A Wicked Welcome to Carolyn Wilkins! Plus a giveaway of DEATH AT A SEANCE

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By Julie, decking the halls in Somerville

I’m thrilled to welcome Carolyn Wilkins back to the blog, and to celebrate the release of her latest mystery, Death at a Séance . I was fortunate enough to read an early copy of this book, and loved meeting Carrie McFarland, the protagonist of the novel. Welcome to the Wickeds, Carolyn!

Psychics in History and Fiction

Mystery readers are fascinated by the supernatural. Images of seances, haunted houses, poltergeists, and evil spirits rising from the grave remain eternally popular with readers and writers alike.

However as a practicing psychic medium, I know for a fact that much of what is portrayed as “psychic activity” in the popular media has little to do with reality. The dead rarely show themselves to psychics as living, breathing 3-D figures.  Nor do they make a habit of popping out of walls, throwing items around the living room in a fit of pique or returning from the dead to seek vengeance on those who harmed them while they were alive.  

Don’t get me wrong.  The dead are very much aware of what goes on in the world of the living, and they are perfectly capable of making their presence felt when necessary.  However their visitations tend to be subtle – far less dramatic that what we see in the movies.  

Am I saying that every so-called “spirit manifestation” is genuine?  Not at all. I would be the first to admit there are plenty of fakers, frauds and downright rip-off artists who have claimed to have psychic powers. 

My book Death at a Séance takes place in 1920, when interest in Spiritualism was at an all-time high.  Ten million soldiers lost their lives during World War One, and people on both sides of the Atlantic were desperate to communicate with their departed loved ones.  As we all know, where there is great human need, con men, fakers and phony mediums are not far behind. 

In 1923, at a summer retreat for Spiritualists located in southern Indiana,  seven Spiritualist mediums were arrested for fraud. According to their accusers, these so-called mediums had access to a hidden library containing the personal information of thousands of potential clients.  During the séance, the phony psychic would claim to have received this information from the Spirit World ,when in actual fact they had memorized it from a file!  

As you will see, this juicy bit of history serves as an important plot point in my book.  

The true work of the psychic medium is to help people understand their connection to the larger world in which we live – a world in which all souls, living and dead participate in a greater unity. The most meaningful spirit messages do not consist of merely of names and addresses.  In this age of Facebook and Instagram, this kind of information is easily faked. The most profound evidence that the human soul lives on after death happens when the medium describes the personality, character traits and hobbies of the deceased.  Even more meaningful are those moments when the medium is able to bring through advice from the deceased on a problem confronting the recipient in their current life.

Crazy as it seems, I have witnessed these kind of miraculous messages time and again as a practicing psychic medium.  I’ve even been lucky enough to have brought through a few of my own. 

Readers:  Have you ever experienced a synchronicity or déjà vu moment that you just couldn’t explain?  Leave a comment below by December 15.  

Giveaway: I will give a free PDF of Death at a Séance to the two readers who share their most unusual and/or dramatic psychic moments. 

About Death at a Séance:

Carrie McFarland’s psychic gifts land her in trouble wherever she goes.

The year is 1920. Corruption, bootleggers and the Klan are part of everyday life in Aronsville, Indiana. As an African American teenager, Carrie McFarland knows she must watch her step carefully. She’s already in hot water for putting a Love Hex under the pillow of the wealthy white man who seduced and abandoned her. 

Carrie hopes she’s put the past behind her when she lands a job cleaning house for an eccentric Spiritualist. But when she foresees the death of a guest at her boss’s weekly séance, Carrie finds herself accused of murder.  Intent on keeping her community from being torched by the KKK in retaliation for the slaying, Carrie enlists the help of two friends—a handsome young reverend and a notorious bootlegger. To uncover the truth, she will have to search for  answers in the dark and dangerous world of spiritual frauds, gangsters and con men. 

There’s a vicious killer loose in Aronsville. Will Carrie’s psychic powers save her from becoming the next victim?

About Carolyn Wilkins:

Carolyn Marie Wilkins is a practicing Reiki Master, a Psychic Medium and an initiated Priestess of Yemaya, the African goddess of compassion, motherhood and the ocean.  Her other novels Mojo For Murder and Melody For Murder feature the crime-fighting exploits of Bertie Bigelow, a forty-something choir director and amateur sleuth living on the South Side of Chicago.

Published by Julie Hennrikus aka Julia Henry

One woman, three names, many books. As Julia Henry she writes the Garden Squad series for Kensington. As J.A. Hennrikus she writes the Theater Cop series, and as Julianne Holmes she wrote the Clock Shop series. Click on my profile picture to connect with me on Facebook and Instagram! @JHAuthors

27 Thoughts

  1. Ooh, you gave me the shivers with that description, Carolyn! The new book sounds like a must-read.

    After my father died 34 years ago, I occasionally – not often, not regularly – got a ringing in my right ear. I always take it as a message from him and I stop and think about him. If I’m at a decision point or in a rough patch, I ask myself what his counsel would be. It’s comforting and sweet to have that reminder of him.

  2. Thanks for your comment, Edith! I also get a ringing in my ear when I feel the presence of Spirit. As you will see in my book, I’ve given this trait to my protagonist as well.

  3. I have had the pleasure of consulting with you, Carolyn, over a story idea that came to me, demanding to be written, that draws upon my grandmother’s essence, her sorrows. You helped me to appreciate it as a gift, not only an obligation, and you gave me the confidence to keep exploring dark moments in history in my writing.

    I can’t wait to read this new book of yours!

  4. Can’t personally said that I have, but not closed off to it happening.

    Would love the opportunity to read “Death at a Séance”. Sounds like an amazing book.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

    1. Hi Kay
      Being open to the possibility that there is more to life than just the material world is a very important attribute! Thanks for your comment. I am confident you will enjoy this book.

  5. Welcome back, Carol. What a fascinating story! Your new books sounds wonderful. I’m not much on believing in the dead making visits but this year the morning I found out a dear friend died the light in my bathroom freaked out. One could chalk it up to the light switch that suddenly needed replacing — it had been working fine until that morning but…

    1. Thanks so much for your comment, Sherry. Flickering lights is one of the many ways Spirit tries to communicate with us. Think of them as a little Hello from heaven😜

  6. Welcome back, Carol. I am one of the Wicked skeptics (we run the complete spectrum of beliefs on this) but I always say it’s ridiculous for human beings to claim to know everything. After all, at one point people believed the sun revolved around the earth, or the body was filled with humours. It’s clear we don’t understand or usually experience the true nature of time, and if all time exists all the time–well who knows?

    Anyway, seances, Prohibition and the Klan. Sounds like I heck of a ride. I am in.

    1. Thanks, Barbara! Fortunately you don’t have to believe in things that go bump in the night in order to enjoy this story. It is full of drama, if I do say so myself😜

  7. Oh, what a fascinating sounding book! I will definitely put it on my TBR list. When I’m in the San Xavier Mission in Tucson, AZ, I very much feel the presence of my father who lived there as a young man. I don’t get there often, but it is my sanctuary of peace and serenity. The last time I was there I felt him telling me to let go of my earlier vision of him and to replace it with a much more positive one. I have done that. (He’s part of my morning meditation. He died in 1974, but has always been my strength.)

    1. Yes! I believe our deceased loved ones are always around us. And from the Spirit World, they have a much higher perspective on their own lives. They can also see what we are doing and are there to encourage us. Glad you chat with your dad often.

  9. Yes, I have had a few “I have done this before” or “I have been here before” moments. I have also had a few ghosts visit me. I even have them whisper in my ear sometimes. saamm7(at)msn(dot)com

    1. Are they literal whispers, or in your “mind’s ear?” True clairaudience is quite rare, but I do believe Spirit is always trying to get their message across.

  10. Your book sounds wonderful, Carolyn! Although I can’t think of any deja vu moments I’ve personally experienced, I definitely think there are some things in this world we can’t readily explain.

    1. So there are! This world is a great and wonderful mystery. Thanks for your comment. I do think you will enjoy the book!

  11. I love the sound of this book! I am a huge fan of all sorts of mysteries, both magical and mundane and I adore the 1920s time period! Congratulations on it!

    1. Yes, Jessie. The 1920s are full of fun stuff and colorful characters. Sadly there are also some eerie parallels with our present day social climate.

  12. This sounds wonderful, I have never doubted that the spirits are always with us. Death is a natural transition of life. It’s not at all unusual that the dead communicate and comfort.

    1. It is definitely far more common than we think. Once you start asking around, you find that many people have had these experiences. I believe we all partake in a Oneness that transcends the physical body.

  15. Thanks for your comment! Deja vu is indeed a strange and mystical experience. Though many people have had them, I don’t think anyone really knows why they happen.

  16. Hello Everyone! Thanks so much for your comments. It’s been super fun chatting with you about my favorite subjects – mediumship, magic and the existence of life after death. It was difficult to choose my contest winner. But after a lot of pondering, I am awarding a free PDF of my new book to ginnyjc.
    Please email me at info@carolynwilkins.com to receive your free book.
    Happy reading, everyone!

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