research / Salem Massachusetts / young adult fiction author April 10, 2008

For those of you who have read through my website (and if you haven’t, go ahead and do it now. I’ll wait… http://www.dianarodriguezwallach.com/for_writers.html), you know about my fated trip to a Salem, Massachusetts psychic in 2002. To sum up, back when I was living in Manhattan—working as a reporter and searching for career direction—my husband and I took a lovely trip to enjoy the autumn leaves of New England. While in Salem, I randomly visited a psychic who told me that I was not only a writer but that I would go on to write children’s books.

Prior to that, I had never considered writing a novel.

So now, years later, with the launch of my YA series on the horizon, I decided it was time to head back to that fated psychic. But, because this isn’t a Hollywood movie, I arrived to find out that she no longer works there. Maybe one day Oprah will track her down for me for an on-camera reunion after I sell a million books 🙂

Anyhow, I didn’t let a little thing like an absentee psychic stop me. So I made an appointment with the fortuneteller who was available.

While I was a little disappointed that she couldn’t tell I was writer, she did have a couple of keen insights. Here’s what she said:

  • I’m an artist (YA authors are artists, right? I mean, I’m not van Gogh or anything…). 1 Point
  • I’m a graphic artist (technically this is true, because I still do design consulting for a few clients). 2 Points
  • I’m in Public Relations (technically, this is also true because prior to selling my novel, I did PR for a nonprofit). 2 Points
  • I’m going to take a trip near the ocean (True! I’m going to Italy next month. Jealous?). 2 Points
  • I have plans to do many other things during my professional life (Not true. At least I hope not, Debbie Downer. I’m sort of banking on this book thing panning out). Minus 2 Points
  • She sees a “TV Camera” (This could be true because I was a broadcast journalism major in college, but I’m sort of hoping she was referring to the above-mentioned Oprah appearance). 1 Point
    My current WIP draws more on my personal life (False! Amor is much more rooted in my real-life background). Minus 1 Point
  • My current WIP is more “intellectual” (True, I’m spinning a lot of history in this manuscript. For more info, check out my blog last week on Agent 006.5). 1 Point
  • The man who arrived with me was my “boyfriend” or “fiancé” (False. The man’s my husband. Hello, ring on my finger. What kinda psychic misses that clue?). Minus 2 Points
  • We’re looking to buy a new house (Half true. We already have a house but we look at new houses all the time on the Internet, we just don’t visit any of them. As Aerosmith says: Dream on, dream until your dreams come true…). No Points – call it a draw
  • She offered loads of insights on my current novel, editor and publishing process (I won’t share it all due to the amount of stories it would require to explain why they’re true. But trust me, she was freakishly accurate). 5 Points

    All in all, I give this psychic a 14 out of a possible 20 points. This is a solid C-grade, which is fair given that she missed the big fish—that I’m an author.

    However, she gets LOTS of bonus points for projecting that Amor would sell well and that my WIP would be even more successful. Plus, she sensed intense “heat” for my professional future to a degree that she’s “never felt before.” Hehe. Gotta love the glowing positive projections at $30 for 15 minutes!

    Do you think she would have told me if she saw my career flopping? Has anyone ever been told by a psychic that they have two weeks to live? I’m guessing no. But then again, that’s not why we visit them. Salem is the Disneyland of psychics. And everyone goes home happy after a visit with Mickey.

    POP-CULTURE RANT: General Hospital

    There are two separate yet divided fan groups of GH: Team Sam and Team Liz. I’m a Sam fan. Odd, I know. She’s the bad girl and I, let’s just say, am not. But hey, no one’s watching soap operas for a dose of reality. I embrace the craziness that is Sam McCall. But where’s she been lately? The storylines all orbit around Sonny and Kate; and if they keep shoving this “Devil Wears Prada” rip off down my throat, I’m gonna have to insist they pay some sort damages for copyright infringement. Regardless, let’s get Kelly Monaco some more screen time. And please writers, consider never waking Michael from his coma. He’s annoying: you know and the fans know it. Put that little pre-teen character out of his misery.

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