Michelle M. Pillow's Blog, page 83
August 7, 2012
Scorched Destiny by Michelle M. Pillow
BOB |
Review
“5 ANGELS! Michelle M. Pillow crafts a hot and spicy tale of magic and passion in Scorched Destiny…Sensual, with a surprisingly heart-warming plot twist at the end, Scorched Destiny more than met my expectations … Excellent job and keep ‘em coming!” Michelle, Fallen Angel Reviews
“4 HEARTS! Michelle M. Pillow has a way with penning stories that have an unusual plot with interesting characters and (Scorched Destiny) is no exception.” Angel Brewer, TRS, July 29, 2005
“… scorching hot read…Scorched Destiny will leave you burning for more!” Delia, Joyfully Reviewed, Sept 2005
“4 LIPS! Michelle Pillow creates characters that you can relate to and paints vivid pictures with her words making you think you are in the desert with them. Scorched Destiny is a short story that will leave you smiling with a feel good ending to this paranormal erotic story. I highly recommend it to anyone.” Two Lips Reviews
“4 CUPIDS! burning hot love scenes” Cupid’s Library Reviews, 2005
Product Description
And one shall free him by succumbing to the passions within…
Lucienne’s family has searched for centuries to liberate the ancient djinn imprisoned beneath the Arabian sands. Once free, the djinni Nadir will be her slave, forced to grant her every wish, her every desire, her every decadent whim. But in order to control him, she must first prove she has enough passion to make her worthy of being his mistress.
Rating: Contains graphic sexual content, adult language, and violence.
July 31, 2012
Raven’s Recession Gift Card Giveaway!
Raven’s Recession Gift Card Giveaway!
We know times are tight. We’re feeling the pinch too. We also know that the first things to be cut from most household budgets are the luxuries like book buying. Often we have contests that features free downloads or paperbacks (yes, we’re including those in this too) but we thought it would be nice to do more—to help ease the pinch as best we could. Our solution, a massive gift card giveaway contest. We’re giving away thousands of dollars worth of prizes! (We’ve given away thousands and are STILL doing it!)
How does it work?
Glad you asked! Once a month we’ll randomly select winners from those who have entered. They’ll be notified via email.
What are you entering to win?
You’re full of awesome questions! We have lots and lots and lots (can’t really stress this enough) of gift cards to nationwide retailers to give away, plus free book downloads, free paperbacks, and pretty much whatever else we can think to toss at folks come winner selection days. Examples of just some of the ones we’ll be giving away—Wal-mart, Meijer food, Gordon Foods, Kroger, Visa pre-paid cards, Borders, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Outback, Chilis, Red Lobster, Old Navy, Macy’s, Sears, Hot Topic, JcPenny, prepaid gas cards, starbucks, and many, many more. Also, we’ll be tossing in free downloads of our books and paperbacks as they’re available to us to giveaway. UPDATE to prizes: DSI Lites, kindle ereaders, video games, moives, tv box sets and much, much more!
How often are we selecting winners?
Monthly! Again winners will be notified by email and if it’s a gift card (rather than an e-gift card) that you won, we’ll need your snail mail addy to send it to you. Don’t worry, we’ll ask you for it if you’re a winner.
Can I pick which gift cards or prizes I get?
No, sorry. We’re randomly selecting winners and pairing them equally as random with prizes.
How do I enter for a chance to win?
We’ll be drawing out winners from a few different places this time around. From our Raven Books newsletter mailing list members, from Raven Books Twitter Followers and from Raven Books’ owners Michelle Pillow & Mandy Roth’s personal mailing lists, facebook followers and twitter followers. If you’re already on all the mailing lists and follow each twitter/facebook, yay, you’re already entered to win! If not, here are the direct links for each.
The Raven Books Email Newsletter
Mandy M Roth Email Newsletter
Michelle M Pillow Email Newsletter
Michelle M Pillow Twitter
Mandy M Roth Facebook
Why aren’t you posting winners name publicly?
We got dinged for doing this and are taking a small break. Apparently, not all people who enter contests want their name out that they entered and won. (Frankly, I find this odd but that’s me… Ouch, Michelle just slapped me for saying that publicly. I feel someone had to.)
When should I start?
Now! The sooner the better. We’ll repost this contest page in its entirety at the start of each month of the contest as a refresher for any who might have missed it and a reminder to any who might want to enter more than once.
Can I get a bonus entry if I also promote this contest in addition to promoting Raven Books?
You sure can! Just be sure you’re promoting Raven Books first and foremost. Then, if you spread the word about the contest too, you’ll be entered multiple times.
Any stipulations?
Yes, you must be 18yrs old or older to enter. Contest is void where prohibited. No, we will not send you cash equivalent and all the other normal disclaimer stuff inserted here_____. Yadda yada yadda yada….
Susan Kronick, Interview by Michelle M. Pillow
Susan Kronick, Interview
Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com
Author Susan Kronick is not new to researching the paranormal. With a Ph.D. in Paranormal Studies/Psychology, she works as a psychology professor at Palm Beach State College and Barry University, as well as being a psychic and a medium in South Florida. Her new book, “Sarah, They’re Coming For You” released in eBook September 21, 2010 from wildchildpublishing.com and can be purchased online.
Thank you, Susan, for joining us!
* * * *
Q: In your book, Sarah, They’re Coming For You, you delve into the world of haunting and the afterlife. What inspired you to write about this?
Susan:Sarah is inspired by actual events from my own life. Having the ability to see spirits since childhood, I have been fortunate to have had many such visits which included some of my deceased relatives. I have also had experiences with not so friendly spirits and entities over the years. I melded my ghostly encounters with having traced my maternal grandmother’s family history back to Austria, then the storyline fell into place.
Q: Can you tell us a little about the book? Did you base your story off of personal experiences, or known myths throughout history?
Susan:The main character is Sarah, a psychology professor with the ability to communicate with spirits. Throughout her life she has been tormented by the restless spirits of the dead who are not at peace. The only way Sarah can end her haunting is to make the journey from her home in south Florida to her family’s ancestral castle in the tiny Alpine town of Meiningen, Austria. Along the way she encounters many eclectic travel companions who accompany her to the fortress. The unexpected discovery of her great great great great grandfather’s diary begun in year 1818, explains the origin of the family’s battle with the rogue ghosts. Sarah must face the ghouls at the castle head on or lose her soul forever. The book is based on many real life experiences I have encountered. I am a psychology professor, as well as a medium, and have researched my family genealogy back to Austria.
Q: You have a Ph.D. in Paranormal Studies/Psychology from Union Institute and Graduate School. How did you get into studying the paranormal? Do you believe in the supernatural? Or are you a skeptic?
Susan:Having the abilities of both a psychic and a medium since childhood, I was both fascinated and confused by the paranormal events I experienced and took to be normal. I always sought to understand the phenomena scientifically. Earning a Master’s Degree in Psychology and a Ph.D. in Paranormal Studies/Psychology has given me the training as a scientist which provides another perspective for investigation of supernatural phenomena.
Q: Do you have an area of concentration that you’re particularly interested in?
Susan: I am fascinated by the different types of haunting that occur, such as a residual haunting as compared to a genuine spirit. I am intrigued by precognition, having made many accurate predictions over the years, as well as having been on the receiving end of some. I am interested in retro time travel, and the concept of time warps. Having studied quantum physics, we come closer to discovering a scientific explanation for many supernatural occurrences.
Q: You mentioned you have extensive experience in the investigations of hauntings and the paranormal. Do you investigate haunting with a team?
Susan:If I am investigating for a friend or acquaintance, I initially check out the situation by myself, but if I detect some phenomenon will return with another medium to validate or dismiss my initial findings. In the case of an investigation for a client, or if there is a reporter or camera crew in tow, I always bring an assistant. I usually have an assistant who is also a medium and I assume the role as a scientific investigator, ruling out all possible psychological and/or natural occurrences for the phenomena. However, my own abilities as a medium are an additional advantage. If there are genuine paranormal events going on, I can collaborate.
Q: I recently went on my first paranormal investigation (after a ton of research of course) and loved it. What advice do you have for new investigators or those interested in studying the paranormal?
Susan:Keep an open mind. Do not assume every situation is indeed paranormal. Once it has been determined there is paranormal activity, be sure to accurately document the phenomena. All witnesses to the events should be interviewed separately and out of earshot of the other witnesses, to rule out collaboration or suggestions among the witnesses. Also, if there is more than one medium they should each walk the premises separately before comparing notes to ensure independent fact-finding.
Q: Why do you think readers, and society in general, are fascinated by the paranormal?
Susan:Much of our culture is so grounded in conscious reality. Many believe what we are capable of seeing with our eyes is all there is. This is particularly true of those not blessed with the gift of seeing spirits. Regarding life after death, we want to believe there is something that awaits us after our demise, hopefully a reunion with our loved ones (including beloved pets) who passed on before us. I believe the fascination with the paranormal comes with the exposure to such events, which cannot be disputed and provides evidence that such phenomena exists.
Q: What are your favorite paranormal shows, movies and books?
Susan:I love the original Poltergeist movie, also a made for television movie called The Two Worlds of Jenny Logan with Lindsey Wagner, TV shows Ghost Whisperer, Medium, and Paranormal State. My favorite book Time and Again by Jack Finney, and The Fortune Teller’s Daughter by Susan Wilson.
Q: Have you ever had a paranormal experience?
Susan:I am blessed with both psychic and mediumship abilities since childhood. Throughout my entire life I have experienced countless paranormal experiences! As a psychic I have accurately predicted countless events over the years, both happy and sad. As a medium I have investigated many a haunting, as well as communicated with many spirits. One of the coolest experiences was at my own wedding. Two of my psychic friends attending the event, who did not know each other, both informed me on separate occasions they saw my late mother in a blue-gray dress walking down the aisle during the ceremony!
Q: What kind of paranormal creatures do you wish you could meet?
Susan:Elves and fairies!! They are just so darned cute!
Q: If given the chance, would you become a vampire or werewolf?
Susan:No. Vampires creep me out! Werewolves are adorable, but I don’t want to morph into a werewolf. One of my rescued dogs, Pudgey looks like a baby werewolf…although he claims to be a schnauzer, he has the low sloped forehead like one!
Q: How would you react if you came face to face with a ghost?
Susan: I come into contact with ghosts all the time! I am always fascinated by the experience. Every ghost has a story, even if they are just saying ‘hello.’
Q: What does the future hold for your writing?
Susan:I have started a second novel The House on Gingerwood Lane, an old Victorian house which has the ability to transport its occupants back to the year 1892.
Q: Have you ever been to a psychic and/or a past life regression? What did they predict for you?
Susan:Most of my friends are psychic. My husband was described to me many years before I met him. I was also told I was the reincarnation of my great great great grandmother Dora!
To learn more about Susan and her work, visit http://susankronick.webs.com/ Interview by Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com
The Warrior Prince: Dragon Lords Book Four by Michelle M. Pillow
Review
4 STARS! “This story, the fourth in the Dragon Lords series, is just plain fun to read. The focus is definitely on the romance, with plenty of intimacy that doesn’t get overly graphic. The characters are well fleshed out, and the plot has plenty of interesting alien conflicts.” Bunny Callahan, RT BOOKreviews, July 2006
I loved this series from the first page of the first book to the last page of this one… I highly recommend Dragon Lords: The Warrior Prince, actually this whole series, to all lovers of romance.” In the Library Reviews
“5 STARS! A spellbinding tale of passionate romance and deep emotions, which are intertwined with humorous and sometimes dangerous escapades..Stories by Michelle Pillow are always inventive and unique…. the perfect conclusion to a superb series, where the characters will fill your dreams and touch your heart.” EcataRomance
The Romance Studio “5 HEARTS! I had to make myself stop reading this one so I could go to bed. It was a great story that kept me from getting a whole lot of sleep because I ended up staying up late to finish it anyway… I’m definitely going to be on the look out for more from Michelle Pillow, and put her on my auto buy list.”
“5 HEARTS! Ms. Pillow has certainly delivered an action packed story full with emotion and romance. A wonderful read, this reviewer highly recommends this entertaining story. Fans of this series will certainly be satisfied with Book 4 of The Dragon Lords.” Valerie, loveromances
Product Description
The Survivor…
Though no one could ever command her, this warrior would try to conquer her heart…
Physically scarred in childhood in an act of betrayal, Pia has never been considered an attractive woman. One horrible mistake and she is on the run. Desperate to hide her identity, she makes a deal with Galaxy Brides–in exchange for a new face, she’ll marry anyone they put in front of her. Never did she realize her future husband would be the most handsome warrior of the Draig.
The Warrior…
Though no man could thwart the brave Draig leader, a woman would be his undoing…
Zoran of Draig is a man who knows what he wants. He has to. Being a Prince and the Captain of the Draig Guard, he has to make swift decisions, be ready to battle at a moment’s notice, and most of all, he always has to be in control. When his wife, the one person who should obey him refuses to, Zoran discovers the battle for his heart’s desire is fiercer than any he has ever waged before. Could the conqueror become the conquered?
July 24, 2012
Part 3 of 3: Science Was Wrong Interview with Stanton Friedman and Kathleen Marden by Michelle M. Pillow
Science Was Wrong Part 3 of 3
Interview with authors Stanton T. Friedman, MSC and Kathleen Marden
by Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com
Part 3: In depth with Stanton T. Friedman, MSC
How is Science Was Wrong about UFO’s?
Stanton: I wrote a Chapter dealing with the positive evidence almost always neglected by the debunkers and refuting their false arguments. Kathleen wrote an excellent chapter on the Conundrum of Alien Abduction.
What do you think about Global Warming and Cold Fusion?
Stanton: I have reviewed a great deal of the literature and find enormous bias and selective choice of data on the part of those who claim that “man” is responsible for global warming because of his production of “evil” CO2, and who neglect such important factors as the fact that the most abundant greenhouse gas is water vapor NOT CO2 and that the sun varies considerably in its emission of magnetic fields, particulate radiation, plasmas, all having a substantial effect on climate. I have also found that there has been an active effort on the part of the IPCC to suppress opposing viewpoints and data, hardly a scientific process. Variation of weather and climate is much more complex than they have presented.
Cold Fusion has been viciously attacked often by people who haven’t studied the many experiments that reproduce the findings of Drs. Pons and Fleishmann. The evidence is very convincing that some new and exciting processes are occurring
Several of the chapters deal with medical issues such as the Hemophilia Holocaust. Why are they important?
Stanton: When false claims are put forth by smart prominent people they can easily have fatal consequences for the people involved. 10,000 American Hemophiliacs became HIV positive and some of them spread the disease unknowingly to others. Many needless and preventable deaths resulted. Many women and their off spring died needlessly from child bed fever as Semmelweis’s work was ignored. Many people died from smallpox because of resistance to vaccination.
Why is that so many smart people made what turns out to have been such stupid statements?
Stanton: There is often arrogance that goes with high status and a belief that, if the claim being put forth (alien visitation, government cover-ups, the ability to fly in vehicles in the air or in space, new treatment for a disease, etc) were true, that the smart person who believes he or she keeps up with what is important, would have known about it. Therefore, since he doesn’t, it couldn’t be true. The smart person seems to believe he is all knowing and must use his status to prevent thinking people from accepting “impossible” notions, There can’t possibly be evidence to support the “crazy” ideas. If they were true, he would have to admit having been wrong.
Have there really been serious consequences resulting from the Wrong Claims made by Scientists?
Stanton: The development of entire industries such as aviation and space travel were delayed because of foolish resistance. The US lost enormous prestige when the Russians launched the first satellite. Britain paid a high price during the battle of Britain because they didn’t develop jet engines prior to the Germans even though an English patent for one had been granted 6 years earlier than the German one. Big battleships were sunk at Pearl Harbor because the experts knew bombs dropped from an airplane could not sink a ship.
Some have wanted to heavily subsidize at public expense so called renewable energy schemes to avoid so called global warming. As noted above there were many needless deaths and serious illnesses because of resistance to new treatments.
Have you personally encountered many closed minds in the Academic world?
Stanton: I certainly have from professors who couldn’t believe there was evidence for alien visitations, alien abductions, or government cover-ups. I checked many audiences and found that almost none had read any of the large scale scientific UFO studies, or knew anything about how much acceleration people can withstand or that mother nature can provide much of the energy needed (cosmic freeloading) for space travel. Many seemed incredibly ignorant about the enormous amount of important research and development work that goes on outside academia. They think all research is published in the open scientific literature, which is absurd, and have no idea of the huge amounts of money spent in non academic facilities. Lockheed spent $10 Billion in secret to develop the stealth fighter. I have found that almost all know next to nothing about the development of nuclear systems for propulsion of submarines, for aircraft carriers that can operate for 18 years without refueling, fission rockets that produce much more velocity for a rocket than can chemical rockets and that nuclear fusion has been harnessed and could eject particles out the back end of a rocket and having 10 million times as much energy per particle as in a chemical rocket. They seem to be stuck at the level of the Pony Express for the transfer of information rather than at the level of the internet. Nuclear rockets have been tested. On Los Alamos system developed 4400 megawatts, twice the power of Grand Coullee Dam though only7’ in diameter. They seem oblivious to the fact that one H bomb can release as much energy as exploding 10 million tons of TNT.
You spent 14 years working in industry, but have lectured at over 600 colleges and universities. Did you find industry different from academia?
Stanton: Yes, I certainly did. People in industry and the national labs are motivated to make systems meeting a particular objective. They know that technological progress comes from doing things differently in an unpredictable way rather that by extrapolating from the old techniques. The academics are afraid that espousing new ideas might interfere with getting tenure and might lead to ridicule. They want to publish or perish. The industrials see goal achievement as more important and recognize that secrecy may indeed be necessary
Astronomers seem to be a favorite target in Science Was Wrong. Can you give some examples of their being wrong?
Stanton: Dr. Simon Newcombe top US astronomer in the 19th century said man would never fly in a machine. Two months before the Wright Brothers first flight, two British Royal astronomers indicated that space travel was impossible a year before the first satellite was launched. Others said the initial launch weight of a rocket able to get a man to the moon and back would have to have been a million-million tons. His computation was too high by a factor of 300 Million. Another proved it would be impossible to put anything in to orbit. Not enough energy available. Other claimed Mars had always been dry, that Venus was just a tropical paradise that the moon never had any water. That electromagnetic effects were of no significance in the solar system. They were wrong.
Stephen Hawking is one of the best known scientists on the planet. Were his comments in April about aliens another example of astronomers being Wrong?
Stanton: Very definitely. In the first place he knew nothing about alien visitations, behavior, or technology, despite the data that is available. Secondly he drew an analogy between Columbus’ impact on the natives and aliens’ impact on us. Bad analogy. Columbus didn’t have much more technology than the natives. We on the other hand have weapons of mass destruction, techniques for delivering them, many methods for reconnaissance to detect invaders. We have knowledge of nuclear fusion which is how the stars all produce their energy. He also claimed that if anybody came here they would have sent a message first. That is ridiculous. Columbus didn’t send a smoke signal. Our radio technology is less than 150 years old. Anybody coming here is much more advanced than we are and would have developed new techniques totally incompatible with our primitive receiving equipment. Why in the world would aliens send a message using old techniques? I don’t use a slide rule anymore. It is much more likely they are here to make sure we don’t go out there. We are a primitive society whose major activity is tribal warfare. We killed 50 million of our own in WW II.
Why are you better equipped to deal with topics such as space travel than the Professors who claim there is nothing to UFOs or to star travel?
Stanton: I have studied the relevant evidence about both topics. I also worked on many classified projects, so know about security. I have visited 20 archives. I worked on fission and fusion rockets, nuclear airplanes nuclear power plants for space. The professors haven’t studied the relevant data about any of these. I regularly read journals covering these matters. They don’t.
Tell us about space travel and other topics you discuss in Science Was Wrong?
Stanton: I tell the fascinating story of the development of aviation and space travel despite the claims of the noisy negativists that they were both impossible. Supposedly one could not fly faster than the speed of sound; here was no way to provide the energy needed or to withstand high acceleration. The data indicate otherwise
You and the late Carl Sagan were classmates in the physics department at the University of Chicago for 3 years. But you have noted in Science Was Wrong and elsewhere that he was wrong about UFOs, abductions, government cover ups. Why do you suppose that was?
Stanton: He was unwilling to waste his time checking the data; he was unwilling to risk ridicule from academia; he wanted to push SETI rather than evidence for visitations. If aliens are visiting, than listening for radio signals is silly. Maybe one should learn sign language. Of course, since he definitely had a security clearance, he may have been following orders to tamp down interest for national security reasons. Perhaps he replaced Donald Menzel as the chief debunker.
You seem to be an admirer of the late Dr. Immanuel Velikovsky and yet many scientists have heaped ridicule on him.
Stanton: True, Harvard astronomers attacked his books without even reading them. Hardly scientific.
Why do you support many of his views?
Stanton: Because he was far more often correct than wrong. He correctly predicted the surface of Venus would be very hot. He correctly predicted that radiation would be coming from Jupiter and that electromagnetic effects would be important in the solar system. He also had a medical degree which didn’t cut much weight with astronomers and he did find fascinating information in old stories from ancient civilizations. He was a thinker rather than a debunker.
Do you believe that the changes in the energy output of the sun are the real cause of climate change as opposed to the production of evil CO2?
Stanton: Yes, I do. The changes are influenced by the positions of the planets and the sun influences the atmosphere as well. Solar storms and sun spots turn out to be important
Dr. Robert O. Becker is somebody you obviously admire and consider to have been a pioneer in relating the effects of magnetic fields on people including not only treating certain medical conditions, but influencing people’s behavior. Can you give some examples of his work?
Stanton: He was able to demonstrate, after working on limb regeneration in salamanders, that appropriate magnetic fields could enhance healing in human fractures. He collected data showing that changes in the Earth’s electric and magnetic field environment influenced behavior of veterans being admitted to Veteran’s mental hospitals and also influenced behavior in mental wards as observed by neutral nurses. The brain is after all a sophisticated electrical system. He investigated, recorded and evaluated rather than scoffing. He was a real pioneer.
Can you tell us the general rules as you see them for the methods of approach of scientists who try to debunk such topics as UFOs, Cold Fusion, star travel?
Stanton: There are 4 basic rules for the nasty noisy negativists as I call the irrational debunkers:
1. Don’t bother me with the facts my mind is made up.
2. What the public doesn’t know I am not going to tell them
3. If one can’t attack the data, attack the people. It is much easier.
4. Do one’s research by proclamation. Investigation is too much trouble and nobody will know the difference
*****
If you would like to read more about Stanton T. Friedman, MSC and Kathleen Marden, or any of their mentioned titles, please visit them on the web at: www.stantonfriedman.com and www.kathleen-marden.com.
Interview by Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com
July 23, 2012
The Bound Prince: Lords of the Var Book Three by Michelle M. Pillow
Review
Nominated for the 2007 RT Reviewers’ Choice Award Futuristic Romance!
“5 ANGELS! RECOMMENDED READ! This is most definitely a hot futuristic romance and comes straight from the author’s imagination…it kept me guessing while revealing various unexpected events. This is a story that anyone should give a go…” Elizabeth, Fallen Angel Reviews
“5 HEARTS! Lords of the Var 3, The Bound Prince was a rollicking good read! … Fans of Michelle Pillow and everyone who loves a smart, futuristic romance will enjoy this sexy new installment set on the planet Qurilixen. The Bound Prince is great romantic entertainment.” Patrice, TRS
“5 HEARTS! Funny, moving, & very realistic, lending a touch of the 21st century to this futuristic tale. You’ll fall in love with this story not only because of the fantastic romance, but because the author so cleverly creates a world of the future that is amazing to read about..every person who picks up the latest Var story is in for a treat.” TRS
“THE BOUND PRINCE had me laughing from the very beginning. I thought the story sounded great, but wow! It was better than I bargained for!” Cynthia Eckert, Paranormal Romance Reviews, April 2006
Product Description
A simple mistake…
Captain Samantha Dorsey and her crew are on a mission, a mission to complete a Galactic Scavenger Hunt and claim the prize money. Flying about space for a year collecting their items, they only have one thing left to get–a primitive wild beast. Drunk and feeling like some fun, Sam and her crew fly to Qurilixen to finish their collection by snagging a white tiger. Only the next morning, severely hung over, Captain Sam realizes that they got more beast than they bargained for. They kidnapped a warrior Prince.
A royal destiny…
Prince Falke, Commander of the Var Armies, is a man raised to fight. Out of all the Var Princes, he alone must be the hardest. When the beautifully frustrating female Captain kidnaps him, no one knows where to come looking. Now it’s up to Falke to use all his training, and powers of seduction, to find his way back home.
July 17, 2012
Part 2 of 3: Science Was Wrong Interview with Stanton Friedman and Kathleen Marden by Michelle M. Pillow
Science Was Wrong Part 2 of 3
Interview with authors Stanton T. Friedman, MSC and Kathleen Marden
by Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com
Part 2: In depth with Kathleen Marden
Kathleen, your book is titled Science Was Wrong. Yet it is obvious that both of you hold the scientific community in very high esteem. Was science wrong or was it related more to personal bias on the part of some scientists?
Kathleen: Science Was Wrong informs readers that throughout history it has been difficult, if not impossible, to promote the acceptance of new discoveries. Today it is apparent that similar forces are engaging in ad hominem attacks against some leading edge scientists, disseminating fabrications and misrepresenting factual information. Each chapter in our book explores the causative factors behind the scientific bias and tunnel vision that have impeded scientific progress. We present example after example of the failure of science to make progress, not because the science was flawed, but as a result of human bias.
Why do you think it is so difficult to advance new sound scientific ideas and discoveries?
Kathleen: I think that there are several reasons. First, scientific methodology is naturally conservative and in a sense this is good. But it is extremely difficult for scientists to admit that their life’s work was wrong. Imagine that you are a an academic scientist who has spent your entire career as the proponent of a particular theory only to have a young upstart come along with conclusive evidence that effectively refuted and therefore nullified everything you had accomplished.
Second, we should consider Occams Razor, the theoretical construct that demands that scientists accept the simplest possible theoretical explanation for existing data. According to Popper, we prefer simpler theories to more complex ones “because their empirical content is greater; and because they are better testable”. Science tends to prefer the simplest explanation that is consistent with the data available at a given time, but history shows that these simplest explanations often give way to more complex explanations as new data become available. Most of the time, Occam’s razor is a conservative tool that assures hypotheses are grounded in the science of the day. However, it has not been useful to science in its failure to accept some scientific evidence such as meteorites, continental drift, and the idea that genetic information is carried in DNA, not proteins. This also applies to telepathy and UFOs.
Next, I want to mention the difficulty scientists experience in having their sound scientific ideas and discoveries published in prestigious peer reviewed journals. The scientists who control the flow of information usually adhere to existing theories and reject new ideas. For example, R. Leo Sprinkle, Ph.D., formerly a psychologist at the University of Wyoming, spent much of his career researching UFO abductions. He met the university’s publishing requirement, but couldn’t advance in his career because the most prestigious peer-reviewed journals wouldn’t publish his work.
As noted in Science Was Wrong, Luc Montagnier, a researcher from the Louis Pasteur Institute, had already submitted a professional research article about his work on the HIV virus to Nature but he was not successful in getting it published. These findings were only published after Robert Gallo from the National Cancer Institute agreed to submit the Pasteur team’s research findings to Science magazine, along with his own.
Finally, human motivations such as big egos, greed, power grabbing, politics, religious beliefs, and the denial that it was possible get in the way of good science.
Your book has a chapter titled “Politics, Personalities and Childbed fever”. Tell us a little bit about childbed fever and why you wrote about it.
Kathleen: Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (1818-1865) grew up in Pest in Hungary and graduated from medical school in Vienna. After graduating he found a position teaching medical students at the Vienna General Hospital. The birthing ward at Vienna General Hospital was the largest in Europe when it was divided into two units: one for teaching medical students and the other for midwives. Although the midwifery unit averaged a 2% mortality rate from childbed fever, the obstetrical unit that taught from cadavers instead of wooden models, averaged 20%, and ran even higher during epidemic periods. Sometimes entire rows of women and infants died.
Childbed fever is caused by sepsis, but during Semmelweis’s time bacteria hadn’t been discovered. It occurred up to two weeks after childbirth, typically in the uterus or genital tract, and became a systemic infection within hours. I know that it sounds gruesome, but Semmelweis instructed his students in the autopsy room mornings where they dissected the bodies of the women and infants who had succumbed to childbed fever the previous day. As ridiculous as it seems in modern times, sanitation was limited to wiping one’s bloody hands on a filthy apron before proceeding to the obstetrical unit in the afternoon. Laboring and postpartum women were subjected to several intrusive exams by several medical students who were often inexperienced and tore their delicate tissues. You can understand how easily the contaminated matter could be transferred from the medical students’ hands to the laboring women.
Quite by accident, one of Semmelweis’s colleagues had pricked his finger on an infected scalpel during an autopsy. He subsequently developed the symptoms of childbed fever and died. Semmelweis realized that contaminants carried on the hands of his students that were intended to heal these women were actually killing them. In May 1847, he introduced hand washing into the obstetrical unit using a chlorinated lime solution and a nail brush prior to each student’s entry into Division I. Over time, he carefully recorded scientific data that clearly demonstrated a reduction in the mortality rate in the obstetrical unit. He even conducted laboratory experiments on rabbits that clearly supported his hypothesis. However, his actions were interpreted as insubordination by his supervisor who was grounded in the zeitgeist of the old guard. Instead of being rewarded for his significant discovery, he was relieved of his duties.
The tragedy is that although Semmelweis was right, his ideas were generally scoffed at during his entire lifetime. He endured personal attacks by his adversaries throughout Europe who flat out lied about his theory and findings because they were personally invested in promoting their own miasma, milk metastasis and emotional distress theories.
“The Hemophilia Holocaust” sounds ominous. What caused the holocaust among hemophiliacs?
Kathleen: First, let me say that hemophilia is a genetic disorder in which blood fails to clot normally due to a deficiency in clotting Factor VIII. Drug companies developed sophisticated chemical processing techniques to extract the Factor VIII from blood and to process it in large batches—up to 20,000 units of blood produced a powder which had a high concentration of Factor VIII. The problem occurred when the blood supply became contaminated with HIV and the pharmaceutical companies and blood banks reassured users that the chance of contracting the virus was only one in a million. The tragedy is that another drug and been developed and heat treating showed promise, but they were both rejected by the pharmaceutical companies. In the end, 90% of Factor VIII concentrate users became HIV positive. Various factors were responsible for spreading the disease to the hemophilia community including political correctness, denial and disbelief, incorrect assumptions by the medical establishment, political posturing and greed.
You seem particularly passionate in your chapter titled “The Eugenics Movement in America”. When did you first learn about this movement and do you have a personal story to tell about it?
Kathleen: Forced sterilization of the developmentally disabled and convicted criminals was still being debated in sociology and genetics classes when I was a college student in the mid to late 1960s. Had the Eugenics Movement succeeded, I might have been sterilized because one of my cousin’s is deaf. Also, my brilliant Jewish coauthor would probably have been exterminated.
You touched briefly upon the story of Carrie Buck describing her as a victim of the Eugenics Movement. Who is Carrie Buck and what is her story?
Kathleen: Harry Laughlin, one of the leading figures in the Eugenics Movement, wrote the “Model Sterilization Act” which served as a mock-up for Virginia’s 1924 “Eugenical Sterilization Act” to legalize compulsory sterilizations of “defective persons”. Later that year, the statute went before the court in the famous test case Buck versus Bell, and finally on to the U.S. Supreme Court which passed it.
Carrie Buck was the daughter of a woman whose husband had died and who attempted to support her family through prostitution. Carrie was placed in foster care and her mother was institutionalized at the Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feeble Minded in Lynchburg, Virginia. Carrie had been raped by her foster parents’ nephew and gave birth to an illegitimate child. For this she was declared feebleminded and the potential parent of socially inadequate offspring in what can only be described as a sham trial. Her fate was sealed on May 2, 1927, when US Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes delivered the Supreme Court’s decision: “It is better for all the world, if instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime, or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind. The principle that sustains compulsory vaccination is broad enough to cover cutting the Fallopian tubes. Three generations of imbeciles are enough.” Later, evidence confirmed that Carrie and her daughter were of normal intelligence.
You devote a chapter to Methyl ‐ Mercury in the Food Chain. What is methyl ‐ mercury and how does it differ from mercury? What causes methyl ‐ mercury contamination and why is it dangerous?
Kathleen: Methylmercury is an organic form of mercury that arises when inorganic mercury is absorbed by small plants and animals in lakes and streams. At each step up the food chain, it accumulates in greater concentrations. So that predatory fish at the top of the food chain can have dangerously high levels of the neurotoxin, 10,000 to 100,000 times greater than the water.
Virtually every state in the United States is at risk for methyl-mercury toxicity. Chronic mercury exposure can have a serious impact upon fertility and the outcome of pregnancy. It interferes with the part of the brain that controls reproduction and results in menstrual cycle disorders. In men organic mercury can cause low sperm count, minor genetic damage, a reduction in libido and impotence. It has also been linked to an increased level of cardiac arrhythmia and heart disease, autoimmune disorders, kidney disease and liver disease in both men and women. In children it has been linked to neurological disorders such as learning disabilities, and at worst, symptoms similar to Cerebral Palsy.
You wrote a powerful account of the devastating effect of methyl ‐ mercury contamination in Minamata, Japan. What went wrong and what was the impact?
Kathleen: Minamata disease was the natural consequence of the Chisso Corporation’s policy of dumping mercury into Japan’s Minamata Bay and its tributaries from 1930s to the 1960s. The company denied and covered up its role in causing the disease. To make matters worse, local politicians were in bed with the Chisso Corporation and refused to hold Chisso accountable. First it killed the fish, birds and cats that ate it. Then it started killing young children or terribly maiming them. The neurotoxin caused mental retardation and physical spasticity in children and also affected adults. The official denial went on until 1968—4 months after the Chisso Co. stopped using mercury in its manufacturing process.
Section 5 of your book has three chapters under the heading “Frontiers of Science”. What are the exciting new sciences?
Kathleen: PSI: There is reason to believe that psychic phenomena are real. Independent replication of controlled experiments performed thousands of times by researchers around the world has demonstrated statistical evidence in support of psi phenomena. Although the hit rate in experiments averages only 32 percent, among telepathic people such as psychics, it is 65 percent—pretty amazing despite the strong social prohibition against it by western science. A 1985 meta-analysis of 2,549 ganzfeld telepathy experiments by researchers around the world clearly showed that psi effects do occur in the ganzfeld.
UFOs and UFO Abductions: There is substantial support for the idea that members of the scientific community are refusing to examine UFO evidence for reasons that sometime have to do with the fear of not advancing in one’s career. I think that the scientific establishment is clinging to the zeitgeist of the old guard in order to perpetuate the scientific tenets for which they have been handsomely rewarded. This is blatantly obvious in the infamous “Trick Memo” written by Robert Low, the assistant dean of graduate studies at the University of Colorado and project coordinator for the Condon study of UFOs. He wrote, “In order to undertake such a project, one would have to approach it objectively. That is, one has to admit the possibility that such things as UFOs exist. It is not respectable to give serious consideration to such a possibility…The very act of admitting these possibilities just as possibilities puts us beyond the pale.” Edward Condon, the study’s chairman made the negative pronouncement that “Nothing has come from the study of UFOs in the past 21 years that has added to scientific knowledge…we consider it safe to assume that no ILE (intelligent life elsewhere) outside of our solar system has any possibility of visiting Earth in the next 10,000 years.” Subsequently, the National Academy of Science’s issued the statement that “The least likely explanation for UFOs is the hypothesis of extraterrestrial visitations by intelligent beings”. However, the special UFO subcommittee of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics found that 30 percent of the 117 cases studied in detail could not be identified. The AIAA finding clearly demonstrated Condon and the NAS, of which Condon was a member, were biased in their assessment of the evidence. There is substantial evidence that UFOs are real, and I think it deserves the attention of an unbiased scientific community.
In “Extraordinary Visual Feats: Psi Phenomena” you wrote about the plight of Natasha Demkina. Who is she and what brought her to your attention?
Kathleen: Natasha Demkina is a young Russia medical intuitive who claimed she could “see” the full structure of the human body, including how internal organs are positioned and how they function almost as if she had x-ray eyes. The Discovery Channel produced a television program in 2004 allegedly designed to test Natasha’s paranormal ability in an objective and unbiased manner. They said she would be tested by top scientists, but they were actually three members of the skeptic’s society, CSICOP, now CSI. By all appearances the experiment was designed to increase Natasha’s chances of failure. She complained that she had been forced to perform under conditions that are known to reduce psychic ability. These included stress, fatigue due to jet lag, and hostility from the scientific team, not being able to follow her usual protocols, not being able to use her own interpreter, and having the bar for a passing grade raised above that which is normally accepted by international statistical standards. If the bar had not been raised, she would have passed the test. In the end, several highly respected international scientists and a lawyer defended Natasha’s position. Nobel Prize winning physicist and director of the University of Cambridge’s Mind Matter Unification Project, Brian Josephson, Ph.D. criticized the experimental team’s methodology and questioned its motives.
Is there reason to believe that some psychic phenomena are real?
Kathleen: Yes, as I stated above there is significant scientific evidence that telepathy is real.
Tell me about UFOs and little green men.
Kathleen: I thought they were gray. (grin) Although the “impossibilists” promote the idea that all UFO abductions are attributable to sleep disorders and delusional thinking, there is scientific evidence that some abductions are real. Psychological studies of suspected abductees have demonstrated that those who meet the criteria for having a real abduction are no more fantasy prone than the general population. They also score normal on psychological testing. Studies that limit their participants to self-identified abductees that lack supporting evidence for alien abduction tend to produce results indicating that they score higher than the norm on a variety of personality scales that measure fantasy proneness, dissociation, schizotypy, etc. Many do have sleep anomalies and personality disorders. However, they are in an entirely separate category than those who meet the criteria for alien abduction. In addition to the unbiased psychological study findings, the well investigated accounts of alien abduction provide evidence that some abduction claims have a foundation in reality. Despite the many psychological explanations, some abductions cannot be explained as personality aberrations, psychological abnormalities, hoaxes, sleep anomalies, hypnotic confabulation or misinterpretations. One needs only to read the peer reviewed journal articles. I have written an overview of their findings in Chapter 14 of Science Was Wrong.
Are we being visited by aliens?
Kathleen: One needs only to examine the evidence to be convinced that we are being visited by non-human entities. The greatest challenge for someone who is not a UFO abduction researcher/investigator is in determining what evidence is credible and where to look for it. Unfortunately, the UFO field has been riddled with hoaxes and false claims that tend to confuse. For example, the Betty and Barney Hill UFO abduction case has been terribly misrepresented. An Internet search will produce a plethora of false accounts and outright lies about their experience. They were my aunt and uncle. I have all of their files and evidence and researched/ investigated their experience for fifteen years prior to writing Captured!. I have separated fact from fiction and it is all in Captured!.
Can you sum up why this book is important and tell us how you are taking it to the world?
Kathleen: Science Was Wrong is important because it informs reader that throughout history it has been difficult, if not impossible, to promote the acceptance of new discoveries. It also gives “paranormal category” readers hope that mainstream science will one day accept the evidence that psi phenomena and UFOs are real. I only hope that the average reader will come away with an altered and enlightened perception of how mainstream science works and learn about the scientific evidence that psi phenomena and UFOs are real. I am carrying my message to the public through radio and television programs and speaking engagements. You can find my upcoming appearances on my Web site at www.kathleen-marden.com
*****
Look for Part 3 of this interview next week!
If you would like to read more about Stanton T. Friedman, MSC and Kathleen Marden, or any of their mentioned titles, please visit them on the web at: www.stantonfriedman.com and www.kathleen-marden.com.
Interview by Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com
July 16, 2012
Xena (Galaxy Playmates) by Michelle M. Pillow
BOB |
Review
“4 TATTOOS! Michelle M. Pillow has crafted a marvelous tale with Xena: Galaxy Playmates Bk. 4 that is sure to increase your body temperature a few degrees.” –Erotic Escapades, July 2006
Product Description
Agent Xena has nothing in common with the exotic dancer she’s pretending to be. Her assignment should be like any other. Then why does dancing for the high-powered businessman thrill her beyond anything she’s ever done? And when things get heated between them, will she follow her instincts or take him in for the crime she was sent to arrest him for?
July 10, 2012
Part 1 of 3: Science Was Wrong Interview with Stanton Friedman and Kathleen Marden by Michelle M. Pillow
Science Was Wrong Part 1 of 3
Interview with authors Stanton T. Friedman, MSC and Kathleen Marden
by Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com
I have often noticed that there seems to be, at least in recent years, a real focus on approaching paranormal subjects with a scientific mind. The word “science” and “scientific evidence” gets thrown around a lot, as if calling it such will suddenly add validity to what is being said. However, I have to wonder exactly what is going on in the scientific community as far as the paranormal is concerned. Since I’m hardly a scientist, I figured it would be best to seek out some experts on the subject and probe their brains. The most logical place to start was with the authors of Science Was Wrong and try to understand their views on how, historically speaking, science has led us astray in the paranormal fields.
Social scientist and educator, Kathleen Marden, has served as its International Director of Field Investigator Training for ten years, and is highly involved with the Mutual UFO Network (www.mufon.com). She’s lectured extensively on the subjects and is a UFO abduction investigator and researcher. Twenty years ago she quit her job and became a full-time ufologist and writer. She’s written several magazine articles and is the coauthor (along with Stanton Friedman) of the books Science Was Wrong and Captured! The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience, the latter of which tells the story of her aunt and uncle.
Nuclear physicist Stanton T. Friedman MSC has lectured all over the US and other countries at more than six-hundred colleges. He has worked at classified R and D programs for such companies as GE, GM, Westinghouse, Aerojet General Nucleonics, McDonnell Douglas and TRW, where the objectives were fission and fusion rockets, nuclear airplanes, nuclear power plants for space and terrestrial applications. Stanton is also a columnist for the MUFON Journal and for UFO magazine.
Kathleen and Stanton’s coauthored book, Science Was Wrong, released in June 2010 and can be purchased at Amazon.com as well as other major bookstores. I would like to thank them for taking the time out of their busy schedules to talk about their latest work.
* * * * *
In your book, Science Was Wrong, you examine scientific history. What inspired you to write about this?
Kathleen:Stan presented his fabulous idea to me and I, being naturally curious, was intrigued about researching a variety of topics. It would be a great learning experience. I suggested a section called the “Frontiers of Science” in order to demonstrate that, despite the evidence, psi phenomena and UFOs have not gained mainstream scientific acceptance just like so many discoveries in the past. And just as occurred in the past, both topics are misrepresented on a regular basis by a small group of vocal debunkers.
Stanton: I had already found many false claims by credentialed scientists about UFOs, Flight in the atmosphere, Space Flight, supposed absence of evidence re UFOs. It seemed clear that such claims were very common and, upon, examination had serious consequences with regard to people’s health and technological progress.
Why do you think readers, and society in general, are fascinated by the paranormal?
Kathleen: These are areas of study that science has not yet officially accepted as being real, although most of people think they are. I think that the challenge of investigating the evidence is tantalizing.
Stanton: Many know somebody who has had what might be described as a paranormal experience but rarely are taken seriously. Nowhere to turn but to books, movies etc since professional scientists usually just brush the topics off. They want rational answers.
What are your favorite paranormal shows, movies and books?
Kathleen:UFO Hunters, The Conscious Universe by Dean Radin, Ph.D., Firestorm by Ann Druffel, Messages by Stan Romanek, UFOs and Abductions edited by David Jacobs, Ph.D., Encounter at Bluff Ledge by Walter Webb, Intruders by Budd Hopkins and the peer reviewed journals that publish abduction research information. I also think that telepathy is real and that some medical intuitives have an uncanny ability to detect physiological problems inside the human body.
Stanton likes Travis Walton’s Fire in the Sky, Dr. Bruce Maccabee’s UFO books, and Jerry Clark’s encyclopedia.
Do you believe in the supernatural? Or are you a skeptic?
Kathleen:I am a rational skeptic who believes that some UFOs and UFO abductions are real. Stanton is skeptical about many things but refuses to come to a conclusion until having studied relevant data. He maintains a large “Gray basket” for topics about which there is too little solid data to reach a rational conclusion. He believes that Chocolate tastes better than vanilla, that classical music sounds better than rock.
Have you ever had a paranormal experience?
Kathleen:If you categorize a close encounter with a UFO as paranormal, then yes I have. The multiple witness sightings occurred on February 22, 1966 when I was 17. My aunt, Betty Hill, my mother, grandmother, brother and a family friend had a close encounter with a disk-shaped unconventional craft for at least 60 minutes over Country Pond in Newton, NH. It traveled in stair-step and falling leaf patterns, swayed back and forth in a pendulum motion and wobbled before it went down and appeared to land. It then projected a telescoping funnel like spotlight upon my mother. That was just before we hightailed it home. You can read the full account in Captured! Chapter 19.
Stanton has not had any paranormal experiences so far as he can recall.
What kind of paranormal creatures do you wish you could meet?
Kathleen: I’d like to meet a cooperative team of alien scientists (on my own terms) who can explain to me where their home base is; why they are coming to Earth; why they are abducting humans; what they know about Earth’s history; how their religion (if they have one) differs from ours; what their planet’s environment is like; what their cultural, moral and ethical values are; and whatever I can comprehend about their technology; etc, etc. A very tall order! Stanton would like to attend those meetings and also find out about such things as memory suppression; passage through “solid walls” how they have learned to live at peace with their neighbors. If they haven’t they would have been destroyed already
If given the chance, would you leave with an alien spaceship?
Kathleen:Only if it were for a short excursion around the Earth and perhaps to Mars. Of course, I would insist upon retaining full conscious recollection of the event. I have close ties with friends and family here on Earth, along with seven precious grandchildren. I’d never willingly leave for good because I love my life on Earth.
Stanton: Yes, if I could be sure of returning with memory intact and new knowledge about intelligent beings in the local neighborhood.
What does the future hold for your work?
Kathleen: I’m considering the idea of writing either a fiction of non-fiction book on what I know about alien abductions. Also, Stan and I have been talking about collaborating on another book when time permits. Stan and I have also optioned the rights to our book, Captured! The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience. We are hoping that it will be made into a motion picture.
Stanton: Rights to my life story and to my book TOP SECRET/MAJIC have been optioned by Stellar Productions for a movie “Majic Men”. I would like to do a book with Kathleen and also a biography about Dr. Donald Menzel an astronomer who led a double life debunking UFOs and being part of a secret group “Operation Majestic 12” knowing a great deal about their reality.
Have you ever been abducted by aliens?
Kathleen: If I have, they wiped out my memory. (grin).
Stanton: Not so far as I know.
*****
Look for Part 2 of this interview next week!
If you would like to read more about Stanton T. Friedman, MSC and Kathleen Marden, or any of their mentioned titles, please visit them on the web at: www.stantonfriedman.com and www.kathleen-marden.com.
Interview by Michelle M. Pillow, www.michellepillow.com
July 9, 2012
The Savage King: Lords of the Var Book One
Review
“5 ANGELS! RECOMMENDED READ! I can’t say how much I enjoyed returning to Michelle Pillow’s Dragon Lords universe… Ms. Pillow, I beseech thee, don’t make me wait too long before my next Var fix.” Fallen Angel
“4 STARS! This book is another great captive adventure…Michelle M. Pillow has done a great job of creating two characters that is sure to become favorites with plenty of readers.” Angel Brewer, TRS
“5 UNICORNS! I highly recommend this series, it just keeps on getting better and better and I really look forward to the next in the Lords of the Var.” Lyonene, Enchanted in Romance, July 2005
“5 CUPS! My heart broke at certain points of the story, my pulse raced at other(s)… This book was wonderful… a riveting story with vivid characters leaping off the page and into this reader’s heart. Thanks Ms. Pillow, I look forward to more of the Lords of Var.” Jenn
“4 STARS! Get ready for a thrilling ride to planet Qurilixen, where gorgeous cat-shifting alphas rule..Intrigue, romance and sizzling sex keep the story moving.” Romantic Times
Product Description
A girl with a mission…
Agent Ulyssa Payne is on a mission. It’s her job to make sure the Medical Mafia leader doesn’t leave the planet of Qurilixen. But, when her target is killed by his own daughter, her mission is over. Now, she stuck on a barbarian planet for three months until the Agency comes to get her. Getting kidnapped by King Attor, she’s left in the Var harem to await his return. But, when the King dies in battle and doesn’t come for her, she’s stuck dealing with his son, the new savage King of the Var. This is one complication Ulyssa didn’t need.
A royal complication…
The Var Princes were raised by a hard man who put no stock in love-especially love with one woman. Bred to never take a life mate, these men will do everything in their power to live up to the dead King Attor’s expectations and never fall in love. Kirill is a man who must do his duty, only he didn’t expect to do it so soon. When his father dies, he knows it’s his destiny to be King. What he didn’t expect is the troublesome mistress that’s now his to deal with.
