Allison from Carrie Pulkinen's To Catch a Spirit

Hi Allison and welcome to Got Romance Reviews.


1. We hear you have a special talent? A healing method?
Yes. I have many psychic gifts, but I earn my living practicing Reiki, a form of healing through the manipulation of energy.

2. Can you tell us how you learned to use Reiki?
I know it sounds ordinary, but I took classes. There are three levels of Reiki classes, and I went through the entire course. That makes me a "Reiki Master"--meaning I can teach others the process.

3. I understand that form of healing can be used even long distance…has that been your experience as well?
It can, though it's much harder. Healing over a long distance requires incredible concentration and focus. The closer the subject, the easier it is to transfer the healing energy.

4. Do you have any an anecdote you can tell the readers to show how you use your gift to clear bad energy from furniture?
I wandered into Lucia’s Antique Furniture Store two years ago and was struck by a beautiful cherry-wood vanity in the back of the showroom. The moment I touched it, tendrils of sadness crept up my arm like ivy climbing a lattice. I saw a woman, who’d lost a child, sobbing at the vanity. She’d cried there every night. The furniture had trapped her energy.

“How long have you had this piece?” I asked Lucia.
“Too long,” the woman replied. “It’s so beautiful, but I can’t sell it. It’s 18th century, you know.”
“I know. It’s got a lot of negative energy stored in it. I can clear it for you. See if that helps it sell.”
“You can do that?” Lucia’s eyes widened. “Yes! Please, I’ll do anything to sell that piece.”
I closed my eyes and took a few deep, cleansing breaths. Then I put my hands on the vanity and focused my energy toward it. I opened myself up like a conduit, allowing the negative energy to pass through and out of me, releasing it back into the universe. When I was done, I pulled a crystal out of my pocket and placed it on top of the vanity.
“There. That should do it. Keep this crystal on it overnight, and I bet it’ll sell pretty quickly now.” I smiled at Lucia and turned to go.
“Wait. What about your crystal?”
“I’ll come back for it in a few days.”
When I returned three days later, the vanity was gone.
Lucia pulled me into a tight embrace and kissed me on both cheeks. “I sold that piece the next day. I can’t thank you enough.”
Heat flushed my cheeks, and I shrugged. “It’s what I do.”
“How much would you charge to work on all my furniture?”
“Umm, I don’t know. I’ve never worked on such a large scale before.”
“Is your office somewhere close by?” Lucia asked.
“I don’t actually have an office. I see what few clients I have in the park. I’ve been taking care of my mom. She was sick with cancer, but she passed away a few months ago. I’m still trying to get back on my feet.” I had to blink back the tears. I missed my mother terribly, and it still hurt to talk about her passing.
Lucia put her arm around me. “I’m sorry about your loss, dear. But meeting clients in the park is no way to start a business. You need an office.” She led me to the back of the showroom where a small door opened into an empty room. “It’s yours if you want it. We could work out a way for you to pay rent. Maybe you could work on my pieces in return for the space?”
The size of my bedroom, the office held a small counter and sink on one side. The soft jade walls produced a calming effect, and thick, camel-beige carpet covered the floor.
“It’s perfect.”
Lucia took me in, gave me a place to build a business when my hope was about to run out. I'll be forever thankful for the kind, motherly figure that came into my life at just the right time.

5. Why does furniture need clearing up?
Like the anecdote above states, it can hold on to negative energy. You might be in a bad mood whenever you sit in a certain chair, but you won't know why. If the energy is cleared from the object, it can't have negative effects on people.

6. What’s the scariest haunted location you ever visited?
Oh, definitely the old mental hospital on Halloween. It nearly killed me! But you'll have to read the book for all the details. Just thinking about it makes me queasy.

7. Can you tell us anything interesting about your author?
Well, she grew up next door to a cemetery, so she's been around death and spirits all her life. She's an empath, kind of like me, but on a smaller scale. Oh! She's also a ghost hunter. We have a lot in common!


8. Where can our readers find your book?
They can go to her blog: http://carrie-pulkinen.blogspot.com/p/my-books.html. There are links to the different places they can purchase it. They can also get it directly from Breathless Press: http://www.breathlesspress.org/Book/241.

9. If a reader should have a haunted house, would you be able to help them?
Hmm...I'm not sure. After the Halloween incident, I'm still a bit hesitant to take on any new spirits. Helping Logan with his ghost was difficult enough.

10. How can the readers find your author?
At her blog: http://www.carrie-pulkinen.blogspot.com
Or Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Carrie.Pulkinen
They can also email her at carrie.pulkinen[at]hotmail[dot]com
And follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/CarriePulkinen


Thank you so much for talking with me. It was fun!




BLURB:
Psychic Allison Dupuis has a soft spot for Logan Mitchell, even though she’s never met him. All it takes is one encounter for the millionaire’s true emotions to slip through Allison’s shields, and she is intrigued. He needs her help, but Allison soon discovers that the kind of help Logan needs is the kind she isn’t willing to give. Logan has a ghost, and Allison doesn’t work with spirits anymore.


But the ghost is the least of Logan’s problems. Born an empath, Logan is constantly barraged with human emotions. And while his talent has come in handy in the business world, it’s about to drive him insane. Literally. Logan has OCD, and his ability triggers unbearable attacks that have him counting and cleaning until he collapses from exhaustion.


Sex and money. That’s all anyone wants from him. Even worse, he’s plagued with recurring visions of his future wife’s death, so Logan has spent his entire life avoiding love. He’s given up hope of ever having a normal life, until he meets Allison. She’s everything he’s ever dreamed of, and now he has to decide if loving her is worth risking her life.


If she’ll even have him. Allison’s lost too much already – her mother to cancer, her father to suicide. But, Logan is so charming and so real, she can’t help but fall for him. Now she has to overcome her fear of commitment…and ghosts…or face spending the rest of her life alone.


EXCERPT:
She sensed them as they drew closer to her - many different spirits, their energy buzzing on varying frequencies.


"One at a time, guys. Please." she said. But they didn’t listen. These were the spirits of the mentally ill, after all. Taking turns wasn’t their concern, and they all rushed her. She felt their presence closing in on her like an avalanche, and she was consumed. Every mental illness imaginable was thrown into her psyche as she tightened her grip on Gage’s hand and slumped down in her chair.


"Allison! Allison, are you okay?" Gage’s voice was a distant echo as she fought to hold on to herself. She was slipping. Sliding into the depths of despair and the spirits were pulling her down.


"It’s . . .No . . .There’s a light . . .You need to . . .You need to go to it." She tried to help the spirits cross over, but they wouldn’t listen. There were too many. Twenty at least, and they were so consumed by their own illnesses they thought of nothing else. Paranoia, depression, anxiety. Allison felt it all, and it was going to kill her. The pressure. So hard to breath. Her hands cradled her head as the migraine overtook her. Sharp, pounding pain had her crumpled on the floor as she drew her knees into her chest and rocked back and forth.


"Make it stop. Please, just make it stop." She was paralyzed. Frozen by the anguish of the tortured souls that forced themselves upon her. Hot tears streamed down her face and blood trickled from her nose. She gasped for air as she heard a faint voice call, "Get her out of here!"