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One visible spirit. Two phantom thieves. Three courageous friends.
The Haunting of Pinedale High #10
by Celaine Charles
Genre: Cozy YA Paranormal Ghost Story
June Brookes has haunted the library at Pinedale High for decades, without attention. Until one day, new sophomore, May Blakely, notices. Could this be June’s chance to cross over to the hereafter? If only she knew what needed to be finished from her old life.
Angsty May prefers solitude. Her deadbeat dad may have ditched her in this small town, but she has no interest befriending this strange girl, or the cute boy across the street.
June’s hereafter hustle goes haywire when two phantom soldiers plot to hijack her passage to peace, at the expense of hurting fellow students. June saves May’s life, igniting their joint efforts to protect the school. Can May help June to her happily ever afterlife?
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Celaine Charles lives in the enchanted Pacific Northwest, teaching elementary school by day and writing by the stars at night. She’s an award-winning, multi-genre author who balances her dual life creating poetry, fantasy, and contemporary romance shorts, while blogging about her journey on Steps in Between. In addition, she’s embarking on the world of children’s picture books.
She’s published collections of poetry through Egret Lake Books and Palmetto Publishing Group, and fiction through The Wild Rose Press and Eliza Storm Books.
Celaine is a member of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association, Storyteller Academy, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and reads poetry regularly with the Museum of Northwest Art, Writing’s on the Wall series.
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Which of your novels can you imagine made into a movie?
After watching the Netflix movie, Girl Haunts Boy and the Netflix series, School Spirits, I literally wrote my new young adult paranormal fantasy, When June Haunts May, as if it were on the screen!
I pictured my blue-haired angsty sophomore, May, meeting the spirit, June, in her new high school. June pesters her for a friendship in which she has no interest, not to mention she’s dressed like she’s headed to a fifties sock hop. But this girl…ghost…desperately needs to connect with May. She’s the first person to see her in decades, so she must be the key to help her crossover to the other side. In the midst of meeting, they both stumble upon the local high school lacrosse star, Reid, crying by himself in the…rumored to be haunted…woods behind the school.
Hiding behind my writing desk, each main character was in constant motion as this story came to life. And they’re all three going through real emotions the big screen could vividly portray. May prefers loneliness as her safe haven. June’s been alone for so long, she’s a jumbled mess when someone finally sees her. Reid fears the loneliness he predicts is soon to come for reasons they all find out later. This book, without being sad, shines a little light on three different perspectives of loneliness.
The story is set at the start of fall, the colors all golden-green and marigold-yellow at a North Carolinian school, Pinedale High. On campus there’s a wooded area and pond behind the school, with an old neighborhood sprawling out beyond, complete with crumbling sidewalks and overgrown shade trees. The autumn season creates the perfect ambience for this small-town story and would make for a spookily cozy movie any time of year.
May, June, and Reid become unlikely friends, meeting some curiously amazing side characters along the way. They will truly have you smiling and possibly wincing at the same time. And as if figuring out her past isn’t enough for June to deal with in her seemingly small window to cross over, two Confederate soldiers decide to hijack her freedom, putting the whole school in danger.
When June Haunts May has just enough spook, risk, and vulnerability woven in with tender moments that build relationships, including friendship and young love, to make this cozy ghost story the perfect feel-good movie!
I also wrote a novella, Stained Glass Secrets and Star Wishes, back in 2022. It’s a mash-up of Hallmark meets Fantasy, and I’ve always imagined it as a holiday movie on the Hallmark Channel.
A stressed-out, single accountant skips out on life to spend Christmas alone at her family’s snowy, lake cabin. A freshwater fairy, who looks handsomely human out of water, comes to the surface to face his own fears and grief, yet unexpectedly spies her crying through a window. Together with a wish on a star, a snowy ice castle, some Christmas cookie mishaps, and Ollie, the springer spaniel, they fall in maybe-one-day-possibly love.
The whole story makes me gush!
And finally, I’ve been told by many readers of my young adult Keeper Series (Seam Keepers and Dream Keepers), that it should be made into a movie. I guess with my own ADHD, I always try to write my books with strong pacing. It’s a tough one for me because I can get wordy. But hopefully with the art of revision and rereading my stories again and again through that revision process, I smooth the pacing for the most reluctant reader to want to read. And good pacing does make for a great movie!
What a fun question to answer!
Advice they would give new authors?
I would tell a new author to keep writing no matter what. And equal to that, keep reading and learning how to improve your craft. That’s it. New (and seasoned) writers need to continually remind themselves to ignore the noise and negative reviews (unless there’s truly something that will help them improve their writing) and just continue to create and grow in their craft.
Going to writer’s conferences is also a GREAT way to learn the craft and business of writing. There are support systems out there, but writers need to reach out to find them. A writing conference and/or writing class in your community are great ways to get started.
I met my writing critique group through a writing class. Then we all attended a writing conference together. I learned so much while at the same time, increasing my support system. Writing is an isolating experience because we’re generally alone for long periods of time. Critique groups and writing classes can help ease the isolation and provide resources.
So new writers—read, keep writing, ignore the noise, and reach out to find your people and improve your craft!
Describe your writing style.
Always a hard question for me, but this is my assessment of my writing based on what my critique group and beta readers tell me, as well as how it feels when I’m drafting my stories.
I am a lyrical writer working to edit down my long sentences while still trying to achieve the dance and flow of a full story.
There. I said it. I guess you might say I’m overly wordy, but ultimately don’t want to come across that way, so I have to backtrack over all my writing in the revision and editing stages to cut words. I will never be that writer who needs to add more details for word count. Ha! I am the opposite! My stories always need to be cut and tidied up.
Lyrical writing is just part of my process, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
What makes a good story?
For me a good story is all about the characters. I can read a book with an okay plot, if I love the characters. But it’s difficult for me to read any story, if I can’t relate or connect with the characters working through even the most organized plot lines. I’m definitely a character-driven author and reader, both.
Along with intriguing characters, I appreciate lyrical voice and sensory explosion on the page. I want to see, and hear, and taste, and smell everything the characters do. When a simple sentence sweeps me away, I’m in awe of the author and can’t wait to read more.
What are you currently reading?
This is my year of reading ARCs (advanced reader copies) and researching romance. It’s been rough not reading fantasy and poetry, the two genres I love the most, but 2026 filled up fast with several ARC reads for other authors. I am exploring the idea of writing a full-length contemporary romance.
I’m not sure how this happened, but I may have overcommitted myself with ARC reads. With that said, it’s fine. I love helping other authors this way because I need their help in return, and it feels special getting a sneak peek at a finished book that’s not out there yet. Getting those early readers and honest reviews can surely help set a newly launched book in the right direction. So, I am happy to do that. I just happen to have a lot of ARC’s back-to-back right now.
As for romance, this is a new genre for me. I’m already writing short stories with my author’s collaboration project. With fellow writers, SD Porter and Eliza Storm, we are each writing short rom-com style stories to match each holiday. We’ve written one for Halloween (Midnight Meet-Ups), one for Valentine’s Day (Sweet Chaos), and our new collection for the Fourth of July (Caught a Spark) comes out this summer (2026). I’m having so much fun, I think I might want to write a full-length romance! To research, I’m reading a variety of authors in the romance world right now. Most of these have been audiobooks, since I’m busy reading ARCs.
For now, I’m reading books for other amazing authors and swooning about my own one-day romance.
What is your writing process? For instance, do you create an outline first? Do you write the chapters first?
I always think of characters first, no matter what kind of story I’m writing, be it fantasy, contemporary romance, or children’s. After that, I place my characters in a setting that fits them, then loosely point them in the direction of what they want or need until something internal and external gets in their way. Finally, I make as many things rain on their journey…so that we have some kind of interesting story and growth arc in the end.
Writing chapters and scenes help me when I’m stuck. It’s okay to write out of order, and I’ve done this before with books, but I find that it takes me longer sometimes to stitch them back together. For this reason, I try to write as linearly as possible.
When drafting a new story, I do consider plotting plans like Save the Cat and the Three Act Structure, however they are sketched and not written in ink. I ask myself a lot more questions than I used to when planning a story now. I want to know up front what lie they believe about themselves, what childhood trauma might be holding them back, and then how they might use that very fear to save the day.
I’ve always called myself a recovering pantser. My first book took seven years from first draft to publication. Although it was a long journey, I still learned so much on the way. I wouldn’t trade any of that time, however I don’t want to spend seven years on a book again. At my age (not telling) I don’t have time for that. As much as I love letting my characters explore and choose their own story (which I still do to a degree) I have a few mile posts I need them to get to along the way to keep me focused and grounded….and ultimately to get more books in my reader’s hands.
Do you believe in writer’s block?
I do believe in writer’s block, but I’ve learned a few things about the wall that stops the flow of writing and some tips and tricks too.
- We all fall into different categories of life and we’re all facing different obstacles in the way of writing (or having time to write). So, the variables are unmeasurable. With that being said, I remind myself that creating is unique for everyone and can be affected by a vast number of reasons. I can’t name them all here but…family and/or job responsibilities, time restraints for a million reasons, health, life surprises (positive and negative), energy levels, and more. Give yourself a break! It’s okay to step back sometimes. Regroup. Start again when you can.
- I’ve read that sometimes we get stuck when we don’t know our story well enough. You can work backwards to the place you felt confident and try to angle it in a slightly different direction. Presto! That sometimes works.
- Try one of the ideas listed below that I do when I’m feeling stuck. This list was taken from my blog post on Steps In Between, Writing Breakthroughs (25 tips when you’re stuck): https://stepsinbetween.com/2023/01/29/writing-breakthroughs-25-tips-when-youre-stuck/
What I do…
- Take a walk (or some kind of nature bath)
- Read a book in the same genre I’m writing in
- Listen to writing podcasts
- Visit a museum
- Go to a movie in a movie theater
- Go to the real theater and see a play
- Complain to my writing critique group
- Plan a field trip to research my characters (where might they go if they visited my town?)
- Drown my sorrows in chardonnay and allergy-free chocolate
- Reread all I’ve written again with fresh eyes
- Read another author’s ARC
- Read book reviews
- Work out (I like Pilates)
- Write or read poetry
- Write something completely new (maybe an article helping other writers)
- Pray (this one seriously works for me)
- Find some fresh inspiration for my writing space (a new candle, vase of flowers…)
- Plan a weekend or even just a day to NOT think about writing and just be
- Spend time with loved ones or friends and just live a little (fill up the life tank)
- Find a new flavor of tea or coffee to drink while I write
- Try plotting a little—if you’re a pantser. Try pantsing a little—if you’re a plotter. The point? Do something different!
- Read a writing craft book
- Dress up when I write (or maybe dress in character), but sometimes dressing for the occasion puts me in the right mood.
- Burn candles or use aroma therapy to set the mood…I like lavender and vanilla
- Create mood boards to go with my stories (Pinterest is great for this)
- Take my characters out for lunch…or dinner…or coffee…or dancing (whatever might work for the story). By this, I mean that I write a small scene that might never make it into the book, but maybe something to share with readers later.
- Here’s a new one, not on my blog post. Find a music soundtrack that coordinates with your story or story vibe. Background music can put me in the mood.
- Another new idea, not on my blog post, which works for me most times…set a timer. I like 25-minute sprints, but even if you only have ten minutes, write for that allotted time. You will feel better. And sometimes that’s all we need to get back in the groove.
Nina Soden 