We are delighted to welcome back author G.G. Collins to Omnimystery News.
Last year we visited with G.G. when the second in her Rachel Blackstone paranormal mysteries was published, and now the third in the series, Atomic Medium (Chamisa Canyon Publishing; June 2015 ebook format) has been released.
We asked her to tell us a little more about the book, and she titles her guest post for us today, "Explosive Tale Pits Psychic Against Nazi Terrorists".
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Shop of the Rainbow Man, the former Manhattan Project office in Santa Fe, NM.
Photo provided courtesy of G.G. Collins
That building changed the world!
This is a big statement for a small city like Santa Fe, New Mexico, but true.
It's now a lovely retail store called Shop of the Rainbow Man. But 70 years ago it was the initial stop for everyone on their way to the Atomic City of Los Alamos where the first atomic bomb was developed. Scientists, secretaries and military servicemen all came through The Manhattan Project office at 109 East Palace on their way to making history. They arrived by front door and departed through the back door.
You see, it was supposed to be a top-secret project. But most Santa Feans knew about it. Russian and German spies knew about it. When Truman told Stalin the US had a new weapon of enormous power, he barely blinked; he already knew.
As a fiction writer, this set off all kinds of bells and whistles. It was perfect for the Rachel Blackstone Paranormal Mysteries and became book three: Atomic Medium.
In researching the time period (1940s) I found Hitler was a believer in space aliens. He instructed his architect to design structures to attract beings from other worlds. He also had a "flying saucer" built, inspired by the crash of an UFO in 1937 Germany. Then there was his "time machine" called Die Glocke or Bell. (For more on The Manhattan Project see my blog.)
I had all I needed: aliens, time travel and the creation of the most feared weapon on this planet. That was all the fodder required to create Rachel's latest adventure. Oh yes, this was Rachel's thing, however unenthusiastic she might be about it.
Courtyard at Rainbow Man.
Photo provided courtesy of G.G. Collins
In the Shop of the Rainbow Man, I created a time warp or portal only Rachel and two evil men could see. Rachel is in the shop one day when she notices the men enter the portal. Realizing she is witness to their crossing, they threaten her.
As Rachel works on an assignment regarding The Manhattan Project and the 70th anniversary of the Trinity Test, more threats are made. A former professor has a quirky take on the project that Rachel doesn't quite believe, but could he be right? Swastikas are painted on the High Desert Country Magazine office where she works. Someone close to the story is killed. It becomes clear the two men are intent on sabotaging the Labs or the bomb.
Rachel and friend Chloe must find a way to enter the portal and stop the men. Unfortunately, one of the men appears to have superhuman powers, making theirs a dangerous endeavor. They meet up with a family member of Rachel's who worked on the project and has lived many lives. Rachel — encouraged by Chloe — receives help from their go-to expert on crystals, Mari-Lynn, who has an adverse history with law enforcement in the Centennial State.
Kiyiya, Rachel's white spirit wolf lends a hand, always there to alert her to danger. We learn his story and how he came to be a spirit animal in a dramatic walk through a labyrinth. Chile Pod, Rachel's psychic cat gets her two cents in. And oh, did you know Chloe is a doomsday prepper? Well, I didn't either.
I researched life at Los Alamos in the 1940s including the houses and apartments workers lived in, where they had their meals and how The Hill was laid out. The reader is taken to July 16, 1945 as the atomic bomb is detonated in White Sands, New Mexico. Rachel and Chloe experience the intense light, heat and wind as described by those who were there.
Although before my time, I found this scientific accomplishment to be astounding. They had no cell phones, tablets or wireless connections. They did it all with slide rules and chalkboards. At that time, computers were people who made computations. These were people with the right stuff and they stepped up in an era of fear and uncertainty.
Commemorative plaque dedicated to the men and women who developed the atomic bomb during WWII.
Photo provided courtesy of G.G. Collins
Although a historical landmark, you'll find no sign marking The Manhattan Office at Rainbow Man. However, if you walk through the beautiful courtyard to the back, there is a commemorative plaque under the porch. Just ask. The sales staff is happy to point it out.
Atomic Medium is not all doom and gloom but pure adventure, always with a fun twist. As regular readers know, Rachel is technology challenged and finds herself under matched in a battle of wills with a high-tech shower. Yes, Rachel does another nudie scene. In Lemurian Medium it was a low-tech hot tub with hermaphroditic Lemurians.
With Rachel Blackstone, life is never simple, but although still a Reluctant Medium, she is beginning to come to terms with her new abilities. One thing is certain, in each new adventure she is faced with another challenge for her evolving psychic skill set.
In Atomic Medium she has an impossible task; just save the world.
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Photo provided courtesy of
G.G. Collins
Walking several beats, reporter G.G. Collins racked up a lot of column inches, a few awards and a writing fellowship at Duke University. She never met a story she didn't like, although some interviews were challenging, a few obnoxious. But reporting is always exciting, exploring the rooftops of skyscrapers, meeting in clandestine locations, getting an exclusive story, and occasionally being a tad alarmed at someone's behavior.
But there was another side lurking, just waiting to write its way out. This side of her personality is fond of the strange, the frightening, the metaphysical. The day she discovered the Hopi ceremony to call back the dead, she just had to ask the question: What would happen if the wrong spirit came back? The "Reluctant Medium" series resulted.
For more information about the author, please visit her website at website and her author page on Goodreads, or find her on Facebook and Twitter.
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Atomic Medium by G.G. Collins
A Rachel Blackstone Paranormal Mystery
Publisher: Chamisa Canyon Publishing
"We're three women from two different centuries, trying to save the world from oblivion. I don't know about you, but that's way above my pay grade."
A time warp has opened in a popular Santa Fe retail store. The building housing the shop was the main office of The Manhattan Project during WWII in the 1940s. Only one person has witnessed the departure of two dangerous men through the dark doorway to the past — reporter Rachel Blackstone, the reluctant psychic. Although she is certain they are evil she has no idea how they left 2015 or where they landed on the other side, only that she saw them do it. But the office on the other side is certainly a very different place than the showroom with the neatly arranged inventory of gifts and Native American art.
When Rachel uncovers the supernatural mystery of the room, threats are made and people die. But is it fantasy or fact? It becomes apparent at least one man is an alien force wearing a Nazi uniform — and intent on changing the balance of nuclear weapons in the world — thanks to Hitler's belief in the occult and alien life forms. Rachel and friend Chloe, women sleuths by accident, time travel to a world of secrets, subterfuge and danger. If they can't stop the two men intent on sabotage, history will be altered.
— Atomic Medium by G.G. Collins
