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Thursday, July 5, 2012

a TOUCH OF THE PAST



AN INSIDE VIEW OF EVERLY'S VISIT TO SAND ISLAND


I'm blessed with several very good friends who live in Hawai'i and who are willing to tolerate me as a house guest for extended periods of time. Many of the scenes in my books are inspired by these visits. So, in celebration of the release of A TOUCH OF THE PAST, I thought I'd share a few of the pictures from behind the scenes.


About mid-way in PAST, Everly chases after the villain, and finds herself in one of the less-populated recreational areas of Honolulu, Sand Island. On the day I was there, it was almost deserted, rain threatened, and it had the quietly creepy feeling, like something bad was about to happen. 




  


From a Touch of the Past:


The air was heavy and smelled industrial, slightly chemical, and moist. Cloying. "I found pictures of the watchtowers on the Internet. I thought I’d hide in one and see who showed up. Maybe get a license plate number for you to trace."
Pierce’s eyebrows twitched.
We hiked for a good ten minutes, Pierce doing his thing—watching every direction at once, keeping me in his sight, and his hands loose. My sneakers smacked against the damp grass with a swishy, sucking noise that defined every step. He moved silently and faded into the wind—a wisp of energy that dissolved into the dark, practically nonexistent.






I spotted a structure that offered a good view of the surrounding area and headed toward it. "There, maybe."




The wind, scented with the promise of rain, tugged at my hair. I shivered.
Pierce edged close to me, the front of his body barely touching my back. Warmth seeped across the space between us, and he tapped my shoulder—a signal to stop. "Bad choice. I’ll boost you into that tree."
Tree? So stupid to have worn shorts. My already scratched legs wouldn’t fare well with tree climbing. I planted my feet. "Why not the watchtower. It would be easy to climb up the support structure, and it has those nifty open slats overlooking—"
"Crumbling concrete. Unstable and too obvious." Tension radiated through his fingers as they hit the small of my back with a thump. "Move. Now."
I ran toward the tree, and Pierce had me wedged onto a shoulder-high branch before I caught my breath. "Climb." He pointed to a sturdy niche several feet above me.
By the time I’d angled into a comfortable position, he’d disappeared into the night. 




Hawai'i will continue to be the setting for several more books in this series. I hope you enjoy Everly's adventures in the islands as much as I enjoyed writing about them. 


What are some of the prickly neck places you've visited?

Happy Reading!

L. j.




Available in digital format at AMAZON 




13 comments:

  1. Great post L.J.
    I loved seeing the pictures that inspired the locations in the book. I always feel that prickly feeling when I visit Arlington National Cemetery. Must be the lost souls roaming the grounds. I wonder what Everly's fingers would feel there?

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  2. Interesting idea, Nancy. I think Everly might just enjoy a visit to a cemetery. I'll have to check with her on that one.
    L.j.

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  3. I just finished this scene! We are at the airport now. I suspect big things for tomorrow morning. Of course, El expects big things for tonight.

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  4. Hi, Billie.
    Wow! I love that Everly is at the airport with you, and that you read my blog just when you reached that place in her latest adventure. I hope you enjoy the rest of her latest story. Thanks for commenting.
    L. j.

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  5. Hi Lucie! I tried to comment yesterday, but my server went down with a storm. Grrr. Anyway, Yay! More Everly! I haven't gotten to this newest adventure yet, but I look forward to it. ;]

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  6. Hi, Andris. Yes, Everly's at it again...but this will be the last one for a while. Next up, I'm going to finish the last book in my YA trilogy, and then the last book in the Gemini Women Trilogy. It's tough because I have Everly's next adventure running through my head. She's the most demanding of all my characters. No surprise there, I guess.

    Sorry about the storms you guys have been having. And quite a heat wave as well.

    Take care,
    L. j.

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  7. Love this book!!! Maybe even better than the last one, but comparisons are hard between love and love. I am not sure if I raced through the book or if the adventure just moved so fast that I was left almost breathless a couple of times. I know part of it is because I care about these guys so much that I want to know what happens and with you,we never quite know what to expect. Definitely some unexpected twists! I have one question. As we saw in A Touch of TNT as well as this book, El's mother "discovers" an toxin, is that because in her role as forensic anthropologist she is trying to find the cause of an old death? Thank you for another awesome (I'm sure you get tired of that term fut it fits) Everly adventures. Oh, and thanks for the clear that there is more to come.

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  8. Hi, Billie.
    Thanks for posting a comment. Loyria Gray is a bit of an enigma, isn't she? No one knows (yet) what she was working on. Remember she's been dead for quite a while, and her secrets were buried with her. Everly has a bit of exploring to do before she discovers exactly what her mother was doing.

    And, seriously, no author ev-ver gets tired of hearing awesome in the same sentence with one of their books!

    Yes, there are more Everly adventures to come. At least two, possibly more. She's really quite a nag when it comes to wanting her story to be written. I'm supposed to be working on two other books before I get back to hers, but she's already talked me into two pages of notes for her next adventure.

    Thanks for letting me know that you enjoyed the story.

    L. j.

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  9. Good books!! How do you compare intuition with Everlys 'gifts'? I have always had the gift of intuition and it was passed from my maternal grandmother- my mother to me. You have to be willing to be open and to listen. I have had - just a few times- of what you described in the book… right before sleep- the most intense peaceful feelings. Those feelings are so hard to explain and do not happen often. It was insightful to read your view- and your character's defining personalities. Please write more about Pierce! I purchased the Hawaiian book you recommended. It will be a joy to read and look through. Thank you- Lisa

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    1. PS. Your books are AWESOME! ;)

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    2. I'm so glad you like my stories, Lisa.

      I hope you enjoy the Hawaiian book, and yes, I'm writing more about Pierce right now. The next Everly book should be out in January.

      All of Everly's psychic experiences are based, very roughly, on my own. I certainly don't pick up images through my fingertips, but I have worked with energy for many years. I try to transfer those feelings into my books. You're blessed to have the gift of intuition. I don't think it's all that different from Everly's gifts, perhaps just more refined. Because she's a fictional character, I can get away with enhancing her experiences.

      L. j.

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  10. I recentley came across the first book in the Everly Gray series and had to go back and get the rest the very next day. I'm really looking forward to the next one!

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    1. Thanks for writing to let me know. I always like to hear from my readers, especially when they've enjoyed Everly's adventures.

      I'm working on the next book in the series, a Touch of Betrayal, and am hoping for a January release.

      I try to keep my readers up to date on what's going on in my writing life on my FB fan page.

      Here: http://www.facebook.com/ljwrites

      ...If you're on FB and interested.

      Happy Reading,
      L. j.

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