​I enjoyed this book.  I'm sure it is one I will read again. I give the content 5 stars, but the typos and bad formatting distracted me. This book needs an editor. I'm not an investigator, so I didn't read it for that reason. I've just always loved ghosts and the paranormal. I've taken classes, but never seriously tried to develop psychic or mediumship abilities. I did try to develop the ability to have an out-of-body experience. I learned there is a word for someone like me. I "Legend Trip." I like to go to haunted places and see if something happens. I've stayed at the Silver Queen in Virginia City, the Copper Queen in Bisbee, AZ, the Farnsworth Inn in Gettysburg, the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. I've been on plenty of ghost walks.  I went on the guided ghost hunt at the Stanley Hotel and did get an EVP in Lucy's Room in the Concert Hall. I told Lucy that my mother's name was Lucy. That my mother loved Estes. I said, "I'm going to take your picture, okay?"  Very clearly you can hear a female voice say, "'kay." Kitty Janusz talks about the Stanley Hotel, but not much about the Concert Hall. She mentions a death happening at the Stanley, while our ghost hunt guide said no one has ever died at the Stanley. The souls that return just love the hotel. 

I liked the parallels I had with the author. She grew up in Whittier in a house built and purchased by her parents in 1954. I grew up in Downey in a house built in 1951 and purchased by my parents in 1952. Our house was not haunted like hers though.  The author still lives in Whittier.  My sisters and I still own the house in Downey.

She talked about bending a spoon.  I did that in a class I took with Dianne Morrissey. It was an amazing experience. I still have the spoon.

She talked about the Whaley house in San Diego.  I've been there three times.  I have a picture from inside the house that might be of some spirits, but I'm not sure. I do know that one time I went, a young man with Downs Syndrome was crying, terrified to go into the house. In fact, he was refusing to. It was a bright sunny day and there were a lot of people around, but he was very frightened.

I learned things from this book and liked some of the author's wisdom. For instance, "Live your life kindly and with curiosity." I never knew where the word medium came from. On page 74 of the book the author says, "...a medium needs to raise his or her vibrational level. The spirits on the other side try to match the medium's vibrational level, meeting in the middle, or at medium level." On page 29 she says "Words are spells, that's why they call it spelling." Wow. 

I especially like reading about the Queen Mary since I'm going to stay there as part of Amy Bruni and Adam Berry's Strange Escapes weekend in March. 

Like I said, I give the content of this book 5 stars. The author is sincere and kind and knowledgeable. If you are interested in ghost hunting, it is worth your time.

After listening to Anna-Marie Abell's presentation on marketing, I decided to give KDP's sponsored products advertising another try.  But!  I needed to come up with a better logline.  I found this great article that helped.  Maybe it will help some of you authors out there as well. ​http://noamkroll.com/an-easy-guide-to-writing-the-perfect-logine-why-its-as-important-as-your-screenplay/

I can't believe it's been nearly a year since I blogged.  I could make excuses.  My husband was sick for many months and that took my time and energy, but I could have written.  Today at the HDCWC (High Desert Branch of the California Writers Club) meeting we had a fabulous speaker: Anna-Marie Abell. She spoke on marketing and I want to get going. But, alas, I have to go to a party. Anyway, thought I'd give her a plug. She is the author of Holy Crap! The World is Ending.