I interviewed Author Roberta Grimes about her book "The Fun of Staying in Touch"

Roberta Grimes is currently on a book tour, promoting her book called "The Fun of Staying in Touch" and I had a chance to interview her about it and how it came to be. Here are the questions and answers. 
You can find her book on AMAZON.COM at: http://www.amazon.com/The-Fun-Staying-Touch-Contact-ebook/dp/B00N9IYIDA 
Her website is: http://robertagrimes.com/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Roberta-Grimes/479529392154968

1) I'd like to give readers an idea of the person that is Roberta Grimes. 
Tell me about yourself, where you grew up, what you wanted to do for a career...

I grew up in Massachusetts, always expecting to be an attorney, and my career has been in advising small businesses. Nevertheless, when I was eight and again at the age of twenty I had extraordinary experiences of light which started me on a search to understand reality. It has been a consuming hobby! While I have had a conventional life as a wife (of 42 years), a mother (of 3), and a grandmother (of 5), I have spent my every spare minute researching, writing, and speaking about the glorious greater reality of which this universe is a part, and the beyond-wonderful certainty that our minds are eternal.

2) When did you learn that you had the ability to get messages from those who passed?
I'm not a medium, but rather I am a serious researcher - I have spent decades reading nearly 200 years of abundant and consistent communications from the dead, most of them received before 1950. When combined with quantum physics and consciousness research, they tell a compelling and amazingly consistent story!

3) Do you work as a medium full-time? or is that a part-time thing?

I still practice business law, but I spend much of my time writing and speaking about what I have learned about death and the afterlife.

 

4) What inspired you to write the book?

I have been surprised to find that most people have no idea about the signs that the dead send to us of their survival, and no notion of how much good work is being done in the area of afterlife communication! The Fun of Staying in Touch is an easily read and highly accessible summary of both areas, and it includes an annotated bibliography so people can discover these truths for themselves.

 

5) Tell me about the book. What kinds of things would someone find in it?

The Fun of Staying in Touch includes a section on signs from the dead, and a section on how we can initiate communication, including what seems to be coming next. It is complete, but at the same time it's a quick and enjoyable read.

 

6) What inspired you to write the book? Is it your first?

My first book on this subject was The Fun of Dying - Find Out What Really Happens Next, which was first published in 2010 and has lately been reissued. For me then to talk about communication in a second book was a natural segue. My third book, completing this trilogy, will be The Fun of Growing Forever, due in 2017. I also have published five novels, the first two in 1992 and 1993 and then a trilogy that starts a seven-novel saga.

 

7) Have you received messages from pets as well as people?

I'm not a medium, but The Fun of Staying in Touch talks about some wonderful communications from pets, including an extraordinary communication dream that I received from my horse after his death.

 

8) What different types of personalities do you write about from the other side?

The communications that I have read include an astonishing range of people. We remain ourselves after we have transitioned - just the act of dying doesn't bring enlightenment - and I can tell some amusing (and some sad) stories of these people's efforts to adjust to their new situations.

 

9) I understand that you studied religion or religions. Does that play into your book or is it more spiritual?

I did major in religion in college, but my research is entirely fact-based. The problem with religions is that, while they often express aspects of what appears to be the truth, they have devolved into belief-systems. I don't want to believe; I want to KNOW!

 

 10) Do you combine science with spiritualism to explain communications and the afterlife?

No - my work is entirely scientific. In fact, this is the grounding for a whole new wave of physics that will become the prevailing mode of physics by the end of this century; I call it "the third wave."

 

 11) Do you provide messages to people on a daily basis or offer a service for readings?

I don't do readings, but I do communicate often with people by email and even by phone who are undertaking their own research, and I speak occasionally at various venues. I love to help people on their voyages of discovery!

 

 12) What do you hope that people will come away with after reading your book?

I hope to inform and enlighten the curious, comfort the grieving, and start as many people as possible on the same voyage of discovery that has been my own really wonderful hobby!

Great Paranormal Fictional Mystery: Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher

  I just finished my second novel in the "Dresden Files" series about a paranormal detective in
Chicago, and like the first one, it was great!
   The STORY:   The White Council of Wizards has drafted wizard Harry Dresden as a Warden and assigned him to look into rumors of black magic in Chicago. Malevolent entities that feed on fear are loose in the Windy City at a horror convention called "Splattercon!!!" but it's all in a day's work for a wizard, his faithful dog, and a talking skull named Bob.
  This paranormal detective has to figure out where these blood thirsty entities are killing conference attendees. He also has to figure out how his best friend's daughter fits into the paranormal outbreak... and it leads him into trouble in a Faerie kingdom full of dark entities and evil. This is the 8th book in the series (there are now 15 of them!) and it was such a great read, I finished it in less than 2 weeks. Highly Recommended! 

Can You See the Ghostly Face on the Cover of my 1st Book!?!

Did you know that there's a ghostly face on the cover of my first book "Ghosts and Spirits: Insights from a Medium"?   

       The cover photo is one that I took in 1993 using a Canon 35 mm camera. There was no flash used because there was enough natural light from a window that was located to the right side while facing the painting. It is a painting that hangs in the lobby of Tombstone, Arizona's Bird Cage Theatre. The woman in the painting is a famous actress of the late 1800s named Fatima. 

   If you look closely at the lower portion of the painting, you'll see the ghostly face of the bearded old male actor that haunts the Bird Cage Theatre. I was as surprised when the former manager of the Bird Cage called to tell me after receiving a copy of the photo from me. I was told that this ghost may have been one of the actors that performed in the theatre and simply never left. He's also been spotted on the stage of the theatre whenever the manager closes up the theatre museum at night!

A Great Read: All You Know Is What You Think You Know Paperback

A wonderful book for anyone curious about Paranormal/ghosts/spirits etc.,

By Rob Gutro

 

  I had the good fortune to meet Clay and his wife Joy at the SpiritWatch conference in Nov. 2013 and they are amazing, warm, caring and talented people. They belong to a group of paranormal investigators called SpiritWatch and help people with paranormal problems. I just read Clay's book and makes you think about things we have come to know or think we know about ghosts, spirits, demons, mediums, shamans, angels, etc. He lets the reader decide about things, He provides photographic proof of ghosts and asks what you see. The author shares some amazing stories of personal experiences, too. It's a book that an
- Rob Gutro, author "Ghosts and Spirits" and "Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead"
yone with interest in the Paranormal should read. I highly recommend this book.

BOOK SUMMARY: Clay Smith's life has been a full and varied one. From being a traveling musician, working in the corporate world as well as being a private business owner, becoming a husband, father and grandfather, Clay thought he had experienced it all. Then, due to life circumstances and uncanny coincidences, a world unknown to most, opened its doors, welcomed him in and changed his perspective on all things 'real'. Spirits, ghosts, mediums, shamans, demons and angels all became familiar words in his vocabulary and commonplace in his everyday life. This writing shares those experiences and insights into his journey and offers something for everyone; the believer and non believer, and the over believer. Read. Learn. Question.

Radio Interview: Club Para-the para lounge Radio Interviewed Stephen Black and Rob Gutro

Club Para-the para lounge Radio Interviewed Stephen Black and Rob Gutro
  Club Para Radio's host "Outlaw" Ryleigh Black discussed hot topics in the Paranormal along with EVP's, events, gossip, celebs, hauntings, and events.   The first hour of the show featured an interview with Stephen Black.
   The second hour Ryleigh was joined  by paranormal investigator and author Rob Gutro will be talking about his book.
 

New Paranormal Internet Radio with Ryleigh Black on BlogTalkRadio

My New Book is Available! Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead

I'm excited to tell you that my new book is now available! 
Huge thanks to Inspired Ghost Tracking and mediums Barb Mallon, Troy Cline and Ruth Larkin.  Hope you enjoy it. Rob

Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead  

by Rob Gutro 

Paperback  List Price: $9.99

**COMING SOON ON E-BOOK** 

In medium Rob Gutro’s second book, you’ll learn about lessons he gathered from communicating with Earth-bound ghosts and Spirits who have crossed into the light. Ghosts and Spirits provide insight into how we can live better on Earth.Follow him on a treasure-hunt-style journey in Virginia as he and others try to explain what appear to be random and obscure words, signs and symbols from a spirit, that all wind up being intensely personal to the spirit.
Explore the science behind how they communicate. Learn how to receive their messages, where they appear, and important messages in how to live your life. Rob takes you into cemeteries, battlefields, and historic places. You’ll see what happens to victims of suicide and murders, and how infants and animals pass messages to the living.

CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/3824548  

Just $9.99 paperback. 6" x 9"  Black & White, 202 pages

**Coming Soon as Kindle, NOOK and E-book.
ISBN-13: 978-1475033212 and ISBN-10: 1475033214

My first book, "Ghosts and Spirits: Insights from a Medium" by Rob Gutro is also available in paperback and as an E-book on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and more. 

My Observations on a book: After-death experience of an 11 year old boy

There's a book out now about a young boy's after death experience.

 Before I even venture to read it, I already have some reservations about it.

According to USA TODAY:  Colton Burpo, an 11 year old is famous for being the boy who had a near-death experience when he was 4 years old during emergency surgery for a burst appendix. Doctors offered little hope he would survive. Not only did he live, he says he went to heaven during the operation, met Jesus, John the Baptist, his great-grandfather and a sister he didn't even know he had (she was miscarried before he was born), then came back to tell his folks about the trip. A book about Colton's journey is called Heaven Is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back. 

HERE'S WHAT I DON'T QUESTION: 

* I absolutely DO believe that this boy died and came back. 

 *I absolutely DO believe that he had an out of body experience and met is great-grandfather and sister, and even Jesus. 

 * I absolutely DO believe the boy's experience about Heaven being "filled with bright colors and lots of rainbows."

HERE'S WHERE THE DOUBTS COME IN:

USA TODAY SAYS, it was written by Colton's father, the Rev. Todd Burpo, who has a small evangelical congregation in Imperial, Neb. It was co-written by Lynn Vincent, who collaborated with Sarah Palin on the her book, Going Rogue.

   

Having someone write the book that is SO immersed in religion and so biased with conservative religious views makes whatever else is in the book a lot less believable. I've seen this before with a Mormon who had an after-death experience and I stopped reading that book half-way through because it became a Marketing piece and promotion for joining the Mormon Church. 

- People who write books with a religious agenda are doing so for their own benefit. This boy's father is a reverend of a church. It seems that they're exploiting their son's after-death experience to promote their own religious beliefs. 

- Many people have after-death experiences. When we die our energies leave our body and we have the ability to see those who passed before us. Family members are always there when we die. Yes, people may also see Jesus, God or another religious figure because they likely call to them as they're passing. Most of the time, they see their relatives who tell them it's not their time. 

- Just a caution to people who start to read books about after-death experiences: If you find that any of them start pushing or promoting one religion, stop reading it. There's an agenda. If you want to read a great book where the woman who died came to a better understanding of the afterlife, pick up Betty Eadie's "Embraced by the Light."

4 Good Books: "The Haunting of Derek Stone" Series

I recently read 4 Scholastic novels (written for teens) by Tony Abbott. The books are in a series called "The Haunting of Derek Stone" and are well-written and hold your interest. You have to read them in order, however, or you could get somewhat lost. They premise is of a 14 year old, out of shape boy (Derek Stone) and his older teen brother and father take a train ride in Oregon, and the train goes off a bridge, killing people. All of the family seem to survive the accident. However, it turns out that an accident that occurred in that same spot, in that same manner in 1938 that was carrying prisoners - allowed the souls of the dead prisoners to linger and reanimate the newly dead victims (they refer to it as "translation of spirits" of the present day train accident.
The books build up the mystery, and I won't give it away. One of the reanimated dead, however is a prisoner who was a pyromaniac in 1938, and who leads the army of reanimated dead against Derek Stone (because he's "special"). Derek's brother Ronnie is reanimated by a good soul of a former prison security guard, and helps Derek and another train passenger. Again, I won't give away any more.
-I've noticed that you can find these as used books very cheaply, and they're worth the read. Enjoy them then give them to your teenager to enjoy. :)
THE BOOKS IN THE SERIES:
City of the Dead (The Haunting of Derek Stone, Book 1)
Bayou Dogs (The Haunting of Derek Stone, Book 2)
The Red House (The Haunting of Derek Stone Series 3)
The Ghost Road (The Haunting of Derek Stone Series 4)

Entertaining Fiction Book for All: Dead Person Following My Sister""

I recently went to a Scholastic book warehouse sale with a good friend who found the paperback "There's a Dead Person Following My Sister Around" by author Vivian Vande Velde.
I just finished the book (142 pages) and although its written for kids and young teens, I LOVED IT!
I learned the Ms. Vande Velde has written others like it, which I intend to read (even though we have no children). The Publisher's Website says of the book "Vande Velde continues her string of historical ghost stories, this time focusing on the Underground Railroad. The first-person narrator, 11-year-old Ted, is certain that his house in Rochester, NY, can't be haunted because it has been in his family for generations and there have been no secrets to speak of in its past. Then his five-year-old sister Vicki's imaginary friend Marella and the "bad lady" who seems to be chasing her prove themselves to be all too real. Ted decides to get to the bottom of the mystery and finds a journal belonging to one of his ancestors that recounts the tragic story of two runaway slaves, a mother and her five-year-old daughter, who drowned in the Erie Canal, which used to run through the family's backyard."
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book. It was a fun and enjoyable read.

BOOK: Gift : Understand and Develop Your Psychic Abilities

I just finished reading the book "Gift : Understand and Develop Your Psychic Abilities" by Echo Bodine. This is a good book for people who are developing mediums. It will give you a good sense of what kinds of messages to expect and how to interpret (or not over-interpret) them. If you're curious about what the Bible says about mediumship there's a long chapter included, where Ms. Bodine has done extensive research. She has also authored a number of other books that also sound interesting.

Good Book! Haunted Nantucket Island

I just finished reading a good book about 22 different haunted places on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. The book is called "Nantucket Haunted Hike Presents: the Haunted Nantucket Island: Twenty-two True Nantucket Ghost Stories" by W.B. Alexander, a man who lives there and runs the ghost tours of the island. The book is extremely well-written, captivating, and has some really great stories in it that will make you want to visit Nantucket!
ISBN-10: 1413488935. I highly recommended it!

Book Review: Pet Ghosts by Joshua Warren

Book Review: Pet Ghosts by Joshua Warren
This book came out in 2006, but I hadn't heard of it until I did a search on the topic recently. I just finished reading it, and I was disappointed because I was expecting insight into animal intelligence, behavior and communications with those they left behind. Having lost a puppy (who communicated with me a LOT), I hoped to read signs from others. Instead, paranormal investigator Joshua Warren focuses on ghostly animals throughout history, such as from ancient and medieval texts (including the Bible) and different cultures. The book talks about Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster, hellhounds and werewolves. None of this made much sense to me because none of these things are "pets." I think the book should have been called "non-human and mythological ghosts."
If you've lost a beloved dog or cat and are looking for comfort from this book, you won't find it here, unfortunately. Warren does great research, but the title of the book is really misleading.