Ruthless People

Blood Always Tells  by Hilary Davidson (Forge hardcover, 15 April 2014).

Dominique Monaghan finds out that her married lover is cheating on both her and his wife, and decides to get even by blackmailing him.  Her plan is to confront him when they are at Gary's country home for the weekend, but before she can do it, they are both kidnapped.

The kidnappers load them into the back of a van and drive for a few hours.  They end up at an isolated house that looks creepy enough to be haunted.  Dominique and Gary are forced inside and shut in separate rooms.  But Dominique is nothing if not resourceful, and she manages to steal a cell-phone long enough to call her big brother Desmond.

Desmond is the quintessential Good Guy and spends a lot of time volunteering for Causes. He feels like he's been cleaning up Dominique's messes forever.  He happens to be on a date when he talks to his sister, and when he hears her convoluted tale he rushes off to find her.

But what he discovers when he arrives creates more questions than answers, and he ends up on a lengthy quest that involves multiple law enforcement agencies, a couple of shady lawyers, and Gary's wealthy socialite wife.

The plot of this standalone contains many twists, but it's not unwieldy.  It's a different type of novel than Davidson's Lily Moore series, but still gripping and suspenseful.  You may find yourself reading long into the night rather than put this book down.


FTC Full Disclosure:  Many thanks to the author for the Advance Reading Copy.

The challenges in writing a series

By Jenny Hilborne
Author of psychological mysteries and thrillers

A question was posed on a recent author interview I completed about the challenges in writing a series and it made me think. Is writing a series more challenging than crafting a standalone?

In a series, the cast of characters (at least some of them) is already established. Threads from earlier books can be developed into plot lines or sub plots for prequels and sequels. Part of the author's work is already done, nest-ce pas? Perhaps, but it doesn't necessarily make it easier.

Every book I've written has presented me with challenges.  Each book was more difficult to write than the one before it. My current work in progress, which is the 3rd book in my Jackson series, is no exception.

Feedback from readers about what they did (and didn't) like about him in the first 2 Jackson books has helped him develop into a more "accessible" character; more personable with less of the "all business" persona he had in my debut, Madness and Murder. I know my detective much better by book 3, but it doesn't get easier.

I'd never planned to write a series. M&M was intended as a standalone. When readers asked for the return of my detective, I was flattered, but...ahem...less than delighted. I mean it in a good way. Of course, I was thrilled readers liked him, but I'll admit, I panicked. The issue is this: M&M spans 20 years and by the end of the book, Jackson is in his early sixties. I'd planned to retire him after one book and focus on writing standalones.

Oh, dear. What could I do with a 60-something cop and how much life could I give him? I thought about adding a hot new girlfriend, but Jackson has a wife, and no plans to cheat. What if I gave him a new hobby? Maybe this:

Or he might suddenly buy himself one of these:

But he doesn't have the time for either. Perhaps when I eventually do retire him....

Had I planned the series, I'd still find it challenging (tho' perhaps not as much).

With common threads weaving through a series, the author has to keep the reader in mind. Will each book lead into the next, demanding the series be read in order? Or can each book in the series stand alone? Though it may be necessary to repeat pertinent information in later books for the benefit of new readers, the challenge to the author lies in not replicating too much of the first story or characters in subsequent books and boring the readers who've read the entire series.

The tenth Warshawski novel was my first Paretsky read and, while I felt I needed to know more about V.I. to follow all the threads, I was still able to enjoy the story. Readers who know V.I. well were not bashed over the head with repetitive stuff from the preceding 9 books.

To provide necessary details in subsequent books, Paretsky tossed in reminders rather than boring repetition. Subtlety is the key.

In writing my own series, I've found I need a good memory (and I don't have one). Aging of characters, eye and hair color, personality quirks - remembering all those things and making them consistent is crucial. I write bios for each character to keep it straight (otherwise I'd have to re-read each book and I'd never get the next one written). For my work in progress, I've included a little more focus on Mrs. Jackson (thanks to the suggestion from one of my readers who wanted to know more about the Mrs. behind the Mr.) and this allowed me to see my main character in a new light. It feels refreshing to write it.

I'm doing what Sara Paretsky did and using reminders to enable new readers to follow along without confusion. I've never been much of a series reader, but that's changing. Seeing how other authors do it is a great lesson.

Readers: what likes/dislikes about a series are you willing to share that we authors can learn from?

Do You Stand Alone?

by L.J. Sellers, author of provocative mysteries & thrillers

Sandra Parshall, who happens to be a terrific blogger, posted yesterday about standalone suspense fiction and how she likes it better than crime fiction series, but that few authors are writing it. I'm not sure that's technically true. Many of us are writing it, but often, one of two things happen. Either the standalone doesn't sell as well as our series books, or it's so popular that readers want more, and it ends up launching a new series.

There are exceptions of course. Gillian Flynn writes popular standalone thrillers and grows her readership with each one. And some series writers have expanded their readerships by writing standalone thrillers (Laura Lippman, Harlan Coben). That's what I hope to do with my new thriller.

Yet, I love the character, and I know I'll bring her back for more stories. Her setup as an FBI agent who specializes in undercover work is perfect for a series that has a lot of flexibility.

I introduced Agent Dallas in Jackson #8, Crimes of Memory (which will release Oct. 15!). I had so much fun writing her part that I knew she needed her own story. And I had an idea that I really wanted to write about and she was perfect for it. My beta readers loved the story, and I'm still waiting to see if my publisher does too.

More important though will be if readers like it. Especially new readers. I know some of my Jackson fans will pass, just because it's not a Jackson story. But I hope enough new readers will be interested in the novel to justify the five months I put into researching and writing it.

Here's a quick description: Agent Dallas goes undercover to find a missing woman who is likely being held captive in an isolated prepper community. What she finds is a lot more terrifying.

Readers: Do you read the standalones of your favorite series authors?

Writers: Do you write series, standalones or both? And what is your experience?

L.J.'s Standalone Thrillers

by L.J. Sellers, author of provocative mysteries & thrillers

I feel a bit like the kid in the Home Alone movie, having the place to myself while the family is away for Christmas. I've tried to be responsible and post blogs with wide appeal, but today is my last chance to be mischievous and I can't resist a little blatant self-promotion. So here's a post from my personal blog.

Readers are most familiar with my bestselling Detective Jackson books, but I also have three standalone thrillers, two that I wrote before I started the series. I worked for a pharmaceutical magazine for seven years, so the pre-Jackson books have subtle medical themes. I rewrote them before self-publishing to update the stories and to give Jackson a small cameo in each.

The seed of an idea that would become The Baby Thief sprouted one evening many years ago while I watched a few minutes of American Gladiator. I thought about how physically fit the winners were and how genetically superior their children would be. Eventually, I connected that idea to fertility science, and the plot for The Baby Thief was born. In essence, a woman goes to a fertility clinic, hoping to become artificially inseminated, but the clinic director takes one look at her and decides to steal one of her eggs to create a child of her own. Before that happens, the main character, Jenna, meets a charming reporter who won't let her disappearance go uninvestigated. Their relationship is a driving factor in the story, so I labeled the book romantic suspense, my only such label. As info, I'm giving the story away today on Amazon.

The Suicide Effect reflects my concern that some antidepressant medication actually makes some people feel suicidal! The story's structure is similar to a “woman in jeopardy” novel, yet it’s so much more. Sula, the protagonist, combats her deepest fears and risks everything to find the truth about the drug in question. Readers have said the ending made them shake in fear, then cry with joy. And for Jackson fans, he also makes a brief appearance.

My third standalone thriller is quite different. It features Detective Evans from my Jackson series, only it’s set twelve years in the future and she’s no longer a cop. She’s working as a freelance paramedic and enters a national endurance competition called the Gauntlet. Early in the story, she witnesses a crime, which later hinders her ability to compete. And then there’s Paul, the government official with access to personal data who complicates everything. The story was originally called The Arranger, but accidental market research recently told me that it needed a new name. So it's now called The Gauntlet Assassin, and I'm just waiting for the new ebook file to come back from my formatter.

The Amazon reviews/ratings are terrific for all three, and I hope you’ll check them out. 

My plan for now is to write two Jackson stories a year, plus one standalone. Eventually, one of those standalones may develop into a second series. Or I may run for Congress instead. You never know with me.