by Yvonne Banham

The Delores Mackenzie books are uncanny paranormal mysteries set in the dark underbelly of Edinburgh Old Town: gothic, shapeshifting, ghoul filled tales with a moody demon gargoyle, lots of delicious food and a sprinkling of dry humour.

Delores Mackenzie and the Dead of Winter takes Delores, and co-students Prudence and Gabriel not only to the edge of their paranormal abilities, but also on a journey way beyond the Arctic Circle as they try to solve a haunting murder mystery without becoming the next victims.

I’ve always loved tales of the supernatural, especially since I heard about a ghost that ‘lived’ with us when I was really small. He’d say ‘goodnight’ to my sister, then tidy a few things away. Stories of magic or hauntings are very much my thing and it’s what I love to write. I don’t plot ideas; they usually begin with an image in my head triggered by an experience or memory, a glimpse of something, then I go with it for a while, see if there’s a story.

For the Delores Mackenzie books, it was a physical jolt, scary and exhilarating. I was running across a causeway from a tiny island outside Edinburgh towards the mainland. A wild storm was building as the sea water rushed in along the Firth of Forth. Just like Delores at the start of the first book, I’d left it too late and that causeway is treacherous. The gale-force wind was gripping me, dragging me towards the rapidly rising water as I tried to run. It was easy to imagine the storm as a wild beast or demonic spirit! By the time I reached safety, the idea of Delores was fully formed: smart, strong-willed, an outsider vulnerable to spirits who did not have her best interests at heart! I knew how she looked and wondered what dark creatures could have been chasing her. The power of nature shows up again in a big scene in the third book, coming full circle to those first moments of peril with Delores.

The gale-force wind was gripping me, dragging me towards the rapidly rising water as I tried to run.

Delores’ world needed a modern day but gothic setting, and Edinburgh Old Town was perfect. I was lucky to get to see inside the clocktower at the People’s Museum (which became The Tolbooth Book Store) and things started to come together. It was easy to imagine supernatural forces lurking in the shadows of the narrow wynds and closes, and in the lost streets and vaults hidden beneath the oldest parts of the city.

It was easy to imagine supernatural forces lurking in the shadows of the narrow wynds and closes, and in the lost streets and vaults hidden beneath the oldest parts of the city.

I had no idea that Prudence, Gabriel or Bartleby would exist until Delores dragged her suitcase into the Tolbooth Book Store and, as she moved through her story, characters and plot showed up around her. I took trips to the museums, galleries, antique and vintage clothing shops of Edinburgh to help with details. I love writing food for my characters and that comes from my younger reading passions. I was obsessed by descriptions of the witch’s house in Hansel and Gretal, the lure of Turkish delight in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (no coincidence that Prudence loves it so much!), anything with a banquet or a midnight feast.

Food is intertwined with life at the Tolbooth representing all kinds of things: love, care, grief, danger, even lighter moments like when Delores’ food is turned against her.

Delores’ adventures see her through a year at the Tolbooth, with the third book taking place at Christmas, which was a dream to write but also has some really emotional scenes. It’s partly inspired by A Christmas Carol, and also the wonderful Christmas in the Morrigan Crow series. But Delores’ world had to expand way beyond the confines of Edinburgh Old Town if she was to find out what had happened to her family. And there was still a murder or two to solve!

I have always been drawn to northern climates, cold places that feel like they’re clinging on to the edges of the earth, and it was amazing to be able to travel beyond the Arctic Circle to tap into that connection in a very real way. I found a home in Tromsø, Norway, for the dreaded High Council and the fiendish Psychic Adjustment Council, both huge dangers to Delores and her friends. It also gave me the best moment for Prudence’s big scene near the end of the series. I really loved writing that one!

It will feel strange to leave Delores and her friends behind, but that world will never be far away. Just a short trip into the Old Town. Or underneath it!

Book One

When Delores Mackenzie is chased home by a restless spirit, she is sent to the mysterious Uncles in Edinburgh Old Town to learn how to control her unusual ‘gifts’. Scared and alone, she finds her new home at the Tolbooth Book Store is full of curious surprises: some welcome, others less so. But when a sinister apparition threatens the lives of her strange new housemates, Delores must gather all her strength to save them.

Book Two

Paranormal students Delores and Prudence are being hounded by inquisitors after they broke the rules and helped rescue fellow student Maud from death at the hands of an evil spirit. Cruel inquisitor Magoria Jepp is searching for secrets at their home in Edinburgh’s Tolbooth Bookstore, but does she have an uncanny history of her own to hide? As Delores tries to save her friends, she attracts the unwelcome attention of a murderous Boçain, or evil spirit, intent on stealing her paranormal gifts. Can she defeat her enemies, and maybe her own family too, to save everyone she loves at the Tolbooth?

Book Three

When the ghoulish victim of a decades-old murder screams for justice from beyond the grave, paranormal students Delores, Prudence and Gabriel must travel from Edinburgh Old Town to far beyond the Arctic Circle, chasing after a mysterious book, a legend … and a killer.

But, with their every move being watched, will the friends find the answers they’re looking for before they become the next victims…?

Yvonne Banham

Yvonne Banham grew up on an island off the coast of Cumbria and spent lots of time huddled on the wild beach with a scary book. When she left school, she couldn’t decide whether to be a nurse, an artist, or a writer, so she tried them all but liked writing best. She believes in ghosts though she’s never met one, and after five gloriously spooky years in Edinburgh, she now lives in Stirlingshire with her husband and their bold little terrier Bertie. When she’s not writing, she’s either hiking in the nearby hills or checking out creepy locations in search of new stories.