Caroline Kaiser

A native of Toronto, I moved to London, Ontario, in 2020. It's a beautiful city that inspires me with its many historical buildings, whether splendidly magnificent or amusingly quirky. London, I've found, is an ideal setting for writing about the past since I feel so immersed in it here.

Years ago, I set out to write a murder mystery. An authentic feel was important to me, so I set it in a milieu I knew well--a fine art and antiques auction house. You see, I worked in such a place in Toronto for fourteen years. To bring the setting to life, I populated my book with the sort of eccentric characters--both staff and customers--I used to encounter at work. It seemed critical to link the book intimately to times past, as the past is paramount in a place where you sell beautiful objects manufactured well before you were even born. What better way to lead readers back in time than through a beautiful and tragic flapper ghost? With that thought, Virginia's Ghost was born. The book was eventually followed by The Spirits of South Drive, in which the number of ghosts--and murders--multiplied.

In equal measure I've always adored the romantic, the haunting, and the whimsical, all qualities I've tried to infuse my books with. And the 1920s is my favourite era; I've often wished I lived during that time, or could time-travel there. I admit that I've lived vicariously through my ghostly characters. And I hope that through them, readers will be transported into everything I imagine was lovely and graceful about the Jazz Age--the elegance, the good manners, the fashions, the decor, and the music. I like to imagine people curling up with my books on a blustery autumn day, cup of tea in hand, and losing themselves, maybe even staying up all night to reach the end. I love a good page-turner, and it's always been my aim to create such books.

In addition to being the author of the two novels in the Virginia Blythe Mysteries, I'm also a freelance editor of fiction, memoirs, and self-help books. I've been happily helping authors polish their prose since 2007.