Authors in Residence series kicks off

" 'Horror' is not a commonly used word in literature anymore," LeBlanc says. "Now everyone wants to call it 'paranormal suspense' or 'supernatural thrillers.' "

LeBlanc says Hollywood has conditioned audiences to associate horror with blood, death and gore. As president of the Horror Writers Association, she says she is on a mission to remind people that horror doesn't have to be disgusting.

"My books might have a little blood here and there, but are more geared around the supernatural," she says.

LeBlanc will bring her crusade to save horror to Tucson on Sept. 19. The award-winning author, licensed death scene investigator, and paranormal investigator is the first writer in Loews Ventana Canyon Resort's new Authors in Residence series.

While at Loews, she will give a presentation on paranormal investigation. She will also debut her new book, "Water Witch," more than one week ahead of its national release. The book is set in southern Louisiana, where LeBlanc was born and now resides with her three daughters.

The author recently answered some questions about the spooky life she leads.

If the term "horror" is so loaded, why not abandon it altogether?

"Those of us who grew up with a horror genre have sort of a loyalty to the genre."

How did you get started as a writer?

"I had a very cool librarian in the little town I grew up in who allowed me to, even at 8 years old, read whatever I wanted. I read Stephen King and any scary book I could get my hands on. Most guys — when they're younger — are hiding Playboys under their blankets. I was a girl hiding 'The Exorcist.'

"I was a nerd and a Tomboy. I was a different kid and that was all right with me. I loved being alone and reading. I started writing in second grade — short stories. Not because I had any aspirations to be a writer, but because that was a way to tell stories. If you didn't have any friends to tell stories to, you wrote them down."

How often do you participate in paranormal investigations?

"If they come up with an interesting project, they call me in, because I'm sensitive to different energies in people and places."

What does that mean exactly?

"I can always tell when we go into a place if we're going to pick up some form of electronic voice phenomenon or some form of evidence on camera. My chest gets really tight and it feels like somebody stuck a huge magnet under the ground and my insides are filled with metal shavings. There's a pulling sensation.

"When you go into a place you bring a recording device with you. You ask questions. Then, later on, you'll run the recording through a computer and filter out some of the background noise. And sometimes you'll hear answers to your questions."

What was it like the first time you heard a mysterious voice on tape?

"It was great. Like being pumped with adrenaline. You knew you felt something. Like doing an Easter egg hunt and finding the golden egg."

Have you always had this gift?

"I'm sure when you were a kid sometimes you'd just get a feeling that something was about to happen. Or you'd be thinking of somebody and a few minutes later the phone would ring? I think we all have that sense to some extent but we lose it. I had it as a kid and it stuck."

Have you ever seen a ghost?

"I've never seen a full apparition. I'm the greatest doubting Thomas on the planet. I've been pushed off a flight of stairs before. I've had physical contact. But I can't say this is a ghost. I have no physical proof."

In addition to investigating paranormal, you also investigate death scenes. How do you find the time?

"I don't have the time to do it full time. I have a coroner I work with who will only call me in for the most unusual cases."

How did you get started?

"I started going to crime scenes when I was working with funeral homes, helping make removals. That's why I got my crime scene investigation license, because I wanted to snoop around more."

Do you use your sensitivities to different energies to help investigate crime scenes?

"Yes. For some reason, anytime there is something traumatic that happens — not just a regular shooting where the police get there five minutes later — I'll be helping with the case and with the removal and a name will come to mind and I'll give it to the investigators and I'll look around for some association to that name. So far I'm batting 1,000 and that name will show up somewhere and lead them to the perpetrator."

Are there any limits to your psychic abilities?

"The odd thing is I can't go to a cold scene and do that. It's almost like the contact with that body is what makes it clear."

Can you give an example of an unusual case that you've investigated?

"In one case, a Vietnamese man killed his 3-year-old daughter with a baseball bat outside in full view of everybody. He killed her and stood over the body. When police got there, he says she had a demon in her and he had to do it."

You do a lot of public speaking. What kind of response do you get when you talk about your experiences with the paranormal?

"The majority of people are anxious to tell you their own stories. They hear you and then they don't feel as nuts sharing their own."

Do you have any hobbies that don't involve ghosts, or murders, or magnetic fields?

"I love fishing and I love horseback riding. I also have a Harley-Davidson that I ride. But I'm lucky if I get to do any of those three things once a quarter."

If you go

• What: Deborah LeBlanc presentation on paranormal investigation.

• Where: Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, 7000 N. Resort Drive.

• When: Sept. 19 at 6:30 p.m.

• Cost: Free.