Today we're chatting with Robert Harrison, who writes horror and supernatural thrillers under the pen name R.W. Harrison. He's a marketing professional currently living in Florida, but preparing for a move to the Cleveland, Ohio area, where he's from originally. He published his first book, The Onyx Seed, in 2014 and it was inspired by a series of poltergeist experiences he had around 1990. Shortly after his son was born, strange things started happening in the house, such as rocking chairs rocking by themselves, electronic devices turning on and off by themselves, light switches flipping up and down, hearing voices, etc. He had been recounting these occurrences for years and decided to write a book based on the 18-month-long experience. Robert also conducted extensive research on Filipino folklore and introduced some elements from it to elevate the story above the run-of-the-mill ghost story.

A sense of place is important to his writing, whether it's upstate New York for the setting of the Onyx Trilogy (The Onyx Seed, Onyx Rising, Onyx Nightmare), or the Ocala National Forest in Florida for Raven's Temple, or the New England coastline for The Ghost of Witch's Point, Robert uses his deep connections to the areas in such a way that they almost become characters in the stories. He felt this the most in the Onyx Trilogy, set in and around Letchworth State Park, about fifty miles east of Buffalo. Both his mother and father were born and raised not far from the 17-mile-long gorge that is the centerpiece of the park, featuring three major waterfalls on the Genesee River, and a railroad trestle over the Upper Falls. Letchworth is a magical place, with 500-foot cliffs and stunning overlooks, and Robert tried to -- surprisingly -- incorporate as much beauty as he could into a series of horror novels.

You can learn more about Robert and his books at his website, www.rwharrisonbooks.com, and can download his free novella, The Ghost of Witch's Point, exclusively on his site. All his books are available on Amazon. You can also follow him on Instagram at www.instagram.com/robertharrison_author.

A little about today's host-

Shawna Rodrigues left her award-winning career in the public sector in 2019 to consult and publish her first novel Beyond the Pear Blossoms. Her desire to connect and help others led to the launch of her podcast The Grit Show shortly thereafter. When she learned women host only 27% of podcasts, her skills and passion led to the founding of the Authentic Connections Network. She now helps mission-driven entrepreneurs better connect with their audiences by providing full-service podcast production and through a community for Entrepreneurs & Podcasters – EPAC. Podcasting is her primary focus, so she continues to support the writing community through this podcast, and her writing time is mostly focused on anthologies.

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