M.J. Rose

I was one of the lucky few who received a preview copy of M.J.’s new novel THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES due out in March of the new year – I drank in every word and luxuriated in the sensual storytelling that M.J. has by now completely perfected. In keeping with her themes of reincarnation and past lives, M.J. continues to explore the concept of “memory tools” for recalling former lifetimes. (It makes for incredibly fun reading across multiple centuries.) Remembering is something we all tend to do at the end of the year, around this time, as we simultaneously strive to envision a prosperous and happy year ahead. And remembering, or rather memory itself, may be something that is more universal and mysteriously meaningful than we ever thought possible. Consider the possibility that water may actually have memory. Could water be the ultimate memory tool?

Scientists investigate water memory

New research from the Aerospace Institute of the University of Stuttgart in Germany supports the theory that water has a memory—a claim that could change our whole way of looking at the world.

More about The Book of Lost Fragrances:

Happy Holidays Readers!

Here is a gem from M.J.’s most recent newsletter (you can sign up for the newsletter on the blog, see the sidebar, or click here.)

What’s your favorite book you’ve received as a gift, and why?

Here’s M.J.’s –

The Best Book I Ever Got:

I’m Jewish but we celebrated Christmas growing up. My dad was in the toy business, and to a man in the toy business, December 25th is a holy day no matter who you pray to the rest of the year.

Imagine: it’s Christmas and your dad is the EVP at one of the top three toy companies in New York City. Imagine the sight under the tree. Nah . . . double that. Practically all of FAO Schwarz was under our tree (the tree, by the way, was five feet tall, plastic, pink and decorated with pink and silver ornaments.)

We had a rule in our house: no matter what time my sister and I woke up on December 25th, we couldn’t wake up our parents until 6 a.m. And then, painfully, excruciatingly, agonizingly, we had to wait until my mother made coffee and my sister and I each drank down a full glass of orange juice before we could start opening presents.

And then it was a wild free for all.

When the dust and the ribbons and the wrappings settled, no matter how many Barbies and Barbie clothes and doll houses and stuffed animals and games there were under that fashion tree, my favorite presents were the books.

To this day I still have almost all those books and none of the toys, and my favorite is ELOISE AT CHRISTMASTIME. Every year on December 25, at some point during the day, I pull it out and read it again.

Of all the characters, in all the books I had, I related to Eloise the most. She lived in the Plaza Hotel on 59th and Fifth — only twelve blocks away from where we lived. I got into same kinds of trouble she got into. She had a turtle. I had a turtle. My school uniform was a carbon copy of what she wore. My hair was just like hers: stringy and messy. And she was always with her nanny, never her parents, because they were always away. While my mom was there, my father wasn’t around as much as I wished he was.

Part of that toy business job required him to travel constantly, and I missed him so very much so very often. Somehow, because of that, there was a special bond between us, and every year at Christmas he gave me something special — something just from him to me. This is one of the reasons ELOISE AT CHRISTMASTIME is such a special book to me.

On the first page, the illustrious Hilary Knight drew Eloise holding up a giant-sized wrapped gift with an overly large gift card tied to it. On the card are spaces for the giver of the book to fill in the appropriate inscriptions.

My copy says: To Melisse With Love From Daddy.

We don’t have the pink tree anymore, but every year I give my father a copy of my latest book hoping it means as much to him as my copy of ELOISE AT CHRISTMASTIME still means to me.

And I always write To Daddy With Love from Melisse.

(By M.J. Rose)

Note from the editor: My five-year-old is a big fan of this book too, we read it every Christmastime.

Thank you to author Diana Formisano Willett for her guest post about the existence of spirits as related in her new book YOU CAN’T CONTROL THE SOUL.

Enjoy!

Diana Formisano Willett was born and raised in New York City. She graduated from Bernard Baruch College of the City University of New York and received a degree in Business Administration. She received her degree in 1974. Diana moved to Connecticut in the year 1978 when she married to Brad Willett who was a business owner in West Haven, CT. Diana now resides in East Haven, CT and has been working at Yale-New Haven Hospital for the past 29 years in the Department of Diagnostic Radiology. Diana has one son. Diana has written a book entitled “You Can’t Control The Soul” and she is currently working on her second book entitled “Paranormal Fright”.

Guest Post:

“My book “You Can’t Control the Soul” finally proves the existence of spirits and the fact that the soul does continue after death. The soul never dies! After the death of my husband Brad there have been strange occurrences in my home. These apparitions, orbs and spirits have continued to come and go pressing me to write this book and continue informing everyone by writing a second book. I have witnessed a spinning vortex in my living room. In this vortex was a face of my husband along with another entity.

I have mailed this DVD to the North Shore Paranormal Society and they feel this DVD depicts a spinning portal to the other dimension. This proves the fact that spirits enter this dimension through a portal.

We have all lived before. This earth is our mortal existence. The soul never dies and continues after physical death. My second book will also talk about the Bermuda Triangle and how these portals from the other world my have something to do with unexplained disappearances of people, planes and ships in the vicinity of the Bermuda Triangle.

As a little girl, I was saved from drowning my a hand pulling me up from the water. You can read about this in my first book. I feel I have some type of connection with the after-life based on this experience.”