~ YOU'RE GONNA WANT TO SINK YOUR TEETH INTO THIS BOOK! LIBERTY AWAKENED~

Today I have the privilege to have on a friend of mine, author Alicia Dean. She has a background in editing, but what she has taught me the most about is marketing. I'm looking forward to getting to know you better, Alicia. So let's not waste any time! When did your love for writing start?

When I was a child, maybe ten or eleven. I wrote a romance when I was about eleven that I still have, hand written in pencil, and probably nearly impossible to read. My penmanship sucks now, so you can imagine how bad it was before I got all this practice. Not to mention, the pencil is probably faded.

I started out young, too. Second grade! Mine was in pen but has been lost along the way. Tell us, what is the best thing you’ve learned about writing and/or the publishing business?

That the writing world is a close knit community and other authors are amazingly giving and supportive.

I think that was my answer to that question, too. Do you have a job outside of writing? What is it and how does it mesh with your writing?

Yes, I am a legal assistant in a family law firm. It meshes very well, other than being a full-time job. My bosses are very understanding when I need to take time off, and with the crazy world of divorce and custody battles, I am gathering tons of material for future books.

I bet. Can you share with us where you live? Where would you love to live?

I live in Edmond, Oklahoma. I lived in Kansas City for three years, from 2006 to 2009, and I loved it. I would love to live there again—it’s an awesome place--but I would miss my friends and family. I have friends there that I miss too, though, so…I guess I’m just hard to please. I would also love to live somewhere really cold and wintery. Ideally, I would like to be a multi-millionaire and have homes scattered all over the place. I love to travel, so that would be amazing!

What about family? Married? Kids? Pets?

Divorced, three grown kids who are like my best friends—Lana, Lacey, and my son, Presley. No pets.

Now, just for fun, when trick-or-treating as a kid, was there any kind of candy that you didn’t like to get?

I hated those black and orange wrapped brown square chewy candies, peanut butter maybe? I only see them at Halloween, but I always seemed to get a ton of them.

I think they may have been maple, and you're right, they were AWFUL! What CD is in your CD player right now?

Elvis Presley’s Prince from Another Planet

Ahh, The King. I wouldn't have guessed that. Name your favorite children's story.

The Little Match Girl. It was so sad…haunting. (Yes, I was twisted, even as a child)

That is pretty twisted! Well, this has been a lot of fun! Thank you for visiting with us today. Now let's find out a little bit about one of Alicia's books.

BLURB~

Evil lurks beneath the surface in the beauty of the tropics…

After graduation from her small, Oklahoma high school, Liberty Delacort is looking forward to a fun-filled summer before college. But when the people she trusts the most betray her, and a letter arrives claiming her deceased father is still alive, she jumps at the chance to travel to an exotic island to meet him.

But her excitement is short-lived. Her father is dying, and he doesn’t want her around. And, in spite of its outward tranquility, the island is filled with danger and ominous secrets. The secrets soon begin to unravel, and she discovers she is a descendant of Van Helsing, the vampire hunter.

The one up side is her budding romance with the sweet and sexy Ryan Kelly. But even that is threatened when—in spite of her fear of him—she finds herself attracted to an insolent, formidable vampire. Her plan to stay away from him fails when she learns he is the only one with the ability to train her to fulfill her destiny—to save humans from a faction of vicious vampires.

Will her inexperience lead to her death—and the death of others—or will she rise to the challenge and realize her full potential as a Hunter?

EXCERPT ~

At the Van Helsing house, Eli climbed out and opened the passenger door. Sliding one arm beneath Liberty’s knees and one behind her back, he gently lifted her from the car. Her head lolled against his shoulder. His chest tightened at the soft feel of her against him. He tilted his head, the urge to rub his cheek along the silky hair more powerful than any craving for blood he’d ever had. He gritted his teeth and forced the thought away. Get a grip, man. She’s not for you. Not in a million years.

Favreau opened the door as soon as Eli stepped onto the porch. He moved back and gestured for Eli to enter, then followed him up the stairs.

Antoine turned the knob to her bedroom, and Eli went inside and lowered her onto the mattress. She didn’t move. Her thick lashes cast a shadow against her pale cheeks. Her breasts rose and fell with her steady breathing. That same tightening came back to his chest, moving up to his throat.

“I can take it from here,” Antoine said. “How did she do?”

Eli curled his lip. “She’s getting better,” he whispered. “But she’s not a warrior.”

“She must learn to be.” Antoine put a hand on Eli’s arm, and he turned to face the older man. “She cannot be your Grande Amour.”

“I know that,” he snapped, still whispering.

“Does she?”

“She is with Ryan.”

“A woman, especially a young woman her age, can have many loves. Does she know why she can never be yours?”

A whoosh of air escaped Eli’s lungs. He didn’t want to discuss this with Antoine—or anyone else for that matter. He knew Liberty had to mate with a human. She had to continue the Van Helsing line…have babies with another man. He couldn’t give her that. Not ever. He damn sure didn’t need Antoine reminding him.

He shook his head, then spun and stalked from the room.


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.

Other than reading and writing, my passions are MLB, NFL, and watching my favorite televisions shows like Vampire Diaries, True Blood, Justified, and Dexter (Until I get caught up, now that it has gone away…forever..boohooo). 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.

Find LIBERTY AWAKENED at:  http://amzn.com/B00B3N6PMA 

Please visit my website/blog at: www.AliciaDean.com

Follow me on Twitter and Facebook.