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I’m going to admit something right now. I’m nosy. Not like, look in your trash type of nosy, more like, tell me how you live your life and your innermost thoughts type of nosy. When my fellow authors make posts on Instagram with reels showcasing their lives, I grab the popcorn and settle in to watch. So, I figured that in all fairness, I would post about a normal day in the life for me. Prepare to be enthralled, enraptured, or perhaps mildly entertained. Some of you might know already that I have a muggle job. (Oh, the shame!) I’ve worked as a registered nurse for over ten years now. I’ve tried it all- emergency department, surgery, prep and recovery, a brief stint in primary care, labor and delivery, and case management. So, when I’m not masquerading as the next New York Times bestselling author (hey, it could happen!) I’m working as a nurse. My muggle job dictates how, or more precisely, when my day starts. If I’m working, I start my day at 4:30am. I make my coffee, check emails and IG, and then shoot for at least 500 words on whatever WIP I have going at the time. If the words are flowing and I have time, I’ll keep going. If I’m fighting for each letter, I’ll switch to editing or content creation for social media. My job is an hour and a half drive away, so I’ll load up some writing related podcasts or audiobooks on writing techniques for the drive. Here in Hawaii cell service can be intermittent, so it’s a good time to do some learnin’. If I have the day off, I like to start my day with coffee and oracle cards (I’ll share the decks I use below) and then write in my gratitude journal, followed by my manifestation journal. Then I brew some tea and get to work! For me, I need to start with my WIP first. I find I can tap into that creative side in the morning first thing a lot more easily than if I try to edit or work on the business side of things before writing. Usually by noon or 1:00 I’m tapped out on writing and move on to reaching out to my Bookstagram friends and checking up on any business loose ends that need addressed. By 3:00 or 4:00 I call it a day from a writing/author standpoint and then start on life things like dinner and laundry…😜 Before you get too discouraged thinking ‘I don’t have the flexibility in my schedule to mirror Chris’s day,’ neither do I! Listed above is my ‘perfect’ day for writing, but honestly, it’s pretty rare that my day goes that way. There are usually phone calls from the kids, dog nonsense, hubby needs something, rabbit holes to get lost down, etc. When I’m actively working on a book, I tend to get lost in the writing and lose track of time. Setting a timer on my phone has helped, but I’m open to any suggestions if you have any! One thing I’ve recognized is the need for a better balance between writing, working, and living. Apparently, there aren’t any rich benefactors willing to front me the cash so I could just stay home and write all day, so I’m working on finding a compromise. Figuring out the perfect schedule is a work in progress that I’m fine tuning each week. I know it’s not perfect, and there’s room for improvement, but writing books while juggling jobs, kids, pets, LIFE, requires constant balance and negotiation. And it’s totally worth it!   
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Do you ever look back on something you did and think to yourself how much sooner you could've accomplished it if you would've been better organized, more disciplined? Same. The journey to finishing Awakened Power was a long one (haha, that's what she said!) full of twists and turns, triumphs and setbacks. Grab some tea and get settled… It was a dark and stormy night… No, that's not right. It was the best of times; it was the worst of times… Okay, that's a little more accurate. I started my book mid-2020, when COVID was the ONLY thing on the news, and I couldn't even go to the grocery store for toothpaste, much less the bookstore or library. Boredom set in really quickly. Luckily, I worked remotely, which gave me plenty of time at home, occasionally avoiding actual work and goofing off instead. (Shhh…. don't tell my boss!) To be fair, my position was really new, and no one quite knew what to do with me. And I tend to grind really hard to get my to do list done so I have more time to goof off. I mean, enjoy other hobbies. Anyhoo, based on a dream I had one night, I started writing a book. I didn't know it would be a book I mostly just wrote about my dream because it haunted me (I was reading a lot of Nora Roberts at the time). Every few days or weeks I would add a little something to it, but not much and not consistently. Over the next few years, I continued to play around with it, but in 2024 I decided at 70,000 words and counting I actually had a book, and I got serious. Even at my most serious I still only got a couple thousand words in here and there, but after my husband had a pretty serious surgery and my life ground to a halt, I used writing as an escape, as a fun little diversion from the worry. One of my first biggest cheerleaders was my sister-in-law, Susie. (Hi Susie!) When I told her about my book, she got so excited, asked me questions about it whenever we talked, and generally rizzed me up (that's cool kid code for making me feel like a rockstar. I think. I looked it up on Urban Dictionary and that is decidedly not their definition.). Susie worked on creating a website for me, and we had weekly meetings discussing my progress on the book and the next steps. Finally, I made myself an actual ironclad schedule (that I followed about as well as any enforced rule… :-)). But it helped me focus and eventually I banged out (again with The Office jokes…) the rest of the book. The first person I sent my first draft to was my friend Sam, so she could be a Beta reader for me (not that I knew that's what it was called at the time). Meanwhile, I paid a developmental editor to edit it for me. I wish I would've read my book through a few more times before I sent it. In all seriousness, when you are writing something, it's hard to see the gaps or holes in your story because you're so close to it. After I got it back from Claire, my editor, I realized, based on her feedback, that I had a lot more work ahead of me. After a few more months of a big overhaul and bushwhacking it down from 100,000 words to 70,000, I reread it again, maybe a hundred more times, then sent it back to Claire. That was ten days ago. No, I'm definitely not biting my nails and pacing nervously… The moral of this very long-winded story for the two people still reading is that I finally got my sh*t together and put in the work to write an actual book! I'm working on my second one now, part of a three book (so far) cozy mystery/romance series that is completely different from my first book. I can't wait to have them published and to show them off to the one or two people that might pick them up by accident…. :-) One of my favorite dive spots on the planet!   First, a little background history about crystals; yes, I know, yawwnnnn- a history lesson. But I think it’s nice to get an understanding on the past importance historically speaking to be able to appreciate why people value crystals so much. Here goes: Precious and Semi-precious stones have been in use since the beginning of recorded history and probably longer. Many people, then (and now), believe there to be an inherent energy or frequency particular to each type of stone. These stones often ascribed wealth and status and were coveted- similarly to current times. Throughout history, cultures have used crystals in ceremonies such as burials, weddings, and sacred contact with deities. Egypt was known for utilizing lapis lazuli, China used jade, and Aztec and Toltic cultures considered emeralds sacred. I personally am a little obsessed with crystals. I’ve never been a jewelry kind of girl, preferring experiences over things. But I find it hard to pass by a crystal shop without going in to browse. The crystals I have are usually towers, flames, balls, or rough-cut stones. I put them on my windowsills, desk, shelves, fireplace mantel, etc. I also put some in my car. Now if you’ve read any of my other posts you know that I consider myself skeptically optimistic (or is it an optimistic skeptic?) so I will say that although I love my little stone buddies, I don’t know that I believe them to have magical superpowers. (Ok but how cool would that be?) For instance- my rose quartz is not going to instantly make my husband super romantic and loving because I held it in my hand and asked for it. (It was worth a shot though…..) To me, it’s more of using them as a focus. So, to use the rose quartz example again- I can wear a rose quartz bracelet, and when I look at it, I can take that opportunity to focus my thoughts on being more loving, on bringing more love into my life by addressing my blocks and insecurities. I also place certain crystals in my truck and my backpack when I travel. I love me a good hematite stone for protection. Did it stop the tornado from touching down in front of my airplane in Chicago this summer while we sat on the tarmac like the most alluring of trailer parks? No. Did I come out unharmed with a wild story to tell and some new friends? Yes. Again, probably not magic, but certainly a comfort and helps me remember to do everything I can to stay safe. Here is a list of crystals mentioned in the book, Awakened Power: Emma’s Story, along with some information about each one:  Amethyst: Dark purple form of quartz, one of the most popular crystals, it’s found in Africa, Brazil, Canada, Russia, Mexico, and the US. My personal favorite- I’m drawn to the beautiful hues and shades and love all the assorted sizes and shapes! These crystals are rumored to help improve mental stress/anxiety as well as ward off negative energy. Often associated with the third eye chakra and helping connect us to a higher level of spiritual knowledge.  Labradorite: Named for an area in Canada where they were first found, although they are mined in many countries now. There are many different hues, however they all have some blue shading throughout. Thought to enhance intuition and protect from negative influences. I wear a pendant of labradorite often, and in fact consider it a talisman of sorts. Whether it’s real or not, when I wear it, I feel more confident and centered.  Hematite: A stone of protection, this black mineral is found in many countries. I place this stone near doorways and windows as a way of warding off any negative energies from entering my house.  Black Tourmaline: In general, black stones are thought to offer protection of all sorts and that is certainly true of black tourmaline. This stone was used as far back as Ancient Rome and is believed to offer assistance with balance and protection, dissolving any negative energies that may be present. It is popular for meditation to clear the mind as well as provide grounding energy.  Blue Aquamarine: The color blue is often associated with tranquility. Aquamarine can help bring peace and protection to the wearer. It is used to soothe intense emotions- which is one of the reasons Patrick was encouraged to wear it in Emma’s presence! Some crystals I use in my own (real!) life:  Selenite: I discovered a fun fact while researching selenite. It is named after the Greek Goddess of the moon Selene because of its moon-like glow. I use this crystal as a natural cleanser of energy. It is associated with the Crown Chakra and can be used in meditation as a cleanser of any negative energies or thoughts. Selenite doesn’t need to be charged and is self-cleansing of any energies making it the best crystal for any on the spot or day to day energy clearing. For example, I use it every day to clear my Oracle decks before I pull any cards.  Clear Quartz: This is probably the crystal that comes to most peoples’ minds when they hear the word ‘crystal.’ It is clear (I know- you’re shocked!) like a diamond. It is often used to help with focus and clarity and is great for people who have a specific intention or goal in mind. One way to use clear quartz is as a touchstone if you have trouble with distraction. For instance, if, you struggle to stay focused on writing (like I do sometimes!) you can keep a crystal tower or pocket stone next to your computer to use as a visual and physical aid in reminding you to stay on track. You can also program your intention into the stone- simply hold it in your hand and state out loud your intention “I intend to stay focused on writing my book and completing a great story to share with the world. I disallow any distractions into my space. For my highest good and the highest good of all.” Ok, you might feel kind of hokey doing it, but no one has to see, and I won’t tell…  Rose Quartz: Rose quartz is a beautiful, opaque pink stone associated with the Heart Chakra. As you can imagine, its healing properties are associated with opening your heart, forgiveness, compassion, reducing anxiety, and unconditional love. It is recommended to wear this stone as a pendant over your heart to enhance its energies. How I use it is as a visual reminder- I have a bracelet I wear when I’ve argued with someone to help remind me when I look at it that I need to come at the problem from a heart-centered way. Sometimes it’s helpful and sometimes I’m too caught up in the feels, but it certainly doesn’t hurt and has often helped!  Smoky Quartz: Something really cool I learned when I was researching this stone was that it is clear quartz that has been exposed to underground radiation and turned brown. Because of this it is thought that this stone neutralizes other types of electromagnetic stress. How cool! The way that it’s often used is to help ground you in the present moment, bring a feeling of calm, and reduce feelings of fear and jealousy.  Fluorite: Fluorite comes in many different colors, and while the healing properties of all fluorite is similar, the colors add certain elements of healing. They glow when exposed to UV rays and are a very common mineral. When I got my first piece, I was searching for a stone that could help bring calm and relaxation into my life. Fluorite helps bring balance to the mind and emotions, allowing for clearer thinking. Some advice I read while researching was to put a piece of fluorite in each hand during meditation to help bring balance to your energy field. As always- take what resonates and leave anything that doesn’t, keep seeking your internal truth and compass, and help others along their path when you can!
 I started Awakened Power: Emma’s Story with a dramatic NDE. The idea for Emma coming into her power through a near death experience came from my own experience with an NDE in 2000, when I gave birth to my youngest daughter. I started hemorrhaging after I delivered her, and at some point, my soul left my body. I remember looking down at all the people frantically running around, and at my husband holding our brand-new baby, a look of terror on his face.
All I felt was absolute peace and love. I kept trying to tell them to relax, everything was okay, that I was fine, but no one reacted. A warm, peaceful, sense of love I’ve never experienced before or since washed over me. While an incredible experience, it was a lot less dramatic, and sadly not as impactful as our intrepid hero in the book! NDE’s often illicit a sense of absolute love that is hard or impossible to replicate here on Earth. Another commonality with most, if not all, NDE’s I've researched (and there were hundreds!), are a general message of enlightenment that improves the person’s overall approach and belief in the goodness of life. This can happen immediately and strengthen over time, or for some of us folks we might not remember a whole lot about the lessons we learned during the NDE until later in our lives. My theory is perhaps we can’t always incorporate those lessons immediately; maybe life circumstances are overwhelming us at the time, or perhaps we need more emotional maturity before we can truly understand them. In the book, Emma gains a connection to ghosts, spirits, and enhanced intuition. In a much more subtle way, most NDE experiencers report they undergo an enhanced connection to the people in their lives, animals, and nature, and have more love and acceptance overall. It all sounds pretty good (except the dying part!) but I invite you to do your own research, be your own skeptic, and decide for yourself. My guess is if you're reading this blog post, you already are a little more open to these concepts. Below you’ll find some videos, books, and websites linked to experiencers, as well as researchers who have devoted their life work to studying and understanding NDE’s in a more scientific way. Because of the nuance and inability for absolute proof, NDE’s remain unsubstantiated by most of the medical and scientific community. I can say even with having had my own NDE I remained skeptical for a long time. After reading many books and research, I’ve concluded the experiences during an NDE are glimpses of what’s on the other side, as well as whomever (angels, guides, God, the Great Spirit?), allowing us to glimpse some Universal connection and wisdom to take back and share with others for the enlightenment of all. I look forward to hearing from you all- thoughts, opinions, experiences, etc! As always- take what resonates and leave anything that doesn’t, keep seeking your internal truth and compass, and help others along their path when you can! The Light; We Are The Light And The Echo Of The Universe - Near Death Experiences (youtube.com) Coming Home - YouTube The Other Side | Channel Trailer (youtube.com) The videos above document some individual experiences and lessons taken from the NDE experience. There are many videos on Youtube sharing NDE’s. My theory has always been to take what resonates and leave what doesn’t. Some NDE videos I watched left me enlightened and hopeful, and others just put me off- either the speaker was hard to listen to or the messages came across sort of misconstrued or misinterpreted, or sometimes downright self-serving. I encourage you if you’re interested to poke around and make up your own mind about Near Death Experiences and the afterlife! Speaker and New York Times Best Selling Author | United States | Anita Moorjani Anita’s experience is pretty well documented and incredible. She went from being on life support and family informed she had hours to live to complete health in a miraculous amount of time. She continues to receive more from her experience and the messages and knowledge she obtained. Most likely this is due to the NDE opening up a channel of connection allowing Anita to continue to tap into the messages humanity needs most to hear. NDERF Home Page Website for those who have experienced NDE’s or who are interested in learning more. A wealth of information and support, as well as extensive research into NDE’s. Bruce Greyson / Author of After, and Expert in Near-Death Experiences Mr. Greyson is a very well-known doctor who has devoted his life to researching NDE’s. Probably the top researcher in the world. His books are both scientific and anecdotal, providing a full picture as well as posing the questions we’re all thinking (and by we I mean those of us who are cautiously hopeful yet skeptical!) regarding NDE’s.  PSYCHIC MEDIUMSHIPPicture this- you’re standing on the sidewalk of a rundown strip mall in the bad part of town, the door in front of you loudly advertising ‘Psychic readings; Get the Clarity you Need for Life’s Problems” with a giant Evil Eye insignia painted in loud colors underneath. Your girlfriends are giggling behind you as they nudge you to go in. You push through the door, narrowly dodging being swallowed up by the dangling crystal-beaded curtain as you enter into the main room.
There in front of you in the dimly lit room is a table covered in crushed purple velvet with a giant crystal ball perfectly positioned in the middle of the table. Behind it, barely visible, sits a lady of indiscriminate age, a gold turban embellished with peacock feathers wrapped around her head. Her bright red lipstick causing her skin to appear sallow and drawn. She beckons you to sit down on the tufted chair in front of you. Hesitating slightly before sitting down, you wait to hear what she says, trepidation making your heart beat out of your chest. The fortune teller stares at you for an uncomfortably long amount of time before reaching over to shuffle a deck of tarot cards sitting next to the crystal ball. As she shuffles, she encourages you to focus on a question or problem in your life. The kicker was- you don’t really have a question. You only came because your friend Kristie insisted everyone had to get their fortunes read for her bachelorette party. You don’t even really want to be here but now you’re stuck. The fortune teller starts placing cards in the form of a cross on the table and then turns the cards over, gasping dramatically at the last card. There sitting in front of you, a mocking smile on its face, sits a Devil. ‘Great’ you think, ‘just what I need.’ The fortune teller insists she can fix everything, she just needs to perform a little ritual to rid you of this bad energy, at the small cost of an extra fifty bucks. Now, if this scenario is what you picture when you think of a psychic, it’s completely understandable, as that’s how they are typically portrayed in movies, TV, and the media. And it’s important to note is that there are A LOT of people claiming to be mediums who are just really adept at reading body language and making generalities that are very global. However, there are plenty of legit psychic mediums who actually CAN help through several different methods, including good old-fashioned psychology and active listening, but also through what is called ‘extra-sensory perception’ (ESP). One aspect to address is the difference between a psychic and a psychic medium. A psychic can use their own internal guidance system, (ESP) which typically consist of claircognizance, clairsentience, clairaudience, and clairvoyance. These extra senses help the psychic to tap into energies that allow them to predict future events and intuitively gather information about a person’s emotional state in the present moment and offer advice or information to help the ‘sitter’ (person who came to the psychic for help) make decisions. A psychic medium, mostly referred to as mediums (dropping the psychic as it’s kind of already implied if they’re a medium they are psychic) takes it a step further. They may use the same ESP tools, but in this case, they utilize it to tap into the energies of a person who has passed. So basically, you can be a psychic but not necessarily a psychic medium, but if you’re a medium, you’re psychic. 😊 My opinion on this is that if you’re psychic you’re also likely able to tap into mediumship, but it takes practice and connection. I’m from the Midwest, raised in a very Baptist environment so the idea of psychic mediumship has always been almost taboo. However, I found myself intrigued by it after finding the podcast, “Enlightened Empaths.” I’d had my own moments where I seemed to ‘know’ things, events that from a logical perspective I shouldn’t or didn’t have any prior knowledge of and I felt drawn to the idea of psychic abilities. After listening to the podcast and following them for several months I decided on a lark to make an appointment to have a reading with Denise Correll (If you’ve read my book Awakened Power: Emma’s Story then you might recognize her- the book Denise is 100% a depiction of the real-life Denise!). I found her warm, funny, supportive, and down to Earth. She did the reading, but I was skeptical about some of the things she told me in the reading. Stuff she told me about my family didn’t add up, UNTIL I talked to some of them and they confirmed what she’d told me. It was an interesting experience but I kind of set it to the side and went about my life. Then some very synchronistic, out of the blue things happened in my life, things that Denise had predicted. And I don’t mean, “You will move into a blue house in the future,” kind of stuff, I mean very specific, “You and your husband will be splitting time between this city and that city and will then move to this place together.” Meanwhile, after my reading with Denise I started researching mediumship and how it worked. When Denise and her fellow podcaster Samantha opened a beginner’s psychic mediumship class I decided to try it for fun and out of curiosity. I had some amazing readings and experiences with fellow students. In some cases, I knew things about our class partners loved ones; eerie considering I’d never met these people before. Ok but still. I’m of that very fun class of people that would LOVE nothing more than to believe with all of my heart, but remain skeptically optimistic (not sure if that’s possible but here we are…). Sooooo…..here we are. I’m still a believer but not a ‘knower’ if that makes sense. I believe mediumship is real, I absolutely believe there are people in this world that can connect with those who have passed. I think the ‘knowing’ will come into play when the spirit shows up right in front of me like you see on TV on shows like Charmed or Ghost Whisperer…. My hope is that anyone who reads this allows themselves to stay open to the possibility of something more out there, the ability for people to connect to the other side and share wisdom, love, and support. As always- take what resonates and leave anything that doesn’t, keep seeking your internal truth and compass, and help others along their path when you can! Podcasts: Psychic Teachers on Apple Podcasts Enlightened Empaths on Apple Podcasts A Psychic's Story Podcast (apsychicsstory.com) Books: Where Two Worlds Meet by Janet Nohavec Your Soul Purpose by Kim Russo Unveiling Your Psychic Powers: Never Before Told Secrets of a Psychic Medium by Priscilla Keresey Websites: The Grateful Messenger | Intuitive Readings and Mediumship Samantha Fey – The Crystal Chick Mental Mediumship Research | Psi Encyclopedia (spr.ac.uk) |