THE OTHER SIDE by Starr Gardinier

FEARLESS FRIDAY

What a great post I have for you today, written by my guest Starr Gardinier. Love the spooky stuff, but it tugs at your hear too! Read on.

There’s a rumor going around that the paranormal is bogus. What does ‘paranormal’ mean? According to Dictionary.com, it’s an adjective, meaning “of or relating to the claimed occurrence of an event or perception without scientific explanation, as ‘psychokinesis, extrasensory perception, or other purportedly supernatural phenomena.”

Should you fear it? Perhaps, perhaps not. It’s about the not knowing for most of us. We really don’t know what a ‘paranormal’ event is unless and until we’ve experienced something without a ‘scientific explanation.’ So, we tend to fear the unknown.

Unless, you’re in the know…

While “The Other Side: Trent’s Story” is completely fictionalized and over-exaggerated, even for my beliefs, parts have a ring of truth to them. At least I can say that because I’ve experienced a ‘paranormal’ event.

After my mother passed away, I was distraught and, please keep in mind here that I’ve shared this with no one, suicidal. My mother meant the world to me and when I lost her, all I could think about was being back with her. No matter how. I didn’t care if I had to die to be with her again. These feelings went on for months. My depression got out of hand. All I wanted to do, and did every chance I got, was sleep. One afternoon, I laid down and the most extraordinary ‘paranormal’ thing happened.

Before I continue, I need to clarify something. It doesn’t matter if you believe in the paranormal or not. It doesn’t matter if you fear it. What matters here is the fact that if you open your mind, surprising things can happen.

My mother saved my life. No one, and I do mean no one, can convince me that what I’m about to tell you did not happen.

While resting (sleeping…dreaming…hiding in my depression, however you’d like to see it), I was on a shopping trip with a few of my friends and my mother. It was time to go home and I hugged my friends goodbye and turned to my mother. She was wearing all white and seemed to be glowing (I’m not lying here). I rushed into her arms and begged her to come home with me. She hugged me back and told me that she couldn’t. I then begged to go with her, wherever she was. She said no, that it wasn’t my time. I still had things to do here. (Sounds so cliché) I cried, begging for her to let me go with her, but she left without me. I went home and was showing my boyfriend at the time, what I’d purchased. He looked over at my purse and asked, “What’s that?” I looked and just said “Oh, Mom.” There lay a pair of pure white gloves. I feel as if she gave me those as a way of ‘holding my hand.’ When I got up that afternoon, a sense of peace came over me. One I’d never experienced before. I knew without a shadow of a doubt, that my mother had just saved my life. I was no longer suicidal, but beyond happy that I shared that moment with my mother.

Can science explain that? Can you explain that? Was it extrasensory perception? Is it paranormal? It’s unexplainable in our human sense. I know that in one afternoon, my life completely made sense. My mother said I wasn’t done here. I made peace with my mother’s death. She was only physically gone. She was, and will always be, in my heart.

Am I fearless of the paranormal? Yes. I don’t fear it, but I certainly have quite the respect for it. My experience, fortunately, was a great one. Good things can happen, but so can the bad. We are all sensitive. What separates us is some refuse to believe while others are open to the world of the unknown; that which science cannot explain.

So, today, on this Fearless Friday, tell me your fear relating to the paranormal. Then read “The Other Side: Trent’s Story” and tell me how over-exaggerated it is. Completely fictionalized, but with just a hint of truth.

I would love to hear your story, if you have one.

A paralegal by day, Starr Gardinier is an author by night. Apart from being an award winning author for her short story “Cut,” Starr has appeared in a blaze and made her mark on the literary world with her Ivanovich series and now her Other Side series.

Having studied and obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Literature/Creative Writing, she has found her unique style and is known for her works' distinctive voice, making every character stand out.

She’s the founder and owner of Editing by Starr.

Starr is a member of International Thriller Writers (ITW) and of Sisters in Crime, Los Angeles Chapter and nationally.

Please see more on her editing service at www.editing.queenwriter.com, read more about her at www.QueenWriter.com, and/or visit her blog at www.qw-blog.blogspot.com.

AVAILABLE JANUARY 22, 2016

Melinda James is finally out of Skyview Haven—an asylum where she was confined for years—and is living her life, free at last. However, things are not going as planned; harassed by unexplained paranormal experiences, she doesn’t feel safe in her own home. And when she turns to her best friend Trent for help and support, she is surprised to find her feelings for him have grown far beyond a simple friendship.

Trent Miller isn’t prepared to fight evil, but he will do whatever it takes to save Melinda from an evil entity that is seeking revenge for past events. Armed with knowledge gleaned from television shows, a team of paranormal investigators, and the prayers of family and friends, he is ready to face anything.

The question is, does he tell her about his feelings for her before or after he fights a battle with evil for Melinda’s very soul?

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