D is for Death

Last year was my first crack at the A-Z Blogging Challenge, a blogging phenomenon created by the amazing Arlee Bird. The object is to blog every day of the month of April (except Sundays), and to increase the challenge, to blog thematically from A to Z. No sweat, right? Last year, I blogged about music with Jessica Bell. This year, I'm heading back to my roots and blogging about all things thriller. Join me?

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When I first started writing, I thought you could tell how "thrilling" a story was based on the number of dead people at the end. 

But, after reading a number of thrillers by a few of my favorite authors, I began to realize it's not the number of deaths I should be worried about, but rather, the way the deaths occur. In fact, some of the best "thriller" books I've read have nary a murder. Killing a character isn't the only way to make a reader's pulse race or give them a thrill.  

The death count in my first book, ABSOLUTION is quite low - but they matter, including the live burial in the opening scene. I still remember writing those words, questioning how, having never killed anyone (obviously!) I'd be able to fake authenticity. The scene didn't come easy and required considerable research into things that I erased from my Google history almost immediately.

I've since killed off a dozen or more characters, and I'm still unnerved when I sit down to write the words. But I'd by lying if I didn't admit to loving the research a little. There are some fascinating ways to die...

What are the more difficult scenes for you to write? Not a writer? What's your favorite thriller - and is the death count high?

- Dawn

C is for Cliffhanger

Last year was my first crack at the A-Z Blogging Challenge, a blogging phenomenon created by the amazing Arlee Bird. The object is to blog every day of the month of April (except Sundays), and to increase the challenge, to blog thematically from A to Z. No sweat, right? Last year, I blogged about music with Jessica Bell. This year, I'm heading back to my roots and blogging about all things thriller. Join me?

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I have a love/hate relationships with cliffhangers.

I understand their function, particularly in the thriller genre, and I'm relatively good at them. But, so often, the desire/need to craft that perfect cliffhanger turns into an overwhelming amount of pressure. The ability to end a sentence, paragraph, a chapter in such a way that will demand the reader turn the page. It's tough!

Some thriller authors - like James Patterson and Steve Martini - have this fictional ploy down to a science. 

In simple terms, a cliffhanger is a climax split in two - the main character gets shot, and the chapter ends. It is the question that hovers in the dark space between pages, or the maddening "to be continued"  at the end of your favorite TV show. 

Love or hate them, they are a necessary evil. For a society that struggles to maintain consumer attention, cliffhangers offer a bridge to your audience, a reason for them to turn the page, to buy your next book, to perch on the edge of their seat and suspend disbelief. For you.

No easy task, my friends.

What are some great examples of cliffhangers that made you come back for more?

- Dawn

B is for Berry, and Braver

Last year was my first crack at the A-Z Blogging Challenge, a blogging phenomenon created by the amazing Arlee Bird. The object is to blog every day of the month of April (except Sundays), and to increase the challenge, to blog thematically from A to Z. No sweat, right? Last year, I blogged about music with Jessica Bell. This year, I'm heading back to my roots and blogging about all things thriller. Join me?

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I couldn't possibly write a "B" blog post about the thriller industry without including the two thriller authors who have mentored me over the past few years - Gary Braver and Steve Berry.

Yeah, I know I mentioned them in my A post, but it's not a cheat to mention them again. Not when each has been so instrumental in driving my career forward. If not for Gary, and his incredible patience, encouragement and sheer talent, I may not have continued striving for a career in writing. 

And, over the past couple of years, Steve's firm craft lessons have taught me how to write tight and write well - his succinct, but always bang on, advice has made me a better writer. 

If you've never heard of Gary Braver before, look him up now. Right now. In some ways, he's one of the most under appreciated thriller writers in the industry. Gary writes medical thrillers that make me squirm. His premises are brilliant - and frightening - and the execution of his words is, frankly, mind boggling. 

The first book I read of Gary's was GRAY MATTER, and while there have been some thrilling books before and after this one, it remains my favorite. With just the right blend of science and fiction, Gray Matter is creeptastic! Medical thrillers have never been my genre of choice - Gary makes me question that, though. He's amazing!

And Steve. A multi New York Times Bestselling author, blending history was seat-of-your-pants thrilling action. Dialogue that drives the plot forward. Characters that leap from the page. Tight, tight writing that propels each and every story forward. There's a reason Steve Berry is one of the industry's top selling authors. And yet, he remains such a humble man. I adore him. Steve's road to publishing hasn't been easy, but he's making the most of it now. What an inspiration!

Looking for a great Steve Berry book? I've read (and loved) them all - but The Charlemagne Pursuit may still be my favorite.

Who are your mentors and how have they helped you get to where you are today?

- Dawn

PS - I would be remiss not to mention Sandra Brown in the B category. While Steve and Gary have mentored me, I have always aspired to be like Sandra Brown. One of my favorite writers ever - and a master of the thriller genre. 

A is for Absolution...and Arlee...and Adam

Last year was my first crack at the A-Z Blogging Challenge, a blogging phenomenon created by the amazing Arlee Bird. The object is to blog every day of the month of April (except Sundays), and to increase the challenge, to blog thematically from A to Z. No sweat, right? Last year, I blogged about music with Jessica Bell. This year, I'm heading back to my roots and blogging about all things thriller. Join me?

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The first real book I ever wrote was called ABSOLUTION. I say real, because before it, there were a couple of feeble attempts - a middle grade titled JACK OF HEARTS, a really bad romance called CARNIVAL DREAMS, and a book of horrible poetry that never quite made it to my parent's coffee table. It's okay, I understand. 

Here's the premise for ABSOLUTION:

CAIT WILLIS expects weird, especially as a reporter for Skeptic Magazine, but when her newest assignment to debunk one of the world's most sacred Christian rituals turns deadly, she uncovers a conspiracy tracing from Hollywood's elite to the runways of Milan, where she must nail a killer before he commits the ultimate sin.

ABSOLUTION has since been re-named BLOOD OF THE FALLEN and you can read an excerpt of it here. Don't get too attached though - the book is going through a major overhaul following some advice from my mentors.

My "career" as a thriller writer has been blessed. Several years ago, I attended my first Maui Writer's Conference and was placed in a class with the incredibly talented Gary Braver. To this day, I don't know that I would have pursued a career in writing without Gary's encouragement, enthusiasm, and absolute belief in me. 

Subsequent conferences led me to other amazing mentors, like Steve Berry and James Rollins. Both have given me invaluable advice not only for this book, but also writing thriller. 

Having met the deadline (whoop!) for two of my other (non-thriller) writing projects, I'm excited to get back to Cait's world.

Providing I make it through this year's A-Z Blogging Challenge. To help me, is this week's muse avatar, Adam Levine. A perfect A muse, no?

Doing the challenge? Comment with your link and I'll come check it out! Happy blogging...and happy first day of April.

- Dawn

The Book In My Bag Today: Scarlet, Melissa Meyer

P.S. - It's Monday, so I also have to do my weekly resolution stats. Factoring in being super super sick, not too shabby!

2013 Resolutions Stats

Total words last week: 10,477 
Total words to date for 2013: 68,239

Total pounds lost for week: 0 (Damn Easter Eggs)
Total pounds lost to date for 2013: 26

Books read last week: 0 (this is horrible! But deadlines were met. That deserves a reward.)
Total books read to date for 2013: 6

Movies watched last week: 0
Movies watched to date in 2013: 4

Rocking out with the muse

I had a best friend in high school who taught me a lot about Rock and Roll - or more accurately, she taught me the proper way to attend a concert. We went to hundreds back in the day, pretty much spending every spare penny on rock. Or metal. Or glam.

Or Bon Jovi.

Actually, *I* spent a lot on Bon Jovi - she was never really a hard core fan. Over the years, I've probably been to a half dozen Bon Jovi concerts, a far cry from the 80 Def Leppard gigs she's attended across the world. I don't go to a lot of concerts anymore - they're expensive and I don't have the same patience to wait in line for tickets or to fight with Ticketmaster.

But, I'd probably still stand in line for Bon Jovi tickets.

Bon Jovi isn't the same band I fell in love with in the 80's. Jon's poofed and hairsprayed coif is tamed, the music has changed (at one point, the band even dabbled in country), and save some cover-up, I bet there's very little make-up to be found.

Some things remain consistent, though.

Bon Jovi puts on one hell of a show. No seriously, Jon knows how to work the stage, and for those of us in the nosebleed seats watching on the big screen TV, he understands how to play to the camera. I always feel satisfied after the show, even if I wasn't  front row. Which is pretty much how I feel after an Aerosmith concert - but Jon Bon Jovi is immeasurably better looking than Stephen Tyler. Just saying.

There's a meme going around Facebook showing how some of the 80's rockers have aged over the years. Jon has always been gorgeous, even with his wild hair and tight Spandex. These days, he's a tamer, more traditional hottie who has traded in his Spandex for jeans. Tight fitting jeans, mind you. But I'm okay with that.

There's a whole bunch of reasons Jon stands out for me. Loyalty to his high school wife (unless I am completely snowed by the tabloids), excellent performance skills, fabulous voice, great smile, and the ability to adapt to an ever-changing world.

It's these same characteristics that make Jon Bon Jovi the ideal muse avatar. As I plow through the final scenes of Killer's Instinct, which I am co-writing with the awesome Judith Graves, there's a few things I need to keep in mind - a few lessons I could learn from Jon, you might say.

1. Loyalty. Not to my spouse - that's easy. But to the readers. Making sure to deliver a product that is something they will be proud of, and conforms to the PR we've been pushing out about this fabulous monster book.

2. Performance. Writing the best fiction I can. Choosing words, sentences, paragraphs that flow together and create emotion. Telling the best story possible.

3. Great voice. Ensuring authenticity in the voice, keeping in mind our audience expectations, the beauty of a collaborative effort.

4. Great smile. Remembering that I am one of the lucky people who gets to do what I love - write. Sometimes in the thick of writer's block, it's easy to forget to smile. Writing is what I do. Writing is what I love. That's something to smile about.

5. Adaptability. This book has evolved so much since the initial inception and I suspect that will continue through to the final edits and the eventual release. Our ability to adapt will ensure this book's success. Change is good, donkey.

It's interesting sometimes to see how life circumstances can somehow parallel writing lessons. What rocker - or rapper, opera singer, dancer, etc - fuels your inspiration and why?

While you're thinking about that, I'm getting back to writing. Excuse me while I shuffle my iPod through some Bon Jovi.

- Dawn

The Book In My Bag Today: Scarlet, Melissa Meyer

2013 Resolutions Stats

Total words last week: 2,757 (CLEARLY lower than my expectations, BUT, I am in final stages of Killer Instinct and It's a Blast, which means more time spent on edits/revisions than new words. April will be a better month...)
Total words to date for 2013: 57,762

Total pounds lost for week: 21 (Barely - the Easter chocolate during revisions is killing me! My new home gym is set up and ready for use)
Total pounds lost to date for 2013: 26

Books read last week: 0 (but started Scarlet and am DYING to finish it - still. Have I mentioned how excited I am for April?)
Total books read to date for 2013: 6

Movies watched last week: 0
Movies watched to date in 2013: 4

Thrilled, aMUSEd and inspired by great TV

I'm more than a little obsessed with Daniel Lewis these days.

Before his role as Nicholas Brody on the TV series Homeland,  I admit, I didn't pay him much mind. But now, he's got my full attention, and not just because I think Homeland is one of the best shows on TV right now, or even that he's fairly easy on the eyes.

Daniel Lewis is brilliant, and his character on the show is complex, flawed, sympathetic, and wonderfully developed. Homeland isn't my normal fare, but every evening, I use an episode as reward for a solid day of writing. Inspirational, yes - and Daniel is muse-worthy indeed.

Sadly, I didn't "reward" myself as much as I'd hoped last week. After a month's hiatus on the New Year's Resolution goals, I had high expectations of myself - 10,675 words, actually. I hit almost the halfway mark, turning in a respectable - but not reward-winning - 5,005 words.

For those of you not inspired by Math, that's a deficit of 5,670 words. To catch up this week, I'm looking at 2,335-word days. Let's face it, that's NOT going to happen.

The good news is, it doesn't have to. 5,005 words is nothing to sneeze at. Plus, I've spent a lot of time editing/reviewing and plotting, since the first draft of Killer's Instinct is due end of March - so it's not like I've been sitting idly by, not writing or doing something writing-related.

The thing is, I'm really excited about this book, which I'm co-writing with the awesome Judith Graves - and I want readers to be excited, too. So until it's finished, I'm okay with running a bit of a deficit if it means the end result is a solid, well-written book.

Except...Homeland (season 2) is at a really thrilling part and if I'm going to use the show as a reward for good writing behavior, I'd better get cracking.

Speaking of thrilling, last night's Walking Dead? Tense! No spoilers if you haven't seen it, but it's been a long time since a show has had the ability to make me hold my breath. Not even my current TV thriller obsession, The Following, has done that. Great episode! You think?

So, what TV shows are thrilling you right now?

- Dawn

The Book In My Bag Today: Scarlet, Melissa Meyer

2013 Resolutions Stats

Total words last week: 5,005
Total words to date for 2013: 55,005

Total pounds lost last week: 0 (um...how do I resist EASTER chocolate. Mini eggs...my weakness)
Total pounds lost to date for 2013: 25

Books read last week: 0 (but started Scarlet and am DYING to finish it)
Total books read to date for 2013: 6

Movies watched last week: 0
Movies watched to date in 2013: 4

Why Feb didn't suck...and a thrilling muse

Although I made some pretty hefty New Year's resolutions and a promise to myself for accountability, my last blog post was February 12 - a whole month ago. That's about the last time I wrote any words of significance, too.

Not good.

Despite this, February - and the first couple weeks of March - did not suck. True, I wrote very few words of significance - in fact, when I count last week's meagre efforts, I'm just up to an even 50,000 for the year (that's not a coincidence, I ended last night right at that number so I could start fresh.)

But here's the thing. For the past two years, almost three hours of my weekday was spent driving. We lived out of the city, even though hubs and I have jobs IN the city, and while we enjoyed the peace of the country life, Alberta winters are long - and dangerous. Not to mention, the drive was a huge time suck, and significant cash/gas guzzler.

In February, we began the moving process and March 1, officially moved into our new home - in the city (a mere 20-minute drive to work). Yes, we lose the country, but our new back yard is like a forest, offering the feel of the country - and that's almost better. The house is brighter, with hardwood floors and tile throughout (easier to clean up after three dogs), and even though the yard is not fenced (yet...Spring project), an intricate path system provides ample walking room for the dogs.

I LOVE my new house. Love it. But moving is hard work. Unpacking and organizing is also hard work.

Which is why I didn't write.

I am today, though. This month, the first draft of Killer's Instinct MUST be completed. Judith Graves and I are working on that now. To reach my New Year's goal, I need to pump out 1525 words a day, every day, for the rest of the year. Let's be real. That's likely not going to happen. As February has taught me - life happens.

That doesn't mean I'm not going to try, though. I'm just going to cut myself some slack if the words don't all come at once. (Except this month...because yeah, I need about 25,000 words for March to finish Killer's Instinct.)

It also means I need a heavy duty muse avatar to push me in the right direction. Charlie Hunnam is just the guy for the job. Man, I miss Sons of Anarchy!

So, with muse avatar firmly in place, it's time to stop talking - and time to start writing. Onward!

Until next,
- Dawn

P.S. - February also didn't suck because despite missing my writing goal, my weight loss goal is well on track. Down 25 pounds since January 1. WHOOPA!

P.P.S. - February also didn't suck because illustrator extraordinaire James Grasdal and I finished the third canola book. It's a Blast launches in April. I can hardly wait to share this story with the kids.


2013 Resolutions Stats

Total words to date for 2013: 50,000

Total pounds lost to date for 2013: 25

Total books read to date for 2013: 6

Movies watched to date in 2013: 4