Please excuse the silence. It has been a pretty busy year; getting married, writing, traveling and working through the immigration process.

So catching up on the news.

Firstly Jason Chan won a Chesley Award at WorldCon for the coverart from Geist. I was there and vaguely coherent enough to accept the award on his behalf. I cannot wait to see what he comes up with for Wrayth and Harbinger.

Speaking of. I now have the publication date for the third Book of the Order. The continuing adventures of the Deacons will arrive September 12th 2012.

I am right now working on the final edits for the story, and I hope you will enjoy the places I take our heroes.

But if you are worried that that is too long..then fear not. I am planning to relaunch the podcast Chronicles of the Order in late July 2012. It was a lot of fun doing the first series…

I’d also like to say thank you for your support. These are fun books for me to write, and I am really loving the chance to keep going with this series.

I’m happy to announce that my winners are Terri and Anita.

They both get an advanced copy of Spectyr and a lovely Catherinette ring. I got some great entries to the competition, and it was great fun to see the people with Geist. I’ve put together a little collection of the entries that were particularly funny. Thanks for entering everyone!

I’ve made no bones about the fact I love Jason Chan’s works. He managed to capture the power and danger of Sorcha and the Rossin on both Geist and Spectyr. I am really also looking forward to seeing what he comes up with for Wrayth and Harbinger.

It is so nice to see him getting recognised for it by his peers.

Jason Chan’s cover for Geist is up for the Chesley Award for best paperback cover.

The Chesley awards are given out by the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists and are the most prestigious in the field of fantastical arts. Jason well deserves this recognition, and I dearly hope he wins.

Only members vote on these awards, but if you want to support him, then consider purchasing one of his prints. I have several in my home.

Spectyr is coming…

Though one of the most powerful Deacons, Sorcha Faris has a tarnished reputation to overcome. She and her partner, Deacon Merrick Chambers, find themselves chasing down rumors of geists, but long for a return to real action. So they jump at the chance to escort a delegation sent to negotiate the terms of the Emperor’s engagement. Their destination: the exotic city of Orinthal.

But a string of murders has Orinthal on edge, and Sorcha and Merrick are asked to investigate. Meanwhile the Emperor’s sister has unwittingly released a cruel and vengeful goddess, one who it bent on destroying her enemies, including the geistlord who resides inside the shapeshifting rival to the throne—Sorcha’s lover….

If you enjoyed Geist the sequel is only a few weeks from hitting the shelves, but you can win a copy right now!

If you’re in the United States this one’s for you…

Yes, I have two advanced copies of Spectyr to give away…and to sweeten the joy of that even more- two  Catherinette rings this one and this one

Here’s how you can win.

Each one of these gives you a draw in the competition.

• Send me a picture of you holding Geist (paper, ibook, Kindle etc)
• Direct me to your blogpost/Facebook/tweet about Spectyr coming
• Direct me to your review of Geist on Amazon/Goodreads/Shelfari/your blog

Get your entries into me by sending them to pip AT pjballantine (dot) come by the 17th of June.

A nice piece of news for both the Order and the geists.

Geist, and its sequels have been sold to German company Egmont Verlagsgesellschaften.

I’ve been to Germany once, and have ancestors that came from there, but it feels like with this deal and with the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences novels selling there too, that I might have to go again.

Ich schätze Ihre Unterstützung

Thanks to all those who entered. It was a blast seeing pictures of people holding the book- reminded me this is real and that Geist is very much out there!

Anyway…onto the winners

Winner of the Arch Abbott prize….Dawn (Kylanth) who will get

• A genuine New Zealand pounamu pendant. This is a very spiritual stone which contains mana (status) and is considered tapu (sacred). It is only found in the South Island of New Zealand.
• A signed (by both myself and the artist Jason Chan) copy of the Geist cover. This is an open-edition 13″ x 19″, gallery-quality giclée print on 100% cotton rag archival paper, printed with archival inks. Each print features a minimum 1″ border.
• A signed copy of Geist.

Winner of the Abbott Prize…Erick Ackerman who gets

• A signed (by both myself and the artist Jason Chan) copy of the Geist cover. This is an open-edition 13″ x 19″, gallery-quality giclée print on 100% cotton rag archival paper, printed with archival inks. Each print features a minimum 1″ border.
• A signed copy of Geist.

And the five winners of the Presbyter prizes Laura Frechette, Katie Bryski, Brad Bowyer, Angel Lopez, and Stephanie Charette all get a signed copy of Geist and a sweet treat from New Zealand

Let Me Sleep by Helen Madden

A murdered husband, a cruel lover and a beaten widow. Sometimes the arrival of a geist can bring justice and not just fear.

Intro music by Scott Clous.

Like the stories? Geist is available as a massmarket book and ebook in a variety of formats

Next episode Trouble in Delmaire by Laurie McLean

The Price of Pain by Valerie Griswold-Ford

A geistlord, an asylum, and a whole bunch of pain. Two Deacons are thrown into the fire and must fight to complete their mission.

Intro music by Scott Clous.

Like the stories? Geist is available as a massmarket book and ebook in a variety of formats

Next episode Let Me Sleep by Helen Madden

I can finally reveal the cover of the next book of the Order series- Spectyr.

Again Jason Chan did the cover art, and this time you can see Deacon Sorcha Faris wielding the rune Pyet- the healing flame. It’s a beautiful image that captures the essence of the second novel, and you can even see the setting in the background.

I can’t wait to see what wonders Jason brings to the covers for book three and four!

Closure by Gabrielle Harbowy

A peek into how it is for a Deacon to come home and find things are different once you wear the cloak of the Order

Intro music by Scott Clous.

Like the stories? Geist is available as a massmarket book and ebook in a variety of formats

Next episode The Price of Pain by Valerie Griswold-Ford

Geist and its characters and settings are copyright 2010 Ace Books

I hope everyone is enjoying Geist, and looking forward to Spectyr, because there is more to come.

I am happy to announce that Ace Books has contracted me to write another two books in this series. The third book (Wrayth) will be handed in August 2011- publication date still to be decided. And the fourth (title to come) the following year.

This news marks exciting further adventures for the Deacons and the Young Pretender- and I can’t wait to begin. I always hoped and envisioned that their story would cover four books- and am grateful that Ace has shown faith in me and the story.

And thank you, dear readers, for all your support that made this possible.

Wow. Some people went all out on this competition, and it was wonderful to see. I’d like to thank everyone for entering, and remind them if you didn’t win this time, then the Runes of Dominion Competition is still on, and will finish on January 10th.

The winner of the Arch Abbot Prize is Lisa P. Congrats Lisa- you’ve won

• A named character in the sequel to Geist coming in summer 2011. Look for a Lisah in Spectyr. That’s all for you
• A signed (by both myself and the artist Jason Chan) copy of the Geist cover. This is an open-edition 13″ x 19″, gallery-quality giclée print on 100% cotton rag archival paper, printed with archival inks. Each print features a minimum 1″ border.
• A signed copy of Geist.

The winner of the Abbot Prize is TJ. Who has won

• A signed (by both myself and the artist Jason Chan) copy of the Geist cover. This is an open-edition 13″ x 19″, gallery-quality giclée print on 100% cotton rag archival paper, printed with archival inks. Each print features a minimum 1″ border.
• A signed copy of Geist

And the five random winners of signed copies of Geist and a little sweet treat from New Zealand are; Flamedryad, DDog, Matthew C, Cassie and Logan

By Chooch Schubert

On the outskirts of Vermilion are the filling station for the Imperial dirigible fleet. They are full of valuable items, and are very, very dangerous.

Intro music by Scott Clous.

Like the stories? Geist is available as a massmarket book and ebook in a variety of formats

Next episode Closure by Gabrielle Harbowy

Geist and its characters and settings are copyright 2010 Ace Books

Here’s what you need to do

This competition is all about showing your support for the release. Send you photos (either holding the book outside the store you got it, a pic of the receipt, or the receipt you got for purchasing the ebook version) to motherabbey@booksoftheorder.com and you’re in the running. Each purchase counts as another entry into the draw.

The competition will run for two months- ending January 10th 2011.

Here’s what you could win

Arch Abbott Prize

To the person with the most entries

• A genuine New Zealand pounamu pendant. This is a very spiritual stone which contains mana (status) and is considered tapu (sacred). It is only found in the South Island of New Zealand.
• A signed (by both myself and the artist Jason Chan) copy of the Geist cover. This is an open-edition 13″ x 19″, gallery-quality giclée print on 100% cotton rag archival paper, printed with archival inks. Each print features a minimum 1″ border.
• A signed copy of Geist.

Abbott Prize

To the person with the second most entries

• A signed (by both myself and the artist Jason Chan) copy of the Geist cover. This is an open-edition 13″ x 19″, gallery-quality giclée print on 100% cotton rag archival paper, printed with archival inks. Each print features a minimum 1″ border.
• A signed copy of Geist.

Presbyter Prize

Five winners drawn randomly from the remaining entries

A signed copy of Geist and a sweet treat from New Zealand

By Sandra Wickam

Geists are always seeking a way into the world, and sometimes when people bring them across it is completely by accident. Two young Deacons learn the particular pain of the foci.

Intro music by Scott Clous.

Like the stories? Geist is available as a massmarket book and ebook in a variety of formats

Next episode The Destruction of Station One by Chooch Schubert.

Geist and its characters and settings are copyright 2010 Ace Books

So many paranormal stories are about this time of year. This collection of tales comes from Pennsylvania and Ohio.

There are stories from all sorts of tragedies; accidents, lost children, suicide.

Read the collection here

My favourite this story and if anything is going to have a ghost story connected to it, it will be a large disaster which claimed many lives. Read more about the Ashtabula Bridge Disaster on Wikipedia.

New Zealand had a terrible train tragedy at Tangiwai in 1953 that also has been rumoured to be the source of paranormal activity.

By P C Haring

Active and Sensitives can marry and still be partners, but it is rare and fraught with difficulty. Sometimes the Order demands a lot of its Deacons, and not all sacrifices are in blood.

Intro music by Scott Clous. Voicework by Vivid Muse, P C Haring, Chris Lester and Christiana Ellis.

Like the stories? Geist is available for pre-order

Next episode the Brothers by Sandra Wickham

Geist and its characters and settings are copyright 2010 Ace Books

A woman in the Northern Territory has been getting a lot of attention from the media for getting far too much attention from an amorous ghost.

The woman claims the ghost (for some reason not explained in the story, called Kev) has been making advances on her. It wouldn’t be the first story of naughty ghosts trying it on. Though what exactly they expect to do is another mystery.

She also says her children have noticed shadowy figures and felt uncomfortable in the house.

Read the whole story here, and ponder what Kev is up to exactly….

For all those out there who want to spread the word of the book, and have podcasts, here is the audio trailer for the book.

NOW CLOSED

Here’s what you need to do

It’s all about exposure. Every blogpost, every embedding of the video, every review on Amazon, GoodReads, every play of the promo counts as one entry.

Alert the Abbey to what you have done by emailing motherabbey@booksoftheorder.com with the link to your entry and you’re in the running. (If you’ve already done any of these then please email these entries in too)

The competition will end November 14th.

Here’s what you could win

Arch Abbott Prize

To the person with the most entries

• A named character in Spectyr, the sequel to Geist coming in summer 2011. The author reserves the right to alter the spelling of the name to conform with the forms of the Geist world.
• A signed (by both myself and the artist Jason Chan) copy of the Geist cover. This is an open-edition 13″ x 19″, gallery-quality giclée print on 100% cotton rag archival paper, printed with archival inks. Each print features a minimum 1″ border.
• A signed copy of Geist.

Abbott Prize

To the person with the second most entries

• A signed (by both myself and the artist Jason Chan) copy of the Geist cover. This is an open-edition 13″ x 19″, gallery-quality giclée print on 100% cotton rag archival paper, printed with archival inks. Each print features a minimum 1″ border.
• A signed copy of Geist

Presbyter Prize

Five winners drawn randomly from the remaining entries

A signed copy of Geist and a sweet treat from New Zealand.

It’s that time of year, nearly All Hallow’s Eve, when towns are gearing up to show people around their haunted buildings and streets.

I’ve been on ghost walks in Dunedin, New Zealand and Salisbury, England. I enjoyed both- though I did chicken out on doing the ones in York, England and Edinburgh, Scotland. Something about not having anyone’s hand to hold. I’ve never had any supernatural experiences (apart from feeling rather creeped out). However Tee Morris was on the Dunedin tour, and had such a feeling of being watched from a corridor we passed in the old library that it sent us both into chills.

I enjoy them not just for the chance of meeting something otherworldly, but also because you get a guided tour of local history that isn’t necessarily in the average history book.

So this Halloween, look around your neighbourhood and see if there is something like Ghost Walk in Newburgh, IN and get some real supernatural experiences (if you’re lucky)

Iron Island Museum moved into new premises, they discovered more than just an old sofa discarded by previous owners.

They found the remains of twenty-four people as the previous owners had been a funeral home. Soon after people reported seeing shadowy figures and hearing voices.

Read the story of how a psychic and the president of the museum found out about those lonely bones and gave them a proper burial.

Feel free to post this trailer where ever you care to. The more people who hear about Geist the better.

Thanks for this trailer go to Tee Morris and his awesome video skills.

Here is the second chapter of Geist.

We meet another main player in the unfolding story, Raed Syndar Rossin, and we get a peek inside the politics of this world. Geists are not the only danger in Arykham.

Read the chapter here and buy the book at your local store, or if you don’t have one order online at Amazon or Barnes & Noble

By Nobilis

After the geists arrival in Arykham, the Order is born. Active and Sensitive Deacons  fight together against the geists, while the Bond binds them together. This can however have unfortunate side effects…

Intro music by Scott Clous.

Like the stories? Geist is available for pre-order

Next episode the First Day by PC Haring

Geist and its characters and settings are copyright 2010 Ace Books

Hard to believe but there in fact places in the world so well known for paranormal activity that they are used as training grounds. (I imagine in the world of Geist such places exist as well–the kind of place you want to take novitiates before they become full Deacons)

Lake Township Cemetery might well be a place the Order would be interested in.

Read the whole story here

With all the new technology in the world, moving images of the paranormal are always cropping up and are always controversial.

Arguments abound, and this new video is having the same effect. Filmed in a pub in Wolfe Inn, Penrith, Cumbria, UK, some say it is a ghost, some say it is a bug or a cat.

The pub and the Thomas Cook office next door were indeed part of a funeral parlour. Workers have reported all sorts of goings on.

Perhaps the spirit has come back for a drink.

Read the full story and watch the video.

Remember you can share your paranormal experience with the world by emailing motherabbey@booksoftheorder.com – if you do not want your name revealed please let us know, and we will give you a pseudonym.

Today’s experience is from Shelley Cass.

This occurred at the end of 2003/beginning of 2004 and takes place in 2 parts. My cousin S’s step mother, J, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Just before she passed she told her daughters that whenever they saw a butterfly that it would be her way of letting them know she was still around.

Around this time my cousin S had a little girl, A, who was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (for information see http://www.fsma.org/) which tragically took A’s life when she was just 3 years old. During her final hours in hospital S tried to make the room as cheery as possible with flowers and balloons and family. A was very happy playing with the barbie balloon, the princess balloon and just being the brave little girl she was. As soon as S’s stepsister came into the room the only balloon A wanted and the only balloon she clutched right up until the end was the balloon that had a butterfly on it. S believed, as do I that this was J’s way of letting A know that it was okay to let go as J would be with A.

Are you in the market for a new house? How about one that is supposedly filled with ghosts?

If you are already reaching for your wallet, then perhaps Wymering House in Portsmouth England is for you. It is alleged that twenty to thirty ghosts may reside inside. Interestingly the real estate agents handling the sale do not try and conceal its reputation– in fact they use it. So maybe buying a haunted house is something people actually look for these days.

Apparently apart from some ghosts it may need some repairs, but this is a wonderful old building.

Read more about the house and watch a video.

Remember you can share your paranormal experience with the world by emailing motherabbey@booksoftheorder.com – if you do not want your name revealed please let us know, and we will give you a pseudonym.

Today’s experience is from Arvik.

This happened when I was a young teenager. Besides my usual worries of school and friends, I was dealing with the fact that our family friend, “Ruth,” had advanced cancer. She was larger than life, with a mischievous streak. One cold November day, I was walking home from school. Suddenly, someone tugged my knapsack with such force that it lifted off my back a little bit. I turned around, expecting to see one of my friends. No one was there. When I got home, I discovered that Ruth had passed away earlier that day. I’ve always felt that the tugging on my knapsack was her attempt to get my attention.

But the story doesn’t end there. After Ruth’s death, I babysat her two children quite frequently. For a while, I was convinced that their furnace was malfunctioning. Despite the chill in the house, the air over one of their kitchen chairs shimmered. It was a simple, slatted chair; I always assumed there was an overworked heat grate nearby. One day I noticed it more than usual. I went down on the floor, to see if there was a valve I could close. Not only was there no valve, there was no grate at all.

That’s when Ruth’s young son asked, “What are you doing under Mommy’s chair?”

By Philippa Ballantine

The event that changed Arykham forever; the day that the geists arrived.

Intro music by Scott Clous, and sound effects by the Free Sound Project.

Like the stories? Geist is available for pre-order

Next episode Bondmate by Nobilis

Geist and its characters and settings are copyright 2010 Ace Books

Starting this Tuesday, the Chronicles of the Order podcast will bring you, every other week stories in the world of Geist. Featuring some of the best voices in the podiosphere, as well as talent new to the world of podcasting, I am so pleased to present this anthology to you.

Subscribe to this blog feed, or listen via itunes.

In the meantime, here is promo for Chronicles of the Order. It’s under a minute long and hopefully conveys something of the taste of the tales. The more places it is heard, the more people will have a chance to learn about the Chronicles and Geist.

Remember you can share your paranormal experience with the world by emailing motherabbey@booksoftheorder.com – if you do not want your name revealed please let us know, and we will give you a pseudonym.

Today’s story is from Valerie Griswold-Ford author of Not Your Father’s Horsemen

This one actually did happen to me – Rick tells it to Nikki in my own first novel, but it actually did happen.

My parents live in a Cape, and there’s a legend that about 200 years ago, a man died nearby after drinking too much at the local tavern that was supposed to be down the road from our house and running into the side of a moose. Well, I’ve often heard footsteps and things in my parents’ house, but one night really sticks in my mind. I was about 12 years old, and my bedroom was on the ground floor. There was a full moon, and it showed in my window, illuminating the hall.

The way the house was set up, you could come in the back door, into the kitchen, then into the living room and around the corner, into the hall and then into my room. That night, I was awakened by the back door opening (we didn’t lock the doors at that point – it’s a small town, and there wasn’t a need). I heard it open and footsteps come through the kitchen and the living room, heading towards my room. They were clearly the steps of someone in boots, and I knew no one else was up – it was after midnight. I wasn’t afraid yet – I grabbed the baseball bat from near my bed and got up to stand near my door, so I could see down the hall, which was clearly lit from the moon.

The footsteps came through the living room, by the front door, turned the corner and came down the hall. Just footsteps. No one was there. I said quietly, “The tavern’s closed. It’s time for you to go home.” The footsteps stopped, and then I heard them turn around, retrace their route through the ground floor of the house. The back door opened and closed, and I heard the steps go out over our deck and into the back porch.

After the steps had died away, the full import of what I’d seen hit me, and I spent the rest of the night curled under my blankets with the baseball bat in my hands.

Remember you can share your paranormal experience with the world by emailing motherabbey@booksoftheorder.com – if you do not want your name revealed please let us know, and we will give you a pseudonym.

Today’s experience is from Chooch Schubert.

Like most kids I would often stay the night at friends’ houses during the summer or on weekends. One particular friend lived in a fairly large house and his mother wasn’t very strict so it was a favorite of us all. Up stairs there was a large room with a sectional couch in the shape of a horseshoe that we would usually sleep on.

One time it was just my friend and I sleeping there when I woke in the middle of the night for no particular reason. I looked around the room and he was fast asleep. I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye and when I turned to look at the coffee table there was a water glass sliding toward me at a steady pace. I called to my friend but he didn’t stir. I shook his legs and called louder, but he slept on. I punched his legs, tickled his feet, and shouted at him, but he wouldn’t wake up.

The cup kept sliding towards me across the table until it stopped just shy of the edge. I stared at it for a long while. I dismissed the idea of picking it up or drinking from it. I looked around the room but nothing else was moving and the cup just sat there at the edge of the table. Eventually I must have fallen back asleep because I woke the next morning with the sun out. My friend was stirring as well and we both went downstairs to find something to eat.

I was debating whether to say anything about what I saw when he announced that something weird had happened in the middle of the night. He said that he woke up and when he looked down the couch toward me that the door behind me was “breathing”. He said that the center was billowing out, just an inch or so in a slow, steady fashion that roughly matched my breathing. He tried to wake me; calling my name, pushing my head with his foot, but no matter what he did I wouldn’t wake up. After a few minutes it stopped and he fell back asleep. Of course I immediately told him what I had seen during the night as well.

I don’t know if I would say that was the strangest thing we ever witnessed in that house, but it is the event that scared me the most. Of all of the things that happened there, we never woke in the middle of the night again, never saw any other cups move or doors breathe, it was just that one night.

Back from a wonderful WorldCon. Got to meet all sorts of fantastic people, and hand out a lot of Geist freebies. When I came home it was to find my copies of the uncorrected bound proofs of Geist waiting for me. Holding them in my hand made it even more real! However I have to remain on track, and continue spreading to word to as many folk as possible.

After WorldCon I do still have plenty of postcards left.

So if any of the friends of my work in America would like to distribute them, then please email motherabbey@booksoftheorder.com and let me know your address to send them to. I am thinking libraries, cafes or bookshops (always check that its OK of course – but if you can come up with any other places then feel free to hand them out as you see fit.

I hope you are ready for the first of the podcast anthology series, Chronicles of the Order as well. It starts with ‘In the Beginning’ by myself. Look for a new story every two weeks after that.

Remember you can share your paranormal experience with the world by emailing motherabbey@booksoftheorder.com – if you do not want your name revealed please let us know, and we will give you a pseudonym.

There are a certain kind of tourists who specifically go to hotels just to get a fright. Personally I like to get a good night’s sleep, but some want more bump in the night.

And one of Arizona’s most popular hotels to visit specifically to look for ghosts is the Copper Queen. Floating objects, mysterious whisperings and doors being unlocked are some of the reported happenings.

Built in 1902, it is claimed the Copper Queen has sixteen residents spirits; including a young boy, a prostitute, and a mysterious bearded man. It certainly does attract a lot of people who would love to meet up with any of the unearthly residents.

Read the news story here

Remember you can share your paranormal experience with the world by emailing motherabbey@booksoftheorder.com – if you do not want your name revealed please let us know, and we will give you a pseudonym.

From Douglas Shepperd:

When I was a baby, I was [according to my mother] her mother’s favourite. I was the youngest child in our family, as was my Gram in her family, perhaps that was the nature of the bond.

At any rate, Mum used to tell me of how Gram would sit me in her lap on the porch and we would rock in the chair, how she would tell me her secrets and how we had great fun together. Mum always maintained that Gram had a touch of the Sight and could tell fortunes with cards etc. She had a strong character and great wisdom.

Given her advanced age and my youth, Gram was afraid that I wouldn’t remember her clearly. I am sorry to say that this is largely true; I recall basics about her but I have trouble recalling her face.

On the day that Gram died, my Mum had put me to bed and had just turned out her own light when she heard me in my bed say quite clearly, “Hi Gramma!”
From that day, until the day she died, Mum was convinced that Gram’s spirit came back to say good-bye to me before she passed.

The first live reading of Geist in the Southern Hemisphere is happening at WorldCon.

Reading of Geist- Room 215, Mebourne Convention center, Saturday, 04 September 2010 5pm

You will also be able to catch me at;

Anachronistic fiction: successors to steampunk- Room 219, Melbourne Convention center, Sunday, 05 September 2010 11am

Also sharing a Kaffeeklatsch with Tee Morris – Room 201, Melbourne Convention center, Saturday, 04 September 2010 1pm

Remember you can share your paranormal experience with the world by emailing motherabbey@booksoftheorder.com – if you do not want your name revealed please let us know, and we will give you a pseudonym.
From Alex Bellamy:

The house in question is in Titirangi, Auckland, New Zealand and was built in the 1930s when the area was quite rural and remote. Today Titirangi is approximately 20 minutes drive from the city centre and has become a popular weekend destination due to the abundance of cafes and arts and craft shops.

As far as I am aware, the house was originally lived in by a couple and was then sold onto my mother in the mid-1970s when the original owners died. The house is a brick cottage on one-third of an acre of land and in the mid-1980s had a new modern extension added, including a self-contained granny flat.

When I was about seven years old, on a Saturday morning in the mid 1980’s, I sat watching a morning children’s variety television programme called What Now, which used to run from 8-10 in the morning. During a commercial break, I ran into my parent’s bedroom which was situated in the new extension at the rear of the house, where they were enjoying a lie-in. I told them about what had been on the programme so far, then I then ran back from the bedroom to the front room to continue watching. There is a connecting passageway that leads into the lounge from the rear of the house; as I came around the corner of the passageway and into view of the lounge I stopped in my tracks. The lounge has two sets of ceiling-to-floor French windows looking out onto a bricked patio, with a solid wall separating them. At about adult-chest height, a rectangular, white, wavy form was moving from right to left, from the interior of the house to the exterior, straight through the French windows. I recall seeing the front part of the object appearing outside through the windows, indicating that whatever it was, had passed through the glass and wooden frame of the window. The object was transparent with the consistency of smoke. It was rectangular, with the long sides parallel to the ground. As it moved, the interior of the shape undulated, giving the appearance of many layers of lace-like fabric, although the object didn’t lose its overall rectangular shape. I recall that the object became obscured from view as it passed outside and behind the solid wall that separated the two sets of French windows. After observing the object, which probably took less than thirty seconds to disappear from view, I returned to my parent’s bedroom to tell them what I had seen. I don’t recall their reaction. From then on I was fascinated by ghosts, which quickly became my major reading subject when visiting the local library! I have also retained a couple of creative writing exercise books from school from 1984/85 as my own attempts at fiction turned to the supernatural around this period; one even includes what appears to be a description of what I saw in the house.

One weekday afternoon, in approximately 1988, I was alone in the lounge constructing a robot out of Lego while my mother worked in the rear of the house. Once I completed my model I got up to take it to show my mother. As I stood up, I felt the robot being lifted straight out of my hands. I was holding the robot with both hands and felt my arms being raised as the ‘force’ dragged the model upwards. I then pulled it back down and the ‘force’ stopped. I recall this experience being puzzling rather than frightening.

My own bedroom was directly connected to the lounge and after the household had retired, I often avoiding leaving my room for any reason if I could. The lounge area, connecting passage and dining room often had an unsettling atmosphere when they were not occupied. Although nothing was seen, I often felt a presence, mostly at night but also occasionally when I was alone in the house during the day. There were a couple of instances of strong smells, including oranges and feijoas (a type of fruit), when there was nothing in the house that could account for them.

When I was a teenager in the early 1990s it became a custom for my father to knock loudly on my bedroom door as a wake-up call most mornings. Frequently I was already awake and was anticipating the knock to come. On several occasions the knock came but I discovered that my father was still fast asleep at the time. Once, the knock sounded on the door and as I was actually out of bed, I went and opened it immediately. Nobody was there, and again there was nobody in that part of the house at the time.

Around this time I also had frequent episodes of what I presume was sleep paralysis. On three or four occasions I awoke with a tremendous sense of a presence in the room, with my bed covers being slowly pulled off. Each time I didn’t think I was actually paralysed, as I remember pulling the covers back over me, engaging in a tug of war with the unseen force.

On all occasions the sensation of presence vanished and the pulling of the bedclothes stopped in probably less than one minute.

Having been built in the 1930s, the house was old and not in top condition. The side of the house that included my bedroom, the passageway and the bathroom was subsiding and there was a crack in my bedroom wall which expanded and contracted during the year. Part of the house definitely moved to some extent which no doubt would explain some of the knocks and bumps that I heard.

In 1991, I was in the bathroom that was at the end of the aforementioned passageway and having washed my hands, I turned from the basin to leave. As I did so there was a tremendous crash behind me, I turned to discover that the pot plant that had stood on a shelf above a mirror in the right-hand corner of the bathroom had apparently toppled off and fallen into the basin, shattering the pot. The shelf above the mirror is substantial and usually has a pot or vase on it. If an object was placed on the very edge of the shelf so it overbalanced, it is quite possible that the object could fall, bounce on the counter top, and come to a rest in the basin. However, I firmly believe that the pot was securely placed on the shelf as I had been using the mirror and would have noticed if the pot was protruding over the shelf edge. The pot also landed directly in the basin without apparently hitting the counter, which implies to me that the pot was given a significant shove from behind.

The most striking and alarming experience I had in the house was late one Friday night in 1992. My mother was a teacher and had borrowed a VHS video camera from her school to do some filming at the weekend. Once everyone had gone to bed, I set the camera up on a tripod in the centre of the lounge, pointing down onto the floor. My intention was to record some tests of filming photographs onto video, and dubbing sound on at a later stage in order to create a video slide show. I experimented for some time with this, recording short sections and trying fades, zooms etc. After a while, on a whim, I decided to turn the camera up and look at the room through the viewfinder, which was black and white. I started at one side and panned from right to left. On the left side of the room, the lounge becomes the dining room, connected only by a large, wide doorway that used to house another set of French doors. The dining room was dominated by a large dining table which could seat six or more people. At the time, we did not have dining chairs, so some temporary wooden folding chairs were used. As I panned the camera around, I was looking through the viewfinder the entire time. Seated at the end of the long side of the table, at the seating position furthest from me, was a black figure. It was not facing me but was sitting square at the table, so the angle between me and it was about 45 degrees. The figure consisted of a featureless black body, with no discernable arms and a black head which was also blank and featureless except for two white eyes. I was stunned for a moment, then took my eye off the viewfinder and looked into the dining room. There was no figure there. Returning to the viewfinder, the figure was no longer visible. I was the only person awake at the time, my parents were asleep. As I had been working for quite a while on my slide-show I estimate the time was probably between midnight and 1am. I decided to pack the camera away and retire for the night.

The figure I observed through the viewfinder was truly remarkable and I have one big regret – I was not filming at the time! There was a blank videotape in the camera but I had decided simply to pan around without recording. I don’t know if the figure “knew” I wasn’t recording, but if it had appeared and I was, I think it would have been a very important bit of footage.

Remember you can share your paranormal experience with the world by emailing motherabbey@booksoftheorder.com – if you do not want your name revealed please let us know, and we will give you a pseudonym.

From Brian (@Moonlyte on Twitter)

I love reading and comic books before bedtime, it was my favorite way to drift off to sleep. I’d dig under my bed for just the right comics to match my mood and I’d read them in bed. Now being in bed, I had no inclination to put them away when I was done reading them. What twelve-year-old boy would? When I finished one, I’d just dropped it on the floor between the beds. In the morning I’d push them back under the bed.

One night I awoke to the sound of foots steps between my brother’s bed and my own. (Remember only eighteen inches of clearance.) What scared the sleep out of me was it wasn’t the sound of footsteps on carpet. It was the sound of someone walking on comic books. (Try walking on paper, it’s a very distinctive sound.) The thing was, I was looking right at my sleeping brother as the footsteps pasted by, but I saw no one.

Now at just over two months before Geist is released to the world, I have added a sample chapter, the very first of the novel for you to read.

Read the chapter (pdf)

Also the first of the Chronicles of the Order, free audio short stories set in the world of Geist. Some will be myself, but also a host of other great writers; Gabrielle Harbowy, Laurie McLean, Nobilis, Sandra Wickam and Tee Morris just to name a few. Look for the first episode September 12th.

The release date for Geist is just before Halloween–and I can’t think of a better time for a supernatural fantasy to hit the shelves. Halloween is the time when the Otherside is closest and the supernatural can pass through to our world–or so we are told. So these stories labeled ‘Need the Order’ will be postings about ghosts, geists, shades and dark shadows you might catch out the corner of your eye. They will be taken from news items, but most of what I am hoping for is personal stories. If you have experienced anything from the Otherside, then please send it to motherabbey@booksoftheorder.com

To start us off, here is one from my family.

This story was told to me while I was at a family reunion. I have a big family, mostly from an agricultural background, so we were in a farmhouse, way out in the backblocks of New Zealand. It was a dark chilly night- not just dark.. pitch black. The kind of darkness that you only get when you are nowhere near a city or a town. There are only stars, a thin sliver of a moon and the calls of owls.

So naturally conversation turned to the supernatural. My uncle, the most down to earth, unflightly person I have ever known, told all of us cousins this story.

‘When I was a fella, just starting off with a young wife but no kids yet, I got this job as manager on this very farm. I was really glad to have the position, even though it was a long way from where my family was and I knew nothing about the place.

We arrived, moved into the farmhouse and started working hard. One day I was in the kitchen with my wife having lunch. The room was at the back of the house down a long wooden floored hallway, with the kitchen door shut at our backs. I was just finishing my sandwiches and getting ready to go out, when both of us looked up.

We heard the front door open and slam shut, and then as clear as anything the sound of hobnail boots on the floor coming towards us. Now I leapt up and grabbed a knife, cos we were all alone on the farm and it could have been anyone. I remember thinking ‘who the hell walks into someones house just like that without even knocking?’

The wife and I stood there, heart pounding, me holding the knife in a white knuckle grip, but no one appeared. No one opened the kitchen door. Eventually I opened it myself, but the hallway was empty. I looked at the wife, but she’d heard it just as clear as I had.

Only later did I talk to one of the neighbours and found out that the manager previous to us, obviously couldn’t take the isolation. He’d hung himself in the barn.

I’ve always wondered if he was trying to come home or something. I wonder what he might have thought finding us in his kitchen.’

Naturally after this conversation I didn’t get much sleep at all. But of all the people I have heard tell me ghost stories, my Uncle Ted I believe the most.

The lead up to Geist is underway, and here is the first thing you, as a reader can do to help make sure there are more books of the Order.

First of all have a read of the first chapter of Geist, so you know the flavor of the books you are supporting.

Then it is as simple as phoning, email or visiting your local bookstores and asking if they will be stocking Geist by Philippa Ballantine. This gets the stores thinking about what they are ordering in the coming months. And of course, we want them to buy as many Books of the Order as possible.

That’s it. An easy thing, but one that can make a difference to the author and the series.

Members of the Order are required to wear the badge of the Eye and the Fist at all times. This inspires confidence among the population that they are in capable hands.

Those who use weirstones have sometimes been known to impersonate Deacons of the Order, so verify the authenticity of those that come to your aid.

All members will be in pairs. One will be wearing the emerald green cloak of the Sensitives, and the other the blue of the Actives. However without seeing the badge do not allow them entrance to your home even under direst circumstances. An untrained wielder of a weirstone may mean well, but can do terrible harm.

Trust only the Order of the Eye and Fist. The Deacons are the only people trained to deal with geists and the only ones trusted by your Emperor.

[Logo designed by Alex White]

Geist: a Book of the Order by Sir Julius Award winning author Philippa Ballantine.

Deacon Sorcha Faris has plenty of supernatural problems and also her fair share of real life ones. A terrible riot caused by a geist attack has left her partner and husband badly injured and she is assigned a new partner that she doesn’t want. Merrick Chambers is young, talented and tormented by what he saw Sorcha do to his family years before. A good start to any partnership. As Active and Sensitive they are supposed to work seamlessly as a team. Sorcha wonders what their Abbot was thinking.
In the north, the Young Pretender to the throne that Sorcha’s Emperor now sits on, is struggling to find a safe harbor to make repairs to his ship. When Raed Rossin is offered the isolated village of Ulrich, he is grateful. However he cannot know that his ancient familial curse and the rising threat of the unliving will combine to make this the most dangerous place for him to go.