An Interview with the Dynamic Duo of Day and Ferguson – Part 2

This is the second part of an interview with Sharon Day of Ghost Hunting Theories and Julie Ferguson of Above the Norm. In Part 1, I they talked about some of their projects and how they met. In this part they expand on their thoughts about working together, share some of their favorite things about Arizona, and fill us in on what’s next for them.

Haunt Jaunts: What’s your favorite thing about working together? Anything unexpected you’ve learned about yourself or your cohort or that you’ve come to appreciate about yourself or one another?

Sharon Day: Julie is ridiculously easy to work with. She goes with the flow and is not afraid of hard work. I give her something and she just takes off with it. One of our first road trips together, I noticed how she got caught up in photographing places and I also found out she was an artist. I thought to myself, “this woman will find herself if she finds her art again” and the book projects were just the thing. She has evolved so much as a photographer and artist and expanded into digital art too. I am so proud of her and all she’s done. I call her sister, but she really is in every sense.

Julie Ferguson: We seem to bounce things off each other real well. She might come up with a crazy idea and together we make it work. We know what each is capable of and build on that to become successful. I am the type of person who needs a push to do something such as writing my own book or opening an Etsy shop featuring handmade items. She has a way to give me that push I need and I totally appreciate it. I don’t even want to know what I would be doing if Sharon, my husband, and family weren’t there encouraging me all the way. I learned I am capable of anything if I put my mind to it.

HJ: As I’ve told you both before, I used to live in Arizona. I loved the desert and thought it was absolutely beautiful. My favorite times of year were when the orange blossoms bloomed, if we had a rainy winter which would produce a carpet of spring wildflowers, and the sight of the jacaranda trees in May. I thought it’d be fun to see what it is that you love about Arizona? (Be its natural beauty or something else about the state you live in. Maybe certain places you’ve been or like to go even.)

SD: I actually detested Arizona and wanted out of it while I was married because I felt like my husband was keeping me prisoner in this hot and sunny and dry place, but since being divorced and hitting the road with Julie, I’ve seen things about the desert that make me feel like I’m finally actually seeing it. I think my favorite places are the ones that are historic with Native American essence. They leave a spiritual feel to the land they inhabited that is distinct. I always say that in the East, the houses are haunted, but in the West, the land is haunted.

JF: When I was in high school, I hated my Arizona/history class. Today, that is one of the things I love about this state. Learning about the Wild West history and all the fascinating stories from each place we have traveled too, has been a blast. Every town has many stories to be told. I have enjoyed learning more and more about this state. My other favorite thing is the way the landscape changes from place to place. The Sonoran desert has many cacti, where other places have none and is barren. There are many scenic views throughout the mountains and large pine trees in the northern and eastern part of the state. You can travel around Arizona for days, enjoying its history and beauty of the ever changing landscape.

HJ: Lastly, what’s next for the dynamic Day/Ferguson duo? More blogs? Books? Travel adventures and funny videos? The same question(s) go(es) for your own personal pursuits. What’s next? What else can your readers and fans look forward to?

SD: We are hoping that if our “Kickin’ Up Dust! (Getting Lost To Find Ourselves)” book gets to print, we would like to pitch a local AZ TV show based on it where Julie and I trek the AZ roads to show the most unknown scary places and haunted locales. We might consider some franchising from our zombie housewives book, as well. Stella (Julie) and Liz (me) are interesting characters. Stella is the perfect 1950s housewife, cook, baker, gracious hostess and Liz is the drunken slutty divorcee housewife. They could make for some potentially fun franchising, but I would also like to peddle the book to some Indie filmmakers.

We will keep doing what we love because we know from blogging that there’s a huge niche for those of us who ask a lot of questions of the universe and love to be goofy and have fun getting answers. I am hoping to expand into doing some 5-minute Documentaries on YouTube on odd paranormal subjects and some hostessing on video at scary locations.

JF: We have more books together planned for the future. We are hoping to take many more trips, in Arizona and in other states. These trips will include material for more books, ghost hunts, and documentaries. We would love to do a travel TV show, perhaps based on our “Kickin’ Up Dust” book. For me, I want to continue to create one-of-a-kind items for my Etsy shop and write more books on my own. I have become interested in the outlaws that have lived in Arizona and would like to do a book about some of them. I want to take my dream trip to Italy and find out information about my Mother’s family. I just want to travel to many fascinating places, keep doing what I love, and live life to the fullest.

This has sure made for a fun interview. I wish them both the best in their personal, as well as joint, endeavors. I expect more great things to come from these ladies.

BOOKS BY SHARON DAY AND JULIE FERGUSON

Below are the titles they have published together as well as individually.

Abandoned Places: Abandoned Memories (Desert Edition)

Was That a Ghost?

Josiah: Undead Cowboy (Midnight Arroyo)

Don’t Go There! A Flash Horror Anthology

Courtney Mroch

Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.

Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.