Hurricane Matthew and North Carolina Storm Surge

Only one week ago I wrote an article about evacuating pets and emergency supplies. Little did I know the drama that would engulf my region when I wrote it.

 

I live in Lumberton, nestled in the southeast corner of North Carolina about one hour from North Myrtle Beach, SC and one hour due west from Wilmington, NC. Hurricane Matthew’s path came closer to shore than expected. Power went out last Saturday and during the height of the storm, countless trees came down on power lines and blocking roads.

 

During the night—after the storm had passed—people all over this region were awakened by the sound of water rushing into their homes. The storm surge—water pushed in from the ocean by the strong hurricane-force winds—was pushed upstream into rivers that were already swollen from record rainfall the month before.

If you've read my Black Swamp Mysteries series or Ryan O'Clery Mysteries, you know the Lumber River cuts right through the heart of town. The flood has completely submerged the water treatment facility so residents are without water for the foreseeable future (possibly four more weeks), but more importantly, it became a life or death situation for thousands of people here.

One of the most compelling stories I've heard is about a woman whose son drove all the way from Texas to rescue her. He found her in a flooded home surrounded by alligator-infested water. 

(http://myfox8.com/2016/10/11/lumberton-woman-barely-escapes-flooded-home-home-car-destroyed-horses-missing/ or https://www.facebook.com/chadtucker/videos/10153837893100896/ ) She was able to get one of her dogs out; the ASPCA, hearing of her story, went back after the second dog (see below).

Here are some news reports with video that can more adequately describe the situation here, pictures and video from Lumberton about halfway down:

 

https://www.rt.com/usa/362709-nc-hurricane-matthew-flooding-rivers/

 

And:

 

http://abc11.com/weather/11-deaths-in-north-carolina-blamed-on-matthew/1535987/

(Lumberton about halfway down with video with the caption “Lumberton Flooding” in which the Governor said that Lumberton and Robeson County are “the greatest challenge to this state”)

 

The interstate was washed out here. (Picture at right taken from the service road at Exit 22.) 

 

If you want to help, here is information from our state representative Jane Smith: Supplies can be sent to Robeson Emergency Operations Center at 38 Legend Road, Lumberton, North Carolina 28358. Monetary donations can go to United Way of Robeson County at PO Box 2652, Lumberton, NC 28360.

 

p.m.terrell is the internationally acclaimed author of more than 20 books, including two award-winning series set in Lumberton: Black Swamp Mysteries and the Ryan O'Clery Mystery Series.

Exit 22 Gets a Makeover...

With the continued success of the Black Swamp Mysteries series, it was decided to give the first book, Exit 22, a makeover.

Here's the original cover:

And here's the new cover:

Which one pulls you in more, and why?

Tuesday Teaser - Christopher Sandige

This week, I'm answering the question about my character's backgrounds with information on Christopher Sandige, who made his first appearance in Exit 22 and has remained throughout the Black Swamp Mysteries series. Last week, I profiled Brenda Carnegie; the week before, Dylan Maguire; and the week before, Vicki Boyd.

Christopher Sandige is an anti-hero, a guy who is more at ease behind a desk constructing political strategies for his Congressman boss than he is running for his life through alligator-infested swamps with Brenda Carnegie.

He told himself he didn’t want a woman, a marriage, a typical family life in the suburbs. His hours were long and often began with coffee at his desk and ended with pizza delivery to the office. All that changed when he met Brenda.

The woman awakened in him desires he didn’t think he had—a longing to be with her, a need for romance, a desire for intimacy, an urge to protect her—even when he knew she was quite capable of protecting herself. He’d never really had eyes for anybody other than Brenda and though he knows she is dangerous, he can’t seem to tear himself away from her.

When push comes to shove, it turns out he is quite capable of handling a gun, of fighting off an attacker in hand-to-hand combat, of working in a team that often finds itself at the wrong end of a barrel… and of crossing the line without a look back.

If the Black Swamp Mysteries series was made into a movie, who would I want to play him? My pick would be Tom Weston-Jones.

Next week: Sam Mazoli.

Thursday Thoughts - On Promoting a Series

Until 2012, all of my books were stand-alone, which meant that readers did not need to read any particular book first. There were a couple that had the same characters, such as the true story of Mary Neely in River Passage and Songbirds are Free. But if you read them in reverse order, you would still understand what was happening with each character.

But in 2012, the Black Swamp Mysteries series was launched, due to the popularity of Exit 22, which introduced Brenda Carnegie and Christopher Sandige.

Vicki's Key introduced two new characters, Vicki Boyd and Dylan Maguire, so the reader didn't need to read Exit 22 in order to understand what was happening.

In Secrets of a Dangerous Woman, all four characters came together - and what transpires in that book keeps these characters together for the rest of the series, either through blood or circumstance.

So Dylan's Song, which was released in early 2013, picks up where Secrets leaves off... And if you didn't read the first few books in the series, you'd find yourself kind of... lost.

I thought about this recently when someone suggested that I watch the BBC television series, Copper, about New York during the era of the Civil War. Turns out it has quite a few Irish hunks on it - actors who could easily play Dylan Maguire (Black Swamp Mysteries series) or Ryan O'Clery (The Tempest Murders).

But I found myself completely lost when I watched the first show of this season. Turns out, I didn't understand the relationship between the men and women and children... And I didn't understand what was going on.

So I had to go back to Season I to watch those first critical episodes that explains who everyone is, where they came from, who they're related to, and so on.

Has this happened to you, either in a book or with a television series?

Tuesday Teaser - Series Order

As the Black Swamp Mysteries series gains in popularity, I've been asked which order to read them. Here's a list of the books and a quick peak into each:

Exit 22 introduces computer hacker Brenda Carnegie and political strategist Christopher Sandige. When Chris is involved in an automobile accident at Exit 22 in North Carolina, he is stranded for the weekend in Lumberton. He meets beautiful but mysterious Brenda Carnegie and is immediately pulled into a double homicide. Now they're on the run from law enforcement - and a hired assassin who wants them dead.

Vicki's Key is the second in the series. After CIA mission goes awry, psychic spy Vicki Boyd leaves the CIA to start her life over in a small town helping an elderly woman. But when she arrives in Lumberton, she finds Laurel Maguire has suffered a stroke and her nephew Dylan has arrived from Ireland to help her. Vicki quickly falls in love with the charming and handsome Irishman. But all is not what it seems in Aunt Laurel's old, rambling home. And when the CIA arrive to pull Vicki back into one last mission, her past and her future are about to collide - in murder.

Secrets of a Dangerous Woman has Dylan Maguire on his first CIA mission: to interrogate recently captured Brenda Carnegie. But when she escapes again, it's obvious she had help from inside the CIA's own ranks. Now, with Vicki Boyd's psychic assistance, she's back in his custody again and he must find out why some in the highest positions in government want her dead - while others will risk everything to help her. And when he discovers she is Vicki's sister, his mission has just become very personal.

In Dylan's Song, the fourth in the series, Dylan and Vicki journey to Ireland for a joint CIA mission: to locate and extract a missing CIA operative. But when Dylan receives word that his grandmother is dying, it plunges him into a past he thought he'd left behind forever. Now he must confront his past demons before it derails his mission and endangers his and Vicki's lives. And while Vicki discovers the real reason he left Ireland for America, she is harboring a secret of her own.

Tuesday Teaser

Today I am a guest at Janna Shay's Fair Play. I hope you'll drop in and leave a comment. This is my fourth book tour since the start of the year, and I have already given away a gift basket from the town of Lumberton as well as two beautiful Celtic necklaces. Another Celtic necklace will be given to a randomly drawn commenter at the end of my current tour.

I've been asked which order readers should read my Black Swamp Mysteries series, so here goes:

Exit 22 was the first book. It was meant as a stand-alone but has been so popular that it developed into the Black Swamp Mysteries series. This book introduces Christopher Sandige, a political strategist who is traveling along Interstate 95 when he is involved in an accident at Exit 22 in North Carolina. Stranded for the weekend in Lumberton, he meets a beautiful but mysterious woman named Brenda Carnegie, and is immediately drawn into a double homicide. He finds himself on the run from a dogged detective--and from a hired assassin. Now he doesn't know if the woman he is falling in love with is a killer.

Vicki's Key is the second book. It introduces Vicki Boyd, a psychic spy who has decided to leave the CIA and begin a new life in a small town helping an elderly woman with her angelfish breeding business. But when she arrives at Laurel Maguire's home in Lumberton, North Carolina, she finds the elderly woman has suffered a stroke and is confined to the third floor of a rambling home. Her nephew, Dylan, has arrived from Ireland to care for her. Vicki quickly falls in love with the charming, handsome Irishman. But everything in the old home is not as it seems. And when the CIA return to coax her into one last job, her past and her future are about to collide... In murder.

In Secrets of a Dangerous Woman, the characters from Exit 22 and Vicki's Key come together and what happens to them will forever bind them together through blood or circumstance. In Dylan Maguire's first assignment with the CIA, he must interrogate recently captured Brenda Carnegie. But when she escapes again, it's obvious she's had help from within the CIA's own ranks. Now he must find her again and also find out why some in the highest levels of government want her killed -- and why some will risk everything to help her.

In Dylan's Song, Dylan Maguire returns to his native Ireland with Vicki Boyd. Their mission: to locate and extract a missing CIA operative. But when Dylan receives word that his grandmother is dying, it plunges him into a past he thought he'd left behind forever. Now he must confront his demons as his past interferes with his mission and places his life and Vicki's in danger. And as Vicki discovers the real reason he left Ireland for America, she harbors a secret of her own.

Monday Musings - Waiting on Sunday to Drown

Today I am visiting with Waiting on Sunday to Drown. I hope you'll pop in and read an excerpt from my latest book as well as an informative blog about my writing and myself. One lucky follower will win an awesome basket of goodies from the town of Lumberton, where my series Black Swamp Mysteries takes place.

There are three books in my series thus far:

Exit 22
Vicki's Key
Secrets of a Dangerous Woman

If you've read all three, which is your favorite? And why?

Monday Musing Demographics

I've had some fascinating conversations with Hollywood producer Chuck Williams lately. He's caused me to rethink my marketing and promotional efforts regarding my books. Since he talks about ten times faster than I can think, I've spent many an hour digesting everything he said so you'll probably find several more posts here with his advice.

One thing he asked me: who are my demographics?

My books are generally read by the same audience that would read John Grisham. Meaning: equally divided between men and women aged 18 to 92.

Wrong answer, Chuck said.

Hollywood is very specific. A lot of authors have no plans to have their books made into movies or television series. But I do.

And when you're dealing with Hollywood, they want specific demographics.

As we continued our conversation, I realized that while I hadn't sat down and crunched numbers, I did make a very big change in my audience when I began the Black Swamp Mysteries series (Exit 22, Vicki's Key, Secrets of a Dangerous Woman and Dylan's Song.)

My target is a younger audience aged 20 to 35. Though I've had people read these books and love them who are 50 to 92, I added two elements that appeal more to a younger crowd.

First is the paranormal. Vicki Boyd is a psychic spy. The paranormal is a huge market right now and growing-among younger audiences.

Second is romance. There is more romance in the Black Swamp Mysteries series, thanks in large part to Irishman Dylan Maguire. Younger audiences like more romance and they tend toward more detail in lieu of the shadowy scenes of the oldest audiences.

The changes paid off. I am reaching the same audience as I did previously but broadened it substantially with the addition of these two elements.

And it turns out, Hollywood would regard it as a good move, also. Their target market is the younger crowd - 35 or below. I love James Bond movies and Daniel Craig but I am not their target audience. It's probably the reason Sean Connery isn't still playing the famous spy.

Have you thought of your books in terms of demographics?

(And thank you, Chuck Williams. No wonder everyone loves you!!)

WIP Wednesday

It's Work-in-Progress Wednesday and I am completing the first draft of Dylan's Song.

It's the fourth book in the Black Swamp Mysteries series. The others take place in the real town of Lumberton, North Carolina. Dylan's Song takes a bit of a departure. It begins in Lumberton but Dylan has received news that his grandmother is dying in Ireland, a country he thought he'd turned his back on forever.

Vicki has been working on a psychic mission in which a CIA operative follows a terrorist to Ireland and disappears.

So the two head to the Emerald Isle. Dylan's purpose is two-fold: when his grandmother dies during their visit, he must arrange her wake and burial. He must also extract the CIA operative from the position Vicki pinpoints in her remote viewing sessions and get him safely out of the country.

And along the way, he must confront the demons that caused him to leave Ireland.

Dylan's Song is due to be released in the spring of 2013.

Of Books and Series

Black Velvet Seductions recently asked me some intriguing questions:

Where does each book in the Black Swamp Mysteries fit in? And what did I hope to accomplish with each one?

For the past ten years I had been writing stand-alone books, which required me to introduce new characters to the readers, reveal the plot and wrap things up nicely at the end. A series, however, is quite a bit different. It permits me to introduce multi-faceted characters whose layers can be revealed over several books. While wrapping up the current book's plot, it also allows me to lay the groundwork for the next book's plot. And it gives the reader the opportunity to feel closer to each main character so that opening the first page of the newest book is like visiting an old friend once more.

Find out how Exit 22, Vicki's Key, Secrets of a Dangerous Woman and the fourth book I am now writing, Dylan's Song, fit into the series-and what you can expect with the future of the Black Swamp Mysteries Series.

Secrets of a Dangerous Woman

The third book in the Black Swamp Mysteries series is being released this fall. And for the first time ever, the eBook edition is available one month before the printed edition!

Secrets of a Dangerous Woman brings back all the characters my fans loved in Exit 22 and Vicki's Key:

Brenda Carnegie, the computer hacker who is always on the wrong side of the law;

Christopher Sandige, the political strategist who was caught up in a double homicide;

Vicki Boyd, the psychic spy working for the CIA;

and Irishman Dylan Maguire.

In Secrets of a Dangerous Woman, Dylan Maguire is back and in his first assignment with the CIA: to interrogate recently captured Brenda Carnegie. But when Brenda escapes again, it's obvious that she's had help from within the CIA's own ranks. With Vicki Boyd's help, Dylan has her in his custody again. And now his mission is to discover why some in the highest government offices want her killed - and others will risk everything to help her. And when Dylan discovers her true identity, his mission has just become very personal.

What happens in Secrets of a Dangerous Woman will forever join the lives of Brenda, Chris, Vicki and Dylan together - through blood or circumstance.

Buy it today on Kindle at amazon or buy it for the Nook or the iPad. Orders are also being taken at www.pmterrell.com for the trade paperback edition, which ships on September 1!

Paranormal Romance

What types of men or women are you romantically attracted to?

When I developed the Black Swamp Mysteries series, I needed the Perfect Man for Vicki Boyd's love interested, because that role featured prominently in the book. I visited websites for Redbook, Vogue, Cosmo (which is an experience in itself) and many others to find out what their research said about our romantic preferences.

Find out how I chose Dylan Maguire, the Irishman Vicki falls in love with, by visiting Paranormal Romantic Suspense today. Then let me know what characters you enjoy falling in love with!

Books are Magic

Books are Magic asked me a question I'd never received before: what were the best moments in my life and which ones were the worst?

I had to think long and hard about all of them. I've had some terrific peaks and some truly horrible lows. Read what I came up with at Books are Magic, and let me know what your best and worst moments have been!

Live to Read

Have you ever wondered about a female author who writes a book from a male's perspective? Or a male who writes as a female?

When Stephen King wrote Carrie, he threw the entire manuscript in the trash because he thought it was ludicrous for him to have written it as a teenage girl. Fortunately for him and millions of horror fans, his wife Tabitha pulled it out of the trash can and encouraged him to submit it. It was the first book he'd ever had accepted - and the one that catapulted him to fame.

Join me at Live to Read to find out how I select the voice to write in. And leave me a comment or a question about books you've read and what you thought of the male vs. female voice!

Fascination with a Culture

Two weeks ago, I spoke to a class of Asian Studies students at the University of North Carolina. I became intrigued with how their instructor had immersed herself in Asian culture, including having lived in both Japan and China. She spoke both languages as fluently as she speaks English, and clearly loved the Asian countries.

A couple of months ago, I met a reporter who had the same fascination. She had traveled extensively in Thailand for more than two straight years.

And my sister has traveled extensively in Africa with her job and loves the cultures she finds there.

I suppose it's no secret that I love Ireland. It began when I was researching the Mary Neely story and realized my ancestors had been traced back to Ireland and then to the Vikings. It was further enhanced when my cousin told me there was a Neely family reunion in Ireland every year (my maiden name). The more I learned about the country, the more I thought of it as home, as if it was something passed down in my DNA.

Is there a country or a culture that you feel drawn to? What country/culture is it, and what draws you to it?

p.m.terrell is the award-winning, internationally acclaimed author of 13 published books. Her latest, Vicki's Key, introduced an Irish character. Her next book, Secrets of a Dangerous Woman, is the next in the series and will be released in the fall of 2012. Find out more about her writing at www.pmterrell.com.

The Town That Inspired a Murder...

When Vicki's Key is released in a few short weeks, it will launch the beginning of the Black Swamp Mysteries series. The series is set in a real town: Lumberton, North Carolina. A town I just happen to live in.

I moved to Lumberton in 2004. I was a Big City Girl, having been born in Washington, D.C. and I spent most of my life in the D.C. suburbs. So when I moved to Lumberton, it was quite different from anything I'd experienced before.

The Historic Area of Lumberton is filled with wide streets, sidewalks, and majestic trees that often reach across the road to touch one another with their broad branches.

It's an area filled with wide porches, sleepy porch swings, azaleas and birds chirping.

It's a step into yesteryear where one can walk out their front door and down the street to the Plaza, where free outdoor concerts are held throughout the summer... Where City Hall and the County Courthouse are just a few blocks away... Where the historic theatre known as the Carolina Civic Center shows movies and conducts plays in a setting one might have thought was long gone. And where the library sits nestled among brick buildings and behind gently waving trees.

It's this street where the main character of Vicki's Key, Vicki Freeman Boyd, moves after leaving her job with the CIA. In fact, the real houses shown above are the homes of Vicki's neighbors. Just about ten blocks further to the north is the house Brenda Carnegie lived in Exit 22.

It's this street that Vicki sees Dylan Maguire as he walks toward the Carolina Civic Center, where she sees one of many ghosts that haunt the theatre to this day.

And within walking distance of this street and these homes is the black depths of the Lumber River, a lazy, narrow river that winds its way through the heart of Lumberton before snaking off into the countryside. When the rains come heavy and sudden, the river overflows its banks... And when the rains stop and the waters recede, it often leaves behind a thick black swamp, impenetrable in some places...

The Lumber River is the perfect place to hide a body.

And nestled between these historic old homes and the picturesque village-like quality of the town are many places where secrets are hidden...

Welcome to the Black Swamp Mysteries series...

And to the real town of Lumberton, North Carolina...

Vicki's Key is scheduled for release on March 17, 2012. You can pre-order the book from www.pmterrell.com or on www.amazon.com. Look for it in all fine book stores in March. And be sure to mark your calendars for Tuesday, March 27, when p.m.terrell will speak at the Carolina Civic Center in beautiful downtown Lumberton about Vicki's Key!

Standing Alone - a Thing of the Past?

For years, people have asked me to write a series. But I'm one of those people who needs to envision things 100 steps ahead of where I am now before I make a move in that direction.

When Kickback came out, people clamored for more of Sheila Carpenter, so I wrote Ricochet and she made a "guest appearance" in Exit 22 ... But no real series.

When I wrote Songbirds are Free, I had enough material to write a prequel, which turned out to be my award-winning book, River Passage. But still no real series.

So, why now?

First, I did not want to become a "formula" writer. You know the type. The entire series is the same story, just different people murdered. You know what's going to happen and when. I needed a series that could take you, the reader, around the world and through time so you'd never know what's about to happen or which path I'll be leading you down. I wanted to surprise you, enlighten you, engage you.

Second, I needed multi-faceted characters. I needed main characters who were polar opposites but who were tied together through fate or blood. I needed people who could grow and change and be fleshed out over a dozen or more books. People whose pasts rose to haunt them, whose futures were uncertain, and whose presents were totally engaging.

Third, I needed a location that you could feel. One that you could become intimately familiar with, one that would draw you in so you'd feel as if you lived in that house, on that street, in that town.

How did I accomplish this?

Black Swamp Mysteries was inspired by my suspense/thriller, Exit 22, which is my most popular suspense. But it goes far beyond the plot in that book while bringing back the characters we loved, hated and feared.

Vicki's Key will be released in February in eBook format and in March in trade paperback.

It features Vicki Boyd, a CIA psychic spy. Her character is based on a real CIA program and real psychic spies. The side effects she suffers while remote viewing are based on those actually experienced. The detail she is able to describe and sketch is the same level of detail as the best of the best in the psychic program today.

By having a psychic spy as a main character, it allows me to take you around the world - even to remote regions inaccessible by any other means. It will also allow me to take you back in time, as Vicki pieces together events that have occurred in the past but are threatening the world - or her personally - in the present. It allows limitless plots, limitless locales, limitless characters.

But I chose not to have one main character. Brenda Carnegie, Christopher Sandige, and Alec Brodie - all from Exit 22 - have main roles in the Black Swamp Mysteries series also. If you've read Exit 22, you'll remember Brenda as a beautiful but mysterious woman who operates on the wrong side of the law--and who will come toe to toe with Vicki. Chris is a political operative who helps to provide funding for the controversial program - but who also will be involved in some of Vicki's assignments. Alec is Vicki's next door neighbor. Even Joseph Gabucci, the feared assassin, will come face to face with Vicki.

And a new character has emerged as one that reviewers and advance readers alike can't seem to get enough of - Dylan Maguire, an Irishman with a mysterious past whose fate is intertwined in Vicki's.

The locale - the launching point for Vicki's missions - is Lumberton, North Carolina, a real town in the southeastern part of the state. It provides the same level of mystery as the moors of England and the mists of Ireland. The Lumber River winds its way through the county and right through the heart of town. It often overflows its banks, and when the waters recede, it leaves swampland that is almost impenetrable. It's the perfect spot to hide a body... or two.

Stay tuned to future blogs while I tell you more about the main characters and about Lumberton and the mysterious home in which Vicki lives...

And about the murders there.

I hope you'll enjoy Black Swamp Mysteries...

Exit 22 is now on sale on amazon for just 99 cents! Watch the trailer in the upper right corner of this screen.

Femme Fatale

The character of Brenda Carnegie in Exit 22 was inspired by Kathleen Turner more than 20 years before Exit 22 was published.

In 1981, Kathleen Turner starred with William Hurt in the movie Body Heat. Her voice was deep, sultry and hypnotic. It would be the kind of voice that Christopher Sandige described in Exit 22 as "husky, the kind of voice a woman wakes up with but is gone before her lipstick is on" when describing Brenda Carnegie.



In Body Heat, Kathleen Turner sizzles. It was that sexiness that I tried to convey with Brenda Carnegie, the type of woman who instantly has a hold on the man she makes love to... Even when the man begins to wonder if she's operating on the wrong side of the law.

In Exit 22, Christopher Sandige is a political strategist who is traveling south on Interstate 95 when he's involved in an automobile accident at Exit 22 in North Carolina. Stranded for the weekend in Lumberton, he meets Brenda Carnegie and is instantly attracted. Her eyes are such a light shade of brown that they turn amber in some lights, and he finds himself mesmerized by them. The eyes were inspired by this picture.

Even when Chris is pulled into a double homicide and finds himself running from the law and a sociopathic assassin determined to kill him and Brenda, he can not pull himself away from her, preferring to risk losing everything simply to have her.

Brenda is the type of woman who is equally at home seducing a man, tramping through alligator-infested swamps, or using her computer expertise to make millions in illegal activities.

And at the end of Exit 22, I was inundated with requests to bring her back.

Well, now my fans will have their wish.

Exit 22 has been spun off into a series entitled Black Swamp Mysteries. The next book is Vicki's Key, which will be released in March 2012. Christopher Sandige is back and he's looking for Brenda. His obsession will culminate in the third book of the series, Secrets of a Dangerous Woman, due to be released in September 2012.

You've probably guessed that the dangerous woman is Brenda Carnegie... And you'll learn that her illegal activities in Exit 22 were just the tip of the iceberg. Now she has secrets so explosive that she can bring down an entire government.

If you haven't read Exit 22 yet, you'll want to before the next two books are released in 2012. Through October 31, the book is on sale for only 99 cents in the Kindle edition. On November 1, it will return to $6.99.

Thank you, Kathleen Turner, for the inspiration.

The Hired Assassin

My most popular suspense/thriller, Exit 22, begins with a hired assassin arriving at the home of a young couple. He is methodical. Precise. Prepared. Logical. He kills the young man without remorse. When his wife arrives home unexpectedly, he must kill her, also. His only regret is he used two bullets when one would have been sufficient, but the double-tap comes naturally to him.

Once he is finished with his hit, he returns to his hotel and spends the evening in the lobby knitting baby booties.

The character of Joseph Gabucci was inspired in part by the role of the assassin in Three Days of the Condor starring Robert Redford. I learned a lot from that movie, released in 1975. It was based on a book entitled Seven Days of the Condor but the timeframe was shortened to ramp up the suspense. It was a lesson I would use many times in the writing of my own books.

The assassin in the movie was played by Max von Sydow. He is mild-mannered, methodical, precise. You would never suspect him as a hired assassin. In his spare time, he repairs clocks. He was hired to kill Joe, the character played by Robert Redford. In the scene below, he is speaking to Joe after he decides not to kill him because he has gained respect for Joe's sense of survival.

It was this character I had in mind when I developed Joseph Gabucci, the hired assassin in Exit 22. I came across his hobby of knitting baby booties quite unexpectedly. I had a visiting author friend, Dirk Robertson, from Scotland. In his spare time, Dirk enjoys knitting and is quite successful with it, launching a business in which his items are sold in the most exclusive stores in the world. I found it fascinating that a man who appeared on the outside to be ready to play rugby could so easily adapt to a hobby as quaint and unassuming as knitting.

When Exit 22 was released, it turned out that the assassin's hobby made him even more terrifying. He crossed over the line to be more of a sociopathic assassin, incapable of feeling, simply killing as a means of making a living, with no remorse.

Since Exit 22 has launched an entire series, you'll see Joseph Gabucci again, and he will become even more terrifying than his initial appearance. He is, after all, a cold-blooded killer.

Who scared you the most in movies or books?

Exit 22 Kindle edition is on sale now at amazon for only 99 cents. The next book in the Black Swamp Mysteries series, Vicki's Key, will be released in March 2012. The third book in the series, Secrets of a Dangerous Woman, will be released in September 2012.

What Theme Song is Your Book?

I haven't posted anything in a long time. Between my fall book tour (cut short due to upcoming surgery), editing Book # 13 and writing Book # 14, I've had a very full schedule.

Perhaps because of impending surgery, I've wanted to become lost in my new series, Black Swamp Mysteries, and the characters, setting, and plot. The series was inspired by the success of Exit 22, my most popular contemporary suspense/thriller. Since the book's release, I've had so many people ask me what happened to Brenda Carnegie, Christopher Sandige, Alec Brodie - and even the assassin, Joseph Gabucci - that I had to revisit their adventures and expand upon them.

The result is a series with an ensemble cast. Think of a television series such as True Blood, where you have some characters rise to the forefront for awhile, then take more of a back seat while others move up. That will be the journey you'll embark upon in the Black Swamp Mysteries series, while all of the characters are forever tied together through something that happens in their lives.

Exit 22 introduced Christopher Sandige as a political strategist driving from New York to Florida when he is involved in an automobile accident at Exit 22 in North Carolina. Stranded for the weekend in Lumberton, he meets a beautiful but mysterious woman, Brenda Carnegie, and immediately becomes embroiled in a double homicide. As they flee from Alec Brodie, the detective leading the investigation, they find a hired assassin hot on their heels as well. While Alec wants to capture them, Joseph wants to kill them.

While writing the scenes between Chris and Brenda, I listened to Paul McCartney's song, This Never Happened Before. Chris had been a workaholic, so engrossed in his work that he came home each night to an empty house and never had time for dating, much less a relationship. But when he meets the mysterious Brenda, he is immediately captivated. There is something about her light brown eyes that could appear almost amber in some lights, her long, wavy copper hair, and her secrecy that intrigues him. She seems to be everything he is not: comfortable with sloshing through alligator-infested swamps on the run, street-wise, living on the wrong side of the law, flying through life by the seat of her pants, not to mention her amazing sex appeal, that he finds irresistible.

The problem, he soon finds, is whether to believe this woman he's falling in love with... Or face the possibility that she is a killer.

This Never Happened Before is Chris' and Brenda's song.

If you chose a scene from your book - or an overall theme song - what would it be?

Exit 22 Kindle edition is on sale only through October 31 for 99 cents (regular price is $6.99). The printed edition is also available. The next book in the series, Vicki's Key, will be released in March 2012 and the third book in the series (as yet untitled) is due for release in September 2012.