What happens when your day starts out with a creepy old lady putting a curse on you and then goes downhill from there?
You’ll find out in Cursed!, which I am co-writing with bestselling Kindle author J.R. Rain. The novel came about when I asked J.R. to contribute a bonus story to one of my collections, since I like to offer extra material and cross-pollinate audiences. Instead, we ended up working on this book, which is from a draft J.R. wrote back in his younger days, before a screenwriting career.
I took the draft and did a major revision, and then we each made one more editing pass before proofreading. I love the narrative voice of Albert Shipway, and he is the sort who dodges responsibility and has a lot in common with me—weaknesses for women and booze and losing.
But Tabitha Mead more than makes up for it. A cop whose family has dabbled in magic for generations, she’s now helping Al uncover the mysteries behind the curse placed on him—a curse that hits close to home.
We’re planning a few more books in the series, since it’s a lot of fun to write, and a little different from my usual supernatural thrillers. However, it’s a lot like October Girls in tone, though my YA paranormal series features teens instead of adults.
I have only collaborated a couple of times, usually in round-robin fashion, so this was a good experience for me to get out of my comfort zone and stretch my funny bone. J.R.’s built a reputation for romantic suspense with his Vampire For Hire series, so our partnership will help us both meet new readers. It is scheduled for release on Nov. 20th.
What else will readers like about Cursed!? The uneasy relationship between Tabitha and Al, the backstory of family magic, the Southern California setting, and Al’s alcoholic, well-intentioned, but occasionally inept ways.
And the exclamation point. It was J.R.’s idea to add it to the title—promising a lighter-hearted paranormal adventure and not just another downer journey to death. You know how those witches are. They don’t want anyone to have any fun.
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Scott Nicholson is author of 12 novels, including the YA paranormal romance October Girls and the thrillers Disintegration, As I Die Lying, Speed Dating with the Dead, Drummer Boy, Forever Never Ends, The Skull Ring, Burial to Follow, and They Hunger. His revised novels for the U.K. Kindle are Creative Spirit, Troubled, and Solom. He’s also written four comic series, six screenplays, and more than 60 short stories. His story collections include Ashes, Curtains, The First, Murdermouth: Zombie Bits, and Flowers.
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