Exclusive Excerpt: VACANT (Mindspace Investigations, #4) by Alex Hughes Book Tour + giveaway

VACANT (Mindspace Investigations, #4)

by Alex Hughes
Publisher: Roc 
Publication date: 12/2/2014 
Series: Mindspace Investigations Series, #4 
Pages: 352

Nothing ruins a romantic evening like a brawl with lowlifes—especially when one of them later turns up dead and my date, Detective Isabella Cherabino, is the #1 suspect. My history with the Atlanta PD on both sides of the law makes me an unreliable witness, so while Cherabino is suspended, I’m paying my bills by taking an FBI gig.

I’ve been hired to play telepathic bodyguard for Tommy, the ten-year-old son of a superior court judge in Savannah presiding over the murder trial of a mob-connected mogul. After an attempt on the kid’s life, the Feds believe he’s been targeted by the businessman’s “associates.”

Turns out, Tommy’s a nascent telepath, so I’m trying to help him get a handle on his Ability. But it doesn’t take a mind reader to see that there’s something going on with this kid’s parents that’s stressing him out more than a death threat…

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I Consult 

An excerpt from Vacant by Alex Hughes 

It was a sad and unfortunate truth that the person to report the crime was often the first suspect. In this case, that meant that Cherabino and I, out of our jurisdiction, were suspects. I wasn't entirely surprised when they bundled us up and took us into the station. I was surprised when they kept us for hours.

I found myself on the opposite side of the interview table, in a strange room, with yet another stranger asking me questions. She was a forty-something woman with strong features and a hard personality, what my father would have called a battle-ax when I was growing up--and he would have meant it as a compliment. Unfortunately, after three interviewers, I was less than pleased with her on principle.

“You lost your job with the DeKalb County Police Department recently,” she began, after the usual softening-up questions. “Tell me about that.”

“My job at the DeKalb County Police Department changed focus and hours,” I replied, as precisely as possible. “I’m a consultant. I consult. Unfortunately, one of the consulting jobs I took outside the department last year made Paulsen--my supervisor--uncomfortable. It was decided to move me more directly to the Homicide and Robbery squads to work with Branen and his team, who do not have the same concerns about other consulting.” I’d had a few hours to figure out how to phrase that by now. Plus Swartz and I had discussed the best way to say it for job interviews anyway.

“What was the consulting job that made your superior uncomfortable?” the interrogator asked.

“I’m sorry, what was your name?” I asked, tired of being played like a civilian. After the second interviewer, they’d already left me alone for an hour and a half with bad coffee and no bathroom; I’d spurned the one because I’d planned for the other, but it had to be two a.m. and I wanted a nap. Another nap, I should say. She’d woken me up once already. Or her predecessor had. I was losing track.

“Officer Malone,” the woman said, after a moment of consideration. “I’ll repeat, what was the consulting job that made your superior uncomfortable?”

“Officer Malone. Thank you.” I made myself relax my body language a little more, more ‘open,’ less defensive. “The consulting job that made my superiors uncomfortable was one with the Telepath’s Guild. I can’t go into details.”

Her whole demeanor changed then, her body drawing back, her lip curling under. “The Guild? You worked for the Guild?”

I nodded.

Any professional courtesy she’d given me up until that point vanished like a mirage. She peppered me with question after question, hostility mixing with her fear at being alone with a “traitor telepath” until finally she brought in another, stubborn-minded male interrogator.

I held onto my temper with both hands and answered the questions as honestly as possible, going over what I’d seen outside of the concert over and over again. Finally, after two hours, I said, “Are we done?”

“For now,” she said, anger in every line. Then they left me alone.

Great. It was going to be one of those nights, wasn't it?

Reading Order:

Rabbit Trick (.5) 

Clean (1) 

Payoff (1.5) 

Sharp (2) 

Marked (3) 

Vacant (4)

About the Author:

website-FB-twitter-newsletter

Alex Hughes, the author of the award-winning Mindspace Investigations series from Roc, has lived in the Atlanta area since the age of eight. Her short fiction has been published in several markets including EveryDay Fiction, Thunder on the Battlefield and White Cat Magazine. She is an avid cook and foodie, a trivia buff, and a science geek, and loves to talk about neuroscience, the Food Network, and writing craft—but not necessarily all at the same time! For all the latest news and free short stories, join Alex’s email list at http://bit.ly/AlexsList.

Play Vacant Clue

A “Clue-like” checklist is available to download from the author’s blog, to be marked off as readers visit stops along the tour schedule. Somewhere on participating blog posts will be clues (clearly marked) that will eliminate specific “Location”, “Weapon”, or “Suspect” options.

Link to the "Clue" check list:

http://www.ahugheswriter.com/vacant-blog-tour-and-scavenger-hunt-starts-today.html

At the end of the tour, a rafflecopter entry form will help Alex choose a grand prize winner amongst all who correctly guess “who dunnit?” based on the remaining options.

Blog Tour Schedule:
Nov 25th - SF Signal
Nov 26th - I Smell Sheep
Nov 27th – Thanksgiving (US)
Nov 28th - Ashley’s Random Blog
Dec 1st - What The Cat Read, BookHounds
Dec 2nd - NicholasKaufmann.com, Books Make Me Happy
Dec 3rd - Vampire Book Club
Dec 4th - Little Read Riding Hood
Dec 5th - Insane About Books
Dec 8th - BiblioFiend, Between The Lines
Dec 9th - Smart Girls Love Sci/Fi & Paranormal Romance
Dec 10th - Reading Reality
Dec 11th - Short & Sweet Reviews
Dec 12th - That’s What I’m Talking About, Anna’s Book Blog
Dec 15th - Tynga’s Reviews
Dec 16th - Janice Hardy – Fiction University
Dec 17th - Preturnatura, Amberkatze’s Book Blog
Dec 18th - Fantasy Literature, That’s What I’m Talking About
Dec 19th - Books That Hook, Literal Addiction
Dec 21st - Literary Escapism
Dec 22nd - Open Book Society
Dec 23rd - My Bookish Ways

Book Review: Rabbit Trick (Mindspace Investigation .5) short story by Alex Hughes

Rabbit Trick (Mindspace Investigation .5)

by Alex Hughes
Kindle Edition, 45 pages
Published March 4th 2014 by Alex Hughes
New short story in the Mindspace Investigations universe (with two bonus short stories in other worlds from author Alex Hughes).

Open Mind

When the cops call me in the middle of the night, I know it's bad. One of their own is dead, strangled in her car by a professional killer, and it's up to me, telepath consultant extraordinaire, to pull the rabbit out of my hat and solve the case. Only this time I'm not so sure I can.

Homicide Detective Isabella Cherabino is breathing down my neck. The dead cop's partner is too. And now, the worst--there was a five-year-old kid in the car, a kid no one can find.

Note from the author: "Rabbit Trick" takes place before the events of Clean, so the hero intentionally remains nameless.

I haven’t read the series yet so this was a chance to check out the world building, main characters and author’s writing style. I’m glad I did. I liked the male first person POV, which I don’t read a lot of, and the crime solving mystery. You get a glimpse into the progtag’s head (heehee, see what I did there?) and what it's like to be a telepath in post Tech War Atlanta.

Rabbit Trick is about a cop’s murder and the case is solved and wrapped up neatly. The author had enough background information that I didn’t feel lost in the world, only intrigued more. The funny thing is after reading the blurb a few minutes ago I just realized we never know our protagonists name! Kind of cool I didn’t even notice.

There are two quickie short stories at the end that have nothing to do with the Mindspace Investigations series. “The Carousel” is a horror short that teaches you why you can trust Mother Goose characters...especially Little Bo Peep. “Inky Black Sea” sets up a humorous adventure on the sea and why it is important not to piss of a sea monster.

4.5 “jumping out of the hat” Sheep

Sharon Stogner

Book Review: Clean
Book Review: Sharp
Book Review: Marked

About the Author:

website-FB-twitter-newsletter
Alex Hughes, the author of the award-winning Mindspace Investigations series from Roc, has lived in the Atlanta area since the age of eight. She is a graduate of the prestigious Odyssey Writing Workshop, and a Semi-Finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novels 2011. Her short fiction has been published in several markets including EveryDay Fiction, Thunder on the Battlefield and White Cat Magazine. She is an avid cook and foodie, a trivia buff, and a science geek, and loves to talk about neuroscience, the Food Network, and writing craft—but not necessarily at the same time!

Must Haves for My Apocalyptic Bunker by Alex Hughes (Marked book tour + giveaway)

Must Haves for My Apocalyptic Bunker
By: Alex Hughes

One of my favorite things about stopping by I Smell Sheep is the incredible guest post topic ideas that Sharon gives out like candy. This topic, another Sharon classic, got my creative juices going immediately.

If the world fell apart, naturally I would have a bunker already set up and ready to go. The absolutely critical items would be:

1. A robot butler. Who can cook gourmet dishes from practically anything, especially canned and dried food. Bonus points if he can play a proper game of chess.

2. A yoga mat and tapes. Hey, what? I get twitchy in small spaces. An exercise form that keeps me calm and centered (and strong) would be awesome.

3. A rifle with extra ammo. Just in case the door doesn’t hold.

4. A set of Kindles pre-loaded with most of the world’s books, and a charger that doesn’t run out. Or: a charger powered by a hand crank, so it literally can’t go out.

5. The hubbie.

6. Lots of paper and pencils.

7. Nice cheerful sunlight-spectrum lamps. Because I like my sunlight, ‘kay?

Optional bonuses (if there’s room):

1. A heating blanket. The ultimate in comfort, especially if it comes with a generator to keep all the other gadgets going.

2. My laptop with Scrivener pre-loaded. Because even if the world is ending, I’ve got deadlines, you know? Plus the other bunker-bound folks are going to want reading material and I don’t want to disappoint.

3. Access to the Internet. So I can watch the desperation and world-ending from my safe armchair, you know, just in case I wanted to.

4. Several friends & family members in adjoining bunkers for dinner parties with the robot butler.

5. A mammoth stockpile of food, not something minor, you understand, but a fort of cans, an herb garden, balsalmic vinegar, salt and pepper and sundried tomatoes and all the other comforts of home. Plus, you know, a hydroponic garden to keep us in oxygen and yummies. We have the sunlight-spectrum lamps already, am I right?

6. A cat. Because if the world is ending, I’m getting a cat, dang it. And cat food, a litter box, etc. etc. to keep her in style.

What about you guys? Do you also require your robot butlers to cook, or are you more flexible in hiring?

I Smell Sheep review of Marked

Marked (Mindspace Investigation #3)

by Alex Hughes
Kindle Edition, 352 pages
Expected publication: April 1st 2014 by Roc
FORESEE NO EVIL.
Freelancing for the Atlanta PD isn’t exactly a secure career; my job’s been on the line almost as much as my life. But it’s a paycheck, and it keeps me from falling back into the drug habit. Plus, things are looking up with my sometimes-partner, Cherabino, even if she is still simmering over the telepathic Link I created by accident.

When my ex, Kara, shows up begging for my help, I find myself heading to the last place I ever expected to set foot in again—Guild headquarters—to investigate the death of her uncle. Joining that group was a bad idea the first time. Going back when I’m unwanted is downright dangerous.

Luckily, the Guild needs me more than they’re willing to admit. Kara’s uncle was acting strange before he died—crazy strange. In fact, his madness seems to be slowly spreading through the Guild. And when an army of powerful telepaths loses their marbles, suddenly it’s a game of life or death.…

About the Author:

website-FB-twitter-newsletter
Alex Hughes, the author of the award-winning Mindspace Investigations series from Roc, has lived in the Atlanta area since the age of eight. She is a graduate of the prestigious Odyssey Writing Workshop, and a Semi-Finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novels 2011. Her short fiction has been published in several markets including EveryDay Fiction, Thunder on the Battlefield and White Cat Magazine. She is an avid cook and foodie, a trivia buff, and a science geek, and loves to talk about neuroscience, the Food Network, and writing craft—but not necessarily at the same time!

**Bonus: Short story “Rabbit Trick” in the Mindspace Investigations world - amazon

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review (ARC): Marked (Mindspace Investigation #3) by Alex Hughes

Marked (Mindspace Investigation #3)
By: Alex Hughes
Paperback, 352 pages
Expected publication: April 1st 2014 by Roc
ISBN13: 9780451466938
Freelancing for the Atlanta PD isn’t exactly a secure career; my job’s been on the line almost as much as my life. But it’s a paycheck, and it keeps me from falling back into the drug habit. Plus, things are looking up with my sometimes-partner, Cherabino, even if she is still simmering over the telepathic Link I created by accident.

When my ex, Kara, shows up begging for my help, I find myself heading to the last place I ever expected to set foot in again—Guild headquarters—to investigate the death of her uncle. Joining that group was a bad idea the first time. Going back when I’m unwanted is downright dangerous.

Luckily, the Guild needs me more than they’re willing to admit. Kara’s uncle was acting strange before he died—crazy strange. In fact, his madness seems to be slowly spreading through the Guild. And when an army of powerful telepaths loses their marbles, suddenly it’s a game of life or death.

This is the third book in the Mindspace Investigation series, Adam is still freelancing as an interrogator for the Atlanta PD, he still has a very strained relationship with Cherabino.

While in the middle of an interview at the Atlanta PD, Adam is pulled away by Chearbino to investigate a murder scene. On the way out Adam is handed a scrap of paper with a note saying he needs to call his ex Kara right away. Adam finds out that Kara's uncle is dead, and it's being looked at as a suicide, Kara knowing her uncle would never kill himself, begs Adam to look into the death and prove that it was in fact a murder and not a suicide.

Despite the anger Adam has towards the Guild and their politics, and his conflicted feelings he has towards his ex, he agrees to help Kara. Adam is stonewalled at pretty much every step of the investigation by both Guild members and members of Kara's family. When no one is willing to help with the investigation, not even Kara, Adam begins to think the Guild is looking for a scapegoat and throw him under the bus. By making an example of him it would show the power the Guild has over everyone.

The relationship between Adam and Cherabino is getting somewhat confusing, I'm not sure if this was done on purpose or not. One minute Cherabino is mad as hell at Adam for the telepathic link created between them, the next minute when the link has "worn out" Cherabino is ready to jump Adam's bones which could recreate the link that she wanted gone so badly.

I enjoyed this book as much as the first two. I'm hoping there will be future books that focus on the outside events that took place between Sharp and Marked. Watching Adam struggle with his personal demons and his feelings towards others that are a part of his life, even if he doesn't want them there, is a great story.

4 Sheep

Danielle

About the Author:

website-FB-twitter-newsletter
Alex Hughes, the author of the award-winning Mindspace Investigations series from Roc, has lived in the Atlanta area since the age of eight. She is a graduate of the prestigious Odyssey Writing Workshop, and a Semi-Finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novels 2011. Her short fiction has been published in several markets including EveryDay Fiction, Thunder on the Battlefield and White Cat Magazine. She is an avid cook and foodie, a trivia buff, and a science geek, and loves to talk about neuroscience, the Food Network, and writing craft—but not necessarily at the same time!

**Bonus: Short story “Rabbit Trick” in the Mindspace Investigations world - amazon

Book Review: Sharp by Alex Hughes

Sharp (Mindspace Investigation #2)

HISTORY HAS A WAY OF REPEATING ITSELF, EVEN FOR TELEPATHS.…

As a Level Eight telepath, I am the best police interrogator in the department. But I’m not a cop—I never will be—and my only friend on the force, Homicide Detective Isabella Cherabino, is avoiding me because of a telepathic link I created by accident.

And I might not even be an interrogator for much longer. Our boss says unless I pull out a miracle, I’ll be gone before Christmas. I need this job, damn it. It’s the only thing keeping me sane.

Parts for illegal Tech—the same parts used to bring the world to its knees in the Tech Wars sixty years ago—are being hijacked all over the city. Plus Cherbino's longtime nemesis, a cop killer, has resurfaced with a vengeance. If I can stay alive long enough, I just might be able to prove my worth, once and for all.

As usual, I've found another good author to read! Sharp, by Alex Hughes, was a futuristic sci-fi mystery that was well-written and fairly easy to get into. Since this was the second novel in "A Mindspace Investigations Novel" series, I did find myself a little behind the times when I started reading. I will want to read Clean by Alex Hughes, as it would explain some of the gaps and goings on with Adam, the main character, since this would have been the first novel.

Sharp had a lot of action and a great story line, but almost had me feeling sorry for Adam, with so many personal problems from his past. It's hard to be a Level 8 Telepath, and also made me not want to be around Telepaths, (if I'm a bad guy!)

The ending was a little strange but fitting, and definitely leaves room for more Mindspace Investigations Novels.

I would recommend Sharp, by Alex Hughes, to any sci-fi or mystery fan, as it's not too far fetched in the sci-fi world, and is a good read for the mystery readers. Well done!!

Happy Reading!

review Clean (Mindspace Investigations #1)

3.5 Sheep

Guest Reviewer: Pat Bast - Over The Road Reviews

About the author:
website-fb-twitter-blogAlex Hughes was born in Savannah, GA and moved to the south Atlanta area when she was eight years old. Shortly thereafter, her grandfather handed her a copy of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonrider series, and a lifelong obsession with scifi was born.Alex’s work is complex, dark, adventurous, and a little funny, with a emphasis on great characters and interesting worlds. She gets her inspiration from history (she majored with a European history focus in college), family members, and headlines, as well as whatever book she has in her hand. Lately she’s been reading neuroscience books; the brain’s a cool, cool place and the mind even more so.
Alex loves swing dancing, tetris, music of all kinds, and has been known to get into long conversations with total strangers at restaurants about the Food Network, much to the embarrassment of her sister. She can also balance a spoon on her nose while crossing her eyes, and talk for hours about absolutely nothing.

Guest Post: Alex Hughes SHARP Blog Tour + Giveaway

This is the last stop on Alex's Sharp blog tour! And we have asked her to give us advice on how to gather and use werewolf hair. Pay attention because apparently you can make a lot of money!

What to Do with a Wolf’s Shedding Hair

Alex Hughes

I have been asked the very serious and very important question as to what you can do with a wolf’s shedding hair. I assume that said wolf is a werewolf, and thus the hair is particularly valuable, and thus well worth the effort to collect and use said hair. 

I suppose the traditional answer is to use it in the style of Shakespeare’s witches, with a bubbling cauldron and a moonlight night, with much planning and cackling to be had by all. Or to employ it in a potion in the style of Billy Crystal’s Old Man character in the Princess Bride—werewolf hair has to be useful for something, he would say.

But me personally, I’m picturing a large hank of the stuff. With sufficient bribes to zoo workers and wildlife refuge personnel, you can also assemble a rather notable collection of regular wolf hair to play with as well for supplementary purposes.

I’d say you sit down at the spinning wheel, being careful with your hands so as to avoid a Sleeping Beauty incident, you can spin together the wolf and werewolf hair into a quite serviceable yarn. If you’re feeling lazy, you might even get an electric spinning wheel. In either case, be sure to wear thick (and clean) gloves in a nonporous fabric so that your scent will not transfer to the fur.

Next step: get out those knitting needles. Depending on the quantity of your thread, you have several options. Long scarf-like pieces to sew onto regular clothing, perhaps. A hat to keep your head warm in the woods. Even a sweater, if your yarn is sufficient enough. Buy and wear a clean butcher’s apron and continue with the gloves theme to maintain scent separation.

Choose a day with a full moon scheduled for the night to come. Prepare your supplies in advance. Don a head-to-toe cotton long-johns underlayer and a metal or wood armour overlayer. Unstained wood is preferred, of course, but the light application of wolf musk to the metal will do as a serviceable solution. Then, put on your sweater, hat, and strips of wolf-yarn fabric over that.

Ideally, you will have held back a few pinches of the original werewolf hair in a sealed plastic bag, and when your sweater is complete, rub this original hair all over the rest of your clothing and gear as much as possible.

Then, find a careful spot to lie in wait. Deer traps will work, occasionally, but the preferred method is to find a tree-and-bush area behind which you cannot be seen but through whose leaves you can see easily. Settle down and wait patiently.

In greater than half of all reported cases, werewolves will be attracted to the scent even through large quantities of forest. You will hear the howls before they approach. Be of good courage; rarely, if ever, are hunters killed by werewolves, and your mission is for the greater goals of mankind.

When the werewolf individual or werewolf pack approaches, take your opportunity. Aim carefully… and shoot. Shoot repeatedly; the light from the camera will disorient them, and these pictures are likely to be your best and most important of the evening. These are worth upwards of three thousand dollars a shot to major magazines and must be taken carefully.

Whatever you do, do not move. Running indicates you are prey, and your smell-screen should be sufficient to keep you from being attacked. Even if it does not, your armor should allow you to fight them off and make them move onto better prey. But fear not, in better than 30% of cases, the wolf pack will settle around the cameraman and have a conversation in Wolfish, trying to figure out who he or she is within the pack. If you record this conversation, it too can be worth several thousand.

Don’t forget to brush the wolves around you if opportunity presents itself. They, like most dogs, find the process pleasurable, and you will need the wolf hair from the brush to equip you for your next run.

Sell the sweater you have been wearing when you get home on eBay; werewolf sweaters are currently fashionable among the vampire groups, and they have been known to pay up to two hundred dollars for one.

This is the correct method for dealing with shedded werewolf hair.

HISTORY HAS A WAY OF REPEATING ITSELF, EVEN FOR TELEPATHS.…

As a Level Eight telepath, I am the best police interrogator in the department. But I’m not a cop—I never will be—and my only friend on the force, Homicide Detective Isabella Cherabino, is avoiding me because of a telepathic link I created by accident.

And I might not even be an interrogator for much longer. Our boss says unless I pull out a miracle, I’ll be gone before Christmas. I need this job, damn it. It’s the only thing keeping me sane.

Parts for illegal Tech—the same parts used to bring the world to its knees in the Tech Wars sixty years ago—are being hijacked all over the city. Plus Cherbino's longtime nemesis, a cop killer, has resurfaced with a vengeance. If I can stay alive long enough, I just might be able to prove my worth, once and for all...

Excerpt

Guilt – an excerpt from Sharp, Mindspace Investigations Book #2
By Alex Hughes

You okay? came Cherabino’s thought again, frustrated. Tap, tap, her mind against mine, tap, tap, as if she could somehow feel my distress and reacted with impatience instead of care. Tap, tap, along the long yellow line back to the real world.

I followed that line, hand over hand, inch by painful blind inch, laboriously surfacing, one overwhelming moment at a time. She kept tapping. She kept pushing. It was the only thing that got me all the way there.

I woke to the clear view of the floor and my knees, twelve inches from the bloodstain, my nose overcome with bad smells. I hadn’t thrown up. I could say that much. And—mind shaking, aching, shivering in reaction pain, I realized I was back to mind-deaf. My head rang with pain, pain—but no emotion. I was deaf and blind again.

“You okay?” Cherabino asked.

I shook my head—and immediately thought better of it; the movement made the world spin.

My eyes caught the victim’s foot, her bare foot on the tile, and I saw a small tattoo, a circle of wavy lines, neurons, encircling a stylized S and Q. I sat down hard, on the tile. I knew that tattoo.

I knew that tattoo, and in combination with it the female mind, or who she’d once been. Her name hadn’t been Hamilton when I’d known her, but she hadn’t been married. Emily, her name had been. Even through the overwhelming pain in my head, I couldn’t let go of the thought. Emily had been one of my best advanced students, years ago. Before it all fell apart. Before her mind twisted into a knot—into something not an Abled mind anymore. Before I’d done the unthinkable.

“Are you okay?” Cherabino repeated.

I fought the guilt and the disorientation of seeing Emily again, seeing her dead. I fought the exposure sickness, the injury. I sat on them, hard, and built a barrier between us with bleeding fingers. Cherabino couldn’t know. She knew too many of my failures as it was.

One small knee shuffle at a time, I moved back, away from Emily. It wasn’t her fault she smelled of urine, dried blood, and darker things, but it wasn’t mine either.

“Well, did the husband do it?” Freeman asked.

“Are you okay?” Cherabino repeated.

I pulled myself to my feet and fished out my sunglasses over my now-light-sensitive eyes. “Unless the husband’s an ex-SEAL or something,” I said in a rasp, “somebody else did it. And now, unless there’s some kind of emergency, I’ll be in the car.”

Uncaring of reactions, I stumbled out of the devil house, away from the seat of every failure I’d ever had, down the stupid steep stairs, and climbed into the backseat of the cop car. I needed to be horizontal. Now.

About the Author:
Website-Blog-Facebook- Twitter-Goodreads
Alex has written since early childhood, and loves great stories in any form including scifi, fantasy, and mystery. Over the years, she has lived in many neighborhoods of the sprawling metro Atlanta area, including Decatur, the neighborhood on which Clean is centered. Her work is dark, complex, action-filled and a little funny. Her Mindspace Investigations series has been called "A fun blend of Chinatown and Blade Runner" by James Knapp, and Publisher's Weekly called her "a writer to watch."

When not writing you can find Alex in the kitchen cooking gourmet Italian food, watching hours of police procedural dramas, and humming to delightfully obscure music.

click to go to the tour schedule

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Sheep Interview: Alex Hughes + swag giveaway

We booked this interview with Alex a while back and then found out she was going to Dragon*Con too! So we caught up with her and grabbed some pictures for the interview. We even asked her to do that amazing feat of balance and finesse she included in her bio.

Hello! Welcome to I Smell Sheep…grab a moonpie and some kool aid and have a seat.

Sharon: Clean is your debut (congrats on that by the way) so our readers might not be familiar with your book yet. Would you tell us a little about it?

Alex: Thanks! Clean is about a telepath who is also a recovering addict helping the police to solve crimes. In this case, he and his partner-slash-love-interest Cherabino are on the case of a serial killer who kills with the mind.

Katie: How does one kill with the mind? Is it like worst scary senario drives them insane?
Alex: No, actually the killer literally burns out the brain through the Ability center. You’ll have to read the book to find out why <G>

Sharon: You have a male lead protagonist. Why did you decide on a male character and how did you get your female brain into his male brain and I am going to say male one more time cause I obviously like the word…male…
Alex: Addiction is a little more socially acceptable from a man, I think. Plus I was heavily influenced by a male cyberpunk telepath character (the hero of Joan D. Vinge’s Catspaw) and it just seemed natural to make him a guy.

I’ve always been good at math and science and so in school (especially high school) I always seemed to be in these classes with mostly guys, and in a position to watch them when they weren’t thinking about being watched. Plus I’m fortunate enough (or unfortunate enough) to be able to think both in lines (a typically male trait) and in webs (a typically female trait). In the beginning with this character, it took a lot of work and mental acrobatics to get fully in his head, even so. But these days we’ve come to an understanding and mostly I just write.

I am very indebted to my mostly-male writer’s group, however. They’re kind enough to point out all the flaws after the fact. While I may disagree with some of their statements (liking Christmas, in my opinion, is not unmanly), there’s always room for thought and consideration, and the work always ends up better.

Sharon: So he has learned to shut up and listen to you, like any smart guy should? <G> Has your husband had to tell you to quit acting like that guy?
Alex: LOL, not yet but anything is possible!

Katie: What's been the funnest part so far about being a writer?
Sharon: Other than meeting us at Dragon*Con…

Alex: Well, meeting you guys at Dragon*Con was pretty darn spiffy!
(We did not bribe her with moonpies or dungeon privileges to get her to say this)
Actually, it was going to the big bookstore on my release day and standing in front of the new releases section… with my book sitting right there looking back at me. That was the Big Dream, the thing that seemed impossible when I was a teenager, the windmill I couldn’t help tilt at.

Sharon: You like cooking and the Food Network. What is your favorite show on the Food Network?Alex: Oh, wow. Must I choose? LOL. I’m a longstanding Top Chef fan and I adore Chopped. Part of the fun for those shows is that I have a library of tastes in my head for various things and I can usually put them together in my head as the people do on TV – so I can pseudo-taste the final dishes. Makes it a lot of fun to try new things without spending calories! I also love a bunch of their other shows, and I’m a huge Giada de Laurentiis fan – I own all her cookbooks and play around with her style of cooking all the time.

Sharon: Have a favorite flavor or spice?
Alex: Today I’ll say the caper-and-lime-juice-with-mustard-and-parsley mix of my modified Chicken Piccata recipe.

Katie: What was your favorite time period in European history? Would you want to live in that time period?Alex: My favorite time period in European history is probably the very late medieval times (or very early early modern) in France and England. There’s a lot of fun drama going on, lots of wars and such for excitement, plagues for tragedy, but also some really cool technological innovation. The world is changing faster than it ever has before. If I’m really focusing in on a time and place, let’s do Elizabethan England. She knew how to run a country, and England’s coming into its own as a world power for the first time. I could meet Shakespeare. But, despite the female ruler, women didn’t do all that well in this time period, so I’d love to visit but don’t want to stay.

Where would I want to live full-time? If you’ll let me be a rich young widow from a good family (read: have lots of freedom), I’d love to be in an Italian city-state in the 1500s or 1600s. Really cool stuff going on there, but let me do my research first to figure out exactly which decade and city to land in. There’s a *ton* of wars going on I’d prefer to avoid entirely.
Sharon: O_o you really put a lot of thought into this question. Smart lady.

Sharon: What is the longest you have played Tetris in one sitting?
Alex: Six hours? Maybe a little longer as a teenager. It’s been awhile since I had that kind of time
Katie: Still say Tetris is the best game ever!

Sharon: Which of the 7 deadly sins have you committed most recently?
Alex: Lying. It was a small lie, but even so
Sharon: Did you get away with it?
Alex: Mostly <G>

Sharon: Are you a grit eating, sweet tea loving, ya’ll calling southern girl?
Alex: I’m a southern girl, absolutely, but a little bit unconventional. I like ginger peach sweet tea with only a half-cup of sugar for a gallon of tea (not much at all in the southern way of thinking), pulled chicken barbeque, and I call y’all when it suits me. I do, however, use “all y’all” which I’m told is the nail in the coffin. Grits are fine, so far as they go, but we don’t really eat them much in Atlanta, which is a large metropolitan.
Sharon: Grits rule! Especially with lots of bacon in it.
Katie: Or sugar! Yum!
Sharon: WTH? Who puts sugar on grits...oh, you are from California...never mind <G>

Katie: Ha!
Katie: Would you want to be a telepath?
Alex: I’d love to be a telepath in a few two-hour spurts, especially when walking alone on the street. It would be so comforting to be able to knock someone out who’s threatening you, or to make yourself seem more dangerous than you look. It would be fun to spend some time in Sam’s head, for example, especially if it went both ways. But to be a telepath full-time? No thanks. There are too many strings attached and sanity becomes really tough with that many other thoughts in your head.
Sharon: Is this something your protagonist struggles with, why he became a drug addict in the first place?
Alex: This is definitely a problem for my protagonist in his current situation (surrounded by normals) and the two feed into each other, but he met his drug originally by accident.

Sharon: Give us an amazing fact about the brain.

Alex: It’s plastic. Meaning, it can recover and rewire from things that you’d think would ruin everything. Small children with brain injuries can often make full recoveries, even with permanent damage to certain sections. And blind people rewire the visual cortex to process touch and sound, so that they’re getting a depth of information from their surroundings you’d think would be impossible. One guy in the northwest has actually learned to echolocate (like a bat) well enough to ride his bike on the streets, despite being totally blind. And Scientists/Engineers are actually in the testing stages of a rig that translates a camera’s view of the world in front of you to a flat surface attached to your tongue, which puts the visual information into touch/pressure information. One of the guys testing the rig, despite being totally blind, can use it to see well enough to climb a rock face. He says after a whole bunch of practice working with the rig, he can “see” the handholds and footholds now. Not feel them on his tongue; “see” them. His brain is rewiring.

Sharon: The brain is pretty amazing…it is no wonder zombies love them so much :P

Now on to the rapid fire round!

Sharon: Coke or Pepsi?
Alex: Please! Coke. I’m Southern enough for that!
Katie: Woot, Woot!

Katie: Covered in Bees or covered in scorpions?
Alex: Bees. Stay very still and they may not sting.

Sharon: Oregano or curry?
Alex: Yes, please. But not in the same dish.

Sharon: Rollercoasters or carousels?
Alex: Carousels. But they won’t let me on them anymore. Apparently I’m too old.
Sharon: No, you are too old for merry-go-rounds, but Carousels are completely different!
Alex: Not according to the last few Carousel operators I’ve talked to. Apparently I need to obtain a five-year-old to get me in, or it’s a no go. Sadly, no five-year-olds have volunteered for this duty.

Katie: Bruce Willis or Liam Neeson?
Alex: Bruce Willis.

Sharon: Duck or goose?
Alex: Duck. Roasted with orange sauce. Or stir-fried with plum sauce.
Sharon: *jaw dropped* I didn’t mean for eating!!! OMG!
Alex: What else would one do with water fowl?

http://wowsugar.blogspot.com/

Katie: To be or Not to be?
Alex: That is the question. Probably be. ‘Tis nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of life.
Sharon: did you have to memorize that in high school too?
Alex: I’ve just heard it enough it stuck in my brain – I love the shape of the words and the rhythm Shakespeare uses. He’s kinda brilliant.

Sharon: Venus or Mars?
Alex: Mars. Seems more habitable with specialty equipment.
Katie: Plus all those sexy alpha men! Yeow!
Alex: LOL. True. But I thought you were making me choose a space colony! The surface temperature of Venus is like 900 degrees, which is hot enough to melt some metals. Not very hospitable. I don’t know what this says about John Gray’s view of women, but it can’t be good. J

Katie: Spring or Fall?
Alex: Fall. Without ragweed – that stuff is nasty.

Sharon: Scooby Doo or Winnie the Pooh?
Alex: Both. But not on the same day.

Thanks to Alex for stopping by. Be sure to check out Danielle's review of Clean here.

About the author:

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Alex Hughes was born in Savannah, GA and moved to the south Atlanta area when she was eight years old. Shortly thereafter, her grandfather handed her a copy of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonrider series, and a lifelong obsession with scifi was born.

Alex is a graduate of the prestigious Odyssey Writing Workshop and a Semi-Finalist in the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. Her short pieces are published in several markets including EveryDay Fiction and White Cat Magazine. She blogs about writing craft, revision, and editing at SmallTriumphs.com.

Alex’s work is complex, dark, adventurous, and a little funny, with a emphasis on great characters and interesting worlds. She gets her inspiration from history (she majored with a European history focus in college), family members, and headlines, as well as whatever book she has in her hand. Lately she’s been reading neuroscience books; the brain’s a cool, cool place and the mind even more so.

An avid cook and foodie, Alex loves great food of any stripe – even better if she can figure out how to put it together. Great food is like a great book; it has lots of layers that work together beautifully, and the result is delicious and harmonious. She’s working on figuring out Indian food right now – suggestions welcome!

Alex loves swing dancing, tetris, music of all kinds, and has been known to get into long conversations with total strangers at restaurants about the Food Network, much to the embarrassment of her sister. She can also balance a spoon on her nose while crossing her eyes, and talk for hours about absolutely nothing.

GIVE AWAY

We have a Sheep postcard and bookmark signed by Alex along with some other cool DragonCon swag and Sheep swag

To enter:

1. leave contact info

2. Tell us your favorite flavor or spice!

*double entry for followers

Contest ends: Sept. 22 at midnight