I've always loved Coming Attractions...

As a kid, I would sit in the theater and wait, as excited about the sneak peeks at new movies as I was about the show I was there to see. Sometimes the previews were for movies I knew about, but other times what I saw was a complete surprise, and the combination of images, music, and teaser left me over-the-top excited for what was coming next. (For the record, this addiction to sneak peeks also applies to TV shows: Lost wasn’t over until the previews aired!)

What would it be like, I sometimes wonder, to get Coming Attractions for more than just fiction? What if we got them for life? What if, the second we met some really awesome guy, we got a quick peek into the future and knew if we were on the edge of a thrilling romance, or an absolute horror show?  Seems like a pretty awesome idea to me.

But life doesn’t play like that, at least not for most of us. But throughout history, there are those who do get sneak peeks into the Future. From the Oracle of Delphi to Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce to Jean Dixon or James Van Prague, Alison Dubois (of Medium fame), their stories have always fascinated me. In days gone by they were called seers or prophets. These days they tend to get the label of psychic—or fraud.

What would it be like, I’ve often wondered. What would it be like to know something really bad was going to happen—a plane crash or a house burn, a teacher die? What if the disjointed scenes played through your mind like Coming Attractions, sometimes for friends, sometimes for strangers?  What if you could walk into a falling down building, and see the past? What would it be like to be labeled a fraud?  What would you do?

What could you do?

It’s from all these questions, from the lure of the Unexplained and the thrilling possibility of the Unknown, that the Midnight Dragonfly series was born. As soon as the character of sixteen-year-old psychic, Trinity Monsour, came to me, quite literally in a dream, I knew I had to write her story. I couldn’t stop thinking about what it would be like to know things you weren’t supposed to know—that no one, at least at first, believed. That’s a pretty huge burden, especially for a high school student trying to settle into a new city and a new life, figure out why the truth about her birthright has been kept from her, and whether she’s really falling in love with the totally wrong guy. But that’s exactly the situation Trinity finds herself in.

From precognition to dream interpretation, telepathy, empathic ability, and communicating with the dead, hypnosis, mind control, and even Ouija boards, the Midnight Dragonfly series explores the frontiers of the human mind, and the ties that bind us all.

Glimpses. That’s all they are. Shadowy premonitions flickering through the farthest reaches of sleep. Some are terrifying: a knife lifting, a girl screaming, a body in the grass. But others— the dark, tortured eyes and the shattering kiss, the promise of forever— whisper to her soul.

They come without warning. They come without detail. But they always mean the same thing; the clock is ticking—and only Trinity can stop it.

Live the Mystery

Haunted Destiny, Griffin Teen, a free short available via all online booksellers

Shattered Dreams, Griffin Teen, on sale now via all online booksellers

Broken Illusions, Griffin Teen, on sale now via all online booksellers

Fragile Darkness, Griffin Teen, available for Pre-Order

Pre-order your copy of Fragile Darkness now and receive a signed bookplate and bookmark! Simply email me (ellie@elliejames.net) a copy of the transaction and mailing instructions, and I'll drop a bookplate and bookmark in the mail!

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Paraskevidekatriaphobia

Say what?

Paraskevidekatriaphobia. If you thought twice about leaving the house this morning, if you changed your plans and decided not to go to the salon or get that manicure, not to go out with that hot guy you’ve been fantasizing about for weeks, then that’s what you suffer from: paraskevidekatriaphobia.  It’s one of two official names for the fear of Friday the 13^th (Paraskevi and dekatreis being the Greek words for Friday and thirteen, attached to good ole phobia meaning fear), the other being friggatriskaidekaphobia (Frigga being the Norse goddess after whom Friday is named and triskaidekaphobia for fear of the number thirteen).

Who knew?

Well, my Master of Useless Information husband did (never play Trivial Pursuit against him!), but for me, discovering this took pulling together a Friday the 13^th-oriented blog for the UK release of Shattered Dreams! Actually, my research led me to all sorts of fascinating tidbits, such as the discovery that nothing especially horrible ever happened on Friday the 13^th. It seems all our trepidation stems from a simple arithmetic equation:

Bad Friday + Unlucky 13 = Terrible Friday the 13^th

Yes, historically speaking Friday is an unlucky day (beginning with Eve and the Apple one fateful afternoon) and 13 is an unlucky number (how many were gathered for the Last Supper….which just happened to be on a Friday?)

So there you have it. The truth about Friday the 13^th.

But while doing my research, I ran across a whole bunch of other superstitions, some I was familiar with (rabbits foot brings good luck, an apple a day keeps the doctor away), some that were totally new to me (clothes worn inside out bring good luck). I had so much fun with them, I thought I’d share a more comprehensive list here!

▪                Friday the thirteenth is an unlucky day

▪                A rabbit's foot brings good luck

▪                An apple a day keeps the doctor away

▪                To find a four-leaf clover is to find good luck

▪                If you walk under a ladder, you will have bad luck

▪                If a black cat crosses your path you will have bad luck

▪                To break a mirror will bring you seven years bad luck

▪                To open an umbrella in the house is to bring bad luck

▪                To find a horseshoe brings good luck

▪                Step on a crack, break your mother's back

▪                You can break a bad luck spell by turning seven times in a clockwise circle

▪                Garlic protects from evil spirits and vampires

▪                Our fate is written in the stars

▪                At the end of a rainbow is a pot of gold

▪                Clothes worn inside out will bring good luck

▪                Wearing your birthstone will bring you good luck

▪                If you blow out all of the candles on your birthday cake with the first breath you will get whatever you wish for

▪                To have a wish come true using a wishbone, two people make a wish, then take hold of each end of the bone and pull it until it separates. The person with the longer end gets his or her wish

▪                An itchy palm means money will come your way

▪                A beginner will always have good luck: beginner's luck

▪                A cat has nine lives

▪                Eating fish makes you smart

▪                Toads cause warts

▪                A cricket in the house brings good luck

▪                Crossing your fingers helps to avoid bad luck and helps a wish come true

▪                It is bad luck to sing at the table

▪                It is bad luck to sleep on a table

▪                After receiving a container of food, the container should never be returned empty

▪                A lock of hair from a baby's first haircut should be kept for good luck

▪                A bird that comes in your window brings bad luck

▪                To refuse a kiss under mistletoe causes bad luck

▪                Goldfish in the pond bring good luck

▪                Goldfish in the house bring bad luck

▪                For good luck, wear new clothes on Easter

▪                An acorn at the window can keep lightning out of the house

▪                If the bottom of your feet itch, you will make a trip

▪                When a dog howls, death is near

▪                It is bad luck to chase someone with a broom

▪                A sailor wearing an earring cannot drown

▪                To find a penny heads up, brings good luck

▪                A drowned woman floats face up, a drowned man floats face down

▪                A person cannot drown before going under three times

▪                To drop a fork means a woman will visit

▪                To drop a knife means a man will visit

▪                To drop a spoon means a child will visit

▪                To drop a dishcloth means bad luck is coming

▪                If you shiver, someone is casting a shadow on your grave

▪                To make a happy marriage, the bride must wear: something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue

▪                The wedding veil protects the bride from the evil eye

▪                Washing a car will bring rain

▪                You must get out of bed on the same side you got in on or you will have bad luck

▪                Evil spirits cannot harm you when you are standing in a circle

▪                A cat will try to take the breath from a baby

▪                Warm hands, cold heart

▪                Cold hands, warm heart

▪                It is unlucky to rock an empty rocking chair

▪                To kill an albatross is to cause bad luck to the ship and all upon it

▪                Wearing an opal when it is not your birthstone is bad luck

▪                Smell dandelions, wet the bed

▪                To give someone a purse or wallet without money in it will bring that person bad luck

 What about you? Do you have a superstition?

The Power of Music

A few weeks ago, I turned in revisions for the third book in my Midnight Dragonfly series, and went for a walk. It was a beautiful spring day, with a vivid blue sky and puffy white clouds, a cool breeze mingling with the warm rays of the sun. I had my headphones on with Dave Matthews blasting (Don’t Drink the Water), and with each step I took, the heaviness lifted from inside me a little more, until I actually stopped and texted my husband: OMG, no one soothes my soul like Dave Matthews, except, of course, you.

I’ve thought about that brisk walk a lot since then, how some alone time with a favorite album literally rebooted me. That’s why music is called The International Language. Music transcends language. Music speaks to our souls and fires through our blood. Music heals. With nothing more than a few notes, a melody can transport us to another place, another time. One song, and I’m back in high school, back in the arms of my first love. Another song, and I’m in the gym at a basketball game. Another, and I’m nursing my first broken heart all over again. Yet another, and I’m dancing at my wedding. Rocking my newborn daughter. Saying goodbye to a beloved grandparent. Music is that powerful.

When my son was born ten weeks premature, I stumbled across information about music therapy, a technique utilizing music to create a desired physiological effect in the patient. In my son’s case, we had to wait a few weeks so as not to over-stimulate him, but eventually set up a CD player next to his isolette with a fabulous collection of African lullabies. The soft, melodic strains soothed him when he was fussy, and helped to level out his heart rate when he brady’d (sudden drop in heart rate).  Long after we brought him home, those lullabies were our go-to miracle.

Maybe that’s why music has become such an important element of my writing regime, because of its ability to evoke emotional and physical responses. I’ve talked to many writers who prefer quiet while they work, but for me, music transports me deeper into my story world. Music makes me feel what my characters feel, whether it be love or fear or excitement. Quite literally, music fuels me, allowing me to bleed that emotion right back onto the paper. (My debut YA, Shattered Dreams, was written entirely to Arcade Fire!)

In the book I just turned in, Fragile Darkness, chilling visions draw my teenage psychic, Trinity, into the underground New Orleans party scene. Now, this isn’t a scene I’m intimately familiar with, but the second I began listening to Dubstep, the words flowed. My husband cracked up to find me trance-like listening to Magical World by Bass Nectar and Cracks by Freestylers…but it worked!!  In fact, Magical World went on to become the music for my first book trailer.

When it came time to ramp up the emotion, suddenly I had the theme song to the Dead Island trailer on repeat:

Talk about music that makes you want to cry! Watch the trailer, then close your eyes and simply listen to the music. I dare you not to get a lump in your throat!

Then, during revisions, I stumbled across Gary Jules’s version of Mad World, and not only did I instantly realize I’d found the perfect song for my next trailer, but the haunting combination of lyrics, rhythm, and voice infused with the exact emotional tenor I’d been looking for.

So the next time you find yourself stuck--in life or your writing--give music a try. Close your eyes, let the rhythms flow through you, and see what happens next.

You might be surprised.

A couple of recommendations:

Action & Adventure: the soundtrack from Gladiator 

Danger/Suspense: a few awesome suggestions from YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC_BShb5UrA,

Creepy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecsrMCpviG8&feature=related

General Epic-y: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hqGIGq5PmQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T15ZMU8f230

And of course, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T15ZMU8f230

Emotion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cqgWvFmtz0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0KHS-AD14w&feature=related

Romance/Love: Beyonce’s Halo and Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers

Sleep/Relaxation: Krishna  Das, Celtic, and Nature Sounds