Wandering Thoughts of a Writer: #history

Showing posts with label #history. Show all posts

Since we're in the month of October and Halloween is just around the corner, let's get into the spirit (no pun intended) of things and talk about the Ouija board.

If you don't know what a Ouija board is, then you've been living under a rock.

Everyone knows what a Ouija board is . . . at least, I think everyone does. But if you don't, I'll tell ya . . .

-Well, I'll have Wikipedia tell ya: The Ouija sometimes also known as a spirit board or talking board, is a flat board marked with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0–9, the words "yes", "no", "hello" (occasionally), and "goodbye", along with various symbols and graphics. It uses a planchette (small heart-shaped piece of wood or plastic) as a movable indicator to indicate a spirit's message by spelling it out on the board during a séance . Participants place their fingers on the planchette, and it is moved about the board to spell out words.

Here's what it looks like:

SHORT HISTORY:

Spiritualism had reached America in 1848 when the Fox sisters in New York, claimed to be mediums and could receive messages from spirits who would tap on the walls when asked a question. The sisters would then translate the knocks into letters of the alphabet. At the time, spiritualism was growing and the Fox sisters helped popularize it.

The living could contact the spirits of the dead.

You could communicate with your husband, brother, fiancee, or son, who had died in the Civil War.

How easily to be enchanted by a promise like that during a time when countless hearts were crushed due to the war. Hell, even now the hope and possibility to chat with your deceased loved one is too tempting to ignore.

Ya gotta at least try, right? Even if it's bogus, the weeping heart, the gut wrenching feeling of missing someone you lost, sometimes is too much to bear.

I'm not ashamed to admit that if I ever had the opportunity to communicate with a deceased loved one, I'd try. However, I'd need absolute proof it was real in order to believe the encounter.

. . . And I wouldn't use the Ouija board.

Why?

Because I'm not sold on the idea that I can communicate with a loved one through a talking board.

I'd need to do a private reading with say . . . John Edwards instead, to see if he could deliver messages from across the rainbow bridge.

-Moving along:

In 1886, an article came out about a "talking board" that came out of the spiritualist movement in Ohio.

In 1890, a business man named, Charles Kennard, created the Kennard Novelty Co.

Guess what for?

To make and market talking boards.

Do you know how the founders of this spirit board got the name Ouija?

They asked the board what it wanted to be called, and it spelled out O-U-I-J-A. Then they asked the board what that meant, and the board spelled out G-O-O-D-L-U-C-K.

Trippy, eh.

. . . Anyway, there were people who would warn others about using the Ouija board, but it really wasn't considered evil until the movie the Exorcist came out in 1973.

After that, religious groups banded together in a collective mindset, telling their followers and others that the Ouija board was a tool to invite Satan and his demons into you and your household. They bred fear into the hearts of the innocent and would continue to by telling elaborate and fantastical, haunting tales about it.

I grew up with those stories, and the movie the Exorcist, scared me.

It freaked me the fuck out.

My mom used to watch that movie at night while I was trying to go to sleep. She'd turn the sound way up, and of course I could hear it.

I swear she did it on purpose.

I had to sleep with my light on and had nightmares for years because of that damn movie.

Thanks, Mom.

-Anyway, when I was a teenager, I played with a Ouija board several times and nothing extraordinary happened. So I don't know.

I'd heard stories from friends and my own sister about what happened to them when they played with one.

Honestly, though, I'm at a toss up on what to believe.

What about you?

Have you ever played with a Ouija board before?

If so, did anything happen?

#dead, #history, #living, #ouija board, #religious #Exorcist, #spirit, #spiritualism, #stories, 0 Comments

For a year or so, my husband had been bugging me to write Ameerah. She’s a character who has made appearances in the last two books in my Beyond the Eyes trilogy. Her story is a standalone, meaning you can read it without ever having read the BTE books. It’s her tale about how she became a dark spirit who can dwell inside soulless humans and live whatever life she desires. If she wants to experience being a hot blonde chick with loads of money, she can. If she wants to drink, smoke, party, have mind-blowing sex, she can and then leave the vessel she possessed. No problem. Her story is a unique one. She recounts her life when she was human in 1925 when she was a flapper gal, on the brink of fulfilling her dreams. But then she was betrayed by her elitist parents who thought Ameerah would threaten their position in society if she continued on with her antics. I won’t tell you what they did, but they took everything from her.

Her freedom.

Her dignity.

Her life.

Then she was brutally murdered and found herself at a recruiting station.

She had a choice to move on to the next realm or become a dark spirit and have the opportunity to get revenge on those who stole her life from her. She chose the latter and then takes the reader on a journey, not only on what it’s like to be a dark spirit, which is interesting in itself but through the timelines as well, up to present day where she enlists her dark spirit friend Derek to help her obtain salvation. Here are the timelines Ameerah takes the reader through:

Starts with the present day.

Then the 1920s: Prohibition, flapper gals, speakeasies, the stock market crash.

The Depression:

WWII: The dark spirits had a heavy hand in the war, and the immortals fought against the Germans.

The 1950s: music, the twist, soda shops, pinup girls.

The Vietnam War: The dark spirits were involved with that as well.

Studio 54: Ameerah was there when Bianca Jagger rode a white horse inside the club on her birthday.

The 1980s:

Back to present day.

I’ve never experienced this before as an author, but my character Ameerah won’t let go of me. Seriously. She’s with me all the time, even though I’m writing another story on something totally different. I wonder if other authors have ever had this problem. I know Ameerah still has a lot to say and she will in the future. We’re not done yet. I also plan on continuing my Beyond the Eyes trilogy with a fourth book, but for now, Ameerah and my BTE trilogy are going to have to wait until I’ve completed this new exciting project, which I will announce in the near future.

So authors, if there are any reading this post, have you ever had a character of yours that stuck with you long after you were done writing about him or her? If so, what did you do about it?

Oh, and just for fun, here’s a picture of Ameerah and her dark spirit recruiter Aiden. He's Irish, btw, and hilarious.

If you’re interested, you can purchase Ameerah hereà http://amzn.to/1Usdu2d

#authors, #characters, #excitement, #history, #story, 0 Comments

Blurb:

In the year 2192, the technology exists to send digital recorders back in time to witness history. The results are preserved via holographic images for the world to see.

Managing teams to record history can be stressful enough, but when the government tries to take possession of the proprietary technology from the privately held Historical Preservation Agency, dedicated historian, Caleb Hunter, must rely upon a well-connected, and sexy, developer at a government agency for help.

Can the two of them keep time travel in the hands of historians?

This is a short story. It is a prequel to the novel, "Time Historian."

Get Just in Time here-à Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Just-Time-Regina-Morris-ebook/dp/B01ECU3EGA?ie=UTF8&keywords=regina%20morris&qid=1463281656&ref_=sr_1_4&sr=8-4

Author Bio:

Regina Morris is an award winning author who writes the sensual paranormal romances that make up the COLONY series.

She also writes some contemporary sweet romances and fantasy/time travel stories. The romance in these are light/sweet.

Her COLONY novels are suspenseful romances about Vampires that are light-hearted in nature - not dark, horrific or gory. These romances are hot and not intended for younger readers.

She lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and two children. She is active in critique meet-ups and local writing groups.

She has lived in many different parts of the world. She graduated from high school in Germany and received her degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She loved the town, married her college sweetheart, and stayed in Austin to have a career and family. After years of working in the software industry she discovered that writing was in her blood and had to take pen to paper!

Please connect with her through various social medias. She enjoys talking with fans on Facebook, Goodreads and Twitter. Her website www.reginamorris.com

#history, #suspense, #technology, #timetravel, 0 Comments

If you’ve been following these weekly posts, you’ll understand the next ones. If you haven’t, check out my previous posts to get caught up. It’s worth it. :)

I left you last week with Ameerah being murdered in an insane asylum. She dies with hate in her heart towards humanity and then finds herself at a recruiting station for the dark spirits. An Irish lad named Aidan, approaches her and gives her details about his world. Ameerah decides to become a dark spirit so she can have her revenge on the people who double-crossed her.

Dark spirits can possess soulless humans or humans who allow them to dwell inside their flesh. So imagine living whatever life you want and experience everything your heart desires.

A soulless human emits, a dull, low humming noise that dark spirits can hear. When Aidan teaches Ameerah to possess one of these hosts, he says, “Step into her energy field and imagine being inside that voluptuous body. Her vitality can be yours if you take it.” With a bit of hesitation and after asking Aidan a few questions about possessing a human, Ameerah does what she’s told and BAM, she’s inside a human body where she can experience whatever the hell she wants. Of course, she has to get used to inhabiting a vessel, and she shares her struggles with the reader.

Ameerah’s journey begins as a dark spirit, and she excels at it. She makes loyal friends and loves this new existence. They party at speakeasies. They drink, they smoke, have sex, fulfilling their hedonistic desires. With the help of her two friends, Ameerah gets her revenge on those who took everything from her when she was alive.

Ameerah’s story is an adult thriller, similar to Interview with the Vampire.

How?

Like Louis who told his tale to a reporter about his life as a vampire, Ameerah tells hers to her dark spirit friend, Derek, wheeling us back into time and through the timelines—the stock market crash, the depression, World War II, etc.—to present day. Sometimes the dead seek salvation, and by divulging her tale to Derek, she hopes he can help her get what she wants.

This book is due to release on January 28^th. If the stars are aligned right, it’ll go live that day. I will do one more of these posts next weekend, to share with you something fun I’m planning, to celebrate this release. :)

#1920s, #death, #history, #revenge, #spirit, choices., 2 Comments

Do you like time traveling stories?

Time’s Edge is the second book in Rysa Walker’s Chronos Files series. I read book one (Timebound), when it was first published and called Time’s Twisted Arrow, and fell in love with Rysa’s brilliant imagination on the whole time traveling concept, so when this one came out, I was anxious to read it.

Time’s Edge did not disappoint. It’s a great follow-up to the first book. I love history, and Rysa did her homework, but then again, she taught history before she became a full-time writer.

You didn’t know that, did you?

Anyway, Rysa took her knowledge, her wits, imagination, and creativity and invented an interesting story about time traveling historians working for CHRONOS (Chrono-Historical Research Organization and Natural Observation Society). Long story short, the main character Kate, who is a teenager, has to jump back through history and find a way to get the Chronos keys—a round medallion that people who have inherited the designer DNA from the time traveling historians, can operate and blink to different time periods—away from the historians who have it. If she fails, her grandfather Saul, who is a few M&Ms short of a full bag, will rule the world. He had created a bogus religion called Cyrist, which he leads and fashions himself as a Messiah. The Chronos Key gives him a huge advantage in performing false miracles and predictions.

In Time’s Edge, not only does Kate have a huge responsibility on her hands, but she’s trying to balance a normal life in between everything. Her boyfriend Trey knows her secret, and he’s a sweet, wholesome apple pie type of guy. Then there’s Kiernan, who lives in a different timeline. He's Kate's ally and in love with her. He’s hot, btw, and has a sexy British or Irish accent. I thought it was British, but then it was mentioned in this second book, that he had a slight Irish accent. I don’t know, but either one is sexy.

The only thing in this story that was kind of confusing was the “other” Kate. Kiernan had a love affair with the “other” Kate, but then she disappeared. She’s supposed to be the main character in another timeline. So when this present Kate works with Kiernan on her missions through time, it becomes awkward because this Kate is in love with Trey, not Kiernan. However, she does have feelings for him that she’s not willing to admit.

So my only hang up with the story is . . .

Where's the “other” Kate?

If Kiernan is so in love with her, why won’t he search for her?

Why is there another Kate?

I have to tell you, though, Time's Edge gets really good in the middle, and the ending is frickin’ awesome. I think it’s one of the best endings I’ve ever read. It’s like OMG, Rysa-totally-rocks good.

I’m looking forward to the next installment, and I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves time traveling books and history.

If you want to read my review of Rysa’s first book in this series, you can check it out here: https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8121777278506489563#editor/target=post;postID=609574018300170779;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=264;src=link