Merry Christmas to all my contributors and readers! I hope the day is a special and magical one for you!

It has always been my belief that the human spirit survives the death of the physical body and that those who have passed away still exist, that they are still a part of our lives, and they can and do still communicate with us. Since beginning this book, I have received several confirmations from those who contributed letters to Can You Hear Me? that seem to indicate that your letters are indeed being read by your loved ones on the other side. I would like to share one such confirmation.

Jason Kentros, one of my contributors, submitted a letter that he wrote to his mom. When the time came to start sending out final copies of the letters to all my contributors, Jason’s letter did not go out the day that I had planned to send it out. For some reason, I just could not get it done. I finally sent Jason’s letter to him on August 26th. I received an e-mail from Jason a little later telling me that this happened to be the two year anniversary of his mother’s passing. Although this information was in Jason’s letter, I did not look at the date when I sent this out and had no ideal what that day was for Jason. I truly believe that Jason’s mom orchestrated this “coincidence”. Knowing how difficult the day would be for him, I believe this was her way of saying “Hello”.

You can read Jason’s account of this on his blog,  The Scattered Writings of SharkByte - Jason has a really great blog with a huge variety of topics and his writing is a pleasure to read.

Book cover by Bradley Wind

Hello to all my contributors! It is a beautiful day here in Tennessee and I have just finished sending out the last of the final copies. If you contributed a letter for use in this book, you should have received a final copy from me by now;  this is the final version of the letter you submitted once editing for grammatical errors was completed.  If you have not received this, please contact me. Hard as I try, I do miss things sometimes.

Thanks again to everyone. It has been such a pleasure to meet you all and to share in your memories. I will keep everyone updated on the status of “Can You Hear Me?” via this website and through e-mail, but you may contact me at any time if you have questions or concerns about the book or your submission.

Hello to all my contributors and to those following the status of “Can You Hear Me?”!

After having the suggestion proposed to me several times, I am entertaining the ideal of adding pictures to my book. These pictures will be photos of those who have composed letters for the book and/or photos of those that they wrote their letters to.

If you have submitted a letter to me for “Can You Hear Me?” and you would like to send a photo to be added to your letter, please contact me at ltdbook@yahoo.com, or you can use the “Contact Me” page here.

You can e-mail me your photo if you would like. I was going to take pictures through the mail, as well, but I have been informed by my agent that I can only accept photos that are sent via e-mail.

Some of you have already sent pictures, but I still need to have your permission to use them in the book.

If you are visiting this site for the first time, please look for my post titled, “Letters ToThe Dead” for more information on this world wide venture!

I would like to introduce someone very special to all my contributors and those who visit this site. She is my dear friend Reverend Billie Watkins, from Westerville, Ohio, whom I am honored to know.

Billie very graciously did the foreword for my book, “Can You Hear Me?”  Billie is a Reiki Master Teacher, an intuitively gifted Shaman, and a compassionate and caring grief counselor. Billie has a Master’s Degree in Metaphysics, but even more than that, she is a very sweet person who has traveled all over the world to bring healing to others, and yet she is totally approachable.

Billie is working on a project that I thought my readers might like to know about. She is putting together a book about real life miracles of healing. Billie herself previously battled with an illness that tried to take her life. In fact, she had many Near Death Experiences. I am happy to report that Billie didn’t give up, that she discovered the key to her own healing, and that she is still here with us today. Now, Billie is writing about her miracle and she would like to write also about the miracles that others have experienced.

If you have experienced a miracle healing in your life and would like to share your story with her for possible publication in her book, you can visit Billie’s website, Reikiflow, for more information.

I’d like to introduce my readers to Christine Duminiak. Christine is a Certified Grief Recovery Specilaist and an internationally known Spiritual Bereavement Recovery Facilitator. She co-hosts “Ask The Angels” on BlogTalkRadio and is the author of “God’s Gift of Love:After-Death Communications.”

Christine believes and teaches that our loved ones survive death, and that they are still a part of our lives and able to directly communicate with us, and she teaches the many different ways in  which they communicate.

Christine is working on a new book titled, “Heaven Talks To Children.”  This is a book that shares stories of children who have experienced after death communications. She has asked that I pass the word that she is looking for a few more submissions for this book. So, if you are related to someone who, as a child, saw or heard from a loved one who has passed over, you can share this story with Christine for use in her book. If she uses your submission, you will get a free copy of the book.

If you are interested, or to find out more infromation, you can visit Christine’s website or you can e-mail her at ChrisDuminiak@aol.com – Thanks for reading!

By the most popular vote, “Letters To The Dead” is being changed to “Can You Hear Me?” I will also be adding a sub-title, so the entire title will look like this, “Can You Hear Me? – A Collection of Letters To The Other Side”.

I want to thank everyone who took the time to vote in my poll. Every single opinion matters to me, but I could only choose one, and so I went with the one that got the most votes.

Of course, this is a “working” title, and my publisher may decide that they don’t like it and request something else. Should that happen, I will keep everyone informed.

Thanks again!

Putting this book together has been one of the most exciting journeys I have ever been on. Throughout that journey, I have learned some things that I would like to share with you. Some of what I am about to share is covered in the book, so you are getting a sneak peek!

The first thing I was surprised to find out is that, in writing of death, I have actually been writing of life. Every letter that has been submitted for this book has been a glimpse into a life that someone lived in this world, and into the lives of those they left behind.

I have also found out that people are hurting. I have met people that have been through some really tragic losses, and there are those who have suffered things that no one should ever have to, things that are just not fair. Sometimes we get so busy with the daily act of living that we forget to notice the burdens others are carrying; or perhaps we have seen and heard so many horrible accounts through the media that we have become desensitized to the wounds and the needs around us. We have laid compassion for our fellow man aside, discarding it as a useless virtue, when in fact compassion might be the very tool that would bring healing to our neighbor, our community, our nation, and even our world.

Finally, something I discovered that I would like to share is the cold and disturbing fact that not everyone who leaves this world is missed. Sadly, some departed souls caused more pain in their living than in their dieing.

To my readers and to my contributors, it is my hope for you that you live every day you have been given with no regrets, and that when your life here is over,  “even the undertaker will be sorry” (Mark Twain).  Here’s to the journey!

As of today, I am no longer accepting letters for Volume one of Can You Hear Me?.  If you would still like to submit a letter, I will accept your submission, but it will be considered for Volume two.

Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep

Do not stand at my grave and weep;

I am not there. I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry;

I am not there. I did not die. – Mary Elizabeth Frye