From Where Does it Come?

 

Image from Stencil

 

Before starting to write this blog, I tried to think what was needed. Should I go into what I, myself, have experienced from the other side, leading to deciding to write paranormal stories? Does any reader really care about that but instead just want a good story? If people are interested in mysticism, does it have to be of a religion, for which they are comfortable? Keep in mind that the religions, I know anything about, all have mystical aspects to them. Some probably more than others. But, it's a mysticism that people have grown up thinking is okay.

My mystical books have elements of 'magic' that some might be comfortable with-- if it is in their religion, under authority that makes them comfortable.

So, where did I get the mysticism about which I have written? Some is what I have experienced or been told about from others. In Mystic Shadows, my characters are from the earth or spirit. 

In these books, it is all imaginary for their stories. The first time I wrote a book, that had a spirit connection, was Sky Daughter and likely in the early 90s for its first draft. I had a monster. When I got to where I had to decide if it was to be someone's delusion or was it real, I spent some time deciding?

Because I do a lot of research for my books (all of them), I found books from those who had experienced scary experiences of what they believed had been monsters. They claimed what they saw and had impacted them were real experiences. If someone goes to YouTube today, you can find more such, claimed experiences..

Is what we see, or think we see, all there is out there? You know there are plenty saying even aliens have been and are being impacting human life. No aliens in my books though. 

What Diablo Canyon ends up being is one long book with three romantic couples dealing with a world beyond their expectations. They were each in their own novellas, then secondary characters in the next books.

It was a couple of months later, when I decided I wanted these couples to have the spice, for which the novellas did not have room. Can I complicate my writer life any more? Likely not, but you write what comes to you.

How though do I put one couple on the cover? I think to have all three there would be complicated. How about if I used the couple from the last story? I would say it has one of the more complicated stories, but actually, the first qualifies as that also, given it began with one of my dreams, a very significant dream. More on that later maybe *s* 

The first image from Stencil is the peaceful side of what might be. It is not the only possibility though, as those who delve into the dark side know (from Deposit Photos)..

 

 

 

Spiritual Places -- What if...

 Mural, one of many painted on Tucson walls. Photo ours as are the rest below.

Editing is a large portion of a writer's life, like it or not. Recently, for me, that began with a book I had edited multiple times. The need for this edit was wanting information for the manuscript that I had abandoned when Covid hit. Rereading and considering where it went next, I discovered I needed more information about characters that would inhabit it-- those of spirit and earthly natures. 

So, back to the book ahead of it, which was much longer than I intended the new one to be. They are all part of a series, which I call Mystic Shadows because of its a mix of mysticism, romance along with darkness. 

There are two earlier ones in that series, which are not telling the stories of the Hemstreet/Cordova families. All Mystic Shadows stories go into the personalities on both sides of the spiritual divide.  I enjoy writing those kinds of books, using my imagination for what might be-- or not be.

The Hemstreet series idea came from the time I drove with Ranch Boss through Barrio Viejo again (we'd been through there years earlier, when it was in much different condition). On one of our times, in 1965, it wasn't as safe. It was though very interesting as we'd see older folks, many of diverse races, sitting in doorways smoking or drinking. I have to say that back then, it had its own level of interest. With many of the doors wide open, there likely wasn't much air conditioning back then. The smells of food cooking made their way to the street.

In 2015, it had changed. I saw the potential for characters and a series involving modern witches. The homes in that barrio had been modernized and yet kept the historic nature. Younger, professional people do things like that. 

Two other things, for me, that always had added to the neighborhood's charm, are shrines, one with a history, El Teradito, and one with some spiritual figures in the altar (years earlier it had had a madonna sculpture. (Unfortunately, I can't remember its name). The shrines add to the mystique of that barrio. Do they have power for believers? Some believe so, as el Teradito also is known as the Wishing Shrine. The desert Southwest has a lot of those kinds of places, often tucked into hillsides with no names, and where you'd only see them if you knew to look for them. 

So, this neighborhood of mysticism, history, and modernization seemed a perfect setting for my imaginary witches to live, work, and find love. They are like ordinary people only born with magical powers. Their goal always is to right wrongs for the benefit of a culture that rejects them. 

Finding where these books fit in the novel, genre world has been a challenge. You can give your own books their genre, but others may not agree. What I have found with my current research is my view of spirituality is out there, but not necessarily in fiction books. More, of it, comes from those who share their culture's own spiritual truths. 

My thinking for these books came also from what I grew up thinking as a little girl living at the end of a gravel road on a hill that abutted wilderness. Lots of space for imagination to grow... or to see more than I might have if I had been busy in a town. Mystical thinking yes, but not part of a total fantasy world, rather our world with secrets most of us are not privy to-- unless we go seeking.

Should we seek? There can be risks, I think, depending on motivations. But, if you have a curious mind, you already may have looked various places to understand the mysteries of life. Perhaps you found an answer or answers that suited you and you quit right there. Or maybe you are a spiritual seeker. If so, you might like my Mystic Shadows series that combines place, spirits, families, romance, adventure, purpose, with questions of what might be here, IF we looked. 

More coming on these books. If such explorations, which will be in the blogs, makes you uneasy, you, you might drop mine for a while, as I delve into our world and that of the spirit-- not one of any particular religion, but maybe a mix of many. Everyone should do what suits best for their lives. Is there one answer for us all? Maybe... or maybe that truth goes beyond an answer to something bigger. Maybe...

 

a monster or more

by Rain Trueax

In 1992, I wrote my first paranormal, Sky Daughter, where the heroine returned to her grandfather's Idaho mountain after a series of losses. Once there, she learns things about her family that she hadn't expected when she finds her grandmother's Book of shadows-- a witch's compilation of her spells, potions, and experiences. Going against the rules as this book is only to be given to witches, Maggie's grandmother had left it for her with a note inside.

For the first time, Maggie understands why her mother had kept her away from her grandmother. This is only the first of what Maggie is about to discover in a world that isn't at all what she had believed. Something bigger, something unseen is out there. What is it? She has known many emotions, but fear is new to her. As I wrote, I contemplated an important point to the plot-- was what she felt real or her imagination coming from her losses? I reached the point where I had to decide. 

mystery

by Rain Trueax 

The reason why I write paranormals, despite not having a clear genre where my work fits, is my curiosity as to what might be, a belief that we don't know all we think we do, and my own experiences-- along with the challenge of exploring mystery with characters where it's imaginary ...or is it? 

Mythologies, the stories through which each culture determines the meaning of life and often rules for behavior, don't necessarily have to be imaginary. They could be a remembered history and are part of human life on this planet. In human cultures, some mythologies are more accepted than others; but if it isn't in history or happening now, it is mythology and fits into the world of the paranormal-- that which (despite arguments to the contrary) we cannot test and prove by something currently out there. It is a fascinating realm for those open to wonder and open to going where questions take them.

Dreams-- the night kind

by Rain Trueax

Generally my dreams are prosaic--rarely nightmares, just ordinary activities. When surprises come, they are from who is in the dream. These days, other than family, they are often people I only know online. I think the characters in the dreams are placeholders. 

Once in a while, my dreams are movie dreams, like watching one in Technicolor. Again, anybody can represent the main characters. I had one of those dreams this week, full of color, interesting events; and when I woke up, I rethought what I'd write for this blog. 

The reason I changed my mind is, I intended to write about mystery and how it works into my books. I had two blogs planned for the topic. Then came this dream and it seemed a good way to begin that series.