Mystery Book Tour Day 22 #MysteryNovember The Haunting Of Secrets by Shelley Pickens

Today on our Mystery Book Tour we have Shelley Pickens and her book The Haunting Of Secrets

Where is your home town?    

 

I had the distinct misfortune of living in one of the most humid places on earth – Columbia, SC! But as the capital of South Carolina, it is also a beautiful, safe place to grow up and build wonderful childhood memories. Though, to this day, I still won’t eat our beloved state crop – Okra! YUCK!

How long have you been writing?  

 

I can’t honestly remember a time when I was young that I haven’t thought about writing some poem or short story after my mind has revealed its latest creative idea. Yet, after a teacher in my master’s program demolished my writing style, I couldn’t write for a good decade. It wasn’t until I saw a television special highlighting the Journey of one of my favourite authors – J.K. Rowling – that I became inspired enough to pick up my pen once again and begin writing novels. With my best friend’s encouragement, I jumped blindly and not so bravely into the world of publishing this past July.

What is your favourite sub-genre of mystery?  

Must I just pick one? 😉 I love reading romance, anything YA or Paranormal and almost anything Dystopian. Though I do love a great mystery, I can’t quite get into horror books. The only exception to that is Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas series. I’m totally in love with goofy Odd!

Where is The Haunting of Secrets set?   

The Haunting of Secrets takes place at a high school in rural Georgia. The setting is based off of the actual high school at which I currently work as a Spanish teacher. ¡Arrrriba!

Can you introduce us to Aimee?    

Aimee is a strong willed survivor who chooses to live her life alone and away from others. She is the epitome of a Goth girl with long blonde hair dyed black, a nose ring and covered head to toe in black clothes to deter people from interacting with her. She loathes all human contact because she’s cursed. Her curse is that if she touches you, she absorbs all of your memories, all of your secrets. She has great inner strength and truly does desire friendship yet lives a lonely life for an obvious reason: she doesn’t want to absorb any more horrible memories. But after reliving the gruesome memories of a killer, Aimee now decides she must reach out for help to catch the murderer hiding amongst them.

Who or what is responsible for the school bombing? 

Sorry, no spoilers!! Who or what set off the bomb in the cafeteria that fateful day isn’t revealed until the very end of the book. I guess you’ll just have to read it to find out! J

What does Aimee see on that fateful day? 

Sadly, it isn’t what Aimee sees that day, but what she DOESN’T see. On that fateful day of the bombing, as Aimee and a few others are running for their lives to get out of range of the falling rubble, a fellow student grabs on to her bare arm for support. She instantly absorbs every memory that person ever had, including memories of him torturing and killing young girls. Aimee blacks out from the sheer horror of the images and awakens with no idea who had touched her. Now it’s up to her to figure out if this secret is worth the sacrifices that she will have to make to bring a killer to justice.

How does Aimee protect herself from the one who hunts her? 

As you read through the novel, you see that the killer is very aware that Aimee possesses his darkest secret. For all that Aimee is strong willed and a survivor, she soon realizes that she’s no match for a seasoned killer. Having lived her life cloaked in darkness, she has never quite learned how to interact well with those that live freely basking within the light. To protect herself and the ones that she loves, she must gather all of her strength to ask others to aid her in searching for a killer among them.

Tell us what you are working on at the moment.

Since the sequel is completed and contracted to be released April 2015, I am taking a break from the Secrets trilogy and am currently working on a short story novella on a romantic proposal to be included in an anthology to be released next June via Satin Romance – an imprint of Melange Books. When they first approached me about writing a romantic story as part an anthology my first question was, “So, I guess that means I can’t kill anybody, huh?”

Where can readers find out more about you? 

If you are interested in my story “The Haunting of Secrets” (and I hope you are!) please visit any or all of the sites below. The coolest is my book trailer done by the video class at my high school with actors from drama! Too cool!

When I’m not writing or teaching, you can find me surfing Facebook or twitter for all the latest news, tidbits and gossip! I share all my new adventures in life and in writing on both Facebook and Twitter. I am sorry to say that I am very new at blogging but post as much as I can when I’m not running around taking my hot mess kids to either baseball or soccer.

Publisher: http://www.fireandiceya.com/

 

Website: www.shelleypickens.com Shelley will be running a quick answer question from her website or her Facebook to win a copy of her book in e-format (Mobi – Worldwide)  or paperback (US only)

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shelleypickensauthor

 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/shelleypickens

 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22798155-the-haunting-of-secrets

 

Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQvKX0rb-Zg

 

BUYING LINKS FOR US AND UK:

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/The-Haunting-Secrets-Shelley-Pickens/dp/1612359299/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412615352&sr=8-1&keywords=the+haunting+of+secrets

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00M2E3IVK/ref=nosim?tag=bookdire-21&linkCode=sb1&camp=2378&creative=8430

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-haunting-of-secrets-shelley-r-pickens/1119986452?ean=9781612359298&offerid=239662

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/459523?ref=booksdirect

Publisher Site: http://www.fireandiceya.com/authors/shelleyrpickens/hauntingofsecrets.html