DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC?

I am currently in Denver for the RomCom conference, so I'm posting an edited version of a post I did a while back. Enjoy!!

How much do you believe in the supernatural? Do you check your horoscope on a regular basis? Have you ever had your cards thrown? Or had your palm read?

I think everyone has a sense of magic in them. But, by my definition, magic doesn't mean having the power to cast spells or make yourself float in midair...to me magic is about emotion, how strong your heart is, how strong your bond with everyone and everything around you.

I've always had a strong intuition and could always sense when someone or something wasn’t quite right. Of course, I didn’t always trust my gut, but when I did, I managed to get out of some pretty hairy situations.

I never really tried to hone that gift, but I call on it every time I start a new book.  Mainly because, when I write, I see the story as a movie with myself as the main character/s so I can see and feel everything they experience. Adding this sense of realism is what makes my work successful.

When I was researching my novel Dark Obsession I focused my search on Curanderismo, spirituality, and pretty much anything having to do with witchcraft, mysticism, etc. The information I came across was all very interesting. I even had a chance to speak with a man in west Texas who has done years of research on Curanderismo and his insight made for great conflict in my story (and future stories). My research also took me on a road trip with my aunt and cousin, to the Rio Grande Valley, (in Texas). I went to get visuals (since it had been several years since I lived there) and gather stories from the various family members who live there.  As a detective with the Brownsville Police Department stated during an investigation of a ritual killing  “you can't be born or raised near Mexico without believing the possibility that the magic exists.”

While we were in the valley, my aunt's sister-in-law told me about a (healing) incident she witnessed with a (colicky) baby, a raw egg and a glass of salt water. This particular healing (called a limpia) was written into my novel Dark Obsession.  

Now, I wouldn't say I'm a firm believer in what I researched, but I can admit there's something there to consider. I mean, really, don't we all wish we could have just a little bit of magic ala Samantha Stevens?   

 

Summer Lovin’

I seem to say this every month, but man, this year is flying by! I can’t believe it’s almost June and I’ll be turning another year older!  :-o

Okay, let’s not dwell on that.  I think this year is flying by for me because I haven’t been so busy since my kids were in elementary school. Even then I didn’t know how to say “no”. hah 

Anyway, at the beginning of April was the Desert Dreams Conference which I, and author Heather Palmer, coordinated. I’m thrilled to say it was a roaring success!!  A couple of weeks after the conference, my husband and I did a weekend getaway for our 22nd anniversary and a couple of weeks after that we did a weekend fun-time (wink wink) for Mother’s Day.  The Saturday before Mother’s Day was actually Mexican Mother’s Day, so I took advantage of that. Hah  The days in between those events I was critiquing/editing my CP’s new book, which was due to her editor by May 1st, reading a screenplay for a friend of my daughter’s, giving a read to another friend, working on my new book Body & Soul and getting my latest book Dark Obsession ready for publication.  Yep, got all that done, including the launch of Dark Obsession on May 5th.  I really love this book and the characters, brother and sister, Ray and Sylvia Chavez who live with their grandparents in the Rio Grande Valley (Texas), because they’re so close to my heart.  And I love that they’re very popular with my readers.

But, now that the April and May activities are out of the way, it’s time to focus on the rest of the year….which is equally busy….but it’s just as much pleasure as business.  In June, the week of my birthday no less, I’ll be in Denver for the RomCom Conference. This is my first time to do this conference, which is like a mini version of RT, and I’m really looking forward to it.  After I get home from that, I’ll be working on details for RWA National’s Literacy Signing in San Antonio (July 23) because I’m chairing it again (for the 3rd year).  Although the week before the conference two of my kids and I will be driving across the US to Texas to visit friends and family. It’s been years since we've seen most of them!   A week after we get home I’ll be off to Vegas to celebrate my daughter’s twenty-first birthday!  *Whew!* Makes you tired just thinking about it, huh?

Of course I’ll also set aside time to complete my current novel and get in my summer reading!  Although, with the amount of books I have on my TBR list, I’m going to need more time.  This is just a small bookcase of books I haven’t read yet.

 What’s on your list? J

Vacation Memories

So we’re talking vacations this month. It’s a bit premature since most vacations happen in the summer. 

I never really took vacations until after I was married and had kids and my husband retired from the Coast Guard and found another job, because we just couldn’t afford to. Our first family vacation was 2002. A trip to Florida. My nieces Heather and Sierra joined us, along with Sierra’s brother Nik. We went to both Disneyworld and Universal studios and had a blast! The kids were all at the perfect age to enjoy the rides and shows.  As much fun as that was though, I think my most memorable vacation was the one I took in 1975, with my whole family. It was the first and only vacation I can remember us taking and the last because a few months later my mom passed away.  I can still remember when she came to tell us we were taking a trip. She just walked in the room while we were watching TV and said, “We’re going on a trip, so pack some clothes and get some sleep. We’re leaving very early in the morning.”  Yeah, it was a spur of the moment thing. I think my aunt and uncle talked her into it, they came with us.

So we all piled into our Suburban…seven kids aged nine to seventeen, a two year old toddler and three adults and took a road trip south along the Texas gulf coastline. I remember we made stops in Alice, Kingsville, Corpus Christie and Brownsville….visiting with family mostly. Then we took a trip across the border to Mexico to do some shopping.  I don’t remember which town it was, there are a few you can cross into that welcome tourists.  Along the river on the Mexico side, you’ll see children of all ages begging for money and scrambling like ants for the measly coins people toss down to them. Once you cross the river via the international bridge and you’re accosted by merchants trying to sell you everything from candies to clothing to wall hangings. Even children, some as young as five, will try to sell you packets of gum.  The streets are lined with stores and the sidewalks are crowded with carts filled with leather belts, handbags, jewelry,  everything you can think of. And, occasionally you’ll pass a store and your senses are filled with the spicy aroma of Mexican food.  I don’t remember if anyone bought anything, although I’m sure we did.  But, you have to be careful who you turn down because if it’s the wrong person, you could end up cursed. I saw a woman give my mother a dirty look when she told her no and a couple of months later mom got sick. (Superstitious much?)

I’ve made a few trips back to Mexico over the years and not much has changed.  The children are still begging for loose change, merchants are still trying to make deals, and you won’t find better Mexican food. Of course, I avoid eye-contact, for obvious reasons. Hah

A few years back, while I was working on my book Dark Obsession (available May 5th), my aunt, cousin and I took a trip back down the Rio Grande Valley (the gulf coastline) so I could get some visuals. Dark Obsession takes place in the valley….almost all of my stories do, actually.  I got some great stories from my aunt’s in-laws as well as some great scenery to use in the story.  

Anyway, speaking of Dark Obsession, the book is being re-released May 5th. I hope you’ll pick up a copy and help spread the word. =)

Here’s the blurb and a short excerpt for your reading pleasure.

 

DARK OBSESSION

A chance encounter seals the fate of a reclusive farmer and a mysterious woman who's on the run from a man who will stop at nothing to control her--including murder.

Ray Chavez  doesn’t believe in visions or omens or the mysticism of his Mexican/Indian heritage. When he’s awakened by the spirit of this great-grandmother with a message that something is coming, Ray passes it off as a bad dream. But he may just reconsider his position when he finds Lexie Solis stranded on the edge of town, in search of a new life. Ray feels an instant attraction, as well as a connection, to the skittish young woman, and he pursues a relationship with her. But what Lexie doesn’t tell Ray or his family, is that she is on the run from an abusive ex-boyfriend and he may be more powerful than even she wants to believe. When Lexie is assaulted by an unseen force, they learn that the man she is hiding from is a master of the dark arts and his obsession with Lexie goes beyond his need to control her; he wants to possess her soul as well. As their past lives parallel, Lexie’s only hope for salvation is in Ray’s hands. But can he accept his destiny in time to save the woman he loves? 

Excerpt:

Sylvia dropped onto the kitchen chair and scowled at her brother. She’d rushed straight from work after her grandmother called and told her about their new visitor. She couldn’t help but wonder if it were the same visitor her cards had been warning her about for the past week and even after she voiced this concern Ray still had the nerve to patronize her.

“She’s not some stray puppy you picked up from the side of the road, Ray,” she said. “I’m just saying you don’t know anything about her.”

Ray leaned against the counter, crossing his legs at the ankles, and sent her a crooked grin. “Damn. And I was really looking forward to teaching her a few tricks.”

“Stop thinking with your glands and think with your head, Big Brother,” Sylvia snapped.

“I’ve been thinking with my glands since I was fourteen. It’s a hard habit to break.”

Sylvia curled her lip at him and turned to her grandmother for support. She had sensed a mal puesta in the young woman and performed a limpia to heal her. It was a ritual they often worked for the families in town who came to see them about their curses. The inflicted would lie on a small cot and her grandmother would wave an egg over them, chanting a series of novenas.

She did this same cleansing on the young woman in Ray’s old bedroom. When she finished she took the egg and cracked it into a glass of salt water. The egg sizzled and cooked, curling its way to the surface like a snake trying to escape the flames of hell.

 Look for this and other works at my website: www.terrimolina.com

Could it Be Magic?

This month we've been talking about superstitions, which seems apropos since it's October and Halloween is just around the corner.  And, what better time to talk about superstitions and magic and all things that go bump in the night?   

I'm not a superstitious person, or at least I've never considered myself one. Then I thought, hmm...maybe I should look up the definition and see for sure. 

Superstition: noun \ˌsü-pər-ˈsti-shən\

: a belief or way of behaving that is based on fear of the unknown and faith in magic or luck : a belief that certain events or things will bring good or bad luck , that some events or phenomena are omens, and, generally, fearfully believing in a supernatural dimension to events.

Okay....maybe I am a bit superstitious because I do tend to believe in omens. Here's a case in point....and because it's almost Halloween, consider this a 'ghost story' or rather "Paranormal Activity continued".  

Last July (2012) I went home (to Texas) to attend the funeral for my girlfriend's son. I stayed at my cousin Michelle's house and I hadn't seen her in a few years so we spent a lot of hours 'catching up'. On one of the nights I was there we had dinner with Michelle's brother and parents. Now, my uncle, is VERY superstitious and is always telling me stories of magic and witches and crazy supernatural events he witnessed when he was younger....he's from the Rio Grande Valley, so believing in all of that is pretty much ingrained. Anyway, he was telling me about a local 'witch' who worked out of a little herb shop and how she could cast spells and whatever.

So, being the adventurous fiction writer I am, I said how cool that would be to go check out. Michelle piped up, "Let's do it. I'll go with you." To which my uncle said (something along the lines of), "don't go in there calling her a witch or anything or she'll hex you." I told him I only wanted to check out the store and could just say I'm looking for an herb to help me sleep....I'd been feeling a bit run down.  So he gave me the address and the following morning Michelle and I set out to find the store. She was feeling a bit apprehensive so I told her, don't worry, we're just going to check it out and if she asks, we'll tell her we're looking for herbs or something. 

So, after driving past the address a couple of times, we pull into a small, graveled parking lot where an old, rundown, building set. It looked like an old convenience store that had been closed for a while. We got out of the car and went to check the front door. It was locked. So, I peered into the grime-stained window to look inside. The place looked empty. There were a few boxes on counters and a shelf to the side with a few scraps of papers, a couple of books and some figurines. It looked like whoever had been there only took what they really wanted and left the rest.

There was a banner attached to the roof with a phone number so Michelle suggested we call it. I got a bit of an uneasy feeling, so I said, "Nah, it's no big deal. Besides, I'd gotten pretty much what I wanted...a look inside." So we left and the next day I flew back to Arizona and began preparing for my trip to Anaheim and the RWA conference, which was two weeks away. A few days after I got home I got a call from my aunt saying Michelle had to be rushed into surgery because her colon had ruptured. A few weeks before Mic had learned she had diverticulitis and was on medication (I think). She was in the hospital for a week, recovering and was scheduled another round of surgery the following September. It was pretty scary and I'm so relieved she's fine now.  

Now, during that week, I was still struggling with insomnia and I was having trouble eating....I had no appetite and was basically living on watermelon and strawberries because it was the only thing I could eat that didn't taste like paste.  On the Saturday before I was to leave for RWA I was feeling really drained, so I asked my daughter if I could use her meter to check my blood sugar. I don't know why, it was just one of those things that popped into my head. I wasn't diabetic, my doctor told me I was borderline a few months previously, but I hadn't really given it much thought. So, she gave me her meter and ran upstairs so it wouldn't register on her pump....she's Type 1 and the meter is wireless to go to her insulin pump.

So, I did the finger prick and test and my sugar read 535....normal is 70. I figured it was wrong, and, because Manda was still in the house, she saw the numbers and said,

'That's too high." 

"It's probably wrong," I said. "I'll try again."

535.

*sigh*

So, I texted Michelle....she's an RN and my 'go-to' with medical emergencies.

She said, "That's too high. Go to the ER. You need insulin."

And, me, being the stubborn person I am said, "I just took one of the insulin pills the doctor gave me (a few months ago) so I'll wait and see if it works."  

Since she knew it was an argument she wouldn't win, she continued to text me until the hour was up and I could check my sugar again.

545.  

After a bit of hemming and hawing (there was a monsoon, I should wait on that. My husband and son are at the ballgame, there's no one to drive me...blah blah) Manda and I climbed into the car and I went to the ER. They took me in right away when I mentioned my high sugar, and did another test. It didn't register on their machine, which told them my sugars were above 700 now. So, they took me to trauma and tried to start an I.V. Because I was so dehydrated it took three nurses and six tries to find a vein!! 

After a few hours the doctor came in and said, "Guess what? You're not borderline anymore!" He also said they were going to keep me in the hospital for the next two days to monitor me and make sure they can get my sugar down. But, I had a trip in two days and said, "Nope. I gotta be out of here tomorrow." To which he was not all that happy about. Needless to say, he let me leave on the following day with strict instructions to not eat anything high in carbs.....yeah, that turned out to be a fun trip!

So anyway, as Michelle and I started to heal, we realized that our troubles both started after we went to see the witch. Did our snooping around her store cause our illnesses?? Had there been a spell of some sort around the store?  We don't know for sure....but it's quite the coincidence, don't you think?  

Whichever you believe, I gotta admit, it makes for great suspense in my work. ;-) 

To learn more about my work visit my website at www.terrimolina.com