Jacob's Hope

#lightsonforjacob

With my main character of The Whisperer of Storms being clairvoyant, I did a great deal of research on psychic abilities.  In doing so, I learned a little more about their vital role in locating missing people.  My interview with a clairvoyant taught me how they use their sixth sense, which sometimes heightens their other senses, to find people.  One such instance was a plane crash.  Under hypnosis, "Rita" pointed to the crash site on a map, which was within 30 miles of the wreckage.  The smell stayed foremost in her mind...the scent of death.  She also talked about knowing the location of a missing boy who had drowned.  Shortly after, the police recovered the child's body from that very location along the river.  Rita once received a letter from a woman who read about her in the paper.  She had told Rita she shouldn't be doing those things.  I sat there in disbelief as she told me this, "But you do it to help people."

To help people...to give them hope.  That was the reason why I named my heroine Hope.  She found a few missing children in her story.  I always focused on those she could save. There were a few she couldn't.  I never wanted to go there.  The hardest part of writing was putting myself into the parents' shoes.  Feeling their fear, anger, despair.

We took a short family trip last week before school started.  We drove through St. Joseph on Thursday.  My husband reminded me that Jacob Wetterling had lived near there.  I watched a group of boys walking along the street, wondering if they felt safe now that so many years had passed.  Imagine my surprise when I got home on Saturday night to learn they recovered Jacob's body.  I was a few years older than Jacob when he disappeared.  After 27 years, he's finally home.  My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.  May they eventually find the closure they need.

Veronica

Research

Those who have read The Whisperer of Storms have remarked on the amount of research I've done.  Here's a list of some of my sources.

Gypsy Magic by Patrinella Cooper  http://www.amazon.com/Gypsy-Magic-Romany-Spells-Fortune-Telling/dp/1578632617
Gypsy Witchcraft and Magic by Raymond Buckland  amazon
Adventures of a Psychic by Sylvia Browne  amazon
Psychic Children by Sylvia Browne  amazon
Don't Kiss Them Goodbye by Allison DuBois  amazon
Crossing Over by John Edward  amazon
ESP:  Fact or Fiction by Terry O'Neill  amazon
The Annotated Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen/David M. Shapard
The Jane Austen Handbook:  A Sensible Yet Elegant Guide to Her World by Margaret C. Sullivan:  amazon

One of the best places to look in the library is Junior non-fiction.  It's direct and gets to the point.
England (Enchantment of the World) by Carol Greene:  amazon

Online sources:
Gypsy Names  Ilona means beautiful one.  Mirela means admirable.  Zale means power of the sea.
Romani-English Glossary

Last but certainly not least was an interview with a clairvoyant.  This individual is psychic under hypnosis.  I was skeptical myself as I listened to this person's extraordinary life.  That was until I started reading the books listed above and finding common similarities.  The human spirit is truly remarkable.

Veronica

The Day Is Here!

Finally!  October 27th is here!  The Whisperer of Storms is now available:
Amazon in Kindle and paperback
Barnes & Noble Nook
Smashwords in various eBook formats
CreateSpace in paperback

I've received positive feedback from three people who read advance copies!

Kindle

The Whisperer of Storms is now available to pre-order on Kindle.  The release date is October 27, 2015.

This upcoming week Laura Shinn will be working on the paperback cover, so hopefully I'll have it uploaded on CreateSpace soon.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Veronica

The Everlasting Dream

I revised my short story, The Never-Ending Dream, and entered it into a writing contest.  I also renamed it The Everlasting Dream.  Wish me luck!  Here's the revised edition:

Autumn leaves crunched under my feet as I entered an old bookstore.  A bell on the door announced my arrival.  Old wooden shelves were overflowing with books stacked up to the ceiling.  Ladders and step stools were randomly placed in the aisles.  The scent of old books and a couple of gray tabby cats greeted me before the wizened shopkeeper did.  He was a thin man with glasses perched on the end of his nose and a shock of white, unruly hair.  He directed me to a miscellaneous section of used books.  In perusing the selection, I was able to find what I had been looking for:  A Guide to Interpret Dreams.  The book was an old brown hardcover with pages yellowed with age and gold embossed lettering on the spine.  I paid for my purchase and gave a farewell pat to the cats before I left.  The wind blew leaves across the sidewalk as I zipped up my fleece jacket and stuck my hands into my pockets.  The weather was getting colder as Halloween was rapidly approaching.  Pumpkins, witches and bats littered the storefronts.  

When I got home, I changed into my comfy flannel pajamas and sat down in my favorite rocker, pulling a fleece throw over my lap.  I held the book in my hands, studying the worn cover.  I had been having a reoccurring dream as of late, where I am alone on a dark night.  The only thing I could remember about the place was it was some kind of timeworn courtyard with a tiered stone fountain that featured a rather large water basin.  It reminded me of a wealthy European estate, built around the turn of the last century.  As I opened the book, I wondered if it would provide me with answers.  After reading a few pages about symbolism, I began to feel drowsy . . .   

I find myself in the dark of night, in the courtyard of my dream, wearing only a white gown.  I suddenly sense I am no longer alone.  I am frightened because I know a man is looking for me and what he wants from me.  I’ve dreamt of him before.  His seductive lure beckons me.  I cannot escape him.  Out of the darkness, he emerges.  His pale skin is a sharp contrast to his midnight black hair and cloak.  He takes a step towards me.  I back away into a hard stone surface.  I look behind me to discover it is the fountain.  I look into the water, and I suddenly see myself asleep in my home with the dream book.   
It's only a dream! I tell myself.  
I attempt to open my eyes, but they feel as though they are glued shut!  I look back at my pursuer, who is closing in faster than humanly possible.  Was he not just ten feet away?  He is right in front of me!  I will not run.  That will only entice the hunter in him.  Besides, I have nowhere to go.  He would catch me before I could take one step.  If flight is out of the question, the other option is to confront him.  
"Why are you keeping me here?!"  I demand.
He smiles, and I can see the hint of a fang glinting in the faint moonlight.  His dark eyes heighten with a hint of crimson.
A scream builds in the back of my throat, but I suppress it.  He wants me to fear him.  I attempt to open my eyes again, but I cannot.  No, there’s another way.
He reaches out to touch me.  I tumble backwards into the frigid water of the fountain.

I woke up in my chair, with the dream book in my hands.  I struggled to catch my breath.  My clothes were dry, but I was still shaking from fear and the thought of the chilly water.  It was only a dream; just a dream.  I went to the bathroom to splash water on my face.  As I stood in front of the mirror, drying my face, I discovered two small puncture wounds on my neck! 

Beauty's Beast by Amanda Ashley

Beauty's Beast by Amanda Ashley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Beauty's Beast is Beauty and the Beast meets The Phantom of the Opera. Kristine, condemned for murder, escapes the executioner's blade when the cursed lord of Hawksbridge Castle buys her to be his bride.

I've been looking forward to this book ever since I read a sneak peek. I'm a fan of anything B&tB and this tale didn't disappoint. The plot was interesting and stayed true to the classic tale. Even so, I found parts of it to be unpredictable. There was a part in the book that reminded me of Maiden's Song, but the plot twisted from there. One thing that frustrates me is I can't remember the name of the book I read that begins the same way with the condemned heroine. They cut her hair off, too. I wish I could remember the title, but it continues to elude me.

I recommend this book if you love Beauty and the Beast and/or The Phantom of the Opera. Another good read from Ms. Ashley!




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Writer's Workshop

It's been a while since I posted.  I've been busy helping my kids with school projects and waiting for a little inspiration to strike.  I've also been spending more time on Twitter, which I feel is an important tool for my author platform.  I'm discovering more author resources than I realized were out there!  Twitter is awesome!  Thanks to those of you who are following me as I pursue my dream!

My children are on a field trip today to a writing/reading workshop for middle school.  I would have loved to tag along, but I'm scheduled to work at the library today.  Regardless, it caused me to take a trip down memory lane to my first writer's workshop.  I was in sixth grade and only children with an interest in writing were able to attend.  The class I remember the best was descriptive writing.  It was due to the instructor, who was a horror writer.  During his lecture, he told a few ghost stories, which he claimed were true.  They consisted of a haunted grandfather clock, a zombie under the bed and a haunted window that turned out to be the ventilation system and some faulty hardware.  I don't remember the name of the writer, but his lecture had quite an impact on me.  I remember being scared to sleep alone because I kept replaying his lecture over in my mind.  Was there really a zombie under my bed???  I started sleeping with a teddy bear again.  I kept a good distance from grandfather clocks, too.  My overactive imagination had gone into overdrive.  I think it was the fear that made this writer so memorable for me.  It's unfortunate that I can't remember his name.  I should see if my mom saved the itinerary in my scrapbook.  I'd like to Google him.  That was my first experience with writing and the paranormal.

My second experience happened as an adult, when I took up writing again.  I had started writing The Whisperer of Storms, and I was interviewing a lady for research.  I wasn't expecting much for the supernatural that time, but lo and behold, she proved me wrong!  It got me thinking, with the ghost stories I was hearing which involved writing, maybe I was getting a sign?  Perhaps I was meant to write paranormal fiction?  I took that idea and I went with it, choosing paranormal as a sub-genre. I have to admit that sometimes writing alone in the dead of the night can really freak me out, especially when I'm writing those spectral scenes!  I keep expecting to look up and find someone standing beside me!  Overactive imagination indeed!  Now you know a little more about why I chose to write about the paranormal.  It has nothing to do with current trends, but rather a gut-feeling.  As a wise master once advised his apprentice to trust his instincts, I'm taking that piece of advice to heart .

Veronica