There’s a reason that I write paranormal romance. I became too fascinated by stories of reincarnation, past-life regression, and out-of-body experiences. I’ll be sitting and minding my own business, and then I’ll happen upon a story like the one that occurred in 1977, when a patient at a medical center, known as Maria, claimed to have had an out-of-body experience.
During her OBE, she claimed to have floated outside her body and outside of the hospital. Maria would later tell her social worker that during the OBE she had observed a tennis shoe on the third floor window ledge to the north side of the building. He went there and could see a tennis shoe on one of the ledges. He published the account in 1985, and the story has been used in many paranormal books as evidence a spirit can leave the body.
When I immerse myself in scenes such as my main character, Carter’s out-of-body experience and ultimate walk through heaven, I closed my eyes and visualized the scenes. I had actually been in a near-fatal car accident when I was 16 years old, and I broke my neck, pelvis, shoulder, ribs, and hand, and suffered third degree burns. I was in and out of a coma for three days and hospitalized for two months. I had a pretty good base for the intensity of the scenes I described. Did I have an out-of-body experience? No. Was I qualified for writing such a scene? I believe so.
The sequel for Desert Son was released January 4, 2016 and it’s entitled, Wayward Soul. This one has even more twists and turns than the first book. I like giving things a new spin, whether it’s my take on how reincarnation works or my walk through heaven. What happens when we die? Where do we go? What happens when a spirit is caught in-between and what if the spirit is menacing? I’ve got all that covered.
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Blurb for Wayward Soul:
While visiting a psychic, Carter Spence and Brenda Raycroft’s reading turns tragic. The psychic touches them, suffers convulsions, and frantically runs into the street into oncoming traffic. Their fate is sealed in a coma and they must use any means possible to reach the psychic in the spirit world as they dodge deadly complications in an attempt for answers.
They pursue the psychic’s message before she can die and take the answers they need with her. When the spirit of the previous homeowner returns, this haunting soul begins tampering with the comatose psychic.
The sequel to Desert Son takes place four years after Carter and Brenda discover they are a couple reunited beyond the grave. The spirit world becomes intertwined with their own as they attempt to tap into these secrets to uncover disturbing truths about their fate in this paranormal roller coaster that will shake your soul.
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The room was so silent that he could hear Brenda inhaling as he was exhaling. There was a hypnotic ticking of his alarm clock. Carter was concentrating on the duality of their breathing for quite some time. He could feel his mind begin to drift off as if it were leaving his head. He was aware of the ticking of the alarm
clock, but continued to think of Angie. He summoned her aloud, thought about her, and whispered to her. He was fully engaged.
“Charlie?” Carter said. He raised his body and sat up in bed to see his old friend Charlie sitting at the end of his bed looking toward the bedroom door.
Carter was not too certain what was going on, because he had been speaking to Angie and all of the
sudden felt like he had slipped into that world Brenda had spoken about. He progressed from summoning Angie to somehow viewing Charlie sitting on his bed. Carter looked at Charlie, and Charlie slowly turned to look at him. Carter did not know for sure if he was dreaming or if this was part of that other world that Brenda had been telling him about. If it was that world, then why was Charlie here and not Angie. Besides, Charlie was very much alive and renting his house with his fiancée back in Boston. Was it an imposter? Did Angie take the form of Charlie in order to trick Carter? He was convinced it was part of a dream.
Carter continued to look at Charlie. He appeared very different, almost like a shadowy figure that his hand would pass through if he were to try to touch him. At the same time, he looked physical enough, as if it was indeed his friend Charlie sitting on his bed. However, he was not comfortable with attempting to touch him,
and just wanted to see where things went.
He stared at Charlie, before saying, “Hi Charlie.”
Charlie just looked, and did not respond. He had a very blank stare and no smile was even close to forming on his lips. His face looked ashen, and he certainly was not the happy-go-lucky Charlie that he would pal around with all through high school.
“Charlie, what brings you here?”
There was no response.
Carter watched the blank look on Charlie’s face as he finally leaned in to Carter’s ear and whispered, “Keep an eye on the past.”
He moved back to his original position, then back to Carter’s ear again.
“Watch the reflection, and keep an eye on the other one.”
Back to his position he went, before again leaning in for one final whisper, “Find Trevor.”
Carter started to ask Charlie what he meant by all of these random comments, but when he looked up, Charlie evaporated right before his eyes. The last of the physical part of Charlie disintegrated. Carter rubbed his eyes and looked again, but Charlie was no longer there, and Brenda was sleeping away where she was
when Carter began his journey. He thought it odd that he never really took a journey like he expected.
He didn’t go anywhere. Rather, someone other than who he had summoned came to him. It’s not what he wanted, and Charlie was speaking gibberish, but at least Carter returned and remembered everything Charlie had said. He even wrote it all down in a notepad on his nightstand, before he forgot, or before Brenda awoke and dialogue could erase everything Charlie had mentioned, if it even was indeed Charlie at all.
Carter had expected to go on this fantastic journey. Instead, this fantastic journey came to him. That’s the way it appeared, but by the time Brenda awoke and popped her head up, Carter wasn’t totally sure exactly what had happened. It was almost like a dream. It really felt like a dream, but he wasn’t ready to break the
news to Brenda just yet.
“It’s late,” said Brenda. “Do you want to do this tomorrow night?”
“Yeah, tomorrow night will be fine.” Carter lied back down on his pillow, but his eyes were now wide open.
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End Excerpt
Author: Glenn Maynard.
