Okay, I’m stealing my villain post to brag about my new covers.

They are fabulous. I love them. I love them more than my first trilogy. They are rich and bold and dark. What do you think?

Can you see why I love them? Do they make you want to pick the book off the shelf? If a reader picks your book up, they have a fifty percent chance of buying it. (Next week I’m going to talk about back cover blurbs . . . unless I get sidetracked.) They’re much better with the foil and embossing. When my agent received the printed proofs (what they’re putting in the sales kits) she tossed the laser prints because the proofs are so much more detailed and incredible.

Anyway . . . villains. Right. From the first trilogy (because I don’t want to tip anyone off on the next trilogy!)

So a couple weeks ago we talked about who might play John & Rowan, Quinn & Miranda and Zack & Olivia. I think the consensus was that we need to go back to the drawing board for John & Olivia, but Emily Procter (Rowan); Nathan Fillion (Quinn); Evangeline Lilly (Miranda) and Hugh Jackman (Zack) could stay. So if there’s anyone out there who has contacts, I’ll be happy to send my book to any of those actors, just send me the address . . .

Now while the protagonists are important, IMO there is no one more important in any film than the antagonist. Even if you’re not writing a thriller, the antagonist must be as strong or stronger than the hero. For example, in CLIFFHANGER while the bad guys were bad (and, frankly, a little TOO cliche/bad for my taste), the other “bad guy” (the environment) was very compelling. And SILENCE OF THE LAMBS? I don’t even think I need to explain . . . but you have to look at both villains. Hannibal Lechter is stronger (as a character) and smarter than the heroine, but the guy who wears his victim’s skin (can’t remember his name, Harold?) is your “standard” serial killer. Both are critical to the story, but Anthony Hopkins carries the show.

The villain REALLY makes a movie, I’ve been thinking all week of who could play my villains. I’ve been thinking more in terms of major actors who have the talent to pull off a good villain. To me, the key to a top actor is the ability to play virtually any role. Johnny Depp can do it, villain or hero. Harrison Ford to a slightly lessor degree (I’m thinking that movie with Michelle Pffeifer, can’t remember the title.) Even the war hero Jimmy Stewart played a villain in at least one movie.

Good actors become great actors when they can pull off the bad guy. With that in mind . . .

******* WARNING: SPOILER ALERT *******

How about BRAD PITT as the villain in THE PREY? I never expected to like him in SEVEN (okay, I’m going to admit a deep, dark secret . . . I’m not a huge fan of Brad Pitt) . . . but I really thought he did a great job in SEVEN. Yeah, the movie was pretty darn good too, if you like dark, psychological suspense. (Raising hand!)

THE HUNT is a little harder, and there are two villains. What do you think of . . . Keanu Reeves for the primary villain?

Okay, I’m a huge fan of both THE MATRIX and SPEED. I know, everyone thinks Keanu can’t act, sort of like Julia Roberts he can only play one type of role, but if he can pull off a really evil villain I think he’d earn a lot of respect in Hollywood, don’t you think? (And I really, really, really loved THE MATRIX.)

The female villain is a lot harder. You don’t want someone obvious, but at the same time, you need to have someone capable of luring women into a trap and watching them be victimized. Here are a couple I thought of: Charlize Theron, Renee Zellweger and Jennifer Garner. What do you think? Any others?

Now, finally, THE KILL. This is actually the hardest for me because the killer rapes and murders children. But he’s also one of the most compelling because he’s organized, methodical, and intensely neat. He’s the everyday average person that parents fear the most.

What about Michael Keaton? I really thought he made a fantastic villain in PACIFIC HEIGHTS and he could probably pull off an insidious serial killer three decades into his career . . .

Actually, there are two villains in THE KILL though they are not working together. I think Keaton would probably play Brian Harrison Hall better than the serial killer. Hmmm. Time to procrastinate, I mean think, a little more about this.

What do you think? Can you picture any of these people playing any of my villains? What about someone else? Let me know! I’d love to hear your opinion

For Cele: John Billingsley as The Butcher:

A few days ago a friend of mine told me she wouldn’t be contributing to a particular blog group any longer due to time constraints and because her books didn’t really fit in with the group’s. Man, can I ever appreciate time constraints, but her last comment got me thinkin’ . . .

When I was a kid, I had a tough time fitting in with any group, so much so I eventually quit trying. What was wrong with just being me, anyway? What law said I had to dress, talk, walk, flirt, or look, like those other girls in order to exist? None that I knew of, so I stayed content simply doing my own thing. Now although it’s true that that attitude did nothing to enhance my social life during those formative years, I have to give it a major amount of credit for my publishing career. ‘Cause you see…

In the beginning was the word, and the word was,

THEM: “In order to be published, you have to do things ‘this’ way.”

ME: “Why?”

THEM: “Because that’s how the rest of us did it and still do it, which means everyone has to do it that way.”

ME: “Who says?”

THEM: “We say. It’s the ‘law’ in publishing. In fact, (insert slight upturn of the nose here) if you don’t do it ‘this’ way, you simply won’t get published.”

ME: “Really.” (Note, this is NOT a question.)

THEM: “Absolutely.”

ME: “Hmm. If that’s true, then why are there so many good writers out there who follow your ‘formula’ yet never get published?”

THEM: “Well . . . uh . . . well . . .” (quickly turning to another sheep in the flock to avoid my question) “Oh, hey, Harry! What about them New Orleans Saints, huh?”

ME: (Eye roll)

From the very beginning, I knew there had to be a better way to break into this business than the methods I’d heard preached time and time again. So, just like in school, I went about my own way. By giving myself permission to step outside that publishing box, I was able to look for a different, quicker path to getting published. Fortunately, that different path worked right out the chute. Funny thing is, although I’m living proof that ‘different’ can work, I still find myself the odd man out, and, the way I figure it, I probably always will be.

My friend claimed her books didn’t follow the same genre theme as a specific group’s. She’s lucky in a way. At least she knows where her books DO fit. Mine don’t seem to follow ANY groups’ specific theme, which, in the publishing world, is the sure kiss of death for a writer. Or so I’ve been told . . . over and over. But then again, my fourth book comes out next July, and each book before it has enjoyed a bigger print run than the book before it. So what’s that about?

Wait, wait, don’t tell me—that damn broad from Louisiana is doing something different again, right?

How far have you traveled outside that publishing box?

Pyscho dance moms are the worst. Just when you think you’ve gotten safely away, one of them blindsides you and whammo! You’re in a confrontation. I’ve learned to be sneaky. I’ve learned to maneuver and duck and cover.

That’s why I’m here today, actually. The sneakiness is working, and I’ve lured Natalie into complacity and taken over her blog. She’s kind of clueless right now anyway, since she is busy writing my latest story. She forgets her own name during that time.

My name, which is hard to forget, is Jenny T. Partridge, and no, I don’t have a pear tree. Heh. I’m a dance teacher in Ogden, Utah, and I spend every week just barely getting by because it turns out dancing for a living doesn’t pay so well. Especially when you only have about 70 students.

My story is told in TUTU DEADLY, which comes out April 2007 from Berkley Prime Crime, and Natalie’s busy pounding away at the keyboard right now, writing my second adventure. She better get it right. I KNOW people. People that know people. Mafia, ha! There is no wrath like the wrath of a pyscho dance mom who is really pissed off because her dance-challenged daughter doesn’t know right from left and….. Hey… HEY….. HEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.

Ahem. Well, excuse me for that little blog. Apparently Jenny got away this morning, while I was busy reading about the capture of fugitive Warren Jeffs, affectionately known (by me at least) as Weenie Rat Face. Tracking the elusive Jeffs has been one of my causes, mostly because he a pedophile of the tallest order, and an evil dictator to boot. Amazing that he is living here in America, the land of the free. We associate this type of behavior with the Taliban and other such groups. But it’s much, much closer to home. Polygamy is one of America’s biggest evils, and one that is routinely ignored by law enforcement.

But they are on the right track. Jeffs is behind bars.

So sorry about Jenny. She’s a little pushy. A lot of fun, but pushy. And very different from my other characters in my St. Martin’s books. It requires a very big SHIFT in my thinking mechanism to move from one book to another. Jenny’s books are light cozies, and filled with humor, murder, and mayhem. My St. Martin’s books are darker, more intricate, high-concept novels with lots of twists and turns and angst. It’s not easy to go from one to another.

There is no “switch” to turn on. One thing I’ve found that helps is taking long walks to get into the mode. I think about the characters, turn them over and over in my head, study their motivations. This is perfect walking time in Utah, heading into early Fall, and it’s gorgeous. The leaves haven’t yet started to change, but mornings and evenings are cool, everything is still green, and there is plenty of blue sky.

This helps me to separate and move from one book into another, and right now, I have no choice. I have to be able to move quickly from one to another.

So, how do you get yourself in writing mode? If you write different types of books, like me, how do you make the big switch? Can you do it quickly, or does it take time?

My characters are in time out.

This weekend I just walked away. It’s not that the book is going bad, it’s just that my process is Two Steps Forward, One Step Back. And it can be darned frustrating.

Here’s the simple version of my process:

1) I write a synopsis. In this case, it was pretty easy. usually it’s a nightmare, like trying to write a book report without having read the book

2) I write a couple chapters. Life is good.

3) Everything grinds to a halt in one form or another. Now I have to get to know the characters backstory and defining moments that shape their decision and reactions. This is frustrating because I thought I understood then, but it wasn’t deep enough to give the characters the layers I want. Often I need to do more research too. Sometimes I have to go back to chapter one, sometimes I just need to tweak.

4) Breakthrough, I understand where I need to go and I write. Usually I have to tweak the plot but this is a pretty good time.

5) Heading toward the last third or so of the book I hit a snag again. When I step back I realize that this is where I have to get all my ducks in a row. I need to go over all the plot threads, work with all the characters and their motivations and goals and usually shift some stuff around. But when I’m in the middle of it, it feels overwhelming.

6) Break through and get to the end. This is the most exciting part!

7) Put the book away for a little bit of time, take it out and rewrite the book. Time away really gives me perspective and helps my rewrites. I also usually ask for a read through if a critique partner has time. My husband also has done it for me, and he’s turned out to be surprisingly good considering he’s not a big reader.

Trust me, this is an oversimplified version! Right now I’m in stage three of the anthology. So this weekend, I put my characters in time out and went shopping with my sister on Saturday and hung out with my husband on Sunday. (Okay I did some work on the galleys for THE SEX ON THE BEACH BOOK CLUB t00). Even though the real problem is that I need to do more in depth characterization and plotting, I like to blame my characters and punish them

Who do you all blame when things go wrong?

Life, my friends is good, very good. (addendum after the fact: this is a long shameless path to the guts of this post: research)

I woke up the other a.m. grumbling about having to get up so early. Hubby is on strike with the remaining kid, so I have to take the little bugger to school (which also means he [hubby] gets to stay in bed). Grrr. I’m not sure if I’m dreading or excited about number two son getting his license in October. So anyhow, I woke cantankerous, as I am want to be when I have to be out of the house before 8 a.m..

After playing bumper cars with other grumpy mothers, I came home spoiling for a fight. If hubby was on strike from driving the kid, then damn it I was on strike from making the coffee (rule is: first one up makes it, which is usually him). So, I walked haughtily by the coffee pot and fed my fish, the girls, the cat, and Max the parrot. I made my point! Or so I thought. I caved. I needed caffeine, the hot liquid kind in a cup in my hand when I check my email in the morning. I made the damn coffee.

Then I checked my email, and as is sometimes the case, I have an email from a writer who has a cop related question. I generally type my response with some degree of certainty, but always ask currently on-strike-hubby to confirm my answer. Admittedly, he usually tweaks it.

Now, Allison and Natalie both know my husband personally, and I can honestly say they lurve him. I’ll let them expound on why. (and don’t be stingy with your words ladies). Most of my CP’s and fellow writers around here have met him and get a kick out of him as well. My Kensington editor Hilary Sares likes him more than she likes me, and several of you know him from his comments here at MSW. Most of which I’ve had to either ask him to delete or seriously augment, because well, the man has an opinion and had he been left to his own devices, he would have most definitely begun one of several flame wars. And we don’t flame here at MSW.

So, he is the smartest man I know. He has an above average IQ, he has more common sense then half of the earth’s population combined. He has the gift of eloquence and he’s a damn good writer in his own right. Not to mention the guy is hilarious. He makes me laugh. It’s what attracted me to him over two decades ago and it still does. He can also be arrogant, he is protective, his faith is unshakable and he will always stand for what he believes and never fall for what is in fashion.

Now, don’t get me wrong. The man has his faults (sorry, honey, but it’s true). He will fight the good fight and know he is going to lose and suffer the consequences to go with it. And sometimes those consequences are hefty. He was always a spirit of the law kind of cop. Before he retired he held the record for most IA’s in a year. And for the record, none of them stuck. His style of police work was aggressive, hands-on and righteous. He never arrested a bad guy who didn’t deserve it. He was the officer who could diffuse a family disturbance about to go to shit, and have the bad guy walk out with his dignity intact. Hubby was never one of those half-cocked young guns who wanted to go down in a blaze of glory. No, he was the smart one, the patient one, the one you didn’t want to piss off because if you did, you paid for it. If you were fair he was fair. If you were a dick he was a dick. If you wanted to fight, he was always up for it, and always won.

There were scores of men my husband worked with over the years. In his heyday there was one elite group of them who owned the city, and the bad guys in it from the hours of 10 pm to 8 am. They all sported the same Foo Man Chu mustaches, flat tops, and kick ass attitudes. For the year and a half this squad ruled the streets, the crime rate dropped dramatically. No one fucked with them. They had a name; a name I would love to share but can’t, not yet, because it is the name of the series I’m writing in their honor. Each one of these men, and a few women (although the original real life squad had no women) will tell their story. This series, while sexy, will be straight romantic suspense. It will have its own website. I’m planning on launching this series in the antho Allison, Rocki and I are doing.

Now that I have shamelessly promoted myself and hubby, the main reason for my post today was to ask about your research habits and to offer a free resource to those of you looking for cop related answers to law enforcement questions. Beginning next Wednesday over at my The Write Life blog (www.Karintabke.com then click o the blog link) Cop Talk will go live. A certain hot cop I know, who I’m calling Officer Friendly, will take questions posed the week before (to pose a question email Karin@KarinTabke.com) and answer them.

Okay! So now this brings me around in a very long way to my original topic of this post. How far do you go for research? Do you surf the net, read books on the subject, or find a hands-on place to actually experience it? How far have you gone in the name of research? How far would you go?