Sliding Beneath the Surface by Doug Dillon

Sliding Beneath the Surface by Doug Dillon
ISBN: 978-0983368410
Publisher: Old St. Augustine Publications
Softcover (294 pages)
E-book

Book synopsis:

A new resident of America's oldest and most haunted city, St. Augustine, Florida, fifteen-year-old Jeff Golden suddenly finds himself up to his eyeballs in frightening paranormal experiences. At the end of his rope in trying to figure out what is happening to him, Jeff decides to rely on his friend Carla Rodriguez, and Lobo, an old Native American shaman, for help.

Despite this guidance, things get even worse. Jeff's spine tingling encounters increase in number and intensity at an alarming rate, scaring him even more. Eventually, he makes the startling discovery that unresolved circumstances involving a bloody event directly out of Florida's distant past threatens his sanity and possibly his life.

Finally, overwhelmed by forces he cannot understand or control, Jeff's world shifts from frightening to downright terrifying. In desperation, and on Lobo's advice, he leaps headlong into the unknown in order to save himself. What Jeff discovers though is that he has entered a level of reality he is completely unprepared to handle while unwittingly dragging Carla with him.

Like all the books in THE ST. AUGUSTINE TRILOGY, the premise for Sliding Beneath the Surface is simply this: You create your own reality.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author for the purpose of review. The review is my honest opinion and I was not paid for this service. 

Sliding Beneath the Surface is not my typical read, but I must say that Doug Dillon certainly has a way of capturing your attention and drawing you into the book. I liked how Doug not only introduces you to the characters but pulls you in as though you were old friends. I enjoyed getting to know the main characters Jeff, Carla and Lobo. Lobo, I must say makes you think of the old coot that you knew from your childhood. Every town has one. It's pretty creepy how he seems to know things before they happen and what someone is thinking. Without giving anything away, there were some pretty strange occurrences that happen throughout the story.

 Sliding Beneath the Surface is a combination historical fiction story crossed with something out of the paranormal. This is a book was nothing short of extraordinary. Doug pulls you right into the story from the very first chapter and keeps you until the very end. He has an incredible story-telling ability and writes an incredible yet interesting story. I look forward to reading more books by Doug. If you enjoy reading a good book, I definitely recommend reading this one.

I give this book 4.5 stars out of a total of 5.

About the author:

Doug Dillon has been writing for adults and young people since 1984, especially in the paranormal realm. An award winning educator, he spent many years as a classroom teacher, school administrator, and coordinator of programs for high-risk students. Prentice Hall, Harcourt, Mitchell Lane Publishers, Boys' Life magazine, Learning Magazine and The Orlando Sentinel have all published his work. Doug Dillon's personal experiences with the paranormal help give his books the solid feel of a real life supernatural adventure. The nonfiction book Doug and his wife wrote a number of years ago titled, An Explosion of Being: An American Family's Journey into the Psychic, backs up his claim of such firsthand knowledge.

Purchase the book: Amazon | Barnes&Noble

Contact the author: Facebook | Website

Interview with Florence Osmund

Good evening, Florence. Thanks for taking the time out to interview with me today. Please tell me about your novel. Who or what was your inspiration behind it?

“The Coach House” begins in 1945 Chicago. Newlyweds Marie and Richard Marchetti have the perfect life together. Or at least it seems until Marie discovers he secretly attends a mobster’s funeral. And when she inadvertently interrupts a meeting between Richard and his so-called business associates, he causes her to fall down the basement steps, compelling her to run for her life. Ending up in Atchison, Kansas, Marie quickly starts a new life for herself in a coach house apartment. Ironically, it is the discovery of the identity of her real father and his ethnicity that changes her life more than Richard ever could.

Years before I started writing novels, I jotted down anything and everything that I thought I could use in a storyline. Then, when I was ready to write, I retrieved those hundreds of scraps of paper, sorted through them, put them in piles, and lo and behold, a story emerged. So when you ask who or what inspired me, I have to say it was family, friends, and strangers saying and doing a vast array of different things.

What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What was the biggest compliment? Did those change how or what you did in your next novel?

In the beginning, I had a difficult time with sticking to one POV (Point of View). I cringed every time my editor wrote “POV” in the margin—which meant she wanted me to remove something I wrote that came from another character’s perspective. Since my book was written in third person limited from the protagonist’s POV, I couldn’t allow the reader to know more than the protagonist. Hard lesson for me to learn.

The best compliment I’ve received actually started out sounding more like a complaint. “I’m mad at you, Florence. I picked up your book yesterday and couldn’t put it down. Stayed up way past my bedtime two nights in a row, and now I’m dog tired.”

Compared to when you first started writing, have you notice any big changes in your writing style or how you write compared from then to now?

I broke every rule in the book when I first began writing, and so to help other novice writers avoid the same mistakes I made, I devote my website to new author advice--advice I wish I had received before I started writing. The biggest change in my writing style has to do with “show, don’t tell.” Before I was aware of this golden rule of writing, I wrote the story from a bird’s eye view. Now I allow the reader to experience each scene through showing the character’s actions rather than telling the reader what to believe.

What do you look for in a book when you sit down to read for fun?

I prefer characters who confront conflict in thought-provoking ways and who are multi-dimensional, unique, strong, imperfect, and slightly unpredictable.

Did you get to quit your day job and become an author or do you still have a day job and writing is something you do for fun? If you still have a day job, what is it?

I knew throughout my entire adult life that I wanted to write novels when I retired. When I lost my job at the age of 59, I decided to get an early start on my second career as a writer. Best decision I ever made.

Besides writing and reading, what is your most favorite thing to do?

I love theater, and fortunately for me, Chicago has become quite the theater town. I also like rummaging through antique stores and touring old homes and mansions throughout the U.S.

We all have our little things when it comes to reading, is there anything that bugs you when you read a novel? What is it?

What bugs me when I read a novel is when I have to keep track of a long list of characters in order to follow the storyline. If I have to refer back to an earlier chapter to remind me who a character is, I get frustrated.

Who was your current novel dedicated to? Any particular reason?

I dedicated my first book to my parents to whom I owe everything.

Who are your favorite authors?

I look up to Dennis Lehane for his incredible ability to tell a story, and to Nicholas Sparks for his in-depth character development.

Which is your favorite character in your book and why?

Marie Marchetti, the protagonist in “The Coach House,” is a young woman in the 1940s who, after fleeing from her husband who gets mixed up with an unsavory cast of characters, tries to uncover the truth about herself when she suddenly finds her ethnicity under question. While there are other likeable characters in the book, I favor Marie because she’s strong enough to triumph over adversity, but has a vulnerable side to her as well.

The Coach House by Florence Osmund

The Coach House by Florence Osmund
ISBN: 978-1467946513
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing
Softcover (366 pages)
E-book

Book Synopsis:

Marie Marchetti has what appears to be the perfect life: she’s beautiful, smart, successful—and recently married to medical equipment salesman Richard, her equal in many aspects. But the idea of creating a perfect family halts abruptly shortly after their wedding. Mistrustful of her husband’s late night phone calls, cryptic receipts hidden in the basement, and the gun in his desk drawer, Marie’s suspicions of something amiss are confirmed when she inadvertently interrupts a meeting between Richard and his so-called business associates in their living room. Enraged, he causes her to fall down the basement steps, compelling Marie to run for her life. Ending up in Atchison, Kansas, Marie sets up a new life for herself as she meets Karen Franklin, a woman who would become her lifelong best friend, and rents a coach house apartment behind a three-story Victorian home. But her attempts at a new life are fraught with the fear that Richard will show up at any time—and who knows what he’ll do? Ironically, it is the discovery of the identity of her real father and his ethnicity that unexpectedly changes her life forever. Forcing her protagonist to let go of old conventions to forge new, healthier ones, Osmund tears open layers of confusion, anger, fear, and shame that are universal to the human experience of catharsis and growth. With extraordinary insight into our most basic need for trust and connection, The Coach House expertly builds tension as it tears open our primal instincts for survival and community.

About the author:

Florence Osmund grew up in an old Victorian home in Libertyville, Illinois, complete with a coach house, the same house she used as inspiration for her first two books. She earned her master’s degree from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management and has obtained more than three decades of experience in corporate America. Osmund currently resides in Chicago where she is working on her third novel.

Purchase the book here: Amazon

Contact the author:  Website | Facebook | Blog

Ties that Bind by Carolyn Arnold

Welcome my guest Carolyn Arnold, author of the Madison Knight series, and the Brandon Fisher FBI series.  Today, she’s going to tell us about the Madison Knight series.

What is the Madison Knight series?

First of all, it is designed as a stand-alone mystery series, which means you can read these books out of order and still pick up on the series' characters and story line.

Major Crimes Detective Madison Knight, fueled by determination to find justice for the victims, is a strong, independent female amidst a career dominated by men.  If you love a strong protagonist lead, I invite you to meet Madison for yourself.

To find out more about Madison Knight, you can also peek inside her psyche in a fictional piece written just for this purpose, or read her interview with a real life police officer.

How many are books are currently available in the series?

Three novels.  In order:

TIES THAT BIND

Meet Madison Knight as she and partner must pull together to stop a potential serial killer.

JUSTIFIED

See the softer side of Madison Knight in Justified as she's assigned to a case on Christmas Eve.

SACRIFICE

Madison must risk all, including her career, to bring a killer to justice.

Would you like to share some more information on the first in the series, TIES THAT BIND, and an excerpt?

Absolutely. 

This is the book overview:

Detective Madison Knight concluded the case of a strangled woman an isolated incident. But when another woman's body is found in a park killed with the same line of neckties, she realizes they're dealing with something more serious.

Despite mounting pressure from the Sergeant and Chief to close the case even if it means putting an innocent man behind bars, and a partner who is more interested in saving his marriage than stopping a potential serial killer, Madison may have to go it alone if there's not going to be another victim.

Excerpt of TIES THAT BIND: 

Chapter 3

He sat there, in his 1995 Honda Civic, sweating profusely.  Its air conditioner hadn’t worked for years.  A real piece of sh** actually but perfect for the crappy life he had going.  He combed his fingers through his hair and caught his reflection in the rear-view mirror.

Last night had changed him—whether for the good or for the bad remained to be seen.  All he knew was his eyes had changed, revealing the darker side of his character.  He rolled his shoulders forward in an effort to dislodge the growing tension and took a cleansing breath that brought with it a waft of the cigarette that burned in the car’s ashtray.

He had parked down the street close enough to observe the activity at 36 Bay Street yet far enough away to be left alone.  At least he had hoped so.  Cruisers were parked out front of the house, and about forty-eight minutes ago, a department-issued SUV pulled to a quick stop.

He picked up the cigarette, tapped it in the ashtray.  He took pride in getting all this attention for his work.  Statistically it was nothing special.  Another dead young lady.  People would move on.  They always did.

It was the city’s thirtieth murder of the year.  He knew this only because he had been brushing up on his statistics.  He was just like that, a gatherer of facts, of useless information.  But maybe someday his fact-finding and attention to detail would prove beneficial. 

He wiped his forehead.  The sweat trickled down and stung his nose.  It was still tender to the touch.  The old man at the bar had a strong right hook.  He closed his eyes for an instant.  When he opened them, a Crown Vic pulled to a stop in front of the house.  He straightened up.

A woman of average height, probably about five-five, with blonde hair walked toward the yellow tape.  But her looks didn’t have his attention.  It was her determined stride that garnered his respect.  And she looked familiar to him and now he knew exactly why—Detective Madison Knight.

She had made headlines for putting Russian Czar Dimitre Petrov behind bars, but the glory didn’t last for long.  His power couldn’t be weakened and the detective proved powerless to stop another murder.

He felt flattered with her on the investigation.  An adrenaline rush built within him.  He could feel the energy in his veins, his heartbeat pounding in his ears, and the subsequent strain to draw in a satisfying breath.

Tap, tap.

Knuckles against glass.  His driver side window to be exact.  He felt his heart take pause, his breath shorten further, as he surmised who it would be.  Slowly lifting his eyes to look at the intrusion on his reflections, his suspicion was confirmed.  It was an officer.

Stay calm, play it cool.

He drew the cigarette to his lips and took a drag on it.  Damn, his nose hurt so much when he sucked back on it, he had to fight wincing.  Leaving it perched between his fingers, he directed his attention to the cop who motioned for him to put the window down.

“I’m going to have to ask you to move your vehicle.”

Good thing for his dark-tinted glasses or maybe this cop would see right through him.  “Sure.”  He could feel himself shaking.  More adrenaline now infused with fear.

“Are you alright sir?”  The police officer bent over, looked into the car.

Following his gaze to the unsteady hand holding the cigarette, he forced himself to raise it for another drag.  It shook the entire way.  “Yeah, I’m fine…”  Her lifeless eyes flashed though his mind.  He coughed for the dual purpose of clearing his throat and for the hope it would somehow dislodge his recollections.  “Sure…I…I’ll get out of your way immediately.”

The cop’s facial reaction made him nervous.  Had he seen through the entire facade?  Was his guilt that obvious?

“All units confirm a secured perimeter.”  The voice was monotone.

The officer ignored his radio.  “What happened to your nose?”

What was this uniform out to prove?  He forced another cough, attempting to re-direct the conversation.  He made himself take another drag and form-pressed a smile to conceal the pain.  His words escaped through gritted teeth.  “Bar fight.”  He tapped the cigarette in the ashtray.

The officer nodded but didn’t look too convinced.  It felt like the man’s eyes were condemning him.

“I need you to move your car.”  The officer’s flattened palm drummed on the roof.  “And try to keep yourself out of trouble.”

Too late, Officer…too late.

Want to read more?  You’ll have to purchase Carolyn Arnold’s book.  Speaking of which, where can we find TIES THAT BIND?

It is available via Amazon in Kindle and print.

Amazon Kindle US

Amazon Kindle UK

Coming soon to Barnes & Noble!

You may also find out more about Carolyn Arnold and her books at:  http://carolynarnold.net

The Past Hunter by Ruthie Madison

The Past Hunter by Ruthie Madison
ISBN: 978-1480239593
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing
Softcover (110 pages)
Ebook
Book Synopsis:

Julie moved to California to get away from her boyfriend after she found out he was involved in a murder. Eight years later, she is confronted by him again. Will she give him another chance or say goodbye forever?

After 6 years of running from her boyfriend, he finds her and Julie is confronted with her past and with the help of God, is able to make a decision to whether she should return home to Montana or leave her past behind for good. 

About the author: 

Ruthie Madison (known as Ruthie Derby to her friends and family) devotes much of her attention, along with her sister to caring for their widowed mother. She also enjoys reading, crocheting and walking. She is a member of a family of deep faith which they express trough personal devotion and regular church attendance. Ruthie also is active in writing groups.

Purchase the book:  Amazon | Barnes&Noble

Contact the author:  website | blog

Check out the book trailer: