ABOUT THE BOOK
The Dead Don't Always Rest in Peace.
Jason Crandall, recently widowed, is left to raise his young daughter and rebellious teenage son on his own - and the old Victorian in Shadow Springs seems like the perfect place for them to start over. But the cracks in Jason’s new world begin to show when he meets Savannah Sturgess, a beautiful socialite who has half the men in town dancing on tangled strings.
When she goes missing, secrets begin to surface, and Jason becomes ensnared in a dangerous web that leads to murder - and he becomes a likely suspect. But who has the answers that will prove his innocence? The jealous husband who’s hell-bent on destroying him? The local sheriff with an incriminating secret? The blind old woman in the house next door who seems to watch him from the windows? Or perhaps the answers lie in the haunting visions and dreams that have recently begun to consume him.
Or maybe, Savannah herself is trying to tell him that things aren’t always as they seem - and that sometimes, the dead don’t rest in peace.
LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT INTERVIEW WITH ALISTAIR CROSS
A few of your favorite things:
Ford Mustangs, rock music, good books, horror movies, and cats.
Things you need to throw out:
Some t-shirts with holes in them which I’ve developed a perverse attachment to.
Things you need in order to write:
Silence. Coffee.
Things that hamper your writing:
My cat leaping onto my shoulders to nudge me insistently about the ears, nose, and throat, demanding rubs.
Things you love about writing:
Creative freedom - for the most part. Setting my own hours. Being able to work in my Marvin the Martian slippers and sweatpants. Spending time with people who don’t exist . . . and whose lives are at stake if they don’t do what I want them to.
Things you hate about writing:
I live in a constant state of searching for the perfect word. And my buttocks are frequently numb.
Hardest thing about being a writer:
Having to be creative on days when you’re just not feeling it.
Easiest thing about being a writer:
Getting dressed for work.
Things you never want to run out of:
Books.
Things you wish you’d never bought:
All these thousands of books that are stuffed into every corner, nook, and cranny.
Words that describe you:
Ambitious. Determined. Disciplined.
Words that describe you but you wish they didn’t:
Obsessive. Critical. Demanding.
Favorite foods:
Onion rings. Bacon. Cheese.
Things that make you want to throw up:
Pot roast. Raisins. Peas.
Favorite music or song:
Anything by Stevie Nicks.
Music that make your ears bleed:
Twangy Western music. Most pop music.
Favorite beverage:
Green tea with lemon.
Something that gives you a pickle face:
Diet soda.
Favorite smell:
The scent of a woman . . . ?
Something that makes you hold your nose:
The scent of a wet man . . . ?
Something you’re really good at:
Finger-pointing.
Something you’re really bad at:
Styling my hair.
Something you wish you could do:
My hair.
Something you wish you’d never learned to do:
Point my finger.
Something you like to do:
Sit in silence and ponder life.
Something you wish you’d never done:
Pondered life too hard and got all freaked out because I can’t figure it out.
People you consider as heroes:
Anyone with enough nerve to break from convention and do what they love.
People with a big L on their foreheads:
At the risk of turning this political, I shall not comment . . .
Last best thing you ate:
Hummus pizza! (I made it up myself - and it was awesome!)
Last thing you regret eating:
McDonald’s. I always regret McDonald’s.
Things you’d walk a mile for:
Praise for having walked a mile.
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room:
Most bugs. They terrify me. I don’t belong in the same world as creatures with that many eyes and legs.
Things you always put in your books:
Characters with unconventional lifestyles.
Things you never put in your books:
Animal abuse.
Things to say to an author:
“Your work affected me and this is why . . . ”
Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book:
“I’m a writer, too, and as soon as I have the time, I’m going to write my book!”
Favorite places you’ve been:
The womb.
Places you never want to go to again:
East LA, on foot, after midnight! I can’t believe I survived with my wallet (and my man-chastity) intact!
Favorite book:
Violin by Anne Rice.
Books you would ban:
None. People can read what they want (as long as I don’t have to read that crap).
People you’d like to invite to dinner:
Stevie Nicks.
People you’d cancel dinner on:
At the risk of turning this political, I shall not comment . . .
Favorite things to do:
Drive aimlessly. Netflix binge. Torment my cats with the red dot.
Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing:
Help your sister move.
Most daring thing you’ve ever done:
Quit my day job to be a writer.
Something you chickened out from doing:
Procreating.
The last thing you did for the first time:
Talked politics.
Something you’ll never do again:
Talk politics.
OTHER BOOKS BY ALISTAIR CROSS
The Angel Alejandro
The Crimson Corset
The Book of Strange Persuasions
The Cliffhouse Haunting with Tamara Thorne
The Ghosts of Ravencrest with Tamara Thorne
The Witches of Ravencrest with Tamara Thorne
Mother with Tamara Thorne
Darling Girls with Tamara Thorne (Release date November, 2017)
EXCERPT FROM SLEEP, SAVANNAH, SLEEP
“This is it? Seriously? It’s like we’re moving into Hill House.” In the passenger seat, Brent looked uneasy.
Jason Crandall turned to his son. “It has character.” He looked up at the old Victorian. But he’s right. It’s creepy. Surrounded by mid-century houses, the decrepit Victorian seemed like a flaw on the neighborhood, a stain on something otherwise clean. The cat’s claw vine climbing the walls seemed to shroud the house, as if trying to hide it, the violently yellow blossoms creating a diversion from the faded wood siding - as did the bowers of honeysuckle that accented the yard, draped the veranda, and sweetened the air. Two second-story windows peered out from between the lush vines, looking like the eyes of a hunted beast.
Surrounded on both sides by white split-rail fences coated in spindly climbing roses, the property was spacious, with a small courtyard beyond a wisteria-choked arbor that lead to the back yard. “I don’t know. I think it’s charming.” He offered his son a grin, and shut off the silver Legacy. The annoying squeal - probably a fan belt - went silent and Jason made a mental note to hunt down a local mechanic.
“It’s creepy, Dad. Seriously creepy.” Brent leaned back and assumed his usual air of annoyed indifference.
“But creepy in a cool way, right?” asked Jason.
Brent’s eyes, the color of seawater, looked unimpressed. “Only if you like haunted houses.”
“It’s haunted?” In the back seat, Amber sat up, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Even Ruby, the blond, blue-eyed doll that never left her arms, looked alarmed.
“Of course it isn’t haunted.” Jason shot Brent a warning look. “It’s just old.”
The three of them stared at the house and it seemed to stare right back. All in all, it didn’t appear pleased to meet them.
“Let’s go have a look around.” Jason undid his seatbelt. “After that, you two can help me unload.” A large moving van was a day or two behind them; the small trailer they’d pulled contained only the essentials - and most of Jason’s massage equipment. He knew he was being optimistic about how quickly he could get his studio up and running, but he couldn’t help it. His new business was the entire reason he’d bought the house. It had a basement complete with its own entrance, so Jason could work without having strangers traipsing in and out of the family’s living space. Overall, the old Victorian was pretty ideal, even if it was a little spooky.
Then again, the whole town - or what he’d seen of it so far - was pretty spooky, too. Quaint and quiet, Shadow Springs was a startling contrast to the buzzing pace of Los Angeles. Jason told himself this would be good for him - good for all of them.
Here, just outside of Ojai in Ventura County, they’d begin their new lives, free of bad memories. That was what Jason had told himself a hundred times in the past weeks - it was what he had to believe.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
In 2014, Alistair and Tamara began the radio show, Thorne & Cross: Haunted Nights LIVE!, which has featured such guests as Charlaine Harris of the Southern Vampire Mysteries and basis of the HBO series True Blood, Jeff Lindsay, author of the Dexter novels, Jay Bonansinga of The Walking Dead series, Laurell K. Hamilton of the Anita Blake novels, Peter Atkins, screenwriter of Hellraiser 2, 3, and 4, worldwide bestseller V.C. Andrews, and New York Times best sellers Preston & Child, Christopher Rice, and Christopher Moore.
Connect with Alistair:
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