Q. Can I really skip the first novel and go right to The Old Power Returns? And why do you say that? Don’t you want me to buy the first book?
A. Yes, you can I wrote it specifically so that you could pick it up and start from there and tested it on readers who hadn’t read the first one. Why did I do that? Well, there was a long lapse between book one and two and there were pieces of information that the reader needed to know to make sense of the story. Do I want you to buy the first book? Of course! But starting with book two shouldn’t interefere with that. At the end, you’ll want to know more about our unusual hero, Alicia, and the mysterious Wesley, and you’ll find that in Darksome Thirst.
Q. Where does the series take place? Worcester?
A. No, but you’re close! Most of the action takes place in the fictional town of Danforth. Danforth Farms was the original name for the town of Framingham, Massachusetts.
Those who have ventured to the south side of town will probably recognize the former train station (now a restaurant) from the description. In The Old Power Returns, you’ll notice a place very similar to the House of Zodiac, a curious shop for astrology that was in the original Shopper’s World and one of my favorite stops on a Saturday afternoon.
Q. I’m a teenager. Would my parents get really freaked out if I read your novels? Are they okay for teens?
A. Not for young teens, no, but there isn’t anything in Darksome Thirst that would be too over-the-top for a 15- or 16-year old. The Old Power Returns is a little spicier and the language a little cruder, but still, a 16- or 17-year old has seen racier movies.
That being said, I’m not a parent, and I’m not a parent, and I’m not YOUR parent. Ask them. I’ve had friends who are parents give them to their kids to read and they loved them. My nephew read both, the first one when he was in high school, and quotes from them. But we live in the Northeast and we’re a little liberal up here. Your experience might be different.
Another thing to consider is that you might not be interested in Alicia’s struggle to get ahead in the business world, but then again, you might. She has to prove herself, just like you do, and overcome stereotypes. She falls in and out of love, and feels that sometimes the only person she can depend on is herself (sound familiar?) Because she’s taking college courses at night, she can’t always join her friends when they go out and has to deal with their guilt trips and her own desires to join them and not be so responsible. (Some things never change!)
Who knows? Maybe you would like them.
Q. Would you like more visitors to your web site?
A. Of course I would. Would I like to pay you, a person I don’t know, whose abilities I have no knowledge of, who just spammed me using a reader contact form, to attempt to do that? No.