Doug Dillon's Blog, page 15
September 22, 2016
Teen Stories Teach Resilience and Reading
At-risk kids, life skills and reading.
The St. Augustine Trilogy – aiming for at-risk young people, using the paranormal, the historical and science fiction:
Book I Sliding Beneath the Surface
Book III Targeting Orion’s Children
My young adult series attracts a variety of readers, a lot of teens of course, and many adults in their twenties and thirties. And in that overall group, as I had hoped, are often a lot young people who live troubled lives.
You see, I’m a former secondary school educator who spent the last ten years of my educational career working full-time with at-risk kids. I worked for Orange County Public Schools which covers the Orlando area of Central Florida.
In that capacity, if I wasn’t setting up and monitoring programs from the district level, I was actually in schools working directly with students and their families.
Drug/alcohol use, suicide attempts, child abuse and even murder were some of the issues I dealt with over years.
I tell you all this because, as a writer, I decided to make a main thread in my book series relate to personal development, decision-making, responsibility and overcoming overwhelming challenges.
The premise of The St. Augustine Trilogy then becomes this: You Create Your Own Reality.
So many of the kids I worked with felt they were stuck in the quicksands of life and had no capacity for self change to make thing better that I had to make one last attempt at reaching others like them.
Jeff
To do that, I created the character of fifteen-year-old Jeff Golden who is a composite of all those young people I dealt with for so long. Jeff comes from a deeply dysfunctional home.
He is angry at the world and it is always somebody else’s fault for whatever happens to him.Using the first person, I have Jeff speak directly to the reader as if he is speaking with a friend.
And to make life even worse for Jeff, I inundate him with wild paranormal/science fiction-type occurrences.
Young adult readers eat that kind of stuff up and it gives me a chance to really put the pressure on the main character. For Jeff, it becomes change or be destroyed.
But to the rescue comes Lobo, the tough, mysterious, Native American Shaman. Oh, and Carla, Jeff’s girlfriend, who is smart, strong and has her head on straight.
It is through this joint guidance and modeling that Jeff learns to use the natural inner strengths that he never realized he possessed.
And at-risk kids who read my books GET IT! Whether reading my stories truly helps them or not, of course, I don’t know. But after visiting classrooms filled with such young people who read one of my books as a class project, I know the possibility exists.
They see Jeff’s gradual maturation and what he had to do to get to those stages of development. And for that I am extremely happy. If I have helped just one kid in this process it will have been well worth the effort.
As a side light, I put the trilogy’s location in America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. This gives me the perfect setting for the spooky aspects of the series and allows the old history teacher in me to come out and play. What great fun to sneak in some lessons about the past and not meet resistance.
The Trilogy Used as Motivation and Skill Building in High School Reading Classes
What has been most interesting and gratifying is seeing high school reading teachers successfully use the trilogy books with those at-risk kids in their classrooms. Here are a couple of links to other post that will tell you all about that.
At-Risk Students and Reading (A full overview of the reading project)
Reading Motivation that Worked (The original high school reading project post)
Rewarding Reading Excellence in Schools (The trilogy used as a reward)
So there you have it. Below are the trailers for the two trilogy books already in print. And below that are some more links in order for you to fill in in any of the blanks:
Sliding Beneath the Surface
Stepping Off a Cliff
Trilogy Locations in St. Augustine, FL
The Main Characters in The St. Augustine Trilogy
Teaching History Through Young Adult Novels
High-Risk Kids, Resilience and Reading
At-risk kids, life skills and reading.
The St. Augustine Trilogy – aiming for at-risk young people, using the paranormal, the historical and science fiction:
Book I Sliding Beneath the Surface
Book III Targeting Orion’s Children
My young adult series attracts a variety of readers, a lot of teens of course, and many adults in their twenties and thirties. And in that overall group, as I had hoped, are often a lot young people who live troubled lives.
You see, I’m a former secondary school educator who spent the last ten years of my educational career working full-time with at-risk kids. I worked for Orange County Public Schools which covers the Orlando area of Central Florida.
In that capacity, if I wasn’t setting up and monitoring programs from the district level, I was actually in schools working directly with students and their families.
Drug/alcohol use, suicide attempts, child abuse and even murder were some of the issues I dealt with over years.
I tell you all this because, as a writer, I decided to make a main thread in my book series relate to personal development, decision-making, responsibility and overcoming overwhelming challenges.
The premise of The St. Augustine Trilogy then becomes this: You Create Your Own Reality.
So many of the kids I worked with felt they were stuck in the quicksands of life and had no capacity for self change to make thing better that I had to make one last attempt at reaching others like them.
Jeff
To do that, I created the character of fifteen-year-old Jeff Golden who is a composite of all those young people I dealt with for so long. Jeff comes from a deeply dysfunctional home.
He is angry at the world and it is always somebody else’s fault for whatever happens to him.Using the first person, I have Jeff speak directly to the reader as if he is speaking with a friend.
And to make life even worse for Jeff, I inundate him with wild paranormal/science fiction-type occurrences.
Young adult readers eat that kind of stuff up and it gives me a chance to really put the pressure on the main character. For Jeff, it becomes change or be destroyed.
But to the rescue comes Lobo, the tough, mysterious, Native American Shaman. Oh, and Carla, Jeff’s girlfriend, who is smart, strong and has her head on straight.
It is through this joint guidance and modeling that Jeff learns to use the natural inner strengths that he never realized he possessed.
And at-risk kids who read my books GET IT! Whether reading my stories truly helps them or not, of course, I don’t know. But after visiting classrooms filled with such young people who read one of my books as a class project, I know the possibility exists.
They see Jeff’s gradual maturation and what he had to do to get to those stages of development. And for that I am extremely happy. If I have helped just one kid in this process it will have been well worth the effort.
As a side light, I put the trilogy’s location in America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. This gives me the perfect setting for the spooky aspects of the series and allows the old history teacher in me to come out and play. What great fun to sneak in some lessons about the past and not meet resistance.
The Trilogy Used as Motivation and Skill Building in High School Reading Classes
What has been most interesting and gratifying is seeing high school reading teachers successfully use the trilogy books with those at-risk kids in their classrooms. Here are a couple of links to other post that will tell you all about that.
At-Risk Students and Reading (A full overview of the reading project)
Reading Motivation that Worked (The original high school reading project post)
Rewarding Reading Excellence in Schools (The trilogy used as a reward)
So there you have it. Below are the trailers for the two trilogy books already in print. And below that are some more links in order for you to fill in in any of the blanks:
Sliding Beneath the Surface
Stepping Off a Cliff
Trilogy Locations in St. Augustine, FL
The Main Characters in The St. Augustine Trilogy
Teaching History Through Young Adult Novels
Teaching Troubled Adolescents Resilience
At-risk kids, life skills and reading.
The St. Augustine Trilogy – aiming for at-risk young people, using the paranormal, the historical and science fiction:
Book I Sliding Beneath the Surface
Book III Targeting Orion’s Children
My young adult series attracts a variety of readers, a lot of teens of course, and many adults in their twenties and thirties. And in that overall group, as I had hoped, are often a lot young people who live troubled lives.
You see, I’m a former secondary school educator who spent the last ten years of my educational career working full-time with at-risk kids. I worked for Orange County Public Schools which covers the Orlando area of Central Florida.
In that capacity, if I wasn’t setting up and monitoring programs from the district level, I was actually in schools working directly with students and their families.
Drug/alcohol use, suicide attempts, child abuse and even murder were some of the issues I dealt with over years.
I tell you all this because, as a writer, I decided to make a main thread in my book series relate to personal development, decision-making, responsibility and overcoming overwhelming challenges.
The premise of The St. Augustine Trilogy then becomes this: You Create Your Own Reality.
So many of the kids I worked with felt they were stuck in the quicksands of life and had no capacity for self change to make thing better that I had to make one last attempt at reaching others like them.
Jeff
To do that, I created the character of fifteen-year-old Jeff Golden who is a composite of all those young people I dealt with for so long. Jeff comes from a deeply dysfunctional home.
He is angry at the world and it is always somebody else’s fault for whatever happens to him.Using the first person, I have Jeff speak directly to the reader as if he is speaking with a friend.
And to make life even worse for Jeff, I inundate him with wild paranormal/science fiction-type occurrences.
Young adult readers eat that kind of stuff up and it gives me a chance to really put the pressure on the main character. For Jeff, it becomes change or be destroyed.
But to the rescue comes Lobo, the tough, mysterious, Native American Shaman. Oh, and Carla, Jeff’s girlfriend, who is smart, strong and has her head on straight.
It is through this joint guidance and modeling that Jeff learns to use the natural inner strengths that he never realized he possessed.
And at-risk kids who read my books GET IT! Whether reading my stories truly helps them or not, of course, I don’t know. But after visiting classrooms filled with such young people who read one of my books as a class project, I know the possibility exists.
They see Jeff’s gradual maturation and what he had to do to get to those stages of development. And for that I am extremely happy. If I have helped just one kid in this process it will have been well worth the effort.
As a side light, I put the trilogy’s location in America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. This gives me the perfect setting for the spooky aspects of the series and allows the old history teacher in me to come out and play. What great fun to sneak in some lessons about the past and not meet resistance.
The Trilogy Used as Motivation and Skill Building in High School Reading Classes
What has been most interesting and gratifying is seeing high school reading teachers successfully use the trilogy books with those at-risk kids in their classrooms. Here are a couple of links to other post that will tell you all about that.
At-Risk Students and Reading (A full overview of the reading project)
Reading Motivation that Worked (The original high school reading project post)
Rewarding Reading Excellence in Schools (The trilogy used as a reward)
So there you have it. Below are the trailers for the two trilogy books already in print. And below that are some more links in order for you to fill in in any of the blanks:
Sliding Beneath the Surface
Stepping Off a Cliff
Trilogy Locations in St. Augustine, FL
The Main Characters in The St. Augustine Trilogy
Teaching History Through Young Adult Novels
Writing YA Books to Teach Resilience
At-risk kids, life skills and reading.
The St. Augustine Trilogy – aiming for at-risk young people, using the paranormal, the historical and science fiction:
Book I Sliding Beneath the Surface
Book III Targeting Orion’s Children
My young adult series attracts a variety of readers, a lot of teens of course, and many adults in their twenties and thirties. And in that overall group, as I had hoped, are often a lot young people who live troubled lives.
You see, I’m a former secondary school educator who spent the last ten years of my educational career working full-time with at-risk kids. I worked for Orange County Public Schools which covers the Orlando area of Central Florida.
In that capacity, if I wasn’t setting up and monitoring programs from the district level, I was actually in schools working directly with students and their families.
Drug/alcohol use, suicide attempts, child abuse and even murder were some of the issues I dealt with over years.
I tell you all this because, as a writer, I decided to make a main thread in my book series relate to personal development, decision-making, responsibility and overcoming overwhelming challenges.
The premise of The St. Augustine Trilogy then becomes this: You Create Your Own Reality.
So many of the kids I worked with felt they were stuck in the quicksands of life and had no capacity for self change to make thing better that I had to make one last attempt at reaching others like them.
Jeff
To do that, I created the character of fifteen-year-old Jeff Golden who is a composite of all those young people I dealt with for so long. Jeff comes from a deeply dysfunctional home.
He is angry at the world and it is always somebody else’s fault for whatever happens to him.Using the first person, I have Jeff speak directly to the reader as if he is speaking with a friend.
And to make life even worse for Jeff, I inundate him with wild paranormal/science fiction-type occurrences.
Young adult readers eat that kind of stuff up and it gives me a chance to really put the pressure on the main character. For Jeff, it becomes change or be destroyed.
But to the rescue comes Lobo, the tough, mysterious, Native American Shaman. Oh, and Carla, Jeff’s girlfriend, who is smart, strong and has her head on straight.
It is through this joint guidance and modeling that Jeff learns to use the natural inner strengths that he never realized he possessed.
And at-risk kids who read my books GET IT! Whether reading my stories truly helps them or not, of course, I don’t know. But after visiting classrooms filled with such young people who read one of my books as a class project, I know the possibility exists.
They see Jeff’s gradual maturation and what he had to do to get to those stages of development. And for that I am extremely happy. If I have helped just one kid in this process it will have been well worth the effort.
As a side light, I put the trilogy’s location in America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. This gives me the perfect setting for the spooky aspects of the series and allows the old history teacher in me to come out and play. What great fun to sneak in some lessons about the past and not meet resistance.
The Trilogy Used as Motivation and Skill Building in High School Reading Classes
What has been most interesting and gratifying is seeing high school reading teachers successfully use the trilogy books with those at-risk kids in their classrooms. Here are a couple of links to other post that will tell you all about that.
At-Risk Students and Reading (A full overview of the reading project)
Reading Motivation that Worked (The original high school reading project post)
Rewarding Reading Excellence in Schools (The trilogy used as a reward)
So there you have it. Below are the trailers for the two trilogy books already in print. And below that are some more links in order for you to fill in in any of the blanks:
Sliding Beneath the Surface
Stepping Off a Cliff
Trilogy Locations in St. Augustine, FL
The Main Characters in The St. Augustine Trilogy
Teaching History Through Young Adult Novels
Trouble Teens, Reading and Rsilience
At-risk kids, life skills and reading.
The St. Augustine Trilogy – aiming for at-risk young people, using the paranormal, the historical and science fiction:
Book I Sliding Beneath the Surface
Book III Targeting Orion’s Children
My young adult series attracts a variety of readers, a lot of teens of course, and many adults in their twenties and thirties. And in that overall group, as I had hoped, are often a lot young people who live troubled lives.
You see, I’m a former secondary school educator who spent the last ten years of my educational career working full-time with at-risk kids. I worked for Orange County Public Schools which covers the Orlando area of Central Florida.
In that capacity, if I wasn’t setting up and monitoring programs from the district level, I was actually in schools working directly with students and their families.
Drug/alcohol use, suicide attempts, child abuse and even murder were some of the issues I dealt with over years.
I tell you all this because, as a writer, I decided to make a main thread in my book series relate to personal development, decision-making, responsibility and overcoming overwhelming challenges.
The premise of The St. Augustine Trilogy then becomes this: You Create Your Own Reality.
So many of the kids I worked with felt they were stuck in the quicksands of life and had no capacity for self change to make thing better that I had to make one last attempt at reaching others like them.
Jeff
To do that, I created the character of fifteen-year-old Jeff Golden who is a composite of all those young people I dealt with for so long. Jeff comes from a deeply dysfunctional home.
He is angry at the world and it is always somebody else’s fault for whatever happens to him.Using the first person, I have Jeff speak directly to the reader as if he is speaking with a friend.
And to make life even worse for Jeff, I inundate him with wild paranormal/science fiction-type occurrences.
Young adult readers eat that kind of stuff up and it gives me a chance to really put the pressure on the main character. For Jeff, it becomes change or be destroyed.
But to the rescue comes Lobo, the tough, mysterious, Native American Shaman. Oh, and Carla, Jeff’s girlfriend, who is smart, strong and has her head on straight.
It is through this joint guidance and modeling that Jeff learns to use the natural inner strengths that he never realized he possessed.
And at-risk kids who read my books GET IT! Whether reading my stories truly helps them or not, of course, I don’t know. But after visiting classrooms filled with such young people who read one of my books as a class project, I know the possibility exists.
They see Jeff’s gradual maturation and what he had to do to get to those stages of development. And for that I am extremely happy. If I have helped just one kid in this process it will have been well worth the effort.
As a side light, I put the trilogy’s location in America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. This gives me the perfect setting for the spooky aspects of the series and allows the old history teacher in me to come out and play. What great fun to sneak in some lessons about the past and not meet resistance.
The Trilogy Used as Motivation and Skill Building in High School Reading Classes
What has been most interesting and gratifying is seeing high school reading teachers successfully use the trilogy books with those at-risk kids in their classrooms. Here are a couple of links to other post that will tell you all about that.
At-Risk Students and Reading (A full overview of the reading project)
Reading Motivation that Worked (The original high school reading project post)
Rewarding Reading Excellence in Schools (The trilogy used as a reward)
So there you have it. Below are the trailers for the two trilogy books already in print. And below that are some more links in order for you to fill in in any of the blanks:
Sliding Beneath the Surface
Stepping Off a Cliff
Trilogy Locations in St. Augustine, FL
The Main Characters in The St. Augustine Trilogy
Teaching History Through Young Adult Novels
Troubled Teens, Novels and Resilience
At-risk kids, life skills and reading.
The St. Augustine Trilogy – aiming for at-risk young people, using the paranormal, the historical and science fiction:
Book I Sliding Beneath the Surface
Book III Targeting Orion’s Children
My young adult series attracts a variety of readers, a lot of teens of course, and many adults in their twenties and thirties. And in that overall group, as I had hoped, are often a lot young people who live troubled lives.
You see, I’m a former secondary school educator who spent the last ten years of my educational career working full-time with at-risk kids. I worked for Orange County Public Schools which covers the Orlando area of Central Florida.
In that capacity, if I wasn’t setting up and monitoring programs from the district level, I was actually in schools working directly with students and their families.
Drug/alcohol use, suicide attempts, child abuse and even murder were some of the issues I dealt with over years.
I tell you all this because, as a writer, I decided to make a main thread in my book series relate to personal development, decision-making, responsibility and overcoming overwhelming challenges.
The premise of The St. Augustine Trilogy then becomes this: You Create Your Own Reality.
So many of the kids I worked with felt they were stuck in the quicksands of life and had no capacity for self change to make thing better that I had to make one last attempt at reaching others like them.
Jeff
To do that, I created the character of fifteen-year-old Jeff Golden who is a composite of all those young people I dealt with for so long. Jeff comes from a deeply dysfunctional home.
He is angry at the world and it is always somebody else’s fault for whatever happens to him.Using the first person, I have Jeff speak directly to the reader as if he is speaking with a friend.
And to make life even worse for Jeff, I inundate him with wild paranormal/science fiction-type occurrences.
Young adult readers eat that kind of stuff up and it gives me a chance to really put the pressure on the main character. For Jeff, it becomes change or be destroyed.
But to the rescue comes Lobo, the tough, mysterious, Native American Shaman. Oh, and Carla, Jeff’s girlfriend, who is smart, strong and has her head on straight.
It is through this joint guidance and modeling that Jeff learns to use the natural inner strengths that he never realized he possessed.
And at-risk kids who read my books GET IT! Whether reading my stories truly helps them or not, of course, I don’t know. But after visiting classrooms filled with such young people who read one of my books as a class project, I know the possibility exists.
They see Jeff’s gradual maturation and what he had to do to get to those stages of development. And for that I am extremely happy. If I have helped just one kid in this process it will have been well worth the effort.
As a side light, I put the trilogy’s location in America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. This gives me the perfect setting for the spooky aspects of the series and allows the old history teacher in me to come out and play. What great fun to sneak in some lessons about the past and not meet resistance.
The Trilogy Used as Motivation and Skill Building in High School Reading Classes
What has been most interesting and gratifying is seeing high school reading teachers successfully use the trilogy books with those at-risk kids in their classrooms. Here are a couple of links to other post that will tell you all about that.
At-Risk Students and Reading (A full overview of the reading project)
Reading Motivation that Worked (The original high school reading project post)
Rewarding Reading Excellence in Schools (The trilogy used as a reward)
So there you have it. Below are the trailers for the two trilogy books already in print. And below that are some more links in order for you to fill in in any of the blanks:
Sliding Beneath the Surface
Stepping Off a Cliff
Trilogy Locations in St. Augustine, FL
The Main Characters in The St. Augustine Trilogy
Teaching History Through Young Adult Novels
Troubled Teens, Books and Resilience
At-risk kids, life skills and reading.
The St. Augustine Trilogy – aiming for at-risk young people, using the paranormal, the historical and science fiction:
Book I Sliding Beneath the Surface
Book III Targeting Orion’s Children
My young adult series attracts a variety of readers, a lot of teens of course, and many adults in their twenties and thirties. And in that overall group, as I had hoped, are often a lot young people who live troubled lives.
You see, I’m a former secondary school educator who spent the last ten years of my educational career working full-time with at-risk kids. I worked for Orange County Public Schools which covers the Orlando area of Central Florida.
In that capacity, if I wasn’t setting up and monitoring programs from the district level, I was actually in schools working directly with students and their families.
Drug/alcohol use, suicide attempts, child abuse and even murder were some of the issues I dealt with over years.
I tell you all this because, as a writer, I decided to make a main thread in my book series relate to personal development, decision-making, responsibility and overcoming overwhelming challenges.
The premise of The St. Augustine Trilogy then becomes this: You Create Your Own Reality.
So many of the kids I worked with felt they were stuck in the quicksands of life and had no capacity for self change to make thing better that I had to make one last attempt at reaching others like them.
Jeff
To do that, I created the character of fifteen-year-old Jeff Golden who is a composite of all those young people I dealt with for so long. Jeff comes from a deeply dysfunctional home.
He is angry at the world and it is always somebody else’s fault for whatever happens to him.Using the first person, I have Jeff speak directly to the reader as if he is speaking with a friend.
And to make life even worse for Jeff, I inundate him with wild paranormal/science fiction-type occurrences.
Young adult readers eat that kind of stuff up and it gives me a chance to really put the pressure on the main character. For Jeff, it becomes change or be destroyed.
But to the rescue comes Lobo, the tough, mysterious, Native American Shaman. Oh, and Carla, Jeff’s girlfriend, who is smart, strong and has her head on straight.
It is through this joint guidance and modeling that Jeff learns to use the natural inner strengths that he never realized he possessed.
And at-risk kids who read my books GET IT! Whether reading my stories truly helps them or not, of course, I don’t know. But after visiting classrooms filled with such young people who read one of my books as a class project, I know the possibility exists.
They see Jeff’s gradual maturation and what he had to do to get to those stages of development. And for that I am extremely happy. If I have helped just one kid in this process it will have been well worth the effort.
As a side light, I put the trilogy’s location in America’s oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida. This gives me the perfect setting for the spooky aspects of the series and allows the old history teacher in me to come out and play. What great fun to sneak in some lessons about the past and not meet resistance.
The Trilogy Used as Motivation and Skill Building in High School Reading Classes
What has been most interesting and gratifying is seeing high school reading teachers successfully use the trilogy books with those at-risk kids in their classrooms. Here are a couple of links to other post that will tell you all about that.
At-Risk Students and Reading (A full overview of the reading project)
Reading Motivation that Worked (The original high school reading project post)
Rewarding Reading Excellence in Schools (The trilogy used as a reward)
So there you have it. Below are the trailers for the two trilogy books already in print. And below that are some more links in order for you to fill in in any of the blanks:
Sliding Beneath the Surface
Stepping Off a Cliff
Trilogy Locations in St. Augustine, FL
The Main Characters in The St. Augustine Trilogy
Teaching History Through Young Adult Novels
September 21, 2016
Halloween Event @ Barnes & Noble, Orlando
October 22, 2016. A Halloween “Paranormal Saturday” @ Barnes & Noble. Authors’ of the Paranormal presentations, book signings and actual ghost hunters. For all ages.
Where? Barnes & Noble in the Altamonte Mall, Altamonte Springs, FL, 451 E. Altamonte Drive.
When? Saturday, October 22, 2016, 2:00 – 5:00 pm.
Contact: For further questions beyond what is presented in this post, call the Barnes and Noble store @ 407-261-0841.
Featured Authors of the Paranormal
Dave Lapham and Doug Dillon
Dave Lapham – Nonfiction
Dave’s books about hauntings in St. Augustine, Florida are the prime sources of information for researchers looking into the paranormal happenings in America’s Oldest City. These books are:
Dave’s book, Ghost Hunting Florida, is an excellent guide for those interested in Sunshine State paranormal investigations.
Dave proudly served his country as a U.S. Marine Corps officer and it is this hard-headed, no-nonsense attitude that allows him to write about the paranormal with great balance.
Click here to see Dave’s website.
Doug Dillon – Nonfiction and fiction
Doug has been probing the paranormal for more years than he cares to count. All that effort has resulted in two nonfiction books where he shares the results of his investigations:
Carl Jung, Hauntings, and Paranormal Coincidences
An Explosion of Being: An American Family’s Journey into the Psychic
Doug is a former Central Florida educator who has combined his love of history, appreciation for the city of St. Augustine and his own paranormal experiences, in order to create a novel series for young adults and adults young at heart.
Titled, The St. Augustine Trilogy, these books carry readers into the frightening world of teenagers Jeff Golden and Carla Rodriquez as they battle forces beyond their comprehension.
Books 1 & 2 are in print and Book 3 will be available in 2017. These novels are being used in some Florida high school reading programs for motivational and skill building purposes.
Sliding Beneath the Surface: The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book 1
Stepping Off a Cliff: The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book 2
Ghost Hunting Crew:
Offthetrails Paranormal Investigations
Based in Port St. Lucey Florida
Offthetrails Paranormal Investigations is a six person team, including a medium, with the mission of verifying or disproving claims of paranormal activity in private residences and public buildings. We utilize state of the art technology combined with personal experience. We do travel throughout the Eastern half of the United States.
Offthetrails Paranormal is an experienced paranormal investigative and research team that prides itself in our professionalism and results. We treat each case with the utmost respect and attention to detail. There are five members to our team:
Founders: Mary Jo Fister and Greg Bush.
Mary Jo Fister
Ms. Fister has had many personal experiences with the paranormal throughout her life, and has used those experiences as fuel to discover the truth about the paranormal activities that she and many others have felt.
Greg Bush
Mr. Bush has also had many personal experiences and has set out on a quest to record and document proof of paranormal activity. Mr. Bush is also Assistant Case Manager for the team.
Here is a sampling of the equipment they use in their investigations, along with a brief description of how they work:
MEL Meter: Measures both the temperature and level of electro-magnetic fields in the surrounding area. Electro-magnetic fields are energy fields given off by spirits.
The St. Augustine
National Cemetery
K2 Meter: Very similar to the MEL Meter except that it doesn’t measure temperature and is slightly less sensitive than the MEL.
Ovilus: A device that carries a 2500 word data base and allows spirits to “speak” with us. The energy is converted into an electronic voice. We’ve had some very good results with this piece of equipment.
Video Ovilus: A video version of the Ovilus. It includes a pair of video glasses that allow the wearer to see what the Ovilus is detecting and prints out the words on the viewfinder.
Spirit Box: This device scans the radio waves and allows spirits to answer questions we ask. It scans the white noise level where it is said that spirits communicate from.
Digital Voice Recorder: A very sensitive recording device that picks up spirit voices being spoken through the above mentioned white noise.
Full Spectrum Video Camera: This camera sees on all spectrums of the light field, not just the ones that can be seen with the naked eye. Spirits can often be seen within these non-visible light spectrums.
Full Spectrum Digital Camera: Much the same as the video camera, except that it takes still pictures only. It is recommended that you take many shots, as spirits may tend to show up in one and not the other.
FLIR Thermal Imaging Camera: Sees through temperature. This camera is an invaluable tool for us because it sees temperature changes which may be a spirit and allows us to capture that thermal image.
REM Pod: This is an electromagnetic field booster that provides extra energy to spirits, helping them to manifest themselves. It also has an alarm that goes off in the form of colored lights when a spirit comes in contact with it.
Spectral Detector: A device that attaches to a DSLR camera and monitors fluctuations in energy readings. When there is a change in that reading, it automatically triggers the camera and takes a picture.
Flashlight: A simple twist top flashlight that has become an invaluable piece of our equipment. It allows spirits to communicate with us through simple yes or no answers to our questions.
Static Night Vision Cameras: These are video cameras that we set up on tripods and leave running all night, recording what they see onto a DVR system. Later, we can review this evidence to see if we captured any spirit movements in rooms where the cameras were set up. We have a total of 14 night vision cameras.
Click here to visit Offthetrails Paranormal Investigations website.
Paranormal Experts @ Barnes & Noble, Orlando
October 22, 2016. A Halloween “Paranormal Saturday” @ Barnes & Noble. Authors’ of the Paranormal presentations, book signings and actual ghost hunters. For all ages.
Where? Barnes & Noble in the Altamonte Mall, Altamonte Springs, FL, 451 E. Altamonte Drive.
When? Saturday, October 22, 2016, 2:00 – 5:00 pm.
Contact: For further questions beyond what is presented in this post, call the Barnes and Noble store @ 407-261-0841.
Featured Authors of the Paranormal
Dave Lapham and Doug Dillon
Dave Lapham – Nonfiction
Dave’s books about hauntings in St. Augustine, Florida are the prime sources of information for researchers looking into the paranormal happenings in America’s Oldest City. These books are:
Dave’s book, Ghost Hunting Florida, is an excellent guide for those interested in Sunshine State paranormal investigations.
Dave proudly served his country as a U.S. Marine Corps officer and it is this hard-headed, no-nonsense attitude that allows him to write about the paranormal with great balance.
Click here to see Dave’s website.
Doug Dillon – Nonfiction and fiction
Doug has been probing the paranormal for more years than he cares to count. All that effort has resulted in two nonfiction books where he shares the results of his investigations:
Carl Jung, Hauntings, and Paranormal Coincidences
An Explosion of Being: An American Family’s Journey into the Psychic
Doug is a former Central Florida educator who has combined his love of history, appreciation for the city of St. Augustine and his own paranormal experiences, in order to create a novel series for young adults and adults young at heart.
Titled, The St. Augustine Trilogy, these books carry readers into the frightening world of teenagers Jeff Golden and Carla Rodriquez as they battle forces beyond their comprehension.
Books 1 & 2 are in print and Book 3 will be available in 2017. These novels are being used in some Florida high school reading programs for motivational and skill building purposes.
Sliding Beneath the Surface: The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book 1
Stepping Off a Cliff: The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book 2
Ghost Hunting Crew:
Offthetrails Paranormal Investigations
Based in Port St. Lucey Florida
Offthetrails Paranormal Investigations is a six person team, including a medium, with the mission of verifying or disproving claims of paranormal activity in private residences and public buildings. We utilize state of the art technology combined with personal experience. We do travel throughout the Eastern half of the United States.
Offthetrails Paranormal is an experienced paranormal investigative and research team that prides itself in our professionalism and results. We treat each case with the utmost respect and attention to detail. There are five members to our team:
Founders: Mary Jo Fister and Greg Bush.
Mary Jo Fister
Ms. Fister has had many personal experiences with the paranormal throughout her life, and has used those experiences as fuel to discover the truth about the paranormal activities that she and many others have felt.
Greg Bush
Mr. Bush has also had many personal experiences and has set out on a quest to record and document proof of paranormal activity. Mr. Bush is also Assistant Case Manager for the team.
Here is a sampling of the equipment they use in their investigations, along with a brief description of how they work:
MEL Meter: Measures both the temperature and level of electro-magnetic fields in the surrounding area. Electro-magnetic fields are energy fields given off by spirits.
The St. Augustine
National Cemetery
K2 Meter: Very similar to the MEL Meter except that it doesn’t measure temperature and is slightly less sensitive than the MEL.
Ovilus: A device that carries a 2500 word data base and allows spirits to “speak” with us. The energy is converted into an electronic voice. We’ve had some very good results with this piece of equipment.
Video Ovilus: A video version of the Ovilus. It includes a pair of video glasses that allow the wearer to see what the Ovilus is detecting and prints out the words on the viewfinder.
Spirit Box: This device scans the radio waves and allows spirits to answer questions we ask. It scans the white noise level where it is said that spirits communicate from.
Digital Voice Recorder: A very sensitive recording device that picks up spirit voices being spoken through the above mentioned white noise.
Full Spectrum Video Camera: This camera sees on all spectrums of the light field, not just the ones that can be seen with the naked eye. Spirits can often be seen within these non-visible light spectrums.
Full Spectrum Digital Camera: Much the same as the video camera, except that it takes still pictures only. It is recommended that you take many shots, as spirits may tend to show up in one and not the other.
FLIR Thermal Imaging Camera: Sees through temperature. This camera is an invaluable tool for us because it sees temperature changes which may be a spirit and allows us to capture that thermal image.
REM Pod: This is an electromagnetic field booster that provides extra energy to spirits, helping them to manifest themselves. It also has an alarm that goes off in the form of colored lights when a spirit comes in contact with it.
Spectral Detector: A device that attaches to a DSLR camera and monitors fluctuations in energy readings. When there is a change in that reading, it automatically triggers the camera and takes a picture.
Flashlight: A simple twist top flashlight that has become an invaluable piece of our equipment. It allows spirits to communicate with us through simple yes or no answers to our questions.
Static Night Vision Cameras: These are video cameras that we set up on tripods and leave running all night, recording what they see onto a DVR system. Later, we can review this evidence to see if we captured any spirit movements in rooms where the cameras were set up. We have a total of 14 night vision cameras.
Click here to visit Offthetrails Paranormal Investigations website.
Spirit Contact @ Barnes & Noble, Orlando
October 22, 2016. A Halloween “Paranormal Saturday” @ Barnes & Noble. Authors’ of the Paranormal presentations, book signings and actual ghost hunters. For all ages.
Where? Barnes & Noble in the Altamonte Mall, Altamonte Springs, FL, 451 E. Altamonte Drive.
When? Saturday, October 22, 2016, 2:00 – 5:00 pm.
Contact: For further questions beyond what is presented in this post, call the Barnes and Noble store @ 407-261-0841.
Featured Authors of the Paranormal
Dave Lapham and Doug Dillon
Dave Lapham – Nonfiction
Dave’s books about hauntings in St. Augustine, Florida are the prime sources of information for researchers looking into the paranormal happenings in America’s Oldest City. These books are:
Dave’s book, Ghost Hunting Florida, is an excellent guide for those interested in Sunshine State paranormal investigations.
Dave proudly served his country as a U.S. Marine Corps officer and it is this hard-headed, no-nonsense attitude that allows him to write about the paranormal with great balance.
Click here to see Dave’s website.
Doug Dillon – Nonfiction and fiction
Doug has been probing the paranormal for more years than he cares to count. All that effort has resulted in two nonfiction books where he shares the results of his investigations:
Carl Jung, Hauntings, and Paranormal Coincidences
An Explosion of Being: An American Family’s Journey into the Psychic
Doug is a former Central Florida educator who has combined his love of history, appreciation for the city of St. Augustine and his own paranormal experiences, in order to create a novel series for young adults and adults young at heart.
Titled, The St. Augustine Trilogy, these books carry readers into the frightening world of teenagers Jeff Golden and Carla Rodriquez as they battle forces beyond their comprehension.
Books 1 & 2 are in print and Book 3 will be available in 2017. These novels are being used in some Florida high school reading programs for motivational and skill building purposes.
Sliding Beneath the Surface: The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book 1
Stepping Off a Cliff: The St. Augustine Trilogy, Book 2
Ghost Hunting Crew:
Offthetrails Paranormal Investigations
Based in Port St. Lucey Florida
Offthetrails Paranormal Investigations is a six person team, including a medium, with the mission of verifying or disproving claims of paranormal activity in private residences and public buildings. We utilize state of the art technology combined with personal experience. We do travel throughout the Eastern half of the United States.
Offthetrails Paranormal is an experienced paranormal investigative and research team that prides itself in our professionalism and results. We treat each case with the utmost respect and attention to detail. There are five members to our team:
Founders: Mary Jo Fister and Greg Bush.
Mary Jo Fister
Ms. Fister has had many personal experiences with the paranormal throughout her life, and has used those experiences as fuel to discover the truth about the paranormal activities that she and many others have felt.
Greg Bush
Mr. Bush has also had many personal experiences and has set out on a quest to record and document proof of paranormal activity. Mr. Bush is also Assistant Case Manager for the team.
Here is a sampling of the equipment they use in their investigations, along with a brief description of how they work:
MEL Meter: Measures both the temperature and level of electro-magnetic fields in the surrounding area. Electro-magnetic fields are energy fields given off by spirits.
The St. Augustine
National Cemetery
K2 Meter: Very similar to the MEL Meter except that it doesn’t measure temperature and is slightly less sensitive than the MEL.
Ovilus: A device that carries a 2500 word data base and allows spirits to “speak” with us. The energy is converted into an electronic voice. We’ve had some very good results with this piece of equipment.
Video Ovilus: A video version of the Ovilus. It includes a pair of video glasses that allow the wearer to see what the Ovilus is detecting and prints out the words on the viewfinder.
Spirit Box: This device scans the radio waves and allows spirits to answer questions we ask. It scans the white noise level where it is said that spirits communicate from.
Digital Voice Recorder: A very sensitive recording device that picks up spirit voices being spoken through the above mentioned white noise.
Full Spectrum Video Camera: This camera sees on all spectrums of the light field, not just the ones that can be seen with the naked eye. Spirits can often be seen within these non-visible light spectrums.
Full Spectrum Digital Camera: Much the same as the video camera, except that it takes still pictures only. It is recommended that you take many shots, as spirits may tend to show up in one and not the other.
FLIR Thermal Imaging Camera: Sees through temperature. This camera is an invaluable tool for us because it sees temperature changes which may be a spirit and allows us to capture that thermal image.
REM Pod: This is an electromagnetic field booster that provides extra energy to spirits, helping them to manifest themselves. It also has an alarm that goes off in the form of colored lights when a spirit comes in contact with it.
Spectral Detector: A device that attaches to a DSLR camera and monitors fluctuations in energy readings. When there is a change in that reading, it automatically triggers the camera and takes a picture.
Flashlight: A simple twist top flashlight that has become an invaluable piece of our equipment. It allows spirits to communicate with us through simple yes or no answers to our questions.
Static Night Vision Cameras: These are video cameras that we set up on tripods and leave running all night, recording what they see onto a DVR system. Later, we can review this evidence to see if we captured any spirit movements in rooms where the cameras were set up. We have a total of 14 night vision cameras.
Click here to visit Offthetrails Paranormal Investigations website.
