offbeat

Multi-talented author releases her 4th book:

My buddy, Teal L. Gray, has a fascinating new book out called Reading the Unwritten which Amazon recently named a “Hot New Release” in the “ghosts and hauntings” category. This is a book that’s been in the work for several years, and Teal’s fans have eagerly awaited its release.

It’s hard to keep up with Teal because writing books is just one of her many talents. She’s also an award-winning quilter, ordained minister, and podcast host, among many other things. As the “Lavender Crow,” Teal developed a line of home grown nature products infused with holy water, salt, and oils from her sacred site travels. Her new book, Reading the Unwritten, focuses on another one of Teal’s talents: her incredible gifts of intuition.

Unlike most of my author pals, Teal and I actually met in-person, rather than online. (In fact, we met at a seance, but that’s a fun story for another day!) Right now, I’d like to share my interview with Teal, which is the latest in my 4 Question Author Interview series:

1. I love the cover of your new book, but please tell me more about the title. What exactly do you mean by “Reading the Unwritten“? 

Thank you so much Tui. I chose the cover photograph because it captures how I feel when receiving messages beyond the veil. I am partly here on solid ground, but also partly holding out my light to be interacted with by unseen messengers.

I have always referred to my gift of intuition as “reading the unwritten” because it is a story of my, or someone else’s future I am bringing into a possible reality in the Book of Life. I see it as if it has happened, but in reality, it is only an unwritten possibility depending on choices made by me or you.

We have free will, so we are always in charge of our life story and situations we find ourselves in depending on our decisions. Nothing is written in stone for us. The pen is guided by our choices in writing our life story.

2. Who is “Reading the Unwritten” for? What will readers get from reading this book?

I kept the book brief so the reader can be inspired by some of my favorite techniques and get onto creating their dream life without getting bogged down by a long read beforehand. It is for people curious about who they might be speaking to when communicating with the other side. You can never really be sure, unfortunately.

I hope to enlighten the reader to possible light and dark energies they may encounter when dealing with the paranormal and provide prayers and protections to help them safely navigate the unknown realm. Understanding this has transformed me from being frightened of my gifts, into a realization that the unknown visitor can just as likely be a helpful, even angelic, entity rather than a negative, deceptive one.

3. “Reading the Unwritten” isn’t your first book, but it is your first solo effort. What made you take this route?

Yes, this is my fourth book but first solo endeavor. I wanted to have a one-on-one conversation with the reader. I normally love to include other voices and opinions to a topic but felt this was best coming only from my thoughts and views on the subject. Navigating the paranormal realms and getting otherworldly guidance is complicated enough.

4. What can readers expect from you next?

I have several books coming out soon. One will be an expected subject coming from me if you follow my lectures, called Forget Me Not- Memento Mori a World View. It will include beliefs (Yes, I cover the history of Sin Eaters!) and burial practices used worldwide by major world religions throughout history.

This book discusses the intricacies of how grief blends with the beautiful memento mori jewelry and hair art pieces. I share stories and photos of my vast collection of items that include grave rubbings, as well as the sub-genre of the Dance of Death art and more. I cover world histories of cemeteries, graveyards, symbolism and the famous stone carvers behind those beautiful last markers of a life lived, and the history of the funeral carriages that take them on that last ride.

I also delve into interesting and sometimes gruesome strange burials, contraptions, and protections from vampires and attempts to keep from being buried alive. It ends with taking you through many new burial options available to make your life remembered as you wish.

I am also very excited to be venturing into new territory with fiction writing. My first novel is called The Mermaid Club which is a contemporary tale. My heroine’s marriage ends tragically, catapulting her on a path of self-discovery with a group of unlikely women who become her salvation and catalyst for real change.

The Mermaid Club is largely set in my beloved homestate of Texas. As a native Texan, I feel there is no better place on earth to get your inner strength and spirit back. So, we hit the winding road from her current home in Chicago, through part of historic Route 66, and bring her back to her birthplace in Austin, Texas where a whole new life and romance await her.

Learn more about Teal L. Gray:

BIO: Teal Gray is a best-selling author and native Texan. She is an ordained minister fascinated with world religions and their varying belief systems. Her sacred site travels and experiences are reflected in various ways in her books. Ever curious, she hopes to make your reading experience feel like you are on the trail of answers with her. Her books include: Shades of Angels, Spirited Tales, Scared Senseless, and Reading the Unwritten.

Books: Find Teal L. Gray’s books on Amazon

Website: TealGray.com

Before you go… Want to keep up with Tui Snider?

PRIVATE NEWSLETTER: If you’d like to keep up with me, you might like my newsletter. It comes out every Sunday. Use the form below to sign up if you’d like to:

• Know where I speak next
• Find out when my next books come out
• Learn offbeat trivia
• See unique cemetery & travel photos
• Be in the loop for any other fun news!

FREEBIE: As a thank you for signing up to my newsletter, you’ll receive a historic cemetery symbols guide I created called “A Quick Guide to The Many Meanings of Hands.”

Planning a Road Trip? Check out David C. Kravetz!

Like me, David C. Kravetz loves road trips to offbeat and overlooked places. By sharing his playful travel and nature photos online, this self-proclaimed “selfie king” spreads cheer everywhere he goes. I truly admire David’s eagle eye for quirky goodness. Anyone who enjoys offbeat and overlooked road trips needs his “Less Beaten Paths” series.

If you’ve visited my site before, you may already be familiar with David C. Kravetz. He wrote an excellent guest post (All About Jackalopes), and I interviewed him when his first book, Unique Town Names, was released. David’s also featured on the #IndieBookmas Holiday Gift Guide, a shopping list that helps you find the perfect book for all the readers on your Xmas list.

David C. Kravetz is among the handful of writers I’ve met through Twitter whom I’ve also had the privilege to meet up with in person. It’s an honor to count him among my friends and I’m happy to share him with you as part of my 4 Question Author Interview series today:

1. Like me, you often write about quirky travel featuring offbeat and overlooked places. What makes these places so appealing? Why should we celebrate them?

To me, these places represent the ingenuity and creativity of people. They invite smiles and rolled eyes and even guffaws! Folks have been making quirky art since prehistoric times (ever seen the cave paintings in France?) Perhaps to some of these people, the creators of said art, there was some importance behind them.

As people started traveling on US Highways, the real birth of the “offbeat and quirky” roadside attractions gained steam as these people needed places to stop for food, drinks, and breaks from the road. It was a new opportunity to attract business. Just ask Wall Drug in South Dakota or the town of Bemidji, MN which is home to the giant Paul Bunyan and Babe, his big blue ox. Both of these have been drawing tourists and travelers since the 1930s and continue to do so nearly 90 years later.

2. Why did you start writing books?

Interesting question actually. For years I have been writing my Less Beaten Paths Travel Blog detailing all of the sites I have ventured into in my travels across the 50 U.S. states and many of the Canadian Provinces. Though most are quirky, not all are. I basically have written about National Parks, small and unique towns, art installations and, of course, the quirky and offbeat.

Since about 2008, many of my readers have asked for a book or books that include all of my travel stories so they have something they can take with them and refer to in their travels. So, in 2017, the first book was born and people were thrilled.

3. Please tell us about the books you’ve written so far.

As of this interview, I have three books. You can consider them part of an ever-expanding series of books, with each having its own theme. The Books are all titled “Less Beaten Paths of America” and then have sub-titles Unique Town Names (which is about towns with strange and colorful names), Quirky and Offbeat Roadside Attractions (which has dozens of unique singular attractions such as big pink elephants, giant dinosaurs, car art installations and more), and finally, my third book is Beyond Description – More of the Strange and Unique (and features some of America’s best tourist destinations and tourist traps. It also features a special chapter about American artist Peter Toth, creator of the “Whispering Giants,” tall, hand-carved wooden statues of Native Americans).

In the future I plan on adding books about murals and wall art, National Parks and Monuments, Scrap Metal Giants and other Road Art, Unique Museums and Galleries, Offbeat Eateries and Diners, Geologic Wonder, America’s Highways and by-ways and more.

I should also point out that I do not write about any places I have not been to. All photography in the books is mine (except for a couple of instances). So, these can be considered my Travel Stories.

4. What can readers expect from you next?

I am already working on Book 4 which looks at murals, wall art, ghost signs and graffiti from all over the U.S. and Canada. In the past decade, this has become the new form of Art Gallery as many wall artists/graffiti artists have become world-renowned for their giant works of art on the sides of buildings and water walls.

The real challenge I have is that some of the places eventually become obsolete and, rather than write a book revision, I plan on keeping tabs and writing a book about the long-gone places and things I have been to but are no longer. They remain in the annals of the “Collector of Places.”

Learn more about David Kravetz:

BIO: David Kravetz, 63, resides in Lexington, KY and is the owner and creative mind behind Sumoflam Productions, where he works with dotcoms, writes blogs, and does nature and travel photography.

David is a freelance travelographer and focuses on the normal, the wacky, the wonderful and the quirky things of this wide world.  His popular travel blog is called Less Beaten Paths and has over 350 posts about offbeat and back roads travel. David also has sites that present photography of the world as he sees it.

Sumoflam, as he is known to thousands of friends and followers around the world, has a passion for traveling and has been to all 50 of the states in the United States, as well as five provinces in Canada, numerous states in Mexico, the Philippines, China and Korea.

He lived in Japan for 6 years and is fluent in Japanese. He is the father of five and has TEN grandchildren who call him Grampz. He has been married to his lovely wife Julianne for more than 40 years. He will admit that he truly Married Up!!

Books: Find David C. Kravetz on Amazon

Websites: LessBeatenPaths.com and Sumoflam.biz

Before you go… Want to keep up with Tui Snider?

PRIVATE NEWSLETTER: If you’d like to keep up with me, you might like my newsletter. It comes out every Sunday. Use the form below to sign up if you’d like to:

• Know where I speak next
• Find out when my next books come out
• Learn offbeat trivia
• See unique cemetery & travel photos
• Be in the loop for any other fun news!

FREEBIE: As a thank you for signing up to my newsletter, you’ll receive a historic cemetery symbols guide I created called “A Quick Guide to The Many Meanings of Hands.”