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Addiction

by Sandy Marshall

Our Interview with Sandy Marshall

 Did you always know that you wanted to be a writer?

        No, I didn't ever dream of being a writer.  Oh, I loved writing elaborate letters to my friends and short stories,

        but not anything else.

Were you always good at writing?

        My friends loved to get my letters because they were so newsy.  I was great at spelling, grammar and

        punctuation.

Have your personal experiences affected your writing or writing style?

        I use my personal experiences in some of my stories, but mostly I use a combination of other people's

        experiences.  I often use actual events for my books. 

  

What was your favorite thing about Addiction?

         It was great to write a really bad villain.  It was so much fun.  I didn't know I could be so sadistic.  Grin!

Which of the characters in Addiction was your favorite to write?

        I was really hooked on the hero, Jake.  He is what is called black Irish,     

         meaning he has black hair instead of red.  He was tough as nails, but he had a soft side, too.  

    What is one thing that you absolutely cannot live without?

        Nuts!  I have to have a can of deluxe nuts without peanuts every once in awhile. 

       Do you have a writing spot that only you can work, like a writing cave? If so what does it look like?

        I prefer to write on the laptop sitting in a recliner (no email and no social media), but I have an office, too, and it's a disaster.  lol   However, I know where everything is, so no one dares to move anything in my office. 

What gets your creative juices flowing?

        It's really hard to say, but I think it's having quiet.  I can be waking up in the morning or in the middle of the

        night and thoughts just start streaming in. 

 Do you use real-life facts based on true stories?

        Not the facts, but I do get ideas from what happens in the news.

   What is one of your most favorite childhood memories?

        I have a lot of great childhood memories, but one I always liked was going to Grandma's after church on Christmas Eve.  They had a huge lit up tree setting in the picture window, and we went there for hot chocolate, cookies and to open a few of our gifts.  

What do you consider to be your biggest accomplishment?

        I think my biggest accomplishment is yet to come.  For now, I would say helping my husband to raise his kids was a really big one.  Smile!  They all stayed out of trouble and made good lives for themselves.

   What’s your favorite thing about yourself?

       I'm an optimist.  I always expect good things, and I usually get them.  Smile!

   Why do you like to write?

        Control!  We can't always control what happens in our lives, but with our characters we can control them.  Grin!

        I must admit they get out of line once in a while, but I can always get them back.

What is the craziest thing you have ever done?

        There are so many, but when I was a teenager, a bunch of us girls used to go up to the campus at night turn our car radios on loud blast open the doors and get out and dance.  It was always so much fun to watch the couples pop up from the back seats.  lol   We had been out partying ourselves, and we knew the college kids would be necking on Friday and Saturday nights.

        

   If you could work with any other author who would it be and why?

        I could work with my mentor because she doesn't believe in telling you how to write your story, but she's great

        at helping you build a character.  I still have her character profile and use it to this day. 

About The Author

  Sandra grew up in the mid-west in a small farming community where she belonged to 4-H. When she was thirteen, her family moved to, Lawrence, Kansas, the town where the University of Kansas thrived. After high school, she traveled to California to live with a friend and to find a job. She became very homesick and returned home.   She worked for a major airline for thirty-six years and did extensive travel during that period. It was a lovely time in her life working for a wonderful company. In 1999 she retired to write full time and worked seriously toward publication.   In 2008, she had her first book published, and then her second one in 2009. Shortly after her publisher closed their doors, and she immediately moved to a new publisher. She is still with the publisher and has had three books and a novella published with them. She has just contracted a short story with them titled Hitting Bottom, and is working on another short one.

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About The Book

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Eirelander Publishing

Release Date: March 6, 2009

Buy: Amazon

Book Description: 

Two men are after the same woman but for very different reasons. Dark-haired beauty, Jolene Dubois has a serious problem, and it's not just battling alcoholism. Late at night, she receives whispered calls. "Jolene, I want you. I'm coming for you." Shivers climb up her spine and ice flows in her veins. What does he want? Who is it? She must figure it out before she trusts the wrong person. Jake Farrell, the handsome rogue is an operator with women, but is he hiding something dark and sinister under his cheery facade. The detective, Andy Martin, who investigated her father's murder, continues to ask her out. Les Voodré, an alcoholic she met at AA follows her everywhere, and Ron Keisler, her AA sponsor is always there when she needs him. Could her caller be one of these men? To further complicate her life, she fights a host of addictions, alcoholism, smoking, gambling and sex. Jolene is determined to beat the alcohol and to stay out of the clutches of the fiend who phones her.  

Excerpt:

 

Ring. Ring.

Her heart pounded frantically. Jolene pushed her covers off and jumped out of bed, her gaze on the clock. Four o’clock in the morning. She had a caller. Horror pulsed through her veins, and then she grabbed her purse.

It can’t possibly be him.

Come on, Jolene, answer it.

Her hands shaking, she dug in her purse pulling out the cell phone and flipping it open. “Hello.” He’d blocked the caller ID.

“What took you so long, Jolene?” a muffled voice asked.

She tightened her grip on the cell. No. How did he get this number?

“Come on, speak to me. I know you’re there,” the whisperer said in a low raspy voice. “Don’t make me come in there.”

“What do you want?” He knew where she was. How could he? “How did you get this number?” she demanded, rubbing her palm on the pale floral bed cover. Was he outside? She wanted to hang up, but that never worked. He’d call all night then.

“Jolene, I’m disappointed in you. You were around too many people tonight for me to get to you.”

She rose and walked to the window, feeling cold in spite of her olive green cotton pajamas. If only he’d talk in a normal tone, she might recognize the voice. “Why are you harassing me?” she asked, sliding the light green curtain aside so she could peek out. There weren’t any new cars parked on the street, but he could’ve parked anywhere and be outside the house.

“I thought we were friends. Don’t you like it when I tell you all the things I’m going to do to you?” He cackled loud and long.

His maniacal laughter sent shivers up her body, and she wrapped her free arm around her waist. Did she know this person? Surely, she didn’t know anyone like this except for Les. That guy was just downright crazy. Quiet.

She held her breath and listened. Was he still there? No sound. He must’ve hung up. Softly, she started to close her cell.

“Don’t hang up on me, Jolene.”

Startled, the phone slipped out of her grasp, but she scrambled to catch it. The darn thing hit the thick beige carpeted floor. Down on her knees, she grabbed the cell, putting it to her ear.

“Hello.” The buzzing told her she’d lost him. What would he do now? Call her back. She stared at the phone, her shoulders hunched, and the tendons in her neck tightening.

After a few moments, she rose, went to her bed and climbed in pulling the covers around her. She knew she wouldn’t sleep, but she didn’t want to wake her sister or call her brother to talk to him. This was her problem to take care of. She would call the police later this morning and make a report.

Ring. Ring.

Jolene grabbed the phone; she knew it was him again. She’d made him mad by hanging up on him even though it had happened accidentally. Without saying anything, she listened, hoping it wasn’t him.

“Don’t ever do that again.”

The loud click told her he was finally gone. Her hand shook so badly she could hardly reach the oak end table to lay her cell on it. She’d never sleep the rest of the night. She had to figure out who this person could be.

The only person she knew this crazy was Les, but she didn’t know how he could’ve gotten her numbers. She’d never met him before tonight.

Pulling the covers over her head, she burrowed deeper into the bed. She’d always been afraid of the boogie man, and now he was really after her.

         

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