Tag: Keith Yocum

Guest Blogger ~ Keith Yocum

~ patyjag ~ 2 Comments

The Iceberg Syndrome

It’s good to have a psychologist in the house.

Throughout my writing journey, my wife Denise has lurked in the background. Her input has been merciless, accurate, and vital.

That’s because she’s an avid reader in general and a licensed psychologist in particular.

Twenty-two years have passed since my first novel, “Daniel,” was published, and nine more have followed. The genres I write in are a mix of psychological mystery, espionage thriller and even magical realism.

Most of my novels involve strong female characters, including the Cape Cod Mystery series, in which the protagonist is Stacie Davis, a newspaper reporter. My background in journalism helped me create an authentic portrait of Stacie’s job as a reporter for a daily newspaper.

But Denise’s input to create the emotional authenticity for Stacie–and all my characters–is an important part of my writing process. “Would Stacie really do that?” Denise would ask. Or “That doesn’t sound like something Stacie would say.” When there are inciting incidents or dramatic twists that force Stacie to react, Denise is always looking over my shoulder to ensure the character’s actions are plausible.

Over the years, Denise and I have developed a work process that allows me to craft a story without her input. When I finish the complete manuscript, I drive to my local Staples and have them print a bound hard copy. Denise prefers working from a hard copy and jotting down questions. She folds down the corner of a page that has a comment.

In some of my novels, the protagonist sees a therapist dealing with an issue. Using therapy as a narrative tool can be useful for a writer. It helps fill in the character’s backstory and shows them struggling to understand their emotions and interpersonal struggles. Having Denise there to lend professional oversight to the rendered sessions is so important.

Psychological thrillers require the protagonist to struggle with both an external menace and internal uncertainties and confusion. But the reader only cares about what happens if they also care about the protagonist, and that’s where emotional authenticity is important.

In the most recent Cape Cod Mystery, Lost in the Crush, Stacie suffers a devastating personal setback that sends her reeling into a complex set of circumstances that tests her sanity and her relationships. She’s a dogged journalist seen as brash and forceful. Her strength is sometimes her greatest weakness, and Stacie struggles to understand what happened to her and why. But that journey causes friction with her friends and family as she stalks the truth. Is she going too far? Why does Stacie persist? What about her family background makes her such a driven person?

Sigmund Freud said, “The mind is like an iceberg, it floats with one-seventh of its bulk above water.” With my wife Denise’s help, I strive to show my characters’ motives and struggles that sit right below the surface.  

Lost in the Crush

Stacie Davis is about to marry the man of her dreams, but on the night of the rehearsal dinner, a dark secret unravels everything she holds dear.

Get ready to be swept away by a tidal wave of deception in this gripping psychological thriller set on the shores of Cape Cod. With the stunning backdrop of the ocean, Stacie must confront the truth and face the consequences that come with it. Will she be able to survive the brewing storm?

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DQ88ZNYW

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lost-in-the-crush-keith-yocum/1146747051?ean=2940184540061

Keith Yocum is an author of ten novels and lives on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He grew up overseas as an Army brat, including long stints in the Panama Canal Zone and Western Australia. He has an undergraduate degree in philosophy and a graduate degree in journalism. He has an extensive career in publishing. He was the founder of a group of weekly newspapers in the western suburbs of Boston. He has also worked for publications including The Boston Globe and The New England Journal of Medicine.

Social Media links:

www.keithyocum.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithyocum/

https://www.facebook.com/yocum.keith

Guest Blogger ~ Keith Yocum

~ patyjag ~ 3 Comments

This is how I came up with the mystery premise in “A Whisper Came,” book 1 in the Cape Cod Mystery series.

There is something about the ocean that lends itself to mystery. Whether it’s the isolation of deserted beaches or the strange sound of the wind whistling through tall sea grasses, the area lends itself to a sense of uncertainty and mystery.

I live in Chatham, Massachusetts, at the elbow of Cape Cod. It has the distinction of being surrounded on three sides by salt water: Nantucket Sound, Pleasant Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean. It was founded in 1664 and incorporated in 1712. For American towns, this is old.

Along with the passing centuries has come a litany of shipwrecks off Cape Cod—estimated at 3,500—and, of course, legends. Dotting the cape are 14 lighthouses, though many are not operational.

In 2019, I toured the decommissioned lighthouse on Monomoy Island off Chatham. I had driven my boat past the lighthouse many times over the years but never set foot on the island. The Monomoy lighthouse and keeper’s house are used by the US Wildlife Service to study migratory seabird and resident seal populations.

During the tour, I was surprised by the utter isolation of the lighthouse. It took us nearly a half-hour to walk across the deserted island to reach the lighthouse and keeper’s house. We were allowed to climb to the top of the lighthouse, but there was nothing to see but sand, scrub brush, and the ocean. It was beautiful but oddly intimidating because of its isolation.

During the visit, our Wildlife Service guide chuckled when he mentioned that some researchers at the keeper’s house felt the building was haunted.

For a mystery writer, there’s nothing more intriguing than a hint of spectral disturbances in this setting. After returning to the mainland, I researched the history of this area of Monomoy Island and found unsubstantiated rumors of murders that occurred near the lighthouse in the 1860s. Several legends about ghosts on the island also provided a perfect plot twist.

As a former journalist, I decided to write a modern story involving a young reporter named Stacie Davis sent to Chatham to cover the story of an unidentified woman’s body found floating off the island of Monomoy. The fact that the woman’s body wore clothing from another era added just the right amount of intrigue.

Stacie, the lead character in “Whisper,” is a young reporter at the low end of her newspaper’s totem pole. As a general-assignment reporter, she is given a variety of stories that test her mettle. She’s not happy to be sent on the 90-mile drive to Chatham from Boston, but she’s also keen to prove she can handle any story.

I work closely with my wife, Denise, when revising a manuscript. Perhaps it’s her training as a psychologist, but she was instrumental in bringing authenticity and toughness to Stacie’s character. We have worked together on ten novels, and I always take her advice on improving character development, plot pacing, and romance (of course).

The reception for “A Whisper Came” was much stronger than I anticipated. Our local bookstore here in Chatham sells quite a few paperbacks, and I’ve just finished “Dead In The Water,” book 2 in the Cape Cod Mystery series with intrepid reporter Stacie Davis.  

I can’t wait to see what trouble Stacie will get into in book 3. She’s one tough cookie.

A Whisper Came

Stacie, a young, ambitious reporter, is sent to Chatham on Cape Cod to follow up on the body of an unidentified woman found floating nearby. Over the centuries, Cape Cod has been the site of thousands of shipwrecks, leaving the sandy shore littered with debris, legends, and ghost stories. Stacie’s editors encourage her to dig into the mix of Chatham’s quirky residents and to write about the mysteries surrounding the old Monomoy Point Lighthouse. On a lark, she makes a nighttime visit to the lighthouse with a young charter boat captain and, in the process, stumbles tragically into a dark mystery that forces her to question her sanity and the truth buried in a legend. 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B093TJR9QC

B/N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-whisper-came-keith-yocum/1139508965

Ibooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1570048192

Google iPlay: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=uvNWEAAAQBAJ&pli=1

Keith Yocum is a former journalist and business executive who has worked for publications including The Boston Globe and The New England Journal of Medicine. He lives on Cape Cod and is the author of ten novels. He welcomes feedback at http://www.keithyocum.com.

https://www.facebook.com/yocum.keith/