I am a Canadian. Okay, so you get a vision of a peacekeeper, right? Mountains and wheat fields. Correct! Oil rigs and Inuit communities. Rivers and cold winters. Give yourself A+. To describe myself, I would have to say I’m as diverse as my beautiful country and its people.
I grew up on a cattle farm in Genesee, Alberta. It was there I developed a love for outdoors, and my horse, Dusty. In 1965 I graduated from Warburg High School and went on to nursing school. Later, I discovered my passion in emergency medicine and become a paramedic in 1983. I worked for the City of Edmonton’s emergency medical services until 2008.
My husband gets a tad testy at times as I have several projects in varying stages of completion all the time. These range anywhere from digging up my flower beds, training my sheltie, knitting another afghan, writing another novel, photography, genealogy, the list goes on. I’m never bored – and I don’t think my husband is. Oh, did I say that I also like to play poker, pretty good at it too. With all that activity, I also love quiet time, sit in silence in a forest, meditate, and slide into a shamanic dimension.
I have experienced the paranormal since I was a child. Therefore, I don’t think of these events as odd. They’re gifts and I treasure and hold them as sacred. I met my spirit guide when I was about seven. Later, when I was drowning in a lake and laying on the sandy bottom, accepting death. My guide whispered, “If you stand you can breathe.” I did as he beckoned and survived, obviously (LOL). Many times my guides have spoken to me, including my father a few years after he died. Now that was unexpected!
I believe everyone is visited by his/her guide though we are often too busy to notice the stranger offering a moment of comfort or assistance. We are all capable of experiencing the paranormal, if you so choose. Sit in silence once each day, even if only for five minutes. Empty the chatter in your mind. Enjoy the bliss.
I enjoy talking to all people from all cultures and religions. There is a magical tapestry to the human race, exciting and vibrant. Everyone is special with talents, sometimes yet to be discovered. I like to bring out the best in everyone I meet. Though we have challenges in accepting peoples differences, I hope we will learn to celebrate how much we are the same, and that all people have a place on this jewel of a planet.
Feather
Cover Blurb From The Guardian’s Wildchild
Caught in a reckless attempt to stop Dark forces, Sidney Davenport, a young, rule breaking, spirited member of the secret paranormal community of Guardians, finds herself imprisoned on a naval ship and slated for execution. Her struggle with the unfamiliar emotions of fear and anger becomes even more complicated when she can no longer fight her attraction to the very man who has orders to perform her execution.
Captain Sam Waterhouse, a meticulous naval captain who’s suspected of treason, teeters on a precipice between Darkness and Light. When he receives an unusual prisoner, a paranormal journey begins to unravel his disciplined life. All the while, humanity is unknowingly at great risk when two Dark forces team up to acquire control of an elusive power. Sidney and Sam attempt to quiet their powerful feelings for each other, only to discover they can save each other, and in doing so, they might even save the world.
Through stunning imagery, an intricate and adventurous plot, and a strong cast of characters, Feather Stone gives readers a fascinating glimpse into the future—a future that is chilling, yet full of hope.
Guardian’s Wildchild is a wonderful book and Feather, well, you heard her, she’s just about the coolest chick out there. I’m sure that’s why you’re so aware of your spirit guides, Feather – you’re open to them more than most of them.
What nice things to say Nicki. I’m very much looking forward to reading Guardian’s Wildchild.
Hi Laurie: Check out my Pinterest boards. I’ve put my book’s trailer there; and lots more. http://pinterest.com/featherauthor/
Oh, you’re a doll, Nicki. I don’t think anyone has said that I was a coolest chick. Lots of other descriptions, though, LOL.
We can never know all the possibilities of the universe, so I am a true believer in the fact that things exist that we do not see and cannot prove. Everything is unproven until the first time it is not. I’ve experienced many strange occurrences in my life and I too have decided to take them as they come and not fear the unknown or unusual. It sure makes life more interesting. I’m looking forward to reading your book.
Thank you for visiting Laurie’s site and commenting on the guest post. If you provide your email address, I will be very happy to send you an ebook of The Guardian’s Wildchild. Please specify if you prefer mobi, epub or pdf. Thanks
Feather
Thanks Feather, for dropping in to chat with us today. I’ve had a blast. Feel free to hang out and keep the conversation going. We do not have another guest author until Monday…though I will probably be posting a few tidbits between now and then…and I will be giving the blog a facelift for fall.
This has been the best guest post I’ve participated in. Thank you so very much, Laurie. I will check in tomorrow to see if there are any more comments. Then I will select two lucky winners who will receive an ebook copy of my book, The Guardian’s Wildchild.
Blessings to all.
Feather
Thanks Feather.
I’m so glad you had a good time visiting with us. It always makes my day to hear that a guest author has had a good time here.
Don’t be thrown by the new facelift. I created the new theme yesterday and day before and will be trying it on and tweaking later this afternoon. It’ll still be the same blog…it will just look VERY different.
Thanks for the giveaway. I know our readers love the chance to win free books and Guardian’s Wildchild sounds like such an interesting one…particularly now that we have a glimpse into your own view of what is commonly called paranormal.
Thanks again for joining us. I’ll look forward to your comments today. I’d love to have you come and visit us again – anytime.
Hi Laurie: I’d like to send an ebook copy to everyone who commented in my guest post. I don’t have the commenters email address; I’m hoping you have that information. I’d like to send a copy to you as well.
By the way, I love the new look. Hmmm, maybe I should do a facelift on my blog too. How did you get the great fall design?
Feather
Hi Feather,
How sweet of you to send an ebook copy of The Guardian’s Wildchild to everyone who commented here.
I would LOVE to have a copy. It sounds like a fascinating read.
I can get you the email addresses. I’ll email a list of them to you.
Give me a couple hours…I’m still trying to kick into gear this Monday morning. 
The fall design is one I created using a software called Artisteer. You can use it to create templates for WordPress or Blogger blogs or even for websites I think. I’ve been using the software for a couple of years now. I LOVE that I can create my own themes using images that I like. Changing the WHOLE look of the blog is super easy once you have the theme created.
The leaf photo was my inspiration. It is a photo by jurvetson from Flickr. The rest of the colors are colors from the leaves or colors that I thought went well with the leaves.
I always love your facelifts – not you personally – I’ll stop talking now!!
LOL Mary. I’m glad you like the facelifts. The one that I’ll be putting up later today is not really the one I intended for fall.
The software that I use to create the themes had an update…and with the update came the ability to search for common license images on Flickr. I was really inspired by the image that I’ve incorporated into the new theme. We’ll probably have this one for a couple of weeks and then have another fall one before we move into winter…if fall hangs out that long.
We may be into winter here in the Midwest before we know it. We had a very dry and mild winter last year and the lack of moisture (snow) was really bad for crops. Most everyone is hoping we have a wetter (probably translates to snowier) winter this year. My personal feeling is it will probably make up for lost time…being colder and snowier than normal…but that’s just a hunch, not my witchy whammy speaking.
What an interesting post, I enjoyed reading it.
Thank you for stopping by, Wilma. If you have any questions, please let me know here or you can gmail me at:
featherstone.author@gmail.com
Blessing,
Feather Stone
I have a question for you Feather… How do your real life paranormal experiences color your paranormal writing?
Do your stories follow what you think of as the way things are in the real paranormal world or do you take artistic license?
How much of your real experience do you incorporate into your fiction?
Hi Laurie: Great questions. Okay, here’s my honest response – a bit long winded. Paranormal experiences have been a ‘normal’ part of my life since childhood – a gift passed on from my mother. And I love talking about it, as you can tell below.
How do your real life paranormal experiences color your paranormal writing?
This is difficult to answer because what I experience as paranormal cannot be adequately described in English (or probably any language). However, my experiences have allowed me to think beyond the box of traditional concepts of what is possible in the realm of other dimensions, spirits, and moving through time and space without limitation – beyond witches and vampires. While most people see the paranormal events in my novel as being a great fantasy, I view these events as a natural part of human powers. When I was creating the scenes of Sidney and her brother communicating though they were thousands of miles apart, it was a challenge to craft the scenes as though this is a natural thing for them, yet magical and mystical. It was great fun to show how the Guardian’s easily slip from the physical world to spirit – largely as it is something I’ve experienced often. I often had to tone down some of the paranormal as most people would have great difficulty in identifying with those characters’ abilities.
Do your stories follow what you think of as the way things are in the real paranormal world or do you take artistic license?
What I’ve experienced in the paranormal world is far beyond description. The scenes in my book barely scratch the surface of what it feels like, looks like when elevated to higher dimensions. I could have conveyed more information in those scenes but then the reader, I believe, might have gotten too sidetracked into visualizing the paranormal event rather than remaining grounded in the plot and characters. And, I’m a firm believer to allow readers to create their own imagery that suits them.
How much of your real experience do you incorporate into your fiction?
In The Guardian’s Wildchild, the Guardians often communicate via telepathy. This is one of my experiences that occurs almost every time I transcend the physical world. I’ve communicated with dozens of beings – all from the Light (from the source of Love). I’ve also travelled to times past, to a different place, sometimes to somewhere I can’t describe. The Guardian’s Wildchild was the result of one of these experiences when I was suddenly standing beside a captain of a ship – no words were spoken but I knew we were deeply connected. The one experience I’ve never had that is in the book is the ability to move objects or cause events to occur like Sidney did (through her powers of telekinesis she stopped the ship’s engines for a specific period of time). But something within my higher self tells me that I could have that ability once I achieve greater connection with my source. Sidney also had the gift of healing rapidly, which I also have (though it is through the gift of Reiki, accessing the Universal Life Force Energy).
I’m not different than you or anyone out there. Everyone has the potential to experience the paranormal if they choose to. It requires an open mind, stepping away from traditional limiting religious dogma and society beliefs, and have the intention to connect with your higher self, to your guides. Always have the intention of being in the Light and to receive only those who are from the Light.
Meditate. Go within as often as you can. Discover you are far more than you thought possible. Don’t take my word for it. Go on the journey choosing your path that’s right for you. Discover the bliss that’s always within you – eternal and unconditional.
It’s interesting hearing your story and your thoughts, Feather. I’ve not had as many “paranormal” experiences as you have, though I have always had a bit of what my husband calls “witchy whammy.” The family stories of me knowing people were coming, that the horse would throw my grandfather off, that it would snow when there was no snow forecast and none on the radar extend from about the time I was two years old onward.
For me what I experience is more a sense of knowing…sometimes precognition…though the sense of knowing and the precognition are two different things.
The knowing usually presents in terms of knowing that what everyone else is saying is incorrect. For example, a few years ago my husband’s contract with work was expiring. He was sure his job was going to end and he didn’t have another job lined up. As you can imagine he was stressed…and at the outset I was as well. Then, there was a stillness that kind of came over me and with it the knowledge that though it looked like his job would end – it wouldn’t. There was no other entity around me. It was more a sense of connecting with a knowledge that was there all along.
Precognition has been different. My first husband had seizures and I would often know when and where (specifically) getting a newspaper in front of a specific restaurant…in front of his uncle’s house…on the front porch…he was going to have one…or that he had had one…even though I was miles away.
I’ve never experienced ghosts in the sense of seeing them…though I have had odd feelings in places. One place that we lived had a deserted house behind it. The deserted house had long been used as a barn. I always felt a little uneasy there. The feeling of unease was not overpowering in the main room…but it was stronger the further into the building one went…and especially the closer to the stairs. It was almost like a force field of very negative feeling… There was such a strong feeling of trespassing or of not being wanted there. It was a strong enough feeling that I never did go up the stairs there to see what was upstairs. There are some energies that are better left undisturbed and I had the feeling whatever was there was one of them.
Hi Laurie: Oh, I so know what you are saying about precognition. You have a very strong ability to connect with energy and successfully interpret it. I like the witchy whammy description, LOL.
My father in law took us to a dormant volcano one afternoon. I had an intense feeling of “Get us out of here.” I couldn’t leave fast enough. Two days later it erupted. This happens everywhere I go; I get good vibes or “get me out of here” vibes.
The more you exercise your “intuition”, the more success we have in sifting out what is worth paying attention to and what is just a healthy imagination.
And, it’s so wonderful to meet other people who have experiences with the paranormal. I believe that in future generations, what we call paranormal today will be thought of as a natural ability – perhaps even expected to be a part of each person’s abilities. There’s hope that as we grow more aware of our natural “paranormal” talents, we will also grow in spirit, seeing everything as a vital part of the whole.
Interesting that you said I have the ability to connect with energy and successfully interpret it. For most of my life the witchy whammy was something that just happened at odd times without any conscious thought. I didn’t stop to examine it too closely. I learned to heed the feelings when they happened…but I didn’t look too closely at what made them different from other feelings.
A few years ago I became driven to understand what set the feelings apart…how I could tell whether something was as you said…healthy imagination…or whether it was the deeper intuition. What I discovered by taking the experiences I’d had apart and looking at them closely was that the energy is different. I can only describe it as a vibration…though it isn’t really a vibration that I can feel. It is more of a resonance.
It is indeed wonderful to meet other people who have similar experiences with the paranormal. I agree. I expect that someday paranormal experiences will be more common place…maybe even something we study in school.
I think the inter connectedness of everything is probably the area that I have been most aware of recently.
What an interesting sounding book. I bought my grandparents home and had a visit from my grandmother on the day she passed. She loved the house and raised her children and grandchildren there. Thanks for posting the link to thexcerpt as well.
Good morning Gabrielle: Thank you for stopping by Laurie’s blog and commenting. What a treasure of a gift from your grandmother. To visit you after her passing is surely a testament on how much she loved you; and she was also drawn to your love for her. You have probably felt her presence from time to time since then. My father ‘visited’ me two years after his passing. It was a surprise as during life he had been a distant man, not expressing affection. However, during a deep meditation, there he was. It was a brief but intense encounter. It was filled with unconditional love. And, gone were any doubts I’d had about an afterlife. Have a wonderful day, Gabrielle.
Feather
What an interesting story Gabrielle. I’ve never had anyone visit me after their death…though I sometimes feel a closeness with my grandparents, particularly in places that were meaningful to them.
Feather, do you think there is something about deep meditation that allows us to tap into people who have passed on…to see them when we might not in normal day to day life?
You mentioned in your intro that you had met your spirit guide as a child and that you think most of us have met ours, except that we are often too busy to notice.
Are there benefits to meeting your spirit guide in a conscious manner?
Meditation, I think, should be taught to every child. There are literally hundreds of benefits to meditation that supports our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. I know, without any doubt, that if I had learned to meditate when I was very young, I could have accomplished so much more, experienced less pain, and be a better person sooner.
Going into deep meditation allows you to experience something supernatural. As Dr. Deepak Chopra explains, meditation allows you to enter the “gap.” It’s a complex subject, best understood by (1) reading about the gap and (2) practice meditation.
Basically, during meditation you shut off your mind, stop the endless chattering of thoughts that often due more harm than good. In clearing your mind of the chatter, you allow a space for information, visions, healing to come from the source, a higher power, a higher dimension to enter your consciousness. This is a time when beings may connect with you.
Connecting with other beings is also a complex subject and I’m not qualified to give advice in that area. So much involves your intention, whether you are in a state of loving energy or dark energy. Some spirits seems to have the ability to ‘pop in’ unexpectedly – like my spirit guide did when I was a child. Perhaps there are higher levels of spirits that have greater powers (or clearance, LOL).
I’ve connected with beings spontaneously as simply experiencing their love as a powerful healing energy that washed away my troubles; I’ve connected with my dad, my animals, my guides. My experiences have all been so very positive.
I have a number of guided meditation tapes which I enjoy listening to. Do you suggest guided meditation or some other type of meditation?
When you say you connected with your animals do you mean that you were consciously aware that you were connected to the animal?
I had an experience a while back with one of our cats who was being very naughty. She’d developed the habit of pooping in some inappropriate places and it was driving us crazy.
There wasn’t a moment that I can say I connected with her…or that I connected to outside knowledge. But there was a kind of gradual understanding that came over me. There was the knowledge that she was exceedingly stressed…and fearful. She was pooping outside the box because she was afraid of the box. She was afraid of the box because she couldn’t see outside it and we had another cat who was ambushing her when she came out of the box. We bought a new box…relocated it…and problem was solved. I always felt like that was some kind of woo-woo experience. Not sure whether it was a connection with the cat or more of a connection with universal intelligence.
Your Question Laurie: I have a number of guided meditation tapes which I enjoy listening to. Do you suggest guided meditation or some other type of meditation?
Thank you for asking this question. There are several forms of meditation. When I began to learn meditation, I read up on the subject and bought guided meditation tapes. I also attended two silent retreats wherein the participants meditate the entire time. These were life changing experiences. I now feel comfortable to meditate on my own now that I have developed my own method.
Everyone is different. Some people like to begin meditation without using the guided recordings; others enjoy the support in the first few minutes, then continue on without the guide. There’s no right or wrong way. Just meditate.
Thanks for the response Feather. Meditation is relatively new to me. At this point I still like the guided meditation. It’s nice to hear that there isn’t a right or wrong way. I think we always kind of worry about doing it the right way.
Yoiur question, Laurie: When you say you connected with your animals do you mean that you were consciously aware that you were connected to the animal?
Animals are so willing and able to connect with us – during their physical life and during their spirit life. They are more in tune with our energy than we are in tune with them. It sounds like you were open to receive your cat’s communication about her fears – and then had the insight on how to make her happy. Well done!
I wonder sometimes how many times we receive a ‘message’ from an animal or person on an energetic level and we ignore those feelings, those intuitive glimpses into a higher form of communication. We doubt our abilities.
One of my dogs who passed away tragically several years ago still contacts me. There is no message in terms of information. He creates a warm sensation on my face and throat that has been his signature since they day he died; the connection is sometime only a moment, sometimes several minutes. He’s simply saying I’m still with you. It’s all I need.
In the past I have accessed the services of a reliable and trusted animal communicator. Those experiences were profound and assisted me in providing the best care possible for my dogs. There are times when I’ve been able to communicate with my current pets; I’m more successful with communicating with other people’s pets as there is less emotional attachment to the outcome.
Do you know what I believe? Anything is possible. Anything.
Friends of my parents have used an animal communicator. It’s something I’ve considered recently.
We have a big group of formerly feral cats that live in our home. Most of them are now tame and most even very loving and affectionate kitties that sit on us and purr when we watch TV. There are still about three that are shy and skittish.
I’ve wondered whether an animal communicator would be able to get through to the feral cats or whether the fearful energy that they have would serve as a block.
Interesting that you are able to connect with your dog that passed…and that you recognize his energy…and that the connection is what you need.
Animals in their lives are so good at knowing what we need…curling up with us when we are sick…purring when we are rattled. It makes sense that that energy would continue after death.
Interesting that you are more successful with other people’s pets because there is less emotional attachment to outcome.
I can see this being the case. Things of the spirit world are not really pushed into place. Emotions can make us want to shove pieces into place and glue them there rather than taking a calm and patient approach.
Okay, on to your question about the benefits of meeting your spirit guide in a conscious manner. Great question.
Perhaps someday I will write about about the day I met my spirit guide – in the physical world. It was a profound event, though I didn’t realize how important it was until years later.
At the time, I knew that when (he) appeared, there was sometime weird going on. I was a bit worried. However, in another minute, I was completely at ease. It wasn’t so much his words that he spoke, but his manner. I was enveloped in a feeling that I hadn’t known before – or have experienced in the physical world since then.
He has been my source of strength many times over. He had guided me and, thank heavens, forgiven me a thousand times. He saved my life more often than I can remember. Through all my life’s darkest times, I feel his energy.
I know that in the middle of the night when I woke, feeling such despair that all I could do was sob, it was his hands I felt physically on my shoulders, comforting like none others could.
Now, there may be readers who have their own interpretation of who or what (he) is/was. Perhaps I was gifted in knowing my guide in the physical world as I was in the habit as a child of “going within”.
For those of you who doubt you have a guide that follows you, offers comfort, beckons you to follow your journey (as opposed to the path that friends/family plan for you), try this:
Take an afternoon away from your home and people. Go alone to a park or forest – somewhere in nature that’s free from the distraction of sounds of people and their machinery. Be in a place you feel safe and nurtured. Bring some of your favorite food, healthy and nutritional. Walk in silence for a while. Then sit and absorbs the sounds of nature. Then close your eyes. Turn off the minds chatter. Empty your thoughts of desire or expectation. Just be. Your guide will be there and you will know him/her.
I’ve never had a paranormal experience, but my Mother has. The ghost of a child appeared in her bedroom one night. My Mother said she was not afraid at all & then in the blink of an eye the child was gone.
THE GUARDIAN’S WILDCHILD looks like a great read.
A ghost of a child? Now that would be shocking! Did anyone investigate to see if a child had died in that house? Or was it a relative? Perhaps an ancestor? You have got my curiosity stirred. It’s interesting that your mother wasn’t afraid. Perhaps at some deep level your mother and the child knew each other. Thanks for stopping by, Mary.
Feather
Hi Mary: I’m attaching a link to my blog wherein I’ve posted an excerpt from The Guardian’s Wildchild. The heroine, Sidney Davenport, is visited by a child spirit, Savannah. This excerpt describes a magical moment between a powerful Guardian and Savannah.
http://featherstoneauthor.blogspot.ca/2012/09/visits-of-spirits.html