She sets a couple pieces of pork and a few french fries on her mother’s grave. “I brought your favorites. I asked, but they don’t do milkshakes to go. Grandma says on my birthday I can invite Isabel and we’ll go and eat in. I’ll order an extra milkshake for you then.” She pushes herself to her feet. “I love you,” she says, and Grandma rests a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. The ends of Shelly’s short hair brush against her neck in the wind, making her shiver, and she leans against her grandma for shelter from the cold. “I miss you, but I’m okay.”

Acknowledgments

There are some stories you carry with you throughout your life. For me, hearing my mom and grandfather talk about the police coming to my great-grandmother, Louisa, for help finding missing people in Chapleau was one of them. Louisa’s story stuck with me and transformed first into a short story and now into a novel. First and foremost, I want to acknowledge her for the role she played as inspiration for Shelly and her family, and my grandfather, Gordon Byce, for passing her stories down to me.

This book wouldn’t be possible without my parents, who let kid-me read anything I wanted as long as I was reading, and who supported my decision to get two degrees in creative writing. Thank you for letting me buy terrible Most Haunted Places books even though I couldn’t sleep after reading them, and to my brother, Cory, for also liking spooky things. I know I made Shelly an only child, but I promise it was nothing personal.

Thank you to my publisher Annick Press for their support, and especially to my editor, Claire Caldwell, who had faith that a short story could become a book, and without whom The Ghost Collector wouldn’t exist. I’m grateful to Claire for her insight and guidance, and for reaching out to me to begin with.

Writing a book is a marathon of a process and often boring if you’re not the writer, so a special thank you to my friends Grace Lee and Sarah King, who listened patiently while I obsessed about pacing, and to Ben Rawluk for being my writing buddy for the last eight years and for talking through countless plot problems with me. An extra-special thank you to Isabel Kim, who read my drafts and told me they were good, except where they weren’t, and who accidentally loaned Isabel her name and love of coffee machines.

About the Author

Photocredit: K. Ho