Escape to Africa- an Anthology Featuring Alicia Dean

What if I told you that you could Escape to Africa without leaving the comfort of your own home? Please welcome my guest, Alicia Dean, as she shares her upcoming anthology Escape to Africa. This anthology releases on July 15th but you can preorder it today. The anthology includes 6 stories by 6 authors. Alicia’s story is titled “Dying to Love You.”

I Don’t Always Have Guests, But When I Do…

I don’t feature many guests on my site. When I do, it’s usually an author friend, or a great paranormal/fantasy story that I have to share. But Alicia’s been a guest several times before on my site. In fact, three other times! That’s saying something about what a great author Alicia is!

I’ve featured her Halloween anthology  as well as her book The End of Lonely Street and her awesome book for writers Find the Magic to Plot Your Story. But today, we’re here to talk about Alicia’s latest release. Let’s take a gander at the gorgeous cover and let Alicia tell us a little about the Escape to Africa anthology, and her story.

Will she sacrifice love—and her soul—to save a life?

The Escape to Africa anthology is a mixture of historical, time travel, Let your wild side free and Escape to Africa! Come along on an adventure through these 6 stories brought to you by 6 best-selling/award-winning authors. 
You’ll uncover tales of an undercover operative in Casablanca, a safari guide in the Serengeti, students on holiday in Morocco, time-traveling agents in Tripoli, vengeance in Algeria, and deadly secrets in Carthage. Each of these stories will captivate you with love, danger, intrigue, and excitement. What better way to Escape?

Dying to Love You Blurb

After dying for the third time, unloved and unlovable Autumn Baines is running out of chances to avoid purgatory. For her latest life, she’s sent to the Serengeti, where she’ll have to perform a selfless act and find someone to love her. She sees her chance with the arrival of widowed father Logan McBride and his teen daughter.

Faced with an opportunity to make a tremendous sacrifice, she’ll have to decide…can she forego her eternal happiness to give them theirs?

Excerpt for Dying to Love You

Autumn hid a grin. She wasn’t sure if Folami actually believed in spirits, or was just pretending to for the benefit of their guests. Either way, Autumn would play along. She took Logan’s rough, warm hand, and almost gasped at her body’s reaction. Tingles ran up her arm, and her breath caught in her throat. Her mouth went dry, and she swallowed hard, trying to focus on the story.

Folami’s melodious voice took on an eerie tone as it rose in the black night. “In the early 1950’s, a couple and their teenage boy stayed at the lodge. The man and woman were having marital difficulties, and spent all of their time arguing. One evening, their fight was particularly violent. The boy could not take any more, and he fled into the plains.

The parents did not notice he was missing until the next day. A search party was formed. They searched way into the night. Just before dawn, a horrific discovery was made. The boy’s tattered, bloody clothing were tangled amidst the branches of a baobab tree. No trace of the young man was ever found. The grieving parents were not scheduled to leave for two more days. They isolated themselves in their room. On the morning of their scheduled departure, the manager of the lodge went to their room to gather them.

But…” Folami paused dramatically, her eyes wide as they roamed over the spell-bound group.

Autumn shuddered. Logan leaned in and whispered, “Are you afraid?” His warm breath tickled her ear and she shuddered again, but not from fear. She was suddenly highly aware of him…the feel of his hand around hers, the way his shirt strained against his chest muscles, the green of his eyes glistening in the firelight…

She gave a choked laugh and whispered back, “Maybe a little.”

Folami continued, “The beds were empty, although in mass disarray, as if a violent struggle had occurred. All of their belongings were in the room, but the couple had disappeared. It was believed that the ghost of their son had carried them off in retribution for the misery they put him through. Since that time, the boy’s spirit has been seen many times, hovering in the vicinity of the lodge.”

“Wow,” Sharee breathed. “That’s some freaky shit.”

The group burst into laughter, and the spell was broken. They dropped hands and began murmuring amongst themselves.

Autumn tried to tug her hand from Logan’s, but he tightened his hold. “Are you sure it’s safe to release me?” Emerald sparks danced in his eyes. “Aren’t you afraid the spirit will drag you away?”

She forced a smile. “Well, since we can’t stay bonded forever, I suppose I’ll have to take my chances.”

“Suit yourself. Don’t say I didn’t try to keep you safe.” He winked and released her hand.

Safe? There was nothing safe about touching Logan McBride. For the first time in her life, another person, a man, made her feel weak, vulnerable. And that was way more frightening than the prospect of being mauled by an angry spirit.

Are you ready to Escape to Africa?

Pre-Order here, releases July 15^th

More About Alicia Dean:

Alicia Dean lives in Edmond, Oklahoma, a divorced mother of three grown children. She’s always wanted to be a writer and penned her first romance at the ripe old age of ten. She still has the tattered, pencil-written copy of ‘Just Pretend,’ titled after one of her favorite Elvis Presley songs and featuring a hero who looks JUST like Elvis. (Have you guessed, she’s an Elvis fan?)

Other than reading and writing, her passions are Elvis Presley, MLB, NFL (she usually works in a mention of one or all three into her stories) and watching (or rewatching) her favorite televisions shows like Walking Dead, Vampire Diaries, Justified, Sons of Anarchy, Haven, New Girl, and Dexter. Some of her favorite authors are Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, Lee Child, Lisa Gardner, Ridley Pearson, Joseph Finder, and Jonathan Kellerman…to name a few.

Find Alicia Here:

Newsletter sign up         Email                Website
Twitter                          Facebook             Pinterest