About My Friend's Death....

Savannah Leigh Anderson was my very best friend through high school - she was an only child (I was one of five girls born in six years) so we sort of gravitated together since at her house it was always quiet and at mine it was always crazy. We were in Pep Club together (does anybody even still do that? We cheered with pom-poms the size of small horses) and stayed friends even after she moved to California. She wasn't there too long before I visited her, and not much longer after that she was murdered. Darla asked if I knew what state her killer (Robert Lloyd Sellers) died in, and I know it was California. He was dubbed 'The Orange County Slayer" and was caught in 1984, convicted of first degree murder which was overturned on a technicality by the California State Supreme Court, plead guilty to reduced charges right before his new trial began, was convicted on second degree murder in 1989, and then died sometimes in the mid-to-late-nineties. Savannah was beautiful, brilliant, fun, and just an all-around fantastic person. On our ten year high school reunion (Skyline High in Utah) I took a yearbook and had everyone who had a memory of Savannah write it down and then gave those memories to her parents, Al and Maxine Anderson. When I read those entries it reminded me of what we lost when she was so brutally taken. So I catch killers on the pages of my books, and that is how I get through it. The one thing I have learned is that everybody has really hard things in their lives, not just me, and one of the best ways to face it is by writing. It's kept me going - that, and my wonderful family, friends and FANS! Now I'll get back to writing - I've got a killer to catch!

I LOVE all of Your Amazing Comments!

Just want to check in and let everyone know how much I appreciate the great comments I've been receiving! Darla wrote about her own ghostly experience, which I completely believe - how creepy was that? Like my character Cameryn, I veer between my scientific side and my mystic side. And funny enough, I adore watching Ghost Hunters and GHI, along with 20/20 (real cases are aways the most interesting) A Haunting, I Survived, Dead Men Talking, and Cold Case Files! I really am a mixed bag - real life cases of crime followed by stories that show the afterlife. I'm quite eclectic!

Did any other "Twilight" fans read Breaking Dawn? What did you think? I paid full price and devoured it in one night, and I was curious what other 'Twilighters' thought. (I've been a 'Team Edward' girl from the start!)

As to another posted comment, there will still be a lot of suspense between Cameryn and Justin, so fear not. But Kyle is truly a wildcard in this book. As I've told you before, my best friend was murdered by a serial killer named Robert Lloyd Sellers, who has since (thankfully) died in prison. But trying to understand the psychology of someone who is a true psychopath is very chilling process, because in their minds their world makes sense - they feel entitled to kill and then they have no remorse. I've actually had to put down books that I use in my research because I get so upset, especially in cases involving children. My nickname has always been 'mother-of-the-world' becasue I am such a passionate mom. A few months ago a girl who was having problems actually moved in with us for a month - I have a very 'open door' policy if somebody need s me. (Which is also how I get behind on deadlines - yikes!) Okay, enough of my ramblings, I have to wrap up The Dying Breath so you can find out what happens! Back to work for me!

Alane Ferguson

I'm Back!

Hello to all my wonderful friends!

I'm back from Ireland! It was an amazing trip, although we were in a serious car crash (not our fault!) that resulted in two totaled cars. I suffered a bit of whiplash, which has made it a harder to write since my neck hurts, but I feel blessed that we all walked away. The crash was so LOUD! Glass was blown out, the airbags went off, our car filled with smoke - wild times! But since I've been back I've been writing like a crazy and I'm happy to say I'm finally in the home stretch. The Dying Breath is almost done and those who have read it say it is definitely the best one. (Justin and Cameryn - wait'll you see!)

Thanks to you all, including whoever wrote the new 'Anonymous' post - you have given me the 'Olympic Spirit' to carry on despite the pain. You all make me want to put 'the end' on the manuscript! And for those of you who believe in ghosts, I was 'touched' by something at a castle, although it wasn't at Leap. We were in the ruins of an unnamed castle when I felt what is best described as a hard poke on my side. Later, a guide at yet another castle told me that in ancient times, the Irish would poke a person with their index finger as a gesture of hello. It was definitely strange...the only thing that brings out my skeptical side is that the wind was really blowing at gale force. A tiny part of me wonders if something caught up in a fierce gusts hit me, something that I, the two friends who were at my side, and my husband didn't see. We never found anything on the ground. I'm almost sure there is no logical explanation, but my dad is an aerospace engineer and there is always that voice inside my head that says 'prove it.' So I kept standing there in the wind, waiting for it to happen again, and it never did. Hmmmmm. Have any of you seen/been touched by a ghost?

Thanks to Courtney and her family who drove all the way from Texas - they stopped at my house with flowers for me (beautiful1) and books to sign. We had so much fun discussing forensics in my office. (If any of you come to Colorado, please feel free to look me up. I even put out a plate of home-baked cookies!)

Well, as always, it's time to get back to work. The Dying Breath is my favorite book so far, and I'm anxious to get it into your hands!