They're Heeerrreee!

You guys, I'm excited this morning because my guest is Jami Gray, another of the wonderful authors from Black Opal Books. Whenever I have a guest to the blog here, I try to read what they're promoting before they come,  and in this case I can say sincerely (and enthusiastically!) that Shadow's Edge is a rockin' good read (and I can't wait for Shadow's Soul to come out). Check out Jami's take on the poltergeist phenomenon, then keep reading for more info on Jami and her books. And thanks, Jami, for hanging out here today!

Peace,

Liv

One day I create a lovely, Pulitzer Prize worthy page of words for a story, saved it, and then headed off to moderate the blossoming cage fight burgeoning between my Prankster Duo.  When I returned a half hour later, woke the computer and went to continue on with my masterpiece, it was gone.  I spent a good sixty seconds blinking in shock at the blank screen. How could it be gone?

Not ‘saved in a different file’ gone. Not ‘saved under different name’ gone.  Not even ‘somehow ended up in the Trash Bin’ gone.  No, it was GONE.  Never to be found again.  It was as if my computer had developed a Bermuda Triangle in its own electronic universe.

Panicked, I spent hours trying to recover the document all to utter failure. Eventually, I gave up and drowned my sorrows with caffeine and began again.  All the while I cursed the technological gremlins haunting my computer—those vicious little fiends.  Their demonic claws and mischievous antics had destroyed my precious treasure, and now I was back to the dank tunnels of the creative mine.

What this little episode showed me was the phenomenon of trouble making spirits is very much alive and well.  However, it wasn’t gremlins I should have been wary about.  Oh no, those critters are more focused on pestering you with mechanical malfunctions.  Instead I should have been more worried about poltergeists.  Poltergeists are generally defined as noisy spirits, but I think they’ve evolved and become much more diabolical in this technological age.

They are the ones who gobble down that email you swore you sent out to the editor who requested your last minute edits and is now nowhere to be found floating out in cyberspace.  They are the ones who make sure that your dryer only regurgitates an odd number of socks when an even number began the journey.  Poltergeists are behind your phone reminding you that your upcoming doctor’s appointment is today, in fifteen minutes.  It’s their snickers of evil delight you’re hearing when you show up only to find out your appointment is next week.

You’ll never see these critters. People will tell you they don’t exist, that your computer is just experiencing a glitch or that your missing sock is just tucked into that pair of jeans you decided not to wear again, or you wrote your appointment down wrong.  Don’t believe them. They thrive on their ability to drive you insane by making you question your reality.

Think about it.  Initially poltergeists were believed to be spawn of demonic activity.  Yet with the rise of paranormal science and parapsychology in the 20^th century, their origins began to be linked to powerful emotional and mental triggers of the human psyche.  Loosely translated:  their existence depends on wildly erratic and paranoid humans.  What better way to raise your membership than to drive a normally rational person into a believer of “I’m-losing-my-ever-lovin’-mind”?

So be careful out there.  When that email goes MIA, or your socks suddenly reduce in uneven numbers, or those keys move from the counter to the dishwasher, you’re not losing your mind—it’s those damn poltergeists and they want you!

Bio:

Growing up on the Arizona-Mexico border, Jami Gray was adopted at the age of 14 and suddenly became the fifth eldest of 37 children. She graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor’s in Journalism and three minors-History, English, and Theater.  Shortly after marrying her techie-geek hubby (who moonlighted as her best friend in high school) she completed a Masters in Organizational Management from University of Phoenix Oregon.

Now, years later, she’s back in the Southwest where  she’s outnumbered in her own home by two Star Wars obsessed boys, one Star Wars obsessed husband, and an overly-friendly, 105-pound male lab.  Writing is what saves her sanity.

 

Shadow’s Edge: Book 1 of the Kyn Kronicles is available now from Black Opal Books.  Shadow’s Soul: Book 2 of the Kyn Kronicles hits shelves June 2012.

You can find Jamie at:

Website:     www.JamiGray.com

Assc. Blog:  www.7EvilDwarves.wordpress.com

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/jamigray.author

Twitter:       http://twitter.com/#!/JamiGrayAuthor  

Blurb for Shadow’s Edge:

Everyone fears what hunts in the shadows—especially the monsters…

It takes a monster to hunt one, and for Raine McCord, forged in the maelstrom of magic and science, she’s the one for the job. In a world where the supernatural live in a shadowy existence with the mundane, a series of disappearances and deaths threatens the secrecy of her kind and indicates someone knows the monsters are alive and kicking.  Partnering up with the sexy and tantalizing Gavin Durand proves to be a challenge as dangerous as the prey she hunts.

When the trail points back to the foundation which warped Raine’s magic as a child, her torturous past raises its ugly head.  Gavin and Raine sift through a maze of lies, murder and betrayal to discover not only each other, but the emerging threat to them and the entire magical community.

Blurb for Shadow’s Soul:

Some nightmares are born of love…

Raine McCord has no problem taking down the monsters of the world, it’s one of the reasons she’s so good at her job.  So playing bodyguard to Cheveyo, head Magi of the Northwest, as he consults with the Southwest Kyn should be an easy assignment. Unfortunately, simple task turns into a nightmare when Cheveyo is kidnapped and Raine is left for dead by one of the Kyn’s most feared beings, a Soul Stealer.

The Stealer’s attack leaves lasting wounds, undermining Raine’s confidence as a warrior and damaging her unruly magic. Her ability to heal her mind and spirit hinges on the one man who can touch her soul, Gavin Durand.  Compelled to face the emotions raging between them, they must embrace not only their stormy relationship but their evolving magic to escape the twisted threads of murder and betrayal to find Cheveyo.

As Raine and Gavin come together and begin to unravel the complex web of secrets and hidden vendettas haunting the Southwest Kyn, they discover unsettling new truths that threaten their very existence.