Silk Road Inspiration

~ susanoleksiw ~ 6 Comments

Recently a friend told me about a trip her mother wanted to take with her to India, and asked me about some of the sights and events planned for them. I found a description of the trip online and skimmed through it thinking how I would answer her questions when just below was another trip that threw all my travel plans and budget for the year into the trash can.

When I was perhaps eleven or twelve years old I came across a book about a trip to Central Asia. After You, Marco Polo by Jean Bowie Shor describes a journey she and her husband made following in the footsteps of the explorer on his travels from Venice to China in the late 13th century. The book was published in 1955, only a few years after their trip in the late 1940s. The author is the definition of the word intrepid, and I don’t believe anyone alive today would even consider taking the same trip so dependent are we on cell phones, public transportation, emergency services, detailed maps, and reliable guides, not to mention translation programs on our cell phones and a general sense of peace and safety (now perhaps ebbing). I reread this book recently and it is still one of the most incredible survival stories of any traveler on the Silk Road in Central Asia I have encountered.

This book sparked my love of Asia, as a result of which I ended up living in India for a year doing research, and then returning for a second year for more of the same. I’ve been back several times to visit friends, and even though I’m no longer any kind of scholar, I’ve maintained my interest in India in the Anita Ray series and several photography projects. The author, Jean Bowie Shor, inspired numerous characters with her impetuous forays into forbidden areas and unbelievable luck in surviving and even thriving, as well as her fortitude in traversing a 20,000 foot mountain pass with her fever-stricken, delirious husband and two guides who were hoping to fleece their dead bodies of more money than the entire community would see in a hundred life times.

I don’t plan to write during the trip, but that’s a plan that can quickly evaporate. I do plan to take a lot of photographs, and as I often do when working on an Anita Ray story, I’ll line up the most interesting along my desk to glance at while I work after I get home. Some people like music in the background, some like a particular bit of clutter, I like photographs.

Now, after many years, I’m finally taking my dream trip—to the Silk Road. I’ve signed on for a tour with about a dozen others to visit three of the Stans—Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan—along the Silk Road. After a lapse of many decades, I will be part of the kind of  ensembles of tourists that I find so stimulatingly murderous in my Anita Ray series set in South India. I’m doing a lot of background reading so I’ll be ready for my characters when they show up. The trip is scheduled for the fall, so I have a lot of time to enjoy one of the best parts of travel—anticipation.

I’m not sure what this post is about, but I’m booked for a trip I’ve dreamt about for years and taking it now seems fitting.

Why I Write Thrillers

~ lanamfox ~ 3 Comments

In less than a month I will be flying to Denver for Left Coast Crime. I’m so excited! I’ve been invited to speak on a panel called Why We Write Thrillers. What a great topic. I had to spend some time thinking about this. I knew I enjoyed reading them, but why write them?

Well, for one thing, I love to read a good thriller. I’ve heard that you should write what you love to read. But why do I love them? Why are they so popular? I think it’s because they grab you and won’t let go until the final twist. And that is what I want my books to do. I love it when readers say they stayed up all night reading my books because they couldn’t put them down.

Reading a thriller is like hurling yourself towards a runaway train. You know it’s coming, you can see it coming, and you want to be like Superman and get in front of it and put your hand out to stop it. To do that, you need to know who started the train barreling down the track, why they started it, and a twisty way of stopping it. Because, unlike Superman, holding out your hand towards it isn’t going to get the job done.

It’s the excitement that’s addictive. That feeling in your gut that the main character just might not pull this off, but she does, and in a way you never expected.

Thrillers allow you to explore dark themes in a way that is safe. I want to know why people join a cult. (Her Sister’s Keeper) Why someone would kill a young homeless girl and leave her body frozen in the snow. (Through Frozen Eyes) And why a serial killer kills women and leaves them as a gift offering for the sheriff. (Her Last Breath, which will be out this spring.)

I’ve heard that people read and write thrillers to bring justice to an unjust world. I love it when the story ends with the killer being caught and sent to prison, or being killed by the main character just before he or she kills said main character or someone they love. And sometimes I love it when at the end of the book the killer is caught, but there may be another killer out there who will continue their killing spree. Suspense is what makes us come back for more.

I’m about three fourths of the way finished writing my fourth book. This will be the third in my Hood River Valley Series. It’s about a killer who is playing cat and mouse with the sheriff. I thought I knew why he was killing women, but while writing this post I realized there is more to his past and his psychological makeup than I knew. It’s the, why did the killer do what they did that makes the story more exciting. What’s in his or her background that would cause them to do something so heinous?

Plot is the structure of the story and characters are the meat. They give the story substance. This is especially true in a thriller. I feel a need to know my characters, to try and feel what they feel. Why are they in this particular place and time? What can they contribute to the story to make it come alive?

And then there’s the twist at the end. It isn’t just about shock; it has to make sense in hindsight. It’s the perfect blend of surprise and credibility. These are the things that make writing thrillers such a joy for me. Or should I say, such a thrill?

Dammit. I’m a suspect.

~ donaleeMoulton ~ 5 Comments

I’m about to see my third mystery book hit shelves and inboxes. I thought this month I’d share an excerpt from Hung Out to Die, my first mystery book. In this scene, the main character, Riel Brava, finds a dead body — and finds himself a suspect.

FROM HUNG OUT TO DIE

book cover from Hung Out To Die

I’m reaching for the hallway switch when I notice a light three doors down. That’s Norm Bedwell’s office. And that’s unusual. Our comptroller is typically among the last to arrive. Only a fresh honey cruller from Tim Hortons has ever changed his timeline.

I’m running to Norm’s office now, tirade at the ready. The only thing that can prevent the outside security system from working, aside from someone hacking into our server, is if the door doesn’t latch firmly behind the entering employee. A loud audible click lets you know the system is armed, and then you can move forward. Employees are trained to wait for the click; if they don’t, an alarm will sound for two minutes, albeit relatively soft as alarms go. But at this time of day, no one is around to hear it.

It must be Norm’s fault, which may mean the system has only been down for minutes if he just arrived. It’s a question I’m tossing at our comptroller even before I’ve stepped inside his office.

Norm doesn’t answer.

He can’t because he’s swinging from a rope tossed over an open beam (the designer’s brilliant idea), a noose tight around his neck. He’s blue, but not as blue as I believe a dead man should look. This poses a dilemma. I need a few moments to assess my options and identify the safest and most effective course of action. However, I am aware I don’t have the luxury of time. I’ve seen enough Law and Order episodes to know if you don’t call the cops immediately, the delay in time will get noticed, and you’re more likely to find yourself on the suspect list.

Dammit. I’m a suspect.

This realization hits at the same time I’m dialing 911. The perky young woman on the other end asks how she can help.

“I’m in the administrative office of the Canadian Cannabis Corp., and my comptroller appears to have hanged himself. He is dangling from a noose and turning blue.”

“Sir, I have radioed for police; they are on their way,” she says, inhaling to continue with her script.

I cut her off. “Look, I know I shouldn’t disturb anything, but Norm may be alive. I’m going to grab his legs, so the noose doesn’t cut into his windpipe.”

Great, now she knows I understand how hanging kills someone.

Itdoesn’t matter. I’m going to reduce the pressure around Norm’s neck. His feet are tucked into the crease in my left arm, his testicles on par with my bottom lip. I’m not a small man, 6’2”, and I work out regularly, so I can maintain this, albeit a distasteful posture, for quite some time.

I hear sirens, and it hits me. The police won’t gain access to the building without destroying expensive technology. I explain this to the 911 operator. She is not that interested in the cost of our tech.

“I’m going to get someone to open the gate for the police,” I tell her. “That means I’ll have to hang up. I’m on the third floor of the admin building, inside the only office with a light on. My name is Riel Brava. I’m the CEO.”

Guest Blogger ~ Mike Nemeth

~ patyjag

Why Does a Nice boy from Wisconsin Write Murder Mysteries?

The simple answer is: I grew up reading detective stories, from John D. MacDonald to Ross Macdonald to Eric Ambler. I admired the intricate plotting that kept me guessing as their stories unfolded. Later, I discovered Elmore “Dutch” Leonard, a prolific writer of tales about ex-cons and petty thieves looking to strike it rich with their next caper and usually failing miserably. You may know Dutch by the many movie adaptations of his novels including, Be Cool, Get Shorty, Fire in the Hole, Killshot, Jackie Brown, Out of Sight, 3:10 to Yuma, Cat Chaser, 52 Pickup, Hombre, The Big Bounce, Stick, Mr. Majestyk, and Freaky Deaky. As much as I enjoyed Dutch’s stories, I was influenced most by his cinematic style. He never got in the way of his characters and let them tell their stories through dialog and action scenes.

The second reason I write murder mysteries is that the genre allows the writer to fold in subplots from other genres that become clues in the solution to the murder. In most of my novels an unexpected love story comes from out of nowhere and smacks the protagonist upside the head, the sort of romance that causes the protagonist to wake up and pay attention. Such is the case in The Two Lives of Eddie Kovacs. Eddie, a grieving widower, goes undercover to solve suspicious deaths at a luxury condo complex and runs into Madeleine, a wealthy widow who awakens long-dormant feelings in Eddie but is also the key to the mystery. She becomes the focal point for Eddie’s decisions about the case, his desire for redemption, and his future.

My third reason for writing murder mysteries is that a good story must contain high stakes for the protagonist and few stakes are higher or more enticing than murder. And two murders are better than one. In The Two Lives of Eddie Kovacs, the unsolved murder of Eddie’s investigative partner during his stint in the Army has haunted him for decades. Eddie has always wondered if he had inadvertently set his partner up for the crime. When another murder occurs at the condo complex during his surreptitious investigation, Eddie begins to connect the dots and sees the truth.

And finally, the murder mystery genre allows for an underlying theme that isn’t preachy and doesn’t detract from the pleasure of solving a complicated crime. In The Two Lives of Eddie Kovacs, the solution to the murders calls into question the boundary between personal freedom and the encroachment of the law. This question is a dilemma for Eddie as he grapples with love, his integrity as a lawman, and his desire for redemption.

Murder mysteries are such fun!

Propelled by two murder cases, separated by decades, The Two Lives of Eddie Kovacs is, at its heart, a provocative and suspenseful love story that explores the unbreakable connection between the past and the present, and the boundary between personal freedom and the law.

Eddie Kovacs is tormented by his experience in Vietnam when he derailed an illegal CIA plot, and deflated over his forced retirement as a DA’s investigator. When the sheriff of Chatham County, Georgia offers him an undercover assignment, Eddie jumps at the chance to end his career in a blaze of glory. His assignment is to solve the riddle of suspicious deaths at a luxury condo complex on Tybee Island before the DEA exposes the scandal that would dash the sheriff’s political ambitions.

Eddie has spent his life looking over his shoulder for the vengeful CIA agents who have tirelessly pursued him. As he investigates the deaths, he discovers that a former agent has remained vigilant for fifty years and is in the building, stalking Eddie. To make matters worse, Eddie is a grieving widower irresistibly drawn to a resident named Madeleine, and his infatuation feels like infidelity, not to mention a betrayal of his badge. In a race with the DEA and hunted by the CIA, Eddie lays a trap for his suspect and discovers Madeleine’s darkest secret—a secret that forces Eddie to choose between love and redemption.

The Two Lives of Eddie Kovacs can be found on Amazon at amzn.to/3CVzMY4 (that’s Bit.Ly short form link).

It is also in the Ingram system and can be ordered at any bookstore or online from Ingram. 

Mike Nemeth is the author of Defiled, which became an Amazon bestseller, The Undiscovered Country, which won the Beverly Hills Book Award for Southern Fiction and the Augusta Literary Festival’s Frank Yerby Award for Fiction, and Parker’s Choice, which has won a Firebird Award for Thrillers, and American Fiction Awards for Romantic Mystery and Diverse & Multicultural Mystery. Creative Loafing named Mike Atlanta’s Best Local Author for 2018.

The recurring theme of Mike’s novels is that morality and legality are two different things. The stories are romances tucked inside mysteries.

https://mikenemethauthor.com/

Research, or the Lure of the Rabbit Hole

~ janispattersonmysteries ~ 4 Comments

by Janis Patterson

There’s nothing more frustrating than a novel which mangles history. Unless, of course, it is alternative history (at best a bastard genre) and clearly labeled as such. What raises my ire is when someone writes what is purported to be historical fiction but has such factual clangers in it as to stop the reader cold. My favorite example of this is from a contest I judged when a Regency hero – handsome, wealthy, arrogant as all of them are – pulls a fountain pen from his pocket to sign some important document.


Really? A fountain pen?


The bladder fountain pen that we all know wasn’t invented for at least fifty years after the Regency. Even the steel-tipped dip pen wasn’t invented until after the end of the Regency. Before that, writing was done with feather quills, usually goose.


Of course I dinged the writer severely for not doing proper research, and sent a rather kindly note of explanation of her low score, hoping to raise her consciousness about the necessity of research. Instead she attacked me viciously, not only in a private letter but on social media, ranting that it was an old-fashioned pen and who would know the difference anyway.


And there is the crux of the matter. Far too many people get their ideas of history from novels (and movies, and TV) and therefore as writers we owe them the honesty of real facts.


Such a high-minded ideal is not without its dangers to us, though. I was working on a fairly early Victorian Gothic where my librarian heroine had to make some ink. Now I knew she couldn’t just pop off to the allsorts shop in the village for a bottle, so I went online and looked up how to make ink.


Who knew there were so many ways to make ink? And there are so many people making it today? Well, it was a plethora of information and I started reading happily. Only thing was, I realized that some of the recipes used items to which my early-Victorian-working-in-remote-Scotland heroine would have no access. But I had to make sure of what was available, which took me to botanical sites and shopping sites and each of them led to other sites, most of which had little to nothing to do with Scotland, libraries or ink, and before I knew it hours later I was deep into the intricacies of making Scottish country cheese. Still don’t know quite how I got there, but it was fascinating.


Now I don’t know if I’ll ever need any minutiae about the making of country cheese in Victorian Scotland, but it did give me a deeper insight into the Scottish rural people of the time, their lives, their chores, their way of living. Besides, I believe that everything is useful in some way, some time, some how. Who knows when some snippet of rural Victorian Scottish life/mores/cheesemaking – or something influenced by them – will show up in a totally unrelated story? It’s one of the dangers and the magic of writing!


Doubtless by now you have figured out that I like research. And, having an inquiring (some say nosy) mind, I must admit I do. It’s one of the most fascinating things in the world. And one of the most dangerous. It can take hold of a story, turn it every way from up, then hand it back to you in a form totally different from the way you originally envisioned it. Or, if you are strongminded enough to corral your story to its original form, those little snippets of research are still there, adding depth and shading – and an occasional surprise – to your story.


A prime rule of good writing is Do Your Research. Another rule of good writing is Do Not Let Your Research Take Over. Usually I manage both, but it’s most definitely a delicate balancing act.