Review: 'Craigbourne has about as much fight as a wet dishrag.'
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 23, 2014
M.K. Theodoratus states in her bio as a fantasy author, `Magic and fantasy have been part of my life ... like forever. I started telling stories after my imaginary friend came to play with me on the front porch when I was about three. By the time I was in sixth grade, I was reading any story connected with magical worlds, ghosts, witches, and things paranormal, though I didn't much care for blood-drinking vampires. Still don't, with few exceptions. Then, a teacher introduced me to the idea that I could write my made-up stories down. Now I write fantasy. While grumpy Far Isles Half-Elven are closest to my heart, I play in worlds that deal with half-elves, gargoyles, ghosties and other magical beings. I'm one of those early writer types. Wrote my first novel in the sixth grade. The teacher demanded a short story for an English assignment.  She got am unfinished Nancy Drew pastiche -- "The Clue of the Clay Cats" -- and gave me a "C" because, at 25 handwritten pages long, I hadn't finished the story.  [Most of the other kids only wrote two to four pages --  *snarl*, *snarl*. Do you think the grade still bothers me?]  By the next summer, I had finished a novel-length story.  Even borrowed my mother's typewriter to type it.  My one reader -- the children's librarian -- thought it was pretty good.  So, I wrote more short stories for fun.  Even sold some to the children's story sections in a couple newspapers. They are buried in the sands of time. Writing stories became addictive. You are now seeing the result.'  And so we meet this Delightful lady in her story THE GHOST IN THE CLOSET.Dumbie is a recently jobless homeless older lady who has been living in her car (as has her friend Hanna) until they take up residence in the Archinhauser Shelter for Homeless Women. Despite the fact that living in a home is better than dwelling in a winter car, Dumbie has an additional problem to the steps she must climb to her room, the KP duty she inherits from the foreman of the home - Dumbie sees ghosts.  It is a problem with which she has lived since childhood, some referring to her `gift' as having TIAs. But as Dumbie and Hanna settle in, Dumbie discovers she shares a room with a none to complacent former tenant of the home - a lady with inheritance problems regarding the Archinhauser home.  Though it may sound a pit preposterous, the way Theodoratus spells it out (!) gives a taste of the high quality of writing of the book: `Dumdie tried to pull away from Hanna's digging fingernails. She struggled to keep her voice calm. "W-w-who are you? I'm D-dumdie." Her stutter returned with a vengeance. "Mayebelle. This was my home, but my nephew and his wife kept me locked me in the closet before I lost my body." The ghost frowned . "Things are different in here. Where did all the boxes and trunks go? Did you steal them?" The air dropped a dozen degrees as she paused. "No, it must've been James." A bit of warmth flowed back into the room. "The room was b-bare, except for the furniture, wh-wh-when I came here....etc'Writing like this is rare and is merely a brief taste for the sophistication of Theodoratus' dealings with age, social issues such as homelessness, ghosts, inheritance issues, and much more. She is a delight to read! Grady Harp, June 14