Thanks for having me on I Smell Sheep! I brought along a friend, well, more like an annoying little brother, Alex McKenna. We’ve been having the same argument for four books and I thought maybe we could finally settle it.
Alex: Vicki-Ann, first I want to say that I think the way you write me and Margaret is cool! I mean, she’s all in and supportive of who I am. Seeing the dead and talking to them can be scary for others but not Margaret, she’s right by my side. But what gets me the most is her reaction to me being transgender. Margaret understands that this is who I am and this is my journey, and she chooses to walk it with me.
Vicki-Ann: Thank you! You know how I feel, you are who you are. Being transgender is another side to the many things that make up Alex McKenna, just as it is with each and every person.
Alex: Okay, now that I’ve said that there’s something that’s been bugging me since book one.
Vicki-Ann: (Eye Roll) I know where you’re going with this.
Alex: See. If you know, then why not change it?
Vicki-Ann: Because I’ve told you a thousands times, I don’t write like that. I’m like 50 Shades of Disney. My romance is more sweet and less steamy. It just doesn’t flow for me.
Alex: But think about it. If Margaret and me could get a little closer, maybe even a lot closer, it might expand your audience and we’d get a lot more attention.
Vicki-Ann: Listen bud, I wish I could. I’ve tried. It comes out sounding like a tutorial to fix a busted water pipe. A lot of blah, blah, blah, and then an epic fail with a water fountain flooding
underneath the kitchen sink. Disaster.
underneath the kitchen sink. Disaster.
Alex: (sighs) I guess I get it. But, I do have a favor.
Vicki-Ann: Sure. What?
Alex: Next time you write about us, could you give me a car? I’d like to drive sometimes too.
Vicki-Ann: Deal..jpg)
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Alex McKenna and the Geranium Deaths (Alex McKenna Series Book One)
by Vicki-Ann Bush
Genre: YA Paranormal
October 17, 2023
by Vicki-Ann Bush
Genre: YA Paranormal
October 17, 2023
Publisher: Creative James Media
ISBN: 978-1-956183-42-9
Number of pages: 316
Word Count: 87837
Cover Artist: Dark Angel Graphic Design
The dead need him.
Seventeen-year-old Alex McKenna is a transgender boy who comes from a rich history of Strega witches. Possessing the ability to communicate with the dead, he uses his talents and understanding of what it means to be different to bridge the gap between the living and the beyond. With his girlfriend Margaret and his spirited great-grandmother by his side, Alex helps lost souls resolve their earthly connections and move on.
When a series of murders plagues his neighborhood, Alex discovers the gruesome truth behind a sixty-year span of deaths and the sinister being responsible.
Will Alex save the next victim and stop the murderer for good? Or will this be his final case?
ISBN: 978-1-956183-42-9
Number of pages: 316
Word Count: 87837
Cover Artist: Dark Angel Graphic Design
The dead need him.
Seventeen-year-old Alex McKenna is a transgender boy who comes from a rich history of Strega witches. Possessing the ability to communicate with the dead, he uses his talents and understanding of what it means to be different to bridge the gap between the living and the beyond. With his girlfriend Margaret and his spirited great-grandmother by his side, Alex helps lost souls resolve their earthly connections and move on.
When a series of murders plagues his neighborhood, Alex discovers the gruesome truth behind a sixty-year span of deaths and the sinister being responsible.
Will Alex save the next victim and stop the murderer for good? Or will this be his final case?
Excerpt:
The shadow slowly turned its attention to Alex. He stood tall, not showing the fear that was ravaging his body.
“Alex, be careful,” warned his mom.
“It’s okay.” Alex stood firm.
The dark figure let out an ear-piercing screech, and Alex buried his head in his jacket. Again, it changed its focus and twisted toward the back seat of the car—Wilby. It held the statue down toward the earth, and the car started to rock back and forth.
“Wilby!” his mom screamed as she struggled to break free.
Alex’s heart pounded; the death freeze of the dark spirit was coming, and it was very close.
“Ma, that thing is summoning the beast!” Alex’s voice dripped with fear.
“Alex, I don’t know what to do. I can’t move. Is Wilby still sleeping?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” She wiped her upper lip with her sleeve. “What if he wakes up?”
The vibration in his front pocket distracted him. Alex slipped out his phone; his gram’s picture lit up like a beacon.
“Gram, we’re in trouble,” Alex whispered.
“I know. Listen carefully, Bonzetta. Tell your mother we are going to use the prayer of light. I will do what I need from here.”
“What do I do?” Alex’s palms dripped with sweat from anxiety, and he nearly dropped the phone.
“Just repeat what we say, okay?”
“Okay.”
He didn’t want to shout their plan, so he texted it to his mom. “Ma, look at your phone.”
She slipped it out of her purse and read the message. Then, nodding in agreement, she waited.
“Alex, be careful,” warned his mom.
“It’s okay.” Alex stood firm.
The dark figure let out an ear-piercing screech, and Alex buried his head in his jacket. Again, it changed its focus and twisted toward the back seat of the car—Wilby. It held the statue down toward the earth, and the car started to rock back and forth.
“Wilby!” his mom screamed as she struggled to break free.
Alex’s heart pounded; the death freeze of the dark spirit was coming, and it was very close.
“Ma, that thing is summoning the beast!” Alex’s voice dripped with fear.
“Alex, I don’t know what to do. I can’t move. Is Wilby still sleeping?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” She wiped her upper lip with her sleeve. “What if he wakes up?”
The vibration in his front pocket distracted him. Alex slipped out his phone; his gram’s picture lit up like a beacon.
“Gram, we’re in trouble,” Alex whispered.
“I know. Listen carefully, Bonzetta. Tell your mother we are going to use the prayer of light. I will do what I need from here.”
“What do I do?” Alex’s palms dripped with sweat from anxiety, and he nearly dropped the phone.
“Just repeat what we say, okay?”
“Okay.”
He didn’t want to shout their plan, so he texted it to his mom. “Ma, look at your phone.”
She slipped it out of her purse and read the message. Then, nodding in agreement, she waited.
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About the Author:
Goodreads
Originally from New York, Vicki-Ann currently resides in Nevada. Writing Young Adult paranormal, she finds inspiration from events that have been in her life for as long as she can remember. Inheriting the sensitivity to the supernatural from her family, they continue to be an endless source of vision.
When not writing, she enjoys watching movies with her husband, their loveable great Dane, Cuba and their baby girl, Curie, a little Chua Chua/Yorkie mix. Other past time faves include, dinner with family and friends, going out to breakfast, and sipping wine on the patio of a lovely Italian restaurant.
In 2022 Vicki-Ann signed a two book publishing deal with CJM Publishing. Coming in 2024, the YA paranormal romance, The Darkest Light, and a New Adult sci-fi, Liminal Space.
Originally from New York, Vicki-Ann currently resides in Nevada. Writing Young Adult paranormal, she finds inspiration from events that have been in her life for as long as she can remember. Inheriting the sensitivity to the supernatural from her family, they continue to be an endless source of vision.
When not writing, she enjoys watching movies with her husband, their loveable great Dane, Cuba and their baby girl, Curie, a little Chua Chua/Yorkie mix. Other past time faves include, dinner with family and friends, going out to breakfast, and sipping wine on the patio of a lovely Italian restaurant.
In 2022 Vicki-Ann signed a two book publishing deal with CJM Publishing. Coming in 2024, the YA paranormal romance, The Darkest Light, and a New Adult sci-fi, Liminal Space.
