Pagan Writers Community

ARH – We are pleased to welcome Barbara Ford-Hammond as our Featured Author.  Thank you for joining us today!

BFH – Thank you for having me. It is good to be here.

ARH – Please tell us a little more about yourself.

BFH – I have been a therapist and trainer for 20 years and live in the UK amidst the rolling hills of Hampshire. The village is tiny and our only facility is a letterbox on the front of a neighbour’s house. The actual box bit is in her living room. Various members of my family also reside here. They tend to come and go. As do I. Travelling is a one of my pleasures and I am fortunate to get invited to wonderful places to give talks or host workshops and retreats.

Being an author means I can work anywhere but I particularly like being by the sea. I can often be found on various Greek Islands… pretending to work.

ARH – How did you get started as a writer?

BFH – Books whisper and mutter just under the conscious surface of one’s mind until they refuse to be ignored any longer. More than once, in the past, I thought, ‘how hard can it be’? Then one day the urge to actually write was so powerful I had no choice but to do it. When I put my 1^st proposal together I was sure the world would fall at my feet in gratitude. It was quite a surprise that it didn’t and that’s when I learnt how wrong my previous beliefs had been. At the moment I have about 7 books murmuring in the recess of my psyche.

ARH – Tell us more about The Psychic Way.

BFH –There is a big interest in all things relating to psychic-ness and intuition and The Psychic Way grew from my salons and classes. I was writing out notes and handouts and thought I would pick all the best bits: the popular stuff that everyone wants to know about and put it altogether in a book.

The Psychic Way can be read cover-to-cover or dipped into pick ‘n mix-like. It contains exercises to try out and true stories. It covers auras, chakras, past and future lives, the Clairs, meditations and many other things for the reader to fine-tune their intuition.

ARH – What inspired you to write this book?

BFH – When I was a child I thought everyone saw auras, knew what people were thinking, had past life memories, premonitions, etc. When it dawned on me that they didn’t (or did but ignored them) I thought I was the ‘weird’ one. My own abilities awoke form their imposed slumber through my therapeutic work, usually from direct enquiries. When clients kept asking me how their chakras were doing or if they could look forwards in their lives, I knew I had to. That moment when someone shares their psychic experiences during a workshop is wonderful – heads nod in agreement and they realize they are not alone. I want anyone who has unanswered questions, or had, what they think might be unusual experiences, to feel that way.

My inspiration came from my desire to share without the weird, wacky and woo woo.

ARH – Why did you choose to publish with a Hunt’s Books imprint?  What was that experience like?

BFH – The Psychic Way was contracted as an O Book but now JHP has many imprints it has shimmied over to 6th Books – of which I happen to be the publisher. John Hunt is a paradigm leader in publishing. Everything is shared and open for all to see. The most important criteria to be a JHP published author – apart from being a brilliant writer  :) – is the ability to work within the database. The exchange of everything from proposal to completed book is done electronically. Even the contract!

I’ve enjoyed every aspect of this method of working and love the sharing. Publishing is so often a ‘them and us’ type of business but in JHP we are a team. All on the same page, so to speak.

ARH – Are you working on a new book? Can you tell us more?

BFH – I have contracts for 2 books in the Made Easy Series: Hypnosis and Past Life Regression. Made Easy books are books up to about 20,000 words with all the important bits of each subject covered. Both books are packed with information that can be put to use immediately by the reader.

ARH – Will you be using the same publisher?

BFH – Yes! Hypnosis Made Easy is a Psyche Book and the Past Life Regression one, a 6^th.

ARH – As an author, what do you think is the most important piece of advice that you would give an unpublished writer?

BFH – Being an author and publisher I have a foot in both camps and the advice from each is know your readers and where they are.

May I share a couple of other points? Understand that rejection isn’t personal and treat your writing as ‘real’.

ARH – Where can we go to learn more about you and purchase your books?

BFH –http://barbaraford-hammond.com/   is about me http://thepsychicway.co.uk/ has info and excerpts from the book.

Past Life Tourism, is now free as a digital edition – details on my website. The Psychic Way is available from bookshops in the real world and online as a paperback or digitally.

ARH – We appreciate you spending some time with us today Barbara!  We wish you continued luck with your future writing endeavors.

BFH – Thank you again. It is kind of you to invite me along and I wish you continued success.