Welcome Guest author Jamie Rush & Enter To Win!


Welcome Guest Author Jaime Rush!
OUT OF THE DARKNESS, Avon Books
http://www.jaimerush.com/

What, are you psychic or something?

I grew up on stories about ghosts and my mom's psychic experiences, so I never questioned that psychic stuff was real. Yeah, there are a lot of people who fake their abilities for money, but I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about people who truly have a gift…or a curse, depending on how they see it.

My earlier books (written as Tina Wainscott) played with themes such as body switching, near death experiences, twin connections, cellular memory, and psychic connections. I love that it could be real. It's on the edge, accessible to all of us. Who hasn't had a whoo-whoo experience? A knowing? If you haven't, someone you know has, I'll bet. Just recently a man I met, upon hearing what I write about, recounted an out of body experience he'd had. People who see a relative's spirit in the night and discover they passed over. I have had knowings.

When I was 19 and doing temp work, every time I saw a Toyota Supra, a sports car way out of my current financial picture, I knew I would have one. It baffled me, frankly. (Hello, between jobs, 19 years old) When I heard on the local rock station that they were hosting a hand-a-thon and the winner would get a brand new Toyota Supra, I didn't hesitate to enter. Without that knowing, I probably would have, considering it was a competition where twenty-eight people put their hand on the car and whoever was the last person standing won it. I had to enter, and I kept that knowing with me hour after hour, hallucinating, people dropping off in fugue states and sleeping right there, even when it came down to me and one other guy, and he tried giving me the evil eye. Seventy-four hours later, I won that car. It was the same with getting published, knowing I would meet a great guy, and recently, lingering when the light turned green instead of gunning it (I still have a Supra). The car in the right turn lane came into my lane and would have hit me if I'd been in my usual spot.

I believe we all have the ability to expand past our five senses. What could be more fascinating, more mysterious, than the human brain? Our soul? We are amazing creatures. If we don't get in our own way, think of the things we can accomplish.

It was interesting to find how tested psychic abilities are. There have been some interesting and compelling data, though you can't just produce results on command. Our own government even created a program that used gifted people to remote-view (psychically spy) on our enemy, which was primarily the USSR at that time. Several agencies had custody of this program, best known as Stargate, over twenty-four years starting in 1971. The Soviets were also pursuing paranormal means for spying and warfare.

It was this program, in fact, that inspired my Offspring series. The government had also given one of their own people LSD without his knowledge to see if it would make him more susceptible to interrogation. It only made him hurl himself out a hotel window to his death. My mind started playing the writer's What If? Game. What if the government created a program that employed people with different, and potentially dangerous, psychic abilities? What if these people were given a substance that enhanced those abilities, but ultimately made them crazy and so they had to be terminated to protect the program? What would happen to their Offspring, who might have inherited both the ability and possibly the insanity as well? What if the man behind the original program began searching for the Offspring, to either use them for a new program or terminate them? And thus, my group of Offspring began forming, joining together to find the truth about who they are and who killed their parents. Different people, outcasts, fierce, loyal, banding together to survive.

OUT OF THE DARKNESS is book two of the series, and I've tried hard to make sure new readers are caught right up to the action without an information overload. In a flash, Zoe Stoker goes from tattoo artist to target of an assassin. All her life she's felt like a freak, and now the Offspring, people who also have remarkable psychic abilities, are her only hope. The enemy grows more dangerous…and so do her feelings for one sexy loner as she gains command of her powers and loses control of her heart.

I have another way to honor you, reader, writer, bookseller…everyone. I'm giving you the opportunity to be in a book. Yes, you can have your name in a nationally-published book! All you have to do is fill in your name and email address in the form at my site. There is no contest, no "lucky" winner. You're all winners to me. Tell your friends! Post it on your blog! Names will be included in my third book of my Offspring series, TOUCHING DARKNESS, scheduled for summer 2010. See http://www.jaimerush.com/ for details.

I also host my Kick Butt First Line contest for readers and writers. Shocking, suspenseful…make us want more! Cash prizes! Contest runs from September 15 through November 1, 2009.

Thanks Jaime! She's been nice enough to offer a copy of Out of the Darkness to one lucky reader! So tell us, have you or has anyone you know, had a whoo-whoo or psychic moment? Leave your comment below and I'll choose a random winner on Friday Oct. 9th. Good luck and Happy Reading!

30 comments:

  1. Hi Jaime, Hi Sabrina!

    What a cool book! Jaime you are a new to me author and this looks like a can't miss! I can't tell you how awesome that contest it! Anything to do with psychic abilities is so interesting because I feel that so many people laugh those off who really possess those psychic abilities due to all the nutcases out there. I have never experienced any psychic moment just de ja vu quite a lot. It used to freak my husband out when I would tell him things.
    Brande

    bjwaldron(at)gmail.com

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  2. Hi, Brande! Thanks! I've always been fascinated by psychic abilities, but you're right, all of the bad press makes it kind of a joke. A shame, that. So, does your husband believe now that you've told him things?

    Cheers,
    Jaime

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  3. Your series sounds great! I've never really had a psychic moment myself, but my husband is convinced he dreams about things and then soemthing along those lines occurs days later (not deja vu exact like, but more a general feeling he gets to go one direction or another based on what the dream revealed.)

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  4. Hi, Stacey! Thanks! I'm really having fun with the series, playing with the psychic abilities and the characters. They say that our dreams are a great channel of divine wisdom because our skeptical mind is at rest. I can't recall any predictive dreams that I've had, but I'm definitely a vivid dreamer.

    Cheers,
    Jaime Rush

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  5. I know lots of people who have had a "whoo-whoo" moment. Love that phrase! I've only had the random chills in scary places.

    Love your cover!

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  6. Sounds great! :)

    When I was eleven, I was eating dinner with my parents when the phone rang. Instantly, the thought popped into my head that it was my older half-sister ringing to tell us she was pregnant. I had absolutely no reason to think this, as (a) she rarely called; (b) she and her husband hadn't told anyone they were trying for a second child; and (c) their only daughter was four months older than me, which is why, despite my reaction, I didn't say so out loud. Five minutes later, my dad got off the phone and announced that it was, indeed, my older half sister phoning to say that she was pregnant. Spooky!

    philippa (dot) meadows (at) gmail (dot) com

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  7. Hi Jamie. Your series sounds great. Love the cover. I have had deja vu moments where I felt like I had been there before or had the conversation before.

    Crystal816(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  8. I completely believe in psychic abilities. I scry and since I have started, I have correctly scried the sex of all of the babies in our family. That is about 9 babies. Each time, I scried in the first few months and I knew.

    Also, I am pretty good about sensing when my friends are preggers. I can often tell them before they know. I bought my friend Jenny a pregnancy test on the way to see her, cuz I knew. Her son is 4 now.

    I can't wait to read your series. It seems really awesome. Have a good one.

    mayqueen79@gmail.com

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  9. I love the inspiration for your series - the What if? of true story you'd heard about. I'm always interested in how the story grew in a writer's mind.

    Thanks for sharing and for the chance to win a copy!

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  10. The book sounds awesome and it definitely is on my TBR pile. I haven't known anyone to have a psychic experience sadly, it would be interesting to see though.

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  11. Happy release day, Jamie. As an adult, I haven't had any memorable psychic experiences, but when I was around 10 years old, the ghost of my grandmother would visit me. She had recently died, and I was devastated at her loss.

    When I was feeling especially sad, I would smell her perfume and feel her touch on my shoulder. She would visit me in my dreams too, and having that connection was so comforting. Her visits lasted about a year and then just stopped. I always felt that she knew that I was going to be okay now, and she was able to go and be someone else's guardian angel.

    caity_mack(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  12. Hi, Ann! I think getting chills is definitely an indicator of something, though we may not always know what it is.

    That's cool, Foz! I love stories like that.

    Thanks, Crystal! I always wonder what Dejavu is, don't you? Have we dreamed of that moment before? For me, it seems to be just a mundane moment, so I wonder why I would have dreamed *that* moment. Quantum physics theorizes that time is not linear at all, so maybe we have already lived that moment. Pretty mind-blowing, that stuff!

    Thanks, Gina! That's pretty cool. Remind me what scrying is, though. I've heard of it. There are so many neat ways to "tune in."

    bkgirl, you're welcome! Sometimes ideas come like that, and sometimes they're just out of the blue, which is harder to explain :)

    Jeannette, thanks! I believe we all have abilities, and that means you do, too. Sonia Choquette advises that people ask the question, "I wonder…" "I wonder which way I should go to work today," etc. It opens you up for guidance.

    Cathy, I love that! That's exactly what she was doing.

    I was spending time with a widow in our neighborhood who was so lonely after her husband died, and all of these words came out of my mouth about how proud he was of her, and that he knew she was going to be okay. Not me saying those things! I didn't even know him really. And it did bring her comfort, so it was cool.

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  13. Ok, this is going to sound really wierd to the majority of you. But, no joke, I was visited one night about 10 months ago from a dead relative. I didn't know at the time we were related. But it was late, I wasn't tired, but I layed in bed anyways and tossed and turned. When I rolled over I saw something that looked like thick air. That's the only way I know how to descibe it. I sat up and kept looking at it, it seemed to move. But, it was odd, because I was completely calm, I knew nothing was wrong. I had my hair in a pony tail so nothing could have dropped and touched me, expect the spirit. It reached out and touhed my forehead, I jumped not expecting it, naturally. And two names popped into my head. I just knew, there is no other way to say it. It was a man, and the names George and Tim jumped into my head. I told my mom about it in the morning. She told my grandma, and my grandma asked me about it. She asked me about the names. I told her I didn't know anyone by the names, and she then told me I had a great grandpa (passed) and an uncle (also passed) that had those names. It was so odd.

    Anyways, enter me!
    kaylajohnson3969@sbcglobal.net

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  14. I wish I've had a psychic moment... usually I just getting feelings (gut feelings, intuition, whatever).. and I've had plenty of deja vu moments, so I have some idea of seeing this all before.. but other than that, nope.

    It would be sweet though!

    Please enter me.. Thank you!
    Morning Glow
    ohmorningglow AT aol DOT com

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  15. I have had deja vu and I have had things that happened in a dream come true.
    throuthehaze at gmail dot com

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  16. Hi, Jaime! I love your gorgeous book covers. The eyes are quite compelling, even piercing! I do believe that some people have heightened sensory awareness, not to mention more open minds, than others. I have had numerous "paranormal" experiences by sound, sight and scent. Most recently, it has been by scent. My family has been gone for years, and I am on my own. This has been a very difficult time for me. Several times this year, on a particulary difficult day, I have experienced a scent contact. I have come home from work, opened my front door and walked into the scent of my grandfather's pipe tobacco, my grandmother's lilly of the valley, or my mother's fingernail polish remover! None of these things are in my house. My grandparents never lived here, but the scents were there as plain as day. gcwhiskas at aol dot com

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  17. This book sounds very good! I can't say that I know anyone that has had a psychic experience but I sure believe that angels have protected me from car accidents on more than one occassion!
    mesreadsATgmailDOTcom

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  18. I have psychic moments quite often. I may think about someone that I haven't seen in a while and then I will run in to them within 24 hours. It happens with tv and objects too. I think about a movie I haven't seen in a while and then I'll be surfing the tube and there's the movie. The same goes for objects I want or need.
    I'm also a twin so I may pick up the phone to call my sister and she is already on the phone.

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  19. I've had my share of whoo whoo moments. I dreamed that a tooth fell and sure enough, a few days later, I had to have an extraction. When I experience twitching on the bottom of my eyes, it's a bad omen.. really bad.

    I'm really excited about Jaime's book!

    delilah0180(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  20. What an excellent premise for a book...love the cover art, too. I don't recall having a personal pyschic moment...but I do have 'gut feelings' that I should have listened to. Would love to read this fabulous book...thanks for the opportunity.

    karen k
    kmkuka(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  21. I have psychic moments quite often. I may think about someone that I haven't seen in a while and then I will run in to them within 24 hours. It happens with tv and objects too. I think about a movie I haven't seen in a while and then I'll be surfing the tube and there's the movie. The same goes for objects I want or need.
    I'm also a twin so I may pick up the phone to call my sister and she is already on the phone.

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  22. I've never heard of this series but I had to read your post when I saw the cover. It's so awesome! I think my brother had a psychic or at least premonition experience where he knew our grandfather had passed away before our mom called to let us know. dasuzuki at yahoo dot com

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  23. Hi, Jamie! I've totally had whoo-whoo moments - love that phrase, by the way. Right before I find out I've messed up, I know. Not a general dread or an oh no! what if I messed up? feeling, but a solid knowledge that I did something wrong. It's not any fun, but it does make coping with any problems that pop up as a result easier.

    How many books will the Offspring series have?

    lynzajw[at]gmail[dot]com

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  24. Kayla, that is so cool! What an experience. I'm not sure I would have been so calm about it =:0

    Morning Glow, you've definitely had some psychic awareness. Stay open to it and you'll get more!

    Throughthehaze, that's cool!

    Virginia, thanks for the compliments on the covers! I can't take credit for them, but I'm thankful! I'm sorry to hear about your family. You must have come here to learn about resilience. I love the stories of the scent contacts! How wonderful that they let you know they're still here for you.

    Thanks, Martha! Yes, love those angels! :)

    Stacy, I love those "coincidences"! I have those, too. I have a best friend, and we were just talking about that we must have been twins in a previous life. We definitely have that connection.

    ertirv, kewl! Hm, a twitch in the eye as a bad omen. Now, that's a new one. A friend has that with double rainbows--always a bad thing.

    Hi, Karen K! Thanks! Well, now you know for the future to always listen to those gut feelings ;)

    Hi, Debbie! Glad you came by! My mom saw her grandfather one night in her bedroom, just standing there shaking his head, and then he disappeared. The next morning they learned he had died. I think these are called visitations.

    Hi, Lynz! You need to get those whoo-whoo feelings to come AHEAD of the event and not afterward! Ask for that guidance so you can act on it. I'm hoping the series will have lots of books! :) I have 3 (and a novella in Feb) scheduled, a fourth one planned out, a fifth one sort of planned out, and then the series could go into more independant books from there.

    Sorry I didn't come back last night! Time got away from me, but I'll check back again for any more responses.

    Thanks, everyone, for coming by! Good luck winning the book!

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  25. I love reading about things unknown. I believe anything is possible!! Thanks for a chance at winning your book!!

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  26. The book sounds amazing! Please enter me.

    Froggy
    froggarita@gmail.com
    http://froggaritavillesbookcase.blogspot.com
    A Blog with Bite!
    http://blogwithbitereviews.blogspot.com

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  27. Hi Jaime,

    Just finishing reading Out of the darkness yesterday and now cannot wait for the next book. I really want to know more about the offspring and what would play out for Eric. I admit he fascinated me. I do not know which side he would turn to, the light or the dark.

    Since I already have this book, please do not enter me.

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  28. This series sounds great!! I would love to be entered. cfisher1504/at/gmail/com

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  29. Yes, I kind of had a psychic moment when I was in grade school. I met a boy from another school, and I was able to just look at him and tell him what his name was, both first and last name. I was exactly right. I think I really creeped him out. Please enter me. Thanks!

    ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

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  30. No, I don't anybody who had one those moments.

    kalynnick AT yahoo DOT com

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