Happy medium

Q You made your name as a ghostbuster, yet you seem to have moved away from that and more into teaching and writing.

A Yes, I'm fried on ghosts. My brother still does it. I've trained other people to do it.

Q Why are you fried on ghosts?

A They're people who are stuck -- they're afraid of change. So they get bored, make noises and scare people. If you ask them, "Why won't you go to the other side?" they say they're afraid God will send them to hell. It's more like ghost counseling than ghostbusting. We are convincing them. We've had lots of ghosts come back and say thank you.

Q Have you ever had to ghostbust your own home?

A Our house growing up was full of spirits. But we didn't know how to do anything about it.

Q How about in this house?

Q You seem to make a distinction between ghosts and spirits.

A Yes. They're all souls. But spirits, at the time of death, their soul moves on, although they can come back and forth. A ghost is an earthbound spirit.

Q What's the most common misconception about ghosts?

A People give ghosts a lot of power but they don't have power, although they can get energy from us. Fear can feed a ghost, so a ghost can grow in front of our eyes. That's why they try to scare us, to get more energy. But people don't have to be afraid. Put your foot down, treat them like an intruder, and tell them to get out and go to the light. Relax, it's only a ghost.

Q What's your favorite spot in your home?

Q What's on your nightstand these days?

A "The Second Coming of Christ" by Paramahansa Yogananda. It's his interpretation of the Bible. It's in two volumes, 800 pages each. I can read one page, then I'm out. Oh, man, is it intense!

Q How about your guilty pleasure reading?

A I really don't have any. I grew up as a kid who didn't like stories. I read nonfiction. If it isn't practical, I don't want to read it. Although I do read some frivolous things, like O magazine and People. And TV Guide.

Q Are you a cook?

Q What inspired you to write your most recent book?

A My students tell me they love the stories I tell them, so I put them all in one book.

Q How did it feel to reveal so much of your personal history?

A I'm so used to telling the stories to my students that I didn't feel too vulnerable. Then I got it back after the last rewrite and thought, "Oh, my God! You just told everyone all this stuff."

Q What was hardest to have out there?

Q What's your daily routine like?

A I'm a late-night person. I'm almost always up until 1 or 2 in the morning. I do most of my work between 7 and 9:30 p.m., and I write late at night. I'm not a morning person. I get up around 10:30, sit with a cup of coffee and talk to God. I ask, "What do you want me to do today?"

Q And what did God want you to do today?

A God said, "Stay peaceful." I was thinking about the house: Does it look OK? Too OK, like I don't even live here? God said, "Relax, and have fun."

Kim Palmer • 673-4784

Home base: A yellow cottage in southwest Minneapolis that is more cheery than eerie. "People say, 'Wow.' Your house is so happy.' "

Shares with: Susie, her Persian cat.

Hobby: Sewing and handicrafts.

Favorite season: "Fall. And I actually like winter. You can hibernate and work on projects."