ABOUT THE BOOK
The Other Side has hired Driscoll Investigations. The owner of Stone’s Throw Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast insists that a tarot reading told her to hire Giulia to evict the family ghost. Since the ghost is cutting gas lines and flooding cellars, Giulia and her husband Frank head to the B&B to discover the real perpetrator.The client also has a family legend: A highwayman who stole a pile of gold. Giulia has a pile of suspects, including a psychic the client hired to conduct weekly séances. So much for romance with Frank at this getaway.
Instead, Giulia’s juggling arson, creepy clown dolls, and the psychic going all Exorcist on her. Then the ghost tries to push the client off the lighthouse and throw Giulia down three flights of stairs. It should’ve known better than to mess with an ex-nun. Giulia has connections and she’s about to use them.
INTERVIEW WITH ALICE LOWEECEY
Alice, what books do you currently have published?
I have 5 mysteries out there, all in the Giulia Driscoll series. Force of Habit, Back in the Habit, Veiled Threat, Nun too Soon, and Second to Nun. I also have my first horror novel out as of this past August: The Redeemers. It is not for the faint of heart! Giulia herself would think twice before reading it. Sidney, Giulia’s perky assistant, wouldn’t let it near her house. Muahahahaha.
How long is your to-be-read list?
Hip-deep. It’s been deeper, but I’ve learned to snatch reading time when it presents itself. It’s all over the map, too: horror, non-fiction, mystery, lots of manga.
You have a day job . . . how do you find time to write?
I’ve learned to make time, even in short sprints. When my kids were younger, I spent a lot of time at soccer and band practices. I would bring my WIP with me and write or edit while I waited. That practice works while dinner is cooking and while the laundry is drying too.
If you could only watch one television station for a year, what would it be?
It would have to be The CW, to see how Supernatural ends. Dear God, I hope they finally end it this season. It should’ve ended at Season 5, but noooo . . . *cough* *ahem* Sorry. Rant truncated before my head explodes.
YouTube is…
The enabler for my Asian horror addiction. Now that FearNet is gone *sob* I get all my Asian horror from YouTube.
What five things would you never want to live without?
PG Tips tea, Gaelic Storm, the complete works of Dickens, Denver and the Mile High Orchestra, and my huge collection of MST3K DVDs.
Who would you want to narrate a film about your life?
Idris Elba. Oh, that voice.
3D movies are . . .
Headache-inducing. I can watch ones that are only partly 3D: Robot Monster (1953) and The Mask (1961). Classic bad horror.
At least you didn’t ask about shakycam movies. That rant cannot be contained.
If you had a swear jar, would it be full?
Hah! Overflowing.
What's your favorite treat for movie night?
Gummies. Dots or Sunkist Fruit Gems. Nom.
What is the most daring thing you've done?
Left the convent.
What is the stupidest thing you've ever done?
Entered the convent.
What choices in life would you like to have a redo on?
You might think “Enter the convent,” but actually, no. The convent taught me two essential skills: How to speak in front of a crowd and how to lead. When we got the habit and had 6 weeks of Methods classes under our veils, we got thrown into a classroom with “You’re a leader now; go lead.” So I became a leader. Teaching Middle School gave me the fortitude to speak in front of any size crowd. Both are quite useful skills.
Also, frankly, if horrible things happen to you, they make great fiction fodder.
You can be any fictional character for one day. Who would you be?
Hmm. My fiction choices are not generally nice to the characters. I guess it would be Genjyo Sanzo from Kazuya Minekura’s Saiyuki manga series. He has a boatload of issues, but he is seriously cool and kickass.
What’s the worst thing someone has said about your writing? How did you deal with it?
Oh, this was epic. I used to belong to an online critique group whose focus was Christian fiction. I wrote an early draft of my horror novel while in that group. We put our first 3 chapters on the loop for everyone to critique.
I got an 8-1/2 by 11 single-spaced diatribe from one member. It spewed hate at me from the screen. Parts were in red and underlined. He said my plot was bad, my MC was wrong, my book was evil. He told me that the book would “harm new Christians.” Apparently in his world new Christians can’t handle fiction and no longer possess analytical skills. Who knew?
He ended by saying he prayed I would never get published and signed it “With love from your brother in Christ.”
I blew him into the group moderator, who blocked him from my crits. Only then did I learn he was a strict evangelical with issues about women.
Getting published is the best revenge.
Who would you invite to a dinner party if you could invite anyone in the world?
Jamie Oliver, to cook. Then everyone living and dead who’s ever played Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. What a discussion about writing and acting and interpretation that would be.
What is your favorite movie?
I can’t pick just one. How about one each from a few genres:
Horror: Event Horizon
Comedy: Young Frankenstein
Historical: The Prisoner of Zenda—the Ronald Colman version, of course. *sigh*
Mystery: Sleuth, the original with Olivier and Caine
Romance: The 5-hour A&E version of Pride and Prejudice or the 5-hour A&E version of Jane Eyre. *sigh* again for Timothy Dalton
Fantasy: Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Do you have a favorite book?
Again, no way can I pick just one.
Horror: Everything by HP Lovecraft
Fantasy: The Riddle-Master of Hed trilogy by Patricia McKillip
Mystery: Nothing Venture by Patricia Wentworth. This book is what inspired the kind of mysteries I like to write.
Historical: Dickens’ Our Mutual Friend
Manga: Saiyuki
How about a favorite book that was turned into a movie? Did the movie stink?
Rant! It’s not my favorite book, but the Astaire/Gardner/Peck movie of Nevil Shute’s On the Beach. It was a trainwreck. A trainwreck of a trainwreck. Horribly miscast. Changes to essential plot elements. They messed up the eeriness of the big plot point (the Coke bottle in Seattle). They messed up just about everything. Gah!
Do you sweat the small stuff?
Nope. Life is too short. Unless you’re talking about the Oxford comma.
Agreed! How long is your to-do list?
Hahahahaha! *weeps*
What are you working on now?
I’m finishing up the next Giulia Driscoll mystery, Nun but the Brave, out July 2016.
Lightning round:
Cake or frosting? Cake!
Laptop or desktop? Laptop (portability)
Chevy Chase or Bill Murray? Ugh; neither. I pick Robin Williams.
Emailing or texting? Email. Easier to type.
Indoors or outdoors? Out. Winter lasts much too long up here.
Tea: sweet or unsweet? Strong and straight, period.
Plane, train, or automobile? Car. Used to be plane before flying became such a giant pain in the kiester.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
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