What’s it like to look into the mind of a killer?

What would you do if a killer were hunting you? What if you’re child was the target? What if the killer was someone you knew?

What’s it like to look into the mind of a killer?

Ask any author who writes dark, romantic suspense and they’ll tell you, it ain’t no walk in the park at times.

I think even for writers who create fictitious killers it’s still a little disturbing to consider that there are really such depraved people living in the world amongst us. To make a believable killer you have to do your homework.

To quote Friedrich Nietzsche: He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.

For me, I love to watch Forensic Files and 48 Hours Mystery on TV. You can gain a great deal of knowledge into the mind of a killer simply by studying old case files. I know it’s certainly been insightful for me.

So why do people kill? Well, most psychologists will tell you there are two fundamental reasons someone will take another life.

Love and money.

Both truly are the root of all things evil.

But there is another type of killer that is far more evil and cunning than all the others. He’s extremely intelligent. He can blend into society well enough to be your co-worker, your high school English teacher. Your neighbor next door. He lacks anything resembling a conscience. He’s a sociopath known as the serial killer.

The FBI estimates that today there are some 50 active serial killers working among us in the US alone. That’s a frightening statistic to consider.

For me, writing about the dark side of romance is both rewarding and challenging. The characters I create leave their mark on you and make it hard to move on to the next story.

And if they’re really chilling, they make it hard to sleep with the lights off at night.

All the best…

Mary Eason
www.maryeason.com

Killer Moves – Available now at Samhain Publishing

They’re a match made in the hallowed halls of Quantico. Until Death comes knocking…

 
Read an excerpt
Buy the book

Chop Wood, Carry Water: The Daily Round

“The best things are nearest: breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of God just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things of life.” -Robert Louis Stevenson

I’d like to pause a moment and ask this question: what things are necessary for us to have a peaceful, drama-less life this week? Today?

It’s been my observation that the great dramas of life take our attention: shenanigans in politics, rudeness on the net, which artist died this week with whom we had no personal acquaintance but an abundance of feeling – these things become real for us, immediate, because they engage our emotions.

But not our brains. The checkbook that needs balancing, the tax deadline looming, the editing of a manuscript, the folding of laundry – these are the things that truly require our attention but that, because they are not accompanied by a ring tone or a twitter feet, become neglected.

Here are my thoughts that apply to my own daily round, but that I thought I would share for others in the hope that they, too, might find them relevant. Five things, when done daily, can change the tenor of our week.

1. Put things away when you’re done with them. If you have books out, put them back on the shelf. Put the shoes in the closet or by the door. End tasks, so that when you’re done, they feel done.

2. Floss your teeth. We all know we should do it, but how many of us do? Be honest now. If we called our dentist and made an appointment today, would they be amazed at what they found? Or would they want you to brush before they touched you?

3. Smile at everyone you meet. If you ride transit, smile at the conductor. Smile at the receptionist, or the checker at the store. Smile even if you have to fake it – and if you do have to fake it, make sure to include your eyes in it. Really make it a smile to be memorable and see what happens.

4. Eat your vegies. We know we should, but how many have you eaten today? Doctors recommend between five and nine servings every day, and those should be from the five different color groups.

5. Take a walk. Even a twenty minute walk can change our relationship to our bodies and to the day.

What do you do to maintain the sanity of your daily round? I’d love to know.

A. Catherine Noon and Rachel Wilder
Blog Website
Check out BURNING BRIGHT, available now from Samhain Publishing.
Watch for EMERALD FIRE, coming soon from Torquere Publishing.

Can a Heroine be too Strong?

If you’d asked me this question a few years ago, when I started writing my snarky, kick-butt heroine Astra Q Phelps, I’d have said, absolutely not! But now, I’m not so sure. I’m currently reading a series by a very talented author whose heroine is so strong she has no time for, or real interest in, the hero. Huh? Now, granted, this is an urban fantasy series and romance isn’t a necessary component in UF, but the author introduced the romance, she put it out there, and IMHO, her heroine is dropping the ball with it.

This heroine is so strong she believes she can and should do everything herself. That’s not really the most attractive or interesting trait in a character. Especially since it’s obvious she can’t! I, as a reader, enjoy seeing a little vulnerability in a heroine. It gives her depth and enables me to relate to her. Besides, there’s so much opportunity for insight into characters when they interact with each other. Without this interaction the author is forced to go inside the character’s head to flesh her out for the reader. Bleurgh!

This leads us right down the thorny path to angst.

Sure enough, in the course of not needing anyone else, this character is constantly mired down by personal angst. My least favorite thing in a heroine. Yes, a story needs some angst, but when the plot, key relationships, and romance are mired in it, it’s not a good thing. In my opinion as a reader, a character should occasionally have brief moments of introspection, learn from them, and then move on to complete her destiny.

Yup, my dirty little secret is out…I live in a no wallowing zone. 🙂

I don’t want to read about a character who does it all and doesn’t need anyone else. It’s kind of sad. And it makes for very one dimensional reading. I love a strong heroine, but I also want her to recognize that she has needs she can’t fulfill on her own. I want her to need her hero. I mean, we can certainly survive all alone in the world, but why would we want to? And when you have a perfectly good hero standing there, all hawt and interesting, why wouldn’t you put him to good use? I mean, let’s not confuse strength with stupidity, ladies!

~~*~~

“Sam Cheever does it again in a thrilling tale that features one of my favorite heroines of all time. Astra is a perfect blend of our favorite champions for justice. She’s a healer, a lover, a fighter, and sometimes just a big softie. Her never give up attitude and ability to kick some serious trash has endeared her to me throughout this series.” ~ The Romance Studio

~*~

The Devil You Know – Good versus Evil has never been this much fun!

Astra Q. Phelps is turning twenty-five in a few months and she’s starting to feel the effects of her Settling, the time when a half angel, half devil Tweener decides whether to embrace her dark nature or her light.

The delectable Dialle, king of the Royal devils, really needs Astra’s help in Hell to deal with an insurrection. But Astra’s Settling pretty much has her thinking of only one thing—S.E.X.!

Sex with Dialle, sex with her yummy partner Emo, sex with a molten-hot dragon slayer she meets along the way, and sex with assorted other randy Royals cavorting among the fires of Hell. It’s a constant struggle just to keep her mind and body pure so she can concentrate on the business at hand, but Astra Q Phelps is definitely up for the challenge.

Excerpt!

BUY the ebook!

The Devil You Want releases 4/11/12!

Astra Q Phelps gave her boyfriend a magic hickey. Usually not a world-changing issue. But in Astra’s case, her boyfriend is king of the Royal Devils. And Royals have always thought that only males could mark their mates. So how did she do it? Even Astra doesn’t know. That’s the first of her problems.

Now somebody’s trying to kill the naturally curious Astra, which is always a problem.

Thirdly, there’s Slayer. He’s shown up on Astra’s turf and wants her to hire him. Given their undeniable sexual chemistry, that’s probably not going to go over well with her boyfriend. Not to mention that he’s got some baggage that’s gonna come back to bite Astra big time.

Add in the nearly constant sexual need caused by her Settling and you have a whole lot of stuff for Astra Q Phelps to handle. But, as you probably know by now, she’s definitely up to the challenge.

Excerpt!

The Art of Being Intractable

When I was five my Kindergarten teacher pulled my mother aside to tell her it was a damn shame her charming daughter was so retarded; she would probably never learn to read and certainly would never be able to write.

What the teacher failed to take into account was the fact that we come from extraordinarily stubborn stock, my mother and I. Immediately Mom began studying child development and brain patterns, researching everything she could about learning disabilities. She convinced me that my challenges were actually a gift—the ability to look upon the world through new, fresh eyes. I wasn’t stupid or weird, she told me. I simply marched to the beat of a different drummer.

The real gift I’d been given was a mother who refused to see limitations. She taught me to love a challenge and never give up. She taught me to dream bigger and hold tighter than common rationality would recommend.

These lessons came in real handy when I decided I wanted to be a writer. Not because I couldn’t tell the difference between a 3 and an E. Or a p and a q. Or an S and a 5. Or the fact that letters and numbers rarely had the courtesy to hold still long enough for me to make sense of them. I figured all that out by learning to memorize patterns. (A three rarely appears in a word, for example.)

Nope. Mom’s lessons on perseverance came in handy because writing—and the quest to be published—quite frankly, was the toughest challenge I ever took on. Tougher even than pushing out an eleven pound baby.

I wanted to be published, be an author, so bad I could taste it. But that brass ring seemed always just out of reach.

There were times, more than I can count, when I thought I was nuts for wanting such a thing or hoping for such a thing or dreaming of such a crazy crazy thing. There were times—when I found an idiotic mistake in a manuscript I’d read a hundred fricking times—when I thought, perhaps that Kindergarten teacher had been right. Doubt lived with me, every day. Steeped itself in my teapot. Soaked in my bath.

But I’d remember Mom, pushing me forward, encouraging me, daring me to try, and I’d keep going. And I’d roll another sheet into the typewriter (metaphorically speaking).

I read voraciously and when I wasn’t analyzing someone else’s prose, I was writing. Composing. Plotting. Experimenting. Creating. I wrote an epic fantasy novel (topping out at 175,000-words), a sci-fi horror, an animated children’s book, a middle grade about a dyslexic dragon, women’s fiction, men’s fiction, screenplays and romances by the score. None of them sold. Once I discovered it, a steamy Delilah Devlin in fact, erotic romance became my drug of choice.

Probably not what my mother intended, but there you have it.

I started entering contests. Started winning. Before long, I was addicted. Ironically, this didn’t increase my confidence as a writer, because I never sold, and all that really mattered to me was selling. But contests were fun. They made me feel like a writer. Like I was doing something.

I guess that’s all it takes sometimes. Doing something.

 If you read the Secret (and didn’t we all?), you understand that concrete action can set up ripples in the universe. And even if it doesn’t, it’s nice to think that it does.

It’s nice to think that doing something, does something.

And it does. It gives us a sense of power. A sense of control over the universe, or at least our tiny corner of it. And after a while, those little somethings we do in pursuit of our dreams pile up. Gain momentum.

I entered hundreds of contests in my career and, to the chagrin of my fellow contest whores, won a lot. (Sold not). But it only takes one. One winning lottery ticket, one dream come true. One editor or agent who likes the order in which you throw words onto paper.

In November of 2011, I got an e-mail from an editor at Ellora’s Cave asking, very politely, if she could please acquire my book, which she had received as the result of the Novella’s Need Love Too contest sponsored by the Celtic Hearts chapter of Romance Writers of America. (I said yes.) In December she bought the second book and in January, another. In February she snapped up the fourth.

Maybe my life is destined to be a feast or famine proposition.

I’m okay with that.

I walk away with another lesson. A new lesson: Sometimes mulishly pursuing your dreams feels like a folly. And sometimes, just every so often, it doesn’t. Every so often, dreams do come true.

You know what I love? Series. Seriously. I’m one of those readers who never wants a book to end with The End. If the story has characters who speak to me, I always hope for another book and then another and another. I was really sad when I realized Meg Cabot’s Mediator series was over at book six. When I finished The Amber Spyglass, the last book in Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials trilogy, I went to his website, hoping I was wrong and that there were more. I went into a depression when the Harry Potter series ended for nearly a week. No lie. A real depression because I knew those characters, who had become like family to me, weren’t going to be in my life anymore. The movie releases sort of alleviated that for an extra year or two, but now they’re done too. Sob!

As a result of my love affair for series as a reader, I find myself drifting toward writing series as well. It took me months to write the final book in the Wild Irish series, Any Given Sunday, because I just couldn’t say goodbye to my Collins family. My editor finally put her foot down (God love that woman) and said “Just write the damn book!”

A couple of weeks ago, the last book in the Compass Brothers series, Western Ties came out. I cried for days as I wrote that story. Finally, my hubby looked at me and said, “You know this is fiction, right?” I told him it was still hard because those characters felt SO real to me. Those were some of the toughest scenes I’ve ever written. Plus, on top of leaving the Compton brothers, my collaboration with Jayne Rylon (who is like a sister to me) ended as well. It was a double whammy!

But…my love of series still perseveres! I’m in the midst of some new ones. I’m excited about them so I thought I’d do a bit of shouting here.

I recently finished Misplaced Princess, book one in the Crossed Wires duo, I’m co-writing with Lexxie Couper. They are fun books that take place in New York City and Australia. I’m about to start writing Fix You, the first book in a new series for Samhain called the Second Chances books.

And…last, but not least, the second book in my Cocktales series at Ellora’s Cave, Screwdriver, released yesterday! Woot! It’s a fun series about four friends who own a combination bar/bookstore in Portland called Books and Brew (this is my DREAM business). Each woman runs a different aspect of the business—bartender, bookkeeper/office manager, the marketing/events coordinator, and the bookstore gal.

In the Party Naked, Stephanie Harper receives a parking ticket from hot cop Jarod Nolan and ends up getting way more than a fine. Handcuffs, anyone?

In Screwdriver, Jordan Lance, Books and Brew’s bookkeeper harbors a secret crush on the uber-wealthy and handsome landlord of their building, Gabriel. However when construction worker, Casey comes in to do some work on the store, her attention turns to him…much to Gabriel’s chagrin. How’s a girl to decide? Um…does she really have to?

In Bachelor’s Bait, Sophie Kennedy, marketing/event coordinator for Books and Brew can’t stand Marc Garrett, a free-aid lawyer and do-gooder who rubs her the wrong way. When fate steps in, tossing them together, Sophie’s passionate anger turns to another kind of passion…

In the final book, Screaming Orgasm, Jayne is depressed. She’s watched all her friends meet their Mr. Rights and fall in love. Little does she know, Elias Clark, the unassuming professor who is a regular at the store has had his eye on her for quite a while, but Jayne will find out he’s not at all what he appears to be. Underneath his quiet exterior lurks the Dom who speaks to her submissive heart.

To read more about this series and the others I’ve mentioned, please stop by my website, www.maricarr.com.

Screwdriver, Cocktales, Book Two

When Jordan Lance isn’t pouring over spreadsheets for Books and Brew, she’s fantasizing about the store’s landlord. Too bad she’s squarely in Gabriel’s “just friends” column.Jordan’s prepared to pine forever—until she meets Casey. The handyman is hot, handsome, charming…and Gabriel’s best friend. Suddenly her wicked fantasies are porntastic times two.

Casey has suspected his friend’s interest in Jordan. If he can push them together, he might get Gabriel off the bimbo train he’s been riding. The plan? Jealousy. And it’s working. It’s not long before Gabriel’s deeper feelings for Jordan emerge. Problem is…so do Casey’s. What happens when two friends want the same woman? Red-hot ménage, baby.

Two gorgeous men playing every inch of her body? Um, yes please!Jordandoesn’t know if threesomes are considered acceptable, but she’s sure of one thing—being this bad feels far too good.

Excerpt:

Casey looked closer at the AC unit. “Damn. I was afraid of that.”

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“I was hoping it was an issue with the belt, but the motor bearings are shot. I’m going to need to order a part.”

“So it’s not getting fixed today?”

“I’ll see if I can rig a work around for the time being.” He stood and stretched. “God bless it, Jordan. I apologize if this offends you, but it’s hot as hell in here.” Reaching for the hem of his t-shirt, he whipped the thin cotton over his head and fanned himself with it.

Her now-familiar blush returned and Casey felt compelled to prod, to see if his suspicions about Jordan’s underlying naughty side were true. “Just so you know, I absolutely will not be upset if you decide to follow suit and work shirtless for the rest of the afternoon.” Read the rest of this entry »

Visiting Old [Fictional] Friends

I love characters. Characters who are funny, characters who are sweet but try to hide it, characters who have strange quirks and don’t care who knows about it. Plot’s lovely, evocative writing adds a lot to my enjoyment, but if the characters don’t grab me, I won’t enjoy a book.

I think I create pretty good characters. (At least the male ones – I’m still working through my issues with writing female romantic leads, but I’m pretty pleased with Tara, the MC of Shining Armor, due out April 2 from Liquid Silver Books). I love my boys. But I love other people’s boys, too. Do you guys remember S.E. Hinton’s books? I fell in love with the characters from The Outsiders with full pre-teen passion.  When that book was over, I would have happily read about the characters cleaning the house, going to school, watching TV… anything, no plot needed, just so I could get my fix. When there was a mention of them in one of Hinton’s other books (Rumblefish, maybe? Or That was Then, This is Now?) I was like a cat on really good ‘nip. It was perfect – my boys were still okay, and living their fictional lives.

Dark Horse is the first book I ever wrote, the first thing I tried to get published, and I had no idea how long books were supposed to be. So I just wrote. I wrote the main story, the one that’s told in Dark Horse and Out of the Darkness, and then I wrote a lot of little extras, because I wanted to see how my boys were doing. I missed them, and I wanted to visit.

I said I wouldn’t write any more in the series, because I felt like I’d left the boys in a good place, and because I’d already written so damn much!  But then I started thinking about the guys again, wondering if they were okay… and wondering how well they’d stand up to a crisis. Of Dark and Light (due out March 26 from Dreamspinner Press!) is the book that came from me putting them through that crisis.

Traditional fiction is pretty rigid about what constitutes a story: we all know the plot graph from English class, and writers know what publishers are looking for. But the world is changing. Fan fiction, I think, did a lot of this, with writers playing with characters created by others, giving them new adventures and new worlds. But maybe it’s time for original fiction to catch up. With e-publishing, we’re no longer so limited by how much it costs to print a short story, or the challenges of distribution. Maybe e-publishing will lead to authors writing their own time stamps and AUs and all the other fun little fandom traditions.

I’d love to see it, as a reader and as a writer. When I really fall in love with a character, and the book ends, I don’t want the relationship to be over! I know we can’t go steady anymore, but couldn’t we at least have a few reunion dates?

Which books have left you guys with that aching sense of sadness at the end, just because you don’t get to hang out with the characters anymore? Would you like it if your favorite authors wrote little extras with the characters you love, or is your own imagination enough?

Ah… Spring.

In my part of the country, it’s looking a lot like Spring has sprung. Flowers are blooming and people are sneezing left and right.

For me, spring means two things: soccer and cleaning.

I’ve already started my mad rush of cleaning. Yes, I’m sick, I know. This past weekend the floors were swept, scrubbed, and vacuumed. Even the corners, crevices and those icky places along the baseboards had a spotlight on them. Do you have any idea what hides there??? *shudder*

But my physical house isn’t the only thing that needs a good cleaning. I REALLY need to get through all those somewhat intangible things that float along the edges of my life. All those things-to-do that never quite got done. The projects that I started but didn’t quite finish. The list of goals I want to accomplish, but haven’t yet. New story ideas that I’ve been tucking away on random pieces of paper. I simply must find time to go through all of that STUFF and get it organized before I either loose the thought or it keeps getting buried and therefore, never done.

Surely I’m not the only working-mom who always seems to be chasing her tail?? What helps you guys keep up with everything? Other than a personal assistant, that is. That’s just not in the budget. LOL

While you’re thinking about that, take a much-needed and probably well deserved break and go check out my new Quickie from Ellora’s Cave, Down to Business. Find out about the bargain Leigh Templeton made with her husband John so they could have a work-free weekend getaway. Down to Business is available on Ellora’s Cave and Amazon Kindle.

Buy at Ellora’s Cave
Buy at Amazon

Stop by my blog – I’d love to hear from you!

~ Dena Garson
http://denagarson.com
https://twitter.com/#!/DenaGarson