Title: The Dreamer of
Downing Street
Author: Roberta L. Smith
Series: The Mickey McCoy Series
(Prequel)
Genre:
Paranormal/Mystery/Romance/Historical
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: Aug 23 2014
Edition/Formats Available In: eBook
& Print
Blurb/Synopsis:
In 1944 Denver, twenty-six year-old
Franklin Powell is doing what he does best, helping clients with his psychic
gift. Then his brother causes the past to come crashing into the present and a
memory Frank has kept buried since the age of six surfaces. Now his life is in
an uproar. He must prove that what he remembers is true or his mother may spend
the rest of her life in prison. But even if he succeeds, it appears there is a
powerful someone behind the scenes who could care less if she is innocent. Why?
Because of a seething hatred for Frank. To make matters worse, the woman he
loves needs his help with a serious problem of her own—a problem that could get
him killed. Frank can’t let that stop him. He dives right in and while his
psychic gift doesn’t seem to be doing him any favors, it’s a good thing that a
couple of newly-acquired ghosts appear to be on his side.
Excerpt
Leadville, Colorado - 1924
I COULD FEEL Mother’s anxiety the moment she took my hand to
pull me out of the canvas top touring car. I landed with a squishy sound as my
boots hit the sloshy ground and I righted myself. The sight before me was
forlorn to say the least: a couple of cabins―shacks really―a privy, shed and
the hoist frame of a mine shaft no longer in use, all dusted with snow. It was
spring, but just barely. And it was cold.
“You’ll be all right with the boy,” our driver called to my
mother from his seat inside the car, arm outside the window, finger pointed.
“Just remember what I told you. Call her Mrs. Tabor. She don’t like when people
address her as Baby Doe. Show her respect. If she opens the door with a shotgun
in her hand, just talk real nice. She guards the Matchless like a rabid dog and
don’t trust people much. I ain’t sayin’ I blame her, just that’s how she be.”
Mother nodded and started toward one of the cabins, my hand
in hers. I nearly cried out that she was hurting me, her grip was that tight.
But I thought better of it. A tongue lashing would most likely result and that
would be more painful. I stuck my free hand in the right-hand pocket of my coat
and grabbed hold of one of the toy cars I kept there.
My heart beat rapidly. I was anxious, too. Not because of
where we were or who we were about to meet. I was concerned for Mother because
I’d never seen her in such a state. She paused for a moment and took several
deep breaths as she stared at the small, one-room shack ahead of us. It cast a
friendless feel out here on the hill amid the other wooden structures that were
all part of the derelict mine. Constructed of planks that had weathered many
winters, it wasn’t exactly ramshackle, but it was close. Not that I would have
thought of that word at the time. I was six.
After a few more steps, my anxiety left me and the happiness
I felt at being on a trip with Mother—just me, not my older brother Bobby nor
my older sister Jane, just me—took hold. My siblings got most of Mother’s
attention at home. With only me in tow, I would be foremost in her mind.
I looked at the front door of the cabin and “knowings”
hopped into my head. Back then, that’s what I called the psychic thoughts that
came to me. I knew we were about to meet an old woman who had been beautiful at
one time. So beautiful that other people had been jealous. I knew that she was
hated and that she lived alone.
I will just have a
talk with that woman. So what if she’s peculiar, if they say she’s lost her
marbles . . .
I glanced up at Mother. “Here, Mama,” I said, offering her a
fistful of aggies and cat’s-eyes I kept stashed in my pocket along with the
cars.
“What?” Her brows knit together as she looked at the
contents of my hand.
“You said she lost her marbles. She can have these.”
Immediately my mother’s face turned to granite. I’d
responded to something I thought
she’d said aloud. “Why do you like to torment me?” There was a frantic
undercurrent to her tone and the lines around her mouth deepened.
My heart seemed to freeze as it always did when I said
something wrong and she glared at me with disapproval. La-la-la-laa. La. La . . . I sang in my head to
block any more of her self-talk.
Mother took another step and the front door creaked open a
few inches.
“Stop!” a sharp, clear voice rang out. “What do you want?
Who’s that boy with you?”
Mother stalled. The word “ostracized” came to me. My brain
changed the word to “ostrich-size” which made me think the woman we were about
to meet was big like an ostrich.
Mother’s voice cracked when she spoke. “This is my son,
Franklin.”
The door opened farther and my jaw dropped. We were in the
presence of the old woman I had seen last night amid one of the strangest
experiences that had ever happened to me.
Where to find: The Dreamer of Downing Street
Please tell us a
little bit about yourself. Where do you live, etc.? When did you start
writing?*
I was born and raised in Southern California. Our family
never moved. In fact, my home life was so stable, my sisters and I still own
the home we grew up in now that our parents have passed. I graduated from the
University of Redlands with a liberal arts degree. I’m married and live in
Apple Valley, California. I wrote short stories as a teenager, and did write a
children’s play that was produced by the city of Downey when I was
seventeen. But I didn’t get serious
about writing until I was an adult. I studied screenplay writing and wrote
about seven of those before I turned to novel writing and joined a writers
club.
Do you write full
time or work outside of the home?
Writing is my full time passion. When I’m in the middle of a
book, I get up and run to the computer. Everything else comes second. The story rattles around in my head all day
and I go to sleep thinking about it. That’s why the story and the writing are
freshest in the morning.
*Tell us a little
about the book and where did you get the idea to write this story.*
The Dreamer of Downing Street is a prequel to my Mickey
McCoy Paranormal Series. The idea came
because I wanted to write the story of the father of my character, Mickey
McCoy. That meant the story had to take place in the recent past, in this case
1944 Denver. I also wanted to include Baby Doe Tabor in my book. She is a
real-life person and an extremely interesting Colorado pioneer. Her life story
is well-documented. I don’t want to say too much because a full explanation
will involve spoilers.
Do you have a
character in one of your books that continues to haunt you at night or
surprised you when you wrote the book?
The character of Bessie Stanbridge in “Dreamer” does not
haunt me, but she did surprise me. Originally she was only going to be in the
first chapter. She remained a supporting character, but turned out to be
important and shows up throughout the book.
Do you write a novel
straight through? Or revise as you go? Plan a whole series in advance? Or does
the series evolve?
I never intended to write a series, but the character of
Mickey McCoy was endearing and subsequent novels involving him were a natural. My
“method” for writing a novel involves developing my characters first and
mapping out the story before I ever write a chapter. I edit some as I go along, and my map is “loose”
so it evolves, but mostly I allow the writing to flow and don’t worry about
perfection in order to get the story down and complete the novel. Then I
rewrite many, many times.
Do you use Beta or
Post readers?
I don’t hire a Beta reader, but I am in a critique group.
Actually, I’ve joined a second one. That
means eight sets of eyes will be reading my latest book as it comes alive. I
will listen to what my fellow writers say and make the adjustments I agree with. After a book is finished, I give five proof
copies to friends to read. They find errors and give their opinions. I also hire a professional editor and pay the
big bucks for his/her edits and input. I then rewrite accordingly.
Have any of your
characters ever ended up completely different than you’d intended?
Maybe a little different, but I know them pretty well by the
time I start the story. Only Bessie
turned out completely different.
Anything unusual you
had to do for research on this book?
Unusual? I went to places where the story took place, but
that’s not unusual. Something unusual happened to me when researching Dreamer. It could be called a coincidence if you
believe in that sort of thing. I tell
that story in my Author’s Note at the end of the book.
What is next? Any new
titles we should be looking for?
I’ve just begun my next book. It doesn’t have a title yet, but is the story
of “Dreamer’s” granddaughter.
Anything else you
would like to share with our readers?
Just that Dreamer is fast-paced and full of surprises. It is
part paranormal, part romance, part historical, and part mystery. My character,
Franklin Powell, breaks the rules of 1944 and so do the women he loves.
Roberta L. Smith was born and raised in Southern
California. She is a graduate of the
University of Redlands and lives in the High Desert with her husband. She is an active member of the High Desert
Branch of the California Writers Club.
Roberta had always been intrigued by the unexplained. Her favorite stories growing up involved
ghosts and sometimes the macabre. As a child, she wrote a letter to Boris
Karloff telling him she knew he didn’t mean to kill the little girl in “Frankenstein,”
so it’s no surprise that the four novels she has published thus far are in the
paranormal genre.
Where to find: Roberta L. Smith
Other books by Roberta L. Smith
The Mickey McCoy Paranormal Mystery
Series
The
Dreamer of Downing Street Prequel
The
Accordo #3
One of Life’s Distorted Moments
In
His Shoes and The Miracle #2 & #3 {2 in 1 Book}
Stand Alones
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