I am pleased to welcome Victoria Laurie to Escape With Dollycas today!
Her new book A Grave Prediction will be released July 26!
(Guest Post Provided by Publicist)
Lately, I’ve been feeling a lot of “Stop the world, I wanna get off!” You know what I mean? It seems the world—an already mad-mad-mad place to begin with—has gone from being like that crazy drunk uncle no one wants to sit next to at Thanksgiving to full-on Freddy Krueger. We seem to be living in a time of nightmares instead of dreams, and it’s had me so down. Which is why I’m doing what I always do when I can’t take one more tragic, horrific, terrible news story or politically charged hyperbolic speech. I’m diving deep into a manuscript, and I’m not coming out till the end of November! Or when the book is finished. Whichever comes first.
The voice I always seem to revert to when seeking some comfort is my favorite protagonist: Abby Cooper. And, oddly, when I’m feeling the most blue is usually when she becomes her most clever, snarky, and fun.
It helps to laugh. It helps a lot. It’s a tiny, sweet high when I come up with the perfect zinger for Abs to either give or receive. (Full disclosure: It also helps the book sales, *wink* *wink*.) 🙂
This past December, I was in such a terrible funk; two months earlier I’d learned that someone I dearly, dearly love—a member of my own family—has a very rare terminal illness that there is neither a cure nor a protocol for. It was a blow that was completely unexpected for psychic me. Here’s the part where I confess that I didn’t see the diagnosis coming; although, now, looking back, I can also see that there were so many clues in the ether. I think I just couldn’t face even the thought of losing him.
I still can’t.
Anyway, during that time in December, my mood went dark—like dark—and I dove into a funk that literally took months to come out of. The thing that got me through was writing A Grave Prediction
. Irony of ironies—it’s the funniest book I’ve written. In fact, it’s the only book I’ve read six times (throughout the editing process) and didn’t get sick of by the fourth pass. Seriously, I can honestly say that I’d totally read it again, and I don’t ever say that about any of my books, mostly because if you read a book six or seven times, especially one that you’ve written, you’re so, “Been there, read that. Next!”
But this little gem is different. A Grave Prediction is just light, and funny; it made me laugh and laugh during a time when that seemed impossible. And the fact that it’s release date is coming up here in the next few weeks (July 26, to be exact) makes me so happy. I think it might be exactly what most of my fans need right now. A good laugh. A good escape. A few hours’ reprieve from all the madness.
I sorta can’t wait for it to hit the shelves and do a little healing for anyone who could really use a moment of levity. My fondest wish this summer is for Abby to either get someone else through a tough time, or bring as many readers as possible a little giggle, or even just a few smiles. I’d die a happy woman if all of my efforts to bring her to life on the page resulted in just a couple of chuckles, knowing head shakes, and one or two grins. It would fill my heart with pride and gratitude.
Truly.
Huge, supportive hugs, my friends,
Victoria
A Grave Prediction (Psychic Eye Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
Release Date July 26, 2016
14th in Series
An Obsidian Mystery
An Imprint of New American Library
Published by Penguin Random House LLC
Hardcover: 320 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0451473882
E-Book ASIN: B016JPTNIY
In Victoria Laurie’s new Psychic Eye mystery, Abby Cooper learns that following the money often leads to murder . . .
Professional psychics learn to deal with skeptics, but Abby has to prepare herself for one steep uphill battle when she’s sent to San Diego to help train FBI officers to use their intuition. Her first challenge: a series of bank robberies in which the thieves made off with loads of cash but left no clues.
Abby’s sixth sense leads her team to a tract of land recently cleared for development. But instead of finding clues to the cash, Abby gets a vision of four buried bodies. A site search turns up some bones and pottery from an American Indian tribe, but that’s still enough to delay construction for years.
With a furious developer and dubious FBI agents on her back, Abby is losing credibility fast. But unlike the best laid plans, Abby’s talent rarely leads her astray. And if the bodies aren’t there yet, that means that four deaths can still be stopped. She’ll just have to dig a little deeper . . .
You can find out more about Victoria and her books on her webpage here. Join her fan group on Facebook here.
Also by Victoria Laurie
The publisher is giving 1 Hardcover copy away!
Contest is open to anyone over 18 years old
with a US mailing address.
Duplicate entries will be deleted. Void where prohibited.
You do not have to be a follower to enter but I hope you will find
something you like here and become a follower.
Followers Will Receive 2 Bonus Entries For Each Way They Follow.
Plus 2 Bonus Entries For Liking My Facebook Fan Page.
Leave a comment for Victoria for 5 Bonus Entries.
Pin this giveaway to Pinterest for 3 Bonus Entries.
If you publicize the giveaway on Twitter or Facebook or anywhere you will receive
5 Bonus Entries For Each Link.
Contest Will End August 6, 2016 at 11:59 PM CST
Winner Will Be Chosen By Random.org
Winner Will Be Notified By Email
and Will Be Posted Here In The Sidebar.

I’m so glad you were able to escape for a little while into your writing. I know how difficult it is to see those we love hurting and passing on. I’ve always found that writing can push all the thoughts and worries out of my mind. Can’t wait to read A Grave Prediction, I think we all need a little escapism these days – I’m not going to watch the news again until January !!!
Ann
Thanks for writing this book.
Always love a mystery with lots of humor. Definitely going to try this series.
Can’t wait to read this one!!!!!
A great series. Thanks for a chance to win a copy.
I love this author and everything she writes!!
This sounds like an interesting story that I would enjoy reading.
I will definitely love this book, just because of the feelings going behind it. I too received the same type of scary news about my sister-in-law who is too young to be going through this! So since the book was written with feelings similar to mine, I really look forward to reading it now! I need a good laugh!
Sounds like a good read.
I have read the other series but had not started this one yet, I’ve heard good things about it. Normally I won’t try to win a book this far in the series because I like to start at the beginning, but when you say funny, I’m won over, I love a book that will make me laugh. I am so sorry about the bad news that you have received, there are no words I can come up with to offer any comfort, except treasure the time you have.
I am sorry for this upsetting time which is hard to live through and accept. Thanks for your wonderful books.
I tend to add comedy to my writing whether it’s a happy or serious. Laughter is healing. Thanks for having the giveaway!
I have heard wonderful things about Victoria Laurie’s books and am so glad to have found a new author to read!
Thanks, Victoria. I understand why would do this.
Can’t wait to see what Abby Cooper is up to in the book, “Grave Predictions”. Looking forward to reading, thanks for the chance.
Thanks Victoria, for finishing what is going to be a little more humor filled Psychic Eye book from the sounds of it!
Thanks for the personal story, I’m so glad to hear that writing the book helped in a tough situation. Thanks also for the chance to win a copy it sounds like a great deal of fun.
For a mystery lover, this is an awesome giveaway! Thanks so much for offering ti!!
I love this series. I can’t wait to read this one. Thanks for the chance!
Thanks for posting, Lori! I love the most recent covers in this series. They’re so pretty!
I love, love, love this series! Thank you Lori for the chance to win Victoria’s latest!
Shared on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for the chance
Reading cozy mysteries is my escape from this crazy world.—–keep writimg!
I love this series! It is fun and easy read…loaded with humor. I’m a bit behind reading all the way toward book 14, but that means I’ve a great reading journey ahead of me.
Thanks for the chance.