A. To Finish or to Throw Away...

Almost two years ago I had an idea for a new novel due to a dream I had. This happens a lot! I have very strange dreams, and if you have read THE MISSING you would understand what I mean because that was also a dream that I had.

This dream was a little different and it mimicked a situation we had going on in our lives at the moment. I told Mike about the dream and told him I wanted to right it out. The topic of the dream is serious it has to do with children lost in the foster care system.

My biological father and step mom where foster parents. They adopted several children. They were having problems with my 16 yr old sister , who they adopted and I offered to take her in for a little while to calm things down. Once in my house she told me horrific stories that where going on and as  I never lived in the house, i was only a weekend kid and that was a long long time ago. I started to believe her.

So i had this dream that was loosely based on that situation.  We had the whole novel planned out and even started to write it. I was going to be one hell of the story. Then things changed and I started to realize maybe I believed a little to quickly and a little to much of what my sister was saying. I realized that in the year and a half she lived with me, i stopped talking to my father, my children were behaving differently , I was yelling all the time and every moment I was alone I was crying.  Something needed to give.

I talked to her case manger and realized my house was not the place for her. She need more help then I could give her and MY children were suffering from what my house had turned into a ticking time bomb.  She was removed from my house and placed where she would get help. In the process Mike and decided we could not finish the book because it was too painful and the ending just wouldn't work for us anymore.  We didn't delete it just put it aside.

In the last couple of months we have talked about changing the ending and getting back into it. I was never ready and always dismissed the subject. Then last night Mike brought it up again. I still don't know what to do, Its a great story it does need to be changed A LOT, but even with that said and it is mostly fictional it does make me relive things I am not sure I am ready for or will ever be ready for.

What to do?
A.

M. Haunted II

Okay, so most of you have come to know me as a reasonable person, right?

I believe in other existences.  Don't you?  It would be unfathomable to think that there is no other plane of existence.  When a soul dies, is lost, goes away, where does it go?  We wrote a book about it... aka The Missing.

Well, a few weeks ago, Amy wrote about how our house may be haunted and that we may have a visitor.  Guess what, I believed her on one level, but couldn't itemize any proof because I hadn't seen any.  I am a logical person in many ways, except for the fact that I am open minded to things out of my understanding.

Anyway, that's all well and good, but what's important is that today, I EXPERIENCED MY FIRST DIRECT OCCURANCE OF THE OTHER KIND!!!!!

I got home, buffed a few scratches out of my Sister-in-laws car, and went in the house alone.  I got changed.  I put on a pair of shorts, because I hate wearing pants when I don't have to, and headed for the front door.  What was nuts was, I pulled open the front door and a voice from behind me called "Michael!"

It was loud enough to make me spin around and look for my mother-in-law (The only person that calls me Michael).  Expect she wasn't there.  There was nobody there.  NOBODY!!!

Needless to say, my goose bumps on my arms were the size of Redwoods and I got the hell out of there as fast as I could.  Judge me, say what you will, but guess what, you weren't there.

I am now writing about it, in my bed, on my computer, in my house, but not without looking for my new found friend.

Is this family specter really FRIENDLY?????

 Will they ever tell me their real name???

M. Getting It All Done

Hey there everyone,

Sorry to have been away for such a long time, but life - as you've maybe read, has been nuts.  Like Amy said, we've finished moving and I have to say that I am already a thousand times more comfortable in this house.

Work has been crazy, sort of, there are busy days and then days filled with stress because the economy is killing business.

We just had some important events in our lives that took planning and time, which left little time for writing.  I know that the worst excuse for not writing is lack of time, but it was a little because of time.  Then again, it was a little because of a lack of wind in our sails.

Story ideas have been coming out of our minds, but writing them down hasn't.  I think that the lull is over though.

The other day, we got an email from Jay Eckert's daughter, Rachel.  She's a fan of a book of ours and even though she is young, she sparked a fire in our motivation.  She can't wait for the second book to Liberty and it may be a third of the way done, but it's not far enough.

Therefore, for ourselves and for our #1 fan, Rachel, we are going to buckle down and get "Syte's Awakening," the second "Liberty" done ASAP!!!

Thank's for the email the other day Rachel, we needed that!

HAUNTED

A.
 It has been awhile since I have blogged. We have been very busy with the move and unpacking, then my daughters First Holy Communion and now we have Dace recital just around the corner.  I love being busy but really need a little break.

We have been in our house for just about a month now and we really do love it.  The other night though i was tossing and turning and stressing, I was just accepted in to a nursing program and we are trying to find a way to make it all work out. While i was unable to sleep, I heard a small voice say "stop stressing and go to sleep" kind of freaked me out and I thought I am really losing it. I got up the next morning thinking wow what a weird night. 

I went about my day and basically forgot about my strange night until I was cooking dinner. My daughter had done something that landed her in her room until dinner was ready. While I was cooking I saw a gray flash dart from the direction of her room toward my room. I slowly walked around the counter and there was nothing there. I called to my daughter who poked her head out of her room. So now i am really freaked out.

Later that night I invited my parents over for a glass of wine. I proceed to tell my mom what had happen. She can usually sense spirits.  She told me I was crazy and walked outside to smoke. When she came in she started to laugh, and said "your right you have a playful spirit here. Great I thought!!

I am still pretty freaked but maybe my new housemate might bring some new inspiration if we decide to right another ghost story.

So do YOU believe?