Three Times A Charm with Alyson Larrabee

Welcome to Three Times A Charm. I love to introduce readers to people involved in children’s publishing. Today we have my fellow Whiskey Creek Press author, Alyson Larrabee with us. Alyson, please share a little about yourself.

Boring facts:
I’m a graduate of Emerson College and Bridgewater State University, a middle school English teacher at Easton Middle School, the wife of a New England Patriots obessessed golfer, the mother of three young adults and one redbone coonhound.

Fun facts:
I’m a resident of the Bridgewater Triangle (It’s kind of like the Bermuda Triangle, but smaller and colder in the winter.), an  amateur ghost hunter, a YA novelist with a dark side and a dog lover, especially droopy-faced hounddogs. Obsessed with: the legends and science of the Hockomock Swamp, stories about haunted New England and books (reading them and writing them).  I also love parentheses. Do only English teachers have favorite punctuation marks or are there other weirdos out there, too?

I’m punctuation challenged, so I’m not qualified to answer that question. Maybe our readers can weigh in on it. Can we hear more about your books?

Amazon
Whiskey Creek Press
I’m the author of two published books: Enter If You Dare and its sequel, Her Evil Ways, both ghost stories, both starring the ghosthunting team of Annabelle Blake and Wyatt Silver.

In the first book, Enter If You Dare, Annabelle’s involved in a strange and dangerous love triangle. Two boys fall in love with her. And they share the same body. Wyatt Silver’s a medium who contacts the ghost of the legendary Lonesome Boy. When this powerful and vengeful spirit takes possession of Wyatt’s body, their terrifying adventure begins. Read it if you dare.

Amazon
Whiskey Creek Press
In the second book of the series, Her Evil Ways, Annabelle’s jealous rival experiments with a Ouija board and sets free the evil ghost of a hateful woman. During a raging blizzard, the demonic spirit tries to lure Annabelle to her death.

I recommend my book to readers who like:

The Marked Series by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast
The Body Finder Series by Kimberly Derting
The Diviners by Libba Bray

Those sound great! I love a good ghost story. Now it’s time for the threes. Give us your top three answers to the following:

  • Top 3 books you recommend reading and why you recommend them.

Top book, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, because I’m a romantic at heart. And I love the way Fitzwilliam Darcy falls in love with Elizabeth Bennet. His first impression of her is negative, but after he observes her actions and listens to her conversation over a period of time, he falls crazily, obsessively in love with her And he admires her because she has “improved her mind through excessive reading”.
Next: The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris because I love interesting antiheroes. How did Thomas Harris make a cannibalistic serial killer seem sexy? That’s magical writing talent! I so admire him for it. Also, I love a brave heroine and Clarice Starling is the bravest.
Third: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Madly, crazily, obsessively in love with Huck. His sense of humor, his emotional honesty and the way he values Freedom over everything else. He’s afraid of changing but he changes anyway because of his experiences and his deep, original thought process. The Civil War fascinates me, too. The ghosts in my second book Her Evil Ways are Civil War era ghosts.

  • Top 3 favorite ways to interact with readers.

Book clubs: Everyone has read the book and they ask such great questions.
Book signings: Everyone wants to read the book and they ask such great questions.
Instagram: Love my fangirls and fanguys

  • Top 3 personal mantras or inspirational phrases.

“In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” Albert Camus

“Chasing ghosts will answer the questions that damn you.” The X-Files

“We have to make split-second decisions sometimes and as long as they’re made with good intentions, we can’t blame ourselves for the outcome. Sometimes you’re trying to be a hero and circumstances make it impossible. Sometimes you try to help when someone needs you and everything goes tragically wrong.” Nathaniel Flyte from Enter If You Dare by Alyson Larrabee
 Okay, Alyson, where can our readers find you online?

Instagram and Twitter: alysonlarrabee
Facebook: Alyson Larrabee Author
Blog: alysonlarrabee.wordpress.com  

Thank you, Alyson, for joining us on this week’s Three Times A Charm. Best of luck to you and your books.

GUESTS WELCOME!  I’m always looking for guests for Three Times A Charm. If you are an author, illustrator or book reviewer, an agent or an editor. If you have something related to children’s publishing that you’d like people to know about, feel free to contact me about a future appearance.THANKS!



Comments

  1. Ellis NelsonFebruary 18, 2015 at 9:23 AM

    Fun interview. I love ghost stories and these sound good!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kai Strand, AuthorFebruary 18, 2015 at 11:33 AM

      Thanks, Ellis. I agree. They do sound great.

      Delete
    2. Alyson LarrabeeFebruary 20, 2015 at 7:37 AM

      Thanks, Ellis. I had a ton of fun researching the creepier aspects of these stories.

      Delete
  2. Beverly Stowe McClureFebruary 18, 2015 at 10:53 AM

    Great interview, ladies. Nice to "meet" you, Alyson. Ghost stories are some of my favorites. Your books sound fascinating. The Civil War era is my favorite time in history too. Best of luck with your writing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kai Strand, AuthorFebruary 18, 2015 at 11:34 AM

      Thanks Beverly!

      Delete
    2. Alyson LarrabeeFebruary 20, 2015 at 7:38 AM

      Thanks, Beverly, there's a Civil War soldier statue in the center of my hometown and he was the inspiration for one of my ghostly characters.

      Delete
  3. Kelly HashwayFebruary 18, 2015 at 1:18 PM

    You had me at amateur ghost hunter. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alyson LarrabeeFebruary 20, 2015 at 7:40 AM

      If you're interested in doing a little ghost hunting, grab a flashlight and head for the nearest graveyard. Even if you don't find anything supernatural, the atmosphere is frightening but inspiring and the stones themselves will speak to you (metaphorically, but you never know, maybe literally, too).

      Delete
    2. Kai Strand, AuthorFebruary 20, 2015 at 7:18 PM

      Great idea, Alyson. I've spent time exploring graveyards in other towns, but somehow have never gotten around to my own. Must remedy that!

      Delete
  4. Donna McDineFebruary 18, 2015 at 5:10 PM

    Terrific post! Thanks for bringing this author to my attention.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alyson LarrabeeFebruary 20, 2015 at 7:41 AM

      Thanks, Donna. I have to give Kai a lot of credit. She asked these great questions that were interesting and fun to answer.

      Delete
    2. Kai Strand, AuthorFebruary 20, 2015 at 7:17 PM

      My pleasure, Donna. I love introducing 'new-to-you' authors and illustrators!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Susan Kaye Quinn, Author of Open Minds, Presents:

Image
Finding Time to Write the Sequel by Susan Kaye Quinn, author of Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy) Even before I decided to self-publish my new paranormal/SF novel Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy) , I knew it would be a trilogy. But once I had made the decision to publish, the need to get busy on the sequel(s) kicked into high gear. Except that I was also publishing a book. Most writers find it difficult to balance writing with all the other demands in life. Even people who are lucky enough to write full time (which I am, since I write while my kids are at school), there’s still a tug between writing time and all the other things that need to be done. Once you’re published, this all changes, and not for the better. Now, not only do you need to write and get the kids to school and get the laundry done, but you also need to market your book, which can mean everything from actually getting it published (edits, covers, websites, blogs)...
Read more

Robot Writing - What It Is & How to Avoid It

Image
Many beginner writers fall into the habit of what I like to refer to as “robot writing.” It’s when you basically write your scenes like a grocery list. Ex: Marcy stood and walked across the room. Then she picked up the candle stick to inspect it. She blinked when she noticed the spot of dried blood. Marcy dropped the candlestick and ran from the room. I call it robot writing because when I'm reading it I tend to fall into a robotic pattern and start to sound like the robot from the old Lost In Space series. "Danger. Danger. Will Robinson." You may as well put numbers in front of each sentence: First Marcy stood and walked across the room. Second she picked up the candlestick to inspect it. Third she blinked when she noticed the spot of dried blood. Fourth she dropped the candlestick and ran from the room. Don’t get me wrong, robot writing is absolutely acceptable in your first draft, no matter your writing experience. Your first p...
Read more

Don't Be Closed Minded. Read a Banned Book. #Giveaway

Image
On this list , compiled by the ALA, of the top 100 challenged books of the decades 1990-1999 and 2000-2009, I've read: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Adventure of Huckleberry Finn The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Blubber Crank The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time The Dead Zone The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things Fat Kid Rules the World The Giver Harry Potter (series) The Hunger Games (series) The Kite Runner The Lovely Bones Olive's Ocean Speak Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes That Was Then, This Is Now Thirteen Reasons Why Twilight (series) A Wrinkle In Time I would recommend any of them, but especially the titles I've linked. The thing with me and banned books is that I don't get it. The banning thing. Why would you ever feel the right to keep a book out of the hands of other readers? Why would you feel you have the authority to say what some can and cannot read? Do you have the right to voice your o...
Read more