Aunt Rose & The Haunting of Sterling Manor
(Holy sh*t I published a book!)
I used to fill notebooks with stories, observations, ideas, and the endless parade of characters that seemed determined to live rent-free in my imagination.
For a long time, however, I thought music would be my future.
I trained as an opera singer and planned to spend my life on stage. But when vocal cord nodules took away my ability to pursue that dream, writing quietly stepped forward to fill the space music had left behind.
The result eventually became Aunt Rose & the Haunting of Sterling Manor.
The story is stitched together from the things I have loved my entire life.
The elegant mysteries of Agatha Christie.
The delicious tension of Alfred Hitchcock.
The wit of Clue and Murder by Death.
The cozy reassurance of Murder, She Wrote.
The supernatural charm of Ghostbusters, The Addams Family, and Beetlejuice.
The grandeur of historic homes, vintage fashion, and old Hollywood glamour.
Built around a feeling I believe modern entertainment has largely forgotten - Rest
Today, so much storytelling demands that we sit in a constant state of anxiety. The tension never breaks. The stakes never soften. The audience is expected to remain emotionally exhausted from beginning to end.
I wanted to create something different.
Alfred Hitchcock famously explained suspense using his "bomb under the table" analogy. What fascinated me wasn't the bomb. It was his understanding that tension only works when relief exists alongside it.
I agree wholeheartedly.
My stories are mysteries, but they are also places to breathe.
You can trust that I will never delight in cruelty for its own sake. I will never ask readers to suffer simply to prove a point. You can settle into one of my books knowing that warmth, friendship, humor, belonging, and hope will always have a seat at the table.
At the heart of this story is chosen family.
It is for people who have felt too loud. Too strange. Too emotional.
*Too much*
It is for the wonderfully eccentric souls who have spent their lives searching for a place where they are loved exactly as they are.
I believe everyone deserves that.
As a child, I visited Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria
and immediately fell under its spell. I became fascinated by its history, its architecture, its hidden corners, and the possibility that every old house carries stories within its walls.
That fascination never left me.
When creating Sterling Manor, I used photographs, floor plans, research, and my own memories to reimagine the castle as a place where mystery and wonder could coexist. Even today, I pass a framed print of Craigdarroch Castle hanging in my home and smile.
For months, I had the privilege of wandering its halls again through imagination..
And then there is Aunt Rose
While every writer leaves pieces of themselves in their characters, the woman I kept picturing while writing was my Great Aunt Rose. Strong. Brilliant. Stylish. Funny. Warm. Completely unimpressed by nonsense.
The kind of woman who could walk into a room, solve a mystery, and still have time to tell you exactly what she thought of your curtains.
She became the heart of this story.
Like the women who inspired her, Aunt Rose is unapologetically herself.
There is a very special person who never stopped encouraging me: My teacher and mentor, Dr. Moses Howard.
He encouraged it when I was busy. He encouraged it when life became complicated and writing seemed impractical. Even after I left school, he continued to remind me that stories mattered and that I had something worth saying.
After he passed away, I found a letter he had given me years earlier urging me to write. Reading his words again felt like receiving one final assignment.
Pick up your pen.
So I did.
I hope this book feels like spending a weekend with people you genuinely enjoy.
I hope it makes you laugh.
I hope it surprises you.
I hope it gives you a place to rest.
And if, somewhere along the way, it reminds you that you deserve friendship, belonging, and unconditional love exactly as you are, then I will consider it a success.
With gratitude,
Gina Joy
*Dr. Moses L. Howard - served as a biology teacher, assistant principal, counselor, mentor for at-risk students, community college dean, Fulbright Fellow, and author. His work took him from classrooms in Washington State to Uganda, where he helped train teachers and medical technologists, always guided by a deep belief in education, curiosity, and human potential.
Beyond education, Dr. Howard was an accomplished author whose books explored history, courage, culture, and the human spirit. Yet what I remember most is not his impressive résumé, but his generosity. He had a gift for seeing possibilities in people before they could see them in themselves.
The best teachers give us information. The extraordinary ones help shape who we become. Dr. Moses Howard was one of the extraordinary ones.