A Word Please

Do you like mysteries? How about rock music? If you said yes to both, you’ll love today’s guest. RJ McDonnell has a new book out called The Concert Killer, which is the third in his Rock & Roll Mystery Series. This one is his most intricate plot and will keep you on edge until the very end. RJ has written a little something to share with us today. But, first, a proper introduction is in order:

RJ McDonnell earned a Bachelor’s Degree at Penn State University and a Masters at Marywood University. During his college years RJ was a rhythm guitarist and vocalist in two bands. Shortly thereafter, he moved to San Diego where he went to work for a professional writing service. In addition, he wrote a monthly column for the Military Press, and another for a San Diego publication, providing advice to job seekers.

In the ’90s, RJ discovered he had a knack for comedy writing. He wrote for a local San Diego cable television show that had a Saturday Night Live-type format. Over its two seasons on the air, 34 of his skits were produced.

Rock & Roll Homicide is the first novel in his Rock & Roll Mystery series featuring private investigator, Jason Duffy. Rock & Roll Rip-Off is the second and the newly released The Concert Killer is the third. You can learn more about RJ and his writing on his website: www.rjmcdonnell.com

Here’s RJ with an glimpse inside his new novel:

How far would a serial killer go if his justifications led him to believe he had God’s permission to commit murder? This is indeed the case in my recently released novel, The Concert Killer. It opens with the killer (CK) announcing that he was responsible for three prior murders at concert venues by posting a note at the scene of his fourth kill. The headline says, ‘Concerts Are Evil’, and is followed by news clippings from his previous kills, along with the typed signature – The Concert Killer.

It takes the reader very little time to conclude that CK truly believes his mission to shut down the rock concert industry is ordained from on high. But the police are not so sure. Prior to posting the note it appeared that CK had done everything possible to keep the authorities from concluding that the murders were connected. He always changed cities and methods for each kill. The profile of the victims varied radically as well. So the police were not willing to readily accept anything about a clue that was taped to the door of the women’s room stall where victim #4 was found face down in a toilet.

A central theme to The Concert Killer is: Justification after the fact. Almost all of us do it in our everyday lives, whether it be that extra large slice of cake, the $20 over budget at the casino, or calling in sick on the spur of the moment and declaring it a mental health day. We don’t intend to do it beforehand, and don’t want to overburden ourselves with guilt afterwards, so we justify. For CK, the stakes are obviously much greater. Not only is he making life and death decisions, but he is also jeopardizing his chance of going to heaven with each compromise. For a religious zealot this constitutes the ultimate gamble.

As the story unfolds, and the obstacles in CK’s path grow larger and larger, he is forced to engage in behaviors that conflict with his spiritual beliefs. His justifications lead him to a place where he has no alternative but to go ‘all in’ on his twisted notion of how to serve God. Just what does ‘all in’ mean to a serial killer who sees himself as God’s avenging angel? The Spoiler Alert Police won’t let me tell you, but believe me, it’s like nothing you’ve ever read before.

Does this mean that if I talk myself out of mowing the lawn in favor of watching a football game I could be climbing a tower with a rifle soon? Of course not. Like other vices, justifications can be healthy if they aren’t pushed to excess. Now if you’ll excuse me, there’s a piece of chocolate cake waiting for me in the kitchen.
***

RJ has written a catchy song that introduces The Concert Killer and follows the early murders that occur before the book begins. He also performs this song. Yeah, he’s one of those creative types with all sorts of talents. He’s nice, too. Go figure. You can watch the trailer below and you can also find it on YouTube: http://youtu.be/29b2fWiM_kw

Thanks for reading.

Today’s guest post for my continuing tribute to Domestic Abuse Awareness Month is a little different. My guest today is author Marissa Farrar. She is not writing about personal experience. Instead, Marissa is sharing a piece from the perspective of Serenity, the main character in her novel Alone, which is about a woman who endures extreme abuse. When I first read this piece, my stomach twisted into a knot. That is partly due to Marissa’s incredible writing and her ability to immerse herself and her readers in that character’s emotions. But my reaction was also that strong because, while fiction, this story could so easily be true. In fact, it is probably happening now, as you read this, to women all over the world.

Serenity’s story is difficult to read. At the heart, though, it is one of hope and endurance – a theme all of this month’s stories share.

I live my life in a box.

On all sides, rise sheer walls of fear. A roof of humiliation presses down on my head so I’m forced to crouch, to curl up in a ball. Bound across my mouth is a gag of shame. I cannot speak about what the person who is supposed to love me the most in the world does to me.

And I cannot escape.

My husband, Jackson, hits me in all the places no one else can see—the ribs, my lower back, my thighs.

Each time it happens he comes to me, curls up behind me, pressing his body against mine. ‘I’m so sorry,’ he tells me. ‘Why do you make me do these things to you?’ As though this is my fault.

Yet in many ways I feel responsible. The abuse didn’t start until after I lost our first pregnancy.

We’d both been so excited about the baby, but then I woke one morning with blood in my underwear—too much blood—and a visit to the doctor confirmed our worst fear, I’d lost the baby.

I blamed myself and saw the accusations in Jackson’s eyes. Ruining one of our pans while cooking dinner was enough of an excuse for him to take his loss out on me.

Afterward, he’d been so apologetic. We cried in each other’s arms and he promised it would never happen again. Except I would hear those words many times in the years to come.

Then I fell pregnant a second time and, once again, lost the baby. With the next I managed to reach twenty weeks gestation but, at the twenty-week scan, the technicians were unable to locate a heartbeat. That one had been the worst. I gave birth to the child, an impossibly tiny, doll-like baby my body had killed.

The next time I became pregnant, I kept the pregnancy a secret. When I lost that one at eight weeks, I sobbed in private and tried to act like nothing was wrong.

My life has no meaning. Incapable of nurturing a child inside of me, what is the point in my existence? My body kills my own babies; as though I’m poisonous, toxic. I hate myself for it.

Consequently, the beatings I receive on a regular basis are nothing less than I deserved. I can’t blame Jackson for hating me. After all, my body has denied him a family.

Ironically, Jackson doesn’t tell me he hates me. If anything he is vocal about his adoration. ‘I love you, I love you, I love you’, he tells me over and over, as though those three little words will heal my wounds.

I start each day judging the mood of my husband. If he’s in a bad place, his temper radiates from him like heat. On those days I do everything I can to avoid setting him off, but he’s a tightly wound spring and looking for a fight, a release to purge his anger.

One time, he dragged me out of the shower by the hair and beat me with the shower head until I passed out. I woke up naked and freezing on the bathroom floor. In so much pain, I had to drag myself to the bedroom. I couldn’t even get on the bed, so I just lay on the floor with a towel over me, trying to stay warm until Jackson came home. When he finally rolled back from the bar, I asked him to help me and he laughed. He told me if I behaved like a dog, I should sleep on the floor like one.

Do you know what really got to me?

To this day, I have absolutely no idea what I did to deserve that beating. I wracked my brains for weeks wondering if I’d left the breakfast dishes out or if I hadn’t cleaned the floor well enough. I was so paranoid, whatever cleaning I did, I checked, and checked, and checked it again to make sure I had done the job right. I didn’t question my husband’s state of mind to beat me as he did; I questioned my own ability to do the God-damned cleaning!

I know people will never understand my position. You’re probably thinking yourself, ‘Why doesn’t she get out? Why doesn’t she leave?’

All I can do is bring you back to that box, the one I’m trapped inside. I cannot see a way out so I hide here; hoping and praying one day things will change.

That one day, someone will help me out.

Thank you, Marissa, for sharing such a powerful piece.

Now let’s meet the author behind Serenity’s words:

Marissa Farrar is a multi-published horror and paranormal author. She was born in Devon, England, loves to travel and has lived in both Australia and Spain. She now resides in Devon with her husband, two children, a crazy Spanish rescue dog and four hens. She has a degree in Zoology, but her true love has always been writing.

Her dark take on a vampire romance, Alone, was first published in 2009 and has now been re-launched by Red Hot Publishing. The sequel to Alone is scheduled for an October 2011 release.

Her short stories have been accepted for a number of anthologies including, Their Dark Masters, Red Skies Press, Masters of Horror: Damned If You Don’t, Triskaideka Books; and 2013: The Aftermath, Pill Hill Press. Her own collection of paranormal short stories, Where the Dead Live, is also available.

If you want to know more about Marissa, then please visit her website at www.marissa-farrar.blogspot.com. You can also find her at her facebook page, www.facebook.com/marissa.farrar.author or follow her on twitter @marissafarrar.

She loves to hear from readers and can be emailed at marissafarrar@hotmail.co.uk.

Here is a look at Alone, where you will find Serenity’s story:

Caught in a violent and abusive relationship, Serenity thinks there is no escape.

Upon meeting a stranger, Sebastian, she is shown the possibility of a different future.

Only Sebastian has a dark secret; he is a vampire.

As Serenity’s life takes a terrifying turn, she finds herself drawn into a world she never knew existed; one of murder, love and immortality. She is forced to confront her own weaknesses to save both her own life and that of the vampire she has come to love. But in the end all that matters is; can she find the strength to be Alone?

You can find all of Marissa’s books on Amazon:

Thanks for reading.

My first guest this month is author C.J. Ellisson. But she’s not here to discuss her books. We’re at the start of Domestic Abuse Awareness Month and C.J. is courageously sharing her personal story. If you missed my post this past Saturday, please scroll down to the previous post or click on this link for information on my blog’s purpose this month: http://quietfurybooks.com/blog/2011/10/domestic-abuse-awareness-month

Now, allow me to introduce my guest:

*C.J. Ellisson* writes contemporary fantasy and erotica. Her vampire series, *The V V Inn*, mixes a heavy dose of erotic elements with suspense, action, a little bit of mystery and some light humor. She lives in northern Virginia with her husband, two children, two dogs, and a fluffy black cat who makes her sneeze. To learn more about C.J.’s books (where you can read half of the novels for free), please visit her website at www.cjellisson.com

Now here is C.J. with her story. This might seem unbelievable to some but this is not fiction. This is the shocking truth of many women’s lives:

I know a lot of women who have suffered at the hands of a man they “loved” and I’m writing today to share my own personal journey through the lies we allow ourselves to live.

I came from a loving family with both my parents still married (they celebrate fifty years next June). They were excellent role models on what a marriage should be. I wanted what a lot of us want – someone to love me for who I am and to build a family with him or her.

We married just before I turned twenty and within two months moved out of the state to a military base in a remote area of Maine. Within weeks, the fighting began. The man he looked up to the most, his sergeant, didn’t care for my “attitude” or me. While waiting for our housing to be ready we lived in this sergeant’s house, and it’s where my ex and I first started to clash.

The sergeant often ordered his meek wife around and treated her like a doormat. I never waited on any man who had the audacity to say, “Bitch, get me a beer”, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to start. I never back talked my ex in front of others, but when we were alone I didn’t hold back.

That’s when the verbal abuse began. I was berated for how I acted, what I wore, harassed to exercise to keep my bikini body up to snuff, and ‘oinked’ at in public when I ate in the company of others. It was so shocking at first I wasn’t sure what to do. It seemed no big deal to change my outfit and dress the way he wanted; little did I know it would only get worse.

When he complained about his problems with me to his sergeant, he got the advice to “slap me around a little bit” to keep me in line. I was appalled when I heard—my ex told me to try and point out what other men were doing to their wives, so wasn’t I lucky he never hit me?

Next, it became a nasty game of keep-away with the checkbook. Controlling the money and my access to it became an obsession for him. I hadn’t realized at the time it was his desire to control me and not just the money. Little by little he broke me down until I became a shadow of myself.

A few months into life on the military base and our argument to allow me to do the grocery shopping with the checkbook got out of hand. He followed me outside, picked me up, and threw me down on the ice-covered sidewalk. He was apologetic of course, sweet as pie, begging me to stay and promising it would never happen again. I warned him if he ever harmed me physically again we were done, that no begging would ever save him and he’d be lucky if my father didn’t shoot him.

I became increasingly worried. The relationship had progressed to a horrible state in such a short time, and I suggested marriage counseling. My bruises were still fresh and he knew he had to get on my good side, so he agreed.

We only went to one session together. I’m not sure what he expected. The minister sat us down and told us both what we were doing wrong. Walking out, I felt hope. Walking out, my ex only heard what his faults were and he refused to go back again.

I returned and was told, “It’s nice you’re here, but it will only help if he comes, too.” Our fighting grew worse and the controlling and mental cruelty became more overt. The verbal abuse progressed to calling me fat, insulting my intelligence, making me feel unworthy, devaluing my opinions, and undermining my confidence in myself.

When we fought, he’d later punish me. He’d rip me out of pictures and put them back in the frame on the wall, or start leaving other hateful displays for me to find—like blank divorce papers. He was insanely jealous of the men I’d dated before him, made me feel like a whore for not being a virgin when we met, and often accused me of flirting with other men. No matter what I did or how I tried to change, it was never enough. Who was this man I’d married?

I soon feared he sensed the secret lie I breathed every time I uttered the words “I love you”. I remember crying, huddled into myself, knowing I didn’t love this man any longer, was growing to hate him, and not knowing what to do. He refused more counseling. Day to day, I lived an utter lie.

About twelve months in we argued over a simple disagreement on where to hang a picture. He grabbed me and threw me on the stairs, not letting me go, but shaking me and banging my head on the steps. My terrified cries of pain prompted him to loosen his grip and I raced up to our room, locking myself inside. He followed, broke open the door and grabbed me again and shook me. Our yelling and my ex’s physical actions agitated the dog. She barked wildly and sensing a threat to me, went after him. He dropped me to retaliate and I stepped in, grabbing him so he wouldn’t harm her.

The movement of rearing back to punch the dog seemed to pull him out of his fury and he became aware of his actions. Later, he confessed to thinking if he never hit me he wasn’t being physically abusive to me—but, my bruises and swellings said otherwise.

I told him to get out and we were done. To pack up and move out or I’d be calling the MPs to have him arrested. Only the threat to have his military career stained by his behavior convinced him to grant me a divorce.

Anyone who has suffered in an abusive relationship will have a different story to tell. Some women have been verbally and mentally abused, broken down daily without ever being hit. Others have been punching bags. Every person has their own breaking point.

It took over twelve months of mental and verbal abuse and two escalating physical events for me to decide enough was enough. Once I made my mind up, there was no going back. I stuck to my guns, no begging or pleading was going to make me change my mind this time, and trust me, he tried for months and months. But I wasn’t stupid. I suspected things would escalate and I wasn’t going to waste my life on him.

I know there are many other women out there who suffered far worse atrocities than I did. No, I was never beaten with his fists. And you know why? Because I got the hell out before it ever got to that point.

When I look back on the shell of a woman I had become, it almost seems like the entire three-year relationship (from initial date to divorce) happened to a different person. It took me a long time to bounce back and find myself.

Life makes us who we are today. I’m a strong, confidant woman, who doesn’t back down from a challenge and isn’t afraid of getting hurt. I survived at twenty-one what most woman never have to go through.

I vowed to never be with a man again who prized my looks and my size above all else. I was determined to find love again and not make the same mistake twice. I interviewed men on dates (because they really love to talk about themselves if you phrase things right) to cover all the important things that mattered to me: kids, religion, politics, money, the relationship they have with their mothers, how they treat people, and what their dreams are for the future.

I’m now happily married to my best friend, Pete. We’ve been together for sixteen years and I’ve known him for twenty-five. Once I knew he was the right man for me, I hunted him down like an endangered species. He never had a fighting chance in hell of resisting my womanly wiles and grim determination.

He showed me not all men are created equal—and some are downright spectacular. Never forget, it’s only the rare few in this world who need to demoralize and victimize a woman to feel like a man.

Out of the mouth of my main character, Vivian, “Love is a choice, and I choose to love everyday. The day I knew that, and that the choice was always mine, was the day I became a strong independent person.”

You can decide not to love someone when they treat you like crap. You can make a choice to walk away. You are indeed worthy of much, much better.

Simply put—never settle for abuse of any kind.

~~ C.J. Ellisson ~~

***

Thank you for sharing this, C.J. I know how difficult it must have been to go back and relive it all in your mind as you wrote. Your strength is an inspiration to all of us, whether we’ve personally suffered abuse or not.

Readers can step into C.J.’s fictional world at any time for a little fun and diversion. Here are her books on Amazon, in both print and Kindle format:

C.J. and I would love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts and comments with us here.

Do you need help or know someone who does?
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence provides anonymous and confidential help 24/7:
1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
1-800-787-3224 (TTY)

Don’t forget to join me again on Thursday, for another personal story that you won’t want to miss.

Thanks for reading.

You say that you get most of your good ideas in the shower. That’s funny, since that’s where I get a lot of my good ideas as well. (My shower, not yours!) What do you think it is about the shower that inspires your creativity?

So, you’re the person that’s been leaving wet towels around in my bathroom! I’ve thought about it a lot – since many writers I know admit to the same thing. The only thing I can come up with is that when I’m in the shower, my mind is at complete rest – no other distractions – so I allow the products of my imagination to come out, unimpeded. Sort of like the opposite to writer’s block. I get a similar response when I’m hiking all by myself in the wilderness – nothing to concentrate on except for the trail ahead of me. Often those thoughts are so fleeting (like having a thought in your sleep) that I have to make sure I always carry a small pad and pencil with me at all times. A grease pencil works well for the shower.

I never considered a grease pencil! I’ve been known to jump out of the shower all soapy and run through the house hunting for paper and a pen.

Expelled from Match.com! is one of my favorite articles in this collection. Can you tell us a bit about that? Did you actually submit that to Match.com and, if so, what were the results?

A number of years ago, I decided I was “…going to go out and get me a woman…” I’d heard a lot about online dating and how some people were actually successful. So, I registered for all the big ones: Match.com, eHarmony, PlentyofFish, etc. and spent an entire evening reading other men and women’s profiles to try to learn how to play the game. Unfortunately, it became apparent to me that everyone lied. And, they spoke with “forked tongues.” Everyone was outdoor and athletic, but loved to stay inside and snuggle. They loved Schubert and Bach but loved to have their eardrums perforated by KISS. So, I figured that the only way I was going to stand out from all of the other men’s profiles was to write something way over the top. The ladies that got the humor in it were who I was looking for. The rest were chaff. The response was incredible. I averaged 20 emails a day, not including the death threats and the bricks tossed through the living room window. A lot of women understood exactly what I was trying to do and wanted to get together to see who this guy was. Many of the encounters resulted in dates. I even ended up living with one for a winter until she spent all my money – but that’s another story. And, for the record – the profile I published in my book, “Watching Grandma Circle the Drain” is the actual profile I posted – word for word. Since that time, I’ve reverted back to hookers and picking up girls in bars who are too drunk to drive home.

I was a hairdresser for 15 years, so I took particular delight in A Hairdresser’s Lament. In this article, you poke fun at cosmetology (beauty) school. Many of the details, while silly, were very close to the reality of the experience. What inspired this article?

I hope the details seem rooted in reality – it’s a true story. I actually was a hairdresser for 10 years, starting with a 9-month stint in beauty school. Anyone who’s gone through beauty school undoubtedly has their own tales. There’s nothing quite as exciting as the first time you watch your patron’s hair fall to the ground after you’ve chemically burned it off their scalp. Or, when your client brings you a photo of Rita Hayworth’s vivid red hair and you send them home with a color that resembles day-old pizza. Hey, it happens to everyone. Somehow, I managed to get through it and became a very successful hairdresser in some of the most upscale salons in southern California. But, I thought the journey was so funny, it was worth writing about. Tip: never go to a beauty school to get your hair done, no matter how broke you are.

So true!

The second part of Watching Grandma Circle The Drain is called Ripped from the Headlines. In this section, you take current events, turn them on their head, and add a twist of humor. When and why did you first start doing this?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always enjoyed catching the reading public with their pants down. One way to do that is to write something that is so good – so factual and believable – that they don’t know they’ve been had until they’re half way through the article. It’s the ultimate punch line that every standup comedian craves. So, many years ago (long before The Onion became popular), I started writing stories that looked like they could have been real, but weren’t. The object was to see how long I could keep the reader believing the story until they discovered that the jig was up. “For Better or For Worse” came to me after a frustrating period of dating. I just thought to myself, “Well, if women are going to make it that difficult, I’ll just marry myself.” Sometime later, I wondered, “What would it be like if the same guy who married himself started struggling with infidelity, alcohol and drug abuse and problems with money?” even if he was battling himself? The result was “The End of a Love Affair,” and I think is one of my best pieces. Sometime later, major league baseball became embroiled in the use of anabolic steroids. I started to wonder, “What would happen if steroids seeped into other sports like surfing, croquet, billiards or even chess?” “Steroids Invade the World of Professional Chess” is the unfortunate result.

Is there something you do to put yourself in a humorous mood before writing, like watch the comedy channel or read comic books? Or is humor your default position?

Like a lot of others who write comedy or perform stand-up comedy, I am NOT by nature a funny guy. Some of the funniest people have come from absolutely depressing backgrounds. While that doesn’t describe me, I do tend to be very focused, organized and serious. I manage to turn that around by constantly reading new authors, keeping what I admire and tossing out the rest. I enjoy reading David Sedaris, Andy Borowitz, Chelsea Handler and others who push the boundaries of humor and good taste, developing my own style. When something strikes me as a good subject for a piece, I’ll often time sit down and write an entire draft in one sitting. Then I prune and polish it, stretching the margins out as far as they’ll go until I have something that achieves what I am looking for.

Do you have a writing routine? Or do you write when the mood strikes?

When I first started writing for hire, I did a lot of commercial writing with very strict guidelines and killer editors. It required a lot of research and fact checking with time necessary for re-writes and edits. I found a rigid schedule worked the best for that type of writing and I never missed a deadline. That was good training for me. Writing comedy is often easier, but it still requires dead-on accuracy and many of the same skills I used for commercial projects. I write something everyday, but don’t necessarily have a strict writing schedule. I find that if I’m in the mood, I can sit down and write 10 times the word volume with higher quality, compared to trying to push it when I’m not. My average goal when I’m working on a book or a large project is somewhere around 1000 to 3000 words a day of good quality material – but I don’t beat myself up if it doesn’t come. It will tomorrow. One other TIP: I write each and every email (and I write a lot of them) as though I was submitting it to my publisher. Organized, grammatically and typographically perfect. It’s great writing practice and develops hardened skills when you’re not currently working on a project.

That is not something you see much these days, with our lazy text messaging culture!

Are there any topics that you will not write about or poke fun at?

I don’t like to poke fun at someone when they’re down, unless they’re responsible for their own predicament. I’d never write anything nasty or insensitive about people who are having a rough go of it. But, I could easily write something about the Bernie Madoff’s of the world that created the mess they’re in. I’m surprised we haven’t seen more about him, already.

Do you see yourself writing any serious pieces in the future?

I suppose to call oneself a writer (which often times makes me a little uncomfortable) you have to be willing to tackle a wide variety of subjects. I’ve written a ton of material on heart disease, exercise, outdoor sports and other subjects that one could call serious. On the other hand, a lot of the comedy pieces I write are written as serious as a heart attack – that’s what makes them funny.

Do you have a new project in the works?

I do. Anyone who’s read my current book, “Watching Grandma Circle the Drain” might question, “Where in the heck did he get all those ideas?” Many of them have come from my real life adventures. I’ve traveled all over the world, and pursued just about every dream I’ve ever imagined, working in a bizarre variety of working conditions, meeting every type of person you’ve seen on television – and more. I still have a lot more to share with the world. And the ones I haven’t personally experienced, I’ll borrow from other people – or I’ll just make them up. I’m currently writing another book that picks up where my current book left off. There’s one advantage of getting old – there’s lots to write about.

Intrigued by the man and the book? Here are both of his books on Amazon, in both Kindle and print format:

Thanks for reading.

Dark. Creepy. Intense. Riveting. Twisted. That is author Jason McIntyre. Well, not him but his writing. Though if you watch his In The Dark video series on his blog, you might use a couple of those words to describe him, as well.

Jason is my guest today. If you’ve yet to have the pleasure of meeting, allow me to introduce you:

Jason McIntyre has lived and worked in varied places across the globe. His writing also meanders from the pastoral to the garish, from the fantastical to the morbid. Vibrant characters and vivid surroundings stay with him and coalesce into novels and stories. Before his time as an editor, writer and communications professional, he spent several years as a graphic designer and commercial artist.

McIntyre’s writing has been called darkly noir and sophisticated, styled after the likes of Chuck Palahniuk but with the pacing and mass appeal of Stephen King. The books tackle the family life subject matter of Jonathan Franzen but also eerie discoveries one might find in a Ray Bradbury story or those of Rod Serling.

Jason McIntyre’s books include the #1 Kindle Suspense, The Night Walk Men, Bestsellers On The Gathering Storm and Shed, plus the multi-layered coming-of-age literary suspense Thalo Blue.

Jason has released a new novelette called Bled. Take a look:

She only wanted to leave. But he took that option from her. Now she wants it back. Set on the same island as the reader favorite Shed, the latest literary suspense novella from bestselling author Jason McIntyre picks up the Dovetail Cove saga with this story of one lonely woman…trapped.

Tina McLeod is on the cusp of a new life. Extraordinary change is rare in her world but this newsflash means she can finally leave her small island town for good. No more pouring coffee for townsfolk in Main Street’s greasy spoon, no more living under the weight of her born-again mother. That is, until Frank Moort comes in for his usual lunch and dessert on an ordinary Friday in May.

Bled sees things turn backwards and upside down for each of them. Their encounter is prolonged and grotesque, the sort of thing splashing the covers of big city newspapers. Both are changed. And neither will come out clean on the other side.

A story about taking what’s not yours, Bled explores pushing back when you’ve been pushed too far. It paints in red the horrors from our most commonplace of surroundings: right out in the open where nothing can hide behind closed doors and shut mouths.

Ready for a glimpse inside the darkness of Jason’s mind? Let’s have a chat with him:

Bled is a prequel to your novella Shed, using the same setting but different characters. What inspired the characters and storyline for Bled?

I started writing the untitled short story which became Bled for an upcoming anthology called Nights Gone By. When I passed 10,000 words on it, I realized I had something way bigger and more involved than a short. I also realized that some of the characters from Shed had crept into the cafe where the main character works in this book. Uh oh, I thought. This means we’ve started a series!

And, sure enough, as the word count grew, I saw how things needed to be…uh…handled on the island where these two stories take place. And, I saw more stories beginning to form. Bled will not be the last book, novella or short tale to take place in the same universe as Shed.

There are more to come.

As for Teeny McLeod, her mom and the patrons of the Highliner Cafe, I’ll be honest when I say it occurred to me when I was sitting at a cafe inside a big box store near where I grew up. Since memories of where I grew up mingle freely with the world of Dovetail Cove and Shed, the two worlds became mentally entwined.

I recognized the sixty-something waitress from when I was a kid and used to visit the same cafe with my grandparents. They would get their sixty-cent coffees and I would get a slice of pie and ice cream. Here was this waitress, all these years later, still pouring the coffee. I wondered what her life would have been like if, say, one thing had gone differently a long time ago.
I began on Bled, still without a title at that point, only an image of this waitress as a young woman. What might the world have looked like for her, I wondered. And away I went.

Some of the scenes in Bled are quite disturbing. I don’t want to give away the content, so I’ll just say that you hold nothing back. Many authors would have sidestepped the graphic details. Of course, what is included, as well as what is left out, changes the reader’s experience. Why did you opt to dive straight into controversial territory by giving us vivid scenes?

This may sound trite, but I don’t have an agenda when I write. I don’t know what genre I’m in, I don’t know where it’s going or how involved I will become (though, invariably, if it’s something that is good and I get finished with it, I become extremely involved).

With Bled, I didn’t know what was going to be asked of Teeny. I didn’t know what was going to be asked of me. It unfolded as though I was reading it only a sentence or two ahead of it coming onto the page, as most of my stories do — well, the ones that end up being shared, anyway.

I don’t sidestep details, as you put it, because I simply can’t. I must tell the story as it happens or I fear…it’s not truthful. If I’m not telling the story’s truth, then I know the reader won’t believe me. And, after the story’s finished, I can’t go back and censor — for the exact same reason.

If there’s controversy, I’ll have to deal with it. There was some involving my novel last year, On The Gathering Storm. Some readers, particularly women, didn’t feel I had the right gender to tackle such a story. Others disagreed. In that case too, I just wrote what I felt.

I hear that you might be bringing the boys from Shed back in a third book in this series. (Which I’m excited about!) Will we be seeing any of the characters from Bled in later books?

What little birdie told you that? It’s very possible that we’ll be seeing Simon and Rupert in the Dovetail Cove series again. They brought a lot of triumph, melancholy and heartache to readers, winning them over with their tenacity and spirit. I can truly say that I love those boys. The pull of writing them again is very strong.

I won’t elaborate (because I loathe anything even remotely close to spoiler territory) but there will be lots of interesting revelations for readers who enjoy Shed and Bled.

Regarding characters from Bled coming back for an encore…

When you first wrote Shed, had you planned on using the island of Dovetail Cove as a setting for a continuing series?

Nope! Originally, it was a stand-alone story. I didn’t know that it would be novella-length either, thought it would be a ten page story about little boys seeing ghastly things in their bedroom at night. But it became something so much bigger and more interesting. And, dare I say, readers have taken to it very strongly over the last few months since its release in October of 2010.

Behind The Night Walk Men (a much shorter story), Shed gets the most reader comments and questions out of anything I’ve released. I started thinking about the world of Dovetail Cove after some folks demanded a sequel. I wouldn’t have gone back if I didn’t think this was a worthy story because I didn’t wish to mess with Simon and Rupert’s legacy.

Shed is all sorts of creepy in a horror sort of way, while Bled is more psychologically disturbing. Are you conscious of the genre you’re writing in at the time or do you worry about fitting things with a label after you’ve finished?

I’m never conscious of those things. In fact, it’s hard for me now to put a label on anything I write. Suspense? Horror? Psychological? Paranormal? Dramatic? Absolutely all of the above. There’s even some humorous and romantic moments in most of my stories.

I did know that there would be a paranormal (or horror) feel to Shed as I began it but I didn’t know whether or not Bled would see the same treatment. In my mind’s eye they are cousins who play together well. I don’t see them as all that different. Readers can tell me otherwise, if they see it that way.

The interesting thing about the upcoming pieces in the Dovetail Cove series is that they’ll each exist as standalone books. If you come across one, you won’t need to read the others. You’ll have a whole story.

I may collect them all at some point, but they could sit in different parts of the bookstore, if necessary — one in the horror section, the other in women’s fiction, or psychological suspense.

Do you like silence or noise when writing?

I like really good, really melodic music to get me started. Something about the rhythm gets my keyboard tapping. It’s like jumpstarting a cranky old car, I think. But soon, if things are flowing and going well, I forget to put on a new record. Or I just tune it out completely. If it’s smooth sailing, I could tune out an elephant stampede. I get embroiled. I disappear inside.

Then my belly grumbles and I have to forage. I realize I’m not a bird of flight inside the pages and that I do need some calories. It’s part of life’s trade off with the creative process, I suppose.

What is your writing environment like? Cluttered or sparse? Messy or neat?

Sparse and neat. I have to clean it up before I can sit down to work. I’ve found a way around that in the last year though. Family gets bigger, house stays the same size. And my writing time shrinks, too!

As my family has expanded and the number of children’s toys and things have increased, I often use a portable writing device…I can move from room to room with the kids and I have figured out a way to mentally tune out the mess and just focus eyeballs on the screen to get the right words nailed down there.

Sometimes I fail, too. There are a lot of variables to fiddle with, each given day of writing.

You always have a ton of projects in the works. Give us a little hint of things to come.

After Bled and all the associated launch activities, I turn my attention to a collection of short stories called Black Light of Day. It runs quite the gamut as well — from serious literary tales to horrific ones and suspenseful ones. There’s a flavor of many genres in this collection and I’ve been tweaking it for a few months. In fact, it became so large that I had to split it into two volumes. It’s companion piece, Nights Gone By, will follow in about three months.

There’s also another novella in the vein of Bled. It’s called Walkout but is a standalone story about another young woman. She is having trouble letting go of a bad relationship…but things are about to get much more serious than even that for her. It’s another harsh winter setting, similar to my novel, Thalo Blue. But it’s a much different tale.

Then it’s back to the world of The Night Walk Men. Readers who liked that story are going to love where things are headed for Sperro and Fallow and the rest.

Thanks, Darcia! As always, its so much fun to step into your online world and share with your readers. For anyone reading, I do love interacting with readers of my stories. Any comments your questions would most definitely be welcome.

Want another glimpse into Bled? Here’s the trailer Jason made. You can also find it on YouTube: http://youtu.be/CaSd5IpoNU4

You can learn all about Jason and his writing on his website: www.thefarthestreaches.com

Here’s a look at all of his books on Amazon

You can also find his books on Smashwords, in formats for all ereaders and computers.

I hope you’ll venture over to the dark side with Jason. We’d both love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts and questions here.

Thanks for reading.

Those of you who have been hanging out here with me for a while will recognize the name Craig Lancaster. He’s one of the talented authors I’ve been fortunate to get to know. I read his first book – 600 Hours of Edward – and was instantly drawn in to his writing style. His second book – The Summer Son – was completely different and equally as good.

Craig has a new book coming out in December: Quantum Physics and the Art of Departure, a collection of short stories. Craig slipped me an advanced copy and I loved his short work as much as I loved his novels. Here’s a look:

Before the book’s official release, Craig is making available FREE copies of the e-book version. Who doesn’t want a free ebook, especially by a great author? You can get any ebook format you want. To get yours, simply follow these steps:

• Go to this link: www.smashwords.com/books/view/81312 (Note: If you don’t have a Smashwords membership, you’ll have to sign up for one. Don’t worry: It’s totally free, and there are a lot of other e-book bargains there, too.)
• Select the ebook format you want and enter this coupon code at checkout: EY63S.

The offer is good until Sept. 30. Feel free to pass this information along to your friends.

Crazy, right? A free ebook from a successful author. You might be asking, “What’s the catch?” There isn’t one. Not really. All Craig wants is for people to read about, then maybe talk about, his book. Here’s what he had to say:

First of all, why are you offering free copies of the e-book?

After two novels, my experience is that word of mouth is the best advertisement for a book, so I’m hoping that folks who read Quantum Physics and the Art of Departure before its release will be kind enough to give me an honest review wherever they spend time, be it with friends, at Amazon.com, BN.com, Goodreads, LibraryThing (or all of those places!). I can’t emphasize the bit about honesty enough: I’m not trying to engineer good reviews, although I certainly won’t turn them down. The important thing is to get responses, good or bad, from people who are passionate about books, so other people who share that passion might be inclined to take a look.

Why did you shift from novels to short stories?

It wasn’t a conscious choice. I write nearly every day, and last fall, after I turned over my second novel to my publisher, I hit a particularly rich vein of short fiction. I also managed to retrofit a couple of failed novel projects into successful short stories.

Fortunately, I’m not writing to fulfill a contract, so I have the freedom to follow where inspiration takes me. For nearly a year, I ended up with short stories. So … here they are. And now that this book is done, I am back to work on a couple of novel ideas. So there’s really been no shift – just a slight deviation.

What’s the deal with the title?

It’s a little inscrutable, but I like the lilt of it, and I promise, there’s title justification within the body of the book. One of the ten short stories shares the title.

Is there an overriding theme to the stories?

A few of them are connected, and all of them take place in Montana, where I live. If I had to identify a unifying theme, it would be this: separation. Not just in the marital sense – although that’s certainly in the book – but also in the emotional and physical senses. The stories vary in style and subject matter. I think it’s an intriguing collection.

Here’s the back-cover copy of the book:

A championship basketball coach caught between his team, his family and the rabid partisans in his town. A traveling salesman consigned to a late-night bus ride. A prison inmate stripped of everything but his pride. A teenage runaway. Mismatched lovers. In his debut collection of short fiction, award-winning novelist Craig Lancaster (600 Hours of Edward, The Summer Son) returns to the terrain of his Montana home and takes on the notion of separation in its many forms – from comfort zones, from ideas, from people, from security, from fears. These ten stories delve into small towns and big cities, into love and despair,into what drives us and what scares us, peeling back the layers of our humanity with every page.

For more information about Craig Lancaster and his work, please visit his website: www.craig-lancaster.com.

Here are Craig’s books on Amazon, in both print and Kindle format:

If you’d like to read my interview with Craig about his first novel 600 Hours of Edward and his guest post about his second novel The Summer Son, you’ll find them here:

600 Hours of Edward: http://quietfurybooks.com/blog/2010/05/1155

The Summer Son – Fact, Fiction And A Giveaway: http://quietfurybooks.com/blog/2011/01/fact-fiction-and-a-giveaway

Don’t forget to click on over to www.smashwords.com/books/view/81312 to download your free copy of Quantum Physics and the Art of Departure! The coupon code you’ll need is EY63S and you have until September 30.

Thanks for reading.

Did you know that an estimated 14,500 to 17,500 people, primarily women and children, are trafficked into the U.S. each year. That’s just the U.S., which, after all, is supposed to be a civilized country. Yet we’re importing sex slaves. And no one talks about it.

Author Sibel Hodge is doing her part to change that. She’s written a book called Trafficked: The Diary of a Sex Slave. The story is fiction, though a version of this is happening to thousands of women right this minute. Before we talk more about the book, I want to introduce the talented author:

Sibel Hodge has dual British/Turkish Cypriot nationality, dividing her time between Hertfordshire and North Cyprus. She is a qualified personal trainer, sports and massage therapist, and writes freelance feature articles on health, fitness, and various lifetyle subjects. Prior to this, she also worked for Hertfordshire Constabulary for ten years.

Her first novel, Fourteen Days Later, was short listed for the Harry Bowling Prize 2008 and received a highly commended by the Yeovil Literary Prize 2009. It is a romantic comedy with a unique infusion of British and Turkish Cypriot culture. Written in a similar style to Sophie Kinsella and Marian Keyes, Fourteen Days Later is My Big Fat Greek Wedding meets Bridget Jones. My Perfect Wedding is the sequel to Fourteen Days Later, although it can be read as a standalone novel.

The Fashion Police was a runner up in the Chapter One Promotions Novel Competition 2010 and nominated Best Novel with Romantic Elements 2010 by The Romance Reviews. It is a screwball comedy-mystery, combining murder and mayhem with romance and chick-lit, and the first in a series featuring feisty, larger-than-life insurance investigator, Amber Fox. Written in a similar style to Janet Evanovich and Myron Bolitar, The Fashion Police is Stephanie Plum meets Harlan Coben. Be Careful What You Wish For is the second Amber Fox Mystery.

Here’s a look at the book:

Blurb: My name is Elena and I used to be a human being. Now I am a sex slave.

If you are reading this diary then I am either dead or I have managed to escape…

Trafficked: The Diary of a Sex Slave is a gritty, gripping, and tear-jerking novella, inspired by real victims’ accounts and research into the sex trafficking underworld.

It is estimated that 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders every year – 80% of these are women and girls. (Source: U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report: 2007)

Now for a chat with Sibel:

When and why did you first become interested in human trafficking?

I watched a mini series about it a few years ago and it really haunted me, and then a while ago I was waiting in a doctor’s surgery and picked up a magazine that had one woman’s story in it. It was heartbreaking, and I realized that in between the mini series and reading the article I’d heard absolutely nothing about the subject in the news or media, despite it being such a global problem. I really wanted to do something to raise awareness into the subject so Trafficked: The Diary of a Sex Slave was born.

What type of research did you do for this story?

I researched a lot of individual stories from women to get a sense of everything they go through when they’ve been trafficked.

You handled this dark and difficult topic with grace. As readers, we felt Elena’s pain but you were careful not to write graphic scenes that could easily have readers slamming the book closed. Also, despite the horror, you managed to maintain the hope which, I think, is vital in keeping readers engaged in fiction. Was this a difficult balance for you?

Thanks so much, Darcia. I did it in diary format because I wanted it to be more powerful – as a reader I wanted you to experience the ordeal through her eyes in her thoughts and actions. Sometimes it’s not what you say that has the most effect, it’s what you don’t say. I think it has a more psychological effect on readers when they can use their imagination about the situations she describes, for example in one passage I write, “I have not written much because I do not want to describe the things they make me do. You can imagine every depravity and increase it a hundred times, then you will understand.” Hopefully readers can really feel the pain, shame, fear, hope, and courage of Elena. The Bornean Bookworm did a lovely review saying “Elena is unquestionably in the line of my favorite inspiring characters.” Hope was an essential part of her character, because if we don’t have hope, the only way is down.

This is a big departure from the Chick Lit you’ve become known for. What did you find most difficult about switching genres? What did you enjoy most?

I’ve always wanted to write a serious book, and when the idea formed for Trafficked I was really excited. Of course when you work on a completely different genre, you worry that you won’t be able to pull it off, but from the feedback and reviews I’ve had so far, I think I’ve managed to do that. It was unusual for me to write something that brought tears to my eyes and shivers up my spine, instead of writing something that cracks me up laughing. With chick lit, readers wast fun escapism, but with Trafficked, I wanted to do something that would make readers really stop and think. If I can summon the same emotions in a reader then I’ve done my job right.

What are you working on now?

I’m going to be starting my third Amber Fox chick lit mystery series soon.

Thank you, Sibel, for taking the time to answer my questions and for providing such a powerful read.

Thanks for reading.

Klaus thought of the transitoriness of life and how some people splash into our lives, creating huge waves that ripple every nuance of our being, only to disappear, leaving our lives still once more, yet changed forever. ~ from Pixels of Young Mueller by Jerry Schwartz

My guest today is Jerry Schwartz, an author and musician who expertly blends his two crafts. I recently read his novel Pixels of Young Mueller and I’m excited to have him join me here today.

Jerry Schwartz is the author of Pixels of Young Mueller, a coming-of-age tale published by All Things That Matter Press. The book is available at Amazon in paperback and Kindle Edition, and you can visit Jerry’s website at www.itsjerryschwartz.com.

Jerry also writes, plays, sings, and produces the music of The Jerrys, a fictional band that appears in his novel. The Jerrys’ new album, Let’s Groove, is available on iTunes, and you can download their new single, “Bigger Than Oprah,” on their website at www.itsthejerrys.com.

Here’s a look at Jerry’s book:

Klaus Mueller dreams of leaving tiny Southland someday to be a rock star. When he chooses stardom over college, however, he learns that his education is just beginning. He endures a series of god-awful jobs while his music is repeatedly rejected, and he wonders how he will ever achieve success. After moving to the city, where he finds a career and becomes a father, he is torn between the great happiness he has found and the success he still craves. Klaus must reconcile his dreams with reality or spend the rest of his life lamenting what might have been.

Jerry has agreed to hang out and answer my questions. I always have trouble narrowing down the things I should ask. My inquisitive mind wants to know all! Let’s get to know Jerry:

I know that Pixels of Young Mueller is loosely based on your own life. Can I get you to share one fact that you drew from your life and you share with your main character, Klaus Mueller?

Sure, Darcia. I have much in common with Klaus! For instance, at different times when I was a boy, I wanted to be a priest, a baseball player, and a rock star. Also like Klaus, I once pitched a no-hitter when I was a teenager. Of course, Klaus pitches a perfect game, whereas in real life, my team lost 1-0 when the only guy I walked scored from first base on a fielding error.

What prompted you to sit down and write this particular story?

From my perspective, this story had to be told, and–for better or worse–I was the only one who could tell it. As a young artist, I gravitated toward the great novels in the “story of an artist” (Kunstlerroman) genre: Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship (Goethe), The Way of All Flesh (Butler), Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Joyce), etc. It was so important to me to contribute to that tradition that, at times, I was even afraid of dying before I finished the job.

We meet your main character, Klaus Mueller, as a child and follow him as he grows into adulthood. This can be a challenge for some authors, but you did a tremendous job. You perfectly captured Klaus’ voice at each stage of his life. What did you find most challenging about taking a character from childhood into adulthood?

First, thank you for your kind words! I’m glad you enjoyed the book and the changes of voice required to depict the different life stages. I’d have to say that the hardest part was ensuring that Klaus thought and spoke like a child when he was a young boy. I combined what I remembered childhood to be like with how my own children thought and spoke in order to make it seem more realistic.

You are also a musician and call your band “The Jerrys.” What style of music do you play and who are your major influences?

The Jerrys play rock and roll, or, to be more specific, British-influenced guitar pop. It’s Beatlesque in the sense that I grew up listening to The Beatles, but the music doesn’t necessarily sound like them. I have a lot of influences, but the main ones seem to come from the British invasions. Also, as a rule, I only record and produce music that will make people happy. There are enough people out there depressing listeners with their music–I’m not going to add to that. I’m not saying I don’t write sad songs once in a while, but I don’t record them.

You write all your music. Which comes first for you–the melody or the lyrics?

It all depends on the song, as each one is different. Sometimes a title comes first, so I write around the title. At other times, the melody comes first, and it becomes a matter of writing lyrics and chords to match. At still other times, I’ll be messing around on a guitar or a ukulele and find something I like, so I write a melody and lyrics to go with it. There are almost as many ways to write a song as there are songs–I have even programmed drum tracks without a clue as to how I would use them, and then wrote a song to go with them.

Which is your greatest love, playing music or writing?

When it comes to playing music or writing, my favorite is whichever I’m doing at the moment!

What is your writing environment like? Do you prefer noise or silence? Is your work area cluttered or neat?

I have no ideal writing environment, as I often write wherever I happen to be when the opportunity arises. I wrote much of my first novel on the subway, as I spend a fair amount of time there anyway. As I live in an apartment, space is limited, so I use a small secretary desk when I’m at home. Secretary desks are the greatest things–no matter how messy they get, there’s never any clutter on the part that pulls down!

What is your writing method like? Did your plot out your novel ahead of time or did you start out with nothing more than an idea?

I’ve only written one book so far, and I knew the ending when I started. It’s the same with the book I’m writing now–I need to know what I’m leading up to. It influences everything I do before I get to that point.

I read that you’re working on a second Mueller novel. Can you tell us a bit about that?

I like to think that, while I wrote the first book for me, I’m writing the second book for everyone else. As an example of what I mean, Pixels of Young Mueller deals with the problems that an artist faces when he realizes that he will have to find other ways to support himself and his family. The new book, on the other hand, deals with problems that everyone faces. The story is also being told from Klaus’ perspective, which means that the all-knowing author of the first novel is missing this time around. The whole experience will be different–and more marketable as a result.

Tell us one quirky or little known thing about yourself.

I nearly always have a song in my head–even at inappropriate times.

Those of you intrigued with Jerry, and his writing and music, might like a look at his videos:

Thanks for reading.

My guest today is the talented author Jennifer Lane. I recently read her romantic suspense novel With Good Behavior (The Conduct Series, 1) and fell in love with the characters. Jen is hanging out with me, answering my questions in between dips in my pool. (It’s hot here today.) Allow me to introduce you:

After surviving the rigors of writing a psychology dissertation, the author known as Jennifer Lane has happily turned to writing fiction. She still maintains her psychology practice in Ohio, but please rest assured that she’s not psychoanalyzing you right now. The tales of healing and resilience from her career have inspired her to write her own stories: The Conduct Series. With Good Behavior began with two cons trying to make it on the outside: running from the Mafia, joking about sexy vegetables, and just maybe falling in love. Bad Behavior, the next in line, reveals that it’s not so easy to escape the past, but the plucky parolees once again strive to persevere. Jen is currently at work on the third and final installment of the series: On Best Behavior. She’s found that whether writing or reading, she loves stories that make her laugh and cry. In her spare time Jen enjoys competitive swimming, attending book club, and hanging out with her sisters and their families in Chicago.

Here’s a look at the book we’ll be discussing:

In a world gripped by organized crime, family dysfunction, and dim hopes of redemption, can true love persevere? For Sophie Taylor, a psychologist who lost everything when she violated an ethical boundary, and Grant Madsen, a naval officer who sacrificed everything to protect a loved one, finding that love may carry an unbearable cost.

Starting their lives over in Chicago, both are fighting influences from their family and running as fast as they can to escape the past. When their paths cross outside the parole officer’s door, the attraction is instantaneous. Will a hidden connection not only shatter their fledgling love, but prove deadly to them both?

Intrigued? Let’s see if I can get Jen to spill any secrets…

What inspired you to write this particular story?

My inspiration came from a variety of places, including my work, TV shows like Prison Break and The Sopranos, and the movie SherryBaby. Mostly it was a fascination with the incredible resiliency of the human spirit that sparked my interest in writing this story.

2. In your other life, you are a psychologist. Sophie, the main character in With Good Behavior, is a psychologist who crosses the line in her behavior with a patient. I would think that the nature of this type of doctor/patient relationship would make it all too easy for boundaries to be crossed. Do you find it difficult to maintain a professional distance with your patients? Are there some that get to you emotionally more than others?

Sophie is responsible for the most egregious boundary crossing—sleeping with her client. I have never found it difficult to avoid that mistake! I do have to be thoughtful about limiting my own self-disclosure and not becoming friends with my clients, especially with email communication. Therapy is a very special, structured relationship designed to address the client’s needs. I strive for an emotional understanding but not an emotional responsibility, trusting clients’ strength to take care of themselves and uncover their own answers.
There’s something called “counter-transference”, when clients remind the therapist of someone in her own life. If clients bring up an issue I’m dealing with too, that can be more emotionally entangled for me. Say my parents have always been hostile with each other and I’m seeing a divorced couple to help their child recover from a mental illness. I might get very anxious when the couple argues and have difficulty sorting through my own reactions to help them help their child. This scenario is why it’s so important for therapists to get their own therapy, to reduce blind spots and to understand what it’s like to sit in that waiting room the first time.

That’s truly fascinating insight. We often don’t think of therapists as having their own emotional triggers to deal with.

Your characters – both major and minor – felt real to me. They each had their own quirks and specific speech patterns to make them unique. How did you go about developing your characters? Did you base them on people you know or are they entirely fictional?

Thank you, Darcia—that’s like music to my ears. I developed my characters using a combination of real and fictional. Take Roger Eaton, for example. He’s a foul-mouthed architectural cruise ship captain who reluctantly takes on Grant and Sophie as employees despite their prison backgrounds. Short, fat, and bald, Roger loves to verbally spar with any hapless victim. He’s never met a deep dish pizza he doesn’t like, and he snores like a motorboat. My dad’s name is Roger but he’s tall, married, and is much more civilized. The only traits the Rogers share are loud snoring and a taste for fattening foods.

Do you outline your plot prior to writing? Or do you sit down with an idea and run with it?

I definitely outline but I also let each chapter go wherever it wants to. It’s a kick to write dialogue because the characters will sometimes travel to unanticipated places, especially in the therapy sessions.

Tell us about your writing environment. Do you prefer silence or noise? Activity around you or solitude? Is your desk cluttered and messy or is your work space neat and sparse?

My desk at work is horribly cluttered, I admit. When I write at home I’m on the sofa with my laptop, feet propped up on the coffee table. I like to listen to songs without words—movie soundtracks, jazz, classical. My plus-sized cat Izzie is a great writing companion.

Bad Behavior, book two in your Conduct Series is now available and takes over where With Good Behavior left off. I read that you are working on book three. Do you have a planned number of books in this series?

The Conduct Series will have three books, and the third is titled On Best Behavior. I’m about twenty percent done but I took a break to edit a Young Adult swimming story I wrote four years ago. I’ll return to this series soon.

Series writing is very different from writing stand-alone novels. Some authors have difficulty maintaining the intensity and freshness of the stories and the characters’ interactions as the series moves along. Others find that having the characters already developed makes it easier to navigate new plots. What have you found easier about writing books two and three, as compared to writing your first? What do you find more challenging?

That’s a great question. I didn’t start With Good Behavior thinking it would be a series, but toward the end of the already long story I realized there was more to explore with these characters. I’ve heard series tend to either get better or worse, and I’m hoping this series will be the former! I find it fun to throw the well-known characters into new situations to see how they’ll behave. I also enjoy the freedom of exploring drawn-out character arcs, allowing substantial change to occur over time. Character development and change excites me in novels and in life.

Since I don’t have much writing experience, it’s hard for me to judge the relative ease of writing series vs. stand-alone novels. I do know my writing has immensely slowed since getting published. I was lucky to write the first two novels of the series before finding a publisher, which allowed me to get book #2 out quickly.

Do you have a favorite book and/or favorite author?

Not one favorite, but several—Word of Honor by Nelson DeMille, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, Fragile Beasts by Tawni O’Dell, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.

When not writing, reading or working, what might we find you doing?

I’ve been a competitive swimmer all my life so you might find me at the pool or gym. I also like chatting online and visiting my sisters and their families in Chicago.

Tell us one silly/quirky/unique thing about yourself.

I generally have an upbeat personality, so much so that my college swim coach nicknamed me “The Serotonin Posterchild”. Coffee and sugar help.

Great nickname! Hanging out with you is better than antidepressants any day! Thanks, Jen, for sharing with us today!

Want to learn more about Grant, the main character in With Good Behavior (The Conduct Series, 1)? You can read his answers to my ‘quirky questions’ feature in a previous post: Introducing Grant Madsen

Thanks for reading.

I love to read stories by authors who are new to me. The journey is like a treasure hunt, discovering the flow and cadence of the words that lead me to places unknown. Sometimes the treasure is disappointing, like those plastic toys in the machines outside of stores. I never got the cool things promised in the photos and descriptions. Other times, the treasure is a rare gem, a voice with a unique lilt that tells a story I can’t help but get lost in.

Recently I read a novel by an author new to me – Gareth Lewis. To Hunt Monsters was the first book I read by Gareth but it certainly won’t be the last. Here’s a look at the book:

Amid tense peace talks between vampire and werewolf factions, a werewolf councillor is murdered. Recently adopted into the Clans, Jason is assigned to investigate, and forced by politics to partner with a vampire, his former girlfriend who he didn’t know had been turned. Faced with growing fanaticism among the Clans, a vampire assassin, an old family enemy, and the threat of losing control, Jason must solve the murder before his new life falls apart.

Normally, I would show you a photo of Gareth. But he is a secret spy, working to find all the missing socks disappearing in our clothes dryers. He has a decoder ring and everything. In order to protect his identity, I cannot show you his photo. Indeed, no one has ever been allowed to see him. He’s not even allowed to have mirrors. To settle your curiosity, here is a bit about the man behind the words:

Gareth Lewis has written a number of novels and shorter pieces in a few genres, including fantasy, science fiction, and thrillers. A programmer, he has a degree in computer studies, and lives in South Wales. You can learn more about Gareth, his writing, and how to get your own decoder ring on his website: www.garethlewis.eu

Gareth graciously agreed to answer my questions here today. Here’s a peek at our conversation:

What inspired you to write To Hunt Monsters?

The seed of the story was the relationship between Jason (the werewolf) and Sophia (his ex, who he just found out became a vampire, and now has to work with), primarily the culmination of their story. I worked back, establishing Jason’s story as dealing with his grief (his arc being along the lines of the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance), and Sophia’s as trying to find a way to live with her change.

The relationship it needed between the werewolves and vampires gave form to the more general history, which suggested the fanatical hatred some werewolves retained for vampires. Since such fanaticism often dehumanizes the enemy as reinforcement, using vampires, who we’re already inclined to see as inhuman, lets the beliefs of the fanatics hopefully seem less severe to the reader than if they were simply members of opposing faiths. My hope was that this would make the fanaticism initially less obviously extreme, while undermining its underlying beliefs as the story progresses (vampires aren’t actually undead, their life signs are just slow, and while they’ve done horrible things, especially to werewolves, the two are equally separate from humanity in many ways).

So it started out with characters, incorporated ideas, and then the setting suggested the plot.

A more basic inspiration is, of course, other stories. This isn’t the first involving vampires and werewolves, and while I haven’t read many, those serve as inspiration for the basic ingredients. For other stories there’s less distance, ripping off homaging distinct elements from other writers. Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy interested me with its use of magic by front line fighters, which I hadn’t really seen before, and the detail of the magic system. Stoneweaver was an exercise at developing something similar, so the idea for the magic system came first with that, although I also used elements of a harsh setting from his series (in Mistborn the world is covered by ash clouds, in Stoneweaver it’s been flooded).

You deal with some difficult and dark content in this book, such as prejudice and blind allegiance to a particular religion or cult. While you don’t overtly give opinions on these topics, they run beneath the surface all throughout the plot. Did you find it difficult to balance that darkness with hope for your characters?

I wasn’t conscious of it while writing, but I can see how that could be a problem. I think the balance came more from keeping the story moving, and if the characters had fully engulfed in the darkness then it could have slowed the pace.

Had the story just been Jason and Sophia, then they’d probably have soon settled into an uncomfortable silence, both stuck inside their own heads. Bringing in Adam (vampire, and old enemy of Jason’s family) keeps them communicating, so they’re not wallowing in the situation.

These characters aren’t the situation they’re in. They had lives before, with different situations. Stuck in their own minds, they’d be focussed on the current predicament, which would have darkened the tone. But while interacting they’re more likely to recall past interactions, and since the previous situations have changed, there’s the possibility of the current one doing likewise, which offers hope.

Besides, if there were no hope what would I rip away at a dramatically opportune moment?

What comes first in your writing, characters or plot?

In the planning stage it depends a lot on the original inspiration. It could be an idea, a character, a plot, a line, an ending, or a combination of them. Any conflict between the elements I usually try and resolve during this stage (I’ve grown to use detailed outlines on most stories), with priority usually going to the initial source.

Some of the character only develops in the writing though, but if it starts to interfere with the plot, it becomes a matter of which of the two is more open to change. I’ve had it go both ways.

In the case of To Hunt Monsters it was Adam’s initial personality which didn’t quite work for the plot, so I started changing it slightly and it clicked into place as it is now, which felt stronger than it had. On other occasions it’s gone the other way, though, but overall I’d probably put the plot as primary, since it’s the spine of the story, but it needs to work with the characters, and that requires compromises on both sides. If the characters are lacking then the reader may not get to the end of the story, but if the plot is lacking they may get there and feel unsatisfied.

Which is your favorite part of the writing process – the beginning when you’re facing the blank page, the middle when your plot is unraveling, or the end when you type those final words? Why?

I find all stages are kind of enjoyable in different ways (and offer different kind of despair).

During the planning stage it’s when you’ve got the ideas assembled into a kind of whole, and you can really see the whole thing for the first time.

Writing the first draft is usually the most stressful (although I never sit down to start until I’ve got the first line), but this is generally in getting myself to start the writing (I do a set amount each day, varying by project, but usually lack the enthusiasm to start. It doesn’t stop me starting as soon as I can, I just don’t look forward to it). The actual writing is usually fairly calm (unless I’m running out of hours in the day to finish my allotted work).

Revisions aren’t as stressful as it feels the hard work has been done, but I can become sick of them if they go on too long (stories have around 5-10 revisions, but those may include multiple passes per revision), as I have a tendency to do a line edit every time I go through. I’m trying to change the way I revise so each one sticks to a particular job, but the impulse to tinker with the text remains.

Not sure I’ve ever felt I’ve typed the final words of anything, since there’s usually the chance I may need to go back to something. It’s more forcing myself to let go of it rather than feeling it’s complete.

Do you like silence or noise while writing?

Silence. I’m too easily distr… ooo, look a shiny bauble.

That is something I can relate to!

You have quite a lot of published work available, encompassing a few genres. Is there one genre that you prefer to write within?

Hopefully whichever I’m writing at the time (or something’s going wrong). There are different aspects of each which are useful, but it’s generally the story which comes first, rather than genre. And I’m not sure I write that differently between genres, anyway.

Having said that, fantasy seems to be the genre I’ve done more in so far, although that’s a wide category, since I have a couple of urban fantasies and a couple of heroic fantasies among the novels. I suppose ultimately fantasy offers a wider scope of what can be done, and more control over things you may be more constrained with in a more realistic setting (I write fiction. Why would I want to constrain myself to the possible?). And of the novels I read the majority are fantasy, so that probably plays a large role.

You write novels and short stories. How do you decide whether an idea will become a full-length novel or a shorter piece? Do you begin with an intent for a particular length or does that work itself out as the idea takes shape?

I let the idea kick about my head until it grows into a story. Sometimes it accumulates other ideas I’ve had and grows, but it’ll generally reach the size it wants to be, then I start making notes and working out what that is.

Some stories are obviously going to be a certain length, whereas some I’ll just start writing and see what they end up. I thought Stoneweaver would be a novella, but it was an experiment at using a brief outline and discovery writing, and it ended up at novel length (technically. It was 60,000 words, but the fantasy market requires 90,000 to 120,000 for new writers, so it wouldn’t be considered by traditional publishers, but eBooks do away with these arbitrary restrictions).

For others the feel I’m going for dictates the length. The novelettes I’ve written (Spikebreaker and Expressions of Freedom) have both had comments that they could be expanded into longer pieces, but to me they feel right for the stories I want to tell, and I’ve not had ideas for expanding them that wouldn’t be padding (which isn’t to say that I won’t in the future). There’s one (unpublished) short I have expanded to a novel (Grey Engines, currently undergoing submissions) because the central idea kept growing after the short had been written, and there was enough interesting stuff to make me want to. In that case, though, the plot was mainly a vehicle for the idea, so that could have made it easier to expand.

Do you have a favorite book? A favorite author?

Favourite book? Probably not. Favourite author? Probably Sir Terry Pratchett. I love his use of language, and find his books constantly re-readable. I’m not sure how much of an influence he is on my writing, though (not as much as I’d like), and there are others I can identify as more direct influences.

Here’s a look at Gareth’s novels and short stories on Amazon:

You can also find his work on Smashwords, in formats for all ereaders and computers.

I hope you’ll take the time to get to know Gareth and explore his writing. In the meantime, we’d love to hear from you! Please share your thoughts and questions here with us.

Thanks for reading.