Let me just put this out there: I’m a big fan of Twin Cities Live. For over 15 years, this local lifestyle show is all about Minnesota food, fashion, and fun. The fun can include everything from State Fair foods to local music, psychics, and ghost hunting at local landmarks.
When I was writing Spook Squad, I wanted a subplot to revolve around Abbey and her spook squad, Lexi and Kelly, as they audition to be the show’s new ghosthunters. Enter Twin Cities Live.
“Good evening. We’re the Spook Squad, the Twin Cities’ leading high school paranormal investigators. We’re here with Twin Cities Live at the historic Mounds Theatre in Saint Paul to do what we do best: find the ghosts.”
A little background
Spook Squad is the third book in the Abbey series after Abnormally Abbey and Class Clown. For those unfamiliar with Abbey, she is a 14-year-old gifted/cursed with the ability to interact with the dead. Ghosts have been coming to her since she was a child, but it’s not as glamorous as it sounds. Life can get scary when the dead intrude.
Throughout her journey, Abbey has wanted to keep her unusual abilities on the downlow. Her childhood friends weren’t exactly comfortable when a ghost showed up. They wanted to be as far away as possible from the spooky girl.
Then, things changed.
Her school friends Lexi and Kelly embraced both Abbey and her spook baggage. And when a government agent coerces Abbey by threatening to expose her, her friends suggest they audition to be Twin Cities Live’s new ghost hunters. The television program’s previous one is retiring.
“Have you ever watched that afternoon TV show, Twin Cities Live? They’ll often send out cameras to a haunted place in the area. I’ve seen them visit Keys Café and the St. Anthony Main area. But now, their resident ghost hunter has decided to retire, and they’ve made a contest to find a replacement. All we need to do is submit a video of us ghost hunting, and they’ll choose us.”
“Us and not anyone else?” I was skeptical. “And you’re sure?”
“Yep,” Kelly said in her uber-confident way. “With you, we’re a lock. With us three, we’ll be completely irresistible.”
Robert Palmer’s classic eighties song, “Simply Irresistible,” popped into my head. And when any eighties song shows up in my life soundtrack, I go with it.
“I’m in,” I say to the delight of Kelly and Lexi.
The girls find themselves in a head-to-head battle with another team of ghost hunters, The Paranormal Dudes. These University of Minnesota students are flashy showmen, and like many of the cable ghost-hunting shows, the Dudes rely on equipment and misinterpreting everyday things.
But they don’t have someone who talks to ghosts.
Abbey and her Spook Squad may be up against flashy showmen of The Paranormal Dudes, but what they lack in gear, they make up for with Abbey’s one-of-a-kind ability to communicate with the dead. As the girls race to prove they’ve got what it takes to be Twin Cities Live’s next ghost hunters, they’ll face more than just competition—the spirits themselves have plans of their own. With unexpected twists from the producers and surprises from beyond the grave, Abbey and her friends are in for the ghost-hunting adventure of a lifetime. Want to see how it all unfolds? Pick up Spook Squad today for a spine-tingling ride!