Meet C.K. Volnek, Author of "Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island"

I'm really excited today to host C.K. Volnek, author of "Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island," a wonderully-written middle grade book that turns an unknown piece of history into a thrilling work of fiction.

C.K. is offering a FREE copy of her e-book, Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island, to one lucky visitor. Please leave her a comment and you just might be a winner!

C.K. Volnek grew up in Nebraska, enjoying life in small town USA; riding horses in summer and sledding the ginormous hills in winter. Married to her best friend, they have three children and four Papillon fur-kids. Yes…four. She laughs and says she’s the ‘official dog-woman in town’ as she parades them all down the street of her home town. She is proud to announce her first two tween novels, Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island and A Horse Called Trouble will be released in 2011 and a third, The Secret of the Stones, will be released in 2012, all through MuseItUp Publishing.

Tagged the story-teller at a young age, she would sit around the campfire and spin her latest spine-tingling ghost stories, sharing them with family and friends. C.K. enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She loves to travel, hiking and long walks with her fur-kids. She loves pasta and tulips, drawing, gardening, jewelry making, reading and of course...writing.

 About "Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island"

~ In 1587,117 colonists disappeared without a trace from Roanoke Island , North Carolina, leaving behind not only unanswered questions, but a terrifying evil. ~

Twelve year-old Jack Dahlgren hates his new home on Roanoke Island. Not only does Dad treat him like a baby, but now Dad blames him for his little sister’s accident as well. And no one at school wants to get to know the kid who lives in the ‘haunted house.’ Could things get any worse?

Jack is about to find out it can. Inside a mysterious cave on the bluff next to Jack’s new home, a terrifying evil awaits—the same malevolent curse surrounding the mysterious disappearance of the Lost Colony. Now, it’s up to Jack to unravel the four-hundred year-old mystery and save his family from the demon that haunts his island. With the help of an elusive Giant Mastiff and new-found friend, Manny, a Native American shaman, Jack must discover what this devil is and find a way to put an end to its eternal hatred. But can he defeat it, before it destroys him?

As a special treat, we are going to speak with the book's main character!

Hello. Would you please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about you?

Me? My name is Jack…Jack Dahlgren. I’m the main character from C.K. Volnek’s Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island, a ghost story for tweens. I’m almost 13 years-old. I like to remind my dad of that because he treats me like such a baby.

Where are you from Jack?

I’m from Ohio but my dad moved us to this beach house on Roanoke Island about two months ago. I wasn’t too happy about leaving the only place I’d ever lived. But Dad had been laid off for over a year there. So when my Great-grandma Ellis left us this house on Roanoke Island, Dad went to scope it out. He found a job in nearby Manteo and that was all she wrote. He up and moved us, not even asking if it was okay by me.

What grade are you in school?

I just started 7th Grade. The teacher here is pretty cool, but I wish Tyler would quit being such a jerk. He’s the one that keeps everyone stirred up and making fun of my house, telling everyone it’s haunted.

Do you have a job?

No. What with being new to the island and not living in town, I can’t even get a paper route.

Tell us about Roanoke Island.

It’s an island off the coast of North Carolina. Dad kept making stupid comments, like he thought I’d love to live on an Island. Like that’s the cool thing to do or something. I can’t say I like it. None of the kids at school want to have much to do with me, always teasing me about our creepy house. They say it’s haunted. It’s a beach house and it is pretty run down, but how can it be haunted? Dad is so busy. He’s either at work or working on the house. Never has any time for me. He won’t even let me go exploring the woods or the bluff ... not since Kimmy’s accident.

Who is Kimmy and what happened to her?

Kimmy’s my little sister. She’s six. She fell of the bluff next to our house three weeks ago and is in the hospital. Hit her head and has been unconscious ever since. Dad blames me for her accident. I’d do anything to take it back. I didn’t know she’d followed me up there! But Dad blames me for it. Guess he’s right, because I wasn’t supposed to be up there either.

Mom has been with Kimmy since she fell. I wish she would come home. Seems like I’m always in trouble with Dad. He’s so mad at me. He promised I could get a dog when we moved to the island. But he hasn’t mentioned it since the accident. But I’ve got to find a way to make him let me keep that big Mastiff I seen on the bluff. That Mastiff must need a good home and he’ll be a great dog to have around. He’s already saved me from whatever that thing was I came across in the cave.

What did you find in the cave?

I didn’t know what it was at first. It’s wicked big and ugly and smelly! Pretty scary. I met this guy named Manny. He’s really cool even if he is an adult. He’s a Native American Shaman and is going to teach me how to whittle. He also seems to know what this thing in the cave is and said he’ll help me figure out how to stop it.

Manny says it’s an evil creature conjured up a long time ago…1587 to be exact, from when the first colonists landed on Roanoke Island. 117 colonists disappeared back then...disappeared without a trace. I think this creature has something to do with it.

Manny says that I am the only one who can stop it. I have to find out why. But first I have to figure out what it is and why it’s here. It’s pretty scary but if I don’t stop it, it will continue to haunt the island and maybe kill people.

Maybe if I can stop it, Dad won’t be so mad at me about Kimmy’s accident anymore. It could show him I’m responsible and he’ll let me keep the dog. But first, I’ve got to stop it...before it stops me.

Who do you think will like to read Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island?

Anyone who likes action, adventure and mystery with some Indian folklore and history thrown in, will love Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island. C.K. got the idea to write the story when she read an article about the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island. A lot of people think the colony that came over on the Mayflower to Plymouth was the first, but they weren’t. Roanoke Island was the very first colony.

In 1587, Sir Walter Raleigh dispatched  a group of colonists to Roanoke Island to set up a colony in the new world. A few short months later the colonists sent their Governor, John White, back to England for supplies and help. With the start of the Spanish war, White was not able to return right away. And when he did return to Roanoke Island three years later, the colonists were gone. Completely vanished.  No one knows what happened to them. Did they die of starvation or disease? Were they killed? There weren’t any bodies. Did they get blown away by a hurricane? If they had, then why weren’t the buildings destroyed? Many questions surround this never-solved mystery. And so C.K. decided to come up with her own explanation. You’ll have to read it and see what she did.

When can readers buy your book and read your story?

My e-book, Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island, just came out, published by MuseItUp Publishing

You can read about me and the others in my book at our web page: http://www.ckvolnek.com/ghost-dog-of-roanoke-island1.html

The MuseItUp bookstore link can be found at:http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=105&category_id=10&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1

Does your Creator have a website or blog that might have more information about you or your story?

C.K. Volnek’s website is www.ckvolnek.com.

Her e-mail is ckvolnek@yahoo.com.

Blog: http://www.ckvolnek.com/blog.html

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbJEF9TjZzo

Twitter: CKVolnek

Is this a one-time story or will others be following – like a series?

My story ends with this book. But C.K. Volnek has a lot of other stories coming soon. The Secret of the Stones is now under contract with MuseItUp Publishing as well and will be available in April 2012. It’s the first book in a series called The Lost Diaries of Northumberland.

Remember, C.K. is offering a FREE copy of her e-book, Ghost Dog of Roanoke Island, to one lucky visitor. Please leave her a comment and you just might be a winner!

 Thank you to C.K. and Jack for being here!

Thanks for hosting me today!

C.K. Volnek