I'd Like to welcome Donna Del Oro to my blog today!
Donna, what inspired you to write The Delphi Bloodline?
Behind THE DELPHI BLOODLINE: My Personal Research into ESP
Phenomena
By
Donna Del Oro
It started
with my cousin. She was a full-time, practicing psychic. People came from all
over California for her “readings”, at which she claimed an approximately 85%
accuracy. One day, while in my 40’s, I decided to get a reading from her. Extremely skeptical—although I’d known her
all my life and knew she wasn’t a con artist—I arrived, fully expecting a lot
of lucky guesses on her part. An hour
later, I left dazed and confused. How did she know that my husband and I were
deliberating over which of two investment opportunities to take. We hadn’t
mentioned this to anyone, not even anyone in my family or my husband’s. The one my cousin advised against—and which
we didn’t take, fortunately—ended up in bankruptcy a year later. There were
other revelations that day that proved true in the months to come.
And so, I
became intrigued by this strange phenomena known as ESP, or sometimes psi.
Whatever you called it, it was known as “extrasensory perception”. My cousin
claimed to be a “clairvoyant”, or able to “see” what most humans cannot see.
Her insights into people, their health, and other personal facts were amazing
to me. People in my family both welcomed and dreaded her phone calls. It was
often: “You’ve got diabetes,” “You have a cancerous tumor in your bladder. See
a doctor immediately”, “Your appendix is infected. Get yourself to a hospital
now!” One close friend of the family received one of her calls. She told her
that her brother was dying of cancer and that this friend should call him as
soon as possible. The friend insisted that her thirty-five year-old brother was
perfectly healthy and they’d just spoken days before. However, my cousin
persisted and prevailed, even over objections of the friend’s brother. Two
weeks later, the friend’s brother called back. He’d seen a doctor, had gotten a
series of tests, and his prognosis was grim. He died a year later after a
valiant battle against cancer.
When I
probed my cousin, she explained the genesis of her visions and revelations. As
a child of eight, she began having dreams. Some occurred at night while she
slept, while others happened as daytime visions. A recurring vision puzzled her but one day it
suddenly made sense. Her parents—my aunt and uncle—had announced that they were
moving to Hollister, California and had just bought a house with property
attached. My cousin “knew” what it looked like and proceeded to describe it to her
parents, who hadn’t shown pictures of it to anyone. What she described, from
the house to the trees, driveway and outbuildings, matched the place her
parents had just put a down payment on.
After that,
the family believed my cousin to have a gift from God. That experience prompted
me to open my mind and begin a thirty-year exploration into ESP. What I’ve
learned has convinced me that clairvoyance does exist, and that perhaps to some
extent, precognition. Many people have incredible, intuitive abilities and many
share this gift with others, at no intent of monetary gain but simply a desire
to help others. A poll cited in the Journal of Parapsychology showed that at
least sixty percent of Americans believe that they have had at least one
psychic experience in their lives.
The
difference between a true psychic and a charlatan, or someone who uses trickery
and seeks profit or notoriety? Only one
does it for monetary gain. True psychics, as do the psychic women in THE DELPHI
BLOODLINE, share their gifts quietly and gratuitously.
Like
my cousin.
Okay, I'd definitely listen to your cousin!
Now, can you tell us a little about your novel, The Delphi Bloodline?
Present day descendants of the
ancient, psychically powerful Delphi bloodline face the threat of extinction
when an evil tycoon hunts them for his own nefarious intent, a global spy
network.
When artist Athena Butler, the modern-day
descendant of a powerful, ancient bloodline of psychic women, realizes she’s
the target of mysterious and dangerous kidnappers, she gets help from strange
sources—the spirit of an ancient ancestor and a handsome man who claims to be
one of her bloodline’s Guardians. Her mental powers and his brawny skills keep
them one step ahead of the mastermind behind these kidnappers. Until the time
when an FBI task force decides to use Athena as bait.
Sounds like a great read, Donna!
Now, let's get a sneak peak into your novel :)
“Maybe you’re too focused on that
homicide case,” Athena stressed. Her mother had no idea the danger she was
putting herself in. First-hand experience had taught Athena that working with
the cops was a dangerous business. Let them do their work and solve their own
cases.
I’m done with all that.
Her mind darted back to the vision
in her dream. She took a deep breath and steadied her voice.
“I saw you in your car, Mama. You
stopped to get out. A black car pulled in front of you and another one—a long
white one—blocked you in back. There was a woman driving the car in front and
she was with men who had guns. Someone grabbed you and carried you to the
white car. I could smell salt water and then they took you away. Some place far
away. And then I was in the mountains, the Sierras, searching for you.”
Athena bent over, clutching the cell
phone, her lifeline to the one person she loved most in the world. Her
stomach cramped into a hard ball.
There was silence. “Mama, go home,”
she repeated.
“Okay, Thena, I’m turning back
toward the freeway. The harbor shops are on my left. Remember that eight-sided
tower, the one with a great view of the harbor and breakwater. The octogon
tower. You remember going there on your last visit here, don’t you?”
More silence followed then as an image sprang to Athena’s mind. Yes, they’d had lunch there…
More silence followed then as an image sprang to Athena’s mind. Yes, they’d had lunch there…
Her mother gasped loudly. A
screech of brakes, metal crunching, glass breaking. Her mother cursing a blue
streak in her native Italian.
“What happened, Mama? Are you all
right?”
“Yes, dear. Just a stupid fender
bender. Merda! Daniel’s going to throw a fit. My second one this year! I’m
getting so distracted with these cases—not paying attention to what I’m doing.
I swear this car pulled right in front of me, cut me off. It’s not my fault
this time.”
More angry muttering followed.
“Dio, I really smashed up that rear
end! Thena, I’ll call you right back as soon as I exchange insurance
information with the driver. Be right back, Thena.”
“Mama, don’t get out of the—”
The line went dead. With a
cry, Athena sank to her knees on the cold, tile floor. Shivers of dread rippled
through her. Her mind went numb with panic.
For God’s sake…Think! Get help!
This sounds like a great read, Donna, can't wait to get my copy! Best wishes in all your writing adventures and thanks so much for visiting on my blog today :)
