Thanks for being here today, Alicia.

Alicia would like to give away a $10 Amazon gift card and an Alicia Dean book of the commenter’s choice to one lucky commenter. So be sure and leave your email in the comment.

Do you have other talents? Or is there a talent you don’t have that you wish you did?

I don’t really have any other talents, but I would LOVE to be able to sing. I was just thinking recently while listening to an Elvis song…wow, how would it feel to open your mouth and have something that magical come out? (Of course, I wouldn’t want to sound exactly like Elvis. )

How did you get started writing?

I’ve wanted to write for as long as I can remember, and I wrote my first romance when I was eleven (which I still have written out in pencil somewhere). I put my writing on hold for many years, but in 2001, I took a writing class and my desire was renewed. I wrote as often as I could, between working full-time and being a single Mom, and I published my first novel in 2007, Nothing to Fear, through The Wild Rose Press.

What genre(s) do you write in and why?

I write mostly suspense and paranormal because that is what I love to read, and those are the story lines that tug at me. I love to be creeped out, love to have my heart thumping in fear or anticipation. What a rush!

How much time do you spend promoting your books?

I try to spend a little time each day, but no more than half an hour or so, and not every day. Actually, part of that time is promo’ing for other authors, too. Mostly in a Yahoo group I started called Authors Helping Authors, where we tweet for one another, and also do many other types of promo for one another, so that it doesn’t seem like we’re pushing our own work. What works best for you? I haven’t found the avenue that absolutely works the best, but I believe keeping your Amazon and Goodreads profiles up to date (which I don’t always do), and interacting with readers as often as you can, is the best way to go.

How has your experience with self-publishing been?

It’s been wonderful. I’ve been traditionally published, and published with a small e-publisher, and I love each of those avenues.

What advice do you have for other authors wanting to self-publish?
I would say, the best advice is to be sure, absolutely sure, your book is professionally edited. I would love to get to the place where self-published books weren’t harangued as being error-riddled trash.

What advice can you offer readers of self-pubbed books in making a decision on what to read?

PLEASE read the excerpt, or the ‘Look Inside’ feature on Amazon. Oftentimes, if you aren’t going to like the book, you will get a good idea of that from the excerpt. If it doesn’t engage you in that length of time, then don’t buy it.

Do you have critique partners?

Yes, and they are invaluable. I would never release a book, send it to a publisher, or to my editor, without having my critique partners look at my work.

Do you write under a pen name? Why or why not? How did you choose it?

Yes, because I felt my real name, Alice Clary, was a bit too plain. I chose Alicia because it is similar to Alice, only prettier, and I chose Dean because that was my dad’s first name and he passed away in ’94 before I was published, but he would have been extremely supportive and proud of me.

Tell us about your current series/WIP.

I am in the last stages of a short story titled End of Lonely Street that is set in 1957. I love that era; the music, the tv shows (I Love Lucy, Leave it to Beaver), the clothing, pretty much everything. But this is my first time to write in that period, and it has been so much fun!

My publisher, The Wild Rose Press, recently released an e-book boxed set called Killer Love, which contains four of my romantic suspense stories (including my first ever release, Nothing to Fear):

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Killer-Love-Boxed-Edition-Alicia-ebook/dp/B00I5RVZRW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393275639&sr=8-1&keywords=killer+love+alicia+dean

***This Kindle boxed set will be on sale for only 99¢ beginning March 14th. If you would like for me to add you to my mailing list where you will receive a reminder of the sale, please leave your email address in the comment box.

Truly Madly – Romantic Suspense – Haunted by her family’s tragic legacy, an artist moves back to her home town to settle her parents’ estate, only to learn that someone is out to frame her for murder.

Poetic Injustice – Romantic Suspense – An ambitious detective investigating the murder of a high profile celebrity judge is distracted by the sexy, bad boy ME, who is exactly the kind of man she’s sworn to avoid like the plague.

Tears of the Wounded – Romantic Suspense – A madman bent on revenge puts a diabolical plan in motion where a man’s races against the clock to save his daughter could mean death for the woman he loves.

Nothing to Fear – Romantic Suspense – A frightened wife flees her psychotic husband and enters the witness protection program, but when an undercover cop out to avenge his partner’s murder tracks her down, she discovers her new location—even with her new identity—isn’t the safe haven she’d hoped for.

Excerpt from Nothing to Fear:

Jade realized with surreal wonder that Bryce had sliced the knife across her neck.

Her hands flew to her throat. Blood gushed between her fingers. She sank to the floor, finally free of Bryce’s grip.

Through a blur of pain, she was vaguely aware of El Lobo lifting his gun and yelling something unintelligible—shattering glass as Bryce hurled himself through the window into the rain drenched night—the booming echo of a gunshot—and El Lobo running to the window.

The man looked back and forth between Bryce’s escape route and where she lay on the floor. Moving to her side, he tore off his shirt and pressed it against her throat, cursing under his breath.
The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. Iciness twisted deep inside her—seized her skin. Her body convulsed. She clawed at the hands that held her. Dear God, she couldn’t breathe.

In her delirium, she saw a blurred image of demonic red eyes and huge fangs.

This must be what death looks like.

The room faded in and out like the screen of a movie theatre as it switched frames. She tried to stay awake, afraid of what the blackness would bring, but her mind wouldn’t focus.

“Hold on,” a voice murmured. “Please don’t die on me, please don’t die.”

She wanted to answer but couldn’t. His words came from far away, then disappeared completely.

The world went silent as darkness swallowed her.

BIO:
I live in Edmond, Oklahoma. I have three grown children and a huge network of supportive friends and family. I have dreamed of being an author since I was a young child. There is no feeling in the world like seeing your dreams fulfilled, and I couldn’t be happier. I wrote my first romance at age 11, and my hero looked just like Elvis Presley (which I plainly stated in the story as my description :)). I still have that story, but I hope I have learned and grown as a writer over the years.

I write suspense and paranormal, among a few other random genres from time to time. I am a launch author for Amazon Kindle Worlds, with two Vampire Diaries stories and one Gossip Girl story. I currently have a total of approximately nineteen novels and short stories published.

Other than reading and writing, my passions are MLB, NFL, and watching my favorite televisions shows like Vampire Diaries, True Blood, Justified, and Dexter (even though it has sadly ended, I will forever be a fan). My favorite authors, and this is only a small sampling, are Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, Lee Child, Lisa Gardner, Sharon Sala, Jordan Dane, Ridley Pearson, Jonathan Kellerman… I could go on and on. Oh yeah, and I am still an avid Elvis Presley fan.

Please visit my website/blog at: www.AliciaDean.com
Follow me on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alicia_Dean_
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alicia-Dean/131939826889437?ref=hl
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/468339.Alicia_Dean