One Way to Mars Anyone?

Lately there has been a lot of buzz about Mars One.

This organization has a plan and that plan is to put the first human colony on Mars by 2024. Over two hundred thousand people applied and already the list has narrowed to just 1,058 individuals making the first cut.

Can we just pause for a second.

*Pause*

Okay. This is amazing. It's been our next "man made" actual step since putting humans on the moon. There's just one downside to being the first few humans to colonize the red planet. It's a one way trip. Yep, if you sign up and make the final cut you aren't coming back.

I've been following this mission since it was first announced. Honestly, I could never part with my life here on Earth. I love it too much. But, how fun would this be?

What will they learn?

What will they find?

Will my children or their children be taking regular trips to Mars in the future?

Space is something we as humans will never get enough of. We will constantly strive to explore the unknown and to reach new areas of the cosmos. Our curiosity is never satisfied and I personally think that is a great thing.

Mars can teach us so much. If everything goes according to plan and this actually happens on schedule, I will be watching. I will be waiting with bated breath with the rest of the world to learn what we discover on this seemingly dead planet.

Also, this is a great book idea! The muses and plot bunnies are hopping around in my head. They're even dressed in little martian suits.

Could you do it? Could you give up your life here on Earth and make history colonizing Mars?

Sometimes this is how writing a book feels. You're on a one way trip not knowing what to expect until you reach the other side. Will it be worth it? You'll never know unless you try. So put on your space suit and let the adventure begin. (Just don't watch Gravity before you go).

Bonnie Rae

The Paranormal - To Believe Or Not To Believe...

What does paranormal mean to you? I am sure all of us have a different definition. To me, it means all things science can't explain. This is also close to the true definition of paranormal.

Paranormal: general experiences that lie outside the range of normal experiences or scientific explanation.

"General experiences."

Have you had one?

I write a lot of spec fic. Mostly, I love to write paranormal. I'm not sure why. I guess it's simply because I've always been fascinated with the darker side of our world. Spirits, demons, and magic all captivated me as a child. They still do. I can tell you this, growing up in a strict catholic home made my childish questions about unexplainable things very hard to answer. A majority of the time I was told to not think that way and go outside and play. Not having the answers to those questions only added fuel to the ever growing fire.

As I got older, I not only had more questions, I experienced more things that had no explanation. Now, I'm not saying that I saw ghosts and tapped into some magical power I didn't know existed within me. (I wish).  But, I did see and feel things other kids/teens my age didn't. 

For example…

Starting when I was in high school during the mid to late nineties every time I saw a picture of New York and the Twin Towers, I would get this odd feeling deep in my bones. I can't properly describe this feeling. All I know is that I'd shudder every time. Literally, I'd have the whole body covered in goose flesh and hard shivering experience. Then when tragedy struck on September 11^th, 2001, I was rocked to my core with the rest of America and the world.  Afterwards, the feeling was gone. It's never returned. What was it? Why did I have it in the first place? I'm not someone that can tell the future. 

Unexplainable. 

Since I've been writing paranormal novels I've often wondered if we can tap into some subconscious part in our minds. Half way through the second book in my Nether Trilogy, Nether Soul, I saw a ghost for the first time in my life. I'm not lying. I'd been rudely woken up by my allergies and after having a lovely allergy attack of wheezing, blowing my nose, and coughing I rolled over (fully awake) and saw a male apparition at the foot of my bed. I screamed like a little girl, grabbed my husband's arm, and pulled the covers up so far over my head that you could have considered me a snake tunneling underground. I was, quite literally, terrified. 

My husband said I must have still been half asleep. Well, anyone with asthma and bad allergies will tell you, when you have an allergy attack like that you are very wide awake afterwards. I know what I saw. It also made sense that several days before I'd get the odd sensation that someone was watching me. The feeling was so strong that I used to turn around half expecting my husband to be standing behind me even though he was supposed to be at work.  Each time I turned there was no one there. Not even my cats. The sensation went away after I had my ghost experience and I've never seen the ghost man again, thankfully, because I am a huge scaredy cat. I know and I write paranormal.

Do you believe in the paranormal? Do you think we can tap into that part of the world unknowingly? Have you had any unexplainable experiences? If so my UTR friends and I would love to know.

  

Bonnie Rae