Blog Tour: Guest Post by Sherry Soule Author of Beautifully Broken (+ giveaway)

Welcome to our stop during the Beautifully Broken Blog Tour from Author Sherry Soule. Today we bring you a special guest post from Sherry and she has kindly offered a chance for one reader to win a ebook copy of Beautifully Broken. 

Sherry Soule Links: Website / Blog / Goodreads / Twitter

While doing research for my Young Adult paranormal novel, Beautifully Broken, I came across an interesting discovery about different types of supernatural entities.

Shadow People are usually vague human shapes, completely black or dark in color, with no discernable facial features. Sometimes they appear as mere silhouettes generally lacking any characteristics of gender. However, in no way does the description end there.

There are many types of shadow beings; there are hooded shadows, cloaked ones, solid or wispy, and even smoky shapes. They dart into corners, through walls, into closets, or behind bushes, and buildings. Sometimes they simply fade into the dark recesses of the night. Lacking in the description is one common denominator unifying the many different types of shadow people that enter our world…they are “intensely dark.”

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines paranormal as an adjective meaning “not scientifically explainable.”

Spooky, huh?

The Shadow man stalks my heroine, Shiloh Ravenwolf in Beautifully Broken. She uses a psychic block to keep paranormals from bugging her, but the shadows are still there—always there.

These beings come at night when you are most vulnerable, and often blend in with the darkness of your room so you won't know they’re there. They fear sunlight like vampires.

If a Shadow wants to be truly intimidating and scare you, they will come as they truly are. This is the form they are in when they mean business. Sometimes you can just make out their shape, but there are times when they come in a little nearer so you can see the redness of their eyes.

Shadow People, also known as Shadow Folk, or Shadow Beings, are usually attracted to one person or location for unknown reasons. Often they are seen as dark silhouettes of human-shape, generally male, that prefer to watch someone unseen and flee the moment they are noticed. Still this doesn't always fit the experience. While some people distinctly see a shadowy human form, others have described shapeless wispy black blobs and swirling columns of dark smoke.

The personalities or characteristics of shadow people range greatly from shy and skittish to downright nasty and malevolent, with a few witnesses describing them as the ultimate essence of pure evil. Accounts of shadow people have been reported all over the world. There has been an increase of reported sightings of these creatures within the last five to ten years, though there is anecdotal evidence of these creatures appearing before human witnesses throughout our history.

As with most supernatural phenomena, there is usually a proposed logical, scientifically valid explanation for credible experiences that neither vilify eyewitnesses, nor require violation of generally accepted scientific principles. Several probable rational explanations for illusions resulting in the believed perception of shadow beings are outlined below. Shadow beings have also been described as forms of demons and inter-dimensional beings. The most popular explanation seems to be that they are some sort of other-dimensional beings whose dimension of origin occasionally overlaps with ours, which is said to explain their ethereal appearance and fleeting nature.

One of the more creative theories is that shadow beings are manifest thought forms, meaning that they are collections of negative psychic energy from areas where traumatic

events have taken place and evil people frequent. The negative psychic energy begins to manifest and takes on form and motive, thriving on fear and negative emotions for sustenance.

Reports of shadow people are in many respects different from accounts of ghosts. Ghosts are said to be the disembodied spirits of deceased people and are usually said to take on the appearance and characteristics of human beings. Orbs of light, ectoplasm and glowing mists have also been associated with ghost sightings. None of which is common he occurrence of shadow people. Although many accounts describe shadow beings as having human-like form, they are generally not described as resembling actual individuals, living or deceased. It is unheard of in my experience that shadow people ever communicate verbally with witnesses. Feelings of dread, intense fear or panic and paralysis have been ascribed to the experience of witnessing a shadow person.

Perhaps the only aspect of alleged eyewitness accounts of shadow people that remains difficult to explain in objective scientific terms is the similarity of the beings being seen in these alleged accounts, especially the tall man with a hat that is reported as often by 4-year-old children as with adults.

So the next time you see something out of the corner of your eye, furtively darting out of view when you turn to look around, you might be getting a visit from the…shadow people.

Where you can find Sherry Soule:

Official website: http://sherrysoule.com

Official blog: http://sherrysoule.blogspot.com/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/writersherry

Book Trailer/YouTube: http://youtu.be/5uqVXKygvUs

Beautifully Broken

Spellbound #1

Author: Sherry Soule

Pages: 328 paperback

Reading Level: YA

Published: July 1st 2011

Publisher: Firelight Publishing

Avilable: Amazon / Barnes & Noble 

Summary: (Back Jacket blurb) 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.

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.

Thank you Sherry for this great post. Now readers here is your chance to win a ebook copy of Beautifully Broken. 

To Enter:

• Leave a comment with your email below
• Giveaway ends September 9th at midnight
• International giveaway
• Must follow Sherry Soule's Blog : http://sherrysoule.blogspot.com/