Dreamcasting – Pretty Witches All in a Row
Somehow or other, casting this one in my mind turned into “how can I fit the cast of Firefly into one book?”. Once I got started, it was easy to fit most of them in. 
So here you go, how I would cast this book as a movie or tv show:
Sgt. Nick Gibson – Nathan Fillion, because he can handle that glib, charming, borderline obnoxious sense of humor that Nick has so well, and you can still believe that he’s very capable of catching a killer at the same time.
Anneliese Cross – In my mind she’s actually been a blend between Evangeline Lily and Kate Beckinsale, if that makes any sense. Because I see her as down to earth and vulnerable sometimes, but with an inner strength when things get tough.
Seraphine Ryan – Morena Baccharin – with hair, thank you! While I see a lot of her attitude and mode of dress like Anna from V, she’s got the innate sensuality of Inara wrapped up in one package.
Rose Spencer – Melanie Lynskey. I’ve been a fan of hers since Ever After, and I think she’s capable of playing someone who you dismiss as one thing to begin with, but then reveals hidden depths.
Skye Mackenzie – an early Drew Barrymore because she’s so full of light and laughter, you can’t imagine why anyone would possibly want to kill her.
Noah Cahill – Sean Maher. A good looking man, but he could pull off that smug, self-righteous quality that makes you want to punch him in the face.
Veronica Gibson – Scarlett Johanssen from “The Perfect Score”. She’s a good girl in a bad girl’s body. I love the style she embodies in that movie, I think it suits Veronica to a T.
Detective Kip Brady – Seamus Dever. Love him in Castle, and he makes a great cop.
Detective Michelle Park – Grace Park. I think it’s funny that she’s actually on a cop show now, because when I wrote this, I only knew her from Battlestar Galactica.
Sgt. Michael Troyer – Adam Baldwin, because he has that gruff authority and I can see him being a little difficult to work with.
Libby Fielding, M. E. – Jewel Staite. Though more like she was on Stargate Atlantis than on Firefly.
Pretty Witches All in a Row Giveaway
Pretty Witches All in a Row has come out swinging, and I’m thrilled with the response so far! Because I’m so excited about this project, and because I’m already in the giving frame of mind (I have just started my X-mas shopping!), I’m offering a chance to win a free e-book through Amazon.com. You don’t have to have a Kindle to download the book, there is a free app that will let you read it on your pc, tablet or phone or even read it online if you have trouble downloading it. All you have to do is provide me with your name and email address below and you’ll be entered to win.
I solemnly promise not to do anything evil with your email address and no one else will view it, it’s simply the way that Amazon.com will deliver the book, via an email notification. All I ask in return for the winner(s) is that you actually read the book and leave a review on amazon.com if you enjoy it. Because I am paying for the book, it will list you as an Amazon Verified Purchase when you review it. And if you register with kindlegraph.com I can even send you an electronic autograph if you like! (I haven’t tried this though, so I’m not quite sure how it works) Please comment below if you have any questions or concerns, I’ll keep the giveaway open for about a week before I pick the winner(s). I haven’t decided how many copies I’ll give away, it depends on the response I get, I suppose.
Sorry, the Pretty Witches giveaway has been closed. Congratulations to our winners!
Between the Scenes with Iris – Sam
Five minutes with Samael from Angel of Mercy
Iris: Iris here, and I’m talking to Samael, the former angel of death, now one of the Fallen, who gave part of his Grace to Mercy at the beginning of our story, accidentally imbuing her with angelic powers. Wow, that’s a mouthful! Thanks for joining me today, Sam, I know you’re not always comfortable talking to people.
[I notice right off the bat, he sits with perfect posture, eyes a little wide with uncertainty maybe]
Sam: I do tend to avoid people, it’s true. I am pleased to be here though, but I’m not entirely sure what it is you want from me.
Iris: It’s okay, Sam, I won’t bite, I promise. I’ve never interviewed a fallen angel before, how long have you been living among the regular folk?
Sam: It has been close to two millenia since I was… since I began to dwell here on Earth.
Iris: That’s a long time. What do you do all day long every day? I understand you don’t sleep either, what do you do to keep busy?
Sam: I tend to my books, and there is much need for judgment among your kind. Though I no longer serve in an official capacity, I do mete out justice when I have the opportunity to.
Iris: How do you do that?
Sam: I can see the quality of their souls.
Iris: Really… what does my soul look like?
A Taste of Pretty Witches All in a Row
A little sample of my latest book, Pretty Witches All in a Row to start your day with.
This is set close to the beginning of the book, after the first murder when Sgt. Rick Gibson pays a visit to Annaliese, who owns a local witchy shop. It’s early in the day and the shop isn’t open yet, but finding the door unlocked, Rick lets himself in anyway…
The store wasn’t as freaky as he’d thought it would be; no cobwebs or demonic symbols. It reminded him of the sort of place an old explorer would have, furnished with knick knacks from his world travels. The big rooms with high ceilings and lots of rich mahogany moldings gave it an airy feel, with plenty of comfy chairs tucked into little nooks and crannies. Clearly the owner didn’t have a problem with people loitering, and he took that as a good sign, venturing deeper.
Inside a large glass cabinet to his right were dozens of little glass vials, in neat rows. By twisting his head to one side he could read the labels, each sporting the same Argent Flame logo along with descriptions like ‘come to me’, ‘prosperity’, ‘good luck’, and ‘purification’. On the open shelf below sat a small brass container about the size of an apple, similar to the one he’d seen at the victim’s house. Curious, he lifted the lid.
The music cut out suddenly, a feminine voice calling out to him from the rear of the shop. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“Sweet Jesus…” he gasped, rattling the lid to the incense burner, having trouble replacing it properly with the sudden rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins. The owner of the voice didn’t look very witchy, or wicca-y; whatever the term was supposed to be. Nick guessed her to be in her late twenties, dressed in soft pajama pants in a lavender flannel, with a matching tank top; a long gray sweater coat completed her ensemble. Her eyes were a soft mossy green and a light spray of freckles kissed the bridge of her nose. Long, mahogany hair hung loose over her shoulders, falling down her back in softly tousled waves, and bare toes peeped out from the bottoms of her pants. Either her boss had the laziest dress code ever, or she lived there. Pretty in an understated, natural way, he could imagine seeing her at the grocery store or the dry cleaners and never once have guessed she ran a metaphysical gift shop. She was staring at him with one brow raised, not looking particularly amused at the prospect of finding him in her store.
“Nope, just me. It’s a little early for breaking and entering, isn’t it?” Her head canted to one side as she studied him.
“Technically it’s just entering, the door was unlocked,” Nick flashed a sheepish grin.
“But the closed sign was still up,” she set down the remote, keeping the counter between them.
“I heard the music, I figured someone was around.”
“And this morning you were struck by a powerful need for incense? So powerful, you decided to chuck convention and let yourself in?”
Cute. “Not exactly.” He reached into his inside coat pocket and withdrew his ID, the little gold badge gleaming against the leather. “Sergeant Gibson, I’m here in a strictly professional capacity.”
He’d clearly managed to catch her off guard with that one, as her brows rose with a measure of surprise. “I’m Annaliese… Cross,” she added belatedly, studying his identification with interest. “What can I do for you, Sergeant?”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Cross.” At least he thought she was a Miss, a quick check revealed her ring finger to be bare. “I was hoping you could answer a few questions for me.”
Mercy for the Wicked is Now Available in Print!
Again it only took about a month after it was released as an ebook but it’s available to purchase through Amazon.com.
So, to celebrate, here’s another excerpt from the book that takes place when Mercy hears the call of Gabriel’s horn and sits in on an Angel Jamboree.
With a little wave to Daphne to let her know I’d arrived safely, I started into the trees, the call even stronger on that side of the water, even though I couldn’t hear the actual horn anymore. The island itself wasn’t huge, and I didn’t see any structures on it or a dock for boats to tie up there. The trees were dense though, and I had to pick my way carefully through the underbrush as there were no trails to follow.
A rush of air was my only warning as Sam landed beside me. “What are you doing here?” I asked automatically, though I could guess he’d heard the same call as I did.
“I could ask you the same question,” he replied, his voice hushed as he looked around carefully.
“I heard that sound, like a horn calling me, so I came to check it out. It’s an angel thing, isn’t it?”
“You heard that?” he blinked. “Nevermind. Go home, Mercy. You don’t belong here.” Sam strode away from me at a brisk pace.
Like I was gonna turn around and head for home. He should have known me much better than that. I chased after him, knowing instinctively that he was headed in the right direction. “What is it? A meeting of the Fallen Angels Club and I can’t come?”
“Not fallen angels,” he said shortly and I could understand why he was so tense. This was a meeting of the big boys, and I was strictly persona non grata with them.
“So what are you doing here then?” He didn’t seem like the type to flaunt the rules.
“I am not joining them; I am merely trying to…”
“You’re spying!” I hissed back at him, tickled beyond belief to find he wasn’t above something petty like that, and a flush of color stole up the side of his face.
Between the Scenes with Iris – Mercy
Five minutes with Mercy from Angel of Mercy
Iris: Iris here, and I’m talking to Merceline Renault, a bartender in Seattle and part time angel. You’ve had a crazy few months, thanks for taking the time to talk to me.
Mercy: Call me Mercy, please, nobody calls me Merceline but my mother. [Her nose wrinkles with distaste, and I remember she doesn't have the best relationship with her mother by all accounts] I wouldn’t say I’m a part time angel, I’m still me. I’m just… well, not entirely human anymore.
Iris: That sounds interesting, how did you get that way?
Mercy: I got stabbed in the alley outside of the club I work at, Eden. I don’t remember much about it, but when I woke up in the hospital, I was different. [Her expression grows distant for a fleeting moment with remembered pain or something else, it's hard to say] I found out later that Sam had healed me and some of his Grace rubbed off on me.
Iris: Sam is your guardian angel?
Mercy: No, not exactly. He didn’t follow me around or anything you normally think of from a guardian angel. I’d never met him before that night in the alley. For whatever reason he decided I was worth saving and he healed me.
Iris: I dunno, sounds kind of like a guardian angel to me. What kinds of things can you do with the Grace?
Mercy: I can’t fly or anything, but there are a few tricks I can do like make myself imperceptible to people and the Grace protects me from harm. I can see people’s souls now, tell if they’re good or bad, that sort of thing. Oh and my eyes turned blue, they used to be brown. [She leans close to show me]
Iris: They sure are, I was noticing them before. They’re just like Sam’s.
Mercy: Oh, Sam let you see him? That’s impressive, usually he hides from most people.
Iris: Why would he do that?
Mercy: I don’t think he’s comfortable around people for the most part, he takes the exile part of being Fallen very seriously.
Iris: But not Adam, right? Does he take anything seriously?
