Checkmate: Chess and the Mystery Writer
By MSW Guest Blogger Scott Graham Who, what, when, where, why and how? The go-to questions of a journalist—and the questions I asked and wrote up for two and a half
It’s Tuesday, which means we’re touring Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. I plan on blogging about our trip next week! I would have loved to have done a
I turned in Compulsion ten days ago, book 2 in the Max Revere series, and am awaiting notes from my editor which will come in the next week or two. One of the problems
I’m a big fan of action adventure movies. I love everything about them. The story, the choreography, the bigness of the production. THE AVENGERS was one of my
Starting in the Middle of a Series
I love reading a series. It’s the same reason I prefer television to movies. I like revisiting my favorite characters, finding out what they’re doing, how
Writers: Nature or Nurture? By MSW Guest Blogger Grant Blackwood Blackwood … Brennan … we met at a book signing. At many book signings. And share much in c
BREAKING! Cold Snap a finalist in the Thriller Awards!
A second post today! Surprise! But I couldn’t contain my excitement. COLD SNAP is a finalist in the 2014 Thriller Awards for Best Paperback Original. I am totall
Today is the day I’ve been waiting for since last March, when I first turned in the revised manuscript for NOTORIOUS. Today is the day I’ve been waiting fo
I have a confession. Whenever a new show is a huge hit out of the gate, I don’t watch it. I don’t know why, I think I get overwhelmed by the hype. I figure
I read this article in the Wall Street Journal and it really hit home. I posted it on Facebook, but found that I had more to say about the subject. On Saturday, my dau
Each book is a new adventure and my favorite part is meeting new people.
All my life I’ve been interested in photography, so I was excited to start my new book EXPOSED, which features a forensic photographer. Before I wrote a single word of the story, I set out to meet some crime scene photographers and learn all about what they do.
It’s a fascinating field. Have you ever thought about just how critical photographs can be in a murder trial?
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This year I spent the better part of my Thanksgiving holiday not cooking or cleaning anything.
It was very refreshing! Instead of baking and prepping the house for guests, we decided to take advantage of the school holiday and venture into the great outdoors.
Destination: Sedona, Arizona. If you’ve never been there, it’s a breathtaking area at the gateway to the Grand Canyon. After getting up before sunrise and rushing to the airport, we landed at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor airport and were delighted to be exploring the red rocks by afternoon.
We spent several days hiking, snapping photos, and taking in the beautiful scenery. One thing I love about hiking on vacation is that I can indulge in some hearty meals and guilt-free ice cream cones. This trip I discovered a wonderful breakfast spot called The Coffee Pot, which takes it’s name from the pitcher-shaped rock formation nearby. I was so excited to find grits and biscuits on the menu as well as 101 different types of omelettes. (I tried the chorizo and cheese, but the most creative selection on the menu was PB&J.)
The highlight of the trip was a three-hour trek out to Devil’s Bridge, which is a 
natural rock bridge tucked deep into the mountains. If I’d realized how long it would take to get there, I might not have ventured the journey… but it turned out to be well-worth the effort.
And the nicest part of the week? I didn’t spend a single moment worrying about turkey or gravy or pie until Thursday morning.
Do you have any non-traditional plans for the holiday season?
Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of my new book SCORCHED, which I am thrilled to say is a New York Times and USA Today best seller. I snapped a photo of the book at the Phoenix airport, where it is part of the book store’s “Read & Return” program.
What is it about vigilantes, rogue cops, and superheroes that keep us captivated?
This trend is nothing new, though over the last few years the vigilante-as-hero has been on the rise. I look back to Westerns as the rise of vigilante justice. When America was a new country and there wasn’t any real system in place to keep people safe. People were responsible for each other–families for their own, neighbors for their neighbors, towns for their towns. Someone comes onto your land to steal your cattle, shoot them. Someone rapes your wife, shoot him. Someone robs the bank? Hunt them down and hang them.
Standard set-ups in vigilante stories is usually heart-wretching. The hero (or anti-hero) has someone he loves violently taken from him, and he hunts down the people responsible. There’s a clear “good guy” and a clear “bad guy” and no doubt that the bad guys deserve to be shot or hung. As society has grown, laws made, law enforcement spread throughout the land, there’s less need of vigilante justice because there are protections in place. Some people own guns. Some people have security systems. Some people know self-defense. There are security cameras protecting businesses, security cameras on public streets and in homes, cops paid to respond and investigate crimes. A court system that wrings out the bad guys and sorts the truly evil from those who just made a mistake. Prisons to keep them in check.
Except, the system doesn’t always work. It’s a good system, but no system is perfect. Sometimes, innocent people end up in prison. Other times, bad guys are let free on technicalities. Sometimes, the bad guys are never caught. We all know a personal story, something that happened to us or to a loved one where justice was not served.
And that’s why vigilante stories remain popular. Westerns, Robin Hood, THE EQUALIZER, DEATH WISH, and others. It’s why superheroes have always been popular, but we’re seeing a resurgence. It’s why shows like JUSTIFIED and PERSON OF INTEREST and ARROW become popular. Why we can root for the anti-hero because he’s meting out justice when the system has failed.
In LOVE ME TO DEATH, the first Lucy Kincaid book, I tackled vigilante justice. A group of vigilantes were targeting convicted sex offenders who were released from prison early. Statistics show that sex offenders are the most likely to reoffend; these are predators who take pleasure in hurting those weaker than them. As I wrote the book, I was having a hard time seeing what was wrong with what they were doing–these guys were bad news, and they were going to hurt another woman or child. Why not kill them? In fact, when I was looking for a new agent in 2010 and LMTD was written, I used it as my WIP for the new agents I was interviewing. One agent didn’t like it–the first victim in the book, Roger Morton, was a bad guy and he was shot in the head. The agent commented that no one is going to feel bad about him, or the other victim who was a convicted rapist, and she didn’t see how readers were going to care about solving these crimes. She only read the first third of the book, and I can see why she would think that. But isn’t that one of the great hooks in stories? To see these crimes as justified … and then when do they step over the line?
Even Lucy is torn. From LMTD:
In the back of her mind, Lucy realized that she was relieved they were off the streets. But she couldn’t accept cold-blooded murder. If vigilante justice ruled, anarchy would soon follow.
“The system is far from perfect. But your way is not the answer. It’s premeditated, cold-blooded murder. That makes you as much a monster as they are.”
In most vigilante stories, the hero (anti-hero) is torn because of this exact idea–that they, too, are monsters. Monsters hunt monsters. They can justify it because they’re saving innocents and taking down bad guys, but it takes its toll on them, even superheroes. It’s what makes them compelling characters–alpha, damaged, brutal, compassionate.
Why do you think vigilante stories are so popular and compelling? What’s one of your favorite characters from film, television, or literature?
Good news! I found out yesterday that STALKED, the latest Lucy Kincaid thriller, is debuting at #10 on the New York Times bestseller list. Thank you to all my readers who helped put Lucy on the list. AND our own Laura Griffin’s SCORCHED also hit the NYT extended list, the first time her Tracers series has made a showing. I am SO thrilled for her because her series rocks.
To celebrate that Laura and I are on the same list, I’m giving away a $25 gift certificate to the on-line bookseller of your choice. One lucky commenter will be our random winner–check back on Sunday for the announcement. Whoot!
Some stories began years before a single word is written.
Visiting the Philippines, where the opening scene of my new book SCORCHED takes place.
Thirteen years ago I was newly married and living in the Philippines, having the adventure of a lifetime. Without kids to tie us down, my husband and I spent the weekends and any day off he could get traveling around Southeast Asia on a shoestring budget, taking in the exotic sites. Besides exploring Thailand and Hong Kong, we went all over the Philippines–from the pristine white beaches of Cebu to the verdant rice terraces of Banaue and the lush rainforests in between.
The Philippine islands are spectacular. But for all the nation’s natural beauty, there is some ugliness, too. The poverty in Manila is heart-wrenching. I’ll never forget the street children or the tiny, makeshift huts many families call home. And as Westerners, we were warned that certain pockets of the country weren’t safe to visit–such as the southern islands, where they were having political strife and foreign missionaries were being kidnapped and beheaded.
The contrasts of the place got to me. At the time I was writing magazine articles–mostly fluffy features about restaurants and shopping. But I always thought if I ever wrote something meatier, such as a book, I’d like to set it in the Philippines.
More than a decade later, that desire has become a reality. My new book SCORCHED opens in the Philippines, where the suspense story is set in motion.
SCORCHED features two of my favorite Tracers characters, forensic anthropologist Kelsey Quinn and Navy SEAL Gage Brewer. These two have a history, but at the book’s open they are worlds apart–both in body and spirit. Gage is on a daring rescue mission in the Indian Ocean and Kelsey is leading a human rights dig in the southern Philippines at the site of a brutal massacre. While excavating a mass grave, Kelsey stumbles upon a skeleton that doesn’t fit. Her search for answers leads her back to the United States, where she finds herself at a murder scene and ends up on the run for her life.
Despite their tumultuous past, Gage is the only person she can trust for help. They end up on the run together, both as prime suspects in a murder. Much of the story is about their struggle to unravel the crime, elude the investigators who think they’re guilty, and also dodge the bullets of the real killers, who want them dead.
Writing this story was quite an adventure for me. I got to interview Navy SEALs and forensic anthropologists. I visited a body farm and got to hold human bones for the first time, trying to put myself in the shoes of my main character. It was so much fun writing this novel and I hope readers will enjoy it. I’ve been thrilled with some of the early reviews:
“Dynamite characters, a taut plot and plenty of sizzle.” –RT Book Reviews
“Starts with a bang and never loses its momentum.” –Night Owl Reviews Top Pick
“SCORCHED kicks major butt….Definitely one of The Best Romances of 2012.” –A Tasty Read
I have a free excerpt of SCORCHED posted on my website. And today I’m giving away a signed copy of the book! Leave a comment for a chance to win.
copyedits for SCORCHED
So much going on this week my head is spinning! On a personal note, I attended a graduation ceremony for my fifth-grader. I said goodbye to some friends who are moving. And I have been caught up in the end-of-school whirlwind of recitals, parties, and appreciation luncheons.
I’m delighted to reveal the cover for SCORCHED!
Part of this story takes place in the desert, which is one reason I love this cover. Kelsey is one of my favorite heroines, and I think you get a sense of her attitude just looking at this picture.
And just to make things crazier (in a good way) I was thrilled to be featured in a Barnes & Noble spotlight these last two weeks. My Tracers series is catching some new attention (yay!) and the first book, UNTRACEABLE, is on sale for just 99 cents through tomorrow. I have been thrilled to hear from lots of readers who are discovering the series for the very first time.
Finally, it’s release week for LOVE IS MURDER.
I am honored to be a part of this story collection, with an all-star lineup of authors that includes our very own Allison Brennan, Debra Webb, Toni McGee Causey, plus Roxanne St. Claire, Lori Armstrong, Lee Child, Sherrilyn Kenyon… the list goes on. The reviews have been wonderful and author Douglas Preston calls the book “the finest collection of romantic suspense ever published.”
My story “Night Heat” was inspired by a cocktail party I once attended at the American ambassador’s house in the Philippines while I was living overseas. In the story (fictional, I promise!) a band of terrorists storms the compound and takes the Ambassador and his guests hostage. A team of U.S. Navy SEALs comes in to rescue everyone, but when the mission goes awry they are forced to improvise.
This is a fun, action-packed book that I plan to toss in my beach bag so that I can read and enjoy throughout the summer. Today I’m giving away a copy of LOVE IS MURDER. Just leave a comment for a chance to win!
Allison Brennan is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of twenty-two romantic thrillers and mysteries, including the Lucy Kincaid series and the Max Revere series. She lives in Northern California with her husband and five children.
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Two years before the events in Notorious, Max travels to Colorado Springs to investigate the disappearance of a college student. Frustrated over the lack of interest from both friends of the victim and campus authorities, Max tags along with the leader of search and rescue and his dog through the beautiful and deadly Rocky Mountains in the hopes of finding answers. Every answer she finds leads to more questions--questions neither the police nor the college want Max asking.
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