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?

Here is a little excerpt from my new book The Touch.  The scene is between my two main characters, artist Lexi Morgan and Detective Gabriel Ryan, in her kitchen after doing a little sleuthing together into her brother in law’s disppearance.

***

“Okay seriously, this has been bugging me all day; do you always wear the gloves?”

“Uh yeah, pretty much, unless I’m in my room.”

“Are you a germophobe or…”

“No, not exactly.  I told you, I wear them for protection.”  Lexi turned away to pour out the coffee, using the simple act as a way to buy her some time.  This was what she’d been hoping she could avoid at least a while longer until he had a chance to know her a little better.  But then again, there was a good chance she wouldn’t see him again, wasn’t there?

“Protection from what?”

Setting the mugs down on the counter, she went back for the milk and sugar, avoiding his eyes for the moment.  “I get… impressions from things I touch.  The gloves keep me from constantly picking up distractions every time I touch something, so I can function,” she said simply.

“Impressions,” he repeated.

In for a penny, in for a pound.  “I can see things when I touch them.  Sometimes it’s brief images; sometimes quite a bit more depending on how much they’ve been handled and if there was a particular association with them.  It’s just something I’ve always been able to do and it’s more of a nuisance than anything else, trust me there are things you don’t want to know about how your food has been prepared,” she went for a smile, “hence the gloves.”

Gabriel stood there, the mug frozen halfway between the counter and his mouth.  “You see things… like visions?”

She could tell from the way he looked at her that he was skeptical at best and seriously doubting her sanity at worst and Lexi struggled to explain it in a way that didn’t make her sound completely whacko.  “It’s like… I get images of things, places the object has been, who’s been handling it, what they were thinking at the time.  If it’s something they’ve held for a long time I can sometimes even see the person and what they’re doing now.”  Was she just digging herself a deeper hole?  “There are layers to it; once you figure out how to peel them away, then you can look farther and farther back into its history.  I’ll tell you what, give me something of yours and you’ll see if I can really do what I say I can or if I’m just a little balmy in the brainpan.”  Sometimes that was on the only way, to give an actual demonstration.  Even then, some people assumed it was a parlor trick.

“Okay,” he seemed willing to play along at least.  Pulling out his wallet, he fished out a business card and handed it over.

Accepting it with her left hand, she pulled off the right glove with her teeth revealing her pale, smooth hand.  Drawing in a long, calming breath before she touched it with bare skin, Lexi let the images wash over her for a good few minutes, taking it back as far as she could before her eyes popped open.  “So when I touched it, I could see the last time you pulled out the card next to it to give to Monica.” Not that it would prove anything to him since she’d been standing right there when it happened.  “Before that, I saw when you put it in your wallet to begin with and beyond that I could see where the card was shipped from, stuff like that.  Nothing too interesting, but if you gave me something more personal I could probably pick up more.”

Gabriel’s head canted to one side as he studied her, obviously trying to decide if he could take her at her word.  “Where was I when I put it the card in my wallet in the first place?”

“In your bedroom, I think.  There’s a blue comforter on the bed and a big brown chair in the corner of the room with a bunch of clothes hanging on the back of it.  The blinds were open, but I couldn’t see much of what was out the window because you were looking at your wallet.  Oh and the bedside table, it has…two drawers and it’s a dark brown, I think they call it espresso, with silver handles.  ” Lexi struggled to recall every detail she could about the room.

His eyebrows climbed skyward and she could tell she’d been accurate in her description of the room.  “So you get these visions from everything you touch?  What would happen if you touched me?”  Gabriel extended his hand, palm up towards her.

Lexi withdrew her hand instinctively, cradling it to her body and then away with a little gasp as she picked up something from her jeans without being prepared for it.  “I don’t…” she paused to take a calming breath, giving him an apologetic smile.  “I’m sorry, I don’t touch people,” she tried to explain, reaching for the coffee mug with her gloved hand before realizing that she hadn’t added milk or sugar yet.  Instead she hurried to replace the cotton glove, instantly feeling more at ease once it was covered again.

“Ever?” he blinked.

“No, not for a long, long time,” she replied in a subdued voice.

“Why, what happens when you touch a person?”  Gabriel frowned, dropping his own hand back to the counter again.

***

The Touch is available now through amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com