Bentley is back! His interview with author Ann Swann

Hi Humans! It’s QuickSilver’s Lord Bentley here again, but you can call me Bentley.  We had so many people tell Mom they loved my last interview, so she agreed to let me try again.  I must be on my best behavior, can’t jump on this author or lick her face.  Her name is Ann Swann, and Mom says she wrote a series that might be a little bit scary.  That’s okay.  I’m a brave poodle, so I can handle it.  Okay, so I’m not really brave, but I can bark loud.

I hear the crunch footsteps on the gravel walk outside and the doorbell just rang. “Bark! Bark!”  If I stand up on my hind legs, I can see her face looking at me through the glass in the door.  “Bark.” No!  I must sit, remain calm, and send her telepathic messages:

Please open the door!  I don’t have hands so I can’t do it for you.
OH! GOOD! She understood me and is opening the door.  She pets my topknot, so I race once around the living room and jump onto the couch by the window.  I try to sit calmly so she feels safe.  Drat my tail, it keeps wagging all by itself, but she doesn’t seem to mind. 

She sits in Mom’s chair and her lips curl into a smile with her square teeth showing.  Humans like to show their teeth, but it doesn’t scare me.  This time I must be a better host and offer refreshments right away. 

“Bark!”  She looks startled.  Oops, I must remember to send her telepathic thoughts:

Mom left a plate of human cookies on the coffee table and a glass of sweet tea.  I promise I didn’t taste any of them, so be sure to help yourself.  

I try not to drool or stare as she nibbles a chocolate chip macadamia nut cookie.  Drat, where is my chew bone when I really need something to sink my teeth into?  Maybe I’d better start asking questions about her books.  

Mom really enjoyed your books and read me her review about STUTTER CREEK.  I got bored and chewed up the paper but remember part of it.  She said, “This is a thriller combined with a poignant story of lost love.  It will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last pages.”  Can you tell Mom’s readers more about your series?  
Ann grinned and said, “Sure! This series started with a real news article about a little boy whose father was so mentally ill that he threw the little guy out beside the highway. That story bothered me so much that I had to write about it. I turned it into Stutter Creek—which is, by the way—the name of the town where the terrible things take place. But don’t worry I made sure everything came out right in the end. That’s the good part about being an author.”


Mom also told me there’s a ghost in that first book.  Did you ever see a real ghost?  

“Yes, and no. There is a spirit in Stutter Creek. But it’s more like a guardian angel. I have never SEEN a ghost, but I have been contacted by spirits on two different occasions. One was my grandmother, through a song, and one was my late mother, through my cell phone.”

Wow! I’ve never met a human who was contacted by ghosts and your books sound exciting, I’ll ask Mom to read one to me before I fall asleep.  It’s just hard to stay awake long enough to enjoy the scary parts.  Mom says you also recorded the books on audiotape?  

“Yes, all of my books are on audio except for Lilac Lane, but I hope to have time to get it recorded soon.”  

So how did you get the idea to write these books?  Is there a real place named Stutter Creek?  

She shook her head.  “No, I made up the name Stutter Creek after we happened upon a little creek stuttering along through the mountains while on vacation one year. The town is sort of a mixture of two or three little historical places we’ve visited over the years.”
I just love to go running in the woods.  I’ll bet I could jump so high I’d sail right across that creek.  Well, maybe I’d get a little bit wet but that’s fun, too.  Mom said there’s a really bad guy in the second book, LILAC LANE.  I remember she said, “ Ella begins to gather the courage she will need to defend her own life against a crazed killer.”   GRRRR! I hate bad guys! I would bite a crazed killer with my sharp white teeth and send him packing.  

Maybe I’d better stick with safer books about kids.  Mom loved Stevie Girl and the books about her and Jase.  She said, “These stories take me back to another era, a time that seemed simpler and safer than today.”  Those books sound like good reading before bed, can you tell us more?



“The Phantom Series consists of three books about Stevie-girl and her friend, Jase. Book One is Stevie-girl and the Phantom Pilot. It is a novella based on an award winning short story, “The Shepherd.” You would like that one, Bentley. One of the main characters is Lady, a German shepherd who belonged to the phantom pilot—but you have to decide if she is a ghost dog or not! 

"Book Two is Stevie-girl and the Phantom Student. In this one, the new main character is a boy with Tourette syndrome. Of course there is a ghost in this book, too. But no canines this time, sorry. Book Three is Stevie-girl and the Phantom of Crybaby Bridge. This time Stevie and Jase are confronted with two ghosts! In each book they have to figure out how to help the grieving spirits cross over—or in some cases, back over—to the other side.”

Wow!  You really like to write about ghosts.   My body quivers when I think about something I can’t sink my teeth into, but Mom will protect me.   You’d better tell Mom’s readers where they can buy all your books.  

 She says, “I sure will Bentley, and thank you so much for letting me share your mom and the delicious cookies!  Here is the list to give to your Mom.”
I gaze longingly toward the plate that still holds two cookies and my tail starts wagging again.

Thanks so much for letting me mind-speak with you today, Ann.  Mom will be so proud of me.  Be sure to tell her I didn’t jump on you or lick your face!  Do you want to take the rest of the cookies to your car?  No?  Okay, I’ll just clean up the plate so it’s ready to go in that noisy dish machine.  

I follow Ann to the door, wagging my tail like a good host and watch as her car pulls out of the driveway.  She was such a nice person, like a real member of our pack.  Now to clean up that dish and find any stray crumbs before my nap.
Note from Diane:

My thanks to Ann Swann for allowing Bentley to conduct this interview.  He was so anxious to do another interview that he’d sit by my computer and stare at the screen every day.  He’s tall enough to rest his chin on the arm of my chair, so his hot breath would trickle down my arm.  Now he might be content enough to sleep on his doggie bed again.  

Ann Swann has more books to view that Bentley didn't talk about.  To find a complete list of her books go to the following links:

Amazon author page http://www.tinyurl.com/bmrsong
5 Prince author page http://www.5princebooks.com/annswann.html
Audio book lovers should go to http://tinyurl.com/p7fdpjm
Ann has two new books coming out soon.  

Takers: Apocalypse in Eden will be released in late August of this year. And Copper Lake (book 3 in Stutter Creek series) will be released in January of 2016. 

To get notified when the books are available, use the following link and then click the FOLLOW button, I did! 
http://www.tinyurl.com/bmrsong