Monique O'Connor James's Blog: Random Thoughts from Monique, page 4

Ghost Stories #3 – St. Louis Cemetery #1 – New Orleans, LA

This cemetery plays a pivotal role in my latest work in progress.  There is something romantic and intriguing about the place, despite its location in the middle of the warehouse district in New Orleans.

Let me set the scene for you.  The entire cemetery is surrounded by a cement wall, perhaps to keep the ghosts in, or the vandals out – no matter, both seem to ignore it.  The tombs are shoved together so tightly that they create a mystical maze for tourists and mourners in which they can lose themselves.  There are oven tombs with brick arches, where the dead are interred behind walls, barrel-vaulted tombs characterized by their vaulted roofs, box tombs, built closer to the ground, parapet tombs with their raised crosses, and the list goes on and on.  There is no rhyme or reason to the placement of these tombs and so a wonderful lack of symmetry is formed.

St. Louis Cemetery #1 is listed on the National Registry of The Most Haunted Places in America, and for good reason. The remains of those who participated in the Battle of New Orleans can be found here, along with the city's first black mayor, and it's mayor and its most famous resident the Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau.

Sighting Claims:

1.  Many are said to have captured Marie Laveau's ghost on film here.  Believers and tourists still leave flowers, candles and offerings at her tomb everyday.

2.  It has also been said that ghostly, nude voodoo practitioners perform rituals in the cemetery after midnight and well into the morning hours.

3.  A ghost by the name of Henry roams the maze of the cemetery.  The story goes that he gave his tomb to a woman who was supposed to keep his papers for him.  While he was out to sea she sold the tomb, and when he died he was laid to rest in a potter's field.  He has spent the time since inquiring with tourists if they have seen the Vignes' tomb.  He appears in a dark suit with no shirt and is desperate to find his final resting place.

4.  Alphonse – he was a lonely young man, or so they say.  Upon entering the cemetery, he may take your hand and ask you to help him find his way home.  He's been seen taking flowers from other graves and bringing them back to his own.

5.  Ghost cats and dogs are frequent sightings here.  Many believe that they are the ghosts of the caretakers animals.

Take the cemetery tour if you are in New Orleans, or if you are really brave, check them out on your own.  Even if you don't see a ghost for yourself, you will be taken by the place's beauty.

Cheers,

Monique O'Connor James

Author of The Keepers, Jamais Vu, Deja Vu, and The Mulligan Man published by Astraea press.

Coming Summer 2012 – Becoming Jolie published by Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing.

 

 

Yes, Can You Stick This Needle in My Face?

Most anyone who knows me, is aware that I've suffered from migraines for the majority of my life.  I get them three or four times a week, and the severity ranges from, "oh I can deal with this" to, "someone please, blow my head off now!"  I've been on every drug cocktail, tried ever holistic approach, and even begged God to just make them stop!

My friends and family send me articles about research and drugs, almost everyday.  Personally, with my vast knowledge on the subject, I think I deserve an honorary doctorate in migraine medicine.

Like I said before, none of my efforts have produced much pain relief.  Long story short, when my neurologist suggested Botox, I shuddered at the thought.  I had Bell's Palsy as a child (the right side of my face was paralyzed), and I still have vivid memories of what it was like to go through early puberty that way.  The idea of revisiting that time in my life is horrifying.

But still, no matter how scared I was, I was desperate for something that would  work. In other words, I'll try anything once.  So today, I went to the doctor, ready to hurl, as I sat waiting for him to get on with it.  Of course, before he could start he had to read of the list of warnings and things that could go terribly wrong, and all I could do was try to keep my jaw from hitting the ground.  Was I insane?  Even though I was ready to run, the syringes were full and he looked all too prepared to stick me. So I gritted my teeth and replied "Uh, Yeah", when he asked if I was ready.

I ended up getting thirty-seven shots in my head, neck and shoulders.  Did it hurt?  Only four of the thirty-seven really made me flinch.  So it's been a couple of hours and so far, no problems.  They say it takes a couple of days to see the full effects, and then you can't repeat the procedure for three months.

I'm hoping at least, I'll have fewer headaches, or that maybe they'll be less painful.  If you have had Botox for pain, I'd love to hear your story.  Let me know how it worked for you.

I'll keep ya'll updated!

Cheers,

Monique O'Connor James

Author of The Keepers, Jamais Vu, Deja Vu, and The Mulligan Man published by Astraea Press.

Coming Summer 2012 – becoming Jolie published by Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing.

Writers Corner – What Do You Mean I Have to Blog?

So, the publicist and marketing personnel at your publisher have suggested, or insisted that you start a blog.  Not just start one, but create interesting and informative posts on a regular basis, and do it with a smile! After you finish screaming and you have pulled out the last clump of your hair, take a deep breath.  Everything is going to be okay.  I promise.

There are a gazillion blogs on the internet, and every topic known to man has been covered over and over again.  This begs the questions, does anyone really care what I have to say? What am I going to blog about?

The short answer is, Yes! Your readers are interested in what goes on in your life and how your crazy mind works.  And as for what you going to blog about – well there are some easy ways to generate ideas, so again, breathe.

1.  Create Tags.  The most helpful advise I've gotten about blogging ideas was this:  Make a list of fifty to a hundred tags related to your books.  Yes, you can do it! It's not as hard as it sounds.  Make sure you consider every character and subplot in your book when you compile the list.  Once you are finished, you will have a plethora of words that can help spark ideas for blog topics.  Try it!  It works!

2.  Read lots of blogs posted by your fellow authors.  Sometimes in their blogs they will pose a question or make a statement that you don't agree with.  Use this opportunity to respond with your own thoughts.  Make sure you link to the original post, especially if you use direct quotes from it.

3. People love lists.  Lists are easy to scan and provide a wealth of information in a short amount of time.  List the best comments you've received, your favorite Facebook statuses, the best books you've read, the options are endless.

4.  Give away your secrets.  People appreciate help and like to know that there are others in the same boat.  List your resources and provide links when you share information so they can access the sites easily.  Include blogs and web pages that you can't live without, and then sit back and wait for the kudos to fill up your comment box. 

5.  Share other author's reviews, excerpts, interviews, etc.  If you're tired of seeing these types of posts, create a list of ten of the most intriguing book trailers, or your favorite back cover blurbs.

There are many ways to grab your audience's attention.  Don't sweat it! If I can do it, I know you can!  Now that you have a few ideas get to work and have fun!

Cheers!

Monique O'Connor James

Author of The Keepers, Jamais Vu, Deja Vu, The Mulligan Man published by Astraea Press

Coming Summer 2012 – Becoming Jolie published by Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing

Ghost Stories Part II – LaLaurie House – Royal Street New Orleans

The Lalaurie House is located in the French Quarter on Royal Street.  This story is pretty gruesome and not for the faint of heart, for sure!

Delphine LaLaurie and her husband took up residence in the house in the 1830″s.  As soon as they moved into the house, they became darlings of the New Orleans social scene for whom they hosted lavish events at the home.  The lady of the house, Madame LaLaurie, was described as sweet, gracious and easy to get along with, and her husband was a highly respected business man.

Even though Delphine was well liked, when the Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau, started doing her hair, they became fast friends.  It is believed that Marie was instructing Madame on the ways of Voodoo during their time together. 

Delphine LaLaurie kept a sizable group of slaves to help her run the house.  At first, nothing seemed awry, but then gossip began to spread about the Madame's abuse of her indentured servants.  The people of society ignored these claims, until they saw Delphine chasing a young slave girl through the house, a chase which culminated with the girls death on the cobblestone three stories below.

The death was deemed by law enforcement to be an accident, but the incident set off a chain of events that later exposed the woman's dark side.  An old slave woman angered over the death of the young girl set fire to the house.  It is said that when firemen came to put the blaze out, the old maid ran out to them begging them to "set the poor souls in the attic free". 

That day upon inspection of the attic a horrific scene was found.  Dead and half-dead slaves, men, women and children were chain to the walls having suffered various forms of torture.  Some of the slaves were forced to stand for days or weeks with their heads and arms in the stocks.  Their eyes were gouged out, tongues removed, mouth and eyes sewn shut, and ears and noses cut off. Soon after the fire a violent mob grew calling for Madame LaLaurie's blood, but she escaped from the city in a horse-drawn carriage before they could find her.  The home was renovated many times over, but no one ever thrived there for any length of time.  In the Twentieth century, it was converted to apartments, but not long ago it was under renovations again. 

There are documented incidents of people both seeing and hearing the ghosts of the tormented slaves.  People also see the servants who were still working on the day of the house fire, and they go on about their daily chores as though they are still alive.  Running along the corridors, slamming doors and shouts are heard often, throughout the house. 

As people pass down Royal Street they have seen the ghostly spirits peering from the attic windows and heard their tortures moans.  Next time you are in the French Quarter on Royal Street, check out the old house and let us know what you see.

Cheers,

Monique O'Connor James

Author of The Keepers, Jamais Vu, Deja Vu, and The Mulligan Man published by Astraea Press.

Coming 2012 – Becoming Jolie – from Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing.

 

 

 

Demons and Fiction

In The Keepers, the villain is a fallen angel turned demon. He actually had human qualities and although he was evil, there was something about him that made readers pity him. Despite the fact the he was clearly on the wrong side, he wasn't hard to look at and for a moment Jess was pulled in by his appearance and charm. In a lot of movies, the demons are monstrous creatures with no human qualities what so ever.  Even the demons I later wrote about in Jamais Vu, were horrible creatures made up of  decomposing mounds of flesh and bone.

So what exactly are they, and why do we find them so intriguing?

Demons have been defined as everything from fallen angels to evil spirits capable of possessing their human counterparts.  We even use the word to describe those with a great passion for something, such as speed demons.  Some people even believe that demons are just the manifestation of the evil nature that bubbles just beneath the surface of every human and that, that is why we find them so fascinating.

The original greek word "Daimon" didn't even carry a negative connotation.  It simply meant a spiritual being.  It wasn't until the Hebrew Bible that the word became something more malevolent.

Throughout history there have been many definitions of the word demon.  Here is a peek:

1.  Mesopotamia – There were 7 evil entities knows as storm demons.  They appeared as winged bulls and were considered to be God's divine wrath.

2.  Ancient Arabs – The jinn were lower divinities with human attributes.  They liked humans and were peaceable by nature.

3.  Judaism – Demons were believed to do the bidding of the Angel of Death.

4.  Christianity – Christians have had a wide variety of definitions for the word demon.  They can be spirits that inhabit a person or place, fallen angels, unclean spirits or the followers of Satan.

5.  Isalm – Jinn coexist with humans and are not evil.

Demons can be painted in many ways and have throughout the ages, but one thing is for sure.  They always make great fictional fodder.

Cheers,

Monique O'Connor James

Author of The Keepers, Jamais Vu, The Mulligan Man, Deja Vu published by Astraea Press

Coming Summer 2012 – Becoming Jolie published by Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing

Deja Vu Debut 1/12/12 Giveaways!!!!!

You probably know by now that Jamais Vu's follow-up, Deja Vu, will be coming out tomorrow 1/12/12.  I have lots of giveaways going on right now and just wanted to do a little run down so you don't miss anything.

Okay first,  if you purchase Deja Vu on 1/12/12, email the receipt to nique313@yahoo.com and I will give you the choice of a PDF of The Keepers , Jamais Vu or The Mulligan Man!  Two for One!!!!  This is for 1/12/12 only.

Next, Rachel Van Dyken had a fabulous write-up about the books on her blog.  If you comment on her blog, I will draw someone on 1/12/12 o receive a PDF copy of Jamais Vu or Deja Vu (Your choice).

Okay last one for now.  We are playing throw me something mister on my facebook page.  Change your profile picture to the cover of Deja Vu above and yell "Throw Me Something Mister" on my page!  On Saturday, 1/14/12 I'll draw for several winners and the prizes are the collectors beads below and maybe even a couple of PDFs!

Have Fun! Thank you all for always supporting me!

Cheers,

Monique O'Connor James

Author of The Keepers, The Mulligan Man, Jamais Vu and Deja Vu published by Astraea Press

Coming Summer 2012 – Becoming Jolie published by Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing

A Day In the Life…Pass it on.

I stole this idea from the blog of Kimberly Kinrade.  I enjoyed hers so much I thought yeah, we should all do that!  The question that I get asked most as a writer is…"How do you have time?".  If you read Kim's blog you will see she doe  A LOT.  I don't have nearly the projects she has going, but I do work full-time! 

The whole point behind this is that if you WANT to do something you can find time to do it.  I think that 99% of moms are  super moms.  You may not be writing books, but how many things did you volunteer to do at the school this year?  How many friend's weddings/birthdays/christenings/retirement parties, did you help plan? 

So here it is, a day in my life!  I'd love to read yours:

6:00 AM – alarm goes off – Keith is long gone by now so I roll out of bed and stumbled towards the kids room where I flip on the light and rip the covers off of them.  Baby girl will inevitable swear she didn't sleep and a twenty-minute argument ensues.  If I give up and leave the room they will get dressed, so I do.  Back to my bathroom to dress, then feed the animals, pick up all the trash the kids left all over the house and scoot them out the door.

7:00 AM -  Kids have been dropped off and I start my hour commute to work.  This is usually when I catch up with my best friend or call my Dad.  Sometimes I have literal conversations with said BFF and others we are talking about characters in my latest work in progress.

8:00 - AM  Sign in at JOB – I go through all my outstanding work, check renewal dates, scream, cuss and cry.  This goes on until Noon when I finally get from behind my desk.  (Now we all know that in here somewhere you get a call from the bill collector, the kid at school that forgot their project, and your husband who wants you to keep a mental list of things to pick up at the store – go Blackberry!)

Noon:  Grab a bite to eat and walk around with a notebook jotting down ideas for blogs, my WIP, or books that I'm helping my friends critique.  Sometimes I get to sit down and write and at this point I do it long-hand, in a notebook, as people walk by and say,  "What ya doin?"

1-4:30 – More Insurance work.  Every now and then I get to slip in a blog or read a chapter for a friend and do a quick critique.  In the mean time, I'm jumping on and off Facebook because you have to keep up with the readers, bloggers, reviewers, and fans.  I try to share something, say hello, and make sure my reviews/blogs/etc, posted.  Facebook will suck you in and so will Twitter!

5:00 PM Home – Hour and half commute home if there is no wreck on the Interstate! Thank you Lord, Keith cooks!  Homework check and a quick episode of Wizards of Waverly Place, unless of course Keith gets the remote then we are watching Two and Half Men reruns. 

6:00 PM – The kids have generally lost interest in me by now and are on computers and cell phones.  I get to write for about an hour!

7:00 PM – Facebook sucks me in for 30 minutes until I peel myself away and go make sure everyone is bathed and hang out with Keith for a bit.

8:00  PM  Write blogs for the following week, send review request off to bloggers, try to check my publisher's websites and do some critiquing.

9:00 PM Must hang out with Keith.  Kids are usually in bed (ours or theirs).  We watch some show about hillbillies with no teeth that make moonshine in the mountains.  Keith is snoring by 9:45.

10:00 PM - Until  - I get to write again!  I usually write between 10 PM and whenever.  I try to get in bed by midnight, but if I walk in the kitchen and the dishes need to be done or there is a pile of laundry that needs to be folded it may be later.  This is the worse time to get sucked into Facebook so I try to stay away!

Finally! Bath and sleep only to hear the alarm go off again before I'm really sleeping.  As Kim said in her blog, this doesn't account for sick kids, laundry day, family night, time with friends, and the unexpected things that happen every week. 

The truth is, if I'm not doing something 24/7, I'll go insane…so I was thinking about going back to school….Hmmm. 

Cheers!

Monique O'Connor James

Author of The Keepers, Jamais Vu, The Mulligan Man & Deja Vu – published by Astraea Press

Coming Summer 2012 – Becoming Jolie – published by Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing

Ghost Stories Part 1 – The Myrtles

I've decided to insert a series of ghost stories into my blog purely for your enjoyment.  I've gathered these from here and there, and as far as I know they are told in earnest.  If you're like me the thrill comes just as much from speculation as seeing or hearing something!

I'll start with one of my favorite places in the world, The Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana.  The Myrtles websites touts it as one of America's most haunted homes.  Here in Louisiana, it's a popular place to spend Halloween night, if you have the cojones. 

The home was built circa 1796 and the stories about the ongoing hauntings have websites dedicated to both debunking and proving their validity.  Whatever you believe, visitors and paranormal investigators alike claim to have witnessed the sights and sounds of a truly haunted house.

Here are some of the ghost who haunt The Myrtles:

1.  Chloe – A slave who allegedly poisoned two children and was subsequently hung on the property.

2.  The ghost of those children have been seen playing on the Veranda.

3.  William Drew Winter – lived at the Myrtles in the Mid 1800′s.  It was reported that he was shot on the porch by a stranger.  William left the porch just after the shooting and began to make his way to the second floor.  It is said that he died on the 17th step and that the sound of his footsteps can still be heard.

4.  The ghosts of several slaves have approached visitors asking if there is any work for them.

5.  People have reported that the grand piano in the home often plays by itself.

Even with all the spooks who hang around, The Myrtles is one of the most beautiful plantation homes in South Louisiana. Put this one on your list of must see locations should you find yourself in this neck of the woods!

Cheers!

Monique O'Connor James author of The Keepers, Jamais Vu and The Mulligan Man available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

Coming Early 2012:  Deja Vu; Coming Summer 2012:  Becoming Jolie

Paranormal Addiction

What is it that keeps us buying paranormal books and staying up all night as we stand in line for tickets to paranormal movies? Is it because they are created around characters that aren't quite human?  I've thought about the reasons I'm sucked into a well planned and plotted storyline and how these things fuel my addiction to the genre.  Read over them and add your own.  I'd love to hear from you.

1.  The Characters – There is a whole brood of paranormal personalities to fall in love with from Demons, Vampires, and Angels like the ones in The Keepers, to characters who possess some psychic or mystical power like Darby Lambert, in Jamais Vu.

They all give our imaginations room to wander and grow.  If you are like me, you love nothing more than a character who you didn't expect, one who isn't average.  Because we are curious about things we don't quite understand, we are drawn to the stories of these people and creatures and the way they live, love, and overcome obstacles in their lives.

The Settings – Paranormal worlds usually take place in a setting that has a  personality all its own.  The Keepers is set in The French Quarter, in New Orleans, where the architecture and night life seem to jump off the page.  Jamais Vu takes place in St. Francisville, Louisiana, amongst creepy sugar cane fields and aging plantation homes.  Both of these locations reel you in through well described scenery and the effect the places have on the characters. We like locals that provide us with the ability to become a part of them.  As readers we expect to be sucked into our characters worlds and feel exactly what they do.

3.  Plot Twists – The paranormal genre isn't ruled by the limitations of humans.  We can expect surprising turns allowed by the characters' supernatural gifts. I think we have become spoiled by this as we expect more than the average boy meets girl story.

What are the aspects of the paranormal genre that keeps you coming back for more?  Do you watch paranormal movies and TV shows?

There are many great indie and small press authors out there waiting to thrill you with their tales.  Who are some of your favorites?

Enjoy your addiction.  I know I do!

Cheers,

Monique O'Connor James

Author of The Keepers, Jamais Vu & The Mulligan Man available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

Coming Early 2012:  Deja Vu;  Coming Summer 2012:  Becoming Jolie

A Web of Dreams

I don' know about you, but dreams have always been of huge interest to me.  Maybe, it's because as a child I suffered from night terrors and nightmares.  That's probably where I gained interest in delving into those visions and finding out exactly what was going on in my brain.  Then when my son was born, he followed in my footsteps and not only awakened us with night terrors, but also became a chronic sleepwalker. 

It's fascinating the way our subconscious takes everything that has occurred within a given time frame and dumps it into a dream.  The dreams seldom make sense and usually run together further confusing the meaning.  The idea that our mind comes to terms with our experiences through dreams has been of such interest to me that I wrote an entire novel about it.  In Jamais Vu, Darby struggles with the idea that by tweaking her dreams, she can alter her reality and bring back the dead. 

I thought I'd share with you some of the more common symbols in dreams and provide you with the opportunity to reflect on your own night visions and what they mean.  Hope you enjoy.

1.  Animals – Instinctual actions and emotions.  The personality traits that come to mind when you think of the animal in your dream may be ones that you are repressing.

2.  Blood – Emotional upheaval.  You probably feel like there are people in your life who are black holes of need, who suck the wind from your sails.

3.  Cars – Freedom or being in control.

4.  Death – Death rarely represents someone dying.  It is usually the reflection of some change in your life or the lives of those around you.

5.  Fire – Arousing passion or sexuality.  Fire can also represent a cleansing of emotions.

6.  Naked – Suggests feeling vulnerable or perhaps afraid some action you were trying to hide will be exposed to others.

7.  Ocean – The subconscious itself.  If the water is calm so is your mind, but if its turbulent you may be under stress.

8.  People – usually projections of ourselves and in them we see aspects of our own personalities.

9.  Tree – A symbol of knowledge and learning

10.  Weather – usually the weather in your dream reflects your general emotional state.

Have you ever researched the meaning of a dream?  Have you ever had the same dream more than once?

Dreams play a huge roll in our mind's ability to come to terms with our problems and goals.  Next time you are off in your own dreamland, try to make note of the symbols and see if you can figure out what they mean about your life and the current state of your emotional well-being.

Cheers,

Monique O'Connor James

Author of:  The Keepers, Jamais Vu, The Mulligan Man all available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

Coming in Early 2012:  Deja Vu;  Coming Summer 2012:  Becoming Jolie