The FACES Book

Castle in Winter

Castle in Autumn

Some readers have begun investigating the historical sources behind the novel checking for authenticity. I welcome all to join  in that research project. It will take a lot of digging. The image shown here is very familiar to residents of Lake County, for this is Squire’s Castle, a secluded gatehouse that leads to no where. Behind it, you see the grand woods of the North Chagrin Reservation of Cleveland Metro Parks.

For a century now, this house has been the subject of endless fantasy and speculation. Built in the 1890′s by Feargus Squire, who was a vice president of Standard Oil and a long time friend of the Rockefeller family, elaborate plans to develop another bigger house and a private estate covering about 500 acres were mysteriously abandoned around 1910.

The rumors of Squire’s Castle read like  Gothic mysteries. I incorporated a fictional owner into my  novel in part because the whole story seems so incongruous.  An elegant castle in the middle of a remote woodland and farm! What was the intention?  

Order the book now and you can experience my imaginary treatment. Ever since I was a kid, I have ventured into the house which is open to the public. One of my memories  is of a slush and snowball fight that lasted the better part of a day. There must have been twenty local kids screaming, jumping from windows, and swirling around in the wet muck.  Today  such mayhem would probably be stopped by the park ranger.

For an enlarged image, left click on my recent  photo. The Castle is located in the Chagrin Valley on River Road in Willoughby HIlls. For more information contact Cleveland Metroparks, 4101 Fulton Parkway, Cleveland, Ohio 44144. Phone: 1(216)635-3200 or check out clevelandmetroparks.com. Cleveland Metroparks is also known as “the Emerald Necklace” that surrounds the forest city with a necklace of lush parks.