A Shift in Perspective.

It's been awhile and time for a post here. I've decided to make posts a bit more casual. The reason why I've found blogging such a challenge, is that I've looked upon each post as something to be researched, edited, and re-edited. To death.
No more, I just don't have the time.
I've been working on finishing my next novel while tying up Between, which is due to come out on December 14th. I've just received my cover art and it's finally hit me, "Oh my god, I have a novel coming out!"  I have no idea why this hadn't occurred to me before: the writing, the editing...the re-editing with a professional editor. Hmm, that should have been my first clue. As I go into line edits here pretty soon, the "not so fun" part of writing will be at the top of my check list.
The promoting. Yep, that bad boy.
I know few writers who like promoting. Gone are the days where we could sit in our writerly cave, write what the voices in our heads tell us to, and have somebody else publish and promote our drivel. With the onset of self-publishing, small presses, ebooks and the like, it's a dog-eat-dog world out there. Short of stripping down naked and running through the nearest mall waving my book over my head, I have no idea how to garner the attention I need to make Between a hit. I've been told to blog my fingers off, set up local interviews, join reader/writer groups, and discuss that I have a book coming out with anybody who will listen. And a plethora of other things I can't even imagine doing. You know, generally be a pain in the butt.
My favorite.
Not.
Anyways, onto the next leg of my journey. If you see me making a fool of myself blogging, interviewing, or bothering some stranger on the street who has merely asked for directions, forgive me, for I am new at this.

Between
Coming December 14th from Musa Publishing.
Mark it on your calenders. 

Genre: adult paranormal fiction.

Tagline:  How far would you go to redeem yourself?

Blurb: 

As a young girl, Lucinda was able to see spirits, a gift that didn't come without its problems. Now, a dedicated young veterinarian, she is committed to the idea that every life can be saved.

After a devastating accident, Lucinda tries to escape her past by moving to a small town. There, she meets a newcomer and feels an immediate connection with him. But there is another mysterious stranger to the small town, one that stirs within her a mixture of unease and desire.

As Lucinda is drawn into a bitter tug-a-war from the forces around her, she is likewise pulled into a dangerous twist of past and present events. Forced to make difficult choices, she finds that the two men are locked in not only a battle for her life...but a battle for their salvation.

Lip service for Between will be appreciated. I will send anyone that chooses to give me lip service a puppy. Your puppy is in the mail.

(Please no hate comments about sending puppies via postal mail. That was a joke. I realize that puppies don't fit into envelopes. They pee way too much and it would just get messy.)

Musa Publishing: Welcome to the Family!

Musa Publishing: Welcome to the Family!: We're excited to have our newest author with us today to discuss her life and soon to be released debut novel with Musa Publishing. Please g...

Shadow Figures

I thought I'd write today about shadow figures. I've been putting it off at the risk of sounding like a loon, but I figure I've talked about so many other paranormal things in my blog--I'd give this topic a go.

I discovered there was such a thing called shadow figures about six months ago. I was watching a program on television and the subject of shadow figures came up. The description gave me the chills. Further reading on the topic left me speechless because it related to several experiences I've had in the past. Experiences I've shrugged off as "weird stuff" because "weird stuff" just happens and there's not a thing you can do about it.

For those of you that haven't heard of shadow figures, they are supernatural shadow-like humanoid figures that, according to believers, are seen in the viewer's peripheral vision. They are often reported moving with quick, jerky movements, and can move through walls or mirrors. They are believed to be evil and aggressive in nature, although a few people consider them to be a form of guardian angel.
Common characteristics reported by those that have seen shadow figures are:

• Male
• Usually seen in a trench coat/cloak
• Usually have a hat, fedora or top hat
• Usually very tall
• No facial features
• They have a sinister aura
• Extremely fast
• Silent
• Seem to have mass
• They can move through walls

There seem to be two classifications of shadow figures.

• Bedroom Invaders or Sentinels: They stand in corners of rooms and watch you.
  
• Omens: They are associated with bad luck, or death. They are attached to people or families. Omens may show up in your bedroom.

About fifteen years ago, my husband and I were renting a duplex while we attended university. I would wake in the middle of the night and see a man walking through our closed bedroom door and around the foot of the bed. He would walk up to my side and stand there, looking down at me. He would continue to stand there while I screamed. I thought somebody had broken into the house. When my husband would turn on the lights in a panic, the man would disappear. This happened several times. I'm a very light sleeper, so I have serious doubts that I was dreaming. A neighbor told us that our duplex was built using old timber from a barn that had been dismantled in the 1920's. My thoughts were that we had a ghost in our house. A very persistent and sinister one.
In retrospect, the characteristics of this figure give me pause for thought. Male, moving quite swift, no facial features, a sinister aura, wearing an overcoat and fedora. Now, I am unsure whether it was a ghost, or a shadow figure.
A year ago, I had another experience. I was lying in bed, trying to sleep (insomniac) and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a very tall male figure rush across my bedroom and disappear into the wall. Again, no facial characteristics, a very sinister feeling to him, tall and moving very fast. And the one detail that stood out? He was wearing an overcoat and fedora. The following week, I received a letter that my step-father had died of a stroke the very night I had seen this shadow figure. Coincidence? Perhaps. But I slept with a light on for quite some time, and I don't scare easily.

What are your thoughts on this phenomena? Crazy talk? Ghosts? Or something else? 

Winner of the Coffin Hop

Thank you everyone for stopping by and participating in the Coffin Hop!

 Winner of my Prize drawing, a $5 gift certificate to my publisher, Musa Publishing, and an ecopy of my novel BETWEEN, to be released on December 14, 2012 is.....(bone-rattle please)

Gina!!

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