As soon as I’d written ‘The End’ to the third novella in my Harper Impulse series Angels Among Us (Falling, Forbidden and Forever), I knew it wasn’t quite the end. Well, I suppose that was obvious as I’d already come up with two endings for Forever. But that’s the way it is when you are writing a story. It has a life all of its own.
This series is such a mixture of research and fiction, with an over-riding love story to add as many complications as you can possibly want, and for which the ideas were limitless.
But the ending has to do the story justice and Forever ends with a scene that needed an explanation. Whether or not you’ve read the three novellas, there’s a surprise waiting for you in Falling: The Complete Angels Among Us Series. I was delighted when the HarperImpulse team announcement was released today:
As an author it’s thrilling to be able to write on past ‘The End’ and the opportunity to add that into the series will, I hope, answer some of the questions that might have been left in readers’ minds. Do YOU ever wonder ‘what happens next?’ Well, I’m about to tell you just that …. and it’s all in the series collection.
To everyone who has downloaded and read, or reviewed the novellas, Falling – Forbidden – Forever, I would like to thank you for being a part of this journey with me. The support and feedback I have received for this series has been amazing. I hope new readers will enjoy reading them in one collection and that I’ve taken the story to the ultimate ending!
Whether or not you believe in angels (and I’ll get to that, orbs and ‘halos’ in a moment), I know you will believe in love! Love is what makes the world go around; it makes us better people and restores our faith in human nature. If you truly love someone it’s a gift – a blessing. If they love you back with equal passion and commitment, then it’s little short of a miracle! And that’s how ‘Falling‘ began!
The fab team atHarperImpulsewrapped up my three, thirty-thousand word novellas in the Angels Among Us series – Falling, Forbidden and Forever.
If you’ve clicked through from my launch page on Loveahappyending.com (live on Thursday Oct 3rd, 2013) I talk about thermal imaging, auras and research; about the way our eyes and ears don’t necessarily see everything that is there in front of us. We are obsessed with proof – we need to SEE spirits and capture that so we can prove to ourselves life after death does exist. I actually believe the reverse is true – if we need concrete proof, then we are not ready to believe. We need to be in touch with our inner-self, our intuition and open our minds – then it all begins to happen. Mine started happening from a very early age and I didn’t grow out of it. That doesn’t mean to say I believed, because it was much easier being a sceptic. Many years later, I’m now in a place that feels right for me – I believe life after death exists and the more I open my mind, the stronger and more revealing the personal psychic experiences become. It’s fascinating, humbling, wonderful and life-changing. It also sounds a little crazy, but to know that people I love are with me and showing me that is worthy of sharing. A lot of people tell me their own stories and often they are sharing them for the first time, something they feel awkward re-telling.
Author and medium Richard Holmes
When authors celebrate the launch of a book they acknowledge the people who have helped them along the way and in the foreward to ‘Falling‘ there are lots of people to acknowledge. But here I want to acknowledge some very special people on the other side. My mother, Lilian, who died before the first word of my debut novel was written, but who has been at my elbow every step of the way. My Aunty Doris, who medium Richard Holmes told me just last week is here with me helping my writing career. Now Richard never met my Aunty Doris and she was a very unique lady. There was no way he could have any reference to her, but he sat down and she came to talk to him. She showed him her tartan pleated skirt – which, ironically is always the first thing I remember when I think of her – and went on to pass on comments about my life he couldn’t possibly know. Only someone seeing ‘everything’ in my life could have that knowledge.
Last year the loveahappyending.com team held an event. It was a very stressful thing to organise, as I had never done anything like that before. I went to a psychic medium event and was told that my Uncle Ron was helping me. There were a few very unique ‘validations’ that it was indeed him – for starters he was a prisoner of war and the only one of my uncles who was captured. On the day literally hundreds of photos were taken and I was very surprised when author Emma Calin sent me these:
I immediately asked for copies of the photos before and after the sequence of photos with what appeared to be orbs and my ‘halo’. I have seen orbs on many, many occasions in a number of different locations, but the ‘energy’ halo around my head amazed me! Emma confirmed nothing had been done to the camera lense in the run of photos, which is why I asked to see the photo either side of these – which were normal. If it had been something on the lens then it would have been on all of the photos.
Here’s another picture of two orbs in an entirely different situation:
When you see an orb, or cluster of orbs ‘up close’ it can be a very uplifting thing. And, obviously, there were no direct light sources that could account for the prisms of light – even believers still check every single time! Often they are muted as here (brighter in the full blown photos), but sometimes close up they are so bright it is like a little circle of intense white light, often like a rainbow of colours or sometimes opaque white. They can travel slowly, or whizz across a room. On one occasion they alerted me to a situation that could have been life-threatening for someone … everything happens for a reason. At the time, it was such an indisputable experience that I knew something was wrong with someone I loved. A phone call confirmed that and, I believe, diverted a situation that could have spiralled out of control with fatal consequences.
In writing the Angels Among Us series I have tried very hard not to take it to the sci-fi extreme, but to keep it as close as I can to what I believe MIGHT be the case. If you don’t believe, it will come as a shock! I’m not saying I’m right, but I’ve seen a lot of things and experienced many more. Enough to know there isn’t just the here and now.
The character of Ceri is very real to me and what she experiences is influenced heavily by things I’ve seen, felt and believe. But whether or not you are interested in angels, the story is one of love against all odds. I suppose it reflects my true nature. No matter how often someone might tell me I can’t do something, if it’s a passion and something dear to my heart then I just keep going. Stubborn. Impractical. Illogical. Did I also mention that I can honestly say I live each minute to the full and if it takes sixteen hours a day to achieve my aim, then I don’t begrudge one moment? Of course, I’m a Gemini…
There is a lot of me wrapped up in the character of Ceri, and they do say authors should ‘write what they know’. So whilst romance is always to the forefront of my mind, so too is the thought that we are ‘never alone’. Combine the two and you have ‘Falling‘ … read the first chapter here and some early reviews here.
I love hearing other people’s ‘interesting’ tales about ‘connections’ from the other side. You can always email me at lbhalton@googlemail.com. You can also enter to win a copy of ‘Falling‘ and the first prize winner will be among the first to receive copies of part 2 and 3, Forbidden and Forever– PRIOR TO RELEASE (anticipated November and December 2013).
Thank you for dropping by and I’m sharing a few of my psychic experiences with some wonderful book reviewer friends. I’ll be posting their links as they go live. Go on tour with me as I share some of my favourite psychic moments.
It’s official – Ceri’s journey is taking her off to join the fabulous HarperImpulse team and I couldn’t be more thrilled! It’s the stuff that dreams are made of … and this is my dream for Ceri and Alex. It’s also MY dream, of course, and I’m displaying the badge with pride …
The series ‘Angels Among Us’ consists of three novellas of around 30,000 words each – Falling, Forbidden and Forever. I can’t wait to share the other two covers – Alex at HarperImpulse has done an amazing job!
Rewind – how? When? Why?
Waiting to meet Charlotte – the bar was closed!
I self-pubbed Falling under the title ‘Angels’ on July 6, 2013. It was nail-biting whilst I awaited feedback from beta readers and reviewers and the verdict was amazing! I had already submitted it to HarperImpulse a few weeks before launching it and I was lucky enough to have a face-to-face session with bubbly Charlotte Ledger, the HarperImpulse Content Developer, at the Romantic Novelists’ Association conference on July 14, 2013.
I was so nervous I accidentally took a photo of my leg whilst checking the time on my phone…
I was so nervous I have no idea what I said … but Charlotte was enthused and excited about the series. It was another couple of anxious weeks waiting to hear whether I was going to be offered a contract. The phone call came when I was in the garden with little Bill, it was baby-sitting day and when I heard Charlotte’s voice on the other end it was a fireworks moment!
I turned my back for a minute – what was I thinking? Bill is three years old and had a hosepipe in his hand …
What ensued was gasps of joy, a soaking as Bill liberally sprayed both myself and the barbeque with the hosepipe and then proceeded to follow me as I ran around the garden to get away from him. He thought it was a game – goodness knows what Charlotte thought!
HarperImpulse are a team and already I feel a part of it as emails have been flying back and forth. I love the direction they have chosen for the covers and titles of this series. At the RNA conference in July I also attended a talk given by Kimberley Young (publishing director of Women’s Fiction at HarperCollins) and Charlotte.I came away from that session with one wish in my head
‘I want to be a HarperImpulse author!’
Who says dreams don’t come true?
Mine just did!
Falling is launching on October 3rd, 2013 and I’m delighted to announce that it will be doing a virtual book tour with Fiction Addiction Book Tours:
All that’s left to say is WATCH THIS SPACE – it’s going to be a FABULOUS and romantic autumn…
Whether or not you believe in angels (and I’ll get to that, orbs and ‘halos’ in a moment), I know you will believe in
It’s official – Ceri’s journey is taking her off to join the fabulous HarperImpulse team and I couldn’t be more thrilled! It’s the stuff that dreams are made of … and this is my dream for Ceri and Alex. It’s also MY dream, of course, and I’m displaying the badge with pride …
What ensued was gasps of joy, a soaking as Bill liberally sprayed both myself and the barbeque with the hosepipe and then proceeded to follow me as I ran around the garden to get away from him. He thought it was a game – goodness knows what Charlotte thought!