Elizabeth Cheryl, Author of The Summerland

Question: Elizabeth Cheryl, please tell me something personal about yourself. Your family life, your hobbies, recreational activities, etc.

Answer: I have lived in Northern California my entire life, born and raised in the Bay Area. I have four wonderful children which keep me very busy. When spare time is available I spend it writing for my four series novel, The Summerland. I also find oil painting one of my favorite pastimes.

Question: I am so glad to hear that you published a book called The Summerland. Can you please brief the readers about the story?

Answer: The story is one that is close to my heart. My mother was born in Boston, Massachusetts. The Summerland takes place in Massachusetts in the small town of Salem. I was inspired through her stories to write a novel about the Salem Witch Trials. The main character, Abigail is an eighteen year old girl who loses her mom to cancer and is forced to move to Salem with her eccentric aunt. Abigail discovers a spell book and accidentally casts herself back in time three centuries, to the year 1692, right smack dab in the middle of the Witch Trials. I take real historical facts from the Witch Trials and weave Abigail and her story into history. The Summerland series will take you from the start of the trials in book one to the end of the end of the trials by book four. It’s filled with time travel, magic, love and history.

Question: How can someone purchase this book, where can they find it?

Answer: They can find The Summerland at Barnes & Noble.com or on Amazon. It’s available on Kindle, Nook, e-books and paperback. Published by, Crescent Moon Press.

Question: What was your inspiration for The Summerland? Did your life experiences influence you to write this book?

Answer: My inspiration for the book came from my desire to share with young women what life was like during the 1600’s. It was important to understand how judgment and fear can cause a society to enter into a blood shed frenzy. I wanted to create a story woven with actual history in attempt to remind humans of acceptance on all beliefs spiritually and historically. I also through this process lost my mom to cancer a week after I finished writing the book. She was my editor and best friend. Everything that I do is in her light.

Question: You are friends with one of my HPI investigators Lisa Steele. I thank Lisa for bringing this interview to reality. Lisa is a known Wiccan and I believe you met Lisa through this circle, is that correct?

Answer: Yes, I had discovered through research through my book and learning from my mom’s spiritual teachings that I was indeed a Wiccan. I had never really said that I was a specific any one thing in my life but it felt right for the first time in my search for spiritual enlightenment. I created a Meetup group in Roseville, Ca. to find other people in my community that had the same beliefs. I believe we are the only Coven in the Roseville area. I call it coming out of the broom closet.

Question: For people interested in the Wiccan culture, is there a place that Wiccans can meet and get to know each other, what is the name of the group?

Question: Summerland has a strong influence in the Wiccan culture. Do many people have misconceptions about Wiccans? If people read your book, what do you hope that they get out of your book?

Answer: Absolutely people have misconceptions of Wicca. It has been long thought that anything that is not followed in the bible is considered evil. Wicca is a fairly new religion founded back in the 70s, but the belief system was created on ancient Pagan traditions dating as far back as the earliest writings of man. Wiccans do not believe in Satan, as we feel he is a man made story created to instill fear and control. If we do not believe in Satan how could we possibly worship him? Wicca is based on peace and balance with the basis focused on the divine feminine. There are God’s and Goddess’s that encourage positive energy into the universe.

Question: I hear you have a fantastic story about a neighborhood in Roseville, can you tell us about that?

Answer: Oh boy, let me start by saying that I had never believed in anything that you couldn’t see back in 2005 other than with your own two eyes. I had purchased a house in the Diamond Oaks neighborhood in Roseville. I moved in with my husband and three children at the time. During the first few months unusual things were occurring. I had my mom over one afternoon and we had heard a very loud crash from the back of the house. Immediately my husband and I jumped up from the table to investigate in fear that something had fallen on one of the children. After thoroughly clearing the house there was nothing to explain the sound inside or out. As time progressed I would find my one year old daughter at the time rocking herself in the shadows of the middle of the night staring at a blank wall. I would walk in her room backwards towards her crib because it felt as it something was always behind me following me into her room. My hair on my arms would stand up straight at every entrance into her room. I began to feel uncomfortable in my own home with no explanation as to why. At night I would lay in bed and watch the red light flash on my wooden bedroom door from the alarm motion sensor that indicates that there is movement in the hallway. I would get up to see if one of the children was up, but to my shock there never was. One night when my husband was gone away over night I had heard voices speaking in a low mumble in my room surrounding my bed. I then heard the sound of a shortwave radio trying to tune out the crackle noise. I was frozen with fear. I immediately picked up my cell and called my mom who rushed over within a few minutes. She stayed with me until the morning. The following weeks I would have strange occurrences. Another night around the same time in the morning usually around 3:30 am my bed began shaking. I knew at this moment that this was a bigger problem than my imagination. I had turned to a local coven and requested a cleansing of the house. When the group arrived one of the women sat me down and in a very intense stare told me that there was no way to end what was happening. That she too lived on this same street and was forced to move away due to paranormal activity. She explained that the way the Diamond Oaks neighborhood was situated that it is encompassed by major power lines around the homes. These power lines actually form a triangle with the power lines that include the graveyard that backs to Roseville High School., The negative energy becomes trapped and continues a never ending cycle of instability, thus resulting in continued paranormal activity for this section of the Diamond Oaks Neighborhood. Now the section that is on the golf course side is not affected because the power lines run more along the west side of Diamond Oaks Road between Sierra View Country club and continuing over Washington Blvd.

After the meeting and the realization that this was not going away we decided to move away from the home after one more night of terror when a friend was woken in the middle of the night by something grabbing hold of his bottom lip and lifting him off his back in bed. Needless to say he did not come back over. I had one last visit by what felt like a cat or cat like creature that dug its nails into the back of my neck as I was sleeping and whispered in my ear, “Beware of the number 15.” To this day I have no idea what that was supposed to mean and I don’t care to know. I have never had one problem in my life with such activity since my departure from that home.

Question: Wow! That is an incredible story about the Diamond Oaks neighborhood. I was once called to investigate this neighborhood, because 3 homes were complaining of a dark entity with red eyes that would come around their backyard and growl. From what you are telling me, confirms that there is something going on in this neighborhood. You also mentioned that you have some strange dreams. From what you are telling me, makes me think you have psychic abilities. Can you tell us about these dreams?

Answer: It’s been a difficult thing to manage over the years. They started when I was a young girl, nightmares, terrors and astral travel. I never really understood the significance or the nightmares, I still don’t. They are as vivid and real as a memory. I have reoccurring ones of a house with a basement with a very dark energy that resides in it. I also have many about lightning and battles with unexplained energies.

Question: Great interview, thank you so much. I have to ask you a couple of off-the-wall questions, so people will know you better. What are your favorite movies, TV shows, books and what is your favorite song?

Answer: My favorite movie is Practical Magic and Somewhere in Time. I have to admit that Lost Boys is in the top three as well. I only watch a few TV shows and one of my favorites is True Blood, the HBO series. I also enjoy Wild Justice and Pawn Stars.
My all time favorite song would be, ‘Edge of Seventeen’ or anything from Stevie Nicks.

Question: Fun question. If you have 6 dinner guests, 3 fictional and 3 historical, who would they be?

Answer: I would have Nelson Mandella, Gandhi and The Dahli Lama for my historical or real humans and for fictional I would have Thor from the Avengers, Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter and Obi-Wan Kenobi!

Question: Before we go, do you have any words of wisdom for your readers?

Answer: Be yourself and live life as if it were your very last day with acceptance love and peace.

Special thanks to Elizabeth, for my signed copy of Summerland!