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Is talking to the dead a matter of fact or fiction? I still don't know the answer to that, do you?

Once upon a time I started working with medium Kelvin Cruickshank on his first book. Unfortunately, I found myself unable to deal properly with his charming but hyperactive personality, and fit in with his busy schedule.

Joycelle is heading over the ditch to share her skills with Australians.

So that was one more of life's glittering prizes I failed to grasp and Walking in Light shot to the top of the bestseller list without me. But Kelvin's intriguing combination of the straightforward and the totally inexplicable kept me interested in and curious about how mediumship worked.

And later on, I had the very good fortune of numbering among my friends a woman who is equally direct. She is well-known medium Joycelle – yes, one name only! – and she is intent on dispelling some of the myths around the subject and telling you how you can do it yourself.

Joycelle believes that mediumship, or the ability to talk to the dead, is everybody's birthright.

The recent high profile of different forms of mediumship in the media has led to a greater demand for understanding if, why and how we can contact people from the ‘other side'. While Joycelle normally resides in Tauranga, she is presently fulfilling engagements in Taupo, and will soon cross the ditch to share her skills with Australian audiences.

Joycelle will take with her copies of her new book – Joycelle: How to Talk to the Dead. In this, she combines personal memoir with practical how-to instruction. Fascinated as a child by English medium Doris Stokes, Joycelle was fired by the ambition to emulate that remarkable woman.

This week's Write Space by Jenny Argante.

She has subsequently enjoyed considerable success as a medium and teacher. Her clients range from high-powered businessmen to others who are simply looking for relief from their grief.

Joycelle shares with the reader frank and poignant stories about her different encounters with death. Sometimes sad, often humorous, these earlier experiences laid down the foundations of Joycelle's spiritual principles.

Joycelle: How to Talk to the Dead is a down-to-earth guide to mediumship skills for all, not just a ‘special few'. You can find out more online at www.joycellehowtotalktothedead.com.

Or you can come to the official book launch organised by Tauranga Writers on Wednesday, April 27, 5.30pm at The Manor, Cambridge Road, Tauriko, Tauranga.

Please RSVP to ojoycelle@xtra.co.nz or phone 07 576 3040 so we don't run out of cheese straws. Or send a text to Joycelle on 0274 48 40 67.