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Free swag! Lee Driver is giving away books and a book tote during her virtual PS tour. Add a comment to any Lee Driver post this week, and it will automatically enter you to win. Be sure to include your email address so the author can find you. The contest is sponsored by the author.

Who would have thought that a girl who grew up having nightmares after watching Wizard of Oz would become the author of novels featuring things that bump and growl in the night?

That’s exactly what happened to Lee Driver (a.k.a. S.D. Tooley). She graduated from bad dreams about munchkins to reading Nancy Drew. But once a cousin let her borrow her first Stephen King novel, Driver craved books with a knife-edged balance of mystery and the unknown.

When she started crafting her own novels, Driver decided to pull from her two favorite genres to create her own, slightly off-kilter worlds. Her Sam Casey Series features a cop who can hear the dead speak. (Think Medium with a Native American twist.) Driver’s Chase Dagger Series blends mystery with an element of fantasy, sometimes horror, and a dash of sci-fi.  Chase Dagger has a dark past, a sometimes fiancée, and a partner who can shift into a hawk or a wolf. And did I mention Dagger’s scarlet macaw with a photographic memory?

I first met Driver at a Windy City writing conference a few years ago. She had this intense devotion to her work that stuck with me - one that I don’t always see in self-published authors. When I got home, I immediately sat down to read her YA novel, The Skull: A Remy and Roadkill Mystery.  It was a fabulous read, not only for youth but for adults who liked intense mystery driven by interesting characters just coming into their own. The book ultimately made Pop Syndicate’s Best Books of 2007.

Writing isn’t Driver’s only passion. When she’s not immersed in the paranormal, she takes a break and hits the golf course. As in writing, there, too, she is on top of her game. She is the five-time women’s club champion at her local golf course.

This week, I chat it up with Driver and get a sneak peek into her latest, Chasing Ghosts. And avid book blog readers who leave comments for the author will automatically enter to win a free tote or books. Be sure to enter a valid email address when starting an account to add comments.