Monday, August 13, 2012

Thicker Than Water


Good morning all!

Today Wild Woman Author is pleased to welcome Alicia Dean and Jake Devlin from Thicker Than Water a romantic suspense short story, part of the Curse of the Scrimshaw Doll series, released August 8, 2012, by The Wild Rose Press.
Where are you from, Jake? Covington, Oklahoma.
What is Thicker than Water about? When Julia Bennett’s childhood friend dies, she comes back home for his funeral, only to learn there’s more to his death than meets the eye. It appears someone from her past is gunning for her and her friends because of a tragic accident that happened years ago. A mysterious ancient cursed doll might or might not have something to do with the events that unfold.
What did you think the first time you saw Julia? I thought she was the prettiest girl I’d ever seen.
And your second thought? That I wanted to get to know her better. That I couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Did you think it was love at first sight? [At the time] I was a teenager, too young to really know what love was, but I knew no girl had ever affected me like that. I learned through the years that no woman ever would.
What do you like most about her? I love her resilient spirit. I love that she’s strong, yet kind and loving, despite her unhappy childhood and the tragedy she’s dealt with.
How would you describe Julia? She’s beautiful on the inside and out, although she doesn’t realize it. She thinks she’s not good enough, that she doesn’t deserve good things to happen to her.
How would she describe you? She’d probably say that I hold people to standards that are too high. Maybe that I’m a little judgmental.
What made you choose being a sheriff as a career? I hate it when people are victimized. I want to make sure those who commit crimes pay for them.
What is your biggest fear? That Julia will be hurt. That I’ll be the one to hurt her.
How do you relax, Jake? I like to watch baseball and drink a few beers.
Who is your favorite fictional character and why? John Wayne’s character, John Elder, in Sons of Katie Elder. Because he risked himself for those he loved and fought for what was right.
What is the best piece of advice you ever received? My mentor, Sheriff Burton, told me that truth was the most important part of this job. But he warned me to not be blinded by what I believe to be true and to always look for the real truth.
Now, it’s our turn to ask Alicia: What movies or books have had an impact on your writing? Gone with the Wind. Sweet, Savage Love. Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch series and Dennis Lehane’s Patrick Kenzie series. There are others, but those are the ones that first come to mind.
Kat: Yikes! Sweet Savage Love was the first historical romance I ever read! Man, as I recall it was about a man named Steve something, who also went by Esteban, and Virginia [Ginny] something. It was set in the west but also Monterrey California, Mexico and Russia. Hmm. Who knew another author would like the same books as me, though I have to say I like Connolly’s Mickey Haller much better than Harry Bosch.
But I digress, tell us a bit about the Curse of the Scrimshaw Doll series. How did you hear about it? I actually created it. I wanted to encourage my fellow OKRWA [Oklahoma Romance Writers] chapter members to complete and submit a story. Wild Rose Press wanted more short story submissions, so I thought it would be fun to start a project where we all wrote stories with a recurring thread. Brainstorming, we came up with the idea of an ancient, cursed doll that appeared in each of the stories, even though they would be written in various genres. (This series is an ‘unofficial’ TWRP series, by the way, one we did as a group of authors, although it wasn’t launched by TWRP) I had no idea the level of enthusiasm I’d see from my chapter mates, nor did I dream of the talent we had in our group, of how successful the series would be. I believe we now have nine stories accepted [for publication].
What influenced your decision to submit to the series? I figured if I was going to force—uhm, I mean ask--others to do it, I should do it myself.
Is Thicker than Water your first experience writing for a series? No. A Knight Before Christmas is one of three novels in a Christmas trilogy I wrote with two other authors that was published through The Wild Rose Press. I also have a self-published series, of which I’ve released two books so far, Death Notice and Death Offerings.
How long did it take from query to release? Just under 11 months. I queried at the end of September, 2011, and it was released August 8th of this year.
To learn more about Thicker than Water and the stories Alicia Dean creates go to: www.AliciaDean.com.
To purchase Thicker than Water, go to:

thanks, Alicia for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit ith us today!
Best, Kat

16 comments:

Alicia Dean said...

Thank you for having me. I'm so happy to be here and that everyone has an opportunity to meet Jake.

Diane Burton said...

Jake sounds like my kind of guy. The Scrimshaw Doll series sounds great. What a terrific opportunity for your chaptermates and a great read for us.

Jannine Gallant said...

Alcia, Jake sounds like a terrific hero. Good luck with all your projects!

Calisa Rhose said...

Great interview! Nice to see you out and about finally Jake!

Diane Layne said...

Congrats on your story, Jake-and congrats to Alicia on the new release-good luck and thanks for thinking of the series idea! What a feat to pull off!

Alicia Dean said...

Thank you so much, everyone. It's been a fun and fascinating experience. I'm thrilled for my chapter mates. :-) I also kind of like Jake myself.

Kat,
As far as Sweet Savage Love, it was Steve Morgan and Virginia (Ginny) Brandon. I believe Esteban was a name Steve also went by, but I could be mistaken. I read it 8 or 9 times, but it's been more than 30 years ago, LOL. Very cool that we like the same books. I'll admit I haven't read the Mickey Haller books. Apparently, I should.

Jessica E. Subject said...

Great character and author interview! Jake sounds like a true hero.

R.T. Wolfe said...

Alicia,
You do, indeed, write what is real in your work. It is one of the first things I noticed when I read one of your other pieces (Lady in the Mist). Your details were incredibly realistic and allowed me to fall right into the setting. So awesome. Research is one of the things I enjoy in my writing, therefore it's something I pay attention to when I'm reading. You have a knack for it. I look forward to reading Thicker Than Water!
-R.T. Wolfe
http://www.rtwolfe.com

Jessica Ferguson said...

I liked Jake alot! He was perfect for Julia.

Anonymous said...

Okay, I'm sold. On my way to get it now. I know it's going to be great.

Anonymous said...

The Scrimshaw series is a great idea--and Jake sounds totally drool-worthy.

Barbara Monajem said...

I love the idea of stories connected by a curse. :)

Leah St. James said...

Great interview with Jake! What's not to like about a guy whose favorite character is John Wayne in Sons of Katie Elder? :-) I think Sweet Savage Love was my first romance, too! Was that the one where Ginny found out she was pregnant while being dragged all over the world? I remember worrying about the baby. :-)

Margo Hoornstra said...

I'll join the others in saying great interview. Love the idea of a chapter series. More stories to look into. Sweet Savage Love was one of my first too. Thanks for the memories, ladies.

Anna said...

Great interview, ladies. I have read Thicker than Water by Alicia Dean, and encourage everyone else to do the same! :) It is a great story filled with romance, suspense, and an old familiar friend of mine, the ever-ominous scrimshaw doll.

I am very proud of Alicia's scrimshaw doll project, and honored to have been a part of it as well.

Alicia Dean said...

Hey all...you guys are the best! I know I overlooked some comments. Sorry! Busy twenty-four hours. I appreciate everyone stopping by and all the kind words.