M.J. Rose

Thank you to Jeff Cohen, author of A NIGHT AT THE OPERATION: A Double Feature Mystery, for answering this week’s Q&A!

What is your most marked characteristic that you believe could be a hold over from a past life?

A sense of humor much more in line with Groucho and Harpo Marx than with Judd Apatow and Adam Sandler. In terms of comedy, I’m clearly more comfortable in 1933 than 2010.

What is your principle defect that you believe may be inherited from a previous incarnation?

Heartburn. Given my height and temperament, I believe that in a previous lifetime, I was probably Napoleon Bonaparte (especially since his brother Joey lived in New Jersey, so maybe I was Joey Bonaparte). And I think that hand in the jacket thing was due to acid reflux.

Which of your favorite heroes do you think you could have been and why?

I could have been Harpo Marx. Except I like to talk too much.

What three people from history would you like to have over to dinner for a discussion about reincarnation?

John Adams, because he’d make any discussion more interesting. Groucho Marx, because he’d make any discussion more enjoyable. And Abraham Lincoln, just because.

What do you think happens when we die?

People come over and bring cake.

When you come back next time, who (or what!) would you like to be?

I’ve often told my wife that if I come back, I want to be one of her pets. They get treated better than we humans.

Cohen’s links & titles:

A NIGHT AT THE OPERATION: A Double Feature Mystery
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEED by E.J. Copperman coming June 1, 2010!
http://jeffcohenbooks.com
Blog: http://heydeadguy.typepad.com/heydeadguy/
http://www.ejcopperman.com

Thank you Wendy Webb, author of THE TALE OF HALCYON CRANE, for answering this week’s Reincarnationist Q&A –

What is your most marked characteristic that you believe could be a hold over from a past life?

My writing ability.  Writing comes naturally to me, and it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.

What is your principle defect that you believe may be inherited from a previous incarnation?

I have an irrational fear that I’ll fall overboard when I’m on a ship in the middle of the ocean. In an odd coincidence, my mate, photographer Steve Burmeister, is rather obsessed with the Titanic. He knows names, dates, facts, every little thing about the ship and the night it went down. Were we among the people who died in those freezing seas?

Which of your favorite heroes do you think you could have been and why?

I don’t think I was anyone famous, but I do have an affinity for certain time periods and peoples. Early Native American, Victorian England, and post-World War I Paris all seem familiar to me.

What three people from history would you like to have over to dinner for a discussion about reincarnation?

Edgar Cayce, Jesus and my brother Randy, who died in 2004.

What do you think happens when we die?

The spirit leaves the body, (I do believe in ghosts, after all) but beyond that, I really don’t know.

When you come back next time, who (or what!) would you like to be?

I like the ride I’m on right now, so I’d wish for it to continue.

Wendy Webb’s site is here.

The Reincarnationist welcomes author Leanna Renee Hieber – thank you for answering our questions Leanna!

Leanna Renee Hieber is the award winning, bestselling author of the Strangely Beautiful series of ghostly, Gothic Victorian Fantasy novels beginning with The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker (Barnes & Noble Bestseller) and continuing soon with the April 27th release of the sequel, The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker.

What is your most marked characteristic that you believe could be a hold over from a past life?

My life-long obsession with the late 19th century. I was driven to start my first novel when I was around twelve years old, a Gothic novel set in 1888. Many years and projects later, I returned to that first beloved genre with a new manuscript, a ghostly, Gothic Victorian Fantasy again set in 1888, my debut novel; The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker. The Strangely Beautiful series has mythic themes of incarnations so this is a fitting dialogue for me. I’ve always fostered a keen desire to paint the difficult, gorgeous, gritty, atmospheric time that is the Victorian era, a time whose triumphs, terrors, riches and injustices, conflicts and fierce fascination with the supernatural make for a fascinating epoch that I’ve felt I’ve always known. When I travel to London, I have an uncanny sense of the city – having grown up in rural Ohio this should not have been innate. So I truly believe something of my heart and spirit belongs to 19th Century London, as it’s always had a claim on me.

What is your principle defect that you believe may be inherited from a previous incarnation?

Trying to balance sensitivity, trust, generosity and ambition – a very tricky scale to keep level.

Which of your favorite heroes do you think you could have been and why?

The first women who put pen to paper and declared themselves writers, any of the men and women of the Suffrage and the Abolitionist movements, because they were brave, right and just. And one hero in particular: Caroline Earle White who founded the American Anti-Vivisection Society in the late 19th Century to speak out against animal cruelty, elevating a discourse on human ethics. As a vegetarian and caretaker of a bunny rescued from a laboratory, that issue is close to my heart.

What three people from history would you like to have over to dinner for a discussion about reincarnation?

Jesus – I imagine he’d have some fascinating things to say about it.
Martin Luther – I’m Lutheran and so I’m curious what points he’d argue.
Queen Victoria – because I’d really love to meet her and her interest in spiritualism could make it a fascinating discussion.

What do you think happens when we die?

I’m not sure and I don’t mind the Divine Mystery. I believe energy continues on, and sometimes it may linger tied to a specific person or place, but generally it moves onto towards Peace (what that looks like or may be, I can’t presume to say) or to perhaps another go-round on the globe.

When you come back next time, who (or what!) would you like to be?

I’m really enjoying being a novelist! I think I could do it for a few lifetimes and still have stories I’d want to tell. Or a bird; flight would be lovely.

Leanna’s Links:
Website: www.leannareneehieber.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/leannarenee
Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/sbsfan