Guest post: Amanda Stevens author of 'The Restorer' in character!

To celebrate the release of her fantastic novel 'The Restorer' which comes out today (April 19th) has written a guest post in the style of her character, Amelia who is a graveyard restorer!!

You can read my review of the fantastic novel 'The Restorer' here

Poisoned by His Wife & Dr. Cream—My Favorite Epitaphs

A true taphophile will let nothing stand in her way—be it spiders, snakes, poison ivy, or ghosts—for the opportunity to explore an old cemetery.  I love every aspect of graving, but I have a real affinity for epitaphs.  Most of the modern headstones contain little more than the basics—the person's name, date of birth, date of death, and who they are survived by or buried with.  But the really old memorials strive to tell a story in lush and melancholy verse.  And occasionally, one stumbles across a true gem—the revealing epitaph:

Poisoned by His Wife & Dr. Cream—an inscription that appears on the tombstone of Daniel Stott, murdered in 1881 by Dr. Thomas Neill Cream, a serial killer some believe to be the infamous Jack the Ripper.  Stott’s wife was seduced by Dr. Cream and then later testified against him.  She never served a day in prison but was publically indicted by her husband’s epitaph.

Stepped on the Gas Instead of the Brake—poor Jonathan Blake.

I’m also partial to the defensive epitaph:

He Never Killed a Man that Did Not Need Killing—inscribed in the foot marker of Clay Allison, cattle rancher and gun fighter.  Despite his reputation as a gunslinger, he died in a wagon accident on his ranch in 1887 and was buried in Pecos Cemetery in Texas.

The accusatory epitaph:

I Told You I Was Sick—engraved in a marker on the crypt of one B. P. Roberts interred in Key West Cemetary (that’s the way it’s spelled in the iron lichgate—oops!).

And the life-goes-on epitaph:

Sacred To
The Remains of
Jonathan Thompson
A Pious Christian and
Affectionate Husband.
His disconsolate widow
Continues to carry on
His grocery business
At the old stand on Main Street:
Cheapest and best prices in town.

If you have a favorite epitaph, I’d love to hear it!

Happy restorations,
Amelia

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Links:
Website:  http://www.amandastevens.com/
The Restorer trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChonniWxl4s
The Graveyard Queen trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrCf_eDCt_I
Free prequel download:  http://www.amazon.com/The-Abandoned-ebook/dp/B004RQD3J8/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302975541&sr=1-6