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| Shani Struthers |
The Fact and the Fiction
They
say write what you know, that way you write with authority. And I adhere to
that adage, to a certain extent, but I also mix fact with fiction. Yep, not
everything I write is spawned from the realms of imagination!
In my Psychic Surveys series – exciting paranormal mysteries – I
talk about real-life psychic cleansing practices, the crystals that are used,
the herbs and oils, the frame of mind you must be in before attempting to send
a spirit into the light, as well as the once living and breathing members of
the Occult, some well known, some more obscure. Cynthia Hart, who haunts
Highdown Hall, is also based on a real-life character, a film star from the
golden age of movies and the house she once lived in in East Sussex. A friend
of a friend inherited her house and I learnt of his ‘dark’ experiences a few
years ago. Experiences I knew would one day make a great story!
In my Psychic Surveys series – exciting paranormal mysteries – I
talk about real-life psychic cleansing practices, the crystals that are used,
the herbs and oils, the frame of mind you must be in before attempting to send
a spirit into the light, as well as the once living and breathing members of
the Occult, some well known, some more obscure. Cynthia Hart, who haunts
Highdown Hall, is also based on a real-life character, a film star from the
golden age of movies and the house she once lived in in East Sussex. A friend
of a friend inherited her house and I learnt of his ‘dark’ experiences a few
years ago. Experiences I knew would one day make a great story! 
In
Rise to Me, there is reference to Aleister Crowley – the notorious Beast of
Britain, who died in 1947; Dion Fortune, a prominent occultist, author,
psychologist, teacher, artist and mystic, who also died in the 1940s, as well
as Alexandra David-Neel and her work with tulpas
– thought forms made manifest. Not only integral to the plot, these people moulded the plot, particularly Fortune’s
work during World War II, whereupon she and white witches up and down the
country entered a battle on psychic planes against the Nazis – sending thoughts
out across land and ocean to repel them and keep the shores of Britain safe.
Their tireless work was held responsible in part for Rudolf Hess’s plane
crashing in 
In
the prequel to The Haunting of Highdown Hall and Rise to Me – Eve – due out in
November 2015, I have also drawn from real-life events, this time the sad case
of the many miners and their family members who died in the upper rooms of a
market hall on Christmas Eve when false shouts of ‘fire’ from below caused
widespread panic culminating in a stampede for the exit. At the time, there was strife between the miners and the management and the finger of blame pointed firmly towards the management. Nobody was ever found guilty, however, and no one ever came forward to confess – all this took place in the early 20th
century. Whilst writing Eve – setting it in Yorkshire rather than
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Thank you for your guest post today, Shani, and best wishes for great success with all of your writing.
Slainthe!
Thank you for hosting me again, Nancy! Always a pleasure to be on your blog.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure too!
ReplyDeleteWhat fascinating concepts! I'm not a huge mystery reader, but throw a little paranormal in the mix and I'll bite.
ReplyDeleteHello Crystal. I think you'll not be disappointed in Shani's work!
DeleteFascinating. I love Shani's work and love knowing more about my favourite authors. Thanks, Nancy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for popping in, Cameron. There's always a little bit more to learn about someone, isn't there?
DeleteIt's great to learn more about the inspirations behind Shani's books, which I love. I look forward to the new book. I'm lucky enough to be able to count Shani as a friend.
ReplyDeleteHi Juliet. thanks for stopping by and supporting Shani-you're a good friend to have!
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