Check Out These Online Courses for Writing, Tarot Card Reading, and Self-Publishing!

Do you want to learn some new skills during this Pandemic?

Maybe you're one of the lucky ones who isn't juggling jobs and kids and are looking for something to do to amuse yourself while we're still in various degrees of isolation. Or maybe you already do tons of stuff but want to explore something new! Maybe you want to brush up on your Creative Writing skills. Or freak out your friends with fortune-telling!


At any rate, you know I'm a writer, a teacher, an editor, a tarot card reader, and an actor, which means I love to entertain.

I thought I'd put my various offerings on this blog page in case you're not aware of some of them.

George Brown College, Toronto

I begin my new career at George Brown College next week! You can sign up for these courses at any time, even after they've started as these are online courses! George Brown College is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, however, the courses are taught online so you can live anywhere!


Novel Writing Begins June 4, 2020. This 12-week course will help you write an original novel! In fact, if you don't have to work long hours and are motivated, you might be able to write your novel in 12-weeks as well!


Self-Publishing Begins June 1, 2020  Have you spent your pandemic time writing journals, stories, and books? Maybe now is the time to think about sharing your craft with the world in a self-published book! This 6-week course will teach you all the things you need to know to self-publish your book!

Udemy Online

Now, for more courses that I teach, let's check out Udemy!

Udemy is an online school where I've successfully taught for three years!

 Every student who takes my course is a real student. I didn't stuff my courses with non-paying students as many others do. Each student is real and all the reviews are real and quite varied as you can see for yourself. What one person loves, another person loathes!

Udemy often has sales so save the links and they will take you right to a sale when there's a sale. If you use my links, I earn more than $1 a class!

Learn How to Be a Psychic Entertainer in One Day

Learn how to read tarot cards, read a palm, and freak out your isolation family! This course is a shortcut for fun and entertainment. You can use a simple deck of cards or even make your own!

Learn to Write Erotica

If you like to read erotica, you might want to try your hand at writing it. The best writers write what they love!

Life Magic for All Aspects of Your Life

You may have read House Magic: The Good Witch's Guide to Bringing Grace to Your Space and Love Magic: The Good Witch's Guide to Healing Your Heart. This course combines ideas from these two books as well as adding fresh concepts. There's even a new lecture about living in the pandemic.


Secrets of a Background Performer in Film and Television

One of my part-time jobs is being a background performer in Film and Television. I've been on loads of shows including What We Do in the Shadows, Handmaid's Tale, Designated Survivor, Taken, Schitt's Creek, Love Guru, Titans, and more. This little course gives you tips and tricks of what is expected of you as bg, what to bring to a gig, how to get an agent, and more. Of course, it's hard to know what will happen in the film business as we slowly come back to life after the pandemic. We also have to brace for a second wave. It's unlikely that there will be huge crowd scenes for a while, but you can bet, there will be jobs once more for bg even if there are only ten people on set six feet apart! This course can help you be ready for that day!

Learn to Read Tarot Cards

This course is designed for beginners and those who want a refresher course in reading tarot cards. Of course, tarot readers and teachers all have different styles so you might want to see the methods I was trained in. You can use any pack of tarot cards or even a pack of playing cards!

So You Want to Be a Horror Writer?

We discuss the elements of the novel and some of the things you need to know to help you in your horror career.

Write a Short Story Using Tarot Cards

Grab your pen and notebook, a pack of tarot or playing cards, and see what kind of story you create! This course will be your guide!

Patreon

The Haunted Mansion Interviews Sèphera Girón and more!

The Haunted Mansion Interviews Sephera Giron

In September 2010 and in September 2012, a group of horror authors, artists, and poets descending upon a retreat nestled into the mountains of Southern California.



The mansion has been used as a retreat for decades but its history, as is the case with all old buildings, spawns back a century through interesting times. The house was originally built by husband as a love letter to his wife. The heart-shaped lawn was proof of his devotion to her.

There were many deaths associated with the house, old age, illness and that sort of thing. Of course, there are rumours including drowning in the pool or a shooting in a stairwell.  But the rumours have nothing to substantiate them in my own understanding.

The home was and still is used as a religious retreat. There are satchels hanging from trees, medicine bags strung by hopeful new Agers and first nations. There is a calm vibration most of the time that lends itself creative flow. An easy give and take among the retreaters made for a tightly knit and magnetic group.

The home is also used, of course, as a writers retreat and other artists as well. The attic with its glorious sunroof is already set up as an artists studio and Yvonne Navarro spent the second retreat painting a magnificent work.

There are now two Haunted Mansion books out from Damnation Books. Each book covers the events and inspirations from the specific years.

The Haunted Mansion Project: Year One

Haunted Mansion Project: Year Two

Many of us experienced unexplained events while others didn't experience anything. Rain Graves and I were roommates both times. The first year, we stayed in a little room, thinking that a tiny room would be "safe."  Boy were we wrong.

The second year we were ready to stay in the same room. We even started to unpack but as the creepiness of the room began to settle into our bones, we had second thoughts. Since there were more people attending the retreat that year than the previous year, there were more floors and rooms available. We both decided that we would definitely NOT be staying on the third floor. No way. So we chose a room on the first floor, just off the safe room. We liked our spacious room although there was a whole suite attached to it that was very scary. There was a kitchen and another bedroom. The vibes in those room were not as welcoming and during the weekend, I had successful luck with the Ghost Girls in experiencing unusual activity.

The books tell our stories and both books are laid out in a similar manner. There is fiction, non-fiction, and photography.

These stories, poems, and art were inspired by the creative vibe and the talkative ghosts at the Haunted Mansion Retreat.

Editor Loren Rhoads, who attended the Haunted Mansion Retreat both times, is conducting a series of interviews with authors who contributed to the book.

Keep checking Loren's blog as she adds more people.

Haunted Mansion Interviews Sephera Giron

Haunted Mansion Interviews Rain Graves

Haunted Mansion Interviews S. G. Browne

Haunted Mansion Interviews Nichole Boscia of Ghost Girls

Haunted Mansion Interviews Lisa Morton

Haunted Mansion Interviews Rena Mason

Please let me know what you think about the books in the comments section below!



Hellnotes Reviews Weird Tales of Terror

Weird Tales of Terror on Amazon

 

I've been thrilled at the warm reception my collection WEIRD TALES OF TERROR has been receiving in recent months. This month, there was a fabulous review in HELLNOTES.

 

As the review states, nearly all of the pieces are early work that I didn't know where to place.

 

Here's a taste of what William Gabrowski had to say:

 

For early work this is well-crafted, potent material. During the read, I kept telling myself: “This stuff is like Joyce Carol Oates as directed by David Cronenberg.” In case you missed it, that’s meant as a compliment.

To read the whole review, click this link: Hellnotes Review of WEIRD TALES OF TERROR

Weird Tales of Terror is available as a trade paperback or an ebook from Amazon

Weird Tales of Terror Kindle and Print

Weird Tales of Terror Kindle Edition

 

Weird Tales of Terror Print Edition

As you can see, I've changed the cover of the Kindle Edition of Weird Tales of Terror again.

It is now available in print form too and I've kept the price as low as I could possibly keep it for over 350 pages.

It has been just over a year since I published my first e-book. It's been an interesting ride so far. I'm learning so much every time I publish a new book.

I like to think that my formatting and cover designs are slowly improving. After all, I'm a writer, not an artist, not a graphic designer, not a marketing person nor a pr person. However, I find the idea of self-publishing e-books very exciting. I like the idea that I don't have to wait years for my work to be in the hands of my readers.

I'm keeping all the prices of my books very low although I know I could charge more as an award-winning novelist. However, the reason I first started to write was so that I could share my ideas and stories with everyone.

Currently, my only income is from my writing. I don't have a day job or a husband to help me pay the rent. I'm focusing soley on building my business.

If you like my work, please leave me a review. If you've received one of my e-books for free, I would doubly appreciate a review on either Smashwords or Kindle.

I have books available for free all the time on Smashwords.

Today I have a book for free on Kindle for the next few days.

This weekend's treat is: No One Listens and Release

Remember, no matter who your favourite writers might be, you will help them a lot by leaving a review on their book pages.

However, please don't leave silly reviews as the person who left the two star review on my Release/No One Listens book felt inclined to do. I'm not sure why she chose to leave a two star review when she seemed pleased to receive a free book and said that she hadn't read it yet and was looking forward to reading it. But now I have a two star review which looks like someone didn't like my book, when in fact, the person never even read it.

If you want to help your fellow authors, it doesn't cost you anything but  a few minutes to write a review for books you've enjoyed.

Many authors don't mention it but we all pay attention to reviews and are always thrilled to see how we've touched our readers, whether it's in a good way or a bad way.

Think of leaving a review for your favourite authors much like leaving them a precious gift. It will be forever appreciated and doesn't cost anything and takes very little time.

Authors everywhere thank you!

The Black Mass Room 2012

 

 

After two long finger-clenching, nightmarish sweat soaked years, I finally returned to it. That place that had finally faded into a dull memory.

 

The bedroom where Rainy and I had stayed two years ago and where freaky things had happened to us in the night. DVRs on the Ghostgirls site have further proof about unexplanable voices in our room while we slept. 

 

When I entered the room, it was unnerving but not terrifying. I sat on "my" bed and surveyed the room. I remembered the nights and feared staying in there for the impending weekend.

 

 

The mansion had been renovated since our last stay and there were more rooms open on the second floor. Loren and I put out the nametags on various beds. Some of the rooms I was glad I didn't have to stay in. Sure they were big and gorgeous with huge beds but something didn't "feel" right in them.



 

Not that the Black Mass room felt any better. But in the end, Rainy and I stayed in a suite of rooms on the main floor. Of course, we chose beds next to each other, no way anyone slept alone in that mansion. Well, a couple of people did, but they were braver than I.

One of the DVRs from 2010 had a noise that sounded like a child saying, "Hi." With that in mind, I went into the Black Mass room at one point and invited the children to play with me. I pointed out the various equipment they could play with and I don't know if they did when I left the room.  The Lizzie Borden house has a room where children play and I wonder if they played in here too. Apparently this part of the house was built where a gym used to be. So it would make sense that children ghosts could play here.

The idea that ghost children would play with the blinking lights, k2 meters, recorders, propeller and other instruments was more appealing than the idea of encounter some angry Black Mass that oozes in and out of the room.

 

I don't think anything happened.

 

Funny, though, that no one wanted to stay in the room, even for one night to see if what Rainy and I spoke of was true....

 

Interesting....

 

One of the nights, a few of us went into the room while the GhostGirls were rolling cameras and dvrs after we'd been drinking various concoctions of wine, rum and absinthe all night. I turned on the laser light grid and we broke out into "Boogie Oogie Oogie Dancing Shoes" to celebrate the disco era.

The room seemed sad when I said good-bye to it on the last day. It was disappointed I was too chicken to sleep over. Oh, well. I wasn't the only one who was too chicken, that's for sure. Over twenty people in that house all over the place, but no one dared to sleep in The Black Mass Room.

I am curious to see if anything showed up on any of the cameras or digital recorders left in the room for 24 hours!

California Here I Come!

At long last, the wait is over!

Nearly two dozen horror authors and artists are spending four days at a beautiful retreat in California. Nestled in the mountains, this mansion provides a scenic historical refuge for those wishing to tap into the creative muse.

Perhaps because so much "consciousness" is floating around, poking around, exploring concepts and pleasures, there is an odd energy to the house.

The weekend will comprise of writers writing, artists arting and live blogging as it happens to record the more interesting to the outsider aspects of this retreat: paranormal investigation.

A professional ghost hunting team will be investigating with the standard gear.

Be certain to watch the blog as it happens!

Haunted Mansion Writers Retreat

The Haunted Mansion Project in Pictures

The Haunted Mansion Project is a collection of non-fiction and fiction.

What happened at the haunted mansion that weekend?

Who are the ghosts haunting it?

Can answers be found with tarot cards and state of the art ghost communication devices?

See interpretations of evp and other evidence in the journals.

Cringe in terror at the spooky tales of terror evolving from experiences over the weekend.