Psychic Phenomenon (Integrate, the Moon Series)

I’ve always been fascinated by the unexplained. Why do people choose to read their horoscope each day and live their lives according to what they learn from it? Why are some people convinced they’ve seen ghosts or claim to have them living in their houses? Why is there a continued tradition of psychic ability and practice amongst certain groups of people?

These are all interesting questions. I never really used to believe in that side of life, the ‘unexplained’ that some people insist is there and is real. ‘The unexplained’ is generally something most people cannot see and so don’t believe in it. They dismiss it as hokum or madness. I’ve quite an open mind, and even though there are some things I still don’t believe in, there are some things I’ve encountered in the past, such as dealings with a ghost at the theatre I used to work at and other phenomena. These all made me wonder if some of it could be true.

When I started working on my book Integrate I wanted to write something which had some dark elements or elements of the unexplained. I thought about how to do this, and the idea came to me via someone I worked with in the theatre (the one with the ghost). I used to get my Tarot cards read by one of my colleagues. They weren’t always right but occasionally the odd thing did ring scarily true. It intrigued me, so one day I bought a deck of my own and began to study them. With the knowledge I gained, I decided using tarot in my story would be a great idea, both visually and descriptively. So, I decided my female protagonist Corinne would read tarot.

I felt it wasn’t enough though, so I gave the character Corinne a sister, an identical twin called Helena. I liked the idea of Corinne and Helena being close and having ‘that twin thing’ that people talk about. A close connection that no-one else seems to have unless they were born as twins. I wanted to make it more than that though.  So, I also gave Corinne the gift of premonition. Premonitions are usually thought of as future visions or foresight. They can be fleetingly subtle or sometimes strong, overwhelming, and confusing. I’ve never had visions myself, but I have researched them and will admit to having encountered the strange phenomena of déjà vu. It’s a strange experience, one minute you’re sitting having coffee with a friend, and the next you suddenly get the feeling you’ve been there before and know exactly what’s going to happen next. It’s like you’ve seen or experienced the entire scene before. I get déjà vu often, and it can be more than a little unnerving.

Whilst writing Integrate, I decided to expand on the idea of visions (premonition) by turning it on its head and throwing in the idea of déjà vu. Rather than seeing the future, the visions became a tool for Corinne to subconsciously reach into the past to see and learn what happened to her sister Helena. These elements push Corinne to the limit; at one point she even thinks that receiving the visions means she’s going to be able to save her sister, but that would never happen. Fate always had a plan, and whatever happened, there was no way it could be changed.
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I like the idea that there are elements of the unexplained out there, that some people believe they can see ghosts, or that they can predict the future from how the cards fall or from how tea leaves settle. Just because you think you can see the future however, it shouldn’t automatically mean you get to do something about it. Sometimes it should just be about how you deal with it, the actions you choose to take from that moment on. How you learn from what happens next. After all, if we were all meant to see the future and be able to change it, we would have been born with superpowers.
Wouldn’t we?

Integrate is book one of the Moon Series.

Chrissie Parker is an English author of 8 published works, including novels, shorts stories and poetry. 
To learn more, explore her website and learn more about her love of writing, the inspiration for her books and the country's she's visited on her travels! ​https://www.chrissieparker.com