Roxanne Rhoads: 2/23/14

Saturday, March 01, 2014

The Banishment of Bob: True Tales of the Paranormal

The Banishment of Bob

By Roxanne Rhoads

I inherited my house from my grandmother. I practically grew up in the house as it is right next door to my parents’ house. The land has been in my family since the 1940’s. As a young teen my mother lived in a small farmhouse on the land. My grandfather tore that house down and built the one I now live in.

Part of my house started as a building in Flint Park. To this day I have no idea which part. My grandfather purchased a structure from the park when they closed; he brought it here, put it on the basement foundation and used it as the starting point of the house.

I often wonder if that part of the house is the source of the “experiences” we have but the one room that we think was the Flint Park building because of differences like electrical outlet placement, building materials, etc. is not the room where the majority of “paranormal activity” occurs.

The main area of activity is my grandmother’s old bedroom. I never remember her actually sleeping in it though. She would sleep in the living room. She seemed to avoid that room.

When I first moved in it was my youngest child’s room. Now that he’s older he has told me about his experiences in that room. He is now 22 and falls asleep during horror movies. I often attribute this to him falling asleep afraid. Now his normal reaction to fear is sleep. Odd I know, but it seems to fit.

When my daughter was born it became her room. And she never slept well in it. I would hear strange noises and crying through the baby monitors only to walk in and find her quiet or asleep. One night my husband heard a noise and walked in there to find all the drawers on the dresser open, yet she was in her bed sound asleep and honestly she was still too small to have opened them all anyway. She couldn’t even reach the top drawer.

She would wake up a lot during the nights and want out of the crib and out that room. Once she big enough to get out of the crib or her toddler bed she would leave her room and crawl in bed with me or go to her big brother and crawl in bed with him. When we changed her to another room she was fine and slept in her own bed.

My youngest…he absolutely refused to have anything to do with that room- ever.

Now the room is my husband’s office and man cave, he seems to be the only one not sensitive to the activity even though he has reported seeing a dark figure walk through the room and stand by the window looking out.

There have been odd occurrences in other areas of the house as well. Like the basement door that opens by itself, strange things disappear, and then there’s the music that you can hear in a distance, you can never quite make out the words or the tune.

But the incidents that left me the most shaken happened in the same week… in my bedroom.

The one room in the house that has always been a safe haven for me, the room free of creepiness…until the night I was roused from sleep by the creaking of my floorboards. All around my bedroom the old floors creak when you walk on them. Even I have a hard time avoiding the creaky spots because they all around my bed. I woke up to the sound of someone pacing back and forth at the end of my bed. I could tell the placement and movement of… the whatever it was- by the distinct creaks. I was paralyzed with fear. I knew no one could have been in my room. The door never opened because I immediately wake up when my door opens thanks to the loud scraping sound it makes (yes my old house is full of creaks and scrapes).

I laid there listening to the pacing movement. I tried to listen for anything else- breathing, a voice…but there was nothing. Finally I took a deep breath, gathered my courage and sat up with my eyes open ready to confront it. The sound abruptly stopped. And of course, nothing was there.

A few nights later I awoke to a strange sound. It was kind of a rattling, shaking noise. Non-stop. It just kept shaking. Finally I got up and turned my light on and began to search the room.

I found the sound. It was my bobble head turtle, Bob. His head was shaking like an invisible hand was moving him at warp speed. Yet the rest of him was not moving. Nothing else was moving. Nothing in the room was rattling, vibrating or shaking. Just his head, moving extremely fast.

I stood there in shock and stared at him. Then I grabbed him and stopped his head from moving. I picked him up and looked at him. I shook him really fast. No matter what I did I could not make his head move like it had been. It seemed humanly impossible to replicate that movement.

I took Bob out of the room. He was banished. Now I find him in odd places. I have no idea where he is at this moment. Frankly I don’t care as long as his head never moves like that again.

I don’t know what or who was trying to get my attention that week, nor do I know why. I saged and salted my room. So far nothing else has crept in. I’m all for helping those in need, but contact from the great beyond…I’m not really down with that.

Seriously if something out there has a message for me, I prefer they send an email or just text me.

Friday, February 28, 2014

Secrets About the Horror Genre with Paul DeBlassie III

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Creatures of Habit with Giovanna Lagana

We are so different and yet the same. Our imaginations and our thoughts make us different, but our emotions and environment make us the same. We are all creatures of habit, whether we accept it or not. We all have something we do on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis that if we were to deviate from would fill us with dread or unease. The only difference is to what degree.

I’m an avid creature of habit. If I don’t have my strongly caffeinated coffee the minute I awaken each morning, odds are I’ll be in an irritable mood for most of the morning. The same goes with getting a good night’s rest. I need my six to seven hours of sleep each night, too little or too much and then everything is out of balance the next day.

When it comes to my writing, well that gets complicated. It’s great to be a creature of habit as long as your habits are healthy, beneficial, productive, etc. But when they aren’t, then there lies the problem. When it came to my writing and work, I noticed that my attention span was getting shorter and shorter and I didn’t understand why. I thought it was caused by writer’s block. But although this did factor into it, I noticed that when I was freed of writer’s block, my attention span was still not like it used to be.

I blamed it on getting older. I thought the older we get the harder it is to concentrate on something for long periods of time. The same thing with our memories. The older we got, the more we forgot. But then I thought of my grandmother, who at the age of 91 still had the memory and mind of a woman in her twenties. She had what is called exact memory or total recall and could remember the exact time and date when she bought her living room sofa some forty years ago. And what was shocking was she could remember when we bought ours, or when I lost my first tooth. Minor things that slip our minds as time passes. But she remembered it all, accurately, the minor and the extremely important. Precisely everything.

I know I can never have my grandmother’s brilliant mind, but maybe I could get back the brain I used to have. The one where I could concentrate on something for over an hour and not become distracted, where I could remember an appointment without having to write it down in my electronic calendar.

I looked at my daily habits for the cause and the remedy. What was I doing differently in recent years that I wasn’t doing before? It was obvious, web surfing. I had picked up a bad habit of web surfing on my writing and work breaks. I thought reading daily entertainment and worldly news would recharge me and help me focus on my work at hand. It did initially, but the truth be told, as time progressed, it hampered my productivity and my focus. How?

Well, the fact that I could jump from one news or entertainment article to the next with a click of a button. So easy, so addictive, and so distracting. Do that once or twice and that’s okay. But when it becomes a domino effect, well, then that not only zaps your time away, but it changes your thinking patterns. Thanks to web surfing, my attention span and focus were shortening.

So I decided to curb this bad habit once and for all. I am staying clear of the Internet when I write or work. My Internet connection is closed until the evening hours. What do I do now on my work breaks? I meditate. I close my eyes and cleanse my mind and body with deep breathing and relaxation exercises. I also use my recumbent bike and peddle for half an hour at a time. So far, so good. I see the positive results. My attention span is expanding as is my physical endurance. As for my memory, well that is the same. But I think that it’s due to another bad habit I picked up these past few years, and that’s I’m always posting reminders in my electronic calendar. It has become one of my daily lifelines. And that’s my big mistake.

After all, our brain is an organ and like all organs if we don’t use it to its full capacity, then it becomes less productive. And thanks to my bad habits, that’s what happened to me. But I’m changing that one day at a time, changing my bad habits to good ones and in turn hopefully getting my memory and my writing and work focus I used to have years ago.

How about you? Are there any bad habits you want to change to good ones?

Begotten

The Forsaken Prophecies

Giovanna Lagana

Genre: Paranormal romantic suspense

Mystery/Thriller

ASIN: B00H0M7PLI

Number of pages: 324

Word Count: 78280

Cover Artist: Ghislain Mallet

Amazon Amazon.ca Amazon.co.uk

Smashwords Kobo

Book Description:

In the blink of an eye Megan Johnson’s perfect life turns into a nightmare. Her beloved husband mysteriously dies in a car crash and her fourteen-year-old son, Tristan, runs away with a diabolical cult leader named Vincent Hellion. Her world is spiraling to destruction. She leans on her husband’s best friend, Rhett Foster, for support and help. But when feelings she thought she never had for Rhett begin to surface and unknown psychic powers possess her, she becomes more confused than ever. She tries to push her feelings for Rhett aside and focus on her visions to save her son before it’s too late.

Rhett Foster has loved Megan for so long. But he never confessed his feelings to her because his best friend was her husband. Now that her husband is dead, he struggles with his conscience. Should he tell Megan how he really feels or should he honor his best friend's memory?

Megan's desperate quest to find and free her son sets them both on a path of love, danger, and renewal. If they return, their lives will be changed forever.

About the Author:

Giovanna Lagana is a freelance author. Some of her short stories and poems have been featured in magazines like Tales of the Talisman, Short-Story.Me, Static Movement, and Fear and Trembling Magazine, etc.

To learn more about Giovanna and her writing, please check her website at: www.giovannalagana.com

Website: www.giovannalagana.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/G_Lagana

Blog: http://giovannalaganablog.wordpress.com

Blog: http://jjgiovanna.bravejournal.com/

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January 6 Spotlight and review

Deb Sanders

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A Writer's Mind-

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Paranormal Romance Fans for Life

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Paranormal Romance and Beyond

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Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Giveaway - Falling by E Van Lowe

Hollywood and Back:

How Author E. Van Lowe Reinvented Himself in Hollywood

Sitcom producer and writer E. Van Lowe, who had major hits with "The Cosby Show" and "Charles in Charge" among others, found as he hit middle-age that the phone rang less for jobs. He began writing paranormal romance novels, which, in turn, is bringing him back to Hollywood.

Los Angeles, CA

In mid-December, Ehrich (pronounced Eric) Van Lowe received a flat envelope in the mail from the Writers Guild of America. In it was a letter of congratulations along with a certificate. The Cosby Show had been selected as one of the 101 best television shows in history. Van Lowe and other writers were being honored for their roles in writing and producing the show.

“Receiving the honor was a mixed blessing,” says Van Lowe. “Many of my current fans weren’t even born when The Cosby Show aired in first run. They only know it from late night reruns on TV Land and Nick at Night. They view The Cosby Show the same way I viewed I Love Lucy reruns when I was a kid—something that happened a long, long time ago.”

Van Lowe laughs when he says this, but his laughter is bittersweet. Many of the young Hollywood executives who Van Lowe must look to to get hired to write TV shows and movies were children when he was writing and producing such stalwart series as The Cosby Show, Knight Rider, Charles In Charge and Even Stevens. In a culture that celebrates youth, they don’t see Van Lowe as a seasoned veteran; they see him just as they see any writer over forty—old and washed-up.

After a head writer stint on The Tom Joyner Show in 2006, Van Lowe realized his phone wasn’t ringing as much as it once was. He decided after the show had wrapped to begin his segue into his next career, that as an author. Van Lowe had begun his writing career as an author, writing a few paperback original horror novels when he was a student at the University of Southern California. In the early 80s, Van Lowe had written "Child’s Play" and "The Power" under the pseudonym Sal Conte.

“I loved horror when I was growing up,” says van Lowe. “I still do. I chose the first and last names of two guys I played basketball with at the Y as my pseudonym. I figured I’d save my own name for when I wrote the great American novel.”

The great American novel never happened because soon after graduating from the Masters in Professional Writing program at USC, Van Lowe began his more than twenty-year career writing television and film, and never looked back. “The plan was to return to writing books when my TV run was over. I had no idea it was going to last as long as it did, or be so successful.”

Van Lowe’s successes includes: co-writing the Academy Award nominated short film, Cadillac Dreams. A People’s Choice Award for The Cosby Show, an Emmy nomination for Even Stevens, and numerous other nominations including several for the NAACP Image Award, and two for the Director’s Guild of America Diversity Award.

When the Tom Joyner Show wrapped, Van Lowe made the difficult decision to not take any studio meetings that year in search of his next gig. Instead, he decided to take the year off and write his first young adult novel, “Never Slow Dance with a Zombie.” “It wasn’t a difficult decision for me. I knew my career was winding down and I wanted to get my second career started before my first career ended. I wrote the book before the zombie craze had hit, before YA novels like 'Twilight' and 'The Hunger Games' were hot movie properties. So to many of my friends, as well as my agents and manager, it seemed like a bad idea. But I have to hand it to my team, once they understood what I was doing, they embraced the idea as best they could and never deserted me.”

In 2007, Van Lowe’s faith in his team was rewarded when his agent, Jim Kellem (JKA Talent & Literary), did what Van Lowe thought he couldn’t by inking a book deal at Tor Teen, a division of publishing powerhouse MacMillan/St. Martin’s. By then, the book was highly anticipated. "Never Slow Dance with a Zombie" was released in September 2009 with an initial order of 70,000 copies. While the book never made it onto the best seller list, "Never Slow Dance with a Zombie" went on to garner a nomination for an American Library Association Award. The book became part of the first wave of YA zombie novels and launched the beginning of the current YA paranormal craze.

Soon after the sale of "Never Slow Dance with a Zombie," Kellem called again telling Van Lowe the family of a teen Hollywood star wanted to meet with him. Jim had slipped the manuscript to the young star’s family. They loved the story and wanted to option it for their daughter. Van Lowe declined the option because he realized he could have a resurgence in Hollywood if he were the rights holder and producer of this and several popular novels. How would he become the rights holder to more books? He’d write the books himself.

“I wanted to become a beloved novelist, not a guy who wrote one book that became a movie,” says Van Lowe. “I love books and the people who read them. As much as I wanted to renew my Hollywood career, I knew I had to write several books that readers enjoyed. If I did that, the rest would take care of itself.”

Van Lowe says his greatest reward has been the fans. Although his protagonists are always teenagers, his books appeal to young and old alike. Van Lowe particularly loves interacting with his younger fans. “They’re so enthusiastic,” he says. In 2009 Van Lowe’s young fan’s enthusiasm was on display when many of them showed up to his Never Slow Dance with a Zombie Fest hours early to get made into zombies by a professional Hollywood makeup artist.

Van Lowe was on a roll. His second and third novels, (the first two books in The Falling Angels Saga) "Boyfriend from Hell" and "Earth Angel" became eBook Best Sellers in 2012. The four-book saga is being published by White Whisker Books, owned and operated by Van Lowe’s college classmate and friend, Christopher Meeks.

“Working with Meeks has been a dream. I’m able to have a hand in all aspects of the publishing process, including design, marketing, and release dates. I’m a hands-on kind of guy. I try to write page-turners, and with Chris’s help, I believe we deliver the best visceral experience for my fans that we possibly can.”

Meeks only has admiration for Van Lowe. "Ehrich saw what I was doing at White Whisker and asked if I'd considering publishing his Falling Angels Saga. I was only one chapter in and saw this guy is a magician. He can write. His fourth book comes out in two months."

Van Lowe takes as much care with his new career as he did with The Cosby Show. The highly anticipated fourth and final book in the saga, entitled "Falling," debuts on March 13th 2014. White Whisker is hosting a launch party at Vroman’s Books in Pasadena on launch day, where Van Lowe will do a reading. The event is free and open to the public. Van Lowe is hoping his latest book becomes another best seller. “My fans are going to love the final book. I put everything I had into it,” he says with pride.

Van Lowe is quite busy in his new career. He spent much of the summer in meetings at every major studio and many production companies shopping his projects. He and a partner wrote a sitcom pilot for a cable network. In December, he teamed with Hollywood heavyweight Peter Bergmann to produce the Falling Angels Saga as a feature film franchise. He is currently at work on the screenplay for "Boyfriend from Hell," the first book in the franchise. In January, he resumed taking meetings for more TV projects based on his works. He’s also working on a new novella and his next novel.

“I can’t believe how busy I am,” says Van Lowe. “Two years ago I couldn’t get arrested. Some days I feel overwhelmed, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. My new career is every bit as rewarding as my first, possibly even more rewarding because I’m older and wiser. Who said youth is wasted on the young? I feel as youthful as ever. I’m having a ball.”

Van Lowe hopes his story can be an inspiration for men and women who believe the work world is preparing them for pasture. “We can all continue to be productive members of society,” he says, “if instead of lamenting the end of our careers, we take a moment to rethink our career strategies.”

Contact Information

White Whisker Books

Christopher Meeks

www.WhiteWhiskerBooks.com

Falling

Falling Angels Saga

Book Four

E Van Lowe

Genre: Paranormal YA

Think twice before you agree to marry Satan. There’s no divorcing the devil.

The End is Near

Will Megan Barnett go falling back into the arms of dreamy earth angel, Guy Matson? Or, is she in fact, falling in love with the demon, Orthon? Or, will her out-of-control abilities send her falling into Satan’s open arms?

In the final, heart-stopping chapter of the Falling Angels Saga, Megan Barnett is on a quest to rid her life of Satan forever, but Satan has other plans, including a lavish wedding, and he’s willing to destroy her family and everyone she loves to have his way. To add to the drama, rogue demons have risen from hell with plans of their own.

Will Megan finally have her happily-ever-after, or is she doomed to an eternity in HELL?

As Amanda Ashby, author of Zombie Queen of Newbury High, writes, “E. Van Lowe is a writing force to be reckoned with and you are in masterful hands from the first page to the last.”

Heaven Sent

Falling Angels Saga

Book Three

E Van Lowe

Genre: Paranormal YA

What Does It All Mean?

Readers who devoured Boyfriend From Hell and Earth Angel will be captivated by the third book in the Falling Angels Saga.

As summer break for Glendale Union high begins, heartsick Megan awaits Guy's return while struggling to control her emerging abilities. Love is in the air, but can the new loves in Megan, Maudrina, Suze and Aunt' Jaz's life be trusted? Nothing is what it seems. Meanwhile, the Satanists are set to hatch their most diabolical scheme ever, and if it comes to pass, Satan may finally win out.

Megan has precious little time to unravel the cryptic message hidden in the riddle she received at the end of Earth Angel. If she doesn’t, the life of someone most dear to her will be lost forever, and Megan may yet find herself living in HELL.

Excerpt

Earth Angel

Falling Angels

Book Two

E Van Lowe

Genre: Paranormal YA

Heaven Can Wait!

Just because Megan Barnett recently defeated Satan, has a fantastic new best friend, and has won the love of deliciously handsome, Guy Matson, doesn’t mean her troubles are over. Far from it. For Megan doesn’t realize it, but in her possession is a powerful weapon, a weapon sought after by both angels and demons and everything in between. They will do ANYTHING to get it.

In E. Van Lowe’s humorous, romantic and thrilling sequel to Boyfriend From Hell, Megan winds up in a gripping life or death battle to save herself, the boy she loves, and all of mankind from unthinkable evil.

Megan Barnett has recently defeated Satan, found a fantastic new best friend, and has won the heart of deliciously handsome, Guy Matson. But that doesn’t mean her troubles are over. Far from it. For Megan doesn’t realize that she is in possession of a powerful paranormal weapon, a weapon sought after by both angels, demons and everything in between.

In E. Van Lowe’s romantic yet thrilling sequel to Boyfriend From Hell, Megan finds herself in a gripping life or death battle to save the boy she loves, and all of mankind from unthinkable evil.

Paperback Kindle

Excerpt

Boyfriend from Hell

Falling Angels Saga

Book One

E Van Lowe

Genre: Paranormal YA

Aww, Hell No!

Fifteen year-old Megan Barnett and her single mom, Suze, have a special relationship—they are friends, close friends, who do almost everything together.

“But come on, guys, she’s my mother… Can I really tell her that while we’re snuggled up on the sofa watching Spider Man Three, I’m secretly undressing James Franco with my eyes? Of course not…”

The special bond takes a turn for the worse when Suze decides to start dating again. She hasn’t had a man in her life since Megan’s father left ten years ago.

Enter two mysterious young men, Megan’s new classmate, sinfully attractive bad boy, Guy Matson, and the dangerously handsome art dealer, Armando. Before long Megan and Suze both wind up in steamy relationships. But neither of the handsome guys is quite what he seems. In fact, one of them is Satan, with his sights set on a new bride. Megan has precious little time to figure out how to stop him. If she doesn’t, either Megan or Suze are quite literally going to HELL.

www.whitewhiskerbooks.com Paperback Kindle

Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/39hI9rmwI5A

Excerpt

About The Author

E. Van Lowe is an author, television writer, screen-writer, playwright and producer who has worked on such TV shows as "The Cosby Show," "Even Stevens," and "Homeboys In Outer Space." He has been nominated for both an Emmy and an Academy Award. His first YA Paranormal novel, "Never Slow Dance With A Zombie," was a selection of The Scholastic Book Club, and a nominee for an American Library Association Award.

The first two books in the Falling Angels Saga: “Boyfriend From Hell” and “Earth Angel,” are best sellers. “The Zombie Always Knocks Twice” is the first book in the Hollyweird series.

In December 2014, he received a letter and certificate from the Writers Guild of America for his work on The Cosby Show, which had been selected as one of the 101 best television shows in history.

E lives in Beverly Hills California with his spouse, a werewolf, several zombies and a fairy godmother who grants him wishes from time-to-time.

www.evanlowe.com

http://vanlowe.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/E-Van-Lowe/152364748167154