Report from the Big Apple

First off, I am delighted to report that, as far as I can tell, my NYC hotel room is bedbug-free. Yes, I'm OCD enough to have looked up how to check for bedbugs before I left.

But don't follow the link unless you need it--it's gross.

Since Wicked was sold out, I needed to find a different way to throw money into the New York economy. I wandered the streets for a while, picking up that great, New York buzz (which was a bit frizzy because of the rain) and picking up little gifts for the kids. I ducked into a place and grabbed a slice of real pizza (don't get me started on the stuff they call "pizza" in New Hampshire.  I will rant).

I kept coming back along a side street just off Avenue of the Americas.  The third time I passed the "Psychic" sign (walk-ins welcome), I had made the impulse decision to get a reading.

Yes, I write about people with psychic abilities. I'm actually working on my fifth book about them.  But I'd never gotten a reading, and I was wicked curious. I figured that I might even be able to right the cost off as "research," but I think Mr. Bear would have an aneurism if I put "Psychic Reading" as a deduction on our joint tax forms.

Now, I'm a skeptic about this stuff like Harry Houdini was--he rigorously disproved fake psychics and mediums because he really, really wanted to find the one who wasn't faking.  I've written articles about psychic abilities and how to fake them, so I was pretty confident that I could spot a fraud. 

I went to the third floor walk-up. The psychic had me come right in. First off, she didn't do any of the hoaky stuff like wear a turban. She was dressed normally, and we sat in a bright, normal-looking room. She got points for this with me. She had me relax and concentrate on "someone or something important to me." When she started the reading, she had me put my hand on the table and she put hers on top of mine.

Now, many of her insights were pretty general, like, "You feel like you are being pulled in many directions at once." It's absolutely true, but it could apply to most women my age.  She had a few, more specific insights--some were spot-on, but others were pretty far-off. Nothing made me go, "Oh, my gosh--she really DOES know!"--but nothing that made me go, "She's faking!" either.

So, I'm still a skeptic who'd love to find proof.  My feeling about this particular psychic was that she had some special insight into people, and that she wasn't running a scam.  She genuinely believed in her abilities, and she did have enough insight into past events in my life that I choked up more than once. Could she simply be really good at reading my body language? Possibly. Could it be more? I can't rule it out. Was the experience worthwhile?  Absolutely. I'm a big believer in the immortal words of Weird Al, who said, "Sometimes you've just got to grab life by the lips...and YANK!"

BTW, she thinks that I should stick with the Ganzfield books, and that I will be able to find a balance between work, family, and writing.  I've got a long life ahead of me, but I've got to start eating better. And something amazing will happen at the start of the new year.

Ooh--I never told her that Legacy comes out in January. Hmmm...