A Psychic Quest

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a strong interest in psychics. An early inspiration was young adult author Lois Duncan. Three of her books featuring psychics created lasting impressions on me: The Third Eye, A Gift of Magic and Who Killed My Daughter? The latter is a haunting autobiographical account of loss and psychic investigation. There’s a touching scene that moved me deeply, where Lois has a realistic dream of holding her child one last time.

When I decided to write a psychic series for young readers, I wanted it to be as accurate as possible. As intrigued as I am by psychics, I’m also skeptical because I’ve never had any paranormal experience of my own. So for research, I looked to others for information. I read books, watched TV and listened eagerly whenever someone spoke about supernatural experiences. Still, I needed to know more. So where does a writer go to research psychics? A psychic fair, of course!

I had no idea what to expect. The psychic fair was held at a Sacramento hotel, and I was overwhelmed when I entered a room filled with rows of books, jewelry, candles, clothes, gems, ear-waxing therapy, computer astrological print-outs, aura photography and many psychics.

I was very nervous about having my fortune told. I wandered around feeling lost. How do I choose the right psychic? Some wore flowing robes and glittery costumes, while others looked as ordinary as someone you’d meet in a grocery store. There were psychics who specialized in pets, dreams, palm reading, I-Ching and healing arts.

Finally I signed up with an average-looking lady, because her name was Linda like mine … bad choice! Everything she said was so wrong; I felt quite discouraged. But I had enough money to go to one more psychic, so I choose an elderly Asian man. While he didn’t wow me, I sensed he could see into my soul. When it was over, I was both drained and intrigued. I was eager to try it again … although still not convinced.

The idea for The Seer series, about a 16-year-old psychic who solves mysteries, had several incarnations. An early version was titled Psychic Sleuth, about a self-absorbed teen named Tessa who suddenly develops psychic abilities after a car accident. I wrote a few chapters, shopped it around, but had little success and put it aside to work on other books.

Nearly a decade later, my online friend Dotti Enderle (author of The Fortune Tellers Club series) told me Llewellyn was interested in juvenile paranormal series. So I pulled out my psychic manuscript. But when I read it, I almost gagged. The heroine Tessa was too unlikable, and having her wake up after a car accident with sudden psychic powers seemed unrealistic, because most of the psychics I’d studied had been born with their “gift.”

So I threw out that early manuscript. And 16-year-old Sabine Rose was born. I didn’t want to name her Sabine (pronounced Sa-been). But that name popped into my head and wouldn’t go away, as if my character was in charge, letting me know I’d better get used to it.

Most of my characters are different shades of me, but not Sabine. It’s like she’s standing next to me when I write, reminding me that she’s unique. She’s been able to see ghosts and spirits her whole life, and she’s tired of it. Being different means being left out … and feared. After predicting a boy’s death at her last school, everyone turned against her — even her best friend. And things weren’t any better at home. Her ambitious mother is a cold woman who pushes Sabine’s younger twin sisters into a modeling career, and is frightened by Sabine’s visions.

When Sabine is kicked out of her school, her mother sends her to live with her own mother, Sabine’s grandmother, Nona. Sabine adores her grandmother and is relieved to start over at a new school. She shuts off her gift and works hard to become a normal girl. She makes popular friends, joins the school newspaper staff and even dates the hottest guy at school. Everything is going great until she has a terrifying vision of a girl with bloody dragonfly tattoo. If she doesn’t use her psychic abilities, someone will die …

The title for Sabine’s first book, Don’t Die, Dragonfly, just popped into my head, too. I love the image of a dragonfly; a fragile symbol of beauty and freedom. It’s a fitting launch for a series about the mysteries of life and beyond.

In this first book, Sabine struggles to balance a social life and deep secrets. She gains new friends: quirky Goth girl Thorn who has a talent for finding things; mystic Manny, whose best talent is his loyalty; and loner Dominic who has a troubled past and the ability to understand animals.

Sabine learns that true friends don’t judge you for what you can do, but love you for who you are. And that the best gift isn’t what you’re given — it’s what you give back.