Wednesday, May 9, 2012

TV personality Chip Coffey shares views on 'Growing Up Psychic'


Being an avid reader, I’m not a big fan of TV. I do tend to fall hard for those mini-series adapted from books, such as “Game of Thrones” and just about everything on “Masterpiece Theatre.”
            One non-adapted series I watch regularly is A&E’s “Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal,” in which children having trouble understanding their gifts are brought together and guided by adult psychics and counselors. One of those psychics is Chip Coffey, who appears genuinely interested in helping children understand and live with speaking or hearing unseen entities.
            Coffey grew up psychic, although he didn’t fully understand and embrace what he calls a “gift from God” until later in life. His current book, “Growing Up Psychic: My Story of Not Just Surviving but Thriving — and How Others Like Me Can, Too,” aims to go beyond the TV series, helping children and parents cope with being intuitive.
            The book is filled with Coffey’s life story, psychic experiences he’s had growing up in a haunted house, tales from children of the TV series and intuitive people Coffey has met. A handy dictionary in the back explains the different types of psychic abilities.
            Whether you have children with gifts, experience your own intuitive abilities or are like me, fascinated by those who do, this book is a great, personal guide to the paranormal. 

Acadian Museum looking for photos
            The Acadian Museum and authors Patrick Morrow, Philip Andrepont and Warren A. Perrin have been selected by Arcadia Publishing to write a book on the history of St. Landry Parish. Photographs are being sought from the public for inclusion in the book. 
            “We have one year to gather the materials for the book,” said Andy Perrin, member of the museum’s board. “We would like to locate, scan and include in the book about 250 interesting photographs of St. Landry Parish.”
            All proceeds from the sale of the book will be used to support local museums. To submit photos, make an appointment to bring them to Andrepont Printing, 5043 Interstate 49,  South Service Road, Opelousas, LA, 70570, (337) 942-6385 or send to Philip Andrepont at philip@andrepontprinting.com. Include basic background information about each photograph such as date, place and the names of people and places shown.  All persons or groups who contribute materials will be acknowledged in the book.
            The Acadian Museum has previously published “Acadian Redemption,” “Une Saga Acadien,” “Vermilion Parish” and “Iberia Parish.”

            The current Louisiana Poet Laureate Julie Kane has been commissioned to compose an original series of five to seven poems with the history of Lake Charles and the Louisiana Bicentennial as inspiration. The series will be revealed during a special poetry reading by Kane at 4 p.m. Saturday beneath the 375 year-old Sallier Oak by the Imperial Calcasieu Museum in Lake Charles.
            Kane’s series will celebrate the intersection between landscape and identity while uniting both the raw and the rapturous images and symbols of Southwest Louisiana. Kane is also a non-fiction writer, editor and translator and is the author of several books of poetry. She was appointed to the position of Louisiana Poet Laureate by Gov. Bobby Jindal in 2011, and is a professor of English at Northwestern State University.
            World War II Associated Press reporter Ed Kennedy was one of several journalists allowed to witness Gen. Alfred Jodl signing the official documents as the Germans surrendered to the Allies. He was ordered to hold the story but defied the military embargo and broke the news of the Allied victory. His scoop generated controversy, rival news organizations protested and the AP fired Kennedy several months after the war ended. This month, LSU Press has published “Ed Kennedy’s War: V-E Day, Censorship, and the Associated Press,” edited by Julia Kennedy Cochran with an introduction by Tom Curley and John Maxwell Hamilton. Events honoring this publication will be held this week in New York and Washington, D.C., hosted by the AP.
            Cochran worked as a journalist in New York for AP, Reuters and Business Week magazine. Curley, who recently announced his retirement, has led the AP since June 2003. Hamilton is founding dean of the Manship School of Mass Communication at LSU and currently serves as LSU executive vice chancellor and provost. He is the author or coauthor of six books, most recently “Journalism’s Roving Eye.”
            For more information, visit http://lsupress.org/.
            “Trust in Me,” a humorous small town romance by West Monroe author Beth Cornelison, will be offered free through the Kindle Select program today and Monday. Cornelison is a multi-published author and her romantic suspense novels have won national awards including the Daphne DuMaurier Award of Excellence.
           
Book events
           Alex V. Cook signs “Louisiana Saturday Night” at 2 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble, 5707 Johnston St. in Lafayette. At noon, local artists will perform in support of the book.
            Danny R. Von Kanel, Louisiana author, music teacher and church musician, will lead a “Get Published” seminar from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, May 14, at the Rapides Parish Library Westside Regional Branch in Alexandria. The seminar will cover knowing market opportunities, writing a query letter, e-books, how to get a book published and keys to writing an effective book proposal. Von Kanel has published articles in 45-plus magazines and has had two books published by CSS Publishing. His third book, “Building Your Life by the Owner’s Design (The Positive Approach to Building Your Life God’s Way),” will be published by 4RV Publishing in 2013. The seminar is free; register at the Rapides Parish Library.
           
Cheré Coen is the author of “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” She teaches writing at UL-Lafayette’s Continuing Education. Write her at chere@louisianabooknews.com. 

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