Two Deer Staring into My Headlights … by Delsora Lowe

 Spooky? Yes! Prophetic? Maybe!

Driving home, up Route One around 8 p.m., two deer walked right out in front of me…and stopped. Another vehicle was a few car lanes ahead of me, and no one was coming in the opposite direction. That vehicle was oblivious to my visitors emerging from the darkness. As, was I. Until the deer stood right in front of me and stared.

DEER – Photo or Image

It was as if they dropped from the sky.

I slammed on my brakes and swerved partially into the oncoming lane—the direction from which they came. The car’s front end was a hair’s length away from the 2^nd deer’s back flanks. And yes, I cursed.

Neither deer fled. They stayed right where they stopped. I couldn’t really see the first deer well, but the deer I was inches from merely gazed at me. Like spirits in the night, their color was ghostly. Of course, my headlights were on. But they were shining behind the tail end of the last deer, aimed off toward the woods on the opposite side of the road. Of course, I rationalized, the side of my headlight must be shining on the deer.

They continued to stand just off to the passenger side, one gazing straight at me through the right side of the windshield.

Eerie.

Beautiful.

Spiritual

We stared at each other for at least a minute or two, maybe longer, as time seemed suspended. Then, minutes later, as though they had not a care in the world, they moseyed off, out of the glare of my headlights, I believe into the tree line along the edge of the road. But maybe they vanished into thin air, just like they had appeared. I prefer to believe I lost them in the woods. I sucked down a deep breath and pulled my car ahead and back into the northbound lane.

Then it hit me, that besides cussing in fear as I avoided them, my heartrate never rose, A sudden fright should have had my heart drumming in my chest. Strange. I never saw them off to the side of the road as the other car passed them. Why didn’t the other car and then my headlights scare them? Why did they seem to just appear out of nowhere, as if dropped from the sky? Then, after what seemed like a good chunk of time, they took a few steps and disappeared. All the way home, all I could focus on was why did that deer stared at me the entire time we faced each other—it’s gaze mesmerizing me? And why was my heartrate still steady?

I can still envision the ghostly shadows of the deer. Was it the angle of my headlights that made them seem ethereal and calm? Or were they really ghosts? Why did my heartrate not rise? Were the deer trying to tell me something?

When I returned home, I told my son. The few other people I told about this interaction said the same—that the long-ago natives of this country believed in the spirit of the deer. And a sighting, such as this, means something.

When I Googled this, the search mentioned, and I quote, “When a deer crosses your path, it is often regarded as a significant spiritual event with deep symbolism and profound meaning. The deer symbolizes purity, devotion, gentleness, and intuition. Seeing a deer may be an invitation to embrace these qualities in your spiritual journey and trust your inner wisdom and intuition.”

From an article entitled 17 Spiritual Meanings of Deer Crossing Your Path: Harness the Energy, I learned the deer sighting “can offer guidance, inspiration, and a deeper connection to the world around you.” They claim that the sighting is not random, but intentional. Meant as a message to the one they are appearing before.

Of course, I could think of no message or lesson learned from this experience as I moved through the following days and weeks. The vision of the immobile, ghostly deer, staring directly at me, still haunts. The miraculous notion that neither the deer nor I were injured, amazes me.

But when I look at the explanations in the article, I have to wonder…

Was the sighting a “beacon” to guide me through a difficult time or to emphasize my journey in life and give me greater understanding of where I am today? Or where I need to go, and how my actions will either affect me or guide me?

Below are the seventeen lessons listed in the article 17 Spiritual Meanings Of Deer Crossing Your Path: Harness The Energy. To paraphrase…

1.      Guidance toward peace = seek serenity among the chaos

2.      Symbol of protection = protection from higher up

3.      Harbinger of good luck = a sign of upcoming fortunes or positive outcomes

4.      Call for Adventure = embrace changes and new adventures

5.      Reminder of fertility or new life = personal growth or new ideas and projects

6.      Spiritual Authority = protection from higher up

7.      Messenger of Unconditional Love = to give or receive

8.      Self-reflection = encouraging introspection and improvement

9.      Perseverance = keep moving forward

10.  Awakening to Psychic Abilities = a nudge to explore and develop intuitive skills

11.  Symbol of Regeneration = rebirth or the ability to renew oneself

12.  Embodying Gracefulness = learning to handle situations with ease and poise

13.  Indicator of Sacrifice = personal sacrifice for the greater good

14.  Humanity’s Fragility = reflection of actions & decisions and impact on the world

15.  Adaptability = a prompt to be more flexible and adaptable

16.  A Call to Natural Living = closer connections to nature & living a simpler, more organic lifestyle

17.  Beacon of Hope – a symbol of hope and encouragement to persist in challenging times.

I’m still not sure where the deer wished to lead me in thought or action.

Will I know what the message was when I see it? Or will the guidance they wished to bestow on me, just happen without my noticing?

Furthermore, do I believe in the supernatural? Do I believe some entity has bigger plans for my life than I have recognized? Should I obsess on these questions? Or let my life’s journey continue to unfold to surprise me? If I do the later, will I have missed a chance while on this earth to make a difference in my life or perhaps in someone else’s?

HAVE YOU EVER HAD AN ENCOUNTER THAT HAS NO EXPLANATION?

 Moonlighting (also in print as a collection: Starlight Grille)

Amazon

Books2Read

~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~

Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet and spicy romances and contemporary westerns, from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.

Author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine (most recently, an Easter romance in the April 1, 2024 edition.) The Love Left Behind is a Hartford Estates, R.I. wedding novella with Book 2 on the way. A Christmas novel (The Inn at Gooseneck Lane) and novella (Holiday Hitchhiker – the youngest brother of the Mineral Spring’s ranching family) were the most recent releases. Look for book 3 of the cowboy’s series, as well as book 2 of the Hartford Estates series, to be released in 2025.

Author Links:

Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Books2Read Author page: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe

Photo Credits:

Deer: Deer Silhouette Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures
Headlights: photo taken by blog author
Heartrate: heart-rate-icon-free-png.png (1920×1755)
Ghost: free clipart - ghost images free download - Search Images 
Hope, Peace, Faith free clipart spiritual images free - Search Images
Wondering: free clipart wondering images free - Search Images
Guidance: free clipart guidance images free - Search Images

The Past Isn't Dead. It Isn't Even Past .... by Anna Taylor Sweringen

"The past isn't dead. It isn't even past." - William Faulkner, Requiem for A Nun

As a lover of history, this line of Faulkner's thrills me. Why? Because I believe what has gone before is not only always present, but also has the power in the present as well. 

Faulkner's line hit home when I took this picture many years ago from the Brooklyn promenade where the World Trade Center used to stand. That sky is broken and not empty. It's full of the lives lost, the lives forever affected by those losses and will always be.

In downtown Albuquerque there's an historic district called Old Town where they commemorate the arrival of the Spanish and the founding of Albuquerque. Plaques also share the history of the Church of San Felipe de Neri, the oldest continuing congregation in Albuquerque.

And yet as I stand in the quiet of the narrow streets and peruse the original architecture of Old Albuquerque, preserved in art shops and restaurants, Faulkner's line haunts me. Where are the plaques and markers that pay homage to the native people who occupied this land before the Spanish and the Christians laid claim to this territory? Surely their spirits are as present as the spirits I sense when I look at my broken sky picture. Surely their spirits hover around me in the streets of Old Town.

Whether seated on the Brooklyn promenade or standing in the cool quiet of the Old Town plaza, I imagine who filled this space with their energy and dreams and desires, whose legacy and lingering presence fill them now. Having been a minister, I'm already predisposed to accept realities that go beyond the five senses. No wonder I enjoy writing ghost stories as Anna M. Taylor. Well, stories dealing with spirits or supernatural energy to be more accurate because the past isn't dead. It isn't even past. Never was. Never will be.

Anna Taylor Sweringen self-publishes second chance romance gothic ghost stories in her Haunted Harlem series as Anna M. Taylor. Book Three, Always the Dead Between is slated to release October 31. In the meanwhile you can learn more about Haunted Harlem on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/355nKv0. 

 

A Little Spirit Paranormal by Paty Jager

I'm at the blog today to talk a bit about light paranormal in a book.  I don't know if someone before me went over the difference between dark and light paranormal but I'll do a brief overview. 

Dark paranormal is usually vampires, demons, werewolves, zombies and books with a darker almost Gothic theme. 

Light paranormal is usually witches, spirits, ghosts, with lighter themes than the dark paranormal. 

I write light paranormal. Mostly spirits and ghosts. Though I have enjoyed reading books about witches from authors like Nora Roberts, Mary Stewart, and Diana McCollum. 

My Spirit Trilogy ( I think you figured out this is a paranormal), is first and foremost a historical Native American romance. But because I have three Indian spirit siblings who are main characters in the books, that makes the books also light  paranormal. I say light not only because of the spirit element, but because that element of the story is key to the story, but it isn't dark. It is just in how they help the mortals in the books. 

Three books about the Wallowa Band of Nez Perce or Nimiipuu. Three sibling Nimiipuu Spirits fall in love with mortals as they work together to help the People.

Spirit of the Mountain

Evil spirits, star-crossed lovers, and duty…which will prevail?

Wren, the daughter of a Nimiipuu chief, loves the mountain and her people. When an evil spirit threatens Wren’s life, Himiin, Spirit of the Mountain, rushes to save her. But to leave the mountain means he’ll turn to smoke…

https://www.books2read.com/u/4Ek6A3

Spirit of the Lake

Can a spirit set upon this earth to watch over the Nimiipuu stay true to justice when revenge burns in his heart? On their quest for justice, Dove reveals spiritual abilities, ensnaring Wewukiye’s respect and awe. But will these abilities seal their future or tear them apart?

https://www.books2read.com/u/m2R9km

Spirit of the Sky

Can enemies not only work for peace but find love?

Sa-qan, a Nimiipuu eagle spirit, must take human form to save her mortal niece when the Nimiipuu are forced from their land by the U.S. Army. Trying to remain true to her spirit world and her people becomes hard when a Cavalry Officer captures her heart.

https://www.books2read.com/u/b5D814

These books are what I call the "books of my heart." I grew up in Wallowa County where the Nimiipuu summered and wintered, yet I never knew more about them than they rode in the Chief Joseph Days parade and Rodeo. They set up teepees and that was it. When I became an adult I learned how they were pushed from their land and how they suffered. That is what is in these three books. I'm happy to sat that today, they own land in Wallowa County and hold a Powwow there every July. For many years they weren't allowed to set foot in the county.

 My other light paranormal series is my Shandra Higheagle Mystery series. In these books it is a ghost or spirit of my main character's grandmother who comes to Shandra Higheagle in dreams and helps her solve the murders. 

This story started out with my wanting to have a Native American protagonist and coming up with a way to have her involved in the art world because my brother, an artist had given me a great idea for how to hide a weapon on a bronze statue. With is idea, I came up with Shandra being a potter who sold her vases as art and goes to art shows.  The idea of her grandmother coming to her in dreams came from my research of the Nez Perce who live on the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington State. The Nez Perce who live at Colville are descendants of the Non-treaty Nez Perce (the ones who followed Young Chief Joseph to Montana trying to get to Canada-you can learn all of this in my Spirit trilogy) who were first sent to Oklahoma after they were captured and then banned from being with the treaty Nez Perce in Lapwai in Idaho. These Non-treaty Nez Perce also practiced the Dreamer Religion of their ancestors. And this little tidbit, sent my mind spinning and I came up with the idea of Shandra's deceased grandmother coming to her in dreams. 

Although the grandmother comes to her, she doesn't just tell Shandra everything. Shandra has to decipher the dreams to help her catch the killers.

This only shows seven of the fifteen books in the series. 

You can find these books at my website: https://www.patyjager.net/shandra-higheagle-mystery-series/  most of these books are available in ebook, print, and audio. 

I prefer reading and writing the lighter paranormal books, what about you? Do you like lighter or darker paranormal reading? 

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 47 novels, 8 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.

blog / website /  Facebook / Paty's Posse / Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest   / Bookbub

Top photo purchased from DepositPhoto

A Work in Progress is Hard Work

By Courtney Pierce

Do you believe in ghosts?

When I've been asked that question in the past, I offer a hesitant nod, followed by a wink and a smile. I didn’t really believe in ghosts beyond the normal psych-out from watching a scary movie. Being alone in the house can get me going, too, with a sudden unfamiliar noise, a flicker in the reflection of a darkened window, or ethereal images in flashes of lightning. However, my research for my latest work-in-progress, Big Sky Talk, led me down an interesting path through the ghost department.

Big Sky Talk is part Montana ghost story, part Native-American folklore, and part love story for those of us who have a few miles on our shoes. The story’s fuel is a grown woman’s grief over the loss of her elderly father. She starts life anew, but she can't hide.

Here’s a quick run-down of the premise:

“A wounded grizzly bear is on the loose in the sleepy suburb of Many Lakes in Kalispell, Montana. The mauled remains of its shooter, a known poacher, lay on a slab in the morgue under the scrutiny of Russell Knowles, the Sheriff of Flathead County. With one month to go before his retirement, Russ hopes this case will be one of his last.

Professional photographer Aubrey Cenderon is a new resident of Many Lakes. After the death of her father, the move to Montana will renew her passion for the outdoors and fulfill her father’s unrealized dreams. She looks forward to capturing wildlife with her camera lens, hiking the mountain trails, and sitting by the wood stove to finally grasp that she’s a 62-year-old orphan. But the bloody paw print on the lake shore behind Aubrey’s house is the size of a serving platter . . . and it’s fresh. Aubrey has a lot to learn about the dangers of living in Big Sky Country, and she’s about to get a crash course.

A knock on the door from Sheriff Knowles will change Aubrey’s life. Living in Montana is suddenly full of complications, and Russ’s concern for Aubrey’s safety comes with two serious ones–their instant mutual attraction and his insistence that she buy a gun. But using a gun won’t be an easy decision when Aubrey finds out why the injured grizzly-on-the-run is hunting specifically for her.”

It's an emotional dive into the fantastic.

I’m only at the fifty-percent mark into my first draft of Big Sky Talk, but the story is already rich in layers. My editor is licking her chops for the manuscript, but the more I research Native American folklore the deeper those layers become. Now that I live in northwest Montana, I’m in a unique position to tap into the wisdom of the Blackfeet and Salish tribes. I have access to almost too much information. I’m only a 40-minute drive from Glacier National Park, where thousands of years of Native American spirituality wrap around me like a blanket. 

There are several stories that are recounted in Glacier Ghost Stories by

Karen Stevens, a local Indie book that I gobbled up in one sitting. Spirits really do call Glacier National Park home. According to the real-life testimonials of the staff who work in the Park's historic lodges, campgrounds, and on the trails, ghostly run-ins are not only documented, but the stories are also corroborated by visitors and guests. 

The strangest stories are relayed from the housekeeping staff and caretakers of the Park's grand lodges built by the Great Northern Railway in the early 1900s. Be prepared for an eerie experience in Room 30 at Belton Chalet. Guests consistently report consistent details of a woman weeping all night in the room. Also, a little Indian girl in buckskins has been seen walking the halls at night and knocking on doors. If followed, she leads guests to the stairway, where she suddenly disappears.

Glacier Park Lodge

Glacier Park Lodge is host to several spirits, most of which are Native American. The hotel sits on what used to be Blackfeet territory, which was the site of a particularly violent battle. There are regular reports from the housekeeping staff about a light female voice responding, "I'm in here" to a knock on the door. A double check of the schedule reveals the room is listed as unoccupied. A second knock produces no response. Upon entering the room, no one is there. Bellmen frequently pass women in old-fashioned garb on the stairs, only to have them disappear into thin air. In the Moccasin Room, the bar located in the Lodge's basement, bartenders and visitors alike have frequently seen two ghostly men sitting at the counter. The gift shop sports a life-sized carving of an Indian, whose gaze appears to follow shoppers.  

A trickster ghost haunts the gift shop at St. Mary Lodge. Upon opening the shop in

St. Mary Lodge

the morning, the staff frequently find that items have been pulled from the shelves and strewn across the floor. Dreamcatchers have also been removed from their boxes. And when the Lodge closes for the winter, the staff hears voices and "non-paying" guests moving around the empty hotel. It's no wonder. For hundreds of years, the trails of the St. Mary Valley were home to Native Americans, trappers, and hunters. Mountain men apparently make a lot of noise.

Lake McDonald Lodge

Lake McDonald Lodge sits on land that was deemed the "Sacred Dancing Place" of the Kootenai tribe. Could the spirits from these ceremonies be the cause of strange odors that grace the air and disappear? What about the complaints of noise from a loud party in Room 308 when the employees know the room is unoccupied?

And what about the ghostly pets that crawl into guests' beds at the

Many Glacier Hotel

Many Glacier Hotel? When the hotel closes down for the winter, a man in a top hat is frequently seen in the upstairs halls. In an interview with the hotel's caretaker, he was asked by reporters whether the incidents were true. The caretaker said, "If I say yes, then I'm crazy. If I say no, then I'm a liar."

It's hard to deny that something otherworldly is going on in these grand ole' dames of Glacier National Park. Maybe I'm gullible, but I want to believe, so I do. It's like method acting, I guess. To write about magical events, I have to be an "all in" believer, not just a "Daydream Believer."

While the majority of my research has been centered around the reincarnation beliefs of the Native-American tribes, the story is infused with personal details. They say that the most important people in our lives remain with us in various forms. In every culture there’s a unique bond between fathers and daughters—good and bad—and a father’s loss is life-changing for a daughter. The grief process can be filled with heartache, anger, regret, or unfinished emotional business. The last is at the heart of Big Sky Talk. 

My goal is to be both factually authentic and personal, but the two don’t always seamlessly meld together. An author can’t fudge on details to make the story fit together. It would be like trying to shove a marshmallow into a piggy bank.

Reincarnation beliefs vary among North American tribes, but there are a few universal principals: nature and the spirit world are intimately linked, the "spirit road" for the dead leads to the Milky Way, and that reincarnation, in either human or animal form, provides continuity to the soul. I chose to make one of my secondary characters of Blackfeet or Salish descent. I haven't settled on which tribe my character will be from yet, but my continued research will certainly guide me to make a choice.

As in my first three books, Stitches, Brushes, and Riffs, I’m thrilled to be back in the world of magical realism. I’ve always wanted to write a ghost story and to explore all of the exaggerated emotions that go along with creating one.  

Using reincarnation as the heart of my story allows me, the author, the supreme indulgence to button up all that unfinished business after the loss of my own Dad. Like my character of Aubrey Cenderon, I sense that he's still around in spirit. I'm sure he'll be reading over my shoulder as I write my character's conversation with a reincarnated grizzly bear, a dialogue of all the things I'd wished I would've said to him in those final days of his life. 

On second thought, forget the over-the-shoulder stuff. Dad would've wanted me to read it to him aloud. 

And so I will.

Courtney Pierce is a fiction writer living in Kalispell, Montana with her husband, stepdaughter, and their brainiac cat. Courtney writes for the baby boomer audience. She spent 28 years as an executive in the entertainment industry and used her time in a theater seat to create stories that are filled with heart, humor, and mystery. She studied craft and storytelling at the Attic Institute and has completed the Hawthorne Fellows Program for writing and publishing. Active in the writing community, Courtney is a board member of the Northwest Independent Writers Association and on the Advisory Council of the Independent Publishing Resource Center. She is a member of Willamette Writers, Pacific Northwest Writers Association, and Authors of the Flathead. The Executrix received the Library Journal Self-E recommendation seal.

Print and E-books are available through most major online retailers, including Amazon.com.

Check out all of Courtney's books: 

courtney-pierce.com and windtreepress.com 

New York Times best-selling author Karen Karbo says, "Courtney Pierce spins a madcap tale of family grudges, sisterly love, unexpected romance, mysterious mobsters and dog love. Reading Indigo Lake is like drinking champagne with a chaser of Mountain Dew. Pure Delight."

Coming in 2021!

When Aubrey Cenderon moves to Montana after the death of her father, the peace and quiet of Big Sky Country becomes complicated with a knock on the door from the sheriff. An injured grizzly bear is on the loose and it must be eliminated before it kills again. The sheriff's insistence that she buy a gun for protection will present Aubrey with some serious soul-searching, because the grizzly-on-the-run is hunting for her too . . . for a different reason.