Shadow Moon
by Marilee Brothers
A sub plot in Shadow Moon involves a shady anti-terrorist unit funded by the U.S. Government. The goal of the Experimental Studies Program (ESP) is to recruit people with paranormal abilities, test their abilities and see if they can be useful in the war on terror. They are very keen to get their hands on Allie and the moonstone. In order to accomplish this, two agents are sent to persuade Allie and her mother to volunteer. One of the agents is a woman by the name of Angela Ackerman who tries to convince Allie to take part in this “wonderful opportunity.” Allie is suspicious. Rightfully so.

Guess what? Angela Ackerman is a real person, the co-author of a wonderful book for writers called The Emotion Thesaurus. How did Angela end up as a villain in Shadow Moon? She won a contest. Before I started writing Shadow Moon, I sponsored a contest for people who would like to have a cameo appearance in the book. They were required to leave a comment stating if they wanted to be good or evil. Angela wanted to be evil.

Angela isn’t the only real person to appear in my books. FBI agent and Star Seeker Dennis McCarty shows up in every book. In real life, Dennis is an avid golfer and a resident of Ontario, Canada, which makes him the first Canadian FBI agent in history. Oregon resident, Grace Peterson, won my next contest and morphs into an old Kiowa Indian woman in Midnight Moon. My next victim, I mean honoree, is Ben Woodward who will have a role in the book I’m writing now, The Blue Rose. Ben’s no goody two shoes. He wants to be evil too.

I love to surprise personal friends by including them in my books. Pat and Paul Sugden are wealthy Star Seekers in Moon Rise. Kay Peacock Tuman (and her dog Sasha) also show up in Moon Rise. My Nebraska friend, Turzah, becomes the queen mum of faeryland in the last book, Midnight Moon. Bev and Wayne Epp also appear in the same book as the owners of Eppic Air. What do my friends get for their five minutes of fame? An autographed book, of course.

Since I have so much fun using real people in my books, I’ll be running the contest again on my blog, Book Blather. http://bookblatherblog.blogspot.com. If you’d like to see your name in print, stay tuned.