Genre Love Stories: How Did You Fall?

I was twelve years old and babysitting, at least in body. In my mind, I was Jenny MacPartland—a single woman who’d been knocked punch-drunk breathless in love with an alluring man she at a trendy New York art gallery. While the real, live characters—i.e., the kids—played in the background, I stayed with Jenny as she began discovering clues to Mr. Seemed-So Right’s sordid past. As her marriage and life neared their perceivable ends, so did my babysitting career. (I’ll spare you the details, but let’s just say it involved twin toddlers, one’s digestive issues, a locked bathroom and some unusual, um, “artwork…”)

Mary Higgins Clark’s A Cry in the Night had me at page one.

During middle school, mysteries and thrillers saved me from math and science class boredom, kept me entertained during lengthy car rides and distracted me from insecurities that run too rampant in teens. After high school, the spine chillers kept me company at New York modeling castings and became my only “friends” in an apartment full of roommates by whom I felt intimidated. One clue that I was in dire straits later on, while living in Paris, was the fact that I couldn’t enjoy the stories I’d so loved.

So, it came as no surprise when my first novel turned into a thriller—before I had a grasp of genres, much less which one my story suited. I suppose the takeaway from my genre love story—likely from yours, too —is this: Read and write what you love. Oh, and if you have kids, do not hire a hyper-focused daydreaming girl with a book bag…

What’s your genre love story?

Author Interview: Kyle Mills

ON WRITING, GEEKING OUT & HIS LATEST WORK

What do you get when you pair fascinating characters, a devastating disease, masterful writing and real life experience as an FBI kid? The Immortalists—one of the fastest-paced, intriguing thrillers I’ve read in some time.

Today I’m honored to bring you New York Times bestselling author of twelve books, Kyle Mills. (If you haven’t read The Immortalists or others of Mills’ work, you’ve got some serious reading to do… )

Description: Dr. Richard Draman is trying desperately to discover a cure for a disease that causes children to age at a wildly accelerated rate–a rare genetic condition that is killing his own daughter. When the husband of a colleague quietly gives him a copy of the classified work she was doing before her mysterious suicide, Draman finally sees a glimmer of hope. Its stunning conclusions have the potential to not only turn the field of biology on its head but reshape the world. Soon, though, he finds himself on the run, relentlessly pursued by a seemingly omnipotent group of men who will do whatever it takes to silence him. (Thomas & Mercer, Dec. 2011)

AM: You’re known to hit up hefty issues in your work, from the tobacco industry to terrorism. Why did you decide to focus on “anti-aging” in The Immortalists?

KM: The myth of the fountain of youth is one of the oldest and most widespread in history, with writing on the subject dating back before Christ. The one thing that all those stories and elaborate quests had in common, though, was that they were nonsense—just another example of our superstitious nature.

With all the recent advances in genetics, though, the myth is becoming reality.  There may be children alive today who will never get old, and that brings up a lot of interesting issues that are perfect fodder for a thriller novel. Change can very easily turn into chaos and chaos makes for great stories.

On the other hand, it could just be because I’m getting old…

AM: Beats the alternative, right? Speaking of aging, progeria, the genetic disease featured in The Immortalists, is a real disease. What was your research process like?

KM: It was pretty extensive with this book—a lot of genetics and evolutionary biology texts. Thank God I’m actually interested in that stuff or it would have been brutal.

I wanted to really understand the current state of the science and where it’s heading because it’s a story that hinges on believability.  Having said that, I didn’t want to go overboard.  I made a pact with myself that I’d put all the science-geek stuff I wanted in the first draft and then take exactly half of it out in the second.

AM: The ending surprised me, in good ways. Do you plot your stories and endings out from the get-go? 

KM: Absolutely. I’m a fanatic for outlining. In fact, the outline for the book I’m working on now is already 35,000 words long.  That doesn’t mean there aren’t surprises in the actual writing process, but I like to keep them to a minimum.

My goal is to make sure everything is tied up at the end—but sometimes in a more messy way than people expect. Life rarely provides neat, painless endings.

AM: Your father’s career as an FBI agent has been credited for making your stories and characters so “real”—along with talent, of course. What other factors influence your writing?

KM: It sounds a bit clichéd, but the world around me. I do an enormous amount of reading on history, science, and politics to come up with concepts that inspire me.  And often the idea doesn’t come from just one of those categories, but a combination of all of them. My favorite themes are simple (if brutal) solutions to seemingly intractable problems and the power of the individual to change the world.

AM: One of the greatest attributes of thrillers, that last bit. What if your dad was, say, a plumber or gym teacher… How different might your stories be?

KM: Probably very. When I wrote my first novel, I chose the thriller genre not only because I was a fan but because of my family history with law enforcement. They say write what you know and I took that to heart. If I’d come from a plumbing family, I may well have written about that.

AM: Was your upbringing as exciting as movies and our imaginations make it out to be? (If not, please less us down gently…) 

KM: It might be close. I was having dinner with my father in London when his deputy came in and told him that a plane had gone down and they needed to get to a little town called Lockerbie right away. I’ve had drinks with a guy who, by law, can’t be photographed. I’ve heard first person accounts of gunfights that actually involved monkeys.

AM: I hope the monkeys weren’t hurt! Wait—don’t tell me… What do you enjoy most about writing?

KM: It gives me an excuse to completely geek out on subjects that interest me.  I’m not sure that expertise in areas like the tobacco industry, oil extraction, and the genetics of aging are very useful in the real world, but I love that stuff.

AM: And the downsides?

KM: It’s an industry in constant turmoil and that turmoil is getting more violent every day. I’ve written a lot of books and there’s never been a single one that I didn’t think would be my last. It’s a little nerve wracking if writing is how you pay the mortgage.

AM: Yes, I’d prefer such danger stay on the page… What are you most proud of career-wise?

KM: That’s a tough question. I think maybe the effort I put into each book. I tend to sweat over every line, every fact, and every character. Hopefully, it shows.

AM: It absolutely does. The Immortalists is your twelfth novel, correct? What’s next in the pipeline?

KM: Somewhere around there—enough that you wouldn’t want to lift them all at once.  Next up is a new Ludlum book. It’s an opportunity to explore the progressing science of man/machine integration, something that’s accelerating quickly and will have a lot of impact in the next quarter century.

AM: Any advice for up-and-coming novelists?

KM: I don’t know, it’s hard to even keep up with what’s going on in the industry from one day to the next. My best piece of advice is to not get into the business with the idea that you’re going to make a million dollars or even a living. Write because you love it.

AM: (Note to self: Stock up on Top Ramen. Er, rice, bananas and beans…) Great advice. Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions. On behalf of my friends and readers, I wish you all possible success.

Support fantastic authors! To learn more, visit www.kylemills.com. To purchase The Immortalists, visit Amazon.com or your local book store.

*****

If you’ve read The Immortalists, what did you think? Any thoughts to share with Kyle? What do you love most about writing?

Daniel Palmer on Writing, Success & the Dog that Saved his Career

Had my number-dyslexia not kicked in on the last day of Bouchercon this year, I might not have read what’s become one of my favorite thrillers of the year, written by one of my new fave authors. (I still swear my flight itinerary said 5pm, not noon. Ironic, or maybe not; Daniel Palmer’s book, DELIRIOUS, is chockfull of such mind trips. Hmm…)

Because of my “bonus” time at the conference, I had the opportunity to meet Daniel, thank him for his contributions to a panel I’d attended and learn more about his work. When I told him I write psychological thrillers, he said I might like his. Forget ‘might,’ I loved it. The characters, including those with psychiatric disorders, are relatable, the plot wicked smart and the opening and ending gratifying and unique. Books as enjoyable as DELIRIOUS are what led me to pursue a career in writing and keep me enthused about the thriller genre.

One day, Charlie Giles is an up-and-coming electronics superstar. The next, he’s a prime homicide suspect as his former employers are picked off one by one. Charlie watches his life unravel as his company and inventions are wrenched from his control, and his family is decimated. With nowhere else to turn, he enlists his schizophrenic brother to uncover the dark family secrets that lie at the heart of the unfolding terror. “Delirious” is a mind-bending story where the line between what is real and what is imagined twists and turns…an addictive literary puzzle that every reader will want to solve.
(Kensington, 2011)

What others are saying about DELIRIOUS:

“Smart, sophisticated and unsettling…not just a great thriller debut, but a great thriller, period.” —Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Delirious is one awesome kick-off for an exciting and multi-dimensional talent. It’s an electrifying ride, whetting the reader’s appetite for more. Daniel Palmer is a writer to watch. This guy is going to be around a long time.” —Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author

 ”Daniel Palmer delivers a high-speed thrill ride, filled with shocks and mind-bending twists. Delirious is a terrific debut!” —Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author

Palmer is also a super nice guy who took the time to share some insight with us all…

AM: I loved DELIRIOUS. What inspired you to write it?

DP: Thanks so much, August. I’m so glad you enjoyed the story. DELIRIOUS wasn’t my first attempt at novel writing. I started out writing romantic comedies from the guy’s point of view, only to discover that women, who tend to buy the majority of romance books, don’t particularly care about the guy’s point of view. I decided to take a swing at writing suspense novels, which happens to be the genre I love the most. I set off in search of a compelling ‘what if’ question that could be the basis of a thriller. I looked to my background in e-commerce and Web start up companies for inspiration. I thought, what if a super successful software/electronics entrepreneur, suddenly and inexplicably starts to go insane? I guess you could say the novel evolved from there.

AM: You threw some mighty intriguing twists into the story. Were these planned? Did you know the ending before you began?

DP: I wanted DELIRIOUS to feel like a trip down the rabbit hole. To pull the reader into the story I knew I had to emphasize how it might feel to go crazy. I made up a lot of the scenes showing Charlie’s decent into madness as I went along. However, I wrote with a framework for the story already in place. I knew how it would open. I figured by the middle of the book he’d be forcibly committed in a mental hospital. I had a rough idea of how it was going to end. Basically, I had markers I wanted to hit, but I didn’t have a detailed outline of how I was going to hit them.

AM: I felt you handled mental illness in a respectful, realistic way. Was this your aim? Can you tell us a bit about your research?

DP: I’m so glad you felt that way. Next to delivering non-stop suspense, it was my top priority for the book. It was important to me that I portrayed Joe’s schizophrenia as accurately as possible. I set out to write a story that avoided stereotypes of the disease without being didactic or sounding preachy.

My cousin is a Harvard trained neuropsychologist. In addition to her being my inspiration for Rachel’s character, my cousin educated me about the disease and various cognitive therapies. I read a ton on the subject as well, but she validated and vetted everything I wrote. In addition, I leaned heavily on an uncle who is a neurologist and a psychiatrist cousin. Bottom line, it helps to have really, really smart people in your family, or a network of friends who are generous with their time and expertise.

AM: I think I have a crush on Monte, the beagle. Was he based on a pet? Can I have him?

DP: I seriously owe my writing career to Monte. Acquiring editors at various publishing houses loved the book, but thought Charlie was too rough around the edges. He wasn’t a very kind person at the start of the story. I conveyed my publishing woes to a good friend of mine over burgers and beers and he suggested I give my protagonist a dog. It took me about two seconds to see the genius of his idea. I contacted my agent who took about one second to see it. “Yeah, a dog,” she said. “Give him a dog.”

From there, I reached out to a cousin (see a theme here?) who happens to be a veterinarian. We spent an hour talking about dog breeds, searching for the best breed for Charlie. We settled on a beagle. From there I gave Monte his quirks, chewing shoes and his devote love for the neighbor’s poodle, Maxine. A few weeks later I signed a three book contract with Kensington. Oline Cogdill wrote a blog post for Mystery Scene all about Monte. Soon after, I got a letter from a delighted reader informing me that she named their new family dog Monte. Apparently, a lot of folks were taken with my beagle.

AM: *Pauses to gush for Monte* You’re also an uber-talented musician. How does your experience as a songwriter influence your book writing?

DP: That’s very kind of you to say. I think of songwriting as just another form of storytelling. Often times, the magic beans that go into making a song work can be found in a compelling novel as well. A suspenseful story requires the right mix of conflict, character and stakes in order to take flight. I try to write songs that contain some (hopefully all) of those elements, albeit in a very condensed format. Songwriting has also been great for developing my sense of word play. The craft challenges me to write emotionally, without being obvious or clichéd. I try to bring that sensibility to my longer prose as well. I love writing novels and songs with equal passion. My only wish is that I could write a novel in one sitting the way I can sometimes pull together a completed song.

AM: I’m excited to read your second book, HELPLESS, come January. Was it easier, harder or otherwise different to write?

DP: The simple answer to your question is yes. Parts of it were easier because I had a better grasp on the craft of storytelling. There is something to be said for experience. At the same time, it was a very challenging book to write. I wanted to show the reader the hidden dangers of our tech-centric world without losing them in the jargon and concepts. I also wanted to show the inherent dangers of sexting without sacrificing the scope of my story.

HELPLESS is part family drama and part action thriller. A friend described it as Tom Clancy invades the O.C. I think that’s a pretty fitting description but those incongruous elements made for some interesting writing challenges. Library Journal gave HELPLESS a starred review so hopefully others feel that my efforts have paid off. The research for HELPLESS was similar to DELIRIOUS in that I had experts at the FBI and Navy SEALs who helped me bring the story to life in a realistic fashion.

AM: What are you most proud of in your writing career thus far?

DP: Pride is an interesting thing because it’s not woven into the DNA fabric of most writers I know. In this business, we’re as good as our last book. From what I’ve seen, the fear of losing our touch doesn’t really go away, regardless of having a publishing track record. I think a healthy dose of the skepticism is good for fueling the drive to write and create to the very best of our abilities. So if I had to pick my proudest moment, I’d say it was the first time I heard from a truly satisfied reader. That said, I haven’t made any best seller lists yet, so I reserve the right to change my answer.

AM: Ha… So granted! What do you find most challenging about novel writing?

DP: Solidifying the idea is for me the hardest part. It’s easy to come up with ideas, but to mold something into a workable structure, one that could carry the reader for four hundred plus pages, takes time, patience and the discipline to stare at your computer screen, or pad of paper, without jotting anything down.

AM: Any major goals or aspirations you hope to reach—writing or otherwise?

DP: I just hope to stay in this game.  I have a tremendous passion for creating. It’s a true blessing that I can do something I love and call it working.

AM: Many unpublished writers consider themselves “aspiring authors.” What’s your take on this? Any suggestions for newbie/ wanna-be/gonna-be authors?

DP: Writers write. I was never an aspiring songwriter. I was just a songwriter. If you want to write, then do it. Don’t think about it (unless you’re thinking about your idea).  To be good at this craft you’ve got to read a lot and write a lot. It takes time and perseverance. Unlike reality TV, there are no short cuts to success. There’s a reason nobody has made a reality show about becoming a novelist. Well, perhaps the reason is it would be a really dull reality show.

AM: Except for maybe the contestants… Thanks so much for sharing your time and insight, Daniel. Wishing you all possible success.

To learn more, including where to purchase DELIRIOUS, visit DanielPalmerBooks.com.

*****

CONTEST: Purchase DELIRIOUS today and email me a copy of your receipt for a chance to win a $20 Amazon.com gift card.

What about you? Any insight you’d like to share with Mr. Daniels? Do you consider yourself an “aspiring” author? Has adding/changing a character taken your book from good to great?

Brett Battles on Writing, Getting Published & What Life’s Like Since

New York Times best-selling author James Rollins calls Brett Battles’ work “addictive,” and I can see why. I came upon his recent release, LITTLE GIRL GONE, via Twitter, started it that day and have since added his other works to my must-read list. (See how useful #FridayReads are??? ) Lucky for us, this gem is the first in a new series.

LITTLE GIRL GONE description:

Logan Harper isn’t looking for redemption. He just wants to live in peace and forget his troubled past. But one morning his quiet life is upended when he interrupts the attempted murder of his father’s best friend Tooney.

The next thing he knows, Logan is on his way to Los Angeles, searching for Tooney’s missing granddaughter and uncovering a sinister plot connected not only to Tooney’s past, but also to the boardrooms of corporate America.

As the odds stack up against him, Logan must fall back on old skills from the life he’d rather forget. He’s made a promise, and the only way to fulfill it is to bring the girl home alive.

Here’s what others are saying about Battles and LITTLE GIRL GONE: 

“Captivating characters, nail biting tension, breathtaking action – LITTLE GIRL GONE is pure gold.”—Andrew Grant, author of Even and Die Twice

“Battles has a true gift for writing thrillers…”—CRIMESPREE magazine

“Quinn is one part James Bond, one part Jason Bourne.”—Nashville Book Worm

“Brett Battles has established himself as one of today’s best thriller writers, right up there with Lee Child, Barry Eisler, and Thomas Perry.”—Deadly Pleasures magazine

Mr. Battles is also generous. He’s running a special on Amazon.com: LITTLE GIRL GONE—the Kindle version is only 99 cents! And he took the time to answer questions for us all…

AM: You’ve said that books are writers’ classrooms. (Love that notion, by the way.) What books or authors have you learned the most from? What have they taught you?

BB: Wow. Almost every writer I’ve read would qualify, but that list would be huge. Let’s see, a few of my favorite “teachers”…Stephen King (great dialogue, description, suspense), Tim Hallinan (excellent dialogue, great characters & story), and Graham Greene (story, character, mood).

AM: If you had to trade lives with one of your characters, who would you choose? 

BB: Hmmm…Well, Jonathan Quinn is constantly in danger of getting killed, but he does go to some pretty cool places, and I love to travel, so I guess I’d have say him…hopefully minus the bullets flying in my direction.

AM: Your books move along at a rapid, “page-turner” pace. How do you accomplish this? 

BB: That’s just how I write. I don’t mean that in an arrogant kind way. I just mean I don’t know how to write a thriller any other way. It’s how the story comes to me, so that’s how it goes onto the page.

AM: What aspect of your writing career are you most proud of?

BB: That I’ve been able to write a lot of stuff that readers seem to love. That’s truly gratifying.

AM: Anything you’d change if given the opportunity?

BB: I’ve been very lucky and blessed, and am thankful for all that’s happened. So, nope, wouldn’t change a thing.

AM: How did you first get published?

BB: Ha. That’s a loaded question. I’ll give you the short version. I’d been shopping around my first novel, THE CLEANER, for about six months with a few nibbles but no bites. An author friend of mine, who was being published by a small but prestigious press here in L.A., said he’d give me an introduction to them. Long story short, the publisher—Ugly Town—bought the novel. BUT…before they could bring it out, financial issues with a distributor that had gone bankrupt forced them out of business. That could have been the end of everything, but instead of just releasing me and putting me back at square one, they sent the novel to an editor friend of theirs at Bantam Dell. That editor ended up purchasing THE CLEANER, and giving me a three book deal. All of that happened, by the way, without an agent, which I didn’t get for another four months or so.

AM: How does life as a multi-published, award-winning author vary from your pre-published writer days? Aside from perhaps fewer Ramen noodles…? 

BB: It’s completely different. Before I was on the outside looking in at a prize I’d wanted since I was in fifth grade. Seeing my book in a store was life altering. I’d always been a writer but the few people who knew that probably thought it was just a hobby. (Side note: I don’t believe in the term “aspiring writer,” if you write you’re a writer.) Once I was published, they realized it was a hell of a lot more than just a hobby, and that I actually kind of knew my way around a sentence.

AM: What can your fans look forward to next?

BB: Several things, actually. Since I’ve firmly moved into the independent writing world of ebooks, I’ve already released four novels, three shorts and a novella since last April. At the end of this month (early November latest) I’ll be releasing EVERY PRECIOUS THING, the sequel to LITTLE GIRL GONE. (By the way, in anticipation of that I’m running a special on the Kindle and Nook versions of LITTLE GIRL GONE, a full novel available for only .99) By Christmas, the plan is to release EXIT NINE, the second book in my Project Eden series. Bantam Dell is releasing my book NO RETURN at the end of January. And, finally, in the spring, I’ll be bring out my fifth Jonathan Quinn novel, THE RETURNED.

*****
What do you love about Brett Battles’ work? His insight? I always love hearing from you.

CONTEST: Purchase Little Girl Gone or any of Brett Battles’ books and email me a copy of your receipt for a chance to win a $20 Amazon.com gift card between now and December 1st. Good luck!

How I Met My Agent (And You Could, Too)

If you’re like many writers, the moment you stamped “complete” on your revised and polished manuscript, you dove into agent-seeking mode. By the time I did so, I’d asked numerous authors how they landed their agents. And wouldn’t you know, every darn story was different. Gregg Hurwitz met his through an internship. Chris Rice was born lucky. (And talented.) His mother is the renowned author, Anne Rice. Ernessa T. Carter got hers through a good ‘ol fashioned query letter. And Stacy O’Brien, via the Southern California Writers Conference. 

A multitude of options exist for writers seeking representation. I believe in taking advantage of all of them. So I sent out a slew of e-queries and signed up for several writers conferences. I’m happy to say that my efforts paid off last July at AgentFest–the “pitch session” portion of ThrillerFest–in NYC. The coordinators asked me to share some insight on my experience, which I was *thrilled* and eager to do. Here’s the story, which appears on their website:

Something Did Happen
By August McLaughlin

“So you’re going to fly across the country to one of the most expensive cities to attend a pricy conference? What if nothing happens?” a friend asked after I registered for AgentFest.

“I’m going. Something already is happening,” I replied, sensing that his skepticism was geared more toward his stay-in-Los Angeles plans than mine to attend.

I’d been to three other conferences since completing my novel, IN HER SHADOW. And although I benefited from every one, I’d met a grand total of twelve agents, several of whom did not represent thrillers. AgentFest provided an opportunity to “speed date” with rooms full of agents in my genre. (Can we say ‘heaven’???) Considering the stockpile of queries agents routinely receive, I figured any chance to stand out, demonstrate my commitment as an author and bypass the risks of accidental email deletions was worthwhile. Plus, what other opportunity do we have for immediate feedback?

It was costly, so I asked myself this: If you end up landing an agent at this conference, would the airfare, hotel and conference fees be worth it? Absolutely.

Lucky for me, that happened.

Before the two-and-a-half-hour pitch session, I stood in a long line of anxious writers, my heart pounding and palms sweating as though it really was an important first date. Thanks to a suggestion from the ThrillerFest website, I had my one-line, “What if . . .” statement prepared and an armful of information sheets with a synopsis of my novel and my name, photo and contact information.

I pitched to twelve agents and two editors. (Thankfully, my knees stopped shaking after my first.) Thirteen requested materials. About a month later, I received two emails requesting phone calls to discuss representation—one from John Rudolph of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. I knew as soon as I read John’s that I wanted to sign with him; he was my top choice of the twelve. We chatted by phone and I signed a contract the following day.

Even if I hadn’t gained representation, I would not have regretted attending. As writers, we often lead solitary lives. There’s little better than submersing ourselves in a community of others who “get” us—share similar passions and relate to the world through words and stories. You also get a gift bag of books and the opportunity to hear fantastic speakers. In this way, AgentFest beats most every conventional date I’ve been on.

I feel extremely blessed, both to have had the opportunity to attend AgentFest and to be working with agent John Rudolph.

As for my skeptical pal, he’s already signed up for next year.

******

ThrillerFest 2012 will take place July 11th – 14th in New York City. To learn more, visit ThrillerFest.com. Sign up now for an early bird discount!

For a database of literary agents and publishers, visit:
Query Tracker (Allows you to track queries sent and responses received–for free!)
Writer’s Market (Allows you to agent-seek and utilize plentiful writing/publishing resources for a modest monthly fee)
Agent Query (Super user-friendly “quick search” options – all free!)

To find writers conferences in your genre or geographical area, visit:
 Writers Conferences & Centers

What about you? Seeking an agent? Planning to pitch at a conference? Have an agent and willing to share your story? I’d love to hear from you!

Amanda Kyle Williams on Writing, Inspiration & Her Latest Hit

I was packing my bags in New York after attending ThrillerFest this past summer and nearly left Amanda Kyle Williams’ The Stranger You Seek as the hotel maid’s gift. Don’t get me wrong. The cool-book-take-away is a major perk of writer’s conferences. But I was using all of my might to close my overstuffed suitcase and refused to pay the $30 fee for checking it. (A matter of principle. Besides, wouldn’t you prefer books in lieu of cash tips?)

But then I read the first page. And the next and the next… I couldn’t put it down. The “stranger” I nearly abandoned kept me enthralled through a subway ride, airport security lines, a layover and a lengthy flight to Los Angeles, so much so I jumped when the flight attendant asked whether I’d like a beverage.

If you love thrillers, mysteries, suspense, captivating characters, supreme wittiness, great stories and great writing…Heck, if the last book you read was that dilapidated phone book in the back of your closet…I suggest you read this book. It’s so fantastic, I feel guilty having not shared it with the hotelkeeper and my bookworm heart aches at the thought of nearly missing it. (Reaches for a tissue. )

What others are saying about The Stranger You Seek:

“An electrifying thriller debut, The Stranger You Seek introduces a brash, flawed, and unforgettable heroine in a complex, twisting novel that takes readers deep into a sultry Southern summer, a city in the grips of chaos, and a harrowing cat-and-mouse game no reader will ever forget.”—Random House

“This is a character-driven, nonstop thriller with flashes of wit and romance that builds to a harrowing climax; fans of the genre will want to get in at the start.” —Booklist

“An explosive, unpredictable, and psychologically complex thriller that turns crime fiction cliches inside out….Those looking for a strong female protagonist not a sexpot and as intelligent, tough, and flawed as any male thriller hero will be richly rewarded.” —Publishers Weekly 

Now, without further ado, Ms. Amanda Kyle Williams…

AM: THE STRANGER YOU SEEK is what one might call your “breakout” novel. How does it feel to move from pre-published mystery novelist to celebrated author?
AKW: Well, it is my first major market novel so I’m pretty excited.  It’s okay to walk up and down the street wearing a sandwich sign advertising it, right?   To be honest, I’m still a little amazed. I’m a new name in mainstream crime fiction, but I’ve been blessed with some really fabulous reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus, Booklist, and The New York Times. And some wonderful established writers have taken me under their wing and been very kind in helping to promote the book. I have a great publishing house that supports me and is willing to invest in the success of this series. We’re hoping word will spread about a new kind of thriller with a very different kind of protagonist.

AM: Your main character is unique and likable. We really feel as though we’re in her head. How did you come up with Keye Street?
AKW: She’s in my head too.  Can you make her go away? Seriously. Okay, I’m kidding. Kind of. Truth is, Keye sort of just arrived on my doorstep fully formed. It’s the only experience I’ve ever had like this in creating a character. I heard her voice, her irreverent tone; I saw her face.  I knew a whole lot about her without doing any of the preliminary work I would normally do in sketching out a character. I really have no explanation for this. Keye was handed to me. But it took a bit of inspiration to get to that point.

I knew I wanted to write crime fiction. I’d been doing my homework for years to prepare to write a criminal investigative analyst intelligently. I wanted to understand how an analyst or profiler would approach a crime scene, an investigation, how one might work with a police department, and how a police department would work with a consultant. So all this had been running through my head, but I hadn’t found that voice, that right character. I ended up finding it in the most unusual place.

I was at my brother’s house one Thanksgiving. He had adopted my niece Anna from China as an infant. She was four or five that year. So this gorgeous Asian child looks up at me and says something. I don’t even remember what because I was so knocked over by her accent. She’d learned her English in the hills of North Georgia and she sounded like Ellie May Clampett. I started thinking on the drive back to Atlanta that night about what it would be like to grow up looking different from the neighbors in the South, while being a full-fledge Southerner.

I began to envision a character with these differences: Chinese, adopted by white southern parents. I pulled over that night on the Interstate and wrote the early lines for the book.  Everything else about Keye Street just landed on me. Her insecurities, her sense of humor, her propensity for inappropriate laughter,  and her Krispy Kreme habit.  And the dark side— her other addictions and demons, her past with alcohol, intimacy issues,  and her ability to make sense of behaviors evidenced at a crime scene. I was working two and sometimes three jobs at the time so it took more years to finish the book, but it began for me that night when Keye was born on I-75 South to Atlanta.

AM: What’s your writing process like?
AKW: Well I can tell you that it was much more disciplined before The Stranger You Seek was released. Publicity is a welcome distraction. I’m so grateful for it. But it is certainly a distraction.  I’m fighting now to get back to my usual, which is treating it like a job, showing up after morning dog walks and chores by about ten a.m., and putting in a minimum of six hours, more if I have it in me. I’m a slow writer and a relentless content editor. I’m that writer that will spend an hour tweaking one sentence and feeling unable to move forward until it’s tweaked. This slows the process. It’s not recommended. I’ve read all kinds of books about silencing the editor within but it’s not happening for me.

AM: Please tell me you have a cat named White Trash! What role do animals play in your writing? 
AKW: That’s so funny. Actually, my first cousin had a cat named White Trash many years ago. I thought it was hilarious. I was committed to bringing her to the page one day, this cat with the bad attitude and a mighty sense of entitlement. Animals are part of my life and, in fact, every one of my friends has animals. I had a pet sitting and dog walking business before I was a writer full-time, and I’m a founding director at a local no-kill shelter, which I link to on my website www.AmandaKyleWilliams.com. When I’m traveling, I miss my dogs and my cats. Besides bad coffee, I’m finding it’s the hardest part of leaving home.

It feels natural to bring this to my writing in small ways. Keye’s mother, Emily Street, has been working in the humane community for years and is kind of the crazy cat lady on the block. I will bring a dog into one of my character’s life by the end of the second book, Stranger In The Room.  I don’t want to distract from the fact that I’m writing a thriller series. The books are creepy as hell. But it feels natural for my characters to have to think about getting home to feed a cat or hire a dog walker or whatever.  And I will never, ever harm an animal in fiction. Never. I heard writers on a panel not long ago saying they do this to illustrate the disposition of their killer. Whatever. I’m not doing it.

AM: What do you find most challenging about writing?
AKW:  Just f-ing doing it, man. (Laughing) Sitting down. Being still. Being calm. Clearing out the cobwebs.  Listening to the story, to the characters. Slogging through the first few hours of writing total crap to get to the good stuff.  The good stuff will come if I just trust the process and nail myself to the chair. Some days this is easier than others.

AM: What do you love most?
AKW: Reading back through something and discovering it works, that it flows, that it’s smarter than I am, that somehow my writing took flight.  That and hearing my editor say the draft was approved.

AM: Any tips for up-and-coming authors?
AKW: Don’t wait for the big idea. Don’t wait for a rush of inspiration. Just sit down and start building a foundation brick-by-brick, word-by-word. The inspiration comes for me after I’ve pushed through building some kind of framework. That’s when you get to write the fun stuff.

AM: Can we look forward to more Keye Street adventures soon?
AKW: Absolutely. Stranger In The Room is being polished up right now and will be released sometime summer/fall 2012. The third book in the series, Don’t Talk To Strangers, comes out in 2013. Bantam will publish the next two. I have many more books planned in the series. And we’re fielding offers to adapt The Stranger You Seek for a television series… Did that sound cool or what? Like this kind of stuff happens all the time. I’m practicing being all casual. Apparently squealing like a little girl and jumping up and down is embarrassing to my friends and family. Go figure.

******

CONTEST! Purchase The Stranger You Seek and email me a copy of your receipt. I’ll place your name in a drawing for a $15 Amazon.com gift card.

Any thoughts to share with the fabulous Amanda Kyle Williams? Favorite books you almost didn’t read? I always love hearing from you.

Author Mike Sirota on Writing and His Latest Work

It’s been said that thriller and horror authors are the nicest people on the planet because they get all of their angst out in their fiction. Doubtful? A conversation with renowned horror author Mike Sirota might convince you otherwise.

Not only does Sirota have twenty published novels (including the recently released Fire Dance) and fourteen years as an award-winning magazine feature writer and editor under his belt, he is a kick-butt writing coach, book editor and friend who cares as much about his writers’ success as he does his own. And he took time out of his busy schedule to answer questions on our behalf. (Thanks, Mike! )

First, here is what others are saying about Sirota and his work:

“Mike Sirota is an absolute pro of a writer and, even for non-aficionados of ghost stories, these pages sing.” John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author of Treasure Hunt and Damage

“Dear Mike: What can I say? Because of your expert guidance and fine touch I’m now a published author. When we first hooked up and started working together, I worried that the job of writing my novel would be an arduous task, filled with hours of agony and tedious rewrites, but I was wrong. Your lively comments and sense of humor have made the effort truly enjoyable. You keep editing and I’ll keep writing. It’s a pleasure working with you.” Jeff Sherratt, author of Detour to Murder

About Fire Dance:
“LEGENDARY AUTHOR MIKE SIROTA RETURNS! The searing wind whistles through the ruins of Concordia Sanitarium in Southern California’s bleak Anza-Borrego Desert. Now, something else stirs: the tormented spirits of the staff and inmates who perished in an all-consuming fire over a century earlier. As one gruesome murder after another plagues the nearby quiet retirement community of Smoke Tree, Tracy Russell and Mark Alderson try desperately to stop the one inmate that should never have been released—either in life or in death.” ZOVA Books

“Sirota returns…with this atmospheric tale of horror in the American Southwest. Horror fans will enjoy this updated take on the western ghost town.” Publishers Weekly

“So great to have a new book from legendary writing coach Mike Sirota. When he writes, you should listen!” Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of Live to Tell

Here we are at his book signing at Mysterious Galaxy. Good times!

What inspired you to write Fire Dance?
MS: I go hiking in the Anza-Borrego desert, the setting for Fire Dance, at least once a year. On one trip, the old “what if” kicked in. What if, during the 1870s, they put a sanitarium in the desert where no one could run away, given the heat, the terrain, etc.? What if one inmate—Bruno—was a violent mass murderer? What if they all burned to death during a dance? And what if, over a century later, they all came back…

What aspect of Fire Dance are you most pleased with?
MS: While it is a ghost story—some even call it a horror novel—it has a strong romantic element. Tracy and Mark, the main protagonists, are two emotionally wounded people who come together in a small desert town—a retirement community, no less—under some remarkably challenging conditions. As they learn to love and trust again, their future is in doubt as they face the nightmare that is Bruno.

You have a gift for luring readers in from the get-go. How do you do it? Any tips for other writers?
MS: We call the opening of a novel the HOOK. Engage the reader on page one and don’t let go. Just recently I presented a hook workshop at a writers’ conference and I read the first page of Fire Dance to the attendees. It gratified me that they were so taken with the visualization of the desert, and the inmates wandering around the grounds in their white, ghostly shrouds. Scene builds on scene, each one designed to make the reader want to know more. Don’t bore the reader with expository narration, weather reports, the main character describing herself while looking in the mirror, the history of the world, part I, etc.

Of your many accomplishments, what makes you the most proud?
MS: All writers hope to be reviewed in Publishers Weekly, our major trade publication. Even a bad review can be a good thing. Of my first nineteen novels, not one was reviewed in PW. But Fire Dance was, and positively. It made my day.

What do you love most about writing?
MS: Just about everything. I love it when a scene comes out of my head so fast that I can’t input it quickly enough. I love doing research. The book/Internet research is cool enough, but for my final draft I do what I call “living research,” where I travel to the scene of my story to actually experience the setting. Last month I traveled to the Sierra Nevada foothills, the setting for my next novel, THE BURNING GROUND. Fantastic trip that, after I got home, enabled me to bring my pages to life. I do this for every story.

Do you make mistakes?? Let me rephrase: What aspects of writing do you find most challenging?
MS: I’m a perfectionist, so I probably go overboard in being anal. As an editor, I want no typos or other errors. As a writer I want every detail to be correct. If the woman is wearing a red dress on page 23, she’d better not be wearing a blue dress in the same scene on page 36. I’ve seen it happen—in published novels.

What common mistake(s) do you see new or up-and-coming writers make?
MS: Oh, how much time and space do you have! Weak opening hooks, inability to handle a POV (point of view), poor dialogue—I could go on and on. If you want to write a book you need to READ READ READ, which sounds basic, but you wouldn’t believe how many writers hardly read. Some writers even try to write in a genre of which they have never read a single book—because the genre is selling, they think.

Take writing classes. Go to writers’ conferences. Join a read-critique group. Read books about all aspects of writing. Subscribe to THE WRITER and WRITER’S DIGEST. Learn your craft!

Anything you wish you’d done differently throughout your career?
MS: I always tell writers to keep their day jobs. Had I followed that advice for myself years ago, I might have kept writing and improving my craft, instead of taking a hiatus of about seventeen years.

If you could give one bit of advice to writers, what would you suggest? Write for the love of writing. If you write to become a bestselling author and make a gazillion dollars, you will likely fail.

What’s next in the pipeline? I mentioned THE BURNING GROUND. It’s another ghost story, and also a romance, this time with three emotionally wounded people: a man, a woman, and a ten-year-old boy. It also became a statement book, as it involves a small Sierra foothill Native American tribe, the Maidu (they’re for real), and one particular village where everyone is exterminated by miners during the Gold Rush (true). Their spirits remain trapped here, and in the contemporary story their graves are desecrated by “thieves of time” (also a real problem) for artifacts. Now the spirits are really pissed, and guess what…

CONTEST!!! Order Fire Dance or Demon Shadows (Kindle edition). Send a copy of your purchase confirmation to august@augustmclaughlin.com and I’ll place your name in a drawing for a $20 iTunes gift card. And as always, I welcome your thoughts!

Phobias: When Fear Overwhelms Us

“I’m terrified! No, petrified. No… There isn’t a word strong enough to describe it. It’s like I have flu, only with my heart pounding, and it HURTS! Nauseas, dizzy. I can’t stop shaking… Is this what a heart attack feels like? At least that would get me out of here, not that I want to be in the hospital. But maybe…ANYwhere but here. SOMEONE HELP!!!” – excerpt from my 8th grade journal

Any guess what I was referring to? I’ll give you a hint. It stinks, can turn blond hair greenish and sounds like “swish, swish”…or, when I’m around, “AGGGHHH!”

Yep—swimming class. I don’t know where my fear came from, but others in my family share it and trust me, it had nothing to do with the stench or hair tint. And although I made a huge personal step by dipping fully below the water and floating for the very first time about six years ago (I call this swimming), the mere thought of chlorinated swimming pools inspires nausea. *Pauses for a ginger-chew.*

Specific phobia, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, involves “marked and persistent fear and avoidance of a specific object or situation,” including, but not limited to, the fear of heights, spiders and flying. Roughly 9 percent of the U.S. population experiences them, 21.9 percent of whom with severe symptoms.

To someone who’s never experienced such fear, they seem ludicrous. But when you have a phobia, it seems like the most logical thing in the world. When people tell me they don’t recall not knowing how to swim, that it’s as natural as breathing in and out, I’m as dumbfounded as they are when I share my need for floaties and, most preferably, dry land.

Some of the more common phobias, according to MayoClnic.com, include fear of: enclosed spaces (claustrophobia), heights (acrophobia), animals (zoophobia), flying, storms, dentists, injections, bridges, tunnels and my personal fave, water (hydrophobia).

Social phobia involves intense social shyness and self-conciousness. Agoraphobia, which affected Sigorney Weaver’s character in the film, “Copycat,” involves fear of open places with no simple means of escape.

Uncommon phobias, which are debilitating to a very few people, include:

• Ambulophobia: the fear of walking
• Anablephobia: the fear of looking up
• Arachibutyrophobia: the fear of peanut butter sticking to your mouth
• Barophobia: the fear of gravity
• Cataptrophobia: the fear of mirrors
• Chionophobia: the fear of snow
• Chromatophobia: the fear of colors
• Chronomentrophobia: the fear of time
• Genuphobia: the fear of knees
• Geumapobia: the fear of taste
• Hypnophobia: the fear of sleep
• Mnemophobia: the fear of memories
• Peladophobia: the fear of bald people
• Siderophobia: the fear of stars
• PhobiaPhobia: the fear of fear itself (Okay, I made that one up. But it’s possible, no?)

I’m certainly no psychological or scientific expert, but I do know this: Facing your fears can have a profoundly empowering effect. Just ask the two-year-olds in my break-through swimming class!  What personal fears have you overcome? What did you learn? Or is yours still on your ‘someday’ list?

Secret Seduction

I saw a fabulous movie yesterday—”The Debt,” starring Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington, Jessica Chastain and Marton Csokas. I don’t want to spoil it if you haven’t yet seen it (I hope you do!) but I will tell you this: It got me thinking…about secrets.

What would I do, if presented with the same secret? How many of us have secrets? What are the advantages of keeping or revealing them? What are the deciding factors that lead us to the secret-keeping decision in the first place? And what are the risks?

These questions are some of the reasons secrets make for such fascinating tales—whether we’re aware of the hidden truth or not. They seduce us with questions that challenge our own beliefs and choices, the proverbial “What if…?”

In “The Debt” three former Mossad agents keep a secret for decades. As viewers, we absorb the secret’s weighty consequences long before we (or at least I) realize what it is.

One of my favorite books, “The Big Picture,” by Douglas Kennedy, centers on a wealthy lawyer with a seemingly perfect life. From the beginning, we know about the snap decision he makes to save his life and his future, only to end it all for someone else. Yet, we can’t stop flipping the pages.

Keeping an unwanted secret makes way for tumult.

“People will tend to misread the return of unwanted thoughts. We don’t realize that in keeping it secret we’ve created an obsession in a jar,” said Daniel Wegner, a Harvard psychologist who investigated the effects of secret-keeping among humans.

The longer we keep it, the more capacity it has to magnify and grow. Although this makes for awesome fiction, it can zap the pleasure from our lives.

Secrets can also draw people closer together. Two siblings who keep a secret, positive or negative, from their parents, for example, create a common bond. The same might happen for a couple, both of whom cheating on their spouses. They share much more than the same hotel room bed…

One of the worst kinds of secret, in my opinion, are ones we keep about our desires solely within, or even from, ourselves: An artist who never puts his paintbrush to the page…a writer too afraid of failure to write Chapter One… Another in a damaging relationship who never admits she’s unhappy, and thus never leaves.

In an interview with “USA Weekend,” Anita Vangelisti, a researcher and professor of communication studies at the University of Texas-Austin, said that most people say they will keep a secret, only to tell another: “I promised I wouldn’t say anything, but…” Only about 10 percent of people reportedly keep secrets “no matter what.”

So what’s your deepest, darkest secret? KIDDING! I won’t make that silly move, but I would love to hear your thoughts on secret-keeping. If it’s for a good cause, is it all good? What has life taught you about secret-keeping? And…because I love a good thriller—any secretive books or movies you’d recommend?

If you do wish to share your secrets, “there’s an app for that.” Check out Post Secret to share and absorb others’ secrets from around the world.

Facing the Enemy: Vital Steps Toward Success

“I could see him on the three-inch viewer, sitting on a ragged couth, feet on the edge of a wooden utility spool coffee table. He appeared to be alone, a beer in his right hand, his left hand in his lap and partially hidden from view. You hiding something under there, big guy? 

Hovering in the damp air around the front porch, just above the sweet, sick scent of trash and empty beer cans, was the aroma of something synthetic like superglue and Styrofoam. 

I triggered off the safety, then tapped on the front door. “ 

This excerpt from Amanda Kyle Williams’ novel, “The Stranger You Seek” (which I highly recommend) illustrates one of the reasons we love suspenseful tales. The protagonist, knowing the risky nature of her actions, takes them anyway. Why? Because her mission requires them. We cheer the heroine on, living vicariously through her trials and successes, hopefully gaining not only entertainment, but inspiration.

When I tell people I’m a writer, I’m often asked, “What do you do about writer’s block?” “I’m writing a book, too…but it’s so hard to sit down and write,” is also common. Rather than go into lengthy explanatory responses, I usually say something like, “I have my challenges…luckily those aren’t mine.” (I actually don’t even believe in writer’s block, but I’ll save that for another post…)

Regardless of what our goals our, reaching them requires maximizing on our strengths and facing our challenges/obstacles and weaknesses head on. How boring would a suspense novel be if the FBI agent, sensing danger, dashed home to distract herself via Facebook, Twitter and Yahoo! News rather than pursue it?

I personally face a struggle almost every darn night. SLEEP.  It’s taken me years to come to terms with the fact that sufficient sleep is A, necessary and B, damaging to go without it. And if I don’t turn in early most evenings, I won’t have the early-morning gusto to bring to the page each day. Rather than whine about it (okay, I may whine a little…), I challenged myself to rest more often, read a great book by renowned sleep expert Dr. Matthew Edlund, REST: Why Sleep Alone is Not Enough and began changing my sleeping habits—not because I thought it would be fun, but because my success as a writer and my overall wellbeing depend on it.

And simply by posting my sleep goals here, stating them “aloud” for others to see, I’m increasing my chance for success. A Yale study conducted by Dr. Gail Matthews showed that people who share their goals and goal-reaching updates with friends are 33% more likely to accomplish them.

So…yep. You guessed it. I’d like you to share your goals here. You are the protagonist in your own life. What challenges stand between you and your goals? What are you willing to do to surpass them?