It’s the easy option, isn’t it? As a sceptic you have nothing to explain or justify; if you see, feel or hear something unexplained, you can tell yourself you have an over-active imagination. Each experience becomes an isolated memory that you can conveniently file away in the attic of your mind. Keeping each very separate is the key, your subconscious tells you not to make connections and not to question. Until one day something happens and you begin to see that it is like a jig-saw puzzle and the pieces begin to fall into place. The truth is life-changing.
For me the first trigger was when someone else began to share my experiences. Someone I trusted implicitly, and who was an even bigger sceptic than I was at that time. But we didn’t talk about it until it had been happening for quite a while, because a part of you understands that when two people have seen the same thing, there is no going back. Even if you have no idea exactly where this shared knowledge will take you, once you’ve crossed the line and had the conversation it becomes real.
‘Being A Sceptic Is Oh So Easy’ is the true story of the personal journey that has led me to the point where I can say ‘I believe in life after death’ because of what I have experienced. It began with experiences in some of the houses I have lived in, some with over 200 years of history and others where I was just a visitor; then the loss of beloved family members triggered new and unexpected experiences. The grieving process was so hard to bear, but gradually I came to learn that they are still close and their guidance would end up taking me in a whole new direction. It would also make me take a fresh look at what I had so conveniently ‘filed away’ as unexplained, or imagined and the jig-saw began to take shape.
‘Being A Sceptic Is Oh So Easy’ will be released on Kindle shortly. If you’ve lost a loved one but have a sense that they are still around you, or had an experience you can’t explain, then take a walk with me on my journey.
I’m a lover of books, especially mysteries but enjoy branching out into other genres as well. I like writing book reviews and sharing them. I also enjoy hosting authors on my blog – Thoughts in Progress – where they can share their thoughts on writing and tell everyone about their latest book releases.
It’s always fun to drop by and read her ‘Thoughts in Progress’, or even better, join up and receive her daily posts delivered straight to you Inbox!
Another chance to win a signed copy is coming soon – details to be announced in the next couple of weeks!
***Now closed – winner – Petra from Romania congratulations!
Kitt’s ‘Month of Love’ feature – an extract from ‘Touched by The Light’ with a special narrative added for this event. Answer a simple question for your chance to win a signed copy – closing date 7 March 2011! Paste this link into your address bar to go to the Paperback Dolls website and scroll down the ‘Month of Love’ page until you find Touched By The Light!
Following the release of ‘Touched by The Light’ (available from Amazon) here are some extracts to give you a flavour of this story. Mya tries to understand why she is suddenly connected to Laurel and Dan, two people she didn’t know before she saw ‘the light’. Their relationship is in trouble, is she supposed to be helping them ? Or is she just floundering around with no-one to guide her on her journey ….
EXTRACT 1:-
So here I am. It’s the weirdest thing but I seem to be watching someone else’s life I just don’t know how else to describe it. I’m not sure where I am – and this is going to sound even weirder – I feel ‘here’ but there’s no physical presence to this feeling. I still feel ‘me’ – same thoughts, same memories but it’s almost like I’m floating and seeing only through my mind’s eye. I know it sounds insane but I need to try to explain, to make some sense of it. When I stop panicking and relax, what I see and feel is what is going on in someone else’s life. Yes, I know, I know how it sounds but just because it sounds unbelievable that doesn’t mean I’m not experiencing it.
EXTRACT 2:-
‘But Laurel, I’m dead.’ I’m expecting some sort of reaction here, but she just skips over my words as if they aren’t relevant.
‘You’ve probably been shown some link to your next life,’ she tells me with a slight sniff, while she dabs at her eyes with a soggy tissue.
‘Next life? What “next life”? You didn’t say anything about that before.’ There’s only so much earth-shattering news I can take in at any one time and this is all becoming a little over-whelming.
‘Look, sor-reee. It’s just that I think Dan is going to break up with me and I don’t know what to do or why things are going so wrong. I thought you were sent to help me but you’re really hard work. You keep distracting me when I need to have my mind free to think about what’s going wrong with my life and what I’m going to do about it.’
Wow, now I feel selfish. After all, I’m only dead and Laurel and Dan might be splitting up! Great, I can still be sarcastic in the afterlife!
EXTRACT 3:-
I’m increasingly finding that having no concept of time is really making things difficult. At first, ‘down time’, as I’ve started to think of the time when I’m not linked to Laurel, was peaceful, tranquil even. Thinking of the things that happened in my life, I wasn’t sad, but happy and I laughed a lot. In fact, it was great. Now things are getting complicated and I seem to be spending whatever time I have ‘unlinked’ trying to work out what’s going on. Then, when we do link up again, I have absolutely no idea how long it’s been since the last time I saw her, or what has happened in between, it’s really diff- hell! With no warning at all, once again I’m somewhere else.
EXTRACT 4:-
Now that my eyes have adjusted to the darkness I scan around the room. I can see there are seven or eight people sitting around quite a large table. The woman who’s speaking is telling the group to put their fingers on a glass in the centre of what I can see now is a Ouija board! Suddenly I’m being dragged up to the ceiling, directly above them. It’s like I’m pinned up here and these people are doing this to me. Un-be-live-able and I’m starting to fell really, really angry.
EXTRACT 5:-
My name is Grace Norris and I’m a medium. What does that mean? Well, I believe that when people leave their bodies behind, what I like to think of as ‘the essence’ of the person moves on to the afterlife. I try not to use the word ‘death’ unless I absolutely have to, because it really upsets some spirits. Moving across into the new dimension can be very difficult, as some find it hard letting go of this side of life. Sometimes they hang back because their loved ones can’t accept what has happened and I think they feel a sense of guilt. I also have a personal theory that spirits sometimes instinctively fight, without being sure exactly what it is they’re fighting against or why. It’s a pity, because what’s to come is enlightening and they find a peace and purpose that gives a point to the life they had on earth. Well, that’s true for most spirits, but there are, of course, those who suffer unfortunate deaths or have wronged others in this life and the transition is harder for them. But Dan’s haunting sounds unusual ……………..
EXTRACT 6:-
‘Dan I know someone who’s doing research into telepathy, telekinesis, those sorts of things. I think we’re looking at something a little unusual here – nothing to worry about, but if you really want some answers it might be worth us paying him a visit. What do you think?’
‘Yeah, I’ll give anything a try. You’re a great lady, Grace, and I appreciate your kindness. My life at the moment seems to centre around trying to get some answers, I’ve got the list of questions – that was the easy part.’ He laughs.
‘I know, I know. Life isn’t always going to be so tough, you know The happiness will come, it’s in your future all right, but there are a few things you need to experience first. Trust me, there’s nothing bad to worry about – if there was I’d be warning you!’
Author’s note – when Grace said to Dan ‘there are a few things you need to experience first’, I don’t think even she had any idea just how much of an understatement that was! A psychic conundrum was about to unravel…
I am a new author and my first book entitled ‘Touched by The Light’ is due out on 24 February 2011. I write novels about life, love, psychic connections and/or an astrological theme. As an avid reader myself I want a story to grab me and make me turn each page with eager expectation. I want characters that are rounded (no one’s perfect, we all have ‘baggage’, problems and mountains to climb) and will be easy to warm to. And I want an ending that feels complete. So I hope that my readers will curl up on the sofa with a coffee, glass of wine or healthy glass of fruit juice, for a read that they won’t want to put down and will allow them a little escape from the stresses of every day life.
‘Touched by the Light’ can be purchased via the publisher’s website (Book Guild Publishing Limited) or from major bookselling websites.
If you have recently published your first novel or are about to be published, then this might be something to interest you. If, like me, it was all about the writing and then you succeed in getting published only to find it doesn’t end there – well, that’s where I’m at! My intention is to gather together a group of like-minded, new authors to provide mutual support as we pick our way through the mine field of marketing and publicity options. Even if you have a publisher these days you need to work at raising your own profile, so let’s experience it together. For more information get in touch via the ‘Contact Me’ tab and I’ll give you the password to access the first WFTD pages – which can be found on the righthand side of this website under the WFTD title. It contains a bit more information and the group contact page. If you think it’s for you, then let me know and I will send you a Profile form. This form will be circulated to everyone in the group, you will receive their profiles and it’s up to you to make contact. You only invest the time you want. If all it takes is hard work, then it’s achievable ….. isn’t it?
Update: I’ve since moved to Arlingham, Gloucestershire…
I’m based in Nailsworth, which is in an area of the Cotwolds four miles to the south of Stroud. It’s a wonderful place to live with many beautiful walks and stunning views, being one of the ‘five valleys’ – Frome Valley, Nailsworth Valley, Toadsmore Valley, Slad Valley and Painswick Valley. If you’ve read ‘Cider with Rosie’ you will no doubt remember Slad Valley.
I settled here in March 2010, it seemed like the perfect place now I spend my days writing. There is a real sense of community here and I’ve already met some very interesting new people who will hopefully become long-term friends.
In writing terms I’m a fledgling, perched on the edge of the nest and daring for the first time to spread my wings and attempt to leave my warm, comfortable safety zone. Why do it? Because I’ve caught ‘the bug’. Or rather unleashed something that began when I was about twelve and remained locked away inside of me, rising to the surface only when I relaxed my guard. Writing was my ‘guilty pleasure’, I really only had time to write poetry in the ‘family and career’ part of my life. Luckily both were very full and my creative streak was pacified by my hobby of designing interiors, which for a few years also became my career. There was a turning point, a pivotal moment in my life in 2009 when I decided life was shorter than I realised and now was the time to realise my dream.
In eighteen months I’ve written four books, the first one is being published in February 2011 ‘Touched by The Light’ by Book Guild Publishing. So with a debut novel and three others proofed and sitting on the shelf in my study, I ask myself ‘What’s next?’ The truth is I haven’t a clue. Ideally I’d like to interact with people who enjoy reading about life, relationships, psychic connections and above all, romance. In order to grow I need feedback and in order to get feedback I need people to read what I write, so this website is a good way of opening a direct link to my work and myself. I’m interested to know what format people prefer to read in, personally I still love the feel of a book in my hands, but eBooks are going from strength to strength. Should I seek to publish my books in the order in which I wrote them because it’s a developmental thing? Someone out there will no doubt understand my need to ask that question and have something interesting to say in return. For some reason I felt compelled to ‘play out’ some of the side character stories from ‘Touched by The Light’ in my fourth manuscript ‘The Restaurant’, which is a collection of stories. I have a tidy mind and hate leaving things unfinished, especially when it comes to relationships.
So over to you, if you have found this page from the gazillions of web pages out there, then you found yourself here for a reason – and thank you! If you are moved to send me some feedback or some advice, then thanks a million. I need help to grow and I want to succeed. For me the joy of writing isn’t complete until a reader turns the final page of my book with a smile, having loved the characters and wanting more, but feeling that the ending was fulfilling.
I hope you will come back and visit again, kind regards
After a number of difficult Christmases due to the loss of cherished members of the family, I didn’t think I’d ever get some of that special spirit-of-Christmas feeling back again. It will never be the same without them of course, but enough time has now passed to allow me to see I have to be thankful for all those good memories I have of Christmases with them and accept it’s time to move on.
So I pulled out the trimmings, dusted them off, and whilst the snow was gently falling outside, trimmed the house once again. I realised that life doesn’t stand still. I already know beyond a shadow of a doubt that loved ones who have passed over are always around us, so now is the time to concentrate on the new generation we are welcoming into our family. I will embrace the changes to come and a new Christmas routine. This year I’ll celebrate the smiles and pure joy reflected in the eyes of an energetic two and a half year old, an inquisitive nine month old and the latest addition who is only four months old!
The mulled wine will be in the microwave shortly, the mistletoe will be hung over the door and magically the snow has appeared just on cue. So all that’s left for me to say is a very ‘Merry Christmas’ to everyone, take care if you are out driving in the snow and thank you for taking the time to read my blog.
