"Great Neck is now part of the lives of people in Belgium, Holland, and the U.K.," says Great Neck author Rochelle Shapiro, as she told the Great Neck Record of the now worldwide success of her first novel, Miriam the Medium. "They walk with us along Middle Neck Road and have lunch at Bruce's Bakery, stop in at Poultry Mart for chicken, and rest at Grace Avenue Park; they drive through Kings Point and have yogurt at Haagen Dazs," said Ms. Shapiro, who is also a professional psychic.

Miriam the Medium was a great success when first published in hardcover in 2004 and is now enjoying further success, in far-off lands and also in the United States as a paperback book. "Miriam the Medium has universal appeal because it is, at heart, a story of family life, love, and claiming your own identity," Ms. Shapiro explained. And, she added, "As a psychic I always knew this would be a big book."

The author said that publishers Simon and Schuster had recently received many requests for her book, which is no longer in print, so they decided to republish in paperback, have the work translated, and sold overseas in several countries. Although the new version is now being sold in Holland, in Belgium and in the United Kingdom (including Australia and Canada), Ms. Shapiro has heard from fans as far away as Hong Kong.

The book is loosely based on Rochelle Shapiro's own life, set in her hometown of Great Neck. However, she emphasized that she is not a "medium," she is a psychic. "Mediums only speak to the dead; I get all kinds of information about people's lives, current and past lives," she said. She also said that "spirits sometimes arrive" as she is working or even taking a walk with her husband on Middle Neck Road.

Professionally, she works with people on the telephone, often "spirits arrive" at other times. Sometimes she reports this to the person, sometimes she waits for them to ask. "This is the call of the book --- that there are deep bonds even past death," she said, adding "and people all over the world are thrilled."

One incident years ago tells her story perfectly. Waiting on line in a drug store she saw a man buying boxes and boxes of cookies; in his aura she saw tremendous pain and she approached him. He told her that he was a diabetic and very depressed because his wife was critically ill. Ms. Shapiro saw a "future flash" of him walking with his wife, in Florida, and she was well, although she had a limp. She told him to throw away the cookies, not to give up hope. About 10 years later he saw Rochelle and reminded her of the incident. He now lived in Florida, with his wife, and she walked over too, though she had a limp.

Rochelle Shapiro says that her book, Miriam the Medium, "invites you into the psychic's mind ... you see how images arrive ... it demystifies the mystical and makes this all even more wonderful and magical." Through the book, she says, You will see exactly how a psychic vision arises, whether it's visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, or gustatory," and the readers will learn how it is for the author to walk around and try to do her daily life "with all the extrasensory input flying at me every moment."

And this is basically the premise of the novel: "What if you were a psychic and you could tell and manage everyone's future but your own?" And what makes this novel more intriguing is that Rochelle Shaprio didn't just write it, she has lived it! "Like my main character, Miriam Kaminsky, I am a professional psychic and have chronicled my experiences in the The New York Times and in Newsweek.

Many fans, many friends, tell Ms. Shapiro how lucky she is to have this "gift." She agrees that she is indeed fortunate, but it isn't always so easy, "trying to negotiate relationships" while blessed with the "gift." The book also introduces the reader to Ms. Shapiro's grandmother, Sara Shapiro, from whom she inherited this "gift." Ms. Shapiro says that her grandmother not only told people's futures, but also made potions and cures for their ailments.

Ms. Shapiro is also delighted that she "brought my town out to the world," and introduced Great Neck to a huge international audience. She says that not only do people identify with Great Neck, some writing and saying that lived here, but much fan mail comes not to "Rochelle Shapiro," but to "Miriam."

This has all become very real to many people, she says, and she added that "this is all a part of my daily life ... and a part of everyone if they are open to it ..."

But most of all, Ms. Shapiro says that by reading Miriam the Medium, "I want you to get sparked by your own psychic experiences, learn to trust them, let them guide you."

Miriam the Medium took Rochelle Shapiro seven years to write. Currently she has another book in the works and is working on another Miriam book. She also teaches a course on writing personal essays for UCLA online and writes a monthly column for an author link. She has published many essays and was nominated for the Harold U. Ribelow Prize. She was also on the Hartford Courant summer reading list.

Rochelle Shapiro admits that she "loves" her work, and though she "barely gets a night's sleep," she "wouldn't trade this for anything." She also admitted that her background has caused as much media interest as her novel and she has been profiled in several publications worldwide.

The paperback version of Miriam the Medium can be found via the following links: http://www.amazon.com/Miriam-Medium-Rochelle-Shapiro/dp/1416578293/ref=sr_1_1/103-7674528- or http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=1&pid=619093 or http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?WRD=mIRIAM+THE+MEDIUM&z=y

Those interested can also visit Rochelle Shapiro at her website at: www.miriamthemedium.com/ and at her blog at: http://rochellejewelshapiro.blogspot.com/

Rochelle Shapiro may be contacted for her professional services (readings) at: rochelle@miriamthemedium.com or by phone for an appointment at 829-6658.

(Editor's Note: Rochelle Shapiro came to the Great Neck Record office last week for an interview about the latest publication of her unique novel Miriam the Medium. Although we had met, we had never before sat and talked. Halfway through the interview, this editor, hoping not to be too unprofessional, could not resist asking: "Do you see anything for me?" With the words hardly out, Ms. Shapiro offered me a reading. Suffice it to say, her reading ran true and deep; emotions, thoughts and words that she could not have possibly known by herself. It was an afternoon beyond words, quite simply amazing.)