I'm Marley Gibson, young adult author of the GHOST HUNTRESS series… and a ghost huntress myself. I didn't exactly plan on being a ghost huntress. You know, it's not one of those things you gaze up dreamily to your Mom and Dad and say you want to be when you grow up. There's no guidance counselor in school or college advisor to set you on your path to investigating the other side. However, when I came up with the idea for my GHOST HUNTRESS series, I knew that in order to do the subject justice, I had to reseach the field as much as possible and, in essence, become a ghost huntress myself. And I did. And the adventures began. When I speak to schools and libraries, kids want to know what the scariest thing is that I've seen. I have to admit that when I'm ghost hunting (which I never do alone), I'm not exactly scared when something happens. Afterall, we're *looking* for paranormal activity. What happens to me is overwhelming emotions overflowing into tears. Yes, I said it. I'm a girl… I cry when I experience something scary. LOL! I've heard disembodied voices (EVP or electronic voice phenomena) on my digital recorder, I'd heard doors close on their own and windows rattle when there's no wind, and I've witnessed poltergeist activity of a ball moving around on its own. But, the most amazing and hair-raising experiences I've had were when I saw my first"shadow person" (describe as dark human forms or evasive specters) and when I witnessed a full-bodied apparition (FBA in ghost hunting language). I was at Rolling Hills Sanitarium in Bethany, NY, at an event investigating with Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson of SyFy's Ghost Hunters. Jason told me I needed to go down the tunnel in the basement to see the shadow people. I was a bit skeeved out over the prospect and he said to me,"But you're a ghost huntress." So, I bucked up and headed down the dark tunnel with a few people. And I was amazed to see shadow figures at the end of the long hallway moving between one examining room to the next. We walked down and look at the rooms and no one was in there; only the flood of light from the moon. I got the idea to wave at the shadow person, so I lifted my hands in a friendly gesture. No sooner had I lowered my hand then one of the shadow people waved back at me. I immediately broke out into chill bumps and started crying. At the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO (the hotel where Stephen King stayed when he got the idea for THE SHINING), I was at another event with more TV ghost hunters like Patrick Burns, Chris Fleming, John Zaffis, Chip Coffey, and Jay and Grant from Ghost Hunters. I was on the third floor with some of my friends and we were looking for a place to do an EVP session. We thought the hallway was unoccupied, but when we turned the corner, we saw the outline/shadow of a man standing at the end of the hall. I called out,"Sorry, we didn't know someone had already claimed this area." I shined the flashlight down the long hallway (with no exit) and there was… no one. I turned to my friends and asked,"Did you just see that?" They agreed. I said back,"Oh my God, I think I'm going to cry. I just saw my first full-bodied apparition." And I did cry. I don't know what I saw those two times… were they ghosts, demons, angels, spirits, aliens… what? All I do know was I can't explain it and it was both terrifying, sad, and sort of beautiful. But 'dems the ropes when you're a ghost huntress.
Ghost Huntress: The Counseling by Marley Gibson Publisher: Graphia (September 6th, 2010) Reading Level: Young Adult Paperback: 320 pages Series: Ghost Huntress, book #4 Kendall has just discovered who Emily really is, lost her boyfriend, and nearly died doing the thing she loves most--ghost hunting. It's time to take a break and try to reconcile all the changes she's going through. So Kendall heads to the Sierra Mountains, where there's a camp especially for young people with gifts such as hers. It's a time for reflection and self-discovery.
But when she gets to California, she once again finds restless spirits--and the boy in her last vision. It may be the end of one chapter of her life and the beginning of a new one.
- Marley- Thank you so much for participating and for the unbelievable book donation that helped us make our BIG giveaways HUGE!: ) You rock!
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