Sunday, December 15, 2013

... and a Very Paranormal Holiday to You! Bloghop & Kindle Fire HD Giveaway


Authors Kallysten and Tricia Schneider have organized a Very Paranormal Holidays Blog Hop to share their love for paranormal romance, help you discover new authors, win books, prizes... and maybe a brand new Kindle Fire HD! I am so thrilled to be invited to participate. Enter to win a copy of my debut novel The Angel Connection and a new Kindle Fire HD, 7", wifi, 16GB (no "special offers" aka ads)! Be sure to read to the end to find out how...

But first, please read about the true paranormal events that happened to me and made their way into my book.

There’s a scene early in The Angel Connection where paranormal happenings convince Morgan the protagonist that the old Rectory she’s impulsively moved into is haunted. The spookiest event takes place one evening in the living room.

Morgan has just discovered a series of charcoal drawings hidden under the floorboards upstairs. The drawings are now spread out on the floor; “a patchwork quilt of white squares resting silently on the carpet. Suddenly the segment of carpet nearest us begins to rise, creating a kind of tunnel effect. As the first tunnel dissolves back into the floor, a second one ripples and rises, then a third and a fourth until the entire carpet of sketches is undulating like miniature ripples on a lake, a subtle low-rise ballet of pale parchments breathing up and down, astonishingly alive.”

This scene didn’t come from my imagination -- it actually happened to me. Back in the '70s my young sons and I moved into an old converted schoolhouse in rural Chester County, Pennsylvania. Shortly after I signed the lease, the landlord casually mentioned that the house was rumored to have ghosts. As a single mother with two little kids in the middle of nowhere, I would have preferred this information be disclosed before the signing of the lease. Too late. My name was on the dotted line. Shortly after that, weird stuff began to happen. Strange shadows oscillating on the cathedral ceiling, a phantasmagoric vision of a woman folding clothes, inexplicable noises in the kitchen, faint footsteps across the floorboards.

One Sunday afternoon, I was hosting a small brunch and talking about the unsettling possibility that there really was a ghost. One of the guests playfully called out, ”Here Ghostie, here ghostie!” My sister-in-law, in her signature Milanese accent, warned: “Don’t call him! He come!” The next moment the carpet in the living room stirred and began to undulate across the floor, creating tunnels from one end to the other. We stood there, pop-eyed and jaws agape. The eerie spectacle continued for perhaps forty seconds. That was the first time the carpet moved, but not the last. It happened several times more over a two-year period and there was no explanation for it.

We eventually vacated the schoolhouse (which we adored, despite the poltergeistic activity!) when my work required me to be closer to Philadelphia.
About five years had passed when a new friend and I discovered in passing that we had both lived in the schoolhouse, though her stay there was a few years prior to mine. We got to talking about the cute little house and ghosts, and I related my own scary stories, with emphasis on the undulating carpet. What she told me next made the hairs on my neck stand at attention.

She’s been in the process of moving out of the schoolhouse. All her furniture was gone but she couldn’t get into her new place until the next day, so she was spending one last night at the house in a sleeping bag on the living room floor. As she lay her head down, she felt the floorboards under her begin to ripple. It felt as if the floor was rising and falling. She spent a sleepless night and couldn’t get out of the place soon enough.
The undulating carpet in The Angel Connection is the first in a series of spooky paranormal events that mysteriously connect two women born a century apart. The convergence of their lives and loves leads to an explosive karmic conclusion. Could such an eerie event as a carpet rising and falling happen in “real life”?

Yes Dear Reader, it happened to me.

***
Special thanks to Kallysten and Tricia Schneider  for putting this bloghop together and graciously inviting me to take part.

Now to the goodies!

In order to enter the Kindle giveaway, you must first enter to win a copy of The Angel Connection. Two winners will be chosen randomly. US winners can choose between a print or a digital version; international winners will receive a digital version. All the authors participating in this Very Paranormal Holiday Bloghop are offering their readers the same opportunity to enter the Kindle giveaway. You will increase you chances of winning the Kindle if you visit each author below and participating in their individual giveaways. Before the winner of the Kindle Fire HD is announced, the entrant's participation will be validated.

To participate in the Kindle and The Angel Connection Giveaway, you must:
1. "Like" my Facebook page at /JudithAnneBarton
2. Follow me on Twitter @jabartonbooks
3. Leave a comment below

After you've done that, you can enter the Kindle Fire HD giveaway by visiting http://blog.kallysten.net/2013/12/a-very-paranormal-holidays-blog-hop.html

Contest ends 12/30/13.

Good luck everyone!


13 comments:

Unknown said...

I enjoyed your tale of living in the haunted schoolhouse. I, too, have lived in haunted houses. It can be interesting or stressful, depending on the situation, as I'm sure you understand. I would love to win a print copy of your book. I've liked your FB page, I follow you on Twitter and my email (in case you need it , is michelle_willms@yahoo.com.

Angela Rose said...

Great page! angelarosebooks@yahoo.com

Karen Michelle Nutt said...

Love ghost tales. Liked your Facebook page and following you on Twitter (@JudgeYourBook)

Darcy said...

After reading about your scary experiences, I know I'm going to have some spooky dreams tonight. But it is a fascinating post, so I thank you for sharing it. I liked your FB page and am now one of your twitter followers. (@DarcyLundeen)

Unknown said...

Happy Holidays and thanks for the amazing giveaway!
elizabeth @ bookattict . com
Twitter: @BookAttict
Facebook: Elizabeth Hyatt

Catherine Lee said...

That is a very spooky story. I am a highly rational person and would try to find the explanation for the incidents. If I couldn't, I'd probably have to move!
catherinelee100 at gmail dot com
@capefearlibn

Ashley Applebee said...

Very spooky story! Great page! I liked your facebook and follow you on twitter :)
Thanks for joining in on the hop!
Ashley A
ash_app@hotmail.com

Beth Caudill said...

Great story and Happy New Year.

Koala Reading Den said...

Thank you for the chance on this giveaway. Have a safe and Happy New Years. koala571 (at) msn (dot) com. I liked both FB and Twitter.

Unknown said...

I love hearing about other people's paranormal experiences. Being and empath and an independent paranormal investigator, it helps knowing that others believe in "ghosts", too. Thank you for being in the hop and for the wonderful giveaway. kbinmich AT yahoo DOT com

Tricia Schneider said...

Oh, ghosts! I'd love to investigate that schoolhouse! Sounds creepy! Just wanted to stop by to thank you for joining in our blog hop! Happy New Year! :)

Unknown said...

The Schoolhouse holds wonderful memories for my family. We've dined out on those ghost stories many times through the years! It was an adorable house with an unforgettable otherworldy vibe. Happy healthy New Year to everyone…may it be blessed and filled with wonderful reading and writing experiences! Thank you for loving The Angel Connection as much as I do. Judith Anne Barton

Unknown said...

Thank you all for reading, entering, commenting, joining and following! I really appreciate it. I'm happy to announce the winners of "The Angel Connection" are Darcy and Kimberly Mayberry. April H won the Kindle Fire. Again thanks for all the love and support and happy 2014!

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