Jen: Tell me about the character of Gaby, the heroine of the Servant series.

Lori: Gaby is a very driven loner. Born an orphan when a lightning strike put her mother into labor, and stole her life, Gaby has a special gift of seeing beyond the surface of the average person. She knows true evil when she’s near it, even if the person looks like the sweetest grandpa to the rest of the world. Because of that gift, Gaby is instructed – by God – to destroy the evil, and in the process is given special capabilities in fight and stamina. She trusts no one, doesn’t want any friends, and is afraid only of lightning storms.

Jen: And let’s not forget about the hero(es?) of the series. Romance readers love those male characters, so what can you tell us about the men in Gaby’s world?

Lori: Morty Vance is a pretty pathetic character. He’s Gaby’s landlord and the owner of a kitschy comic book store. Eventually he forces his way into Gaby’s life as her friend. Luther Cross is a detective, and the love interest. Even though he doesn’t trust Gaby, and he’s suspicious of her, he’s drawn to her. It’s ridiculous and he knows it, especially since dead people turn up around Gaby a lot, but he wants to protect her almost as much as he wants to make love to her.

Jen: How many books do you have planned in the Servant series?

Lori: Right now, 5. But that could change. I never really know for sure what I’m doing until I do it. J But 5 stories for the series are in my head, so I think that’ll work.

Jen: How often do you plan to release books in the Servant series?

Lori: I had hoped one a year, but the next one just got bumped to January 09, so more like 14 months apart. After that – well, it’s up to the publisher, but I’d be happy with one a year.

Jen: Do you have any other books planned for L.L. Foster outside of the Servant series?

Lori: I have a ton of story lines in my brain! They make me insane. But yeah, definitely there’ll be other L.L. Foster titles beyond the series.

Jen: Now let’s not forget about Lori. What books written as Lori Foster do you have coming out in 2008?

Lori: Next up is another of my SBC (mma fighter) series. Hard to Handle is Harley Handleman’s book, out in February. After that will be Michael’s book, probably as a time travel into the future, just for fun. I expect to do at least 2 more fighter books after that, then... who knows?

     In June I’m included in a charity book with 11 other authors. It’s titled The Power of Love and will be published through Berkley. Proceeds from the novella collection will go to benefit the Battered Women’s Shelter.

     I also have some good reissues out in 08, including a March release of Fallen Angels, a compilation of Beguiled and Wanton, done in mass market; a June release of Heartbreakers, a compilation of Treat Her Right and Mr. November; and an October release of Caught!, a compilation of Taken and Say Yes.

Jen: Anything else you’d like to share?

Lori: Sure thing! We’re already gearing up for the next “Reader and Writer” get together June 6^th through 8^th, 2008. It’s in my neck of the woods – Cinci Ohio – and only costs $35. We have over 25 authors already committed to attending (last year we had almost 50 authors by the time of the event), and a score of publishers and editors will be joining us, including Cindy Hwang from Berkley; Samhain Publisher, Crissy Brashear; Changeling Press Publisher, Margaret Riley; Agent Roberta Brown; and Sue Grimshaw, head buyer for Borders Books. All readers and authors are welcome. It’s very laid back and fun, includes many of the meals and a fabulous book fair, and best of all, proceeds from an unbelievable raffle go to a charity.

     For info & photos on last year’s event, check out my website at: http://lorifoster.com/community/readergettogthr.htm

Interested authors should contact me now, readers will be able to register after the New Year. Thank you!

Jen: Thank you, Lori, for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer these questions for me. I look forward to reading Servant: The Awakening and wish you the best of success on this exciting new venture.

Who You Gonna Call?, Continued

Amy: I am a Professional Tarot Reader, Astrologer, and Paranormal Investigator. Ghost Hunter makes me sound like I want to stalk the spirit and put its phantom head on my wall. Even though someone is dead, I still value them as a person—their feelings, family, and people who loved them. Too many people go into this with ideas of glory. It is a fun and exiting profession, but if someone doesn’t believe in ghosts or other paranormal-preternatural events, nothing will change their mind. We sadly will never prove to “the world” that ghosts exist. I photographed a full apparition in a war fort kitchen. I was with 30 people, including a local professor, but that isn’t good enough for some.

Ciar: Do you have any special qualities or skills that make you eligible to do this work? James: Personally, I think the best skill to have in this field is simply the ability to go into things with an open mind and to trust your own judgment. As far as how and why I got started, I grew up in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, which is a pretty creepy area filled with folklore and urban legends. As I got into my teens, I decided to try and find out for myself which of the ghost stories I had heard as a child were true.

 Amy: Training and experience are pretty important. Anyone can go skulking around a dark tunnel with 50 pounds of gear to try and “catch a ghost”.  But, just as easily, those people can get hurt by falling and hurting themselves, or by being harmed by a spirit. Yes, one can actually be hurt by spirits. Intuition can really be a blessing in this job, but if someone is “uncontrolled” or new at manipulating this sensitivity, it can cause problems both for your team and for yourself. My gifts did go into overdrive after a near-death experience. I saw spirits of the Departed as a child, but after dying myself, my clairaudience (clear hearing) became much more discernible, and helpful to others. 

Ciar: Do you go into an investigation hoping to find a haunting or hoping to debunk claims of a haunting? Are you a fan of the Ghost Hunters TV show? James: The only thing I hope for going into an investigation is that I will uncover some answers. Contrary to popular belief, most of the people who contact us don’t do so in order to find out if they have a ghost. They simply want an explanation for why things are happening in their home or business. The fact that we can give them answers, even if the answer turns out to be a non-ghostly one like a leaky pipe, is quite satisfying. Concerning TAPS, I am a fan of Ghost Hunters and I believe that the success of the show has really made this field more visible to the general public.

Amy: I go into an investigation looking for the truth, to help. As for Ghost Hunters, I don’t personally watch. I want to get away from the stresses of my job when I’m home. That said, I’m happy that a show like that has become popular, because it makes it easier to talk to people about my profession. Since paranormal investigation has moved into the spotlight, people don’t see us as “weirdos” as much. I can’t tell you how many investigations start off the initial consultation worrying about being “crazy”.

Ciar: Is there a reason someone would need to call in a professional investigator? Is there anything a person who suspects a haunting should not attempt alone?

James: I think that any time the activity within the home or business gets to a point where people living or working there are uncomfortable, they should call someone in. That being said, anyone looking to call in some investigators should probably do their homework to ensure they are bringing in people they are comfortable with. Let’s face it; there is no concrete evidence as to what exactly a ghost is. Therefore, what you should and should not do during an investigation is an inexact science, at best. So people want to make sure they know exactly what is going to take place during an investigation. After all, it is their home.
Amy: There are many reasons someone should call a paranormal investigator—violent actions with no visible culprit, scratches, phantom hand prints, both on the human body, and on walls in homes. Any haunting that seems to involve violence should never be attempted alone. I have had things thrown at me, I have been with investigators who were punched in the face hard enough to leave a black eye, and people have told me that a spirit tried to push them down the stairs.  Please always use the buddy system, especially if you are going somewhere remote. A level head is most important. Someone on an investigation in a group I was with ran screaming into a home, telling a family there were demons in their back yard. It was a stray cat.

Ciar: What’s been your most interesting case to date?

James: There have been several cases involving residual hauntings (where the activity is always the same and in the same location) that are quite intriguing. For the most part, once you can isolate a specific area when the activity is occurring, you can then research the history of the location to see if something happened at that spot that could have resulted in a haunting (murder, suicide, etc.). Once you find something has, that really helps build your case as to the location being deemed as “haunted.”

Amy: I was taken once to a bridge featured in a haunted sites book. I had no knowledge of this bridge beforehand. I took photos, digital thermo readings, used dowsing rods, and I didn’t get anything but a few facial blurs. When I stepped onto the bridge itself, I recounted for my friend the story I was “told” [from beyond]: A man named John was brought to this bridge by his best friend one night, ostensibly to “talk” when, after several beers, John’s friend pushed him over the railing, and as John clung for his life, on the edge of that bridge above the freezing waters, had asked his friend WHY he had done this heinous thing, he replied, “This is for sleeping with my wife.” John even gave me a date.  Two days later my friend called me in hysterics, saying that she had checked the local death notices and reports, and an unidentified man was found near that bridge a day later than the date that John had given me. He had hit his head on a river rock and drowned after plummeting off of the bridge.

Ciar: What should a person ask before calling someone into their residence?  How can they spot a pro?

James: Just make sure they feel comfortable, not only with the people themselves, but also with what they plan to do during the investigation. Above all, ask questions. The Ghosts of Ohio always offers to sit down with the homeowners before an investigation and walk them through everything we are going to do. We also empower them to stay around for the investigation and to be able to stop it at any time should they not feel comfortable with what is going on. Personally, I don’t know if I could do what our clients do (contact a group of strangers and invite them into your home), so I always tell my new group members to put themselves in our clients’ shoes and see how they would feel.
Amy: As with any profession, it is always appropriate to ask to speak to references. If they come up empty, you have a red flag—either they are too new, or they are bad at what they do. Anyone can speak the lingo, but the initial interview both for the investigator, and the land owner, is the most important part. You can ask the owner about medications and possible past psychotherapy or medical issues that could lead to someone seeing something that may not be there.  

Ciar: If you could investigate any building or spot on Earth, what would it be?

James: I only get to pick one?  That’s not fair!  But how about the Tower of London...for starters!
Amy: I would probably want to see Stonehenge, as the grounds near it are filled with cairns, burial hills of ancestral dead.

Ciar: Are you a reader?

James: I’ve been told that I don’t read books, I devour them!  I tend to stay in the non-fiction realm, usually focusing on ghost and/or history books. Currently, I have close to 500 books on ghosts and folklore alone. In terms of fiction, my favorite author is Ambrose Bierce, especially since, to my knowledge, he is the only person in history whose death year is always followed by a question mark since he disappeared.  In terms of recent books, I’d have to say that House of Leaves really took me for a ride.
Amy: Oh, yes. I’ve been a bookworm since the second grade when my mom bought me “The Phantom Tollbooth.”  Paranormal romance is one of my favorite genres. As a witch and member of the Wiccan religion, my inner bookworm says if I wasn’t, they’d take away my Pagan Union card.  I read everything from Samhain’s own Rene Lyons’ Templars Series, to MaryJanice Davidson’s “Betsy” Vampire series. Many of Samhain’s paranormal romance authors have gotten Tarot readings from me.

Ciar: Have you ever been frightened while on a case?

James: Way back when, I would run like hell when I got scared. But that was a long time ago. But one time, as I was running away, a little voice inside my head said “Why are you running? Isn’t this what you wanted to have happen?” Even since then, when something scary happens, I still run, but now I’m running TOWARDS the action!
Amy: Heck yes! I try to arm myself as much as possible. Drinking blessed or “holy” water is great defense against “possession”.

Visit James A. Willis at http://www.ghostsofohio.org or email him at jim@ghostsofohio.org. His book Weird Ohio is available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com.

Amy reads Tarot and offers Astrology at http://mystickalvoyage.com/contact.html or you can visit her Myspace page at http://myspace.com/morriganswitch

Ciar Cullen’s paranormal romances may be found at http://www.ciarcullen.com. Her December 7 release, Key West Magic, is all about ghosts and humans that go bump in the night, with a Conch Republic twist.

Honoring The Ancestors, Continued

     Did you lose someone this year? Find a photo or letter from someone long since passed away? Do you remember their smiles when the leaves turn to shades of gold, and mist rolls in to shroud the land in peace? This is the time of honoring those memories.

     This simple ritual is a very nice way to add some meaning to this season of magic and mystery. Place a tray with a white candle, some milk, honey and an apple on your table. You can decorate it with pictures, jewelry, natural objects, scarves, anything you feel is appropriate.

     Think of your loved ones as you light the candle. This is to guide their spirits safely through the night. The milk, honey, and apple are to feed them on their journey as they cross back into our world and visit those they love. I do not recommend letting any candle burn unattended, but do leave the milk, honey and apple out all night. Be certain not to eat them—in the morning throw them out, or leave in your yard for the fairies to claim.

     I lost both my father and a very dear friend this past year. It is my hope they, and the rest of my family who have already crossed over, will see the light in my window and know they are still remembered and loved.

     Samhain Blessings, Gia Dawn

Gia Dawn writes fun fantasy romance with the heat turned up! Her next release is A Fairy Special Gift in the Samhain Love and Lore Anthology. http://samhainpublishing/authors/gia-dawn

Halloween Is Not My Bag, Continued

     I both admire and pity the women who make time to make such elaborate goodies. My admiration is borne out of jealousy because the “ingenious edible craft” gene skipped me. My pity is such because by and large, over the thirteen years I’ve been subjected to classroom Halloween parties, the kids don’t appreciate—or in most cases—don’t even notice the sheer amount of work perky Mrs. X devoted to crafting little Jimmy’s personalized pumpkin cookie. Yeah, I’m the mom who volunteers to provide disposable plastic cups. Or holiday Oreos. Hey. They are cookies; they count.

We didn’t get to wear costumes to school—thank goodness—or have elaborately themed and color coordinated parties. Although one year we did bob for apples. Problem was, I had to go right after the grossest kid in my second grade class.  The only thing running through my mind while my face was under that cold, slimy water? How many of the apples had actually touched Bruce ‘The Booger Eater’s’ mouth?  Did I have Bruce’s slobber all over my face? Eww. I couldn’t make myself bite into that shiny red flesh; I practically threw up underwater. So I didn’t get a prize. I was too busy scouring my mouth in the girls’ bathroom to care.

Things didn’t get better the next fall. During my third-grade year, my mother had an attack of the guilts for her lack of creativity in creating Halloween costumes. So after watching a particularly “crafty” episode of The Dinah Shore Show, she took it upon herself to MAKE me a costume, specifically, a mask. It was an absolute monstrosity. Not just a normal, ugly mask cast out of soggy papier maché, no, she’d made one out of a brown paper bag.

Yes, you read that right. An enormous brown paper grocery bag from the A&P. She’d festooned it with long curls cut from yellow construction paper, decorated the face with thick, black eyelashes above the cut-out eye holes, and she’d painted a clown-like grinning red mouth and rouged cheeks. It even had a tawdry beauty mark, more suited to the madam of a Western cathouse than a princess costume for an eight-year old.

I knew if I any of my friends saw me wearing that square bag over my head, I’d die. But being the conscientious kid I was, I didn’t want to hurt Mom’s feelings because she had at least tried to do something new. At the time we lived in eastern South Dakota, and like most Halloween nights, it was cold and snowy, limiting our trick or treating time. My mom and I laugh about it now, but there wasn’t anything funny about it then.

Maybe that’s why I’m scarred about Halloween and hide in the corner munching chocolate.

In my fourth-grade year we lived in the Bible Belt. The trappings of Halloween were the work of the devil. No parties/cookies/candy for anyone. I didn’t miss it.

In fifth grade, Mom decided we were too old for costumes so she sent us trick or treating for UNICEF. A noble cause, but once people gave us money they were less inclined to give us candy. And it was always about the candy for me.

These days Halloween candy is much tastier. The sheer number of snack-size Snickers and packages of M&M’s in my kids’ trick-or-treat pails boggles my mind. Then there are those practical (and cheap) old folks with no sense of fun who give away pencils. Or stickers. A local dentist will trade candy for toothbrushes. Ooh. Nothing says Halloween fun like an Oral B.

In our time, we mostly got rock-hard Bazooka bubblegum, Dum-Dum suckers, Pixie Stix, Tootsie Rolls and Smarties. Even back in the good old days, my mother checked our candy before we were allowed to eat it. The minute she gave the all clear, the trading began.

My brother is three years younger than me, and in my candy grubbing youth, that meant I had a three-year head start on perfecting the art of tricking him out of the good stuff. I never felt guilty trading away those peanut butter kisses he was crazy for. I hated them, and if there hadn’t been chocolate at stake, I probably would have just given them to him. But I made him think it was a huge sacrifice for me to give up those nasty, chewy, waxy peanut butter kisses for a yummy Reese’s peanut butter cup. Eventually he figured out my trick and stopped trading with me altogether.  He’d even hide his candy bucket from me, since my treats lasted…oh, about a day. To make up for my misspent youth, every year around Halloween I send him a whole bag of peanut butter kisses.

Halloween was fun again for a while after my husband and I first got married. But even at the adult parties there was pressure to have a distinctive couple costume. One year my husband went as Gandhi and I rented a dress with hoopskirts and a parasol and went as Scarlett O’Hara. Our theme? “Gandhi With The Windy.”  We actually won a prize—my first and only.

When we started having kids, did I panic when October 30^th rolled around?  Nah.  Because for the first time in my life, I had an ace in the hole. My husband grew up creating elaborate costumes for himself; he is a master at making unique and fun costumes for our three daughters. (Not that there’s anything wrong with men sewing, but bear in mind my husband owns a firearms business—yes, he works with guns all day long—so seeing him with a needle and thread was disconcerting to say the least).

So far he’s hand-sewn an entire full-body kangaroo costume complete with a long tail, floppy feet, and a pouch, a glittering butterfly with eight-foot black wings, spray painted with neon swirls and glow-in-the-dark spots, a brown bat with a five-foot wingspan, a fairy with twinkling wings and a light-up wand, a mummy made from miles of gauze, a four-foot fuzzy carrot, an eight-legged spider, a scary witch, a cute witch, a ballerina, Princess Leia, the headless horseman with glowing eyes inside a pumpkin head, several types of vampires, and fluffy kitty and a black cat with claws.

In all fairness, I have helped some, but I’m not embarrassed to admit my expertise is limited to a trip down the costume aisle at Wal-Mart or the party store. The kids don’t mind a ready-made costume every couple of years. And if they complain? I whip out the picture of me in the hideous brown paper bag mask, or worse, I unfold a plain white sheet and threaten to send them as a ghost.

Nothing scarier than that.

Lorelei James writes contemporary erotic tales - cowboys and Indians and bad boys, oh my! - set in the modern day Wild West. Her next book in the Rough Riders series, Rode Hard, Put Up Wet, will be released on Oct. 23, '07 from Samhain. For more info visit her website: www.loreleijames.com
 

Irish Superstitions, Continued

            And while my mother-in-law insists this is more English than Irish, my father-in-law says when he was growing up a lot of Irish wouldn’t even get up for work on a Friday the 13^th.

            Believe it or not, a lot of Irish (particularly the older generation) are superstitious about wearing green and won’t put any on. If a farmer wants to send bad luck to one of his neighboring farmers, he buries eggs on the rival farmer’s land. Never pay a bill on Monday or you’ll be paying it the rest of the week. If your nose is itchy, someone is talking about you, so pinch your ear to get them to bite their tongue.

            Left-handed people are to be avoided because the left is connected with the “quare fella” (the devil). And if you find a comb, pick it up as it could belong to the banshee. Speaking of the banshee, if your name begins with an “O” or “Mac”, you’ll hear the banshee wail for a death in the family. Then the headless coachman will come to take the dead away. If a person dies at home and the wake is held there, someone always has to stay with them so they won’t be alone. A family member also has to ride in the hearse with the dead when the body is moved. It’s bad luck to stand on a grave, so avoid that. And a crossroads is supposed to be a meeting place for lost souls, so you’re more likely to see a ghost there. Careful that the ghost doesn’t follow you home!

            Drop a knife on accident, say “amen” to the door. Accidentally put two spoons down at one place when setting the table, say “two spoons a sign of a christening”.

            It’s considered back luck to buy a pram (or any nursery furniture) before a baby is born, but it’s no problem buying clothes for the unborn baby.

            After all that avoidance of bad luck, you might be wondering if there’s a little good luck in all this piseog? You can always observe Hansel Monday—the first Monday of January. Give someone a coin on that day and they won’t be short of money all year. When my husband and I bought our house in Ireland, the former owners gave us 10 Irish pounds the night we moved in, “for luck”. The owner before that had done the same for them, and they were continuing the tradition. When my friend’s father, a farmer in Kerry, sells straw or hay for cash, he’ll give the buyer a note back, again for luck.

            To ensure your hair grows better, cut a little bit off on the first Friday of the month. Itchy left hand? You’re about to come into money (itch left hand, itch!)—I guess that’s one the quare fella doesn’t have influence over. If a black cat crosses your path, something good will happen—so be nice to those black cats!

There are plenty of superstitions around weddings as well, and again, a lot of these will sound familiar. It’s bad luck to see the groom the night before the wedding. The Irish adhere to the bride having “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” for her wedding day. Put on a newly engaged woman’s engagement ring and turn the ring around toward you three times to make a wish (usually done by women wishing for a man). Wondering who your future groom might be? Well on Samhain (Halloween), you can peel an apple, making sure the peel comes off in one long strand and recite the following:

I pare this apple round and round again,

My sweetheart’s name to flourish on the plain,

I fling the unbroken paring o’er my head,

My sweetheart’s letter on the ground to read.

Want to ensure good weather for a big event, say a wedding or a christening? Put a Child of Prague statue out in the garden the night before. The Child of Prague (my mother-in-law pronounces this pray-gh; she said it was a mispronunciation in Ireland that stuck) is a replica of a gilded statue of the boy Jesus brought to Bohemia by a Spanish princess. The linked picture is pretty similar to what you’d see in Ireland according to a friend—who just saw two of these in gardens this past May. The statue is made of plaster with a string running through the body. There’s a weak point in the neck, so often the little statues will have the head missing, glued on, or hanging by the string. According to my mother-in-law, if the head is off, the statue brings even more good luck with weather. The Child of Prague has a second reported benefit as well. Wrap a coin in brown paper and place it underneath the feet of the statue to protect a house from becoming destitute.

If you happen to see some magpies, be sure to count them and remember this poem so you’ll know what the magpies portend:

1 for sorrow

2 for joy

3 for a girl

4 for a boy

5 for silver

6 for gold

7 for a secret never to be told

Enough piseog for you? Well I have just one last piece of Irish wisdom to pass on in this month of Halloween, a night when the veil between this world and the next is thin. This one thing you must avoid at all costs—never disturb a fairy fort!

You’ll know a fairy fort or ring fort when you see it. It’ll be a circle of trees, a darker green circle in a field, even a ring of wild mushrooms. If in doubt, ask and someone will be sure to tell you where the nearest fairy ring is. Disturbing these sites or cutting them down risks angering the fairies and could bring all kinds of disasters upon you.

In Ireland, it’s always safest not to annoy the fairies.

Everything else…well, it’s better to be safe than sorry. So mind those piseogs. And Happy Halloween!

Isabo Kelly is the award-winning author of multiple fantasy, science fiction and paranormal romances. Her fantasy romance, The Heron’s Call, is available now from Samhain Publishing. Look for her erotic science fiction romance short story, Hali’s Rescue, in Tales from Lachmuirghan available from Samhain Publishing in December. 

To learn more about Isabo, visit her website www.isabokelly.com