It’s October! Superstitions abound! Recently my sister informed me that Friday the 13th doesn’t mean anything sinister unless it takes place in October. I’m not sure if
I agree, but October does seem to amp up my superstitious nature. I’m definitely looking out for those shifting shadows and strange happenstances. Growing up, I watched my grandmother draw an X on the windshield whenever a black cat crossed the road in front of her vehicle. We also had a family ghost named Myrtle. If you think I’m kidding, you should’ve been there when we heard frantic footsteps pacing across the attic floorboards late at night and when our refrigerator’s ice dispenser randomly spit out chunks—timed in such a way that passersby would get pelted. We were convinced Myrtle had a benevolent sense of humor. She never scared the bejesus out of anyone except the dog and a couple of new boyfriends. In fact, Myrtle was the boyfriend initiation rite. If the dude could handle a Myrtle encounter, we knew we had a winner! (Yes, my DH was one such contender…and, ah, the memories!) I wonder if to this day any old boyfriends think of us and shudder ;)Last month, my western romance trilogy went from ebook publication to an audio book collection. In the final book, Bet It On My Heart, I was thrilled when the opportunity to throw in a powerful and poignant superstition scene presented itself. Years ago, in an earth science book I read about the ghost lights of Marfa, Texas.
For those of you unfamiliar with this phenomenon, for over a century outside this Texan town people have been seeing mysterious, allegedly paranormal lights. Scientists at first tried to distinguish them as a reaction to rocks underneath the soil but after some daytime digging no such rocks could be found. Then they attributed the lights to headlight reflections from a nearby route. Watching the lights, however, it’s clear that these aren’t headlight reflections and the reported sightings date back before cars were invented. The lights are so popular, Marfa built a viewing platform on the bluff overlooking the site and the TV series Unsolved Mysteries filmed a segment there.
So intrigued was I by the Marfa lights, I kept a photocopy of the book’s article in my writing notes. With Bet It On My Heart, the chips fell in all the right places. The book takes place in the fictional small town of Wayback in west Texas. The cowboy hero, Keefe, drives his heroine, Calli, out into the quiet countryside for some special alone time. What they see and experience there creates one of my favorite moments of the book. You can purchase Bet It On My Heart, and its award-winning prequels (Blackest Heart and Bluest Heart) in ebook at The Wild Rose Press (http://www.thewildrosepress.com/amber-leigh-williams-m-352.html?zenid=1be052bfd41335d14b8fdbcf81dd17dd) or in audio at AudioLark today (http://www.audiolark.com/books/tag/amber-leigh-williams/)!
So readers, I’d love to hear your favorite paranormal phenomena—real life or fictional! Writers, has your own experience ever crossed over into your work? A special thanks, too, to Autumn for letting me share today!
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