Click on the graphic below to read the Outskirts Press Author Spotlight about John's successes





READERS' REVIEWS

"John Russell's A Knock in the Attic is a fascinating true story of incredible psychic experiences. If you are a skeptic or a believer this is a book for you." — Uri Geller


"John's books provide a unique perspective on the psychic and paranormal realms. Fans of true ghost stories will be entertained by accounts ranging from UFO encounters to Guardian Angel guidance that proved to be life-saving." — George Noory, Host: Coast to Coast AM


"From being frightened by his first ghostly apparition as a child to understanding fully the psychic ability that allowed it, John Russell has grown into his gifts. His writing takes you along on his beloved Melissa as he rides the roads of the United States to experience the history revealed through his paranormal journeys. They are many, they are interesting, they often give one pause. John is a wonderful writer who provides the reader their own vicarious paranormal experiences. These books are well written, and the stories stand on their own." — Kat Hobson, Host: FATE Magazine Radio


"John Russell has spent his life interacting with the Other Side and communicating with spirit. In A Knock in the Attic, John shares with the reader a myriad of experiences, starting with his first encounters as a young child and taking the reader through a lifelong journey. Reading John's work is like having a cup of coffee with the man and engaging in a wonderful conversation about our connection as humans to the Other Side and how personal that is to each individual." — Mike Ricksecker, Author; Researcher; Filmmaker


"John writes like he interviews – warmly, engrossingly, credibly and fascinatingly...always recommended." — Howard Hughes, Host: The Unexplained (UK)


"John's books are riveting, and great for young people like me to discover stories and accounts of eye-opening glimpses into paranormal realms. Whatever your age or beliefs, these books will open your mind to the realization that there is an unseen world all around us." — Cristina Gomez - KUNX Talk Radio, Host: Strange Paradigms


"Russell's paranormal and life experiences are engaging, charming, and offer a unique perspective on questions of life and death."—The BookLife Prize (Publishers Weekly)


"These stories are terrifyingly fantastic. The author's experience as a psychic and ghost chaser allow him to tell unique, haunting stories. This book is hard to put down." — Judge, 30th Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards


"From the very first chapter to the very last, A Knock in the Attic is a page-turning adventure every fan of the paranormal and good old-fashioned ghost story will love. A captivating and sometimes humorous collection of the author's personal interactions with the metaphysical and unexplained over his lifetime, the book serves up a heaping share of goosebump-worthy accounts that will make it difficult for even the staunchest non-believer to dismiss the existence of ghosts and visitors from the Other Side. And for some readers, learning how the author has used his psychic gifts to help others adds a warm touch to what could otherwise be a 'chilling' story!" — Nonfiction Authors Association Book Awards Program


"John's second book, A Knock in the Attic, is an experiential tour de force of the Other Side. John immerses us in his life's fascinating journey through planes both seen and unseen, giving us powerful insights into how the two worlds intersect. With his distinctive Texas-style storytelling, John has laid out a must-read for anybody wanting to gain more clarity about all things paranormal." — Jim Mullen, multi-award-winning television producer/editor/writer


"If you've ever wondered what it's like to be psychic, read this fascinating book. John Russell describes in detail what it's like to see a ghost, hear an otherworldly voice, receive information telepathically, and other paranormal phenomena. John writes from the heart, and his easygoing, down-to-earth prose gives you the sense that you're talking to an old friend." — Martha Lawrence, author of Murder in Scorpio and coauthor of Trust Works! Four Keys to Lasting Relationships


"Doc and I have both finished reading A Knock in the Attic. We were hooked from the first paragraph, and once we started it we couldn't put it down. It's a fascinating read that will hold your attention until the very end. We both love it, and we have a hard copy as well as two Kindle editions. We love John's style of writing: he writes in such a way that you feel like you are having a personal conversation with him on your back porch. Well worth the price. Keep writing John...your two biggest fans want more." — Jeanne & Doc


"I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and reliving Mr. Russell's experiences with him. Per his hope, I have learned to acknowledge more of what is happening around me." — Melissa Richardet


"Good stories that make you realize you can open your eyes to the other side with no fear! John Russell shares real life experiences with a positive vibe that's refreshing and revealing...real life should never be lived in fear of the spirits around us...thanks for the great stories!" — Darlene Couch


"Such a good book. I listen to every podcast I can find of John's, that's how I came to buy his book. This book is wonderful, you can tell how caring and loving his heart is simply by his words. I believe." — Carla P. Perkins


"A spellbinding read. The author saw his first ghost at the age of five, and ever since, became immersed in paranormal activities, eventually becoming a psychic. The book is a captivating collection of the author's interaction with the metaphysical and unexplained. I found it a real page-turner, wanting to know what was going to happen next in his life. I thought that the most interesting chapter was the one called A Russion Bomb?, since so many people observed the activity. Whether you believe in the paranormal or not, you will find this book to be a spellbinding read." — Fred F.


"Just finished reading his first book. Love his style of writing and forming a bond with his readers. Just received his second book. Looking forward to reconnecting!" — Deb Halpin Brophy


"Read both of his books and really enjoyed them. Never knew anything about him until I read his books. Fascinating. Truly enjoyed the spiritual walk with him." — Alice Tuder


"Riding with Ghosts, Angels, and the Spirits of the Dead is amazing. A Knock in the Attic is fantastic as well. John's books are impossible to put down. I've read so many paranormal books and John's are now at the top of my list of favs. I will definitely be reading them again and again; they are that good." — Shelley Spann Glenney


"John Russell's writing is luminous, and a pleasure to read. Here is an unusually sensitive, lucid, and often playful intelligence at work. While many people have had strange and bizarre experiences in their lives, few that I know of have had such a continual parade of paranormal phenomena and have had the discipline and skill to weave these experiences into a compelling life story. More than just a string of random anecdotes, John's spiritual autobiography is a heroic journey that truly walks between two worlds, and we feel cheered and inspired by his adventures with the Great Unknown." — Alex Noble


"A 5-star rating for bountiful, intriguing paranormal events that evoke emotions of amusement, surprise, interest, sadness, and happiness." — Johannes Schwarz


"Few have encountered the sheer number of strange, inexplicable events that have flourished in the landscape of John Russell's fascinating life. A natural psychic, John has experienced ongoing paranormal events as a regular diet since he was a child. This is an engaging, thought-provoking book that will entertain, fascinate, and sometimes chill the reader. Above it all, you get to feel that John Russell is one of the most decent, honest people on the planet who is as amazed by these events as you will be. An outstanding read!" — Jeff R.


"How is it that someone who is so gifted with the ability to see through the veil of the material world into the realm of the spirits can be so down to earth? That is John Russell and that is what you will discover as you read his book. His psychic abilities have impressed me but it is his compassion and realistic attitudes that have lulled me in. As you read this book you too will be invited into John Russell's world. You will be amazed. You will shake your head in disbelief. You will laugh. Your heart may break...and you will surely come to know the man, John Russell." — Marjorie Marcus


"I began reading this book with no small amount of excitement, and I was not disappointed! John will show you (as much as it is possible to understand in print) what it is like to live the life of a man who is surrounded by paranormal activity and who has come to terms with a gift that can be a curse at times.
"John's emotions are laid bare on these pages for all to feel and react to as they may. John's humor comes through and adds a lightness that doesn't downplay the importance of what he's trying to get across, and his serious moments radiate his love of life.
"As I read, I laughed, and cried, and came away with a better understanding of this man, myself, and the world that surrounds us all." — Kim Beall


"If you don't personally know John Russell, you will once you have finished his book. You feel that—through his book—you are with him from the night when he was 5 years old and awoke to see the elderly black gentleman out in the hallway, on up to the present; you will feel that you have lived with and experienced not only his family life but his work-a-day world. And yes, later his most private of thoughts and relationships.
"This book not only tells you of his psychic experiences, but his personal triumphs and disappointments. The experiences he shares are real, and many of those experiences are shared by others. I can only imagine how it must feel to have such great insight and ability.
"His book is very well written, and holds your attention and at times puts you on the edge of your seat. Within a few minutes of my first reading, I knew that I would never again doubt the fact that he is gifted, and that everything on every page of this wonderful book he shares with us is true." — Cynthia S.


"What an incredible book!" — A Beta Reader who must remain anonymous


EDITORIAL REVIEWS

"John Russell's book, A Knock in the Attic, continues to mesmerize readers with his masterful storytelling and insightful exploration of metaphysical phenomena. This gripping nonfiction work has garnered a host of awards and commendations. John Russell's remarkable talent for exploring metaphysical realms with clarity and intrigue shines through in this book. The numerous accolades he has received showcase his dedication to delivering captivating narratives and his ability to engage readers in the fascinating world of the paranormal." — OUTSKIRTS PRESS (My Publisher)


"In this memoir, West Texas native Russell writes that he saw his first ghost at the age of 5, when he awoke to see a man standing in his bedroom—one who mysteriously evaporated after the author started screaming. His parents didn't believe his story, but he says that the incident opened his eyes to a whole new plane of existence: 'He was only the first of many ghosts I would come to see,' writes the author, 'the harbinger of the beginning of my psychic, mediumistic, paranormal life, a life lived at the edge of the Veil which separates the seen and unseen worlds.' In this book, Russell offers accounts of some of his interactions with the spiritual realm, from his sightings of unidentified flying objects in the sky above his childhood home to his apparent ability to heal others' ailments. He tells stories of haunted places—an attic, a stable—and haunted objects, including a toy camera that would spontaneously click its shutter. He also tells of filming a pilot for the History Channel about spirits and psychic energy surrounding the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and of meeting his hero, celebrity psychic Uri Geller. Russell's prose has the practiced, rhetorical quality of a skilled storyteller, as in this passage, about a dog toy that has somehow escaped a grave: 'There had been no digging, no evidence of any kind of disturbance of the soil whatsoever. And yet here sat that frog toy, so distinctive in appearance, having somehow been teleported through...several feet of densely packed soil.' Russell clearly expresses confidence in his spiritual and psychic perceptions, although one doesn't get the sense that he feels the need to convince readers of their veracity; as such, skeptics will likely remain skeptical. Also, the overall tone is more like a memoir than a series of ghost stories, and some may find its lack of scares to be slightly disappointing. Still, the book offers an intriguing window into the life of someone steeped in the supernatural." — KIRKUS REVIEWS


"Part autobiography, part engaging paranormal story-telling, John Russell pens an entertaining—at times scary, if you believe in the paranormal—account of his life as a medium. Russell insists that he first encountered a ghost at age five, when he awoke to see an older Black gentleman standing staring at him in bed. At first, young Russell believed the man to be an intruder, but when he screamed for his parents, the man vanishes into thin air. So begins Russell's many run-ins with the spirit realm. 'Perhaps they would want me to try to convey messages to others for them. Perhaps they had things to tell me about myself that would prove beneficial to my own life. Perhaps they were lonely,' Russell muses as to why the spirits gravitate toward him.
"Russell serves up strange experiences and paranormal events with a fast pace and enough vivid detail to keep even some skeptical readers turning the pages to find out exactly how many encounters he claims with the spirit world and how he has dealt with the aftermath. Russell reports that his 'gift' runs the gamut from seeing spirits to having prophetic dreams to being able to read other people's history—histories, he insists, that have not been disclosed to him and he would have no way of knowing. Russell describes his gift as likely inherited: 'Several generations of my family had been both believers in and had had experiences with the paranormal.'
"Russell relishes building tension as he spins his tales. This is not a book readers will want to read late into the night if they are inclined to be fearful of the dark. It will put readers in the mind of television shows like Ghost Hunters or Medium in book format, or a round of entertaining ghost stories told around a campfire.
"Takeaway: Readers who enjoy a good heart-racing, spooky ghost story will enjoy this collection claiming real-life encounters with the paranormal world.
"Great for fans of: Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Sylvia Browne's The Other Side and Back." — BookLife (by Publishers Weekly)


"A Knock in the Attic: True Ghost Stories & Other Spine-chilling Paranormal Adventures by John Russell is an engrossing, at times, disturbing nonfiction book in which the author narrates his supernatural experiences. At the tender age of five, John had his first encounter with a black ghost. The image of the old black man's face peering around one of the doorways from down the hall will always stay with him, and he refers to it as 'the harbinger of the beginning' of his psychic, mediumistic, paranormal life, a life lived at the edge of the Veil which separates the seen and unseen worlds. This book is composed of stories that detail paranormal occurrences and experiences involving those who have passed on to another life. John has had run-ins with spirits, developed healing powers, and been saved by angels. His incredible experiences with the otherworldly creatures are recounted in this book, and they are stunning.
"This is a book that is filled with adventure and mind-blowing experiences, and the author provides ample proof that there is life beyond death, that those who have died still have the power to influence us, that the universe is a mystery that is bigger than our physical world. John Russell might have had and still has extraordinary experiences, but he also has the gift of storytelling which allows him to communicate his adventures in prose that is crisp and in a voice that is irresistible. A Knock in the Attic: True Ghost Stories & Other Spine-chilling Paranormal Adventures is a book that will entertain fans of the paranormal, but more importantly, it is one that will make any reader question existence and change what they think they know about life beyond the tomb. I was mesmerized by the writing and enamored by the experiences the author shares in this book." — 5 Star Review by Grace Masso for Readers' Favorite


"John Russell's stories may be scary, but because of the conversational style of writing, I found them very engaging and easy to read. I've had experiences of my own that were petrifying, so I can't imagine how John lived and fully accepted his psychic abilities. I guess having psychic abilities is very rare because not everyone can handle this kind of gift, which makes it very remarkable that John fully embraced what he was blessed with, regardless of its complexities. But what's more amazing is his courage to share his experiences, knowing that not everyone believes in paranormal occurrences. For me, the hardest part of life isn't accepting who you are, but rather, accepting that not all people will accept who you are.
"I'm giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. In response to John's message to his readers on the last page: yes, this book has challenged me, made me laugh, given me food for thought, and inspired me. I highly recommend this book to ALL readers who love reading real paranormal stories." — 5 Star Review by Shey Saints's Reviews