Doug Dillon's Blog, page 130
May 4, 2014
Florida Couple Experiences the Paranormal
Florida Nonfiction: supernatural; ghosts; dreams; visions; telepathy; ESP; after-life; spirit contact; mediums; auras.
An Explosion of Being: An American Family’s Journey into the Psychic.
The paranormal has been a part of my life for so long now that I’ve almost forgotten what it was like during the days when I regularly pooh-poohed such things.
To be perfectly honest, it took the death of my father many years ago to jump-start my transition from skeptic to believer. When our family lost Dad, really strange things started happening.
In the process, my wife Barbara and I had some fascinating experiences, learned a great deal and wrote about is all in the book you see here. This journey of ours included our children.
Published originally by Prentice Hall, this publication stirred up enough interest back in the day for Barb and me to do radio shows across the United States and in Canada.
To help others on a similar path of exploration, Barb and I ended our book with a chapter titled, “Revitalizing Your Natural Psychic Heritage.” In that chapter, we offer readers step-by-step suggestions, the kind of thing we wish we had had back when we first started probing into the unknown.
Our book may be ordered from any bookstore or on any large online book outlet. Again, here is the link to find the book on Amazon.com: An Explosion of Being: An American Family’s Journey into the Psychic.
One more thing. As a former educator, I also publish a series of novels for young adults and adults young at heart that focus on the paranormal and historical. The setting for these books, titled The St. Augustine Trilogy, is the oldest and most haunted city in the U.S., St. Augustine, Florida.
I’m delighted to report that Book I of the trilogy, Sliding Beneath the Surface, is now being used in secondary school reading programs for motivation and skill building purposes.
If you would like to learn more about the trilogy, click here.
May 3, 2014
Teen Ghost Stories, Books, Series, Trilogy
YOUNG ADULT, SUPERNATURAL, PARANORMAL, TIME TRAVEL ADVENTURES inspired by the author’s true-life experiences.
This is for real. Many years ago, after my father died, there were a lot of paranormal events that happened in my family. At the time, my wife and I didn’t believe in the paranormal but that soon changed.
In fact, Barb and I spent several years after Dad died investigating such weird occurrences. In the end, we had so much research material that we wrote a nonfiction book about it all and even did radio interview/call-in programs across the U.S. and up into Canada.
That book, An Explosion of Being: An American Family’s Journey into the Psychic, was published across the world by a division of Prentice Hall.
But more recently though, I decided to write a series of fiction books for young adults and adults young at heart using my paranormal experiences as the inspiration the wild and crazy plots of those books. As an old history teacher, I couldn’t resist creating this fictional world for young people.
Today, the title of that series is The St. Augustine Trilogy and it takes place in America’s oldest and most haunted city in the U.S., St. Augustine, Florida.
Trilogy Description
Told in his own words, this paranormal/historical series is a very personal account of fifteen-year-old Jeff Golden’s explosive coming of age in America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida.
Join Jeff and his girlfriend Carla as they experience mind-blowing events that threaten to destroy their very existence.
Follow the two teens as Lobo, the Native American shaman, tries to protect them from powerful forces beyond understanding. Be there when Jeff and Carla discover the depths of reality as well as their own powers to reshape what they find.
Two of the three books in the trilogy are available in both print and eBook formats at the moment, with the third book due for publication in 2015.
Check out the book descriptions you’ll find here and then click on the active links for each book to see the reviews on Amazon.com.
I’ve also include the book trailers for the two books already in print so you can get a real sense of the characters and the plot.
Below all that, I have included active links to some of the most interesting blog posts I’ve written on the paranormal.
Enjoy.
Sliding Beneath the Surface: The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book I
Description
In America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida, teenager Jeff Golden is in trouble. Horrible dreams won’t let him sleep, and he is up to his eyeballs in terrifying, paranormal experiences.
Finally, Jeff turns to his girlfriend Carla, and Lobo, the mysterious Native American shaman, for help. But what he discovers is a lot more than he bargained for.
A ghostly presence linked to a local historic cemetery is not only threatening Jeff’s sanity but his life as well. And before he knows what’s happening, Jeff finds both himself and Carla pulled into one of the nastiest and bloody events in Florida history. It is a place from which they may never escape.
Book Trailer
Stepping Off a Cliff: The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book II
Description
An otherworldly, evil and dangerous force infests America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. Everyone living there, or visiting, is at risk in ways too horrible to imagine.
Standing between this invader and the people of St. Augustine are teenagers Jeff and Carla, the mysterious Native American shaman, Lobo, and Lyle, the homeless guy.
In their quest to save themselves and all the inhabitants of this ancient Florida city, Jeff and Carla uncover lost parts of St. Augustine history, push past the limits of space and time, and come face-to-face with what they come to realize are the true walking dead.
Book Trailer
Targeting Orion’s Children: The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book III – due for publication in 2015
Description
In this, the final book of The St. Augustine Trilogy, the team of Jeff Golden, Carla Rodriguez, old Lobo, the Native American shaman and Lyle, the homeless guy, gather once again to join forces.
This time, though, the two teens face a paranormal presence that defies full human understanding and becomes a threat far beyond the oldest city in America where they live.
Overwhelmed by the immense responsibility they hold in their hands, Jeff and Carla make a jaw-dropping discovery that leads them in directions they could never before have imagined.
Now, as promised, here are those blog postings that contain some very interesting paranormal stories:
Haunted Lighthouse in St.Augustine, Florida
Paranormal Experiences: The Skyway Bridge Disaster
St. Augustine, FL Ghost Hunt: Miss Caroline’s Guest House # 2
Ghost Hunting on the Queen Mary
Infinite Hummingbird Experiences
Paranormal Events in Families: The Car Horn
Dreams of Past Lives? The Russian Revolution
Carl Jung on Coincidences, Synchronicity and the Paranormal
May 2, 2014
Best Summer Reading for Teens: Books, Series, Trology, Blog
YOUNG ADULT, SUPERNATURAL, PARANORMAL, TIME TRAVEL ADVENTURES inspired by the author’s true-life experiences.
This is for real. Many years ago, after my father died, there were a lot of paranormal events that happened in my family. At the time, my wife and I didn’t believe in the paranormal but that soon changed.
In fact, Barb and I spent several years after Dad died investigating such weird occurrences. In the end, we had so much research material that we wrote a nonfiction book about it all and even did radio interview/call-in programs across the U.S. and up into Canada.
That book, An Explosion of Being: An American Family’s Journey into the Psychic, was published across the world by a division of Prentice Hall.
But more recently though, I decided to write a series of fiction books for young adults and adults young at heart using my paranormal experiences as the inspiration the wild and crazy plots of those books. As an old history teacher, I couldn’t resist creating this fictional world for young people.
Today, the title of that series is The St. Augustine Trilogy and it takes place in America’s oldest and most haunted city in the U.S., St. Augustine, Florida.
Trilogy Description
Told in his own words, this paranormal/historical series is a very personal account of fifteen-year-old Jeff Golden’s explosive coming of age in America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida.
Join Jeff and his girlfriend Carla as they experience mind-blowing events that threaten to destroy their very existence.
Follow the two teens as Lobo, the Native American shaman, tries to protect them from powerful forces beyond understanding. Be there when Jeff and Carla discover the depths of reality as well as their own powers to reshape what they find.
Two of the three books in the trilogy are available in both print and eBook formats at the moment, with the third book due for publication in 2015.
Check out the book descriptions you’ll find here and then click on the active links for each book to see the reviews on Amazon.com.
I’ve also include the book trailers for the two books already in print so you can get a real sense of the characters and the plot.
Below all that, I have included active links to some of the most interesting blog posts I’ve written on the paranormal.
Enjoy.
Sliding Beneath the Surface: The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book I
Description
In America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida, teenager Jeff Golden is in trouble. Horrible dreams won’t let him sleep, and he is up to his eyeballs in terrifying, paranormal experiences.
Finally, Jeff turns to his girlfriend Carla, and Lobo, the mysterious Native American shaman, for help. But what he discovers is a lot more than he bargained for.
A ghostly presence linked to a local historic cemetery is not only threatening Jeff’s sanity but his life as well. And before he knows what’s happening, Jeff finds both himself and Carla pulled into one of the nastiest and bloody events in Florida history. It is a place from which they may never escape.
Book Trailer
Stepping Off a Cliff: The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book II
Description
An otherworldly, evil and dangerous force infests America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. Everyone living there, or visiting, is at risk in ways too horrible to imagine.
Standing between this invader and the people of St. Augustine are teenagers Jeff and Carla, the mysterious Native American shaman, Lobo, and Lyle, the homeless guy.
In their quest to save themselves and all the inhabitants of this ancient Florida city, Jeff and Carla uncover lost parts of St. Augustine history, push past the limits of space and time, and come face-to-face with what they come to realize are the true walking dead.
Book Trailer
Targeting Orion’s Children: The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book III – due for publication in 2015
Description
In this, the final book of The St. Augustine Trilogy, the team of Jeff Golden, Carla Rodriguez, old Lobo, the Native American shaman and Lyle, the homeless guy, gather once again to join forces.
This time, though, the two teens face a paranormal presence that defies full human understanding and becomes a threat far beyond the oldest city in America where they live.
Overwhelmed by the immense responsibility they hold in their hands, Jeff and Carla make a jaw-dropping discovery that leads them in directions they could never before have imagined.
Now, as promised, here are those blog postings that contain some very interesting paranormal stories:
Haunted Lighthouse in St.Augustine, Florida
Paranormal Experiences: The Skyway Bridge Disaster
St. Augustine, FL Ghost Hunt: Miss Caroline’s Guest House # 2
Ghost Hunting on the Queen Mary
Infinite Hummingbird Experiences
Paranormal Events in Families: The Car Horn
Dreams of Past Lives? The Russian Revolution
Carl Jung on Coincidences, Synchronicity and the Paranormal
Teens Fight Unearthly Being in Oldest & Most Haunted City in U.S.
St. Augustine, Florida – teen novel - Stepping Off a Cliff - paranormal, historical, romance , zombies, monsters.
The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book II is finally published! First check out the description below and then the trailer:
An otherworldly, evil and dangerous force infests America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. Everyone living there, or visiting, is at risk in ways too horrible to imagine.
Standing between this invader and the people of St. Augustine are teenagers Jeff and Carla, the mysterious Native American shaman, Lobo, and Lyle, the homeless guy.
In their quest to save themselves and all the inhabitants of this ancient Florida city, Jeff and Carla uncover lost parts of St. Augustine history, push past the limits of space and time, and come face-to-face with what they come to realize are the true walking dead.
Click here to check out how Book I of the series, Sliding Beneath the Surface, is being used in school reading classrooms.
May 1, 2014
Best Teen Fantasy & Science Fiction Books, Series, Trilogy, Blog
YOUNG ADULT, SUPERNATURAL, PARANORMAL, TIME TRAVEL ADVENTURES inspired by the author’s true-life experiences.
This is for real. Many years ago, after my father died, there were a lot of paranormal events that happened in my family. At the time, my wife and I didn’t believe in the paranormal but that soon changed.
In fact, Barb and I spent several years after Dad died investigating such weird occurrences. In the end, we had so much research material that we wrote a nonfiction book about it all and even did radio interview/call-in programs across the U.S. and up into Canada.
That book, An Explosion of Being: An American Family’s Journey into the Psychic, was published across the world by a division of Prentice Hall.
But more recently though, I decided to write a series of fiction books for young adults and adults young at heart using my paranormal experiences as the inspiration the wild and crazy plots of those books. As an old history teacher, I couldn’t resist creating this fictional world for young people.
Today, the title of that series is The St. Augustine Trilogy and it takes place in America’s oldest and most haunted city in the U.S., St. Augustine, Florida.
Trilogy Description
Told in his own words, this paranormal/historical series is a very personal account of fifteen-year-old Jeff Golden’s explosive coming of age in America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida.
Join Jeff and his girlfriend Carla as they experience mind-blowing events that threaten to destroy their very existence.
Follow the two teens as Lobo, the Native American shaman, tries to protect them from powerful forces beyond understanding. Be there when Jeff and Carla discover the depths of reality as well as their own powers to reshape what they find.
Two of the three books in the trilogy are available in both print and eBook formats at the moment, with the third book due for publication in 2015.
Check out the book descriptions you’ll find here and then click on the active links for each book to see the reviews on Amazon.com.
I’ve also include the book trailers for the two books already in print so you can get a real sense of the characters and the plot.
Below all that, I have included active links to some of the most interesting blog posts I’ve written on the paranormal.
Enjoy.
Sliding Beneath the Surface: The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book I
Description
In America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida, teenager Jeff Golden is in trouble. Horrible dreams won’t let him sleep, and he is up to his eyeballs in terrifying, paranormal experiences.
Finally, Jeff turns to his girlfriend Carla, and Lobo, the mysterious Native American shaman, for help. But what he discovers is a lot more than he bargained for.
A ghostly presence linked to a local historic cemetery is not only threatening Jeff’s sanity but his life as well. And before he knows what’s happening, Jeff finds both himself and Carla pulled into one of the nastiest and bloody events in Florida history. It is a place from which they may never escape.
Book Trailer
Stepping Off a Cliff: The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book II
Description
An otherworldly, evil and dangerous force infests America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. Everyone living there, or visiting, is at risk in ways too horrible to imagine.
Standing between this invader and the people of St. Augustine are teenagers Jeff and Carla, the mysterious Native American shaman, Lobo, and Lyle, the homeless guy.
In their quest to save themselves and all the inhabitants of this ancient Florida city, Jeff and Carla uncover lost parts of St. Augustine history, push past the limits of space and time, and come face-to-face with what they come to realize are the true walking dead.
Book Trailer
Targeting Orion’s Children: The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book III – due for publication in 2015
Description
In this, the final book of The St. Augustine Trilogy, the team of Jeff Golden, Carla Rodriguez, old Lobo, the Native American shaman and Lyle, the homeless guy, gather once again to join forces.
This time, though, the two teens face a paranormal presence that defies full human understanding and becomes a threat far beyond the oldest city in America where they live.
Overwhelmed by the immense responsibility they hold in their hands, Jeff and Carla make a jaw-dropping discovery that leads them in directions they could never before have imagined.
Now, as promised, here are those blog postings that contain some very interesting paranormal stories:
Haunted Lighthouse in St.Augustine, Florida
Paranormal Experiences: The Skyway Bridge Disaster
St. Augustine, FL Ghost Hunt: Miss Caroline’s Guest House # 2
Ghost Hunting on the Queen Mary
Infinite Hummingbird Experiences
Paranormal Events in Families: The Car Horn
Dreams of Past Lives? The Russian Revolution
Carl Jung on Coincidences, Synchronicity and the Paranormal
Haunted Places in St. Augustine, FL
Ghosts, hauntings, executions, monsters, sea creatures, pirates, pyramids, cemeteries, paranormal activity and more. St. Augustine is the oldest and most haunted city not only in Florida but in all the U.S. as well.
As an author of paranormal and history related books, I find St. Augustine one of the most interesting places to visit and write about. Founded by the Spanish in 1565, that old city is just 100 miles from where I live in the Orlando area and I go there whenever I can.
In fact, the place is so beautiful and has such a rich background that I use it as the setting for my paranormal/historical young adult fiction series I known as The St. Augustine Trilogy.
The St. Augustine
National Cemetery
If you are researching St. Augustine, or planning a visit there yourself, you might find some of the links I’ve provided below of use. These are stories that will give you a taste for some of the strange things that have happened in this old city.
Enjoy.
Pyramids in the St. Augustine National Cemetery
A Pirate’s Near Death Experience
Ghost Evidence in Old St. Augustine
The St. Augustine Lighthouse
Ghost Hunt # 1 at Miss Caroline’s Guest House
Ghost Hunt # 2 at Miss Caroline’s Guest House
“Great book!” Paranormal & Historical.
Sliding Beneath the Surface fiction for young adults and adults young at heart. The St. Augustine Trilogy: Book I
A review placed on Amazon.com by Tia Borstlelman.
“Loved learning about St. Augustine while reading fiction.
“Doug Dillon takes readers on a journey through historic St. Augustine, while entertaining them with an excellently written science fiction plot.
“This is a must read for teens, especially those who reside in Florida.”
To see this review on Amazon.com, click here.
See the book trailer below:
To see more on The St. Augustine Trilogy, click here.
April 30, 2014
Sliding Beneath the Surface Review # 120
Sliding Beneath the Surface
“I loved this book.” The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book I for young adults and adults young at heart.
A review placed on Amazon.com by teacher.
“I loved this book.
“The characters were very unique and kept the story interesting.
“I loved how the author wove history into the story thru the characters teetering between the past and the present causing this book to be a page turner.”
To see this review on Amazon.com, click here.
See below for the book trailer.
Sliding Beneath the Surface Review # 119
“. . . grabs you and doesn’t let go.” The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book I for young adults and adults young at heart
A review placed on Amazon.com by JaLund “Silvor”.
“Sliding Beneath the Surface is one of those books that grabs you and doesn’t let go. It’s hard to believe that the story takes place in such a short amount of time.
“The characters were wonderful, and so different from one another. They blended together perfectly. I love how the author takes the reader on a journey through time so vividly.
“I could feel myself traveling along with Jeff as his nightmares came alive for him, and he learned all there was to learn about himself.
“I’m not a huge history buff, but Dillon made it come alive for me, which is the best compliment I feel I can give an author. I am really looking forward to reading the next book in the series.”
To see this review on Amazon.com, click here.
See below for the book trailer.
April 29, 2014
“Intriguing Book:” Young Adult, Paranormal & Historical
The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book I: Sliding Beneath the Surface
A review placed on Amazon.com by high school teacher K.M. Snyder.
“Sliding Beneath the Surface is an intriguing book because the author very skillfully weaves historical fact with fiction. I teach Intensive Reading to 11th and 12th graders and am always looking for books that will grab their attention. This book will ‘hook’ them.
“Teenagers will be able to relate to the main character and his family difficulties. The story is set in St. Augustine, Florida and my students will appreciate the references to local areas. The story is suspenseful and full of the supernatural which is a high interest among many teens. I would recommend this book and can’t wait to introduce it to my classes.”
To see the review on Amazon, click here.
