Here in Vancouver, the leaves began turning colours just as the month changed. Although technically still summer, Autumn is already upon us with cooler mornings and sleepable evenings. Time for football, knitting and more apples than I know what to do with. Time for some reading while things bake. Today we welcome author Carol-Anne Mason to our little chat room. Welcome, Carol-Anne
SC: Tell me a little bit about your main character of this book.
C-A M: Although The Accidental Psychic is mainly fictional, all my characters have been named after ancestors of mine, because a lot of the females on my Grandmothers side of the family possessed psychic powers. My Great Grandmother, Mary Ellen Lockwood, was a well known clairvoyant in her day, and has a mention in the book. But the name I chose for my protagonist was Annie Prior, also arelative born in the mid eighteen hundreds. I used my daughters intuitive personality and English rose looks, with her red hair and crazy aqua green eyes as my protagonist and front cover image.
Annie Prior as the main character, is, on the face of it, a normal 32 year old woman who works in a London art gallery, and commutes every day by train from Southampton. But after a horrific train crash, she suddenly realises that she can clearly see the spirits of the dead, as if they were still alive. Her powers gradually grow, so much so, that she becomes one of the best mediums in the country. But with this comes heartache and personal relationship turmoil, that tests her inner strength ... almost to breaking point.
SC: I think you already answered my second question, but I'll ask it for the record. Do you believe in the paranormal and if so, do you have an experience you can share?
C-A M: Absolutely yes!
I have many stories about paranormal experiences I’ve had over the years, but one in particular stands out as my favorite because of the history behind it, and that it shows that animals truly do have a strong sixth sense.
In 1987, my Husband and I moved in above a surgery where he worked as a dental surgeon alongside my Father-in-law, who owned the property. The house was in a small town called Ringwood in the UK, where many of the buildings dated back to the mid 16th century—including our home—which was a well known ancient property. Monmouth House, was named after the Duke of Monmouth, a claimant to the English throne who led an unsuccessful rebellion against King James II. He was held captive in a priest hole in this house, until he was taken to the Tower of London where he was beheaded.
The rooms inside Monmouth House were crooked, with original black beams holding up the ceilings, and leaning walls and floors that made you feel as though you’d had a glass of wine or two! I immediately felt a presence, but it was not at all evil, and even my husband who is a sceptic in all things paranormal, was convinced by the time we moved out that there truly was a ghost. But the real evidence of a resident spirit, was exposed by our dog ‘Rippey’. His one main passion in life apart from eating, was sleeping at the foot of our bed. Wherever we went, he would barge his way into the bedroom to take his rightful place. But never in Monmouth House! We tried everything to get him onto the bed or even to cross the threshold of the room, but he just wouldn’t budge! He would only sleep immediately outside the door where it was as warm as the rest of the house. But the bedroom was permanently as cold as a fridge, even in summer, when everywhere else was hot.
Just off the bedroom was a strange, small windowless room, which showed up on the plans of the house, as being the priest hole where the Duke of Monmouth was imprisoned before his execution. This little room became my wardrobe and dressing area, but because it was also incredibly cold too, I couldn’t remain in it more than a couple of minutes at a time.
The Lounge area was equally loaded with spirit vibes. Rippey, the dog, would sit looking up at the tall chimney breast all evening, either shaking, or wagging his tail. But my husband and I became used to our dogs behaviour towards our unseen guest, and the flickering lights were no longer an annoyance, but indication of his presence—which was strangely comforting.
When the time came for us to move on, I was sorry to leave.
If it was the Duke, who’s presence we constantly felt, he was a kind hearted man in life—as the energy he left behind—was nothing but good.
SC: Great story! Thanks so much for sharing that with us. What titles are you working on now that you can tell us about?
C-A M: I am just completing the first draft of the sequel The Eternal Psychic, in The Annie Prior Series.
Annie’s life changing events in the first novel spill over into the sequel, as she returns from a well needed break to continue her extraordinary new life as a clairvoyant, helping both the bereaved and spirits to move on. She is also drawn into helping Detective Inspector Dan Watts with an unusual cold case, which proves testing both emotionally and relationship wise.
After the reasons for Annie’s extraordinary psychic powers are divulged by her Grandmother, she realises that she needs to know more about the many women in her ancestry—who’s legacy she must fulfil, and finds a way to travel back to experience the strange and sometimes dangerous lives they lead, as witches and psychic’s.
SC: Thanks for joining us today. Let's take a look at your novel now.
Excerpt
Prologue Southampton
A cold morning in early spring 2017
Unbeknownst to Annie, a mundane commute to London on a train — will change her life forever. A fatigue crack in one of the front wheels of the train’s control car had started to open up, and further up the frozen track, a set of points were waiting for the fail...
Chapter 2 The Crash
The previous babble of voices had now risen to a headache-inducing hullabaloo, prompting Annie to put her earphones in to listen to her favourite track ‘Human,’ from the new Rag’n’Bone Man album. She closed her eyes to concentrate on the haunting words.
Suddenly, the train shuddered, then jerked violently. Annie sat bolt upright and yanked her earphones out. The carriage had fallen silent, everyone froze; all eyes widened just before fear kicked in. Then, an unprecedented sound as loud as an overhead thunderclap exploded through the carriage. The screeching of brakes set the students screaming and running for the exits, tumbling over each other like waves. Some commuters stood still, straddling the aisles, and holding onto anything that was bolted down.
Annie could only watch in terror and disbelief; none of it seemed real.
Then, the impact came. A jolt so violent it sent bodies crunching onto the floor of the carriage. Annie was forced backwards with a massive thud into her seat, knocking the wind out of her. If she had she been facing forwards, she would have been horribly smashed.
The screaming in the carriage had become unbearably loud, with commuters slamming into solid objects. The train rocked on its tracks and tilted violently over to her side; and just—kept— tilting.
Annie grabbed a pole on the aisle side of the seat and instinctively lifted her legs from the footwell below the table, tucking them under her. There was a combined screeching and scraping, whilst brakes and metal sparked and twisted, before the train succumbed to gravity.
About the Author:
Excerpt from chapter 19 The Open Platform
‘Would it be okay for me to continue with this message, Sam? I think I know who’s here for her.’ Sam was clearly relieved. ‘Oh, yes … thank you, my dear.’
Everyone in the hall was relieved too. Annie took the reins, and without faltering continued with the message.
‘I believe your husband is here for you; in fact, he’s standing behind you with his hands on your shoulders. He seems to be steering you in the right direction.’
The lady touched her shoulder, as if to feel her husband’s unseen hand.
Annie smiled whilst she listened to the spirit convey his message. ‘Okay, so this is slightly awkward, your husband has just told me something which I believe is personal to you. Are you okay for me to continue?’
The woman simply nodded, she had never received a message of any consequence before. ‘Well, according to your husband you’re wanting to get married again, but you’re feeling
terribly guilty about it as it’s only been two years since his passing.’The woman's mouth dropped open. ‘Oh my God, you’re right. How on earth …?’
‘I think you mean he’s right,’ Annie said with a broad smile. The congregation laughed quietly. ‘Actually, he’s giving you his blessing, and really likes your future husband. Was he one of your husband’s friends?’
The lady nodded again in affirmation and put her hands over her face—her emotions erupted. It seemed that everyone in the congregation sighed and teared up too, including most of the men.
Annie began to feel an overwhelming surge of spirits pushing their way in, they had been patiently waiting for years to get their messages across and now finally had someone who truly understood them.
About the Author:
No comments:
Post a Comment