Here’s the scoop on some behind the scenes inspiration for Shadow Slayer (Shadow Series #2) Â releasing everywhere Sept 18th! I’m entering all tweets, comments and FB shares of this post into my Shadow Slayer e-ARC & AWESOME SWAG giveaway! I hope you enjoy this sneak peek! Thanks for helping to spread the word & GOOD LUCK! If you’re at the festival today, I hope to see you there. I’ll be hanging out at the teen stage for most of the day, but….you already knew that, right? LoLz! Winner announced here, On Wednesday Sept. 5th!
Because of the legends surrounding it, the 848 acre Mayslake Estate has always captured my imagination, ever since I was a little girl. Its mansion was built by Francis Stuyvesant Peabody, a business magnet of The Guilded Age [1880-1920]. The Franciscan Friars later acquired the property and used it for a spiritual retreat for many years. The Friars sold off much of the acerage of the original estate for luxury home development. When a developer talked of razing the original buildings there was a huge campaign to save the estate and in 1992 The DuPage County Forest Preserve District bought the site including all the original buildings, including the original mansion and the estate’s storied Portiuncula Chapel. The mansion has a tragic history. During the very first party there, held to celebrate the completion of the estate, during a fox hunt, Francis Stuyvesant Peabody died of a heart attack. The Portinuncula Chapel was built on the spot where he died. The chapel has been relocated as have all the bodies that were once buried on the estate, including several of the Franciscan Friars. The estate is now the site of weddings, concerts and festivals, and is where Oakdale High School holds its homecoming dance in Shadow Slayer (Shadow Series #2). Here’s a video of the estate. Shadow Slayer releases September 18th!
Congrats to Theresa, winner of the Shadow Slayer Cover Reveal & Giveaway. She’s won an audiobook copy of 13 on Halloween, 2 series necklaces & an e-arc of Shadow Slayer! Thanks to everyone who stopped by to enter the giveaway.
Woah I can totally understand how this captures your imagination, Laura. That’s a beautiful story… eerie though. Love it!!
Suzy, 🙂 thanks for stopping by. Back in Chicago we always had our dances at some interesting places. Never here though. I love that about writing…when I wrote the homecoming dance scene I knew I had to set the story here.
It makes me even more eager to read it! I’m just going through my list of books at the moment… hopefully it won’t take me long until I get to yours 🙂 XX
Cool! I know my TBR is HUGE….but, I am chipping away at it now. So easy to do since I’ve been in the hospital with my mom-in-law…she’s getting a knee replacement. LOTS of time to read…I should be editing but, well, it’s easier to read in hospitals I think:) Thanks for your kind words Suzy, ur the best! <3