Guest Post by Sherry Soule

I am pleased to welcome Sherry Soule here today to talk about the Paranormal Genre. Also check out her debut novel Beautifully Broken. And without further ado:

The word paranormal means above or beyond nature. It has become a general term for anything that we cannot explain rationally or logically. Things like the supernatural. Many subjects fall under this category. Some of the more familiar ones are disembodied entities, such as ghosts, dark spirits, hauntings, angels, apparitions, or poltergeists; unusual abilities, like telepathy, telekinesis, psychic energy, prophesies, or ESP; unnatural powers. For instance, magick spells, healing prayers, magick, sorcery, witchcraft, or voodoo.

As with most controversial subjects, the paranormal has its believers and its skeptics. The most popular argument by supporters for believing in the paranormal is that the scientific techniques are somehow lacking when faced with questions concerning subjects like the existence of an afterlife or the ability to employ extrasensory perception. Believers feel that their way of discerning what we currently call the paranormal is sometimes a gift or a curse that works in spite of how they feel about the situation. 

Many clairvoyants claim that they were born with the special ability of Sight. Like the heroine of BEAUTIFULLY BROKEN, Shiloh Ravenwolf. This means they can see and communicate with the dead…and other supernatural entities. 

Other believers in the paranormal consider themselves lacking any special innate ability and simply employ whatever scientific tools are available for investigating the paranormal. 

This brings us to the world of professional ghost hunters. Like Evans in my novel, who befriends Shiloh and teaches about the supernatural. And paranormals that can stalk and haunt us. (Evans is like a Whitelighter or a Watcher. A sort of mentor for Shiloh.) 

Curiously enough, the argument usually turns out to be a semantic one. Because if any subject related to the paranormal were proven to actually exist, the skeptics would then claim victory on the grounds that the subject was never paranormal at all; it was natural. 

Of course, the believers would claim victory on the grounds that their perceptions were correct all along. History is full of instances where modern day science failed and scientists had to wait for technological advances before the truth could be known: cases in point are the earth revolving around the sun, the spheroid shape of the earth, the existence of microscopic organisms, or even the existence of dinosaurs. 

Unfortunately, until science makes some serious advancements, then we won't be able to know definitively which, if any, paranormal phenomena are real. 

So are you a believer or a skeptic?

Where you can find Sherry: 
Official website: http://sherrysoule.com/
My blog: http://sherrysoule.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/writersherry
Book Trailer/YouTube: http://youtu.be/5uqVXKygvUs
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11634793-beautifully-broken

About Author Sherry Soule

Sherry Soule has won awards for her short stories and writes full-time. She has been writing seriously for twelve years, during which time she has completed seven romantic suspense and supernatural-style manuscripts. She was a Creative writing Major and because of her love of reading and her dedication to the craft of writing fiction, she also did some freelance work as an Acquisitions Editor for Crescent Moon press.

She is an active member of the SCBWI, RWA, and YACHATLIT

Sherry writes young adult, horror, and paranormal, but no matter what genre she's writing, there has to be an element of romance. She lives in San Francisco Bay Area with her black cat, Charm. And her cat would like you to know that she's not a morning person, rarely cooks, and loves all things supernatural.

Her debut novel, Beautifully Broken was released on June 30,2011

Sherry currently writes both adult and young adult tales of magick, ghosts, romance and demon slaying.

About Beautifully Broken

Thirteenth daughter. Heritage witch. Demon slayer.

They say every town has its secrets, but that doesn’t even begin to describe Whispering Pines. The townsfolk are a superstitious lot and the mystical disappearance of a local teen has everyone murmuring about a centuries old witch’s curse.

Sixteen-year-old Shiloh Ravenwolf is a heritage witch from the Broussard family, a family both destined and cursed. When she takes a summer job at Ravenhurst Manor, she discovers a ghost with an agenda. That’s where she meets the new town hottie, Trent Donovan, and immediately becomes spellbound by his charms. Yet she is determined to discover the connection between them before it’s too late.

Finally, Shiloh's met someone who is supercute and totally into her, but Trent may be the next victim on the supernatural hit list. And Shiloh is the only person with the power to save him. Complicated much?

It sucks to have a destiny, especially since Shiloh would rather spend her summer being a normal girl who worries about clothes and boys, not the supernatural. But she’s never been
normal and the stranger things become the more her own magical senses awaken.

With cryptic messages from a pesky wraith, she will begin to understand the mysterious significance of the strange mark branded on her wrist, and decide how much she's willing to sacrifice to protect the other teenagers in town.

Unfortunately, for Shiloh, not all ghosts want help crossing over. Some want vengeance.