Author Interview & $100 Visa Giveaway: Dark Side of Valor by Alicia Singleton

Welcome to Author Alicia Singleton

Born and raised in Philadelphia, the Howard University graduate embraced the written word at an early age. She credits this to her loving, older sister whom, while they were youngsters, made the author eat lotion on a regular basis. Realizing the need to sound-out the ingredients on the lotion label, Alicia stopped the lotion-eating practice, but continued to read the labels of the concoctions her sister brought for her to try. This early necessity to read flowered to a passion; hence, a writer was born.
The award winning author resides in Maryland with her wonderful husband and son.  Still an avid reader, label or otherwise, Alicia is hard at work completing her next suspense novel.  Her latest book is the suspense novel, Dark Side of Valor.  

Visit Alicia’s website at www.aliciasingleton.com

Twitter | Facebook | Library Thing | Goodreads | Amazon | YouTube | LinkedIn | Powell’s Books | Simon & Schuster | BooksAMillion l Official Tour Page

Interview 

If you were a superhero what would your name be?

Hot Dam_!  (Not really.  Please forgive my silliness.  When I read the question, that name popped into my mind.  I got so tickled that I couldn’t resist.)

If you could have any superpower what would you choose?

Wow, that’s a toughie.  I think being a super-genius and having the ability to move objects and people from one place to another would be cool. 

Night owl, or early bird?

Definitely a night owl.  Staying up until 2 or 3 am is commonplace for me.  Now if you tell me it’s time for a road trip or if I’m about to fly to any location for vacation, I’m up before the rooster crows.  Gotta love a road trip.

Pet Peeves?

          Mean spirited, rude people.

Skittles or M&Ms?

M&M’s.  The pretzel variety is my favorite.

Any other books in the works? Goals for future projects?

Yes, many, many, many more.  The research for my next suspense has taken me to a South Carolina swamp, a rice plantation where one of Mel Gibson’s movies was filmed, on a Civil War naval battle ship, and a graveyard.  It was phenomenal!  I hope to take readers on a thrill ride they won’t soon forget.

What is your dream cast for your book?

Lelia Freeman – Thandie Newton – I stand in awe of her acting talent

Ma Ella – Cicely Tyson – Her gift is legendary

Elijah Dune – Jeffery Wright – He’s brilliant

Marcellus Dupree – Tyrese Gibson - His smile fits Marcellus’ character

Zeek – Terrance Howard – He can portray a really good, bad guy

Thero – Lester Speight – I went to high school with Lester. His height and  

     size fit Thero perfectly

President Deng – Itris Elba – His acting portrayals can be very calm and

     explosive, like President Deng’s character

What is your favorite Quote?

Desire backed by faith knows no such word as impossible.

When you were little, what did you want to be when you "grew up"?

Even at a young age, I was always empathetic to people’s pain and plights, wanted to ease them, make them feel better.  (I also loved the TV show Julia, especially the main character’s son, Cory.  He was going to be my husband and I was going to be a nurse like his mother, Julia.)  So, not even knowing what a bedpan was, I went to Howard University to get my Bachelor’s in Nursing.  In my sophomore year, I wanted to change my major to journalism, but I didn’t know what changing one’s major entailed. Too intimidated to go to the Registrar’s Office and too afraid to go home and tell my mom that I wanted to follow another career path, I stuck it out.  A couple of years after I graduated, I began to attend writing classes, reading books, attending seminars, conferences and workshops on the writing process. That education coupled with my overactive imagination for plotting storylines and my love of reading was why I became a writer.

What's the best advice anyone has ever given you?

          Many years ago, I was going through a rough patch in my life.  My mother was just out of the hospital from an illness.  A month and a half prior, I had undergone surgery and couldn’t stop bleeding, my husband and I were separated and the mortgage company was calling everyday to tell me that they were going to foreclose on my home and put my young son and me out on the street.  I was also uncontrollably losing weight.  (I’m 5’8” and at that time I was down to 97 pounds.)

          I was in choir rehearsal one night, trying to hide my troubles from the world, when the choir director asked us to pull out the music to a new song.  I pulled out the wrong lyric sheet and was looking at it, confused.  A friend, Ronnie, was sitting next to me.  We were supposed to share the sheet music.  Ronnie looked at the sheet, then she looked at me for a long time.  I thought to myself, ‘Oh no.  She’s going to say, Licia dear, what’s wrong?’  Instead she said, “Licia!  Pull yourself together!”   LOL, my feelings were so hurt, but her words stayed with me through the mortgage company phone calls, the bleeding, the depressing times.  They strengthened my backbone  

as I overcame my trouble.

Favorite Candy?

Peanut Chews

Nickname?

Lelee or Licia

You have won one million dollars what is the first thing that you would buy?

My financial freedom.  The first thing I’d do is pay off all of my debt.

What is your guilty pleasure?

Two scoops of Bruster’s Butter Pecan Ice Cream with chocolate sprinkles

Favorite places to travel?

Any paradise that’s warm, tropical and full of beautiful beaches 

Dark Side of Valor

Child advocate Lelia Freeman saves children for a living. As the director of ChildSafe Shelters, she ventures to abandoned squats and crackhouses to rescue teens from the hellish streets of Los Angeles. When she is summoned to Washington to serve on a committee that aids the children of a war-torn African nation, Lelia is kidnapped and becomes a political pawn in a sinister conspiracy. Oceans away from everything she knows, she must trust a mercenary to save her life, or die in the clutches of a psychopath. Hunting, combat and staying alive are Elijah Dune’s specialties. Vengeance is his passion. Haunted by past demons, he’s travels to the Motherland to collect a debt. A debt that demands one payment. Death. Caught in the crosshairs of a madman, Lelia and Elijah must survive the jungles of Zaire and the horrors of their pasts or be forever consumed by the DARK SIDE OF VALOR.

~ ~ ~$100 VISA CARD GIVEAWAY ~ ~ ~

Pump Up Your Book and Alicia Singleton are teaming up to give you a chance to win a $100 Visa Card!

a Rafflecopter giveaway