A Helping Hand

            As it turns out, even after living in a haunted house for 20+ years, things can still happen that unnerve me. I had an experience last Friday that shook me (and my grandson) greatly.

            First, let me explain that the living room in my house is a later addition to the construction, and there is a single step down to enter it from the rest of the house, and it is floored with ceramic tile. Last Friday, my grandson and I were sitting in the living room floor, playing with his toys when he decided he wanted a different toy that was laying in the hallway. He has mastered going up the step on his own, so I let him go on ahead of me. (It takes me longer to get up off the floor than it does him.) But for some reason, as soon as he climbed up the step he changed his mind about the toy and wanted to come down. He has not mastered going DOWN steps on his own. Before I could react, he was leaning far over the step, inches from tumbling down to smack his cute little face on the ceramic tile. And then… he wasn’t. Right in front of my eyes, he shot backwards at least a foot.

            Of course, it terrified him and he started screaming. Protective Grandma kicked in, and I was furious with the ghost for scaring the poor baby. Coupled with the fact that I’d just seen him moved by invisible hands, I was more disturbed than I’ve been in a long time.

            But when I explained the events of the day to my husband, and later my daughter, they both immediately did what I hadn’t: they thanked the ghost for looking out for the baby.  Later, I thanked our ghost as well. After all, he or she did save my grandbaby from a nasty fall, and I don’t believe he was hurt at all, just surprised at being jerked back so quickly. But I don’t think the image of him sliding backwards is something I will ever forget.

So I guess even when I think I’ve seen it all, I haven’t.

As a side note, I think my grandson would have been just as upset if someone with visible hands had moved him. I know he is aware of the ghosts in my house, and my daughter tells me that he plays with an unseen friend in his own home as well.  

An interview and a giveaway....

  Hi folks! Today I'm over at i swim for oceans doing an interview as part of the first ever Spencer Hill week. And, of course, there will be prizes. Hop on over and enter to win a signed copy of Angelina's Secret or.....wait for it.....are you ready?..... My MUSE!  Yep, all authors have them, but I have more than one, so I'm willing to share. Of course, my muse has chosen to manifest himself as a ghost from the Crescent Hotel. Are you surprised? I though not.  :)  Good luck and happy haunting!!!

Evidence?

            If there is one thing I’ve learned since opening up about my belief in ghosts it’s that there are about as many different opinions on the subject as there are people to talk about it. One of the most hotly debated issues is capturing a ghost on film. Is it possible? Are they all fakes/shadows/dust? What is the best equipment/method for ghost capturing?

            I will be the first to admit that I don’t have all the answers. But I do have a website. (Did you know I have a website? If not, don’t feel bad. My daughter didn’t even know until last week.) I am in the process of posting some of my own pictures that, unfortunately, we had to cut from the final copy of On Haunted Ground. Of course, I have my own opinions about what the images are. J  But I promise that none of the pictures have been altered in any way, except cropping.  Feel free to check them out and let me know what you think!    http://authorlisarogers.weebly.com/ Just click on the “haunting images” tab in the sidebar. And be sure to check back occasionally, because I have several more pictures I just haven’t got around to posting yet. 

Too Cute!

Have a happy WEEKEND!!!!!!!!

Ah, Editing

             I love writing, I really do. I do not, however, love editing my work. Over and over and over. I just know I’m going to miss some huge, obvious mistake, and everyone who reads my book will laugh at me. So, being my obsessive compulsive self, I whip out my fine-toothed comb and go over my manuscript until my eyes cross. And then I pass it off to my family and make them go over it as well. Just in case.

            That being said, who wants to guess what I received over the weekend? Yep, final (hopefully) edits for On Haunted Ground. And as much as I dislike editing, it is also really cool. That means my SECOND book will be on the shelves this summer. (giggles creepily) But now my eyes have uncrossed, so I’m going to re-read my manuscript one more time…

On Shelves Now

  Okay guys, this is the first anthology by my awesome publisher, Spencer Hill Press. It has stories from my awesome editors, and from my awesome daughter. *coughs* In a word, it's awesome. So go get your copy today!

Dear Writer's Block, I HATE YOU

            So, I have this problem. When I’m really busy, I mean so busy I don’t have time to look at a computer, let alone write, my mind is brimming with great ideas for my next book. But set me in front of a computer with hours of empty time and… I stare at a screen as blank as my mind. So, in search of inspiration, I check my e-mail, head over to facebook, look for new comments on my blog, you see where this is going, right?

            I’ve started carrying an “idea journal,” so I can jot down my flashes of brilliance, and it does help, a little. But then I end up typing a paragraph, just to delete it, wondering “Where was I going with this, again?”

            And now to the point: Can anyone help me? Seasoned writing veteran or someone who has a friend whose cousin found a trick while writing a term paper. I’m not that picky. I just need some ideas quickly, before I toss my computer monitor out the window.

Have a great weekend.  J 

Now Available!!

Llewellyn Worldwide is now accepting pre-orders for my second book On Haunted Ground. Get yours here.http://www.llewellyn.com/product.php?ean=9780738732367



THE NEW WINNER IS........

Mindy Fangedmom!!!!!!!!!!!

WOOHOO and Congratulations Mindy. Email me your mailing address at lisajrogers (at) aol (.) com

A Classic

I occasionally go through funny old e-mails to brighten my mood. This morning I found this little gem. Hope you have a happy Friday!

ONLY A MAN WOULD ATTEMPT THIS....THIS IS TOO FUNNYPocket Tazer Stun Gun, a great gift for the wife.

A guy who purchased his lovely wife a pocket Tazer for their anniversary
submitted this:

Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked
my interest. The occasion was our 15th anniversary and I was looking for a
little something extra for my wife Julie. What I came across was a
100,000-volt, pocket/purse- sized tazer.

The effects of the tazer were supposed to be short lived, with no
longterm adverse affect on your assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat
to safety....??

WAY TOO COOL! Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home.
I loaded two AAA batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button.
Nothing! I was disappointed. I learned, however, that if I pushed the button and
pressed it against a metal surface at the same time, I'd get the blue
arc of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs.

AWESOME!!! Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to Julie what that burn
spot is on the face of her microwave.

Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it
couldn't be all that bad with only two AAA batteries, right?

There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting
little soul) while I was reading the directions and thinking that I
really needed to try this thing out on a flesh & blood moving target.

I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a fraction of a second)
and then thought better of it. She is such a sweet cat. But, if I was going
to give this thing to my wife to protect herself against a mugger, I did
want some assurance that it would work as advertised.

Am I wrong?

So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my reading
glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, and
tazer in another. The directions said that a one-second burst would
shock and disorient your assailant; a two-second burst was supposed to cause
muscle spasms and a major loss of bodily control; and a three-second
burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out
of water. Any burst longer than three seconds would be wasting the
batteries.

All the while I'm looking at this little device measuring about 5" long,
less than 3/4 inch in circumference (loaded with two itsy, bitsy AAA
batteries); pretty cute really, and thinking to myself, 'no possible
way!'

What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best.

I'm sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one
side so as to say, 'Don't do it stupid,' reasoning that a one second burst
from such a tiny lil ole thing couldn't hurt all that bad. I decided to give
myself a one second burst just for heck of it.

I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and...

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD. WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. WHAT THE... !!!

I'm pretty sure Hulk Hogan ran in through the side door, picked me up in
the recliner, then body slammed us both on the carpet, over and over and
over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, with
tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, both nipples on fire, testicles
nowhere to be found, with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest
position, and tingling in my legs! The cat was making meowing sounds I had never
heard before, clinging to a picture frame hanging above the fireplace,
obviously in an attempt to avoid getting slammed by my body flopping all over the
living room.

Note: If you ever feel compelled to 'mug' yourself with a tazer, one
note of caution: there is NO such thing as a one second burst when you zap
yourself!  You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand
by a violent thrashing about on the floor! A three second burst would be
considered conservative! A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time
was a relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had
left), sat up and surveyed the landscape. My bent reading glasses were
on the mantel of the fireplace.. The recliner was upside down and about 8
feet or so from where it originally was. My triceps, right thigh and both
nipples were still twitching. My face felt like it had been shot up with
Novocain, and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs. I had no control over the drooling.
Apparently I had crapped in my shorts, but was too numb to know for
sure, and my sense of smell was gone. I saw a faint smoke cloud above my head,
which I believe came from my hair.

I'm still looking for my testicles and I'm offering a significant reward
for their safe return!

PS: My wife can't stop laughing about my experience, loved the gift and
now regularly threatens me with it!

If you think education is difficult, try being stupid!!!!

Unclaimed prize. Looking for Judy!!!

Judy I've tried contacting you through the e-mail you left, but it keeps saying that isn't a valid address. Please email me at lisajrogers(at) aol (dot) com If I don't hear from you by Monday I'll have to choose another winner.

Thanks

The winner is...

JUDY!!!!!!!!

Congratulations Judy and a BIG WELCOME to all who have recently joined Ghost Talk.

A Comforting Experience

One of my goals in starting this blog was to share my personal ghost experiences. Not the bone-chilling tales of horror, (fortunately, I’ve had very few of those) but the stories that will explain why I actually enjoy having ghosts around. I had such an experience on Christmas day.

            I was lucky enough to be able to spend Christmas with all of my grandchildren. My one-year old granddaughter and I have a game where we look at the various pictures in the house and she names her relatives. Soon after she arrived on Christmas day, she pointed to a cross-stitched picture of an elderly man in a hunting cap and proudly announced “Paw-paw.” Neither of her “paw-paws” look anything like the man in the picture. But her great-grandfather looked quite a lot like him. In fact, that is why I hung the picture up in the first place.

            Her great-grandfather passed away several years before my granddaughter was born, but she acted like he was someone she saw frequently. Now, this is not the first time I’ve suspected that my father-in-law is still around. Over the years I’ve felt his presence many times, but I haven’t seen him since he passed away. Obviously, my granddaughter has. I think it is nice to know that he may not have missed out on our special day.

Let me know what you think. And be sure to scroll down and enter the New Year give-away. Contest closes at midnight January 3^rd.