Mary Ann Chulick
maryannchulick.com
All Creatures Great and ...Dead

If you could have a 24-hour romantic fling with anyone you wanted, anywhere you wanted, where would you go, what would you do and with whom would you do it?
     I’d like to be stranded on a desert island with Ewan McGregor, my favorite actor. I figure when we get tired of...other things...he can sing to me. (Anyone see Moulin Rouge? He’s got a great voice.)

Tell us about your recent release and what you hope readers will enjoy about it.
     ALL CREATURES GREAT AND…DEAD is a contemporary mystery with a strong romance. The hero, Travis, is a veterinarian whose stepmother is trying to blackmail him. When she’s murdered, Travis’ father is arrested. Travis investigates but to his dismay, the clues lead to other family members. In the midst of all this, he falls in love with a newcomer to town and also has to deal with a secret from his past.

What do you like to do when you’re not working?
     Last year I added a four-seasons room onto my house, and that’s where I have my desk and computer. I like looking out at trees while I work (the room has windows on three sides) and there’s a patio door so I can let the dogs into the back yard. It’s a pleasant space although somehow it’s always messy.

What do you like about where you live?
     I live in an older suburb of Cleveland. The city has much wonderful culture, like a world-class art museum and symphony, as well as the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. We’re situated on Lake Erie, which means we have beaches, similar to being on the ocean. And we’re very close to the world headquarters of Ellora’s Cave, 45 minutes away in Akron.

If you could have one special super or magical power, what would it be?
     I’d like to be able to heal people magically. This isn’t a super power that you see in comics very often! But it’s so vitally important to be healthy, I think it would be a wonderful power.

What’s your favorite smell?
     Dinner in the stove when I get in from work...made by someone else.

What else would you like readers to know about you or your work?
     I enjoy writing paranormal romance. Cerridwen Press will be publishing GAME TIME later this year. This is a humorous book about a woman from the future who comes to our century to play a reality game that’s being watched by a 25th century audience. She has to make the hero propose to her in order to win. The hero, left with two young children after his wife died, remarried too quickly. Wife number two took off with his youngest child. The hero’s been trying to find his daughter ever since and doesn’t trust women.

     If you like my writing, you might also like to read work by my sister, Solange Ayre. As a galaxy-hopping investigative journalist, she has a more exciting life than I do, but our writing styles are oddly similar. Her first novella for Ellora’s Cave, ONE THOUSAND BRIDES, just came out on April 6.

Liz Jasper
lizjasper.com
Underdead

Tell us about your most romantic fantasy. If you could have a 24-hour romantic fling with anyone you wanted, anywhere you wanted, where would you go, what would you do and with whom would you do it?
     I’d go back in time to the beginning of my relationship with my husband, so I could experience those exciting new relationship sparks again. It would be fun to relive the first time we met, the first date, the first kiss... I’d time-jump: A few hours here, a few hours there... Only, since this is a fantasy, there’d be a lot more eating involved. Because as we all know, if you eat chocolate, fettuccine alfredo, and a big honking messy plate of ribs in time travel, the calories evaporate.

Tell us about your upcoming release and what you hope readers will enjoy about it.
     I describe UNDERDEAD as a cozy vampire mystery. Cozies are at the lighter end of the mystery spectrum. The “go to” reads after bad day when all you want to do is pop up a bowl of popcorn, hunker down on the couch and trade your world for another one. UNDERDEAD is a cozy mystery with a paranormal twist. Most cozies have cats, this one has…bats.

     UNDERDEAD is about an overworked, underappreciated middle school science teacher who doesn’t believe in vampires—who does, really? Until she finds herself turning into one. Sort of. The vampire who bit her didn’t do the job properly, leaving her not quite Undead, merely underdead. She’s stuck dealing with the consequences in the real world where no one would believe the reason behind her strange new “problems” if she told them. She barely believes it herself. And just when she thinks she’s got a handle on hiding her embarrassing, ever-evolving vampire traits, she finds a colleague dead on her classroom floor, with teeth marks in his neck.

     What do I hope readers will enjoy? One of my draft readers told me she was at her computer, caught up in the story, when something made her laugh so hard she spit coffee on her keyboard. If I could hear that again from my readers, I’d love it.

What’s your writing space like?
     It’s a freakin’ mess. I’m a champion piler. There are stacks of reference books, towers of CDs listing ominously toward the floor, crisscrossed stacks of printouts...and everything’s littered with Post-its. I write on anything: the backs of grocery receipts, those free pads you get in the mail from charities, white space ripped out from the morning newspaper… all that’s piled in there, too. I like a certain amount of clutter—very tidy spaces make me nervous—but every once in while I strip the whole mess off my desk, organize it, dust the computer and polish the big wood desk until it shines, and start over. Fortunately, I have a nice view of the back porch. Right now, the bougainvillea has exploded in bright magenta puffs and the yellow daisies look like something in a Miracle-gro ad. This is amazing because despite a degree in biology and plenty of years teaching science, I seem to forget that water part of the photosynthesis equation. I also have a nice view of my cat’s back. She likes to sit just out of reach, on my husband’s dry-cleaning, making it very clear that she has a decided preference between her owners, and it’s not me.

What do you like about where you live?
     I like that everything I really need is within walking distance. The beach, the library, the hardware store, the movie theater, the bookstore, the post office. And the grocery store. If I have an Oreo emergency, I don’t have to give up my parking space. And since this is Southern California, the weather makes it easy to choose sneakers over the car keys.

If you could have one special super or magical power, what would it be?
     The power to heal. How great would it be to be able to do some “laying on of hands” thing over an injury and have it go away? I wouldn’t have so much as a shoulder ache.

What’s your favorite smell?
     That earthy “wet pavement” smell that thickens the air right when it starts to rain.

What else would you like readers to know about you or your work?
     If you drive to the end of the peninsula in Long Beach looking for the Bayshore Academy where my protagonist Jo Gartner teaches earth science, you won’t find it. No pretty stucco buildings. No classrooms of hormone-addled teenagers. No faculty members lugging around stacks of papers to grade. The only thing there is a parking lot, a wind-scarred lifeguard tower, and lots and lots of sand.

     Jo’s experiences teaching earth science to 13-year-olds (cruel and unusual punishment) is based very loosely on my hair-raising stint as a middle school science teacher. But, like the Bayshore Academy, all the characters in UNDERDEAD are figment of my imagination. And—I will admit it here—as much as I grouch about it, teaching science to middle-schoolers is a lot of fun, once you get the hang of it.

Cindy Spencer Pape
cindyspencerpape.com
Dragon in the System

If you could have a 24-hour romantic fling with anyone you wanted, anywhere you wanted, where would you go, what would you do and with whom would you do it?
     As much as I hate to sound corny, the who is my husband of almost 22 years now. I’m one of the lucky few to have gotten a good one the first time out, and I really have no desire to be with anyone else. Now the where—that’s another story entirely. Anywhere we’ve never been. The pyramids, Hong Kong, Tahiti, but my first choice would probably be holed up together in a mystical Scottish or Irish castle.

Tell us about your DRAGON IN THE SYSTEM and what you hope readers will enjoy about it.
     DRAGON IN THE SYSTEM is a different sort of paranormal in that neither of the main characters is a supernatural being. In fact they’re pretty ordinary people, a couple of geeks, each in their own way. I loved writing these two real people with real hang-ups about things like jobs and relatives and deadlines, who just happen to discover something totally out of this world while trying to uncover a computer hacker on the campus where they’re both professors. It’s smart and funny and sexy and there’s a little bit of suspense—really something for everyone.

What do you like to do when you’re not working?
     Read. Swim. Read more. Travel when I get the chance, which hasn’t been often. Hang out with my kids and critters. I still play role-playing games with my husband and friends. You can take the geek out college, but you can’t take the college out of the geek.

What do you like about where you live?
     Umm-it’s close to my dad. Seriously, southern Michigan is great, beautiful woods, lots of water. I’d rather be in a little more urban area than I am right now. It’s quite a drive to museums or concerts or shopping.

If you could have one special super or magical power, what would it be?
     Healing keeps coming up in my writing, so that’s a strong possibility. Or, given my past career as a naturalist/zoo educator, maybe talking to animals.

What’s your favorite smell?
     I’m an incredibly scent-oriented person, so that’s not easy to answer. One of my stupid-human tricks in high school was that I could identify objects like jackets and backpacks to their owners by scent. I love so many food smells, woodland scents, but the scent of my guy’s skin up close and personal has to be the best.

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever done?
     Erp? No idea. Ballooning over the Rio Grande? Jumping off a lighthouse into Lake Superior? Having children? Doing live bird-of-prey shows for a living? Writing books?

What else would you like readers to know about you or your work?
     I’m all about the happy-ever-after. I know some people think it’s corny, but that’s why I read romance. I want a good plot, great characters and all that, but if it doesn’t end happily, I’m going to want my money back. Our world is a scary place. If I want to be depressed, I’ll read the newspaper. When I read for pleasure, I want to feel good, feel hopeful, remember what it feels like those first few moments of falling in love. Other than that, in my books, just about anything goes. (grin)

Dorothy McFalls
dorothymcfalls.com
Lady Iona's Rebellion

Tell us about your most romantic fantasy. If you could have a 24-hour romantic fling with anyone you wanted, anywhere you wanted, where would you go, what would you do and with whom would you do it?
     This one is easy. I have spent hours picturing how it would happen. Haven’t we all, though? My deepest, dearest romantic fantasy goes something like this. My husband comes home with a bouquet of playful flowers (not roses, daisies perhaps or wildflowers. Yes, I think wildflowers would set the scene quite nicely). Now you have to know my husband to understand why I would pick him over any other dream guy in the world. He’s a sculptor with these sexy abs and pecs. And his eyes, a soft green, can see into my soul and makes me want to tell him all my secrets. Sigh.... Not only that, he is ever so patient with me, even when I’m in the throes of PMS and verging on turning into a raging maniac. At times like those—when I don’t even want to be around me—instead of taking my ranting personally, he brings me chocolate and gives me gentle hugs. I’m pretty damn lucky when it comes to the guy who happened to fall into my lap nearly twenty years ago. And this is the romantic fling I would love to have with him.

     He would come home with an explosion of wildflowers and would have a dark, wild look in his eye, the kind that makes me stumble back a step and get excited all at once. He’d tell me in a deep sexy voice to pack an overnight bag. And when I ask him why, he would only smile. I’d toss everything but the kitchen sink into the overnight bag he hands me. It would be so stuffed that I’d have to kneel on it in order to get it zipped shut. Then, he would take the bag and my hand and lead me to the car. I would ask again where we are going (I can be such a control freak and this not-knowing would make me very uncomfortable). And again, he’d give me that enigmatic smile that makes me squirm in my seat. We’d arrive at the airport. And still, I don’t know where we are going. He doesn’t let me look at the tickets and distracts me when they are checking in the luggage with such a thorough kiss that everyone in the line behind us applauds. We sit side by side on the plane enjoying the wide business-class seats, holding hands. My whole body trembles with excitement. He makes sure I have white wine to sip and strawberries to nibble on the entire flight over the Atlantic. He nibbles on the tips of my fingers. I don’t discover that our destination is a small Greek Island until we go through at least two major hubs—one in the US and one in Europe.

     It will be night by the time we reach our destination. A universe of stars will sparkle off the calm sea and the whitewashed houses in the hills will have a soft glow in the quiet of the darkness. The next morning, I will discover that he has brought me to one of the most beautiful places on Earth. A place teeming with history and luxury and crystal-blue water. A place where we can dine in intimate cafes, get lost in the narrow, twisting boulevards and grow closer by experiencing the wonders of the ancient world together.

     Wow, what a trip! I’ve talked myself into it. I’m off to pack my bag!

Tell us about LADY IONA’S REBELLION and what you hope readers will enjoy about it.
     It is a sensual Regency-set romance, too hot for Cotillion. But, I hope readers will agree, that I have stayed true to the time period. The always obedient Lady Iona is in over her head and doesn’t know where to turn. Her father is pressuring her into marriage with a man she doesn’t love. And she doesn’t know how to tell her loving papa that she doesn’t want to marry anyone...ever. She turns to Lord Nathan Wynter, a rake of the worst sort, to teach her how to take charge of her life. What he teaches her is a passion that, if unleashed, will surely lead her straight to ruin.

What do you like to do when you’re not working?
     When I’m not writing, I’m often reading, which has long been a passion of mine. And now that I’m an author, I can call my reading habit research and happily spend the day in bed with my ebook reading device propped up on a pillow.

     I also enjoy spending time with my pets. I have a 14-year-old shiba inu dog—he’s a 25-pound Japanese spitz—a 9-year-old cat, and a brand new papillon puppy named Lady Iona. I was working on edits for LADY IONA’S REBELLION when we decided to adopt her, and the name seemed to suit her quite nicely. You can’t look at her and not smile. She’s been taking up most of my free time. And I’ve been teaching my crew tricks. They enjoy the special treats that come with the training. In the summer, of course, I’m often on my boogie board trying my best to ride the waves.

What do you like about where you live?
     I live in a cottage that is just about big enough to turn around in on an artsy coastal island in South Carolina. It’s a quintessential small town. In fact, many people call it Mayberry by the Sea. There’s no mail service on the island, so we have to go to the post office to pick up the mail or to send off completed manuscripts. There’s a downtown that spans about two blocks and has some of the tastiest restaurants. There’s even a small grocery store! In many ways, living on this island is like stepping back in time. Of course, nothing stays the same forever. Development pressures grow stronger every year. Houses are built ever bigger. And new condo developments are popping up everywhere. But, for the time being, we are thoroughly enjoying the relaxed pace of life in our tiny little cottage on the beach.

If you could have one special super or magical power, what would it be?
     Telekinesis—the power to move objects with my mind. Just think how useful that would be! Got your arms piled with grocery bags? Use your mind to unlock and open the front door. Need to pick up after the puppy? Let your special powers whisk that stinky “little present” into the trashcan. Turn on and off lights without having to cross the room. Play games with friends and family by moving objects around when they aren’t looking. And being able to get ice cream and soda from the fridge without having to wait for a commercial break. Yeppers, I could really put that power to good use.

What’s your favorite smell?
     Favorite smell? (Sniffing my underarms.) I sincerely hope I don’t have a pungent one. I’d rather not have a smell, thank you very much. However, I do like to breathe in the scent of rich, dark chocolate. And the savory flavor of a pot roast in a slow cooker can make my mouth water. And I haven’t been able to get enough of that seductively fresh new-puppy smell lately.

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever done?
     For a while during college, I worked for the International Primate Protection League, a wonderful nonprofit organization dedicated to stopping the illegal hunting and trade of primates. Their headquarters housed about a dozen gibbons, which are small apes. Some were abandoned pets. Others were survivors of research labs. And there was a blind baby turned over to them from a zoo. They each had a distinct personality and a wicked sense of humor. They would hop around with gibbon laughter after pulling my hair or stealing my sunglasses. They kept me on my toes! When I wasn’t helping feed and clean their enclosures, I’d work on special projects for the organization, researching various testing laboratories and tracking the number of primates being kept in captivity. Now that was interesting! Those summers still hold a special place in my heart.

What else would you like readers to know about you or your work? 
     Come visit my website www.dorothymcfalls.com to read an expanded excerpt of LADY IONA’S REBELLION and the adventure short stories I have posted there.

     Ellora’s Cave and Cerridwen Press are pleased to welcome a new sister to our family: The Lotus Circle. This exciting new imprint offers psychic and metaphysical fiction and nonfiction and New Age products, including dream catchers, pendulums, and a fabulous modernized tarot deck, complete with scarf and easy-to-follow instructions. Visitors to The Lotus Circle website can also get free horoscopes and tarot readings. Additional services are available to members, including expanded horoscopes and readings, a psychic advice column called Spelldora’s Box and a guide to Extrasensory Service Providers.

     The Lotus Circle began with a conversation about publishing trends between Ellora’s Cave CEO Patty Marks, VP of Sales and Marketing Jeania Uplinger, and founder of Romantic Times Bookreviews Kathryn Falk. “Kathryn said in her many years of working in publishing, she noticed that trends usually follow about two years behind television,” says Patty. “She pointed out the popularity of all the new psychic programs, like The Profiler, Medium, Ghost Whisperer, and said we should think about starting a fiction and nonfiction imprint. Not many publishers do nonfiction, and we come from a fiction background, but no one does both. Jeania and I thought it was a pretty cool idea.”

     Patty and Jeania attended a few of Kathryn’s Wednesday night meetings of people interested in psychic and metaphysical experimentation at her ranch in Alvin, Texas. “We call it The Alvin Vortex,” says Patty. “Kathryn took me to a psychic fair, and we did pendulums, psychic readings, spiritual healing. I had my chakras realigned.”

     One of the people Patty met through Kathryn was Marilyn Campbell. Known to most readers as a bestselling author of romance novels and erotic thrillers, Marilyn also has a deeply spiritual side. She had a near-death experience in 1982 while giving birth to her son. “I don’t know why they call it a near-death experience,” Marilyn says. “I was dead. I bled out and flat-lined for two minutes.” Despite the pain she knew was waiting for her, Marilyn chose to come back to life, feeling that her work here was not done.

     After her return from the light, she found her intuition, which had always been strong, was expanding into the psychic realm. She came to see it as a gift from the dimension of light and love she had visited, and it came with a price. “I had a mission,” she says. To prepare for her mission, she sought out others who had psychic gifts and worked to become a published author, “so that when the world was ready, I could pass on the information to help us move forward.”

     Marilyn had a lot of ideas about what she wanted to do but wasn’t sure exactly how to proceed.
    
     “When something is supposed to happen, doors open and things get done,” she says.

     “We really liked the idea of a new psychic and metaphysical imprint,” says Patty, “but our staff was already stretched pretty thin. So we brought Marilyn on to the project as Managing Consultant, and she has really run with it. The four of us, Jeania, Kathryn, Marilyn and I, have really had a good time brainstorming and building on each other’s ideas.”

     Thus, The Lotus Circle was born. It is the name of a fictional ancient secret society of gifted women which was destroyed long ago and is now being revived by women with various psychic gifts.

     Less than a year later, in April 2007, The Lotus Circle launched at the annual Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Houston, and Marilyn has presented information about the new imprint to authors at several Romance Writers of America chapters. The response, she says, has been very enthusiastic. “It seems like almost every romance author has an interest in metaphysics. And quite a few practice it, either as astrologers or tarot readers or other interesting gifts.”

     With that kind of interest, you can expect offerings to grow rapidly. Already, some very interesting things are available or will become available very soon. Marilyn has already interviewed and tested five psychics who will be available for readings through the TLC website and a Yoruban priest who does cowrie bell readings.

     Among the nonfiction offerings are a book by psychic Dodie Ulery, who channels a spirit named Shalimar, and a book channeled to Marilyn over the two decades since her visit to the light. It’s called METAPHYSICAL FITNESS: THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR SPIRITUAL BEING, and it addresses strengthening the mind/body/spirit connection through healthy practices and ancient metaphysical tools. Kathryn Falk is also in the process of writing a nonfiction book for The Lotus Circle that explores the roots of THE SECRET and how to apply it in your daily life.

     The Lotus Circle’s first fiction title is DREAMS OF YOU, by Campbell del Rio, the pen name of Marilyn and her daughter Joie del Rio. The book is about one of the original members of the revived Lotus Circle who is a lucid dreamer. She uses past-life regression to prevent a major disaster from occurring. It’s the first of a series that will tell the stories of each of the new Lotus Circle members. Another fiction title already available in ebook is I’M OKAY, YOU’RE DEAD, about a psychic who communicates with the dead.

     Romance and steamy sex scenes are not requirements for Lotus Circle fiction, says Marilyn, but many books will feature both. “The blurbs will make it clear what you can expect from each book. I guarantee a delicious read, no matter what."

An interview with psychic medium Denise Toth by Ciana Stone      Recently, I had the pleasure to spend time with psychic and spiritual counselor, Denise Toth. I have to say that I went into this interview with a healthy dose of skepticism. Let’s face it, there are a lot of people who claim to be psychic.      Denise divested me of my doubt in the first two minutes. I introduced myself and she immediately picked up on my sisters, one she described as a well-known photographer and artist and the other as a successful attorney. And she saw that I’d had my heart broken over a relationship I had that I had to walk away from, and that I believed I’d known the man in a previous life. Top that with the fact that she said “You write books, not articles” and some things that are too personal to mention and I was convinced. With that said, let me introduce you to Denise.

     An ageless Italian beauty, Denise was born in New York in 1952 and raised with her identical twin and best friend, Deborah. From an early age, Deborah and Denise had an intuitive bond with each other. Like many twins, they connected mentally, spiritually and physically. Denise soon realized that her intuition was not only with Deborah but with others around her. At a young age, Denise began to communicate with those who had passed to other side. She would innocently speak of these individuals as well as past, present and future events. When Denise was 13, her Nanny Rose passed on and Denise’s connection to the spirit world intensified.

     Her family embraced her gift and encouraged her to heal and guide people who needed her help. Denise began doing professional readings for family and friends and without real intention shifted her energy down a path of destiny…a path that she says God intended for her.

     Over the last 30 years, Denise has acted as a spiritual life coach for thousands of individuals from around the world including doctors, writers, filmmakers, attorneys, psychiatrists, government officials, clergymen, investigators and police. She has been a guest on radio talk shows, assisted in police investigations, read for private parties and done past-life regressions through prayer and meditation. Denise is happily married and a proud mother and grandmother.

     The following is a Q and A of my time with Denise.

Ciana: Denise, the first thing I’d like to know is what is your process? How do you go about getting a feel of the person? Do you have to be in the same physical location or can you do this over the phone? Is the sound of their voice enough for you to make a connection with them and how do you know when you have connected?

Denise: The first thing is that I definitely like to be in my room. I have a beautiful, beautiful room—an office that I go to. It’s filled with angels. Naturally. I have a chaise lounge that I lie on and my client sits in a beautiful comfy chair. Beautiful colors, the color of melon on the walls, and I can see a lake when I look out of my window. So I do like the settings to be where I’m in my place of peace when I read. But I can read anywhere. I’ve done readings in kitchens and bedrooms, but I can read anywhere.

      I read in person or over the phone. Why I’m able to read over the phone as well as in person is that I’m clairaudio, which means I hear things. Once I tune in (and we’ll get to that), I’ll hear things and then I’ll see things, pictures and images. So clairaudio is where I put myself first. I am clairvoyant as well as clairaudio and I use both in my sessions but clairaudio is the first ability that comes into play during a phone reading.

     I just need to connect to a voice. The first thing I do is say a prayer with my client, which is typically the Lord’s Prayer, and if they don’t know the prayer, then I say it alone. Then I go into a meditative state. I use cards, and in the beginning of the reading I will use beautiful angel cards. The art on them is by Salvadore Dali the Spanish painter. I can read any cards, but I have my favorites.

     I only have minutes, actually, to connect to my client, to make sure I have them, to gain their confidence. Of course, I do this with skeptics, as well as clients to let them know I’m the real deal. And what the real deal means to me—how I prove myself to my client, very simply—I make sure I tell them a few things about themselves, very pointed, very real very matter of fact. Perhaps it’s a name or something they just did. Generally it’s something they just did.

     I’ll say to them, “is this you, did you do this?” and most of the time I’ll hear, “yes, that’s me.” That’s how I know I’ve connected with them. From that, I move into the reading. One important thing you have to know up front, Ciana, is that I have a reputation. If you don’t really want to know the truth, don’t come to Denise because I have a reputation for telling you just what I hear, but I do it in a nice, gentle manner.

Ciana: So you get your impressions from both words and images. But where do these messages come from?

Denise: My information that I get is from the client’s angels and guides, those who are near them or are taking care of them at the time or who came when I opened the door. Sometimes I connect with someone who has crossed over that knows them. I deal only in the white light, and I’ll deal with my clients’ angels because that’s who is looking over them and the most intimate with the client and their situation. If for some reason I cannot get in touch with their angels, then I use mine.

      It’s kind of simple. And again all this is going on in just minutes. I only have minutes to tune in. And I do. I’ve practiced enough in my lifetime that I feel really good at what I do, and am confident that I can get the messages across.

     Where does my insight come from? Well I’ve always believed it was from God, from the other side. I believe now at this point that it was intended that I know people from the other side, from heaven. I’ve met them in other lives and they knew that they were going to meet me and I was going to do this. I feel like I’m a messenger, a go-between from my client and the spirit world and what they need to do for themselves. I kind of shine the light. I say “okay, Ciana, over here. Come over here. Remember, what you need to do.” So I get information and I report it. A lot of time the information I received, I don’t understand it and I tell them that. It seems to work.

     Of course, during my sessions I always say, if there’s questions stop me, if you need to know more. Stop me if something’s coming up that you feel’s important. But see we don’t have conversation, the client and I. And the reason why there’s no conversation is first of all, I don’t need to know anything about my client, and the more I know about them, the worse it is for them. I really can’t function if I know too much. I take the emotion out of it so I’m just going on what I’m hearing and seeing. And the information is extremely specific.

     What I’ll do is say to them, “I know this doesn’t make sense to me and I’m thinking about how to put it. But this is what I just heard.” Sometimes it’s funny. Sometimes it’s so serious that I start to cry myself. But that’s to be expected.

Ciana: What’s the most significant revelation you've ever had or the most interesting that's helped someone improve their life?

Denise: Wow, there are many. As you’ll find on my web site, I never know what I’m going to touch on. I give clients what they need. I have that ability, once I hear what’s going on. I meet people where they’re at. I’ve met people who come to me that want to end their lives and when they leave they have hope. There are people that want to talk to someone on the other side or know if there are health issues they need to be concerned about.

      A few years ago, I was working with a client on the phone, a woman. I was really sure she had a serious lump in her breast. I’d mentioned it before and she’d gone to the doctor, but they couldn’t find anything. But I was sure it was there and kept seeing it. So she went again she called me during the exam and we were able to pinpoint the location and sure enough there it was. Once found, the physicians were able to take care of it. That’s the kind of things that stick out in my mind.

     Basically, if it wasn’t for clients calling me back and telling me how much their life has changed, I wouldn’t know about it. Because when I start working with them, Ciana, I can’t know anything about them. I don’t even ask them how they’re doing. I have to keep myself out of their emotions, no matter how much they want to tell me about their lives and their feelings. I, and they, are better if I don’t know and am not emotionally involved.

     So when they write or call and tell me how much their lives have changed, then I get it. When I put my website up and started read letters I’ve gotten over the years, I cried. It was overwhelming. I don’t know how I’ve touched their lives. I just keep praying that I have an affect and my information is accurate.

      I’ve kind of taken more of a spiritual turn in my practice. First, I’m not a fortune teller. Even though I work with cards, I don’t want to be known as a card reader. But I start with them. It’s like my “blankey,” you know? But at this point I work well with the spiritual side of my client and where they need to be going.

Ciana: What does a person need to know when they go to a psychic? How does a person know the pyschic is genuine? Is there some sort of accreditation process that identifies a real psychic?

Denise: A couple of things come to mind. How do they know you’re genuine? The bottom line, what you tell them of their past has to be right, as does the present. Once I tell them that and am correct then they’ll believe and they’ll trust.

      Real psychics? If you have 30 years of repeat business then you’re probably the real deal. I never advertise. It’s all word of mouth. Someone refers someone who refers someone else. Kind of that’s how it started. I never really wanted to do this. But the phone never stopped ringing, so here I am today.

Ciana: Has there has ever been a time when a skeptic tested you and how did you win them over and prove you are psychic?

Denise: They’re fun for me. Skeptics are fun. I don’t have that many skeptics that come to me because the people that come to me are referrals and they really believe. There may be part of it that they don’t believe and I get that. And I do know a skeptic immediately. I’ll make a joke. I’ll say, “okay, ladies (the girls upstairs, the angels), let’s really nail this guy. And I say it like that because that’s exactly what I’d do. I say to the client, “I know you’re a skeptic,” and they answer yes normally. And again, I only have minutes to tune into them, to prove myself. So with the images I get and voices I hear for them, I’m able to prove myself and to put them in the right direction.

     But skeptics keep me honest and I have fun with them. And when they leave they’re my repeat business .

     When you are a skeptic and you’re really trying to prove that I’m not real, you’re closed off and hard to read. The worst moment was with a woman who’d had several mental breakdowns. I couldn’t get it, couldn’t make sense of it. But she was the only one that I told she needed to leave. She was mentally ill and I couldn’t’ get through.

Ciana: Can you tell about any famous cases you've worked on, or books/films you have helped inspire?

Denise: I can’t name their names. There’s something that sticks in mind. I started to work with this woman, who’s a professional and just so happened that in the reading, I saw a writer, a daughter or daughter-in-law, and she’s writing the wrong stories. She should write something else. I saw something she’d written and put away when she was younger, something about a young woman or teenager. The angels told me that she’d never finished it and she needed to because it was going to be famous book and a movie and would jump start her career.

      Now I don’t know this person , only her mother-in-law. But I told the mother-in-law what the angels said and when she left she called her daughter-in-law and said, “Hey, I just saw this psychic, Denise Toth, and she told me a lot of things about you. Did you start a book and not finish it?” And the girl said yes, she wrote it when she was in her late teens. So she pulled it out, finished it and in 1999 it was published and later made into a movie that’s had a lot of sequels and is widely known. I’ve done that with writers and attorneys and cashiers.

Ciana: What brings you the most joy in what you do?

Denise: Well … that’s easy. What’s the most joyous is when I touch someone’s heart. I was right. They have made changes. Their lives are better for it. When I hear, “Denise, you’re an angel. I made life changes. I stopped drugging, I stopped drinking, I stopped cheating, I stopped gambling.” That’s the times that’s everything’s worth it.

      Why I do this is to make a difference. The voice that I read is the voice that they need for themselves. I have a saying “one woman at a time.” I should change that to one person at a time.

     When I’m working with my client of course, I get all this information and knowledge and truth that it helps me, it grounds me. I become humble. I’ve learned so many lessons of integrity and honor. So what I’ve learned in my lifetime I pass on to them. And that’s why I think the flow is there and it’s amazing.

Ciana: If you see something really bad happening to someone do you tell or try to warn or prepare them in some way?

Denise: I definitely prepare them. And I don’t always see everything. What I do is intervene. There’s a fine line of respect from this present earth we’re on and heaven. And I’m always very respectful of the information I get because sometimes I go in and pull out things the client doesn’t want me to know because it’s part of the lesson.

     So let’s just say—okay, this one woman I read, the next day she had an allergic reaction and ended up in the hospital and I didn’t see that. But I’ve come to learn that it’s part of the lesson. I wasn’t supposed to see it. This was something she needed to go through, get out of and feel without me preparing her. When I do get the information, then I know they need to be prepared.

Ciana: Do you think the future CAN be changed if we are forewarned?

Denise: Absolutely.

Ciana: What did I not ask you that you'd like to talk about or would like people to know about you?

Denise: Well, let’s see. I do meditation. I teach people how to meditate. I have a wonderful meditation woman I recommend. Kelly Howell. Meditation is very important and helpful.

     And I also do past-life regression. If you’ve been on earth many times before it will come out in the reading. We’ve been men before. We’ve been women before. When we’ve had many lives here, we do better here on earth.

     Sometimes, well more often, I will always before I do a past-life regression I will read a person to see where they are in their present—where they are and what their issues are. And I will send them to therapists and other people that can help them because I don’t get involved in that. Once I open to their issues and pain, they need to go somewhere for help, to help the wound to heal. I’m always concerned about that and am very cautious in my delivery of that to the client.

     Past-life regression ties in to the client’s life now. They could be stuck. The soul goes on and on and on. If they’ve been here many times I’ll go to that specific area in their past and tie it in with their current issue. And it works. Stopping smoking or having any fears or finding your true love We find them all the time in a past life.

Ciana: You made the statement that where we’ve had many lives we do better here on earth. Would you like to elaborate on that for our readers?

Denise: Well, it’s like being in a familiar place. Like say, going to California. If you’ve been there many times, then you’re familiar with it. You know the lay of the land, where to go, how to get around, what to avoid and that sort of thing. It’s the same thing with life. If you’ve been here many times before then you’re familiar with it when you come back again.

      If you’re a newcomer then you don’t get things quite as easy. Old souls are the ones who do really well here because they’ve learned in previous lives. And spiritual guide and angels—they’ve been here before and now they’ve evolved to a state where they’re here to help us. When it’s our turn to go on, then we’re able to help others.

Ciana: Thanks, Denise. Now do you have any closing remarks for our readers?

Denise: Thank you, Ci. I guess in closing I’d like to remind people that we are all spiritual beings having a human experience. Through God’s gift and assistance, I connect to the spiritual world and channel your angels, your spirit guides and loved ones to secure important messages for your life’s journey.

     My dream is to guide your soulful journey to God’s white light and bring clarity and positive direction into your life. That’s my purpose and the journey I’ve been put here to take. My prayer for you is to celebrate your growth, your strength, your inner peace and your success. I want you to celebrate life lessons—good and bad.

     Don’t dwell on the person you didn’t become but take time to celebrate who you are today. You. With all of your funny quirks, weird habits and beautiful qualities. Celebrate your self-knowledge—your spirit and your soul.

     You are loved more than you know. Namaste.

Ciana: “The light in me sees the light in you.” Namaste, Denise. And thanks

For more information and to contact Denise Toth, visit her website at www.denisetoth.com