::Ghosts of Albion::

To celebrate the release of the first full-length GHOSTS OF ALBION novel, ACCURSED, we created a simple contest, with an opportunity for those who enter to win a FREE AUTOGRAPHED COPY, signed by both authors and inscribed to the winners.

Our partners in this contest were www.aintitcoolnews.com, www.shocklines.com, The Cemetery Dance Insider newsletter available through www.cemeterydance.com and Brian Freeman's Stephen King Newsletter, which you can sign up for at www.stephenkingnews.com.

One winner will be chosen from each of those sites, and TWO winners will be chosen from entries made through GhostsOfAlbion.net. Each of these winners received a free, personalized, autographed copy of the book. From those, an overall winner was be chosen to also receive a free GHOSTS OF ALBION t-shirt, and a phone call from Amber Benson.

The Mission: It was simple, really. Suggest a figure from British history to be a ghost in a future Ghosts of Albion story. The choice could be anyone who was British by birth or citizenship, who was famous or infamous enough for there to be at least some historical background available, and who died PRIOR to 1840. We required name of the deceased, the years of their birth and death, and, very briefly, your reasoning why that person would make an excellent choice for inclusion in GHOSTS OF ALBION.

**Fine print: winning suggestions may or may not actually be used in future Ghosts of Albion stories.
**Advice: No King Arthur. Ain't gonna happen.

The winners? Read on and find out!

From the Cemetery Dance Newsletter:
CHRIS CHAMPINE for entering "Ottabah Cugoano"

Ottobah Cugoano (1757?-1801?) Later baptised as 'John Stuart'.
Kidnapped from what is now Ghana, sold into slavery, and eventually working for artists in England, he encountered many high-ranking political and cultural figures of the time. He then became involved in the abolishonist group 'Sons of Africa', and called for the ending of slavery and establishing school for African students in Britain. In 1787, he published 'Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species.'

I think the dynamic between the other characters (both Swifts and the ghosts) and Cugoano would be interesting, as well as the opportunity to represent a political activist of that time and viewpoint in Britain, rather than the American representation that most people are used to.

From Shocklines.com:
TIM LEBBON for entering "Dick Turpin"**

Dick Turpin (b. 1706, d. 1739)
I think he'd be a great choice because there's so many conflicting and remarkable tales about him.Ê He was the most famous of the 'highwaymen', and he allegedly rode from London to York on his horse in 24 hours.Ê Legend tells of a dashing, charismatic thief, whereas he was actually a brutal criminalÊemploying torture to discover the hiding places of many families' worldly goods.Ê His capture is incredible: it was all down to his old schoolmaster recognising Turpin's handwriting!

There's reams of information about him, and books, and I think his ghost would be as deceitful and intriguing as the man himself.

From Ain't it Cool News:
MIKE NOWAK for entering "Robert Hooke"

Robert Hooke (1635-1703)
Physicist and biologist (one of the early pioneers of using microsopes), and bitter rival of Isaac Newton.Ê He accused Newton of stealing his work, and claimed that it was his own work formed the foundation of Newton's three laws.Ê Newton's response in a letter to Hooke was the now famous "If I have seen further than others, it is because I have stood upon the shoulders of giants."Ê Which sounds perfectly lovely, except for the fact that it was well-known at the time that Hooke was a fairly deformed, hunchback dwarf!Ê Alas, there are no known surviving pictures of him.Ê But what could be better than a bitter, hunchback dwarf as a ghost?

From Ain't it Cool News, special honorable mention goes to:
BILLY AGUIAR for entering "The Etruscan"
(Note--We asked specifically for a person, otherwise Billy might have been tied with Mike)

The Estrucan (1638-1690)
The Estrucan is one of the numerous ghost ships that are part of the English tradition. As a real ship (as far as I can tell) it is the man o'war that finally gives Nelson an excuse to exercise his naval abilities. Sinking with 130 lives lost, the ship would be manned and armed by ghostly sailors. Basically, having Estrucan around would be the perfect excuse to have Nelson use the ghost ship to strike at a giant monster/creature of some sort that is threatening the coast of England. And what can be any cooler than a ghostly sea battle with giant monsters? I mean, really?

From ghostsofalbion.net, the first winner is:
NANCY TOOTHAKER for entering Mother Shipton

Mother Shipton
..is a famous prophetess of the British Isles. She has been a fertile source of folklore and myth throughout the centuries. The first stories about her life and prophecies appeared around the mid-seventeenth century. Mother Shipton ws born in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire in 1488 as Ursula Southeil. Ursula was not a pretty child and was described as hideous to behold. Her appearance did not improve as an adult- "her body crooked and her face frightful". She did manage to wed at the age of 24 and became known as Mother Shipton. People came to her for her words of wisdom and prophecies; she became known throughout Britian for her talent.

She is said to have prophesised many things during her lifetime, such as the Civil War, the defeat of the Spainish Armada and even the end of the world to come in 1881. However, much like Nostradamus, many of the rhymes are obscure riddles and can be interpeted in many ways. She is thought to have died in 1561. Mother Shipton was a popular figure in the Victorian era and certainly could have been known to William and Tamara as a figure of folklore. I believe Mother Shipton would make a colorful addition to the Ghosts of Albion universe. More information about Mother Shipton can be found at www.mothershipton.co.uk

From ghostsofalbion.net, the second winner & overall Grand Prize winner is:
SHIA MATA for the most creative entry The Unknown Soldier

The Unknown Soldier
Every war has its unknown soldiers...men who died in battle and, lacking means of identification, were buried anonymously (the concept of troops carrying personal ID, which eventually evolved into dog tags, did not become widespread until the American Civil War). These men may have died a nameless death, but they lived as loyal servants to their nation, and the unknown soldiers of Britain have been no different. The ghost I am proposing is just what the term ÔUnknown Soldier' implies: Unknown. He knows he fought in the Eighty Years' War, dying in battle in the Netherlands in 1601. His identity lost, he was buried under an unmarked cross and given last rites as an anonymous soul.

For reasons it is not our place to know, this man's ghost does not remember who he is, nor does he recall any of the personal details of his lifetime. All he knows for certain is that he swore his allegiance to crown and country, and he sees no reason not to continue to do so simply because he's now dead. What makes this spirit different, obviously, is that while he is rooted in historical fact, he himself is a blank slate...or, more precisely, a palimpsest. His advantage is that he is heroic and noble without the obvious defects of character which may have carried over from his living years. His tragedy is that he does not have his memories of family and friends to recall...all he has is his undying dedication to England.

Historically, this character exists; thousands of him do, their names and lives lost to the annals. His era's events can be used to shade in aspects of his life, but ultimately, he must always remain the great unknown ghost of Albion.

(**Note that there were MANY duplicates. In the cases of Dick Turpin and Mary Shelley, more than one person submitted their ghosts to the contest. If there were duplicates from the same contest participant site, we would have chosen the one that arrived first, as per the timestamp on the e-mail.)

(***As a side note, to all those who entered Queen Bodicea, Admiral Nelson, or Lord Byron and are wondering why their wonderful entries weren't chosen... you might want to go and check out GHOSTS OF ALBION, since they're already the title characters!)