An Interview with CC Dragon

Psychic medium Deanna Oscar wants to be a normal psychology professor at a

nice college. The universe has other ideas. When the grandmother she never knew

dies and leaves her everything, Deanna enters a different world. In New Orleans

anything goes and her psychic powers aren’t a secret. She doesn’t plan on staying

but a psychic vision puts her on the trail of a killer. Deanna can’t turn her back

on the future victims and becomes immersed in her grandmother’s world. She isn’t

sure how to manage the mansion and fortune she inherited or the people who

came with it. An ex-priest, a Latina drag queen and a socialite beauty

queen are the living entourage. Add in a houseful of ghosts and haunted

objects and Deanna needs a little help. In over her head, she struggles to

catch a killer who is out to get her as well.

http://cheryldragon.com/ccdragon/?page_id=20

Months ago, I read and fell in love with CC Dragon’s paranormal mystery series, now comprised of two books, A Mansion, A Drag Queen and A New Job and A Club, An Imposter, and A Competition. To compose this interview and refresh my memory, I returned to the books and found myself rereading them rather than perusing my notes. That rarely happens!

CC’s main character, Deanna Oscar, has psychic visions, which put her on the hunt for a killer. After years of hiding her paranormal talents, Deanna reluctantly takes on advising the police due to her late and psychic grandmother’s reputation in New Orleans. Even with their help, only Deanna can find the killer. But her psychic powers can’t prevent murder, a reality she must learn to accept—with the help of some family ghosts. An inheritance of 250 million dollars doesn’t hurt either.   

Please welcome CC Dragon to WWK.       E. B. Davis

You’ve categorized the series as paranormal, which usually refers to vampires and shape-shifters. Would you prefer a subgenre category of supernatural?

Categories can be tricky. If I used supernatural, I’d feel like it was hooking onto that great TV show and it’s really not. Luckily, Amazon and other places allow multiple categories. So I can mark it as psychic, metaphysical and so on, as well.

Because your book is a mystery, you’ve created a supernatural world and married it to the real world. Rule one of fantasy requires the author to create a detailed and plausible world for readers to believe—which you’ve accomplished. Did you create that world first, fitting the story within its parameters, or did you create the world based on your plots and characters’ requirements?

Honestly, it all revolves around Deanna. This is her world. She has always seen dead people and bits of the future. Luckily, New Orleans is more in touch with the supernatural. She finds her allies and enemies. I try to keep New Orleans as normal as possible so it feels like that world is real…most of us just can’t see the layers that De can.

Traveling from Chicago to New Orleans to interview for a teaching position at Tulane University, Deanna’s first day in the Big Easy isn’t so easy. How does she react to: 

          Envisioning a little girl’s death?      

          She takes a chance and warns the girl’s family. It’s a huge chance because it could be                  

          perceived as a threat or people could think she’s insane.

·                       Meeting her dead grandmother?

   The truth about family is never easy. She’s relieved and pissed off at her family.

·                        Finding that she has inherited her grandmother’s estate estimated at $250 million?

   That’s hard for De to believe. But it does free her up to help people without needing to earn a  

   living.

How did Deanna obtain two PhD’s by age twenty-six? One degree is in psychology. In what discipline is the other PhD?

Sociology. She wanted to understand people and why groups behave the way they do.

Deanna always knew she was different from her normal family. But when she realizes her grandmother possessed the same gift, she starts to view the situation differently. How does her perception change, and how does she react?

The lies and secrets annoy her. They could’ve helped her deal with her gift, or her grandmother certainly could. She lost a lot of time, and she wasn’t really alone in her family. She’s angry her grandmother was basically rejected by the family. Even though she understands her parents acted out of fear, it hurt her when she was a child. It helps her grow up and accept herself.

Missy, Deanna’s housekeeper ghost, blossoms serving Deanna. How and why does she change?

Deanna doesn’t try to change Missy. In the beginning, she tries to engage the maid and doesn’t need to be waited on…but shortly Deanna realizes that Missy feels safe there doing her work. Forcing the issue won’t help so De treats Missy like part of the team that keeps the house and her world running. She appreciates Missy.

Deanna finds that mute ghost librarian, Noah, isn’t always passive and benign. How does he demonstrate his power?

Noah likes the library. He’ll communicate sparingly but he uses the books to communicate. He can act like a poltergeist as well, throwing things if he wants. Or moving things/ people. If you invade his space…be nice.

Deanna also has real-world staff. She accepts Latino drag queen, Ivy Delacroix, who provides household shopping and meal prep. But she doesn’t readily accept Ivy’s cousin Greg, who helped Deanna’s grandmother on her cases. Why, and what is he hiding?

Ivy is very open. Greg had another calling before helping with para/supernatural problems. He’s reserved and religious. He thinks she needs a lot of help and annoys her.

Grandmother Elinor Oscar’s mansion is located at 1300 Carmen Court in New Orleans’ Garden District. Is this a real address? Why did you set the book in New Orleans? What is your connection to the place?

I hope not J I made up the address. NOLA has a long history and is known for being haunted. There, the veil between life and death is thinner. You also have a mix of religious beliefs. I’ve been there and you can feel the vibration.

Her grandmother reintroduces Deanna with her grandfather, who she knew and distrusted in life. Why?

He preferred her brothers. He treated her differently, as if he knew there was something wrong/different about her.

Her grandparents live in a world that is near heaven. She goes there only to find answers when she has to do so because she is fearful of the place. Why?

She doesn’t want to take a wrong turn into hell. The more she goes there, the less scary it is but she doesn’t feel as alive on the other side. Being out of her body is a weird feeling.

Ghostly reorientation impedes Deanna’s investigation. What is reorientation and why does it slow down her work?

When people die, they review their lives and are surrounded by friends/family to ease them into the afterlife. The time reorientation takes varies. During this time, the recently deceased can’t go back to earth or have living visitors. So if they were a murder victim, they can’t simply go and tell Deanna who killed them. She can’t overrule the universe.

What role does nosy neighbor (who turns out to be open-minded) Mary Lou have in the lives at 1300 Carmen Court?

Mary Lou is De’s ticket into the normal side of things. The fancy neighborhood she lives in, the expectations of those social circles…Mary Lou helps Deanna network and fit in enough to be trusted.

You are on vacation, CC. Where are you and what are you doing?

Probably a writer/readers conference. NOLA, Vegas…those are my favs!

Deanna Oscar and friends are back again—having survived Hurricane Katrina, what could go wrong now?

A murder, a visit from her family, and a fake psychic trying to manipulate the vulnerable citizens of New Orleans, to name a few. Add a nosy reporter who pits De against the imposter to solve the murder and De’s life is as crazy as ever.

She does her best to avoid publicity while trying to solve the murder and keep her family out of danger. The family wants her back in Chicago where it’s safe. De is determined to set down roots in the Big Easy. Boring and average just isn’t her style!

http://cheryldragon.com/ccdragon/?page_id=20

Drop by CC’s facebook page and find out about her love of cats!