Ghost Train follows a samurai’s daughter living during the time that Japan is experiencing a battle between modernization and tradition, who accepts help from a kitsune in exchange for confronting the demons rampaging Kyoto. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

True events were the inspiration! I’m a former journalist who loves sharing real stories of real people with audiences who can learn or grow from reading about them. Historical events and recurring societal reactions to them can reveal so much about humankind; my hope is we can recognize the harmful patterns in time to break them, so as not to repeat history, but rather, grow and evolve positively from it.

1877 was a pivotal year in Japan; the Samurai Rebellion (a la The Last Samurai) was taking place, roughly 270 years after the events of Shogun. Feudal Japan had just fallen, only to be replaced by Imperial Japan, which saw the re-opening of Japan’s borders to the world for trade and diplomacy after almost three centuries of self-isolation. The world was eager to work with Japan, so the Japanese saw an influx of technology imports and Westernization in a very, very, short time, and I always wondered how that would have affected the human psyche to experience such rapid change.

Today, in 2024, we are living in globalization and information (and disinformation) eras. We know something of rapid changes and waking up to find laws turned upside down, new technologies rolling out, and conflict and agreement between nations. But we also have a greater concept of the world around us, and firmer grasp on greater contexts to these inventions and events, thanks to the internet, social media, and access to journalism. In 1877 Japan, they didn’t have all of the answers at their fingertips, which meant that they often had to fill in the gaps of knowledge on their own — which usually resulted in making up their own answers and pulling from folklore.

Ghost Trains are a real phenomenon that happened in the 1870s and 1880s. Conductors were driving trains for hours and hours (they were much slower then!) and often operated alone, leaving them fatigued to the point of exhaustion. They sometimes hallucinated things they feared: including crashing their train into another one. It’s similar to long-range truck drivers who share their experiences of seeing cars or animals that don’t exist, due to fatigue. But when I heard about “ghost trains” I got to thinking: what if, instead of a rational, science-based explanation, the folklore the Japanese believed in at the time was real? And who would be best to tell this story? I chose a young woman, on the brink of adulthood, who was experiencing a social status change and trying to find her own identity in this new world while witnessing the changes from Old Japan to New Japan. From there, I devoured history books, and firsthand accounts, and researched through thousands of sources, working to tell the story of the summer of 1877 Kyoto.

There is a lot of time and care spent with descriptions of the scenery, the setting, and the story’s tone. Was this out of necessity to develop the depth of the story or was it something that happened naturally as you were writing?

I would say yes — a little of both. Kyoto and its summer atmosphere served as a second main character in some ways; the city was alive, and felt the pain of the changes — both cosmetic and undertones — and breathed and sighed with Maru. The trees bent with the winds both in the air and from the gasp at the Emperor’s decisions. I took a lot of my experience from living in Japan and experiencing summers in Kyoto and weaving them into the story, almost as if I were transposing parts of my diary, or describing photos I had taken.

I really wanted the audience to step into the world and be caught up in the mystery and tension of it all, and help them forget their world around them. When I started writing, a lot of the descriptions came first so I could get a feel for the setting and where the characters would see ghosts and demons, where conversations would take place, where main activities would be held, and so forth. Then in the editing process, I curbed some details, but then emphasized some specific points to really help it come alive and evoke the time period, to give a heightened sense of danger and awareness that the reader needed to have. I really wanted them to come away from the story feeling as if they not only visited but learned something, too.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

First and foremost, Ghost Train is a coming-of-age story of a young woman going through the tumultuous experience of growing up, and the chaotic early reign of Emperor Meiji. Her personal world was mirrored by the changes of her external world; and I hoped that readers who suffer from anxiety and fear over change may find comfort in her confusion, mistrust, and disdain for all that is happening. Maru also suffers from grief and depression, which is a theme in a lot of my writing. Those emotions are some of the deepest humans can feel, and I think a lot of readers, like myself, are always looking for more ways to cope through difficult times and learn others’ perspectives.

And, of course, Ghost Train is also a ghost story. The beauty of horror is it’s more than just scares: it’s a social commentary wrapped up in a package that is meant to disorient and challenge the reader. Ghost Train wants people to look at history through another lens and see that progress, while usually not a linear path, can be both good, but come with a price and sacrifice. In 1877 Kyoto, that price came in the form of a loss of women’s rights, though Japan gained a number of allies, a new government, new social structure that healed their old divides, and strengthened economy that pulled them out of starvation and plagues. These fears and the pain of these losses are described through Maru’s sightings of ghosts: listless, and in need of help.

Maru’s journey too is about overcoming her own doubts and reliance on her family to become her own person and find her own strengths from within. She always relied on others, like her friends or family, for validation and decisions. But this is a new world, in which she can make her own path and has a say in her future. So as she grows up, she also learns to harness her voice and find herself. It’s what we’d all like to do for ourselves, right?

I find a problem in well-written stories in that I always want another book to keep the story going. Is there a second book planned?

Thank you! I am so excited you and other readers are asking for more. And, you’ll be happy to learn: there is both a second and a third! I wrote all three books at once; which also explains the pacing and the heavier descriptions in Ghost Train. The second book would pick up from the very next day that Ghost Train ends, and each character would go a lot farther. If I can share anything at all, it’s this: the third is my favorite.

There are a lot more mysteries yet to be revealed and pivotal moments in that time period to explore and experience through the eyes of Maru. In fact, a lot of Ghost Train really lays out the pieces that set up the ultimate climax of the trilogy, so I think readers will feel a lot more confident after learning all of the terminology and getting to know these characters. They will also truly get all of the answers that they may still be looking for after finishing Ghost Train. If sales go well, you may just see those two in bookstores in the near future!

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