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Michael Schmicker

Goodreads Author

Website

http://www.MichaelSchmicker.com

Genre

Paranormal, Historical Fiction, History

Influences

E.B. White, Italo Calvino, J.D. Salinger

Member Since

April 2014

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Michael Schmicker is an investigative journalist, nationally-known writer on scientific anomalies and the paranormal, and Amazon Top 100 author. He's also a historical fiction buff (his two all-time favorites being Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose"; and George Orwell's " Burmese Days," because he spent five formative years in Southeast Asia).

His latest book is "The Witch of Napoli," an historical novel with a paranormal twist set in Italy and England in 1899. On March 6, 2015, readers transformed it into an Amazon Top 100 bestseller, pushing the novel to #41 in paid books out of 3.3 million books available in the Kindle Bookstore. That same day, it hit #1 in both the Historical Fantasy and Victorian Historical Romance categories in thre Michael Schmicker is an investigative journalist, nationally-known writer on scientific anomalies and the paranormal, and Amazon Top 100 author. He's also a historical fiction buff (his two all-time favorites being Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose"; and George Orwell's " Burmese Days," because he spent five formative years in Southeast Asia).

His latest book is "The Witch of Napoli," an historical novel with a paranormal twist set in Italy and England in 1899. On March 6, 2015, readers transformed it into an Amazon Top 100 bestseller, pushing the novel to #41 in paid books out of 3.3 million books available in the Kindle Bookstore. That same day, it hit #1 in both the Historical Fantasy and Victorian Historical Romance categories in three countries simultaneously - the U.S., Canada and England. It spent 68 consecutive weeks as a Top 20 novel in Amazon's "Italian Historical Fiction" genre; earned a 2015 BRAG Medallion (Historical Fiction) and a 2015 Chanticleer Award (Supernatural Fiction); a combined 875 five-star reviews from Amazon and Goodreads readers; and high praise from critics: Kirkus Reviews calls it "Impressive...an enchanting and graceful narrative that absorbs readers from the first page." Huffington Post Books calls it haunting: "...science and the supernatural collide in a burst of passion you won't soon forget." The San Diego Book Review praises it as "One of a kind...a deeply moving novel you can't put down," while the Historical Novel Society finds it "Utterly absorbing...Highly recommended." And the Literary Fiction Book Review calls it "Meticulously researched...a riveting tale of 19th century Europe and its obsession with the occult." On July 12, 2016, the Audible audiobook debuted on Amazon. In October 2016, Amazon selected "The Witch of Napoli" as one of 25 Historical Romance Bestsellers to be featured by Amazon's new "Prime Reading" program.

Michael has been a featured guest on national broadcast radio talk shows, including twice on Coast to Coast AM (560 stations in North America, with 3 million weekly listeners). He also shares his investigations and writings through popular paranormal webcasts including Skeptiko, hosted by Alex Tsakiris; Speaking of Strange with Joshua Warren; the X-Zone, with Rob McConnell (Canada); and even spent an hour chatting with spoon-bending celebrity Uri Geller on his program "Parascience and Beyond" (England). He reviews books for the Journal of Scientific Exploration; is a contributor to EdgeScience magazine; serves on the Boards of Advisers of both the Parapsychology Foundation, and Rhine Research Center; and is a member of the American Society for Psychical Research, as well as England's venerable Society for Psychical Research.

He is the co-author of "The Gift, ESP: The Extraordinary Experiences of Ordinary People" (St. Martin's Press (USA)/Penguin Random House (UK). His first book, "Best Evidence," has emerged as a classic in the field of scientific anomalies reporting since its first publication in 2000. He is a contributor to EdgeScience magazine, and his writings also appear in three anthologies: "The Universe Wants to Play" (2006); "First of the Year 2009" (2009), edited by former Village Voice writer Benj DeMott; and "Even the Smallest Crab Has Teeth" (2011).

Michael began his writing career as a crime reporter for a suburban Dow-Jones newspaper in Connecticut, and worked as a freelance reporter in Southeast Asia for three years. He has also worked as a stringer for Forbes magazine, and Op-Ed contributor to The Wall Street Journal Asia.

His interest in investigating the paranormal began as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand where he first encountered a non-Western culture and people who readily accept the reality of ghosts and spirits, reincarnation, psychics, mediums, divination,and other persistently reported phenomena unexplainable by current Science. Before joining Peace Corps, he studied documentary film production at New York Un ...more

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I really enjoyed The Witch of Napoli. Is there any chance you're going to develop a series around Tommaso Labella? He's a great character with a lot of potential. I'd love to see him investigate Nigel Huxley's misdeeds and bring him to justice. I felt kind of cheated after Elsa's disappearance from the story shortly after her disclosure to Tommaso of Huxley's abuses. Take care, be well, and happy reading! Denny

Michael Schmicker Aloha Denny:

Thanks for the question. A sequel is tempting. I had a lot of fun creating the novel’s narrator, Tomaso. He’s me when I was just starting…moreAloha Denny:

Thanks for the question. A sequel is tempting. I had a lot of fun creating the novel’s narrator, Tomaso. He’s me when I was just starting my own journalism career. He’s cocky, curious; handy with a camera and pen; determined to see the world. And of course, it would be great to pursure Huxley for his misdeeds -- and the hundred pounds he owes Alessandra after her Naples sitting.

That said, I'm not a natural fiction writer; I primarily write non-fiction, and it's equally tempting to say I've had my fling with fiction.The time commitment to writing a second novel is scary. .A novel is a nightmare for the amateur, and a challenge even for a pro. It requires playing with a Rubik’s cube of characters, plot, subplots, pacing, dialogue, style, emotional arc – pieces which the writer must move in a certain sequence, and at the proper moment, to propel the tale forward, hold the fickle reader’s attention, and arrive at a successful denouement. Historical fiction raises the complexity another level. Where do you find information in the cost of a plate of pasta in 19th century Napoli? How much history should be included? When and where do you drop it in? How do you share it without slowing the story and boring readers? It took me 18 months to write THe Witch of Napoli; I can write a non-fiction book in half the time, and I've got a long list of possible book ideas in my head.

And yet... it's so tempting to resurrect Tommaso. He would be in his early 40s, in Rome, editor of the Messaggero, with Doffo still working for him. Mussolini has taken power in Italy; the Fascists and Nazi movements are sweeping Europe; the British aristocracy (including Huxley) and the Catholic Church are sympathetically cheering their rise to power. Everyone is nervous about the future of their family, their business, their country, and a shadowy, Italian woman psychic everyone calls "the witch of Roma" claims to have the answers.

Tempting...

Thanks for your kind comments about the Witch of Napoli, and I'll let you know if I do decide to take a crack at it!
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Thank you for your kind message earlier today! I will post a review of "The Witch of Napoli" next week. I will let you know when it's up on my blog. I was wondering if you would consider sending me a copy of "The Gift ESP: The Extraordinary Experiences of Ordinary People" in exchange for a review? It looks really interesting, and I would love to read it! All the best,

Michael Schmicker Aloha Cecile:
I would be delighted to send you a copy of The Gift:ESP. If you have an interest in ESP, I believe you'll enjoy it. It's a non-fiction bo…moreAloha Cecile:
I would be delighted to send you a copy of The Gift:ESP. If you have an interest in ESP, I believe you'll enjoy it. It's a non-fiction book. I co-wrote it with a clinical psychologist from Duke University whose mother collected 12,000 anecdotal stories of spontaneous ESP experiences.Most of the reports come from the 1930s-1960s, but we did include some recent cases, including a chapter on strange 9-11 premonitions. Would you prefer a Kindle or paperpack copy? For Kindle, I would need your email address; for the opaperback, I would need your street address.You can send the information to my author address -- schmickermichael@gmail.com.
Cheers,
Michael
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Michael Schmicker’s books

Average rating: 3.79 · 2,873 ratings · 382 reviews · 6 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Witch of Napoli 3.78 avg rating — 2,748 ratings — published 2015 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Gift: ESP, the Extraordinary Experiences of Ordinary People by Sally Rhine Feather, Michael Schmicker (Goodreads Author) 3.93 avg rating — 54 ratings — published 2005 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Best Evidence 4.10 avg rating — 49 ratings — published 2001 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	No One Really Dies: 25 Reasons to Believe in an Afterlife by Michael Tymn, Michael Schmicker (Goodreads Author) (Foreword) 4.79 avg rating — 14 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Listener 4.33 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2010 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Old McDonald-San's Farm [With Cassette] 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 1997	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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61 posts
Michael Schmicker's Blog

Do you survive death?

I'm honored.

BBC radio/documentary producer Keith Parsons recently named "Best Evidence" one of the 10 most influential books dealing with the afterlife question.

I wrote it Best Evidence 18 years ago, but it's still selling modestly.. Why? My guess: aging Baby Boomers wants to know -- is there any hope?. Based on the scientific evidence I uncovered researching the book, there is indeed.

Don't be Read more of this blog post »

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Published on February 02, 2018 15:42 • Tags: afterlife, death, paranormal, survival-of-consciousness

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Michael is Currently Reading

Michael Schmicker is currently reading

The Ark Before Noah: Decoding the Story of the Flood

by Irving Finkel

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Apr 09, 2019 11:02PM

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Babies Are Cosmic: Signs of Their Secret Intelligence

by Elizabeth Carman

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Mar 18, 2019 10:33PM

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MORE True Time Travel Stories: Amazing Real Life Stories in The News (Time Travel Books Book 2)

by Richard Bullivant

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Feb 20, 2019 10:29PM

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Michael’s Recent Updates

Michael Schmicker rated a book it was amazing Skinwalkers at the Pentagon: An Insiders' Account of the Secret Government UFO Program by James T. Lacatski	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
cutting edge scientific investigation. excellent scientific exploration of both UFOs and a range of paranormal phenomena. Both are validated as real by this book.
May 20, 2022 07:55PM · 4 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Skinwalkers at the Pentagon by James T. Lacatski. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Skinwalkers at the Pentagon by James T. Lacatski <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Michael Schmicker (?)

“She exuded a raw, animal magnetism that left boys like me tongue-tied, and made men ignore their wives and crowd up close.”
― Michael Schmicker, The Witch of Napoli

tags: sexuality

5 likes

“As we Italians say, the husband is like the government at Rome, all pomp; the wife is like the mafia, all power.”
― Michael Schmicker, The Witch of Napoli

2 likes

“No matter how beautiful women are, they’re always worried that they aren’t attractive enough. They need to be reassured. A few don’t, but even they appreciate the attention.”
― Michael Schmicker, The Witch of Napoli

tags: sexuality

1 likes

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Michael’s Quotes

“Girls are funny. If they fall for you, they do what they want—their mothers be damned.”
― Michael Schmicker, The Witch of Napoli

tags: love

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“Women have been deceiving men since the Garden of Eden. They’ve had centuries of practice.”
― Michael Schmicker, The Witch of Napoli

tags: male-female-relationships

1 likes

“She exuded a raw, animal magnetism that left boys like me tongue-tied, and made men ignore their wives and crowd up close.”
― Michael Schmicker, The Witch of Napoli

tags: sexuality

5 likes

tags: sexuality

1 likes

“She only had a few coins to her name, but she had the Midas touch when it came to turning destitution into dreams.”
― Michael Schmicker, The Witch of Napoli

tags: confidence-and-attitude

1 likes

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