Proof of Life by Sheila Lowe

By George Ebey

Supernatural thrills come our way in PROOF OF LIFE, the second book in Sheila Lowe’s Beyond the Veil Mysteries series.

After recovering from amnesia five years ago, Jessica Mack never told anyone she’d started hearing voices from the spirit world. Now, forced to use her “gift” to find missing four-year-old Ethan Starkey, she can no longer ignore the voices. Time is running out for little Ethan as Jessica and Sage Boles—a man with a mysterious past—are guided by the voices to a séance, where they hope to get clues to the child’s whereabouts.

The Big Thrill recently reached out to the author to learn more about this exciting new thriller.

What attracts you to the paranormal genre? 

In 2000, when my daughter Jennifer became the victim in a murder-suicide, I needed to find out what happened when we die. What I learned was that there is sound evidence for life after death. Years later, when I decided to write a book with a paranormal theme, it came as a surprise to me, but according to some well-known spiritual mediums, Jennifer was working with me on this story of a young woman’s reluctant journey into mediumship.

How does this book make a contribution to the genre?

Along with the mystery that forms the basis for the book, readers learn how things work in the area between this world and the next. My research was bolstered by mediums at the top of the field and a scientist whose rigorous experiments have produced stunning results. These people read PROOF OF LIFE and all concurred that the way mediumship and the afterlife was portrayed was accurate. I hope to make this topic less taboo or “woo woo” and show that “death” is nothing to fear.

Was there anything new you discovered, or that surprised you, as you wrote this book? 

As I mentioned above, I was told that my daughter was working with me on the book. Although that didn’t make the hard work of writing any easier. There were times when I absolutely knew that she was giving me information, ideas, and answers to questions that arose. It was so cool!

What authors or books have influenced your career as a writer, and why? 

No doubt every book I’ve ever read has influenced my career as a writer. I read books that I wish I had written, and try to learn from them.

I was 50 years old when I started writing my Forensic Handwriting Mystery series. The authors who I would like to emulate include John Sandford (his characters are so real!), Tami Hoag (her descriptions alone are worth the price of admission), Tess Gerritsen, Michael Connelly, Deborah Crombie. Jonathan Kellerman’s and Patricia Cornwell’s earlier works. And too many others to name.

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Like her fictional character, Claudia Rose, Sheila Lowe is a real-life forensic handwriting examiner. The mother of a tattoo artist and a former rock star, she lives in Ventura, California. She is the author of five nonfiction books on handwriting psychology and seven in the Forensic Handwriting Mysteries series. Her new series is the Beyond the Veil Mysteries. Sheila frequently appears in the media when handwriting is in the news.

To learn more about Sheila and her work, please visit her website.