Monday, February 21, 2011

The Secret Diary of Alice in Wonderland by Barbara Silkstone

A murder by beheading sends Alice Harte, reluctant real estate broker for thugs, running into the arms of Nigel Channing, a charming British con man.

This urban fantasy is set in Miami and London. Fans of Stephanie Plum will cheer for Alice as she watches her back in attempting to keep her head, while being stalked by Nigel's daft ex-wife and inept, but dangerous mobsters. Alice's world is filled with memorable characters strangely reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. She's guided through her dangerous adventure by her own Cheshire Cat.

Nigel, a chubby John Cleese with serious dress-code problems, whisks Alice to England. Alice sees him as her White Rabbit rescuer. The plot trips along at a cracking pace with Alice flinging zingers like a drive-by shooter.

After Alice discovers a gangster's freshly beheaded body in his Miami mansion, she launches a desperate self-defense in a kangaroo court. The main witness against her is Algy Green, a bumbling cockney swindler who super-glues his bat wing ears to his head and commits perjury for theme park tickets. But in the middle of the trial a small piece of evidence opens her eyes.

About the Author:
When you're a freelance writer with a quirky sense of humor, being in the right place at the right time helps a lot. If I just stand still for five minutes... wham! Something funny and worth writing about will happen to me. I've accidentally sky dived, been elected president of the Japan American Society (I'm not Japanese), been stalked by crazies, and ran off with a real life White Rabbit.

I'm a single mother, living on the edge in South Florida. My background includes parochial school, commercial real estate, public speaking, teaching, and church administration. My writing history is equally as diverse. I started an underground newspaper in grade school and was threatened with excommunication by the nuns. After being published in the horror genre, I was fortunate enough to take part in writing workshops with Stephen King, Robert B. Parker, and James Michener.

I enjoy doing playful things with language, blending two distinct words to create a new word. If I'm laughing out loud when I'm writing, then I know I've hit the mark. I'm working on Wendy & the Lost Boys right now. I laugh so loud while I'm writing that the neighborhood committee has asked me to move.

For six years I traveled the United States listening to men reveal their darkest secrets for my book, The Adventures of a Love Investigator, 527 Naked Men & One Woman. When I was finished with my adventure, I realized the only man I should have interviewed was Lewis Carroll, unfortunately he was long gone. So I set out to pay homage to his logic by re-telling Alice in Wonderland in a contemporary setting. The result is The Secret Diary of Alice in Wonderland, Age 42 and Three-Quarters ~ comedy thriller that takes place between Miami and London.

1 comment:

Diane Nelson said...

It starts with that menacing wabbit on the cover, then the action - and the chuckles - will keep you turning the page. Or, in my case, clicking the button on my Kindle.

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