It was a lot of fun for me to set this book in Santa Cruz, CA since I spent the majority of my childhood growing up there.  So yes, there is a real King Chwan’s restaurant with the best Kung Pao chicken ever, and the Pacific Garden Mall really does sport the occasional pack of  Hare Krishnas parading down the sidewalk in all their musical glory. �  Being able to vividly picture the locale was a big help to me in setting the spooky mood.

As you know, I always have someone in mind when creating new characters for my books. Maybe it’s cheating a little, but it definitely helps me flesh them out in my mind. And of course, if they ever made a movie or tv series out of the story, I could help steer them in the right direction. So, in the spirit of that happy thought, here is my dream casting for who would play everybody in The Touch.

Lexi Morgan – A dark haired Anna Paquin. I think she could capture Lexi’s quirkiness, as well as gumption and loyalty to her family and friends.





Detective Gabriel Ryan – Timothy Olyphant. He’s Olyphantastic, need I say more? Where else can I find a cop with easy charm that’s capable of intensity and humor at the same time?




Allison Travers – Jennifer Connelly. She can look so sweet and girl next door, you’d never ever suspect her of having her own secrets.





Chloe Travers – Chloe Moretz. Love, love, love this girl. She is such a fantastic actress, I could easily picture her dealing with all of the ghosts.





Detective Tim Cooper – Jacob Pitts. Go watch Eurotrip, and then go watch an episode of Justified. ’nuff said.





Maddie Parker – Kristen Bell – because I love Kristen Bell and I like to incorporate her whenever I can. I have no idea why I’ve never made her the heroine to any of my books yet. Also Ryan Reynolds. Love me some Ryan Reynolds, how have I not paired these two up yet? But I digress…



Paul Spencer – Paul Wesley – He plays the nice, safe guy so well!






Sophia – Monica Bellucci. She’s so beautiful, but I could see her slowly unraveling and spinning into madness quite nicely.





Neil Travers – Okay so he doesn’t play much of a role in this one, but in my head I had Tom Jane as ‘the tool’.

Bianca – I don’t know, I can never see her face!

Jack (Sophia’s husband) – Matthew Fox. Every time I hear the name Jack, I think of him. It’s as easy as that. Plus, wouldn’t he look great in a period military uniform?

That’s pretty much everybody I had a specific person in mind for while I was writing. What about you guys? Who did you see when you were reading the book?

And thanks to Mike Saxton for the glorious review of the book, extra cookies for you! http://www.7scorpions.com

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 right after Lexi finds out her niece Chloe has disappeared:

There were more cars in the driveway this time when she got to Allie’s house.   In addition to Gabriel’s Towncar, there was a red Dodge Charger and a regular black and white police car next to her sister’s white Volvo.  No one stopped her from approaching the front door though, and she let herself in without knocking.  “Allie?”

Almost immediately her path was blocked by a plain clothes policeman, his badge visible on his belt the way Gabriel wore his.  Closer to her age, he was good looking with blonde hair and blue eyes.  Clean cut, but there was a sarcastic tilt to his smile that one didn’t normally associate with ‘cop’.  “Whoa, where did you come from?” he asked, hands up to block her view into the living room.

“Allie called me, I came right over.”

“How did you even get in here?” he looked over her shoulder through the sidelight window.

“Well, it’s not like you guys are running crackerjack security or anything, I just walked right in.”  She’d been hoping to see Gabriel, but apparently she had to run the gauntlet before she’d be given admittance.

His eyes lit upon her gloved hands and widened slightly in response.  “Oh, you’re the sister.”

“I see my reputation precedes me,” she gave a tight smile.  Of course Ryan would have mentioned her, why was she even surprised?  Idly she wondered what made it into his report…  “I’m Lexi, and you are?” she offered her hand, trying to play nice.

“Detective Tim Cooper.”  He took her hand with an appraising smile and Lexi got the feeling he was checking her out more than was strictly necessary.  “Well, I guess we can all pack up and go home now, no need for us detectives with you on the case, right?” he smirked.

Lexi let go of his hand.  So, that was how it was gonna be, was it?  “Might as well.  It’s not like you guys got anywhere when Neil disappeared,” she replied tartly.  “Do you mind if I go see my sister now?”

“Ouch… Ryan was right about you, you’re feisty,” he chuckled, stepping out of the way.  “Be my guest.”

So she was feisty, was she?  Again Lexi wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.  Stepping past the younger detective, she spotted Allison on the couch, twisting a tissue into tiny shreds as she talked to Gabriel quietly.  “Allie, I came as quick as I could, how are you holding up?”

“Oh good, good you’re here,” Allison clung to her in a hug the moment Lexi sat down.  “You’ve got to help me find her Lexi; I don’t know what else to do.”

“I’ll do everything I can,” Lexi promised, barely sparing a nod for Detective Ryan.  “How long has she been gone?  When’s the last time you saw her?”

“Hey, who’s running this investigation, you or me?”  Gabriel interrupted; a trace of annoyance visible on his face.

“That all depends, are you guys gonna do something this time?” Lexi retorted, instantly regretting it as soon as the words left her mouth.  She wasn’t helping anything by jumping down his throat.  “I’m sorry, please go ahead,” she added softly, sitting deeper on the couch.

Detective Cooper took a position against the wall behind Ryan, the look of vague amusement still playing on his features.  Something about it irked Lexi.  Whether he found her amusing or not, shouldn’t he at least pretend to care that a little girl was missing?