MOWBRAY AND THE BARON is a novel told in 3rd person POV and is about 93,500 words long. Set in 1937, it takes place after the event in MOWBRAY AND THE SHARKS. The tale follows in the tradition of the Topper novels of Thorn Smith and the Jeeves and Bertie stories of P.G. Wodehouse. The tone is whimsical overall, but, when Mowbray arrives at the train station of Galliford, New York, he finds a town that is apparently dying. As he travels to Fledermaus House (aka "Mouse House") in the taxi of Alfrie Lipschitz (formerly of NYC), he learns about the discovery of the body of a woman who was murdered and left in the snow. He also learns about the supposed accidental deaths of a family who owned the Mouse House.
The desperate town looks for hope. They are delighted that Mouse House has been purchased by a real live nobleman from Europe: Mowbray's employer, Baron Culdraca of Italy. He has come to the U.S. to escape the fascists of Benito Musolini. He has peculiar habits. He sleeps during the day and walks the grounds of Fledermaus House at night. He needs someone reliable to interact with the public, and Mowbray has excellent credentials.
MOWBRAY DEFAULTS:
1. Thanks to the effects of being in a coma after a lightning strike when he was a child, Mowbray can see ghosts, but he can't tell them from regular people. The ghosts don't appear with, say, slit throats, bullet holes, etc.
2. He realizes ghosts are very unhappy ("It's not healthy to be a ghost" is a refrain in all the Mowbray novels.) No one speaks to them or notices them. They constantly feel slighted.
3. When healthy people die, they promptly transition to whatever follows.Mowbray's parents crossed over without any ghosts being manifested.
4. When a person is in a coma or simply unconscious, Mowbray can often see, and converse with, the healthy individual.
5. Ghosts can't necessarily see other ghosts.
6. The ghosts in the Mowbrayverse aren't evil. They are frightened, confused, and paranoid because they aren't being treated with courtesy and respect.
Genre: FICTION / Fantasy / General
Modest
Until the pandemic, mainly sold at meetings of writers' groups, book fairs, and writing festivals.
“I ride this train regularly, especially after I lost our little girl.” Doc Myers studied the spot where the little girl had been sitting. “Miriam was ill, and the doctors had done all they could do. I wrapped her up and got her on the train to take her to the city to…” His throat had tightened, and he shook his head.
“And I’m guessing that she just slipped away,” Mowbray said.
“She, her body, was right there, but Miriam wasn’t. Everything that made Miriam Miriam had slipped away.” He shook the thoughts away. "Leaving me here alone and with--" He tapped his chest. “An erratic pump.”
The little girl was coming back to her seat, and she smiled at Mowbray and looked worried at Bernard Myers. When she sat down, she told Mowbray, “Tell him there’s a game of five-card stud in the dining car.”
Uh oh, Mowbray warned himself. This isn’t just a shy little girl. Be careful. It's rude to tell a ghost that she's dead. “Doc, I believe there’s a card game in the dining car.”
“I guess a game won’t hurt.”
When they were almost alone, Mowbray said, “And what do you do to pass the time, Miss Myers?”
“When Papa’s on the train, I look after him. He’s so sad, always crying when nobody’s watching him.” She bit her bottom lip and fought back tears herself. “He’s very angry with me. He looked straight at me, and said, ‘Miriam, come back. I love you, little one.’ I told him I was right here, but he just ignored me. My papa hates me.”
“He’s not ignoring you, Miriam. He can’t see you.”
“But why?”
He tapped his head. “Maybe he’s had a stroke or a tumor.”
