I am very excited to be a part of this awesome boxed set, and you can PRE-ORDER now for just .99! And make sure to check back DECEMBER 8th-16th, because we are running  very cool scavenger hunt. Prizes include 1 Kindle Paperwhite + 6 signed paperback copies of the 6 books in the bundle available in paperback!

BUY LINKS – ORDER NOW FOR JUST .99!

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http://bit.ly/1vgaGq2 (iBooks)

Cold nights, Hot Heroes, and Eight Deadly Secrets…
Snuggle up to 8 riveting Romantic Suspense stories involving 8 Hot Heroes from all walks of life who will do anything to protect those they love.

Dee J. Adams, Award Winning Author
IMMINENT DANGER (Adrenaline Highs Series Book 5) – Bad Timing Can Cost Your Life.
“…Between the sweet and steamy romance and the heart-pounding (literally) suspense… It was such a thrill…”
Chris Almeida & Cecilia Aubrey, Readers’ Favorite Gold Award Winning Authors
COUNTERMEASURE (Countermeasure Series Book 1) – They’ll Have To Trust Each Other In Order To Survive.
“Amidst the heartwarming and beautifully written love story was a very cleverly and intelligently constructed suspense and mystery.”
Carolyn Crane, RITA Award Winning Author
OFF THE EDGE (Undercover Associates Series Book 2) – He’s A Spy Who Uses Language To Hunt Criminals. She’s A Poet With Deadly Enemies.
“Off the Edge is such a well-crafted romantic suspense story. Full of action and sparkling chemistry between Laney and Peter, this book is so much fun to read.”
Misty Evans, USA Today Bestseller
OPERATION SHEBA (Super Agent Series Book 1) – He’ll Go Under The Deepest Cover Possible to Save Her Life.
“Evans takes readers on an edge-of-your-seat thriller into the secretive world of CIA operatives. A love triangle and a mole in the agency make this one story you won’t want to put down.”
Adrienne Giordano, USA Today Bestseller
THE EVASION (Justifiable Cause Series Book 2) – The World Of Knock-Offs Isn’t As Frivolous As It Appears.
“Adrienne Giordano delivers everything romantic suspense readers want…”
Stacy Green, Best Selling Mystery and Thriller Author
TIN GOD (Delta Crossroads Series Book 1) – The Truth Can Be As Deadly As Any Weapon.
“Stacy Green has written an emotionally charged, thought-provoking and stunning mystery/suspense that will capture and hold you hostage until the last page is read.”
Katie Reus, New York Times – USA Today Best Seller
MIAMI, MISTLETOE, and MURDER (Red Stone Security Series Book 4) – She’ll Fight To Protect Those She Cares About. He’ll Fight To Protect Her.
“Well written and a beautiful addition to an interesting series, Miami, Mistletoe, & Murder is a great read to keep you warm on a cold winter’s night.”
Joan Swan, New York Times – USA Today Best Seller
FIRST TEMPTATION (Covert Affairs Series Book 2) – He’ll Have To Go Deep Undercover To Expose Her Darkest, Sexiest Desires.
“I love Joan Swan’s writing as even in a novella she manages to capture the heart of her characters.”

Lucy is a vigilante killer of pedophiles, and her preferred method is cyanide. In the first few pages of ALL GOOD DEEDS, it’s mentioned that she’s taken this idea from Richard Kuklinksi, also known as The Iceman.

Kuklinski, according to the undercover detective who spent 18 months building a case against him, liked to carry a nasal spray bottle filled with cyanide and give his victims a spritz. When I first starting researching for ALL GOOD DEEDS, I had my doubts about this method, so I contacted the writer’s go-to forensic guy, Dr. DP Lyle. He confirmed that cyanide absorbed through the skin would definitely kill in a matter of minutes, and that many times it’s missed at autopsy unless it’s being specifically looked for. So Kuklinksi’s method worked, but his cyanide trick was just one of many. He administered it by injection, putting it on food, by aerosol spray, or with the Lucy Kendall method: spilling it on the person’s skin.

Enjoying his notoriety after his arrest and subsequent conviction, Kuklinksi appeared in two HBO documentaries. He also met with a number of writers, psychiatrists and criminologists. He liked to list his methods of killing: firearms; ice picks; hand grenades; crossbows; chainsaws; and a bomb attached to a  remote control car. The Iceman nickname appeared after his claim that he froze corpses to disguise time of death.

As a contract killer for Newark’s DeCavalacante crime family and NYC’s Five Families of the America Mafia, Kuklinkski claimed to have murdered between 100 and 250 men. The crime families dispute his role in any contract killings.

Kuklinksi told police he dismembered his victims, as well as burying them, placing the body in the trunk of a car and having it crushed at a junkyard, leaving bodies on park benches, and placing them in a 55 gallon drum.

Although Kuklinksi had a flair for the dramatic and claimed to have a role in killing Jimmy Hoffa–a claim with zero evidence–the undercover investigation into his activities resulted in enough evidence for him to be convicted of five murders in 1988. He received consecutive life sentences for these murders.

Kuklinksi died in March 2006 in the prison wing of St. Francis Hospital in Trenton, New Jersey. He was 70 years old.

SOURCE

SOURCE

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In my new thriller ALL GOOD DEEDS, former Child Protective Services worker turned private investigator and vigilante killer of pedophiles Lucy Kendall states very clearly that pedophiles can’t be cured. She bases her opinion on 10 years with CPS and seeing countless repeat offenders, as well as national statistics.

Lucy, as so many of our characters do, gets this very hardline belief from her creator. I don’t think they can be cured, and I really don’t believe they should have a second chance. But let me clarify, for myself and for Lucy: I’m distinguishing between pedophiles and registered sex offenders. While many registered sex offenders are pedophiles, the term and the law encompasses a wide range of acts and ages. You can read more about it here.  Lucy is after child molesters.

Which brings me to the question: should our laws be tightened to ensure a child molester never gets out? I realize that brings up the massive budgetary issues our state and federal prisons face, but how many repeat offenders are there in this country? How many kids are molested by someone who was once incarcerated for the same crime but was released because time was served? I don’t believe these people can control their urges–even the few who actually want to.

Consider the case of Joe Ed Davis, a Texas man convicted of indecency with a child for the second time. Under Jessica’s Law, Texas sentenced him to an enhanced sentence of life in prison instead of the usual two to twenty year sentence for the Second Degree Felony. Jessica’s Law was signed into effect in 2007, the result of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford’s kidnapping, rape, and murder by John Couey. Couey was a registered offender. Jessica’s father Mark Lunsford fought for tougher sex offender laws throughout the United States. About 30 state legislatures have taken varied approaches, but the main component is a 25-year mandatory sentence and lifetime electronic monitoring.

Oklahoma is working to implement the death sentence for repeat child molesters.

But is that enough? Why do these monsters who go over children, get a second chance at all? Why must there be at least one more victim before they are permanently stopped? The answer is only simple if you look at it from an emotional standpoint, and unfortunately, lawmakers can’t do that. It’s a tangled mess that will likely never be solved. As a mother, all I know is that if someone did that to my child, I would be hard pressed to think of any law or have any sort of compassion to give someone a second chance.

And those questions led me to the creation of Lucy Kendall. She spent 10 years in our convoluted system trying to help kids and seeing the worst happen over and over again. One of her first cases involved eleven-year-old Justin Beckett, who raped and murder his neighbor and friend. Justin served his time and was released as an adult. Lucy snapped, and then started learning the benefits of cyanide. In ALL GOOD DEEDS, she’s confident she’s on the right path. But then a little girl goes missing, and she just happens to live across the street from Justin Beckett, the very man Lucy begged the courts not to release.

Loaded with guilt and a little self-righteous attitude, Lucy sets off to find the little girl herself and prove to the world she was right about Justin Beckett all along.

What do you think about repeat child molesters? Should it be one and done no matter the cost?

ALL GOOD DEEDS is available now.

I never expected to be a success out of the gate–that’s a rarity and usually happens to someone with major house backing. My goal was to put out the best books I could and continue to improve my craft. After hiring a freelance editor who worked with Penguin NAL, I know I’ve done that. And every day I focus on putting out better stories. That said, there are those days when I wish for the big numbers of my more established peers. I do believe the key to building an audience lies in writing more books, and that much of the time and money new authors spend toward marketing is a waste, but that doesn’t stop me from sometimes feeling like I’m still on the outside of the ballroom, hoping to be allowed into the exclusive dance. That said, I believe in my writing 100%, and I have big plans for 2014.

So after a year in this business (and don’t get me wrong, I’m still very much a newbie), what would I tell someone getting ready to publish their first novel?

• If you’re independently publishing, put your money into editing. Do your research and hire a developmental editor – one with experience editing the genre you write. A critique partner is NOT the same as an editor, especially for a newer writer.
• Hire a separate line editor. This is different from developmental editor. This is about sentence structure, grammar, etc. A good line editor is worth the investment because they can prevent a lot of the grammar issues that seem to be a major issue with independently published books.
• If you’re going with a small press, make sure their editing is top notch. Read their books and look for quality of plot and grammar.
• If you’re going with a small press, stop and think about that decision. In this digital world, unless you go with a small press that has some pull with bookstores or marketing, it might not be the best investment of your money. Depending on the press, you won’t have much control over pricing and sales, and that makes a big difference. A huge part of the success of many independently published authors is working their prices and staggering their sales.
• Understand cover art and hire an artist who gets the differences between genres. This was a major mistake with my Delta Crossroads Series. The original covers were beautiful and professional, but they didn’t fit in with the suspense genre. My new cover artist finally told me that my books resemble Lisa Gardners, and asked if my covers looked like hers. When I realized that huge difference, the genre thing finally clicked.
• Don’t spend a bunch of money in marketing. I’ve learned the hard way that there isn’t much point in investing a lot until you’ve got at least three books out and if possible, an entire series. Readers are so inundated with options many don’t want to invest their time and money in an author until they have more books, and an entire series is available to them. I don’t read like that, so it was hard for me to get that mentality. But after taking a step back and listening to established (and successful) indie authors, I had to admit this was absolutely true.
• Write the next book. Invest your time in coming up with great plots and characters.
• Read a lot. It really does make a difference.
• Study what your peers are doing. Look at authors who’ve had successful book launches and see what they are doing on Facebook.
• Be accessible, and be grateful for every reader. Most of us are starting from the ground up, building an audience reader by reader. Embrace that. Get to know your readers and make sure they understand how important they are to you.
• Start a mailing list. Give those readers something special. You may have to play around and figure out what that something special needs to be, but a mailing list is a great way to build loyal readers.
• Keep writing. Don’t get boiled down in numbers. Don’t check them half a dozen times a day. Keep writing.
• Whether you have an agent and are seeking traditional publishing or publishing independently, you are a brand and a business. Don’t make decisions based on emotion. Do what is best for the long term career you’re after.
• This is a business. Most success stories don’t come overnight. WORK HARD. Be a student of craft and of the industry. Realize this is an all hours a day job.
• Stay positive. You are lucky to be following your dream and brave to be embarking down this road. Good luck!

Don’t forget about the Kindle Giveaway to celebrate my one year in publishing! Contest ends December 13th!

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SKELETON’S KEY Delta Crossroads #2
10.28.13

“So is my being a killer. I have no motive.”

“But you do. And you had the means. And the opportunity. Look, Cage, I’ve been on your side until now. But frankly, it’s starting to look pretty dark for you. Your affinity for history is no secret. You tried hard to save the Semple farm, and the effort failed. Then you take to Ironwood. A psychologist might wonder if you were compensating for your inability to save Lana.”

Cage bit his tongue and tasted blood.

“Ironwood is alone and unloved. Maybe you feel some sort of odd kinship with the place. Protective. You’re putting your own sweat and blood into cleaning her up. Then these two men show up with no regard for the house. You snap. Bury the bodies where it’s convenient and figure you’ll move them later.”

Anyway, I wanted to do something special for those of you who’ve been reading my posts since the beginning and helping to spread the word about my books. And since I’ve bombarded you with various versions of “buy my book,” I wanted to give you guys the chance to read the next book for free! 

Some business next, but make sure you check below to find out how to snag some free and cheap stuff. Subscribers, make sure you read!

But what about content? Here’s the thing: my writing has to come first. I’ve got two releases slated for 2013 and will likely be adding a third. And whether you are a writer, reader, or casual observer, you don’t have any more time to read my long posts than I have to write them.

So we’re shaking things up. Most of you know I’m a research nerd, so we’re talking Twisted Facts on Monday. Short, interesting, (sometimes) fun facts on history, crime, technology, and whatever else catches my eye that day.

Thriller Thursdays will still feature Twisted Minds, but they’re going to be shorter and much easier to read through. I’ll also be featuring Thrilling Reads on my Facebook Author Page on Thursdays, highlighting some of my favorite suspense/thriller writers as well as up and comers, so don’t miss that.

Finally, I’m introducing a new feature I’m really excited about: Twisted Reads – Author Book Lists. Two Saturdays a month, I’ll have a guest author talking about the last great book they read and why it twisted their minds. If you’re an author and would like to sign up, please email me at stacygreenauthor@gmail.com.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVES

Subscribers: I’m going to be moving the blog to my website soon, so you will need to resubscribe through Feedburner for blog updates.

Because re-subscribing to the blog is a pain and my Feedburner is lonely, I’m entering everyone who signs up for the blog by January 17th into a drawing for a $20 Amazon Gift Card.

All you have to do is CLICK HERE and Follow Instructions. You can also go to the link in my right sidebar and SIGN UP FOR FEEDBURNER UPDATES VIA EMAIL.

You’ll also receive an invite to join my newsletter. By joining, you’ll not only get first crack at all contests, but you’ll also receive exclusive pricing on all future releases. The newsletter is monthly, and to sign up now, head on over here. You can also wait for the email, but I WILL NOT subscribe you without your permission. The party is no fun if you don’t want to be there.

Everyone who joins by January 31st will receive a free digital copy of my short story, Welcome To Las Vegas.

Thanks so much for making 2012 an amazing year, and I can’t wait to see what 2013 brings for all of us.

Do you have any New Year’s resolutions or changes to share?

Happy Sunday, everyone! I’m very excited to be taking part in a the latest blog hop from the WG2E Street Team. Nine authors have new releases and to celebrate, we’re showcasing our new books at the Beach Book Blast website and at our sister site at the RG2E. There’s something for everyone–from Romantic Suspense, to Holiday romance, to YA Dystopian, and mysteries. To make the event even more fun, we’ve added a blog hop where readers can connect to their favorite authors and learn what great books, characters, or authors have inspired them.

What’s my inspiration as a writer?

I  was in high school when I read Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, and I remember being completely swept up in the world she created. Not just the vampire lore she built nearly from scratch, but the worlds she took us to and the emotional roller coaster she put her readers on. I remember thinking if I could ever do half as good a job at telling a story as Anne Rice did with the Vampire Chronicles, I’d be a successful writer.

I don’t write paranormal–I write suspense and thrillers, but I still want to elicit that same bone-chilling, heart pounding joy ride Anne Rice inspired in me. I want readers to feel as though they are in the moment, as if they’ve stepped into my pages, wherever I’ve taken them. I’m sure I’m nowhere near her level, but it’s what I aspire to every time I sit down to work.

I’m so thankful to have picked up those books, to authors like Anne Rice, Stephen King, Thomas Harris, Alice Walker, and so many more who have given us such amazing books to learn from.

Here’s an exclusive sneak peek from my debut suspense novel, INTO THE DARK.

Welcome, Kassandra!

Thanks, Stacy, for having me, although I have to admit, I’m a little afraid of the dark. Something tells me you’re going to help me overcome that!

You write the Kate Huntington mystery series, centered around a psychotherapist. Tell us about Kate. Where did she come from? How much of her is based on your background as a psychotherapist?

Kate is third-generation Irish-American; her parents, who occasionally make appearances in the books, still have a bit of a brogue. She’s got the “Black Irish” combination of dark curly hair, fair skin and blue eyes. I made her Irish-American because that’s my husband’s heritage. Then I married her off to a WASP, thus the Huntington last name.

Personality-wise, Kate started out as me, or rather my ideal self. She is much more consistently caring and compassionate than I am, and she loses her temper less often and calms down a lot faster. Her role as a therapist is definitely patterned after my own experiences.

But as the series has evolved, Kate has become her own person. She’s had different experiences than mine, and they have shaped her. It never ceases to amaze me, as an author, how characters truly take on a life of their own.

Kate’s character wasn’t the actual inspiration for the series, however. That came from a disappointing platonic friendship with the real-life counterpart to my character, Rob Franklin, who is Kate’s closest friend. Writing about a healthy platonic friendship started out as a healing exercise, and the next thing I knew I was writing a novel.

Your degree is in psychology. What specific areas do you specialize in, and how do those play into your writing?

I’m retired now, but I was a trauma recovery specialist, working with adults who were dealing with emotional scar tissue from their childhoods–parental death, alcoholism in the household, physical or sexual abuse, etc.

Kate also is a trauma recovery specialist, but unlike me, she leads a much more interesting life. She has a propensity for getting into scary, sometimes downright terrifying, situations.

My stories about her are good old-fashioned whodunnits, but also with a lot of emphasis on the characters’ relationships with each other. I throw in a bit of humor as well, to lighten the mood occasionally.

My goal is to entertain first and foremost, but also to educate a bit along the way. As a reader, I love that kind of novel myself–a book that provides good entertainment and escapism, but I also know some things when I put it down that I didn’t know before, whether it’s about a certain occupation or a time in history or whatever.

In my books, I try to give short glimpses into the world of psychotherapy… what it’s like to be the client but also what’s going through the therapist’s head, something most people wouldn’t normally be privy to.

I also highlight different psychological disorders and phenomena in each book. Domestic violence and multiple personalities, which is actually called dissociative identity disorder now, in Book 1. Thus the title, Multiple Motives. And this new book deals with recovery from child sexual abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder.

We love bad guys here at Turning The Page – tell us about yours. What’s your process of creating his character?

Hmm, that’s tough to answer without giving too much away. My villains usually operate behind the scenes, for the most part. Bad things are happening and Kate and her friends are trying to figure out who’s making them happen. They usually have an array of suspects so I’m developing the characters of a whole bunch of potential bad guys and gals.

But to get back to the question, how do I create the actual bad guy or gal’s character? When I get an idea for a book, I usually have at least a vague sense of who the villain’s going to be. I start by writing the beginning of the book, to establish the theme of the story, what it’s about.

Then I write the ending, where the true culprit is revealed. Once I know what point A and point B are, I write an outline of how I’m going to get from A to B, so that by the ending, the bad guy or gal’s motivations make sense to the reader.

Then I start writing the book. I often end up with a different opening than the original, but the ending rarely changes all that much.

You’ll have to invite me back, Stacy, when my seventh book comes out, and ask me that question again.  *slightly evil smile*  The bad guy in that one is going to be a true, make-the-hair-stand-up-on-the-back-of-your-neck villain, as in a serial killer.

You’re getting ready to launch the third book in the Kate Huntington series, Family Fallacies. It delves into some pretty intense stuff: trauma recovery, suppressed memories, and the false memory controversy. Can you tell us more about the book? How do you handle writing something with such intense issues?

I gotta admit that Family Fallacies is my favorite in the series so far, even though as you say, it covers some intense stuff. But writing about it is not all that hard, compared to 20 years of working with people who were dealing with the real thing.

Surprisingly, none of my advanced readers found it to be difficult to handle. I think that’s because there are two storylines. Weaving back and forth between them lessens the intensity considerably. I also don’t get graphic in my descriptions of the memories; that isn’t necessary for the story to make sense. And then there’s that occasional dash of humor.

One storyline is Kate’s story. She is falling in love while still struggling with grief for her late husband. She’s holding her new guy at arm’s length and he’s trying to be patient, but she’s worried he’s going to give up on her before she’s able to move forward in the relationship.

Then she starts getting anonymous notes, that go from weird and disturbing to threatening to “destroy” her family. That is Kate’s Achilles’ heel. She’s brave and strong when it comes to herself, but threats against those she loves terrify her.

Meanwhile Kate’s client, Audrey, is starting to have memories of sexual abuse bubble up into conscious awareness. She thinks the abuser is her father, but the face in the memories is not clear. Kate keeps telling her to go slow, not to try to force it, but Audrey is not a very patient person. Eventually there is a confrontation between her and her father that results in Audrey cutting off contact with her parents.

The two stories start to come together when Audrey’s parents sue Kate for supposedly planting false memories in their daughter’s head. Then one of the parties in the lawsuit gets themselves killed and now Kate is a murder suspect.

You started down your publishing journey later than some of us – what lit the spark?

Publishing, yes; writing no. I’ve been a writer, well, since I learned to write. You should see some of the poems I wrote in high school.  *laughs*  Then again, maybe you shouldn’t. They were pretty awful.

I started Multiple Motives in 1995. I had published several professional articles by then, but it was the first piece of fiction that I actually thought was worth publishing. I got about one third of the way into it and lost my momentum, partly because I had a day job and a teenager to finish raising. But mainly because I knew that I did not have the patience to deal with the publishing industry. It’s not that I can’t handle rejection; it’s that I have no tolerance for unnecessary obstacles, created by the very people who are supposed to be on your side.

All three Kate Huntington books are self-published. Why’d you decide to go that route? Did you query at all?

I did query some, last spring and early summer, when Multiple Motives was finished. I decided that, maybe I couldn’t handle the flawed nature of the publishing world in my early 40’s, but at almost 60, it was time to put on my big girl pants and deal with it. Meanwhile, I was cranking out the first drafts of three more books.

I hated every minute spent on the querying process, mainly because it is so much effort and so much agony for so little return. When you finally land an agent, you are still a long way away from a published book.

Then I went to a writers’ conference in late August and two little miracles happened. One of the presentations was on e-publishing. The presenter was a well-established author, with a publisher, who, for a variety of reasons, had more recently gone the self- publishing route. My eyes went wide, my mouth dropped open and I thought, “This is for me!”

The second little miracle was that I had a glass of wine with Shannon Esposito at the cocktail party at the end of the conference. We had chatted earlier in the weekend about something inane–hairdressers, I believe it was–but as we sat down to relax over a glass of chardonnay, something clicked. By the time her delightful husband came to pick her up, we were both a little looped and we had decided two things: we were going to stay in touch and we were going to check into this self-publishing thing. Her husband, Dan, very graciously invited me to join them for dinner and even managed to look interested while we talked books for the rest of the evening.

Now Shannon and I are partners in a small indie press, misterio press. And we have another mystery writer who has joined us, JoAnn Bassett. misterio press basically operates as a cooperative for indie mystery writers and our goal is to establish a reputation for top-quality self-published mysteries.

And as I’m saying all this, I’m thinking, “Wow, how far we have come in less than a year!” Shannon has two books out and they are doing very well and I’m releasing book three.

Both of us would still be sending out queries in the traditional publishing world.

What’s the best part of the self-publishing experience? The worst?

One of the best things is what I just mentioned. In traditional publishing, even if, by some miracle, we had both landed agents and publishing contracts quickly, our first books would still not be out yet. The average turn-around from contract signing to book hits the shelves is at least a year.

With self-publishing, you forego the whole seeking an agent and publisher part. You hire your own professional editor to polish your work; you get a good cover artist and e-book formatting company lined up, if you don’t have the talent to do those things yourself, and you can have your baby out there within months. And it’s not prohibitively expensive. My average cost per e-book is $1,000. And it’s going to be less than that in the future, because a lot of those services I paid for in the past will be available for me through the misterio press cooperative.

The other big deal for me is that you have complete creative control. I am a control freak, so I love that! You pick the title and you have the final say in editorial changes and cover art. I’ve heard horror stories about authors who were forced to change things they really didn’t want to change, and I was very much afraid that would happen with Multiple Motives. If a publisher’s editor had insisted that I create sexual energy between Kate and Rob, that would have been a deal breaker. Then the book would have become just another tawdry example of how unhealthy humans can be. I wanted it to provide an example how platonic friendships can be healthy.

What’s the worst thing? The promotional stuff is very time-consuming, but these days traditionally-published authors are expected to participate in social media, so I’m really not doing all that much more than I would be doing anyway. And it’s fun to connect with people all over the world. I’ve gotten some terrific support from other authors, like you, Stacy, through social media. So I’m not complaining too loud about the time spent on Twitter and Facebook and such.

Are you planning anything exciting for Family Fallacies?

Actually yes, misterio press in having a contest, to celebrate the book’s release. Anyone who comments here will have their name put in the hat to win a free three-book set of the series to date. Then if they go to our blog at  www.misteriopress.com and read about how ghosts might just be capable of getting jealous, we’ll put their names in the hat again. And if they stop by any of the rest of my blog stops this week and comment there, yet another entry goes into the hat, up to six maximum.

The winner will be chosen at midnight Friday and announced at each of the blogs, including ours, on Saturday.

Last but not least, what do you do when you’re not writing? Favorite book? Movie? Vacation?

*laughs*  Mostly I sleep, and often not enough of that. Writing has taken over my life the last couple years. My husband looks at me funny when I show up at the dinner table–he’s the cook in the family–as if to say, “ Do I know you?”

But I do try to carve out time for reading. It is my favorite form of relaxation. I try to read a lot of indie writers now, both to support them and to see what exciting things they are doing.

And my husband and I love to travel. We just got back from a trip to Alaska. What a breathtakingly beautiful state! I hope to have my pictures up on Facebook soon. Just hasn’t made it to the top of the to-do list yet.

Thanks so much for talking with me today, Kassandra!

I’ve really enjoyed it. You are a gem, Stacy, for having me! I hope you’ll come visit me and Shannon soon.

And thanks to all your followers and friends for stopping by. Good luck in the contest!

Oops, almost forgot. Here are the rest of the blog stops this week:

Tuesday, 6/12 – Why Do We Hurt The Ones We Love? – Rhonda Hopkins lets me get serious about some, well, serious stuff, at http://rhondahopkins.com

Wednesday, 6/13 – “Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Beautiful” – Lightening things up a bit as I talk about body image and self-esteem as the guest of Alica McKenna Johnson at http://alicamckennajohnson.com

Thursday, 6/14 – A Check-Up From the Neck Up – Hanging out with Ginger Calem, of world-renowned Writer’s Butt Wednesdays fame, and sharing some tips for maintaining your mental health, at  http://gingercalem.wordpress.com

Friday, 6/15 – Chatting with Jennifer L. Oliver about writing, eating and puppy dogs (no puppy dogs will be harmed in the process) at http://www.small-escapes.com

Kassandra Lamb’s Bio

Psychology and writing, or writing and psychology, if you will, have always vied for number one on Kassandra Lamb’s Greatest Passions list. In her youth, she had to make a decision between writing and paying the bills. Partial to heat, electricity and food, she studied psychology.

Now retired from a career as a psychotherapist and college professor, she spends most of her time in an alternate universe in which her protagonist, Kate Huntington, is always the kind, generous and insightful person that she wishes she were.

When not at her computer, transported in mind and spirit into Kate’s world, she lives in Florida and Maryland, with her husband and her Alaskan Husky, Amelia. She also hangs out a lot on Twitter and Facebook, so feel free to track her down there @KassandraLamb and http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/kassandra.lamb.

I’m leaving later today to visit my best friend in the Twin Cities, so I’m reblogging this post. The Villisca Axe Murders were my second ever Thriller Thursday, and this is a new, much improved version.

On June 10, 1912, the sleepy little town of Villisca, Iowa was changed forever. Josiah Moore, his wife Sarah, their four children (Herman, Katherine, Boyd, and Paul), and two friends were found murdered in their beds, their skulls crushed. Lena and Ina Stillinger had gone to church with the Moore’s and had been invited by Katherine to spend the night.

The crime has never been solved.

The bodies were discovered when a neighbor realized the Moore’s hadn’t started their outside chores. Josiah’s brother went to the house to check on the family and found them all brutally murdered.

Word of the bodies spread and inexperienced police lost control of the crime scene. Historical counts have more than one hundred people traipsing through the house to gawk at the bodies before the National Guard arrived.

In town, shock and grief led to frightened citizens taking up arms and suspecting one another. Reporters and private detectives came from all over the country for the story while law enforcement agencies in neighboring counties and states assisted the overwhelmed town police.

With such a muddle crime scene and a century having past, it’s hard to keep the facts straight. The official site of the Villisca Murders lists the following as facts:

• Eight people were bludgeoned to death with an axe left at the scene.
• Doctors estimated time of death at shortly after midnight.
• Curtains were drawn in the windows except for two. They were covered with the Moore’s clothing.

• All of the victims faces were covered with bedclothes.
• A kerosene lamp was found at the foot of the bed of Josiah and Sarah Moore. The chimney was off and the wick turned back. The chimney was found under the dresser.
• A similar lamp was found at the foot of the bed of the Stillenger girls.
• The axe was discovered in the room occupied by the Stillenger girls. It was bloody, although someone had clearly attempted to clean it. The axe belong to Josiah Moore.
• The ceilings in the rooms where the murders took place showed gouge marks made by the upswing of the axe.
• A pan of bloody water was discovered on the kitchen table along with a plate of uneaten food.
• The doors were locked.

• The bodies of Lena and Ina Stillinger were found in the downstairs bedroom off the parlor. Ina was closest to the wall with Lena on her right. A grey coat covered her face. Dr. F.S. William said Lena, “lay as though she had kicked one foot out of her bed sideways, with one hand up under the pillow on her right side, half sideways, not clear over but just a little. Apparently she had been struck in the head and squirmed down in the bed, perhaps one-third of the way.” Lena’s nightgown was slid up and she was wearing no undergarments. There was a bloodstain on the inside of her right knee and what the doctors assumed was a defensive wound on her arm.

The murderer—or murderers—left behind a load of forensic evidence. Had the crime happened today, perhaps it would have been solved. But in 1912, fingerprinting was in its infancy, and DNA testing unheard of. Even if the scene had been properly processed, authorities probably wouldn’t have been able to use the evidence.

Still, there are suspects. Many point to Frank F. Jones, an Iowa State Senator, as the murderer. Victim Josiah Moore had worked for Frank Jones for years. When he left and started his own implement company in 1908, Jones was furious. Moore had stolen the John Deere franchise from him. Rumors also floated around that Moore had an affair with Jones daughter-in-law, and his son was accused of being a co-conspirator. They were never arrested.

William Mansfield from Illinois was suspected of being hired by Frank Jones to commit the murders. One investigator put together a case to bring to the grand jury, pinning not only the Villisca murders but several other axe murders on Mansfield. Insufficient evidence was found. He was released.

Rev. George Jacklin Kelly was also a suspect. He was a traveling preacher and had settled in Macedonia, Iowa. In 1917, he was arrested for the murder of ONE of the victims (but experts argue they were committed by the same person). Kelly attended the church and children’s program the day before. He left town early on the 10th.

Kelly confessed, but it was withdrawn before trial. The Villisca site calls his confession a “mockery of law enforcement practices at the time.” Kelly’s first trial was a hung jury; he was aquitted in the second.

Chicago’s notorious H.H. Holmes and Texas’s Servant Girl Annihilator were also discussed as suspects.

The third school of thought is that someone unknown to the area killed the Moore’s and Stillinger girls–a serial killer. Federal Agent McClaughry, assigned to the Villiscia murders, believed Henry Moore (not related) was the killer.

In December 1912, six months after the Villisca event, Henry Moore was arrested, prosecuted, and convicted of the murders of his wife and maternal grandmother in Columbia, Missouri.  In that incident, he’d used an axe. Known to be a mean drifter, prone to fits of anger, Moore is a fitting suspect as many experts believe the killings were committed by a transient.

Agent McClaughry interviewed Moore in prison and decided he was responsible for at least 23 murders. McClaughry believed Moore was the Iowa killer, but no one followed up, and he was never prosecuted.

The Villisca House is a now a tourist attraction on the National Registrar of Historic Places. Stories about it being haunted abound. The official site of the murders says paranormal investigators have gathered visual and auditory evidence of a haunting. Objects move, psychics claim to have seen spirits.

Source: Katherine Ramsland – Villisca, Mass Murder in Iowa.
Source: The Villisca Mystery.
Source: The 1912 Villisca Axe Murders Blog.

Who do you think killed the Moore family? Is it possible to solve a hundred-year-old murder?

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