Followers

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Nita Hickock: Solving Psychic Attack

                                                            ISBN #978-0-9824876-2-4

Nita Hickok is the great grandniece of Wild Bill Hickok of Western fame. She was born in Pontiac, Michigan and grew up in San Diego, California and later in Las Vegas, Nevada. She developed an interest in the occult in her late teens and started studying with magical teachers at the age of eighteen. She saw that many people with serious life problems could easily be helped by using magical techniques.

She has been a spiritual and energy consultant for almost forty years. She has written this book to show the victims of black magic, bad luck, hexes, and curses how to help themselves. Her other interests include anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, and comparative religions. She lives in Southwest United States with her husband of 26 years.


Nita is available for consults. For more information on self-help, healing techniques, and contact information, Nita invites you to visit her web site at http://www.astralhealer.com/


Welcome, Nita. I am delighted to know your relationship to Wild Bill. That's so cool! Now, on to the interview. Please tell us more about you.

When I was sixteen years old, I became interested in psychic abilities and the occult. After being hypnotized, I found out I reincarnated. Testing me for psychic abilities, they found me to be a high-functioning clairvoyant with the ability to see what was in a desk drawer in a room next door and describe what was in a box.

I always knew I had special abilities and was able to do things that other people didn't do. It was nice to have the proof and find out there were books to read on that subject. I started reading and learning about many fascinating subjects since that time.

I graduated from high school in the seventies when there was a big increase in knowledge and interest in spirituality. I moved to Los Angeles, and started my life in learning Magic and Spirituality.

I started doing ceremonial magic when I was 17 years old. Finding a teacher after I left home, I learned from them, as well as, other people’s mistakes. At the same time, I was taught earth magic.

In the next twelve years, I did countless exorcisms, and helped everyone in and outside of my group with their mistakes and spiritual problems. After leaving the group, I began doing exorcisms and removing curses for people. I have found that people, who haven't practiced magic, are having a lot of problems with negative energies and forces. I believe this is because of a shift in the balance between good and evil. The more people that know magical methods and how to help themselves the better this world will be.

I have been doing spirit releases, exorcisms, house clearings and cleansings, house blessings and curse removal for 40 years. I have done over a hundred exorcisms of people, places, and land. Trying to help everyone, as I believe even small improvements helps the person to manifest big improvements, I believe my new book will help people, since it has advanced methods—plus my alphabet—to help others.

Wow! How fascinating! When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?

I was home ill with the Whooping Cough or what is now called diphtheria. I felt okay, but was not able to be around anyone because I was contagious. I loved the books by Edgar Rice Burroughs, who wrote a thirty page African adventure with pictures. I have loved writing ever since then, but had problems with grammar and syntax. I studied the rules of grammar many times. I feel it is my biggest challenge.

When you started writing, what goals did you want to accomplish? Is there a message you want readers to grasp?

I want the readers of my book to know they are able to help themselves and improve their lives. They are empowered. They can change the things in their lives and transmute their lives in a positive way.

Briefly tell us about your latest book. Series or stand-alone? If you have written both, which one do you prefer?

The book I have now uses my alphabet plus adds in advanced methods and ways for people to help themselves heal and bring positive energies into their lives.

What’s the hook for the book?

You can transmute negativity in your life and improve yourself and everything in your life.
How did you develop the alphabet?

I felt that the first thing most people did when they studied magic was develop their own symbols and ways to make things work with their mindset. I felt an alphabet empowered by the divine and akashic volts would fit into the energies of a novice and be able to help them learn how to change the energies in their lives. It would empower them to see how their choices and actions cause reactions. It would help them to overcome rationalization and learn to live in the truth of the divine.

What are the ways that people sabotage themselves in their lives?

People sabotage themselves by rationalizing their actions and not seeing the damage or pain it causes another. They then set into motion reactions to their actions, which bring negativity into the person’s life. Others try to impose this mindset of I am wrong to make it, so the person, who is innocent, accepts the abuse and trauma. The cycle continues until the person learns to know and live in truth about himself and all of his actions.

Life is about overcoming the challenges, learning from experiences, and making it so you are empowered and work in the energies of the divine to bring alive the divine sparks within you and in the people around you.

Do you have specific techniques you use to develop the plot and stay on track with your writing?

I like to use an outline so if parts get shifted around I have the important subjects covered in the outline.

How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?

I was taught that I could accomplish anything that I set out to do if I just kept trying. My father inspired me with two messages. He said if you always lived in truth and tried not to lie then you would like yourself. People who liked themselves could survive any experience

I have found this to be very true, as you can put yourself in the other persons place if you like yourself and do not feel threatened by what you are experiencing. Understanding is a key to working with others.
Other people can try to judge you, manipulate you, or try to make you what they feel that you should be. Any one this is being done to should just be themselves and like themselves as all of the problems being caused is not about them. It is about the other people trying to make them into what they want them to be. They are not the Divine, nor do they even know what they are on the inside. It is up to you to be the person you are meant to be by the Divine.

Have you started any online networks or blogs to promote yourself and others?

I have the blog: http://astralhealer.blogspot.com/
After hours of intense writing, how do you unwind?

I talk to others while drinking coffee. I watch TV and movies. I read, and relax petting my dogs Bear and Buddy. I enjoy looking at nature.

What are your current projects?

I just started Astralhealer Church and plan to write instruction manuals to teach others what I do. I found that most people do not know what a specialist, such as myself, does. They try to place their expectations upon the poor person trying to help them. I feel there is a need for this and a way to have others train to do my work.
The manuals will be in different levels of difficulty. I plan to write a book about my experiences and finish my screenplay about my first exorcism.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

They are listed on my website http://www.astralhealer.com They are listed in the news section. You can find out about my book on my publisher’s website, as well, at http://weavingdreamspublishing.com

Thanks for letting me interview you, Nita, and continued success in your interesting endcavors!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

This blog recieved another award!


Thanks to Anne Patrick for this hysterical award! I love it! I'm looking forward to having Anne come back May 24th and talk about her latest book. You be sure to come back as well.

Reece Hirsch

Reece Hirsch’s debut legal thriller THE INSIDER was published this month by Berkley Books. Reece is a partner in the San Francisco office of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP specializing in privacy, security and healthcare law. He is also a member of the board of directors of 826 National (www.826national.org), a non-profit organization that conducts writing programs for young people. Reece lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife Kathy and their dog Simon.

Reece, congratulations on your book.  Tell us about it.

THE INSIDER is the story of Will Connelly, a young corporate attorney in a big San Francisco law firm who is on the verge of making partner. Will thinks that becoming a partner will solve all of his life’s problems, but his troubles are only beginning. Within a week of being promoted to partner and taking over a major merger transaction, Will becomes the prime suspect in a colleague’s murder and an unwilling participant in a complex criminal scheme that involves the Russian mob, insider trading and a secret government domestic surveillance program.

What are your writing goals?

As a reader, I love books that have narrative momentum and provide an immersive reading experience. That’s what I was aiming for with THE INSIDER. But I suppose that’s what thrillers are all about – keeping the reader turning the pages, anxious to find out what happens next.

Do you have specific techniques to develop the plot and stay on track?

I usually have a sense of the general arc of the story when I start writing, but I don’t prepare a detailed outline. At any point in the writing, I’ll usually have notes on what’s going to happen in the next four or five chapters. I find that writing a thriller is a little like playing both sides in a game of chess – you keep looking for ways to surprise yourself. And if you can surprise yourself, then there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll surprise the reader, too.

Where do you write? When?

Because my law firm job is pretty demanding, it’s not always easy to find writing time. I work very early in the morning on weekdays, on weekend mornings, and on the BART train to work. They say that Scott Turow wrote much of Presumed Innocent when he was riding the train to work as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. I’ve always taken some inspiration from that story.

What is your current project?

I’m currently working on another stand-alone thriller with a San Francisco attorney as the protagonist. Like THE INSIDER, my new book touches upon some cutting-edge privacy and security issues that are drawn from my legal practice. Go with what you know, right?

How did you draw upon your privacy law expertise in THE INSIDER?

In the early Nineties, the National Security Agency (NSA) developed a powerful encryption device known as the Clipper Chip, which was to be used to encrypt telecommunications transmissions. The encryption software was to be made available for use by private businesses and individuals. However, the Clipper Chip was designed to provide government agencies with “key access” to all encrypted transmissions for law enforcement and national security purposes. The program was criticized in Congressional hearings based upon privacy concerns and was ultimately abandoned in 1995.

THE INSIDER posits that the Clipper Chip program was never really abandoned, but went forward through an undisclosed deal between the NSA and a private software company, and that the NSA continued to secretly monitor the communications of private citizens during the ensuing years. THE INSIDER also considers what might happen if the encryption keys that permitted government access to all of that confidential data fell into the wrong hands.

As an attorney specializing in privacy and security issues, I’ve long been aware of the Clipper Chip program. The program was real, but it was entirely abandoned by 1996. However, the issues highlighted in THE INSIDER are still very much with us today and have never been more timely. In the wake of 9-11, the government has continued its pursuit of what was once referred to as “Total Information Awareness.”

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

For more information about my books and events, please see my author website at www.reecehirsch.com. You can also find the first chapter of THE INSIDER on my website.

Continued success, Reece.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Annette Snyder's Eureka Springs


Annette Snyder, author of Eureka Springs, is my guest today.
Annette, welcome. When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?

I wrote in high school, but later life and kids seemed to take up all my time. One day my father-in-law gave me a computer. It wasn’t long before I had my first draft of my first story, 2003. It took me a few years to decide what to do with my work and then, in 2005 my first novel was published.

When you started writing, what goals did you want to accomplish? Is there a message you want readers to grasp?

When I was growing up, people would tell me that with my stories, I should write a book. That was my goal. I didn’t ever imagine that I’d write more than thirty and that I’d have thirteen published, but in 2010, that’s how many I’ll have out—so far. I like to read about real people with real lives and real jobs so, that’s what I wanted to write and I think my readers can relate to my characters. I also wanted to write Midwestern stories about life surrounding small towns and the relationships that form within those.

Briefly tell us about your latest book. Series or stand-alone?

My next published novel is Drive-Thru, releasing this year. It’s the second in my Packard Family Series, the first being Intimate Flames, released in 2009. Drive Thru is a story of a single mom working a job that gets her by. She likes the stability in her life and wants to keep it that way. It all works for her until one fateful night when a handsome film star crashes into her car and causes emotional upheaval.

How do you develop characters? Setting?

I went to a class last year giving by a former US Poet Laureate. It was a memoir writing class but I still gained some valuable info--like picking the setting first. It was something I always did, but with admission of experience from the multi-published author who taught the class, I learned that I was on the right track. My characters develop on their own. I’m not sure I even pick the physical properties or the names. Once, I was in a museum reading accounts of an exhibit and someone tapped me on the shoulder and said, “My name’s Sally. Write about me.” I turned around and there was no one within thirty feet of me but I had this amazing idea for Sally Murphy, my first published book.

Do you have specific techniques to help you maintain the course of the plot?

My characters usually lead the way. When I first get an idea, I rush to type it out. I get the main idea and direction of the story, write down the basics of some characters and have a few ideas that I’d like to happen before the end. As I go back and actually work the novel, I add or subtract events depending on the lives of the characters. By the time I finish the second draft, I’ve got a good idea where the story will end up. In Viveka’s War, I didn’t have a clue that one of the main characters would die until the third draft. I had to go back and fix the scenes to accommodate that shift all because the character took a trip with his girlfriend.

Share the best review (or a portion) that you’ve even had.

My novels have received stellar reviews at places like FAR, RTBookReviews, Coffeetime, Howling Good Books, GoodReads, so many I couldn’t possibly list all the sites. On my website, http://annettesnyder.atspace.com I list one or two reviews for each book.
What are your current projects?


I’m working on a novel concerning a secondary character in Viveka’s War and Eureka Springs. I got the idea for the novel from a reviewer who said Eureka Springs gave a hint of another story with Virgie’s character and I ran with that. I decided I also wanted to know how Virginia Seidle got where she did. Hoping to get that story done by June 2010.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

I keep an updated website http://annettesnyder.atspace.com

Readers can also find me at www.growne.com and at my publishers www.whiskeycreekpress.com



Annette, thanks for the interview. Continued success!