Do you believe in Ghosts?

My sisters and I went out to visit Tombstone, Arizona just for a fun day trip. We've all had ghostly encounters in the past so when we went into the Birdcage Theatre, claimed to be one of the most haunted places by Ghost Hunters, we had to take a lot of pictures as we pretended we were ghost hunters. Can you imagine three 40ish grown women running around a haunted theatre, giggling our butts off? I'm sure any real ghosts there would have been more amused by us. Unfortunately we didn't catch any ghosts, just some orbs and images in mirrors--or did we?

Here's a picture I took without the flash.

And with the flash. What do you think? Just creepy glare?

They say this manican of Wyatt Earp used to be in a theatre box across the hall, but his hat kept getting thrown off at night. Once he even was turned completely around backwards until a historian came in and exclaimed, "Well no wonder, you've put Wyatt in the Clanton's box." They moved him to his own box and his hat has been left alone.


So, do you believe?
Clover Autrey

Bad Karma and scary places

Can a place be impacted from the evil of its past?
Can an event be so horrific that the wrongness of its past be palpable?
Don't laugh, even Dr. Phil wonders.

The Tate house was discussed on his show last wednesday. In 1969 pregnant Sharon Tate was murdered by the Manson "family."
The house won't sell.
The house was torn down in the 90's and rebuilt.
It won't sell.
It is going for half price and it won't sell.
Why?
Those who will go near the house claim they can feel the wrongness of the place. A sense of forboding washes over the person as they near the property. There are some (Phil's wife) who won't even drive past the house as it sends a shudder thruogh her to even pass it by.

The Menendez house, where two boys shot their parents, is having similar problems.
No one wants to live there.

Would ignorance of a tragedy eliminate the eerie feelings people have.
The coliseum was once a stadium where people were thrown to lions as entertainment for onlookers. Today, cats gather there by the dozens. Its as though they are mourning the past.
Even animals feel the aura of a space.

For haunted spots in your state follow:
http://theshadowlands.net/places/

My grandfather spoke of his own ghost sititng in evansville, IN. he was in the buggy with his big brother (yep horse drawn)
the spectre of a man crossed the road and held a lantern up by his head. the boys watched and he simply disappeared.
"werent you scared, Peter?"
"naw, I was with you"

From that day forward Peter's son Jack told all the kids about the ghost in the basement. I would tread carefully to glimpse the spirit and run back upstairs. (it was a sheet tossed over the Christmas tree in a corner)
Jack died last weekend and I ventured to see the ghost once more.
I took photos.
no ghost.
I was bummed. I really thought one might appear.
The house has been in my family since 1920.
When i go, there is peace. I am at home.
Is this a haunting of sorts.

If a horrific event can imprint evil on a spot, can the reverse be true?
Can a house be so imprinted by the love of generations of family, that it is palpable decades later, giving me comfort even at a time of loss?

Caribbean Dreams of Love..A Pirate Story...But Not THAT Kind of Pirate!

It would be just my luck to have a book about pirates released...just about the time when the news of real-life poor bandits like Somalian pirates seemingly take the "romance" right out of the word. And admittedly, piracy has never been a good thing...even in the Caribbean. Thieves and/or murderers...but on the high seas! And I hate stealing. We just had our bikes stolen the other day. Argh... Any idea of glorifying piracy is nuts and untrue to my values! And yet, I wrote a romance novel with pirates. What can I say? It's fiction! HOWEVER...I'll clue the reader in... Okay, I'll give the story away. No, not the book, just the plot. My "pirate" isn't all he seems to be. There! I've said it. Try to picture him in something other than a raft. Here's a bit about Caribbean Dreams of Love, one of my favorite books. It's the story of a lonely woman and her precocious teenage daughter, a Caribbean cruise, a ghost, a pirate, a legend, a mysterious musician and a curse. Please see the video trailer below, plus the blurb and excerpt. I hope you enjoy!

Blurb: Daisy and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Lily, are embarking on a Caribbean cruise. She isn't looking for anything special on the cruise other than a pleasant break from her humdrum existence as long-time divorced single mother to a busy teenage girl. She certainly isn't prepared for an enigmatic man named Peter whose idiosyncrasies in dress and speech mark him as an eccentric person to avoid. But Daisy can't avoid him. In fact, she begins to obsess about him from the first moment she catches him staring at her in the cruise ship terminal. Peter remains elusive and mysterious throughout the cruise. She catches sight of him occasionally, never often enough to please her, and they connect one wonderful night as he sweeps her into his arms for a waltz. A waltz? On a Caribbean cruise ship? While Daisy's dinner companions share nightly tales of the legends of cursed pirates, Daisy dreams of the mysterious man who has captured her heart.

Excerpt:

Bjorn glanced at his enrapt audience and took a deep breath. Daisy cringed. Something was coming.

"And with his last ounce of strength, Captain Smith grabbed his sword and plunged it in Gentleman Jones' heart."

A stab of pain seemed to knife through Daisy's own heart, and she involuntarily put a hand to the painful spot just below her left collarbone.

Even Becky was speechless, her jaw hung open. Lily took a breath and asked the question uppermost in Daisy's mind.

"Did he...does he...?"

"They say he still wanders the Caribbean, alone and lonely, a ghost with no hope of dying or returning to the living."

Bjorn's voice drifted away. He scanned the faces of his audience solemnly.

He shrugged. "But it's just a silly story, one of many. Who knows if any of them are true?"

And in a surprise move, he picked up his fork and resumed eating. Johana smiled demurely and took a sip of water before she too resumed eating.

Bjorn's stunned dinner companions stared at him. Lily, Daisy and Becky exchanged saddened glances.

Jim broke the silence when he started laughing and clapped Bjorn on the back. Bjorn choked slightly and put his napkin to his lips.

"Well, you sure had us going. I'll give you that. So...no truth to the story?"

Bjorn leaned slightly away from Jim and shrugged once again. "I find the Caribbean folklore fascinating, but many of the stories are just that. Stories. I heard this tale from a man in a museum in Nassau once. I liked it." He gave the group a sheepish smile.

"So, it's just a fairy tale?" Becky asked.

"Not a fairy tale," Bjorn smiled slightly. "Just an old legend. If the story were true, we would have to believe in ghosts...and I for one do not care to think about such things." He picked up his knife and fork again and began to cut his food, seemingly no longer interested.

"Just a legend," murmured Johana. She shook her head in amusement. "A story. Bjorn has many."

"Mom, what are you doing? Are you okay?"

Daisy turned to meet her daughter's eyes. Lily nodded toward Daisy's hand still dramatically clutched to her chest.

She colored and dropped her hand. The pain had eased.

Such a sad story!

Video Trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEfgJ8Ng7lo

Buy Link: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1083&zenid=158e2bb07c492a5af9aa0e192c694c7f

Bess McBride
www.bessmcbride.com

Caribbean Dreams of Love By Bess McBride!

I'm tickled to see that my recent release, a light paranormal/fantasy called Caribbean Dreams of Love received a Fantastic Review from Amy at Writers and Readers of Distinctive Fiction. Here is what she has to say:

"This is such a heart warming book! It tells a story of a woman who gets another shot in love and romance. The story catches my interest from the start and keeps me going till the end. It's just hard to put down this book and I just could not stop reading.

Bess McBride writes a fantastic story in Caribbean Dreams of Love....This is a must read for dreamers and to those who never stop looking for true love. Thumbs up!"

http://blog.lyndacoker.net/2009/01/08/wrdf-review-of-caribbean-dreams-of-love-by-bess-mcbride-2.aspx

Blurb: Daisy and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Lily, are embarking on a Caribbean cruise. She isn't looking for anything special on the cruise other than a pleasant break from her humdrum existence as long-time divorced single mother to a busy teenage girl. She certainly isn't prepared for an enigmatic man named Peter whose idiosyncrasies in dress and speech mark him as an eccentric person to avoid. But Daisy can't avoid him. In fact, she begins to obsess about him from the first moment she catches him staring at her in the cruise ship terminal. Peter remains elusive and mysterious throughout the cruise. She catches sight of him occasionally, never often enough to please her, and they connect one wonderful night as he sweeps her into his arms for a waltz. A waltz? On a Caribbean cruise ship? While Daisy's dinner companions share nightly tales of the legends of cursed pirates, Daisy dreams of the mysterious man who has captured her heart.

Excerpt:

Bjorn glanced at his enrapt audience and took a deep breath. Daisy cringed. Something was coming.

"And with his last ounce of strength, Captain Smith grabbed his sword and plunged it in Gentleman Jones' heart."

A stab of pain seemed to knife through Daisy's own heart, and she involuntarily put a hand to the painful spot just below her left collarbone.

Even Becky was speechless, her jaw hung open. Lily took a breath and asked the question uppermost in Daisy's mind.

"Did he...does he...?"

"They say he still wanders the Caribbean, alone and lonely, a ghost with no hope of dying or returning to the living."

Bjorn's voice drifted away. He scanned the faces of his audience solemnly.

He shrugged. "But it's just a silly story, one of many. Who knows if any of them are true?"

And in a surprise move, he picked up his fork and resumed eating. Johana smiled demurely and took a sip of water before she too resumed eating.

Bjorn's stunned dinner companions stared at him. Lily, Daisy and Becky exchanged saddened glances.

Jim broke the silence when he started laughing and clapped Bjorn on the back. Bjorn choked slightly and put his napkin to his lips.

"Well, you sure had us going. I'll give you that. So...no truth to the story?"

Bjorn leaned slightly away from Jim and shrugged once again. "I find the Caribbean folklore fascinating, but many of the stories are just that. Stories. I heard this tale from a man in a museum in Nassau once. I liked it." He gave the group a sheepish smile.

"So, it's just a fairy tale?" Becky asked.

"Not a fairy tale," Bjorn smiled slightly. "Just an old legend. If the story were true, we would have to believe in ghosts...and I for one do not care to think about such things." He picked up his knife and fork again and began to cut his food, seemingly no longer interested.

"Just a legend," murmured Johana. She shook her head in amusement. "A story. Bjorn has many."

"Mom, what are you doing? Are you okay?"

Daisy turned to meet her daughter's eyes. Lily nodded toward Daisy's hand still dramatically clutched to her chest.

She colored and dropped her hand. The pain had eased.

Such a sad story!

Video Trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEfgJ8Ng7lo

Buy Link: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1083&zenid=158e2bb07c492a5af9aa0e192c694c7f

Bess McBride
www.bessmcbride.com

The Sallie Suite is Haunted!

My husband is not much of a B&B man, but he does love history. So, when we visited historical Salado, TX, this New Years with relatives, he agreed to stay in the Historic Rose Mansion built in 1872 by Major Archibald Rose. It was the home of his family for a hundred years. The home is filled with antiques and artifacts used and treasured during the family's lifetime. Guests can browse at leisure.


The architecture is interesting in that you approach the enclosed stairway from the rear of the entry hall. I thought these old homes had exposed staircases and they met you as you entered the room.


To the left you enter the front parlor, move on into the rear parlor, and then into the dining room with the kitchen at the end. The front three room are now used for dining, though the front parlor also has a sitting area. One bedroom is located downstairs. It's the Salado Room.

Upstairs are two bedrooms, the Quilters Room and the Sallie Suite. To reach the bathroom in the suite, you walk down several steps into a small, long room with an entrance onto a porch. Off the porch and behind the suite is another room, the Traveler's Room, with an outer entrance behind the suite. The outdoor stairway is steep.





The Sallie Suite is named for Major
Rose's wife, Sallie. Pictures of the couple hang in both the front parlor and dining room. They are a distinguished pair.

Many guests, who have no prior knowledge of the mansion's reputation, have reported sightings of a spirit. They claim to have seen a woman, dressed in a green or white robe, at various places in the home, yet have never felt afraid or threatened. Guests have described the apparition as being warm and maternal.

Though many believe the resident ghost is Sallie, it is one of her eleven children, her daughter Beatrice as identified from an old family photograph.

My husband and I slept peacefully both nights we stayed in the Sallie Suite. Though I had to get up and trip down those stairs to the bathroom, I saw nothing out of the ordinary. It wasn't until I picked up a copy of Salado, A Jewel In the Crown Of Texas, Free Guide to the Historic Village of Salado, Fall 2005 Edition, for my blog post on the Stagecoach Inn that I saw the article by Chris McGregor, Staff Writer on Visiting Salado's 'haunted' Past.

I complained all the way home. "Darn, I'd loved to have seen Sallie, Beatrice, anyone." If I'd known, maybe I would have been more in-tune, but I doubt it. I guess the spirit knew we were all having a good time and didn't need any intervention. Plus, we had colds and she may have avoided our sneezing.

I do have to say, New Years Eve, as we sat around the fire in the front parlor, an aura showed up in two pictures. Maybe she was around and we just didn't know it.

I give credit to Chris McGregor for much of the information in this post. I loved your article, Chris, and thank you.

If you're ever in Salado and want a nice place to stay, visit The Rose Mansion. The food and hospitality is wonderful.

Happy reading and writing!

Linda

Caribbean Dreams of Love by Bess McBride Video Trailer!

Yes, it's true....I'm just nipping in at the last minute with the video trailer for my upcoming release (Friday, December 12 at www.thewildrosepress.com), CARIBBEAN DREAMS OF LOVE, a light paranormal featuring a lonely woman on a Caribbean cruise with her precocious teenage daughter, a mysterious musician, a ghost, a pirate, and nightly dinner tales of legends and curses. I had great fun with this video, especially taking the pictures!

Video Trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEfgJ8Ng7lo

Blurb: Daisy and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Lily, are embarking on a Caribbean cruise. She isn’t looking for anything special on the cruise other than a pleasant break from her humdrum existence as long-time divorced single mother to a busy teenage girl. She certainly isn’t prepared for an enigmatic man named Peter whose idiosyncrasies in dress and speech mark him as an eccentric person to avoid. But Daisy can’t avoid him. In fact, she begins to obsess about him from the first moment she catches him staring at her in the cruise ship terminal. Peter remains elusive and mysterious throughout the cruise. She catches sight of him occasionally, never often enough to please her, and they connect one wonderful night as he sweeps her into his arms for a waltz. A waltz? On a Caribbean cruise ship? While Daisy’s dinner companions share nightly tales of the legends of cursed pirates, Daisy dreams of the mysterious man who has captured her heart.

Excerpt:
Bjorn glanced at his enrapt audience and took a deep breath. Daisy cringed. Something was coming.

“And with his last ounce of strength, Captain Smith grabbed his sword and plunged it in Gentleman Jones’ heart.”

A stab of pain seemed to knife through Daisy’s own heart, and she involuntarily put a hand to the painful spot just below her left collarbone.

Even Becky was speechless, her jaw hung open. Lily took a breath and asked the question uppermost in Daisy’s mind.

“Did he...does he...?”

“They say he still wanders the Caribbean, alone and lonely, a ghost with no hope of dying or returning to the living.”

Bjorn’s voice drifted away. He scanned the faces of his audience solemnly.

He shrugged. “But it’s just a silly story, one of many. Who knows if any of them are true?”

And in a surprise move, he picked up his fork and resumed eating. Johana smiled demurely and took a sip of water before she too resumed eating.

Bjorn’s stunned dinner companions stared at him. Lily, Daisy and Becky exchanged glances.

Jim broke the silence when he started laughing and clapped Bjorn on the back. Bjorn choked slightly and put his napkin to his lips.

“Well, you sure had us going. I’ll give you that. So...no truth to the story?”

Bjorn leaned slightly away from Jim and shrugged once again. “I find the Caribbean folklore fascinating, but many of the stories are just that. Stories. I heard this tale from a man in a museum in Nassau once. I liked it.” He gave the group a sheepish smile.

“So, it’s just a fairy tale?” Becky asked.

“Not a fairy tale,” Bjorn smiled slightly. “Just an old legend. If the story were true, we would have to believe in ghosts...and I for one do not care to think about such things.” He picked up his knife and fork again and began to cut his food, seemingly no longer interested.

“Just a legend,” murmured Johana. She shook her head in amusement. “A story. Bjorn has many.”

“Mom, what are you doing? Are you okay?”

Daisy turned to meet her daughter’s eyes. Lily nodded toward Daisy’s hand still dramatically clutched to her chest.

She colored and dropped her hand. The pain had eased.

Such a sad story!

Bess McBride
www.bessmcbride.com

Things Unexplained

I looked up the definition for paranormal in Webster's Dictionary. It read, "of or pertaining to events or perceptions occurring without scientific explanation, as clairvoyance or extrasensory perception."


Today, clairvoyants are used to help find victims and solve crimes. It wasn't long ago that the mere thought of using someone with supernatural powers in police work was laughable. We're not laughing now, and many victim's families have been grateful for their powers.


I can't say that everything we hear about ghosts and other supernatural events are true, or that what happens couldn't be caused by something in nature, but to me the stories are interesting. Some afternoons I find myself in front of the television watching "Hauntings." It's downright scary and triggers all sorts of story ideas in my head.


Of course, the paranormal genre in writing isn't confined to what I've discussed above. We have stories about vampires, werewolves, zombies, and the list goes on. I doubt anyone really believes in such entities, but it sure is fun to pretend. It doesn't take much for a good writer to get me all wrapped up in their stories and in that case, I do believe, for a time anyway. It's an escape from the ordinary and oh so much fun -- or not -- more frightening. Pure entertainment.


My paranormal stories are mainly time travels. Wouldn't it be fun to travel back to a previous time period, or for that matter, move forward? Time travels are a way to experience history using modern perceptions.

In my contemporary stories, I occasionally like to add a touch of the paranormal.





Here is a short excerpt from my current release from Champagne Books, Forever Faithful. You can watch the book trailer on my website at http://www.lindalaroque.com/ and also view the one for my current and upcoming time travels with The Wild Rose Press.


A whisper of something touched his face. His eyes flew open as a smoke ring erupted from an invisible source aimed at his face. It was followed by another and another. Lucas lay still and watched the perfectly formed circles reach him and disintegrate. Maybe he was still asleep. He sat up in the bed and the display continued. A shiver ran up his spine. Sam was the only person he knew who could blow smoke rings like what he saw.

"Sam, is that you?"

His answer came in the form of a smoke ring that hovered in the air and pulsed. Guess that’s a yes. "Guess you’re pretty pissed about my and Gail’s problems." The smoke grew so thick Lucas coughed. "Yeah, don’t blame you. Wish I could say I’d fix it, but don’t know if it’s possible." He waited for another response but didn’t get one.

Lucas woke coughing. Smoke, he was choking on smoke. The whole thing had been a dream and the house was on fire. He lunged out of bed and raced down the hall to Gail’s room, and then realized there was no smoke. Just outside her door, he stopped to think. Chief would’ve sensed the fire and alerted them. He must have been dreaming. Unable to return to bed without checking on Gail, he quietly opened the door and peeked in. Chief lifted his head, and his tail thumped the floor. A sigh of relief rushed from Lucas’s chest. All appeared well in there.

He closed the door and returned to Sam’s room. Stale cigarette smoke met him as he entered. Back in bed, he pondered what had happened. Had it been a dream? Seconds before he dozed off again, a small smoke ring danced before his face, and then disappeared.

Thanks for stopping by and please leave a comment.

Linda

Linda LaRoque ~ Western Romance with a Twist in Time.
A Law of Her Own, TWRP; Forever Faithful, Nov 1, 2008 Champagne Books; Desires of the Heart, March 4, 2009, My Heart Will Find Yours, May 1, 2009, Flames on the Sky coming soon from TWRP; Investment of the Heart coming May 1, 2009 from Champagne Books.
www.lindalaroque.com

Welcome to the Paranormal Romance Writers Blog. I'm Mary Alice and we are going to have so much fun! There will posts on all sorts of things from new books to ghosts, witches, vampires and more.

The wonderful list of authors will keep you updated on all that is going on in their heads and on paper. Stop by often and see what's up in the group.

My book, Ghostly Mistakes is out at The Wild Rose Press. You can purchase it http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=992

I also have a short story out at The Dark Castle Lords

Opposites Attract by Mary Alice PritchardPublication Date: 04th September 2008ISBN: 978-1-921347-65-8Price: $2.50

Just go to www.thedarkcastlelords.com and look under paranormal.

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend and hurry back!