Devil's Promenade #Excerpt and #Interview with @Alicia_Dean_

Alicia Dean Interview

Thank you for having me on your blog, Tina!

1.    Please tell us a little about yourself, where are you from? Where do you live now? Family? Pets?

I am from and live in Oklahoma. Currently, Edmond. No pets. Three grown children, and I have been divorced for twenty years.

2.    Where did you get the idea for the A World of Gothic series?

A little while back, I had the idea to gather a group of writers from various countries around the world and have each of us write a stand-alone story set in our own country. I wanted them in the same genre and to share a minor recurring thread. I love the gothic genre and my other gothic mystery, Lady in the Mist, has done quite well, so I thought gothic would be a fun genre for the series. Since gothic mysteries are somewhat formulaic, the stories seem more connected than they might in another genre. Additionally, they all share a recurring thread of a Spinel stone. It can play a small or large part of the story, but each one must contain a Spinel, which is a fascinating stone, by the way.

3.    What actors would you like in the main roles if your book were made into a movie?

Allison Williams for Camille and Stephen Amell for Declan. Even though it will never be made into a movie, I already had to answer this question, because I always have to picture a ‘model’ (usually celebrities) for my characters, and those are the two inspirations for Devil’s Promenade.

4.    Would you rather have a bad review or no review?

Bad review, for sure, as long as it wasn’t terribly insulting and as long as I could tell they’d read the book. I expect to receive bad reviews. Like I always say, even my most-loved authors receive bad reviews, and if bad reviews are good enough for Michael Connelly, Stephen King and Dennis Lehane, they are good enough for me. ;)

5.    If you were stranded on a deserted island and you could have 3 (inanimate) objects, what would they be?

If I can’t have electricity, I would have to say a house, a book, wine. J

6.    What celebrity would you most like to be stranded on an island with?

Of those living, probably, hmmmm…. Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) from Walking Dead. Not only is he very, very sexy, he’s a survivor and could take excellent care of me…in many ways, wink, wink…

7.    Your favorite…

Movie – Gone with the Wind

Music – Elvis music, but since that’s not really a ‘genre’ I’d have to say country, but not this new crap. Old country.

Place you’ve visited – Well…that’s tough. I’ve been to some great places. I’d probably say Montana, since it’s gorgeous and cold.

Place you’d like to visit – Another tough one. Probably…Italy.

TV show from childhood – Leave it to Beaver or I Love Lucy

TV show from adulthood - Dexter

Food - Mexican

Sports team – Cincinnati Reds

Which do you prefer: Board games/card games or television?  TV, I’m an addict.

Key words:

A World of Gothic, Gothic Mystery Romance, Ghosts, Oklahoma, Quapaw, Remote Bed and Breakfast, Winter Blizzard, Spook light, Tri-State Spook Light, romance, ebook, 99 cents, Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Devils-Promenade-Gothic-United-States-ebook/dp/B01GNGTU96?tag=geolinker-20&ie=UTF8

Blurb:

Amidst a blizzard, paranormal debunker Camille Burditt arrives at Devil’s Promenade in Oklahoma to research a supernatural 'spook light' phenomenon for her latest book. There she encounters a ghostly being, which she dismisses as a figment of her imagination. But as the apparition becomes too persistent to deny, Camille realizes the woman’s ghost is quite real—and that her demise was not accidental. 

Declan Rush—the inhospitable, reclusive owner of the inn where Camille is staying—is linked to the deceased woman, but he is less than forthcoming. Despite his unfriendliness, Camille is oddly drawn to him, even though she suspects his connection to the spirit might be that of killer to victim. 

When another suspicious death occurs, Camille intensifies her investigation. She has precious little time to ferret out the truth. Not only is her book deadline looming—she's desperate to discover if the man she’s falling for is a murderer. 

Excerpt:

Another sound—almost like that of a human moan—rose. I yelped and slammed the book closed. Tossing it on the nightstand, I threw back the covers and climbed from the bed. Although not sure I wanted to identify the sound, I hurried to the window, the hardwood floor cold against my bare feet.

I rubbed my arms against the chill, then drew the curtain back and peered outside. Darkness pushed against the glass like a physical being. Snow and a sprinkling of stars made the night only slightly less black. What had I heard? Snow falling? No, that was ice pelting the window. I hadn’t been around snow much, but I knew it didn’t make that kind of sound.

A flash of something bright caught my attention. I pushed closer to the window, my nose practically touching the pane. There, in the corner of the yard next to a bare-branched shrub. A wisp of something…

I grabbed my cell phone and zoomed in. My heart beat in triple time as I looked through the phone camera. A ghostly figure…no other way to describe it. The gauzy essence was in the shape of a person, undefined, yet unmistakable. A woman, it seemed—long hair flowing behind her, the skirt of a dress billowing around her legs.

She seemed to be staring up at the window…

She, ha, it was nothing, no ‘she,’ no ghost, just my imagination. That’s what I got for reading Dean Koontz in a peculiar, spooky house in a strange place. Plus, I was just overtired from my trip. But, still, I was seeing it. Wasn’t I? I squinted at the enlarged image through my cell. Yes, it was right there…

I started video recording on my phone. I would study it further. Figure out if I was seeing what I thought I was seeing. And if I was, I could show others, so I would know I wasn’t crazy.

I’d only been recording for a few seconds when the image just…floated away, dissipated somehow. Chills brushed over my flesh. I dropped my arm holding the phone and stared stupidly out the window. Frowning, I touched Play on the video. The screen filled with the view out my window, but the apparition was not there. What the…?

The shrub was in place, in the recording. Just where I’d seen the…thing, whatever it had been. But now, there was nothing.

I took a deep breath. I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or concerned. Whether I was seeing things, or if there really was a thing. Perhaps I was really was going crazy.

No…just overly tired, an overactive imagination and the masterful conjurings of Dean Koontz.

I slipped back in bed and tossed the book into the nightstand drawer, then shut it safely inside. I reached for the bedside lamp but paused before switching it off. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to leave a light burning. After all, I was in an unfamiliar place, and the bathroom was down the hall. If I needed to get up during the night, I’d have to be able to see.

Satisfied I was being practical, rather than frightened, I snuggled into the covers. But it was a long while before I fell asleep. My ears and eyes were trained on the window…my mind brimming with the strangeness of my experiences at the Spook Light Bed and Breakfast. And I’d yet to be here for twelve hours.

Bio

Award-winning author, Alicia Dean, began writing stories as a child. At age 11, she wrote her first ever romance (featuring a hero who looked just like Elvis Presley, and who shared the name of Elvis’ character in the movie, Tickle Me), and she still has the tattered, pencil-written copy. Alicia is from Moore, Oklahoma and now lives in Edmond. She has three grown children and a huge network of supportive friends and family. She writes mostly contemporary suspense and paranormal, but has also written in other genres, including a few vintage historicals. She is a freelance editor in addition to being an editor for The Wild Rose Press.

Other than reading and writing, her passions are Elvis Presley, MLB, NFL (she usually works in a mention of one or all three into her stories) and watching (and rewatching) her favorite televisions shows like The Walking Dead, Dexter, Justified, Sons of Anarchy, Haven, Vampire Diaries, and The Originals. Some of her favorite authors are Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, Lee Child, Lisa Gardner, Sharon Sala, Jordan Dane, Ridley Pearson, Joseph Finder, and Jonathan Kellerman…to name a few.

Find Alicia here:

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Thanks Alicia for stopping by,

Tina