has returned to Harmony Springs. I had planned to make it another fairly short one (because, quicker to write), but it is growing deeper and longer as we speak. When will it come out? I hope by the end of this year.
- Jack
Jack Massa
Hi, Bobbie,
First, thanks so much for reading Ghosts of Bliss Bayou and your terrific review.
To answer your questions:
1. I live in Florida now but actually grew up in New Jersey (not far from where Abby is living in the opening chapter.) I first saw Florida when I went to college down here, and have been in love with it ever since. As to my ancestors, they are Irish and Italian immigrants who settled in New Jersey. No occultists among them (that I know of).
2. As to the magical practices in the book. First, of course and as stated in the Afterword, they are fictional. That said, they are based on research into real magical societies from the late Victorian era, which were quite active in Britain and the U.S. Lots and lots has been written about these traditions. If you want to learn more, you might start by looking up "The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn."
3. The occult studies of these Victorians certainly included study and use of the Tarot deck. But the Tarot is much older, and its origins are murky. Again, there are oodles of books written about Tarot and many different decks. Serious authors have studied the Tarot in relation to the Qabalah and to the works of Carl Jung. For sure, Abby learns, the uses of the cards go way beyond fortune telling.
Thanks for the question and keep reading!
First, thanks so much for reading Ghosts of Bliss Bayou and your terrific review.
To answer your questions:
1. I live in Florida now but actually grew up in New Jersey (not far from where Abby is living in the opening chapter.) I first saw Florida when I went to college down here, and have been in love with it ever since. As to my ancestors, they are Irish and Italian immigrants who settled in New Jersey. No occultists among them (that I know of).
2. As to the magical practices in the book. First, of course and as stated in the Afterword, they are fictional. That said, they are based on research into real magical societies from the late Victorian era, which were quite active in Britain and the U.S. Lots and lots has been written about these traditions. If you want to learn more, you might start by looking up "The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn."
3. The occult studies of these Victorians certainly included study and use of the Tarot deck. But the Tarot is much older, and its origins are murky. Again, there are oodles of books written about Tarot and many different decks. Serious authors have studied the Tarot in relation to the Qabalah and to the works of Carl Jung. For sure, Abby learns, the uses of the cards go way beyond fortune telling.
Thanks for the question and keep reading!
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