Paranormal Fiction Leads to True Lesbian Love...

Normally, I'm not a major fan of audio books, or even digital books for that matter. But for once, I've actually been looking into listening to my first audio book... and it ended up being a very educational experience.

for years now, I've been a big fan of author Daniel Hecht. And had it not been for his email to me years ago when he was starting his Cree Black thriller series, I probably wouldn't have known his name. But they are wonderful reads, all about a female paranormal investigator with some psychic ability solving interesting mysteries with supernatural ties. His last book, Bones of the Barbary Coast, was excellent (and I still need to get the hardcover to add to my shelf) so I decided to look his books up in the audio listings. There it was... read by one Anna Fields. It turns out she's a well-known name in the world of audio books. And it gets even more interesting.

Barbary Coast was released in the summer of 2006. In December, tragedy struck in Seattle. On the 14th, a flash flood struck the area and an actress by the name of Kate Fleming was trapped in her basement recording studio after part of the foundation collapsed. Fleming also recorded for audio books, under the name--you guessed it--Anna Fields. Her partner of nine years, Charlene Strong, was helpless to stop her death. And even now, she is haunted by the tragedy... and turned her plight into a film.

Strong has become known in the past few years as a champion for same-sex partner rights. It was never her intention, but after the untimely death of her partner Fleming at only 41, she found herself in the public eye. Through her actions, Washington State passed legislation for Domestic Partnership rights. The documentary For My Wife chronicles her story, from grieving widow to activist.

I can't help but wonder if Barbary Coast was one of her final projects. If you've ever read the book, you'll note some interesting irony between these two stories. If not, I highly recommend it. Here I set out simply to glance through an audio version of one of my favorite paranormal-themed fiction books... and ended up learning a lot more than I bargained for.

Quirky Paranormal News Shorts...

Just to catch everyone up on some of the news of the odd from the past few weeks, here's a brief glimpse at some of the world's more strange occurrences.

Big Fish, Mork, Mork, Mork!

A local videographer in Sweden claims to have captured footage of Storsjöodjuret, Sweden's version of the Loch Ness Monster. The creature in great Lake has been spotted hundreds of times over the past 400 years. It is described as a humped serpent with the head of a dog. Just be careful to keep the Swedish Chef at bay. Who knows what he might do with such a delicacy.

Your Mystic Money's Not Good Here...

In King County, the Solid Waste Division as turned down psychic funds. Seattle psychic Alexandra Chauran was impressed with the composting of our bodily functions and offered to donate her services for a fund-raising program for the Christmas holiday. They replied with a "thanks, but no thanks", stating that a paranormal business was "not an appropriate fit for a county program". Crooked politicians? Yes! Tarot readers and pet psychics? Absolutely not!

What Big Feet You Have...

Fossilized footprints believed to belong to a bigfoot-like creature have been unearthed near Cookville, Tennessee. They were discovered by Harold Jackson on his property and measure 15 inches long and 11 inches wide. Jackson thinks they're simply Native American tracks. That might be wise, after the bigfoot corpse hoax of recent news. Still, footprints that large are questionable, unless it was a native basketball player from the past.

Police Hounds of the Baskervilles...

A band of would-be ghost hunters broke into Westboro State Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts to hunt for ghost of the former mental patients. What they encountered instead was the rattling of handcuffs as local police arrived on the scene. One man jumped from a window and eluded police, while the others quickly ran out when they heard the police dogs bark. They were arrested on charges of trespassing and breaking and entering. But luckily, they weren't bitten by any dogs... or ghosts.

Religion and the Grape Lady...

That pesky Virgin Mary keeps popping up everywhere. Now she's taking over the supermarket fruit aisle! 24-year-old Becky Ginn of Arlington, Virginia found her effigy on a grape and blogged about it on Livejournal. After some prodding from readers, she contacted the local media. Ginn, a Baptist, hasn't given any thought to idolizing the green relic. But if she plans to sell it, she probably should do so before it becomes another California raisin.

That's all the wierdness for the day. Have a good weekend, everyone!