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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Instead of showing any remorse–either real or a fake attempt for the chance of a lesser sentence–Lang wore a t-shirt with the word “killer” scrawled across the chest. As he he was sentenced, he cursed and gestured obscenely at the families of the victims.

Despite evidence Lane suffers from hallucinations, psychosis, and fantasies, a juvenile court judge ruled him competent to stand trial.

According to The Huffington Post, Lane was “defiant during the sentencing, smiling and smirking throughout, including while four relatives of victims spoke.

At one point, he swiveled around in his chair toward the gallery where his own family members and those of the slain teenagers were sitting and spoke suddenly, surprising even his lawyer.

“The hand that pulled the trigger that killed your sons now masturbates to the memory,” he said, then cursed at and raised his middle finger toward the victims’ relatives.”

In all the true crime I’ve studied, all the firsthand accounts of killer’s confessions I’ve read, this trumps them all. The coldblooded killer with dead eyes and a cocky attitude is so common in thriller novels that it’s nearly cliché, but Lang seems to have brought the stereotype to life.

My question is, why? Why is this young man so cruel?

According to records, Lang’s father was violent. Between ’95 and ’97, his parents were both charged with domestic violence against the other. Later, his father was charged with assaulting a police officer. He also served time in prison for trying to suffocate another woman he married some time after the birth of his son.

Clearly, Lang witnessed and suffered horrible abuse at an age when our personalities are defined. His lashing out is something that is seen time and time again with people who come from twisted backgrounds. Incomprehensible as the murders are, a psychologist could likely make sense of Lang with serious study.

But what of the final bout of pure cruelty and disrespect? His attitude reflects a disturbing trend in today’s youth. Lang is an extreme case of the self entitled, hateful attitude seen in more and more often in his generation. Why? Is it because we as a country are soft? Because our kids aren’t disciplined the way we were? Because their lives are so comparatively easy to what we experienced growing up?

Or is Lang’s show of utter disrespect merely a biproduct of his psychosis, or some sort of self defense mechanism?

What do you think? Is TJ Lane just another victim of abuse, or is he a reflection of a darker, more dangerous generation?

My short story, Welcome to Las Vegas, is FREE on Amazon TODAY ONLY.
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To read more about T.J Lane’s crime and trial, read the full Huffington Post article.
To read more about T.J Lane’s background, visit here.

Iowa City, Iowa

On January 3, Kirk Levin, age 21 was arrested and charged with murdering his mother and kidnapping another woman within hours of his release from prison on New Year’s Day.

Levin was arrested on kidnapping charges after a woman he attempted to attack managed to escape. Police then found his mother, Marilyn Schmitt, dead in her farmhouse near Early, a small town about 100 miles northwest of Des Moines.

Levin later confessed to choking and stabbing his mother to death–within 36 hours of his release from a Mount Pleasant prison. He served two years of a five-year sentence for third-degree burglary.

On Wednesday, prison officials stated they warned the sheriff about disturbing drawings Levin made while incarcerated. Prior to his release, officials discovered a notebook with explicit writings and drawings of a woman being raped.

Levin’s history is disturbing. Records show that in 2008, Levin told authorities he planned to use duct tape found in his backpack to rape a girl. In 2009, he was caught hiding in the basement of a girl he planned to attack.

Despite prior history, officials at the Mount Pleasant prison claim they had no choice to release Levin due to a state law that routinely cuts inmate sentences in half.

He’s now charged with first-degree murder, assault with intent to commit sexual assault, and third-degree kidnapping. Because he has been in and out of jail since the age of 17 and committed murder within days of his release, the judge set Levin’s bond ond at $1 million dollars. If he is convicted for murder, he will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole.

SOURCE
SOURCE

TULSA, Oklahoma

On Monday, four women were found shot to death in an apartment. Rebeika Powell, 23; Kayetie Melchor, 23; Misty Nunley, 33; and Julie Jackson, 55, were shot and killed at Tulsa’s Fairmont Terrace Apartments.

Police have arrested person of interest Joseph Tillman in Kansas. He is wanted on domestic assault and battery, and police believe he may have information regarding the case.

“The killer is still out there so there is some sort of danger to the public but I don’t think we need to be sitting in the rocking chair with a gun pointed at the door. There was some reason for what has occurred and I am confident the investigation will come out.” –Tulsa Homicide Sergeant Dave Walker.

Walker stated police are looking at narcotics, domestic issues, and money as motive. They also believe the shooter knew the victim. He stressed that at this point, Tillman is not a suspect but a person of interest.

Neighbors are on edge and some claim they have been warned to stay quiet. Most of them can’t afford to move.

SOURCE

What would you do if a murder happened near you? Would you be afraid to speak to the police? Would you be able to move or stay with a friend?

In regards to the Iowa case, should prison officials be held partially responsible for Levin’s actions? Or the state lawmakers?

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ONE MORE THING!

In celebration of her first novel release, August McLaughlin is hosting a giveaway and thrill-fest on her blog and Facebook. The fun starts today, and chances to enter the raffle for prices (thrilling books and author interviews) continue through Saturday. Participating authors include myself, Amanda Kyle Williams, David Freed, DP Lype, Donna Galanti, and Amy Shojai. August will also be giving away three signed copies of IN HER SHADOW, hot off the presses in a couple of weeks.

Visit the raffle here, and for more details, hop over to August’s blog.

This is probably the first true crime show I ever watched, and it sucked me in from the beginning. Hosted by Bill Kurtis, Cold Case Files tackles any case deemed cold, some dating back as far as forty years. It’s interesting to think about how differently an old case might have been handled were it to occur today.

The best thing about the show is that the cases chosen are ones finally solved. Most of the time, a case has been dormant for months if not years until a determined detective or officer gets wind of it and looks at the situation with fresh eyes. Sometimes it takes decades, but dogged determination and advancement in forensic science have resulted in hundreds of solved cases.

Episode Highlights:

The Answer In The Box

On July 25, 1986 eleven-year-old Alison Parrott disappeared from her Toronto, Canado home. A male caller had convinced her he would be taking pictures of Allison and her track and field teammates. She was to meet the photographer at the University of Toronto’s Varsity Stadium. The man had also called a week earlier with the same request, and Alison was able to get her mother’s permission to meet him. She told the family housekeeper her plans, and then left her home. Source

She was found two nights later in Kings Mill Park on the Humber River. Alison had been raped and strangled.

Capture

The case went cold for 10 years until Francis Carl Roy was arrested in 1996. A runner with a known interest in photography, Roy had a criminal record that included assault and rape. When Alison was murdered, he’d been on parole after serving just 18 months of an eleven year sentence for the rapes of two teenaged girls. DNA evidence linked him conclusively to Alison.

He was convicted of first-degree murdered and sentenced to life without the chance of parole for 25 years.

Mommy’s Rules–the Murder of Suesan and Sheila Knorr

Theresa Knorr physically and verbally abused all her children but daughters Suesan and Sheila were targeted the most. Jealousy over their youth and beauty, and the crazed notion the two girls were witches who had forced Theresa to gain weight were used as her motivation to torture them. Source

Theresa burned her kids with cigarettes and beat them, and she trained her sons to beat and discipline her daughters.

Suesan

In 1983, Knorr shot Suesan in the chest. The bullet lodged in the girls back, but her mother refused to seek medical help. She left Suesan to die in the bathtub, but when she survived, Theresa started nursing her back to health.

A year later, Suesan asked to move out. Theresa agreed on the condition she could remove the bullet still lodged in the girl’s back. On the dirty kitchen floor with alcohol as an anesthetic, Theresa had her son Robert removed the bullet with a box cutter. Suesan quickly became infected and slipped into a coma–on the kitchen floor. She was left there to die, and Theresa instructed the other children to walk over her, telling them her illness was a result of possession by the devil. She convinced her sons Robert and Bill to take Suesan and burn her alive.

Sheila

Next, Theresa forced daughter Sheila into prostitution, and then accused her own daughter of giving her an STD. Sheila was locked in a closet and starved to death. Her body was packed into a cardboard box and dumped.

Daughter Terry managed to escape and then spent years trying to get law enforcement to listen to her. No one believed her until in 1993, she finally convinced someone to listen.

Capture

Finally, in November 1993, Theresa and her sons are arrested after an appearance on America’s Most Wanted. She was charged with two counts of murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, as well as multiple murder and murder by torture. When Theresa found out her sons were set to testify against her, she pled guilty to avoid the death penalty. She was sentenced to two life sentences and will be eligible for parole in 2027.

These are just two of the dozes of harrowing and complicated cases A&E’s Cold Case Files have covered. For a full list, visit the show’s official site.

What do you think about these cases? Should Theresa have a shot at parole? How much should her sons be held accountable? And is the system to blame for Allison Parrott’s murder?

Don’t forget, Welcome To Las Vegas is on sale NOW with an exclusive excerpt of Into The Dark. 
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Obsessive October is flying by, and today we’re talking about the superstars of the stalking world: celebrity stalkers. Being in the public makes celebrities ripe for obsessed fans, and the power of the Internet makes it that much easier for the savvy stalker.

The list of celebrities who have been stalked over the years is long: Madonna, Mila Kunis, Janet Jackson, Alec Baldwin, Halle Berry, Uma Thurman, Shawn Johnson, Britney Spears–the list goes on. There are a few, however, that stand out as the creepiest of all.

John Hinckley Jr.

Hinckley Jr. pulled double stalking duty, going after both Jodie Foster and Ronald Reagan. In 1980, when Jodie Foster enrolled at Yale University, John Hinckley followed. He left love notes and poems, including a poem that detailed his plans to assassinate President Ronald Reagan.

Over the past seven months I’ve left you dozens of poems, letters and love messages in the faint hope that you could develop an interest in me. Although we talked on the phone a couple of times I never had the nerve to simply approach you and introduce myself. […] the reason I’m going ahead with this attempt now is because I cannot wait any longer to impress you. –John Hinckley, JR.

On the same day he left Jodie the cryptic note, Hinckley went to Washington, D.C. and shot President Reagan, who survived. His press secretary, James Brady, was paralyzed by the bullet that struck him.

Hinckley was charged with 13 accounts of attempted murder but found not guilty by reason of insanity–a rare feat despite what popular television shows depict. He was diagnosed with narcissistic and schizoid personality disorders, dysthymia and borderline passive-aggressive features. He remains hospitalized.

Anthony Gary Silvestri

Anthony Gary Silvestri spent months stalking television reporter Kathryn Dettman in Waco, Texas. In January 1998, he broke into Dettman’s home and attacked her with a knife, stabbing her more than a dozen times.

Dettman had been living her last days in the small Texas town and was preparing to move to a much larger station in Dallas.

“It was an extremely violent attack. She had 15-16 stab wounds.” –Temple Police Sgt. Keith Reed.

Dettman’s friends admitted she knew the 21-year-old had been stalking her. She’d said he was sweet and flattering, and he’d been spotted outside her apartment more than once. Kathryn didn’t consider him a threat.

“Most station managers don’t even give the news anchors all their mail or their email,” says Dietz. “Very few stations have adequate screening of who gets on the premises or do the things for their talent that can help protect them.”
–Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Park Dietz

Anthony Silvestri received 40 years in prison.

Robert John Bardo

Robert John Bardo cut his stalking teeth on child peace activist Samantha Smith. When she died in a plane crash in 1985, Bardo found Rebecca Schaeffer.

In the late 80s, Rebecca Schaeffer was on her way to making it big in Hollywood, staring in My Sister Sam and several movies. With virtually no stalking laws in place at the time, Bardo got Shaeffer’s home address from a detective agency, who’d obtained the information from the California DMV. He tracked her down at home and confronted her for the sex scene in Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills, accusing her of losing her innocence. He told her he was a big fan, and she asked him to leave. Shortly after, he returned and shot her. Rebecca died on the scene.

As a result of the shady way Bardo found Rebecca’s address and her ultimate murder, the US government passed the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act which prohibits state Departments of Motor Vehicles from releasing the home addresses of state residents.

Serial September is rolling full steam ahead (cliché alert), and this week, we’re talking about team killers.

Two men are responsible for making true crime into a genre of its own: Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. Truman Capote told their story when he wrote In Cold Blood. If you’ve read it (and if you haven’t, then you need to put it at the top of your TBR list), then you know Perry Smith had limited intelligence and physical disabilities while Dick Hickock was a clear psychopath who called the shots.

According to psychologist and writer Katherine Ramsland, research shows that team killers are usually guided by a central figure who is able to use his charm and magnetism to manipulate others.

Would Bonnie have gone a spree without Clyde? What about Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono, better know as the Hillside Stranglers? Would they have been such prolific killers on their own?

The couple we’re discussing today may not have as many victims as some of the more famous team killers, but they are every bit as frightening.

Fred and Rosemary West and the horror of 23 Cromwell Street.

British serial killer Frederick West started killing in 1967, and between 1973 and 1987, he and his wife Rosemary, tortured, raped, and murdered at least 11 young women and girls.

Most of the West murders took place at the couples home at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester. One of the rooms, known as “Rose’s Room,” was used by Rosemary for prostitution and had peepholes for Fred. Both Fred and Rosemary came from sexually perverse families, and Rosemary’s father often came to the house to have sex with his daughter–with Fred’s approval. Rosemary conceived eight children. Five were fathered by Fred West and the rest by clients.

Caroline Roberts 

17-year-old Caroline Roberts fell into the West’s clutches in 1972. Hired as the nanny, Caroline was led to believe Rosemary was a masseuse. Caroline quickly rejected Fred and Rosemary’s sexual favors and moved out. The Wests convinced her to accept their apology over a cup of tea. Back in the couple’s home on Cromwell street, Caroline was bound and raped by both Fred and Rosemary. Fred bragged they had killed hundreds of young girls and knew how to fool the police, so Caroline didn’t fight. She was allowed to leave the next day after promising she would return as the couple’s nanny. Caroline reported the attack but later withdrew the case. The Wests pleaded guilty to indecent assault and were fined.

More Victims

Carol Anne Cooper was sexually tormented for approximately a week and then strangled, dismembered, and buried at 25 Cromwell Street amid Fred’s many construction projects.

Lucy Partington disappeared shortly after Christmas in 1973 and met a similar fate as Carol Anne.

Between April 1974 and April 1975, Therese Siegenthaler, Shirley Hubbard, and Juanita Mott, (all aged 21 or younger) were tortured and buried on the West’s premises.

In 1976 Fred and Rosemary snared a young girl known only as Miss A from a home for girls. She witnessed the torture of two girls and was then raped by Fred and assaulted by Rosemary.

18-year-old Shirley Robinson was a bisexual former prostitute who cultivated a relationship with both Fred and Rosemary. She became pregnant with Fred’s child, and although Rosemary herself was pregnant with another man’s baby, she didn’t like Shirley’s new position of power. Shirley was killed, and Fred is said to have dismembered Shirley and their unborn child.

In 1979, the Wests murdered Alison Chambers after their usual methods of rape and torture. She was buried in the rear garden.

Oldest daughter Anne-Marie, a long-time victim of the Wests’s sexual sadism, became pregnant and then left after an abortion. Heather West became Fred’s favorite target after her older sister left, and she would also become one of the West’s murder victims.

Their sexual debauchery continued over the next decade-plus, but it’s unclear if there are later murder victims.

Getting Caught

Fred West’s gluttony proved to be his demise. In May 1992, he filmed himself raping yet another daughter. She told friends at school, and one informed her mother. Fred was charged with rape and Rosemary as an accomplice. She was also charged with child cruelty. The remaining children were moved to foster care, but the rape case fell apart when the two key witnesses refused to testify.

After hearing about “Heather being buried under the patio,” police garnered a search warrant. Rosemary called Fred as soon as she received the warrant.

“You’d better get back home. They’re going to dig up the garden, looking for Heather.” -Rosemary West to Fred West the day she received the warrant.

Fred stopped by the police station on his way home from work and told them he and Rosemary had no idea where Heather was. He claimed Heather was a lesbian and had problems with drugs, and even suggested she’d probably gone into prostitution.

When the bones literally started piling up, Fred admitted to killing Heather but insisted no one else was buried in the garden. He claimed he’d been arguing with Heather and grabbed her throat to stop her from laughing at him. He grabbed too hard, and she stopped breathing. He couldn’t revive her. She wouldn’t fit in the garbage bin and dismembered her. He closed her eyes before doing so.

When more bodies were unearthed, both Fred and Rosemary were charged with murder. Fred did everything he could to protect his wife, and she tried to position herself as the victim, but her efforts were fruitless. When Fred attempted to console Rosemary at a hearing, she refused his touch and told police he made her sick.

On December 13, 1994, he was charged with murder. Rosemary again brushed him off. Fred hanged himself in his cell on New Year’s Day, 1995.

Rosemary’s End

Rosemary went to trial, and as her general nasty disposition worked hard against her, the most damning evidence was given by a voluntary worker appointed to sit-in on Fred West’s police interviews. Fred privately told the witness Rose was involved with the murders and that she had murdered two women without him. He’d made a deal with Rosemary to take the blame. The witness was so stressed with this information she suffered a stroke. She collapsed after her testimony.

Rosemary West was quickly convicted of ten counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison for each. Her subsequent appeals for a new trial were turned down.

In my opinion, Rosemary was the calculating manipulator and Fred the muscle. What do you think? Fred killed before her, but would he have continued without her? Was the depravity she suffered at the hands of her father as a child the driving factor of her sexual sadism?

Source and Images
Source and Images

And thank you to all my friends who supported by sharing the links across social media. You guys made this a success!

Now, for the winners (Random.org)!

Winner of R.J. Ellory’s A Quiet Vendetta: Karen Rought, The Midnight Novelist.

Winner of Margie Lawsen’s awesome course packet: Vicki Batman
*This was announced on Margie’s post. Vicki, email Margie through her site if
you haven’t already, and let me know if you have questions!

Winner of Kathy Bennett’s A Deadly Blessing: C.K. Crouch

Winner of Allison Brennan’s Winner’s Choice: Donna Galanti:
*** You can pick either a signed, print copy of Silenced, the most recent Lucy Kincaid book (or the first book, Love Me to Death), or you can pick digital copies of Silenced AND my stand alone romantic suspense novella, Murder in the River City.

Winner of Vicki Hinze’s Winner’s Choice: Susie Lindau
***digital or print copy of SURVIVE THE NIGHT (inspirational romantic suspense) or NOT THIS TIME (faith-affirming thriller) or digital copy of DUPLICITY (military romantic thriller) or MIND READER (paranormal romantic suspense).

Donna and Susie, let me know which book you prefer, and I’ll pass the information on to Allison and Vicki.

Thriller Extravaganza GRAND PRIZE (Rafflecopter)

So who wins the awesome Silver Spot in Kristen Lamb’s WANA Blogging Class?
By virtue of her tweets and charm, it’s Natalie Hartford! Whoo-hoo!

Second place wins an Amazon gift card and a box of healthy goodies from August McLaughlin, and that winner is…Jenny Hansen!

Congrats, ladies! I’ll let Kristen know, and of course you both know where to contact me. Jenny, look for your gift card soon and please give August your mailing address for the yummies.

Thank you all so much for participating! This was so much fun, and I learned a lot. I hope you did too.

And don’t forget to mark your calendars, because Thriller Thursday returns this week with an all-new true crime post guaranteed to send chills down your spine.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

I’m excited to have award winning author Vicki Hinze for our grand finale. She’s a talented genre-buster, and I wanted to get the inside scoop on how she does it.

Vicki has a great giveaway for you, too: digital or print copy of SURVIVE THE NIGHT (inspirational romantic suspense) or NOT THIS TIME (faith-affirming thriller) or digital copy of DUPLICITY (military romantic thriller) or MIND READER (paranormal romantic suspense).

Vicki is currently bracing for Hurricane Isaac, so she may be slow in answering your comments, but please give her time and keep her in your thoughts. And don’t forget to leave a comment so you’ve got a shot at the giveaway!

Changing Genres and Genre-Blending

Often writers set out on a course for their career and they develop the mindset to stay the course regardless of current market conditions or other career developments until such time as outside factors insist they alter their course.

This is a very human thing to do, but it is also carving a tough path for the writer to walk.

Let’s discuss why in practical, no-frills terms.

You write x type books.  You embark on the path to become a great author of x type books.  You’ve written a few and met with moderate success, and then:

1.  The market for that type of novel collapses.

This happens.  The market cycles.  A few years ago, historical romances were in high demand.  Then suddenly even the historical superstar authors saw sales drop significantly.  Many changed to write romantic suspense and/or small-town contemporary romance.  Why?  The market’s appetite became more favorable for those types of books.  Then still later, historical romance novels again found favor with readers.  Some authors changed back, some didn’t, and new opportunities opened.

Regardless of what type of novel (sub-genre novels, too) an author writes, there are times when outside factors impact readers’ appetites.  Market cycles are driven by reader demand, by interest.  Reader demand and interest are driven by events and all of the usual people, places, things that shape public opinions.

a.  The bottom line is authors can stay the course in what will for a time be a difficult-to-sell type book (a down cycle) and continue writing type x books and wait to sell or publish when conditions improve or

b.  publish anyway, knowing that demand is low and sales will be also or

c.  write something else that has better odds of finding favor with readers at that given point in time or

d.  ignore the market and write what the author wants to write anyway, hoping the market will eventually catch up.

It’s really the author’s call.  The choices are evident and the results of any decision are predictable.  Some authors simply aren’t interested in writing a different type of novel.  That’s their choices and calls, but it makes for a rough career path.

Some authors have broad interests and enjoy variety; they prefer to be flexible and cycle with the market.  That makes for a smoother path in ways yet unless the author prepares his or her readers for the transition, the author can face challenges on not meeting reader expectations.

For example, if your readers know you to be a thriller author and you switch to write cozy mysteries or romantic suspense, you need to prepare your readers for this change or they’ll pick up that first cozy or romantic suspense expecting it to be a thriller.  When it isn’t, they’ll be disappointed.

Even prepared, some readers will make the transition with the author and some won’t, because readers have preferences and they might love thrillers but not care for cozy mysteries or romantic suspense novels.  Now, readers who don’t read thrillers but love cozy mysteries or love romantic suspense can become new-to-the-author readers.  The better foundation the author makes for the transition, the greater the odds of success.  Still, no guarantees.

The thing to keep in mind is that markets cycle and authors should be aware of it and make deliberate choices on their reactions to the cycles.  They can only do that if they assess their careers or reassess them at points in time where reassessment is warranted.

 2.  Some authors are determined to hold on to the bitter end.

Authors often resist change.  They love to write what they love to write and keep writing it regardless of what the market does or where reader demand is at a given time.  There’s nothing wrong with that, provided the author does so deliberately for the reasons given in #1 above.

There is wisdom in writing what you love and if all you love is one type of book, then that pretty much says all that needs saying.  It does mean that the author is in for a career of peaks and valleys, and some would say, those peaks and valleys are coming anyway, so one might as well stick with what one loves. There’s merit in that, to be sure, and some authors have the fiscal luxury of following that path.  Some authors are also astute businesspeople who prepare for famine during periods of feast so that when sales are down, their fiscal needs are met and covered.

I hope you’re seeing the pattern:  whatever you decide to do is great.  Authors aren’t one-size fits all and their careers aren’t either.  The key pattern is to understand the writer and the market, prepare for shifts, and have reasonable expectations of performance at various cycle stages during them.

Too often what I see are authors who hang on to the bitter end when they’re forced to change or can no longer sell because they fear change.  Many don’t dub this as the root cause, but many do.  They feel they’re established in a certain genre or type of novel and they should stick with it.  Perhaps they have had moderate success and wish to build on it.  That’s a good strategy.  But if the author is lacking publisher support, or if indie, a successful marketing strategy, more often than not what happens is the author gets caught in a downward spiral.  Let me explain in a practical example.

Author writes x.  Publisher has a decent track record for selling x type novels.  They agree to terms and form a strategic alliance.  Author publishes three books and sales are less than expected for whatever reason.  So say that bookseller A ordered 20,000 copies of Author’s first novel and sold 12,000.  Book 2, Bookseller isn’t going to order 20,000 copies.  S/he is going to order 12,000.  Let’s say author sells 85% (sell-thru), which is a very respectable sell-thru.  That’s 10,200 copies.  How many books does Bookseller order on book 3?  Exactly.  Simply put, orders are based on sales of the last book, so the downward spiral becomes evident.

Now it isn’t just a lack of publisher support that can toss an author into a downward spiral.  As we saw in #1, it can be reader demand, market conditions, preferences.  All sorts of outside influences impact sales.

What happens often and is extremely difficult for the author is when to say whoa, time to make a change.  Knowing that specific point in time is only clear if the author is watching.  And too often, authors are so tied up with writing, marketing, promoting, social networking and doing the many other tasks that are significant to authors, they don’t notice the beginning of the downward spiral.  Often, they don’t see the spiral until they’re entrenched deep in it.

Publishers hesitate to address the matter until contract time because frankly it is to their benefit to work with an author who has a positive mindset during the writing.  There are other reasons, too, but nothing impacts creativity as much as the author’s mindset.

So you have an author steeped in the work who might ask but is given obscure information on numbers until it’s time to go back to contract.  Many are stunned to discover then that the publisher doesn’t want to go back to contract, or that an offer will be coming but at a greatly reduced rate.  Here again, you see the challenges that come to the author who is unaware of his/her status and support and sales.  I receive notes frequently from authors who are blindsided by the news that the publisher is no longer interested in seeing future works.

That’s business, pure and simple.  It’s about the bottom line.  Before you bash the publisher for that, ask yourself if you really want to form or keep a strategic alliance with a publisher who isn’t fiscally sound.  You want your publisher to be wise and prudent and responsible.  If not, the publisher won’t stay in business.  That’s the real bottom line.

So how do you recognize the downward spiral?  Look at the example.  If you’re seeing shrinking numbers and you’re told that the market is shrinking, that’s a sign.  The market is changing and fast.  But it is reshaping.  A few years ago, digital sales barely impacted overall sales.  Then they exploded.  And in many areas, our collective tipping point has been reached and we’re selling more digital than print books.

The author who willingly remains in the dark on the market and on how his/her books are doing relative to the market risks finding him or herself deep in the spiral.  It takes time and effort, but it’s a good investment in your career to assess and reassess.

3.  Authors, not just their books, grow and change.

You’re not the person you were when you started writing, or the person you were twenty, ten, or five years ago.  You’re not the person you were yesterday.  You are the person you are now, today, and your interests and desires and purpose for writing changes.

If you don’t assess yourself and reassess on a regular basis and not just when necessity gives you no choice, are you best serving yourself?

That might seem like an odd question, but it’s at the very heart of you, the human being, and that makes it critical.  Not important, not a suggestion that would be beneficial to follow (though it is), it’s critical.  Why?

As we experience and age, what most matters to us changes.  If we don’t assess, we miss the opportunities afforded us by the wisdom gained in our personal journey through life.  We might start our career writing x type books but something happens and we feel driven to write about it even though it’s very different than anything we’ve written thus far.

The key word is driven.  That’s a signal that we’re passionate about this new type of book.  And that passion and drive are signals that we’re hitting upon purpose.  While purpose can be physical, emotional or spiritual–and certainly can be all three–we might not make the connection between writing to our purpose and our personal sense of fulfillment and accomplishment–to success.

I’ve known many authors.  Some define success by money.  But for most, money isn’t enough.  It takes more to reach the contentment zone–a sense of purpose and worth in what you’re doing.  The earlier you recognize this and factor it into your decisions, the fewer regrets you have later on.

Some experts recommend you assess your career once a year.  Others suggest you have a five year plan.  I say, assess it as frequently as you must to stay confident you’re doing what you need to be doing to reach your vision of success.

I’ve always had a five-year plan that includes writing goals and publishing goals.  But I have to tell you that the market is changing so quickly, five years ago it was hard to imagine that the market and landscape in publishing would look as it does today.

More changes are on the horizon, and a lot closer.  That makes a five-year plan still valuable and the annual plan valuable, but it also offers the author the insight that even more frequent assessments are in the author’s best interests.

Understand that when I speak of a five-year plan, or an annual plan, I speak of a plan that addresses me on all levels–physical, emotional and spiritual.  While some things change at the speed of light, some remain steadfast, but one’s approach to them requires modification.  Things happen that impact methods and means everyday.

The benefit of staying in touch with yourself and aware of who you are and what you want and how you plan to get it is I hope clear.  Will things always work out as planned?  No.  Actually, rarely.  But because you’re focused and aware, more of what you’re after will be accomplished, and for real life, that’s pretty good.

PRACTICAL TIPS ON SHIFTING GENRES

Genre-Blending.  I’m a huge fan of genre-blending.  Combining common elements from two or three different but compatible genres.  My favorites are suspense, mystery and romance—and in all my novels, regardless of how they’re classified by publishers, you’ll find those three elements.

It all starts at author theme.  Every author has a theme.  The type of story that the author is naturally drawn to write.  Example.  Maybe you like small town, redemption stories.  Other world fantasies where the kingdom, planet, galaxy is spared.  Look at your body of work and you’ll recognize certain common bonds. My common bonds:  suspense, mystery, and a little romance—healing themes.

It takes all of that for me to love a book enough to write it, and that holds true regardless of genre.  I’ve written everything from books classified as science fiction, fantasy, military, suspense, psycho-thrillers, romance, romantic suspense—well, just about everything but horror, and no matter which book is it, those four things are in it.

So first identify your author theme.  Then look at your common elements.

The important thing to remember isn’t that you can’t combine elements from different genres.  You can.  I’ve done it my whole career.  The important thing is to combine the elements from the different genres in the way that best serves the story you want to tell.

You don’t give each element the same story weight.  If you do, you end up with a book that is not.  In my case, that’d be a book that is not a romance, is not a suspense novel, is not a mystery.  Books that are not are hard sells because they give a bit to all and not enough to none.

So look at the story you want to sell, determine which element best serves it, and give that element dominate focus.  Then bring in your other elements (genres) in a subordinate position.  One that mirrors or echoes the main element and reinforces it but doesn’t compete with it for more attention.

That’s the scoop on genre-blending, and the most effective method I know on doing it successfully.

Blessings,

Vicki

VICKI HINZE

Vicki Hinze is the award-winning bestselling author of nearly 30 novels, four nonfiction books, and hundreds of articles published in as many as 63 countries.  She’s recognized by Who’s Who in the World as an author and as an educator.  FMI visit www.vickihinze.com.

We’re on week four of Thriller Extravaganza, and I’m excited to welcome one of my favorite authors, Allison Brennan. I could have asked Allison to write on just about any thriller related topic, but since I’m starting my own series and I’m selfish, I asked her to tell us about how she approaches creating a series. She’s giving away a copy of one of her books, so make sure to read and leave a comment.

And don’t forget to sign up for Thriller Extravaganza’s Grand Prize: a silver spot in one of Kristen Lamb’s WANA International blogging classes or a $25 gift card and a bag of healthy goodies from August McLaughlin.

Writing Series by Allison Brennan

Until 2010, I always wrote in trilogies. Three books, very loosely connected, with a common theme or family of characters. For example, my “Prison Break” trilogy was connected by an earthquake at San Quentin that precipitated the release of some death row inmates. Each book was a stand alone romantic thriller stemming from that one event. My “No Evil” trilogy centered around the Kincaid Family, a close-knit Irish-Cuban family of (mostly) law enforcement. Each book stood alone as a complete story with a separate hero and heroine, but the books were all set in San Diego and the secondary characters were woven through the three books.

I didn’t plan to write in trilogies, but when I sold my debut novel The Prey, my publisher asked me to write two more connected stories. I decided to focus on three women who were at the FBI Academy together and now, ten years later, their individual pasts are coming back to haunt them.

I always wanted to write both a stand alone and a series. A stand alone because it’s completely self-contained. A series, because I can build on one character over time, both layering and deepening characterization. Readers like all types of stories, but it’s often a solid series that finds resonance in the mass market. Readers know Jack Reacher as well as his creator, Lee Child. They know Stephanie Plum as well as Janet Evanovich. And one of my all-time favorite series, the In Death series, by J.D. Robb, has the formidable and sexy Roarke and Eve Dallas.

When my publisher agreed to buy the Lucy Kincaid series, I was initially thrilled. I loved Lucy, and wanted to see how she’d overcome her brutal ordeal from Fear No Evil, the last of the Kincaid Family trilogy. I sped up time a bit, made her 25 in the first book, and on the cusp of becoming an FBI agent. I wanted to take her from the beginning of her career—through the academy—and into her first real assignment.

Then I became scared. How could I keep the series fresh and original? I didn’t want readers to become bored with Lucy or her boyfriend Sean Rogan; I didn’t want to write the same book over and over. I also feared that, over time, I would tire of writing in the same world. A true, traditional series takes the same core group of characters and puts them in different situations over multiple books. A connected series is usually built around the same world, but with different characters taking a lead role. Laura Griffin’s Tracers series is a good example of a connected series; J.D. Robb’s In Death series is a good example of a traditional series.

I had to make some choices early on: First, I tightened the timeframe. For example, though the first seven books will be published over a three-year period, only 11 months will have passed in Lucy’s world. Each book takes place anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months apart. The primary reason is that I wanted all the major events to be part of the series. Also, I didn’t know when some of the books would be published, so I didn’t keep them true to real time. And mostly, I wanted to show Lucy’s growth during the pivotal years as she begins her career as an FBI Agent.

Michael Connelly successful wrote Harry Bosch in real time, so he aged in real time, and the stories took place a year apart (or however long his publishing schedule was for that series.) Lee Child writes out of order—some of his books take place in Reacher’s past, for example, so they’re not published in chronological order. And in J.D. Robb’s In Death series, I believe only 18 or so months have passed over 30+ books.

Other choices I had to make dealt with reader expectations. Because I write primarily romantic thrillers, and the first few Lucy books were published as romantic thrillers, I needed a love interest for Lucy who stays for the series. Reader expectations are important because if you mess with the readers, you’re toast. I decided that Sean Rogan was the perfect guy for Lucy as soon as I wrote him in an early book, Cutting Edge, where his brother, Duke, was the hero. I had to figure out how to get him out to DC, and which Kincaid’s would be part of Lucy’s series, and which would be completely off-page. I also needed to build Lucy’s world – what has she been doing for the seven years since the events in Fear No Evil? How did they change her? Strengthen her? What are her fears that will play a part in the series? Her strengths?

I don’t plot, so a lot of this I didn’t know until I was writing the first book—and some I didn’t know until I was writing the fourth book! But for my readers, Sean and Lucy are together. They will certainly have rough patches, but they will weather any storm. I hope I’ve laid that foundation well.

The difference in reader expectations plays a part in a new series I’m developing around Maxine Revere, an investigating crime reporter. This will be a thriller series, so I can play around more with relationships and don’t have to “pick” a romantic interest right off the back … though there will certainly be one (or two or three) that may be possible. The series is more about Max and the crimes she investigates, as well as her relationships with her staff and friends and, yes, the men she’s involved with.

The hardest part of writing a series, for me, is knowing how much to share in each book without being boring to continuing readers (or “telling” too much back story) but also giving enough information so new readers won’t be lost. It’s a delicate balance that I don’t know if I’ve mastered, but I’m constantly striving to find the right balance. My former editor gave me some great advice early on: give as much information as necessary for readers to enjoy THIS book. I think about that often!

For anyone considering writing a series, remember that character is the most important thing. Not just your protagonist, but the supporting cast. You want readers to want to return time and time again to see what your characters are up to!

What is one of your favorite book series, and why? Everyone who comments (even just to say hi!) will be put in a drawing for one of two giveaways, winner’s choice. You can pick either a signed, print copy of Silenced, the most recent Lucy Kincaid book (or the first book, Love Me to Death), or you can pick digital copies of Silenced AND my stand alone romantic suspense novella, Murder in the River City.

Allison Brennan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nineteen novels and many short stories. The next Lucy Kincaid thriller, Stalked, will be out on October 30. She lives near Sacramento, California with her husband, five children, and assorted pets.

www.allisonbrennan.com

Thanks so much to Allison for this great post! She’s got some vital point in here that I hadn’t considered the past few weeks while working on my own series. Please leave her some love and give yourself a chance to win a copy of one of her books.