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Charlie Donlea's Blog - Posts Tagged "charlie-donlea"
The Mark of a Good Book
I am well aware of the entertainment venues that compete with novels. Although an avid reader, I, too, am a lover of music and movies, of television and sports.
I'm a sucker for watching acoustic covers on YouTube. If you've seen one Zac Brown video, you know you'll need to see them all. I've binge-watched entire television series—headphones on, iPad to nose and lights off in the middle of the night. Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy caused me more lost sleep than any writing deadline. Sunday afternoons are spent watching football. And my family has a standing date each week called Friday Night Movie Night.
So I understand Summit Lake is up against steep competition—and this doesn't take into account the vast number of other novels written by authors whose talents far surpass my own.
But when I set out to write my story, I wanted to give it a chance. I wanted it to possess the ammunition needed to fight off the competition. So I took inventory and pinpointed what, exactly, makes me pick up a book rather than reach for the remote or log onto the computer.
And the answer is this: The book has to call me back to it.
If a story makes me think about it after I've put it down, if it makes me wonder what will happen next, if it makes me ponder where the characters are going and what is in store for them—then, when I'm free and able to spend leisure time on entertainment, hands down I'm reaching for that book before anything else.
I've been fortunate to hear from readers around the country and across the ocean who have told me Summit Lake does exactly that. I've enjoyed hearing that readers couldn't wait to get back to the story. "Couldn't put it down" is a cliché. We all have lives and work and responsibilities that force us to put books down. But when I hear that readers couldn't wait to get back to the book, I know I've succeeded. When they couldn't wait to return to the characters they are getting to know, the setting they are starting to visualize, the story that's subtly poking their curiosity, and the mystery they think they've got solved but need just another few pages to be sure—well, then the book has a fighting chance against the competition.
So try it. Pick it up and get into the story. Then, put it down and get on with your life. If the characters or the setting or the mystery calls you back to it, then turn off the television for a night, stow the tablet at bedtime, and read a good book.
And if you're able to figure out the twist in Summit Lake , let me know by dropping me a line. I'd love to hear from you.
Read More
Visit My Website
Summit Lake
I'm a sucker for watching acoustic covers on YouTube. If you've seen one Zac Brown video, you know you'll need to see them all. I've binge-watched entire television series—headphones on, iPad to nose and lights off in the middle of the night. Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy caused me more lost sleep than any writing deadline. Sunday afternoons are spent watching football. And my family has a standing date each week called Friday Night Movie Night.
So I understand Summit Lake is up against steep competition—and this doesn't take into account the vast number of other novels written by authors whose talents far surpass my own.
But when I set out to write my story, I wanted to give it a chance. I wanted it to possess the ammunition needed to fight off the competition. So I took inventory and pinpointed what, exactly, makes me pick up a book rather than reach for the remote or log onto the computer.
And the answer is this: The book has to call me back to it.
If a story makes me think about it after I've put it down, if it makes me wonder what will happen next, if it makes me ponder where the characters are going and what is in store for them—then, when I'm free and able to spend leisure time on entertainment, hands down I'm reaching for that book before anything else.
I've been fortunate to hear from readers around the country and across the ocean who have told me Summit Lake does exactly that. I've enjoyed hearing that readers couldn't wait to get back to the story. "Couldn't put it down" is a cliché. We all have lives and work and responsibilities that force us to put books down. But when I hear that readers couldn't wait to get back to the book, I know I've succeeded. When they couldn't wait to return to the characters they are getting to know, the setting they are starting to visualize, the story that's subtly poking their curiosity, and the mystery they think they've got solved but need just another few pages to be sure—well, then the book has a fighting chance against the competition.
So try it. Pick it up and get into the story. Then, put it down and get on with your life. If the characters or the setting or the mystery calls you back to it, then turn off the television for a night, stow the tablet at bedtime, and read a good book.
And if you're able to figure out the twist in Summit Lake , let me know by dropping me a line. I'd love to hear from you.
Read More
Visit My Website
Summit Lake
That Book
If you’re an avid reader, you’ve come across that book.
That magical book that touched you and moved you. The one you didn’t want to put down. The one you stayed up too late reading. The one you couldn’t wait to get back to, couldn’t stop thinking about, and were sad to finish.
If you love to read, at least one book has already come to mind. Maybe more. But the truth about reading is that this type of book doesn’t come around often. It certainly doesn’t describe every book we pick up. Still, those magical books fill us with hope that another is around the corner. And that hope is what keeps us reading the good books as we hunt for the great ones.
I remember the first book that captivated me in this way. The one that transported me away from my real world and firmly planted me elsewhere. It was John Grisham’s legal thriller The Firm. Decades after it was originally published, I still consider it one of the best suspense novels I’ve come across. I’ve read it multiple times simply for entertainment. And now, as an author, I read it to remind myself how to write good suspense. I read Pat Conroy’s The Lords of Discipline and Thomas Harris’s The Silence of the Lambs for the same reason.
To me, each represents that book. They have a special place in my heart, not just because they are books I love, but because they saved my career. They may have caused it.
The road to publication can be rocky and long. My journey to get my debut novel, Summit Lake, into bookstores was a decade long battle fraught with rejection. It was my fourth attempt at writing a book. My first manuscript generated more than one hundred rejection letters. My second was worthy enough to land me an agent, but still produced scores of rejections from New York publishers. On my agent’s urgings, I wrote a third manuscript, and when that story met with the same fate as all my previous works—four hundred pages of plot, more than a year of my life, and a stack of rejection letters—I decided I’d had enough. I concluded that the publishing industry was too difficult to break into, and my talents too meager to compete.
So, I stopped writing. A solid few weeks went by. I hadn’t quite told my agent that I’d given up, but she knew how disappointed I was by the last round of rejections. During that low point, I found time for self-reflection and discovered something was missing in my life. After I stopped writing, an odd feeling of loss filled me up inside. It took a little time to figured out that void was present because I was no longer chasing my dream.
After weeks of sulking, I got back to the computer and started another story. It would be my fourth manuscript. This time, I did not dive blindly into the story. Before I started, I asked myself why I wanted to write it. I attempted to define my dream, and figure out what, exactly, I was trying to accomplish. My answer came when I reflected on why I love to read. My epiphany arrived when I thought back to John Grisham and Pat Conroy and Thomas Harris, and the novels that moved me and touched me. I realized then I was writing because I wanted to create that book. I wanted to write a novel that people couldn’t put down, the one they couldn’t wait to get back to, the one they couldn’t stop thinking about. I wanted to write a book the reader would be sad to finish.
With all these intentions clear in my mind, I penned the story of a murdered law school student, the investigative reporter assigned to her case, and the chilling connection that forms between victim and investigator as secrets emerge in the small mountain town where the killing took place. I placed this town in the Blue Ridge Mountains and named it Summit Lake. Then, my agent and I shipped the manuscript off to New York.
In a few weeks, we had an offer for a two-book deal. Summit Lake sold at auction in Germany, as well as Poland and Brazil. Brilliance purchased the audio rights, and Reader’s Digest bought the condensation rights to include in their May publication of Select Editions alongside Amy Sue Nathan and Lee Child.
Today, I am moved every time I hear from a reader who tells me Summit Lake is the book they couldn’t put down. The one they couldn’t wait to get back to. The one they couldn’t stop thinking about and the one they were sad to finish.
Will it be that book for everyone? Surely not. But this writer is proud to hear that it has been for some, and grateful for those who have let me know.
Charlie Donlea
May 2016
Read More
Visit My Blog
(This post originally appeared on the blog The Suspense is Thrilling Me)
That magical book that touched you and moved you. The one you didn’t want to put down. The one you stayed up too late reading. The one you couldn’t wait to get back to, couldn’t stop thinking about, and were sad to finish.
If you love to read, at least one book has already come to mind. Maybe more. But the truth about reading is that this type of book doesn’t come around often. It certainly doesn’t describe every book we pick up. Still, those magical books fill us with hope that another is around the corner. And that hope is what keeps us reading the good books as we hunt for the great ones.
I remember the first book that captivated me in this way. The one that transported me away from my real world and firmly planted me elsewhere. It was John Grisham’s legal thriller The Firm. Decades after it was originally published, I still consider it one of the best suspense novels I’ve come across. I’ve read it multiple times simply for entertainment. And now, as an author, I read it to remind myself how to write good suspense. I read Pat Conroy’s The Lords of Discipline and Thomas Harris’s The Silence of the Lambs for the same reason.
To me, each represents that book. They have a special place in my heart, not just because they are books I love, but because they saved my career. They may have caused it.
The road to publication can be rocky and long. My journey to get my debut novel, Summit Lake, into bookstores was a decade long battle fraught with rejection. It was my fourth attempt at writing a book. My first manuscript generated more than one hundred rejection letters. My second was worthy enough to land me an agent, but still produced scores of rejections from New York publishers. On my agent’s urgings, I wrote a third manuscript, and when that story met with the same fate as all my previous works—four hundred pages of plot, more than a year of my life, and a stack of rejection letters—I decided I’d had enough. I concluded that the publishing industry was too difficult to break into, and my talents too meager to compete.
So, I stopped writing. A solid few weeks went by. I hadn’t quite told my agent that I’d given up, but she knew how disappointed I was by the last round of rejections. During that low point, I found time for self-reflection and discovered something was missing in my life. After I stopped writing, an odd feeling of loss filled me up inside. It took a little time to figured out that void was present because I was no longer chasing my dream.
After weeks of sulking, I got back to the computer and started another story. It would be my fourth manuscript. This time, I did not dive blindly into the story. Before I started, I asked myself why I wanted to write it. I attempted to define my dream, and figure out what, exactly, I was trying to accomplish. My answer came when I reflected on why I love to read. My epiphany arrived when I thought back to John Grisham and Pat Conroy and Thomas Harris, and the novels that moved me and touched me. I realized then I was writing because I wanted to create that book. I wanted to write a novel that people couldn’t put down, the one they couldn’t wait to get back to, the one they couldn’t stop thinking about. I wanted to write a book the reader would be sad to finish.
With all these intentions clear in my mind, I penned the story of a murdered law school student, the investigative reporter assigned to her case, and the chilling connection that forms between victim and investigator as secrets emerge in the small mountain town where the killing took place. I placed this town in the Blue Ridge Mountains and named it Summit Lake. Then, my agent and I shipped the manuscript off to New York.
In a few weeks, we had an offer for a two-book deal. Summit Lake sold at auction in Germany, as well as Poland and Brazil. Brilliance purchased the audio rights, and Reader’s Digest bought the condensation rights to include in their May publication of Select Editions alongside Amy Sue Nathan and Lee Child.
Today, I am moved every time I hear from a reader who tells me Summit Lake is the book they couldn’t put down. The one they couldn’t wait to get back to. The one they couldn’t stop thinking about and the one they were sad to finish.
Will it be that book for everyone? Surely not. But this writer is proud to hear that it has been for some, and grateful for those who have let me know.
Charlie Donlea
May 2016
Read More
Visit My Blog
(This post originally appeared on the blog The Suspense is Thrilling Me)
The Making of a Medical Examiner
The Making of a Medical Examiner:
By Dr. Livia Cutty
The summer after my sister graduated high school, just as she was preparing to head off to college, she disappeared. She and another girl, actually. They both vanished from a beach party in our small North Carolina town. Their abduction sent Emerson Bay into panic.
Every resident, neighbor and friend looked for these two girls, large packs of volunteers walking shoulder-to-shoulder through the woods hoping to stumble across any clue that might help located them. We held vigils, too, lighting candles late into the summer night in some strange show of faith that our girls would be returned to us.
This went on for two weeks, just long enough for me to secretly lose hope. And then Megan McDonald, the other girl who was taken along with my sister, resurfaced. She had escaped from a bunker hidden deep in the woods, ramrodding her way through the forest on a dark, rainy night until someone spotted her wandering on Highway 57.
My sister? She was never seen again.
That was last August. Back then I was finishing the fourth year of my anatomical pathology residency. I’d completed my undergraduate degree, endured four years of medical school, and had settled into residency prepared to spend my four-year stint learning how disease affects the human body. Back in that old life, a cushy hospital pathology job waited in my future. Maybe a teaching gig at the university. Then my sister disappeared and my priorities changed. After my residency, I applied for a forensic pathology fellowship—a one-year program that would turn me into a medical examiner. My thinking was this: Someday, my sister’s body would show up in someone’s morgue. It would be up to a forensic pathologist to use his skills to uncover the clues my sister’s body left behind, and to hand those clues over to the authorities who might track down her killer. I wanted those skills, simple as that.
The following July, nearly a year after my sister went missing, I started my year of fellowship at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in North Carolina. I also started reading the bestselling memoir that was sweeping the nation. It was the true story account written by Megan McDonald, the girl who disappeared with my sister. Megan had miraculously escaped her captor, and her riveting story of survival was a blockbuster topping every bestseller list in the country. The memoir bothered me, the whoring of such personal tragedy for monetary gain infuriated me, and the fact that the book never once mentioned my still-missing sister unnerved me.
It was about that time, on a hot Monday morning, that the body of a young man rolled into my morgue. That body changed my life forever. It changed Megan’s life as well, since after I completed the autopsy I began to question every page of her bestselling book. My biggest question: Was this hunk of three hundred pages a memoir, or pure fiction?
To find out how things transpired the summer I started my forensic fellowship, pick up The Girl Who Was Taken. It’s a hell of a story. And the way things end will have you gasping like a brand new path fellow the first time a zipper rips down a body bag and their maiden corpse is dumped in front of them.
Read More
Visit My Blog
By Dr. Livia Cutty
The summer after my sister graduated high school, just as she was preparing to head off to college, she disappeared. She and another girl, actually. They both vanished from a beach party in our small North Carolina town. Their abduction sent Emerson Bay into panic.
Every resident, neighbor and friend looked for these two girls, large packs of volunteers walking shoulder-to-shoulder through the woods hoping to stumble across any clue that might help located them. We held vigils, too, lighting candles late into the summer night in some strange show of faith that our girls would be returned to us.
This went on for two weeks, just long enough for me to secretly lose hope. And then Megan McDonald, the other girl who was taken along with my sister, resurfaced. She had escaped from a bunker hidden deep in the woods, ramrodding her way through the forest on a dark, rainy night until someone spotted her wandering on Highway 57.
My sister? She was never seen again.
That was last August. Back then I was finishing the fourth year of my anatomical pathology residency. I’d completed my undergraduate degree, endured four years of medical school, and had settled into residency prepared to spend my four-year stint learning how disease affects the human body. Back in that old life, a cushy hospital pathology job waited in my future. Maybe a teaching gig at the university. Then my sister disappeared and my priorities changed. After my residency, I applied for a forensic pathology fellowship—a one-year program that would turn me into a medical examiner. My thinking was this: Someday, my sister’s body would show up in someone’s morgue. It would be up to a forensic pathologist to use his skills to uncover the clues my sister’s body left behind, and to hand those clues over to the authorities who might track down her killer. I wanted those skills, simple as that.
The following July, nearly a year after my sister went missing, I started my year of fellowship at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in North Carolina. I also started reading the bestselling memoir that was sweeping the nation. It was the true story account written by Megan McDonald, the girl who disappeared with my sister. Megan had miraculously escaped her captor, and her riveting story of survival was a blockbuster topping every bestseller list in the country. The memoir bothered me, the whoring of such personal tragedy for monetary gain infuriated me, and the fact that the book never once mentioned my still-missing sister unnerved me.
It was about that time, on a hot Monday morning, that the body of a young man rolled into my morgue. That body changed my life forever. It changed Megan’s life as well, since after I completed the autopsy I began to question every page of her bestselling book. My biggest question: Was this hunk of three hundred pages a memoir, or pure fiction?
To find out how things transpired the summer I started my forensic fellowship, pick up The Girl Who Was Taken. It’s a hell of a story. And the way things end will have you gasping like a brand new path fellow the first time a zipper rips down a body bag and their maiden corpse is dumped in front of them.
Read More
Visit My Blog
A New Book. A New Website.
A New Book. A New Website. A new thriller by Charlie Donlea.
A tropical island. A grisly murder.
And a documentary filmmaker looking for answers…
Dear Friends,
I’m excited to share the news with you about my third novel, Don’t Believe It , to be released on May 29, 2018. In the tradition of Serial and Making a Murderer, my latest thriller follows the journey of Sidney Ryan, a filmmaker who looks into a ten-year-old murder and creates a hit documentary around her findings. But as ratings soar and Sidney edges closer to the real heart of the story, she must decide if finding the truth is worth risking her newfound fame, her career . . . even her life.
Along with my new novel, I’m also eager to announce the launch of my new website and blog!
One of the best parts of writing Don’t Believe It, was deciding to place the setting on the beautiful island of St. Lucia, where I was lucky enough to visit while putting the final touches on the manuscript.
Now, my website allows me to share some of my experiences with readers. I will be including photos and stories about my adventure to Sugar Beach Resort, the site of the grisly crime in the novel, and offering some behind the scenes details about how this picturesque resort where Matt Damon flew his Hollywood friends to celebrate the renewal of his wedding vows ended up being the perfect location for murder. Read More
The Setting: Sugar Beach l St. Lucia Eastern Caribbean Jalousie Plantation
March 29, 2007 l A Murder
From the Author
Don’t Believe It might be my favorite novel out of the three I’ve written. I’m a True Crime junkie. I loved listening to the podcast Serial, got hooked on Making a Murderer, and I’m a sucker anytime 48 Hours or Dateline taunts me with a murder case that seems open-and-shut, but is really anything but. My gripe about some of the most popular True Crime documentaries is that the endings rarely satisfy. They tend to raise more questions than they answer. And that’s because the filmmakers are dealing with real life, they’re not making it up.
As I quote in Don’t Believe It
“In feature films, the director is God. In documentary films, God is the director.”
But rest assured, the ending of my fictional take on a True Crime documentary provides closure—and, I hope, some jaw-dropping surprises. I hope you love this one as much as I do!
Charlie Donlea
Check Out My New Website!
My New Book: DON'T BELIEVE IT Coming May 29, 2018 (US) April 30, 2018 (AU)
From acclaimed author, Charlie Donlea comes a twisting, impossible-to-put-down novel of suspense in which a filmmaker helps clear a woman convicted of murder—only to find she may be a puppet in a sinister game. Read More
Advance Praise
"Riveting"
—Publishers Weekly
“[A] timely thriller that builds into a shocking conclusion. Don’t Believe It is sure to appeal to fans of true crime docu-dramas, along with readers of Mary Kubica or Shari Lapena.”
—Library Journal
“Fast-paced, gripping and addictive, this one will feed your true crime obsession and then some."
—POPSUGAR Book Club: 5 of May's Best New Reads
“Donlea’s framing of the story as documentary research proves an effective device, and his work reads like the best nonfiction: clear, crisp, and fast-moving.”
—Booklist
“A perfectly executed and entirely satisfying read, Don’t Believe It is a gripping thriller that will blow readers away, from the first page right up to the very last words. Charlie Donlea’s best book yet!”
—Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl and Every Last Lie
“Chilling and suspenseful. I was gripped from the first page.”
—Candice Fox, bestselling author of Crimson Lake
“It’s easy to get hooked on the book’s heady cocktail of highly rated television and high-stakes subterfuge...a highly topical thriller." 5 Stars
—Foreword Reviews
Blog + News
Check out Charlie's New Blog. Become a Member.
Subscribe
Sign up to receive Charlie's Newsletter
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Unlock the Truth with Charlie Donlea
Unlock the Truth with Charlie Donlea.
Follow the Clues from 5/15-5/22 to discover a thrilling surprise.
Keep your eyes peeled!
Look for the image on my BLOG online below; from 5/15-5/22 and collect the clues each day to reveal a secret phrase. With five clues total it’s up to you to put them together.
On 5/22 you will have the chance to use your secret-phrase and enter to win a thrilling sweepstakes, and get an exclusive first look at Charlie Donlea’s DON’T BELIEVE IT.
What to Watch
We’ll help you get started with our game! On 5/15 our very first clue will be revealed in our Mystery & Thriller eNewsletter. Sign up to receive the eNewsletter here→ http://bit.ly/2Jsuoye
The remaining four clues will be revealed daily on one of the below sites. Be sure to stay tuned and keep watching each day to find them!
Charlie Donlea’s Facebook Page
Kensington’s Facebook Page
Kensington’s Twitter
Charlie Donlea’s Website
Kensington’s Instagram (Stories)
Don't Believe It Coming May 29, 2018
From acclaimed author, Charlie Donlea comes a twisting, impossible-to-put-down novel of suspense in which a filmmaker helps clear a woman convicted of murder—only to find she may be a puppet in a sinister game.
The Girl of Sugar Beach is the most watched documentary in television history—a riveting, true-life mystery that unfolds over twelve weeks and centers on a fascinating question: Did Grace Sebold murder her boyfriend, Julian, while on a Spring Break vacation, or is she a victim of circumstance and poor police work? Grace has spent the last ten years in a St. Lucian prison and reaches out to filmmaker Sidney Ryan in a last, desperate attempt to prove her innocence.
As Sidney begins researching, she uncovers startling evidence, additional suspects, and timeline issues that were all overlooked during the original investigation. Before the series even finishes filming, public outcry leads officials to reopen the case. But as the show surges towards its final episodes, Sidney receives a letter saying that she got it badly, terribly wrong.
Sidney has just convinced the world that Grace is innocent. Now she wonders if she has helped to free a ruthless killer. Delving into Grace’s past, she peels away layer after layer of deception. But as Sidney edges closer to the real heart of the story, she must decide if finding the truth is worth risking her newfound fame, her career … even her life.
Read More
Follow the Clues from 5/15-5/22 to discover a thrilling surprise.
Keep your eyes peeled!
Look for the image on my BLOG online below; from 5/15-5/22 and collect the clues each day to reveal a secret phrase. With five clues total it’s up to you to put them together.
On 5/22 you will have the chance to use your secret-phrase and enter to win a thrilling sweepstakes, and get an exclusive first look at Charlie Donlea’s DON’T BELIEVE IT.
What to Watch
We’ll help you get started with our game! On 5/15 our very first clue will be revealed in our Mystery & Thriller eNewsletter. Sign up to receive the eNewsletter here→ http://bit.ly/2Jsuoye
The remaining four clues will be revealed daily on one of the below sites. Be sure to stay tuned and keep watching each day to find them!
Charlie Donlea’s Facebook Page
Kensington’s Facebook Page
Kensington’s Twitter
Charlie Donlea’s Website
Kensington’s Instagram (Stories)
Don't Believe It Coming May 29, 2018
From acclaimed author, Charlie Donlea comes a twisting, impossible-to-put-down novel of suspense in which a filmmaker helps clear a woman convicted of murder—only to find she may be a puppet in a sinister game.
The Girl of Sugar Beach is the most watched documentary in television history—a riveting, true-life mystery that unfolds over twelve weeks and centers on a fascinating question: Did Grace Sebold murder her boyfriend, Julian, while on a Spring Break vacation, or is she a victim of circumstance and poor police work? Grace has spent the last ten years in a St. Lucian prison and reaches out to filmmaker Sidney Ryan in a last, desperate attempt to prove her innocence.
As Sidney begins researching, she uncovers startling evidence, additional suspects, and timeline issues that were all overlooked during the original investigation. Before the series even finishes filming, public outcry leads officials to reopen the case. But as the show surges towards its final episodes, Sidney receives a letter saying that she got it badly, terribly wrong.
Sidney has just convinced the world that Grace is innocent. Now she wonders if she has helped to free a ruthless killer. Delving into Grace’s past, she peels away layer after layer of deception. But as Sidney edges closer to the real heart of the story, she must decide if finding the truth is worth risking her newfound fame, her career … even her life.
Read More
POPSUGAR Book Club: 5 of May's Best New Reads
POPSUGAR Book Club: 5 of May's Best New Reads
Welcome to the POPSUGAR Book Club, a monthly series that highlights the most buzzed-about book releases and authors.
Few things are better than a book you just cannot put down — we're talking about the can't-turn-the-page-fast-enough, lose-track-of-time-over kind.
They don't come around often, but when they do, it'll always leave you hungry for more. Luckily, you've got five very, very good ones to keep you occupied all for the month of May, from true-crime inspired tales to love stories so poignant, your heart might just hurt a little. In a good way, of course.
Don't Believe It
Charlie Donlea
When Grace, the subject of a true crime documentary series, reaches out to filmmaker Sidney Ryan to prove her innocence, Sidney uncovers evidence, timelines, and suspects that don't add up. Fast-paced, gripping and addictive, this one will feed your true crime obsession and then some.
On sale: April 30 (AU) May 29 (US)
Five Years From Now
Paige Toon
You Think It, I'll Say It
Curtis Sittenfeld
The Perfect Mother
Aimee Molloy
You Me Everything
Catherine Isaac
30 April, 2018 by ASHLING LEE
POPSUGAR Book Club:
5 of May's Best New Reads
Read more Charlie's Blog
Welcome to the POPSUGAR Book Club, a monthly series that highlights the most buzzed-about book releases and authors.
Few things are better than a book you just cannot put down — we're talking about the can't-turn-the-page-fast-enough, lose-track-of-time-over kind.
They don't come around often, but when they do, it'll always leave you hungry for more. Luckily, you've got five very, very good ones to keep you occupied all for the month of May, from true-crime inspired tales to love stories so poignant, your heart might just hurt a little. In a good way, of course.
Don't Believe It
Charlie Donlea
When Grace, the subject of a true crime documentary series, reaches out to filmmaker Sidney Ryan to prove her innocence, Sidney uncovers evidence, timelines, and suspects that don't add up. Fast-paced, gripping and addictive, this one will feed your true crime obsession and then some.
On sale: April 30 (AU) May 29 (US)
Five Years From Now
Paige Toon
You Think It, I'll Say It
Curtis Sittenfeld
The Perfect Mother
Aimee Molloy
You Me Everything
Catherine Isaac
30 April, 2018 by ASHLING LEE
POPSUGAR Book Club:
5 of May's Best New Reads
Read more Charlie's Blog
Don't Believe It Book Tour Dates Announced
Don't Believe It Book Tour Dates Announced
Charlie Donlea is headed on an international tour for his highly anticipated novel, Don't Believe It. Is Charlie coming to a city near you? Check out the dates below. Stay tuned here for more updates and the latest news.
AN INNOCENT GIRL DENIED HER FREEDOM? Or a calculating killer with nothing to lose?
A twisting, impossible-to-put-down novel of suspense in which a filmmaker helps clear a woman convicted of murder—only to find she may be a puppet in a sinister game.
United States
Don't Believe It (US) Coming 05/29/18
Pre-Order Now
Tour Dates:
*Saturday 6/2/18: Cocktails and Signing — Private Event
*Sunday 6/3/18: Book Launch—
Read Between the Lynes Bookstore,
Woodstock, IL
Signing & Discussion @ 1:00 PM
*Saturday 6/9/18: Barnes & Noble,
Crystal Lake, IL Signing @ 1PM
*Sunday 6/10/18: Printers Row Lit Fest,
Chicago, IL Signing @ 10AM
Details coming
*Wednesday 6/13/18: Barrington Area Library,
Barrington, IL Signing & Discussion @ 7PM
*Saturday 6/23/18: Crown Point Library,
Crown Point, IN Signing & Discussion @ 2PM
*Tuesday 7/24/18: Cook Memorial Library,
Vernon Hills, IL Signing & Discussion @ 7PM
Brazil
Available Now
(AU) 04.30.18
Tour Dates:
*Wednesday 8/8/18: Brazilian Book Fair,
São Paulo, Brazil
*Saturday 8/11/18: Signing
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — Details to follow
Salvador, Brazil — Details to follow
*More to come...
Read More
Add DON'T BELIEVE IT to your reading list. Don't Believe It
—Charlie Donlea
Charlie Donlea is headed on an international tour for his highly anticipated novel, Don't Believe It. Is Charlie coming to a city near you? Check out the dates below. Stay tuned here for more updates and the latest news.
AN INNOCENT GIRL DENIED HER FREEDOM? Or a calculating killer with nothing to lose?
A twisting, impossible-to-put-down novel of suspense in which a filmmaker helps clear a woman convicted of murder—only to find she may be a puppet in a sinister game.
United States
Don't Believe It (US) Coming 05/29/18
Pre-Order Now
Tour Dates:
*Saturday 6/2/18: Cocktails and Signing — Private Event
*Sunday 6/3/18: Book Launch—
Read Between the Lynes Bookstore,
Woodstock, IL
Signing & Discussion @ 1:00 PM
*Saturday 6/9/18: Barnes & Noble,
Crystal Lake, IL Signing @ 1PM
*Sunday 6/10/18: Printers Row Lit Fest,
Chicago, IL Signing @ 10AM
Details coming
*Wednesday 6/13/18: Barrington Area Library,
Barrington, IL Signing & Discussion @ 7PM
*Saturday 6/23/18: Crown Point Library,
Crown Point, IN Signing & Discussion @ 2PM
*Tuesday 7/24/18: Cook Memorial Library,
Vernon Hills, IL Signing & Discussion @ 7PM
Brazil
Available Now
(AU) 04.30.18
Tour Dates:
*Wednesday 8/8/18: Brazilian Book Fair,
São Paulo, Brazil
*Saturday 8/11/18: Signing
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — Details to follow
Salvador, Brazil — Details to follow
*More to come...
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Add DON'T BELIEVE IT to your reading list. Don't Believe It
—Charlie Donlea
Interview with Author Charlie Donlea
Interview with Author Charlie Donlea
1) Some authors like to make an argument or address an issue when they write. Is there an issue that you're addressing with your book? If so, what is it?
My novels are meant for pure escapism reading, so I don’t see them as tackling social issues in any grand form. However, a common theme between all three of my novels is society’s obsession with missing person cases and unsolved murders.
Pop-culture magazines frequently feature on their covers missing girls, some of whom have been found after being missing for years. The common questions include how they were taken, why they didn’t escape sooner, and how they are readjusting to freedom.
My first novel, Summit Lake, dealt with a father’s attempt to keep his murdered daughter out of the tabloids as a tenacious investigative reporter arrives in the small town where the murder took place to look for answers.
The Girl Who Was Taken tells the story of two abducted girls, one who returns and another who does not. The girl who makes it home goes on to write a bestselling memoir that thrusts her into the public’s eye and draws attention to parts of her story she wants to keep secret.
My latest novel, Don't Believe It, taps into the public’s obsession with true crime documentaries and tells the story of a filmmaker creating a weekly-serialized documentary that delves into the grisly details of a decade-old murder that took place in the Caribbean, and which explores the enigmatic woman who has been convicted of the crime.
A common thread among all three stories is the public’s unquenchable thirst for the morbid details of disturbing stories.
2) What gave you the idea for your book?
I’m a true crime junkie. The podcast Serial hooked me and Making a Murderer gave me an affliction. Since then, I’ve binge-watched just about every true crime documentary on Netflix. My biggest complaint about these films is that they tend to raise more questions than they answer. So I decided the story of a documentary filmmaker uncovering the secrets of ten-year-old murder not only provided a great premise for a timely novel but also gave me the ability to create as wild an ending as my imagination could conceive.
I hope readers feel that the finish of Don’t Believe It not only ties up loose ends in a way real documentaries seldom do but also provides a shocking ending that will have them ripping back through the pages to see how they missed it.
3) What are the most important things about you that you would want prospective readers to know?
I am a true believer that in order for a novel to be successful, it has to call a reader back to it after they put it down. If a book is easy to put down and hard to pick up, most readers (including myself) will give up on it. I’m hyper-aware of this fact when I write. I know there is fierce competition out there from other books, television, movies, and more. So, I try to make it hard for readers to put my books down. And I make damn sure to include in the pages enough reasons for readers to pick them up again after they do.
4) Are there other things you'd like readers to know about you or your book?
The setting of Don’t Believe It is a tropical resort in St. Lucia called Sugar Beach Resort. It’s a resort on the Jalousie Plantation that Matt Damon commandeered to renew his wedding vows. My wife and I discovered the resort while visiting the island on Spring Break with our kids. I thought it would make the perfect location for my novel. So much so that my wife and I returned to Sugar Beach the following year to celebrate our anniversary and do some much-needed research to boot.
My Matt Damon connection comes from a St. Lucian guide who worked for Sugar Beach. I hired him to take my wife and me on a tour of the island for my research. We asked if he drove Matt Damon or any celebrities around the island. No, he told us. But he did transport Damon’s photographer back to the airport after the vow renewal. Close enough.
5) What’s the craziest/funniest/most enjoyable thing you’ve ever done in the name of research?
My most enjoyable bit of research was visiting Sugar Beach Resort for Don’t Believe It. My craziest was visiting a morgue to view an autopsy for The Girl Who Was Taken. Let’s just say that noodled legs and a fuzzy head made the experience less than stellar.
Read More Chalie Donlea Blog
1) Some authors like to make an argument or address an issue when they write. Is there an issue that you're addressing with your book? If so, what is it?
My novels are meant for pure escapism reading, so I don’t see them as tackling social issues in any grand form. However, a common theme between all three of my novels is society’s obsession with missing person cases and unsolved murders.
Pop-culture magazines frequently feature on their covers missing girls, some of whom have been found after being missing for years. The common questions include how they were taken, why they didn’t escape sooner, and how they are readjusting to freedom.
My first novel, Summit Lake, dealt with a father’s attempt to keep his murdered daughter out of the tabloids as a tenacious investigative reporter arrives in the small town where the murder took place to look for answers.
The Girl Who Was Taken tells the story of two abducted girls, one who returns and another who does not. The girl who makes it home goes on to write a bestselling memoir that thrusts her into the public’s eye and draws attention to parts of her story she wants to keep secret.
My latest novel, Don't Believe It, taps into the public’s obsession with true crime documentaries and tells the story of a filmmaker creating a weekly-serialized documentary that delves into the grisly details of a decade-old murder that took place in the Caribbean, and which explores the enigmatic woman who has been convicted of the crime.
A common thread among all three stories is the public’s unquenchable thirst for the morbid details of disturbing stories.
2) What gave you the idea for your book?
I’m a true crime junkie. The podcast Serial hooked me and Making a Murderer gave me an affliction. Since then, I’ve binge-watched just about every true crime documentary on Netflix. My biggest complaint about these films is that they tend to raise more questions than they answer. So I decided the story of a documentary filmmaker uncovering the secrets of ten-year-old murder not only provided a great premise for a timely novel but also gave me the ability to create as wild an ending as my imagination could conceive.
I hope readers feel that the finish of Don’t Believe It not only ties up loose ends in a way real documentaries seldom do but also provides a shocking ending that will have them ripping back through the pages to see how they missed it.
3) What are the most important things about you that you would want prospective readers to know?
I am a true believer that in order for a novel to be successful, it has to call a reader back to it after they put it down. If a book is easy to put down and hard to pick up, most readers (including myself) will give up on it. I’m hyper-aware of this fact when I write. I know there is fierce competition out there from other books, television, movies, and more. So, I try to make it hard for readers to put my books down. And I make damn sure to include in the pages enough reasons for readers to pick them up again after they do.
4) Are there other things you'd like readers to know about you or your book?
The setting of Don’t Believe It is a tropical resort in St. Lucia called Sugar Beach Resort. It’s a resort on the Jalousie Plantation that Matt Damon commandeered to renew his wedding vows. My wife and I discovered the resort while visiting the island on Spring Break with our kids. I thought it would make the perfect location for my novel. So much so that my wife and I returned to Sugar Beach the following year to celebrate our anniversary and do some much-needed research to boot.
My Matt Damon connection comes from a St. Lucian guide who worked for Sugar Beach. I hired him to take my wife and me on a tour of the island for my research. We asked if he drove Matt Damon or any celebrities around the island. No, he told us. But he did transport Damon’s photographer back to the airport after the vow renewal. Close enough.
5) What’s the craziest/funniest/most enjoyable thing you’ve ever done in the name of research?
My most enjoyable bit of research was visiting Sugar Beach Resort for Don’t Believe It. My craziest was visiting a morgue to view an autopsy for The Girl Who Was Taken. Let’s just say that noodled legs and a fuzzy head made the experience less than stellar.
Read More Chalie Donlea Blog
Dangerous Disappearing Acts, With Killers in Pursuit. NYT Book Review
Dangerous Disappearing Acts, With Killers in Pursuit. New York Times Book Review CRIME. Roundups of crime novels by Marilyn Stasio in The New York Times Book Review.
A version of this article appears in print on June 10, 2018, on Page 9 of the Sunday Book Review with the headline: No Safe Haven
You can’t blame Charlie Donlea if the ending of his novel makes your jaw drop.
The title alone — Don't Believe It (Kensington, $26) — is fair warning that his characters are no more to be trusted than are our initial impressions of them.
This much we do know:
In 2007, a vacationing medical student named Julian Crist was pushed to his death from the top of Gros Piton on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. Julian’s girlfriend, Grace Sebold, has spent 10 years in prison for the murder when Sidney Ryan gets the green light to make a TV series about her called “The Girl of Sugar Beach.”
Now here comes the twist:
Sidney’s documentary will follow in real time her personal investigation of the murder and will end, she hopes, in Grace’s exoneration. But by the eighth installment of the show, which has been wildly successful, Sidney is beginning to suspect she’s been deceived, and that her great coup was actually a con job. On the one hand, her career could be mud; on the other hand, you can’t argue with those ratings.
Learn more about Charlie Donlea's DON'T BELIEVE IT. Available NOW in Hardcover, Paperback, and audio format. US and AU editions. Website
Other Books Included: John Connolly The Woman in the Woods, Charlton Pettus Exit Strategy, and Pamela Wechsler The Fens.
Read More
Add Don't Believe It to Your Goodreads List.
—Charlie Donlea
June 10, 2018
A version of this article appears in print on June 10, 2018, on Page 9 of the Sunday Book Review with the headline: No Safe Haven
You can’t blame Charlie Donlea if the ending of his novel makes your jaw drop.
The title alone — Don't Believe It (Kensington, $26) — is fair warning that his characters are no more to be trusted than are our initial impressions of them.
This much we do know:
In 2007, a vacationing medical student named Julian Crist was pushed to his death from the top of Gros Piton on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. Julian’s girlfriend, Grace Sebold, has spent 10 years in prison for the murder when Sidney Ryan gets the green light to make a TV series about her called “The Girl of Sugar Beach.”
Now here comes the twist:
Sidney’s documentary will follow in real time her personal investigation of the murder and will end, she hopes, in Grace’s exoneration. But by the eighth installment of the show, which has been wildly successful, Sidney is beginning to suspect she’s been deceived, and that her great coup was actually a con job. On the one hand, her career could be mud; on the other hand, you can’t argue with those ratings.
Learn more about Charlie Donlea's DON'T BELIEVE IT. Available NOW in Hardcover, Paperback, and audio format. US and AU editions. Website
Other Books Included: John Connolly The Woman in the Woods, Charlton Pettus Exit Strategy, and Pamela Wechsler The Fens.
Read More
Add Don't Believe It to Your Goodreads List.
—Charlie Donlea
June 10, 2018
Charlie Donlea on Writing the Fictional, Literary Answer to True Crime Docu-Dramas
Charlie Donlea on Writing the Fictional, Literary Answer to True Crime Docu-Dramas with BookTrib
Over the past few years, podcasts and television shows like Serial and Netflix’s Making A Murderer have taken over the country, if not the world. Thousands of people tune in every day to find out what happened next in these real-life cases where the question of did they or didn’t they pervades throughout the entire trial and beyond.
Now, in a thriller unlike any other out there, Charlie Donlea has provided us with the book we didn’t even know we could have.
Don't Believe It is basically the literary answer to those true crime dramas: Sidney Ryan is a filmmaker, whose ongoing docu-drama The Girl of Sugar Beach has taken over the country. Ten years previous in St. Lucia, Grace Sebold was arrested and convicted for the murder of her boyfriend Julian while on Spring Break vacation. But for Sidney, all she wants to know is whether Grace really is a cold-blooded murderer, or just the victim of bad police work, and a sloppy investigation. Each week, people sit down to watch the next episode in the series, which Sidney is putting together as her investigation is going on, giving her audience an almost real-time look into her investigation. But as the investigation moves to a close and the series goes into its final episodes, Sidney receives a letter saying that she’s got it all wrong… really wrong.
BookTrib got to talk with Charlie Donlea about our mutual love of true crime podcasts, the key to writing a good thriller, and what it was like trying to write a real-time investigation and television show at the same time.
BookTrib: This book is a very different take on the amateur sleuth/investigative journalist genre, as the investigator is actually a TV producer making a crime docu-series. What was it like writing in this format? Did you run into any difficulties with planning?
Charlie: Because I love True Crime documentaries, I had a great time creating the protagonist in Don’t Believe It.
But, yes, I ran into many snags as I was writing! In the book, Sidney Ryan is an up and coming filmmaker who signs on to create a real-time television documentary (Serial-style) about a grisly, decade-old murder that took place in the Caribbean. The difficulties I ran into with plotting the novel were the same difficulties Sidney ran into creating the series, specifically with the timing. I knew what was going to happen, who the killer was, what they used as the murder weapon, etc. Sidney was trying to figure it all out, and she was chronicling her discoveries week to week in each new episode of her serialized documentary. Trying to pace the discoveries correctly to keep Sidney (and the reader) hooked, was a challenge. But when everything fell into place, it was beautiful!
BookTrib How did you first get the idea to write this book?
Charlie:I’ve become a cultish fan of True Crime series like Serial, Making A Murderer, and S-Town.
I love the “did-he-or-didn’t-he” themes that run through these documentaries. After watching enough of these stories, I came up with the idea of a haunting murder on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, a medical student accused of the crime, and the documentary filmmaker looking for answers ten years later.
The documentary series she produces, which plays out week-to-week, captures the attention of the country the way Serial did. Millions tune in each week to see what new evidence our protagonist has discovered and whether it will point to the accused is guilty or innocent. A lot of twists and startling revelations each week keep the audience hooked, and a shocking ending should have readers flipping back through the pages to see how they missed it.
BookTrib: What books would you say really inspired you as a writer?
Charlie:I never read books as a child, and never had any aspirations to write. I actually made it through my entire academic career without reading an assigned novel (lots of Cliff’s Notes).
It wasn’t until college when I read John Grisham’s The Firm, which immediately hooked me and caused me to skip classes while I raced through the story, that the idea of writing my own novel planted itself in my mind. For a guy like me—with no creative writing experience and no life-ling love for reading—who thought that maybe I could write a book someday, John Grisham provided a lot of inspiration. He, too, never dreamed of writing, had no formal training, and only accidentally decided to write his first novel after witnessing a harrowing story in the courtroom.
The writing community is saturated with woe-is-me stories about how hard it is to break in, how difficult it is to earn out, and what a battle it is to find an audience. Everything about those stories is true, but I always tell aspiring writers not to listen to those stories. Don’t read about them. Don’t pay attention to them. Don’t dwell on them. Instead, pick a successful author whose career you admire, and learn everything you can about their story. For me, that author is John Grisham. He never dreamed of writing, and once stood in a bookstore staring at the packed shelves wondering how his stories would ever get noticed. Since that day in the bookstore, his books have sold hundreds of millions of copies.
Booktrib: Instead of spending the book trying to prove that someone committed a crime, Sidney Ryan spends the book trying to prove that someone didn’t commit the crime they’ve been in prison for. As an author who has written several thriller novels, what was it like changing up this narrative?
Charlie: It’s always fun to find a way to put a unique spin on your story.
This structure was especially exciting because the cards are so badly stacked against Sidney. Just like an actual true crime documentary, every single finding seems to point to the accused guilt, and it is up to Sidney to figure out the truth. The problem, of course, comes when the truth she finds isn’t exactly what she was expecting.
BookTrib: Not only is Sidney Ryan, the protagonist of the book, one of the greatest characters ever created, but so is Grace Sebold. How do you find your characters? Do you base them off of anyone?
Charlie" CD: Sidney and Grace make this story.
They are, in different ways, the heart and soul of Don’t Believe It. Sidney is a tenacious filmmaker looking for answers. She’s the antithesis of a damsel in distress. Quite frankly, she gets sh*% done and doesn’t allow anything or anyone to get in her way, including network suits who have a different vision of her documentary that she has. Grace, who is the focus of the series, was once a promising fourth-year medical student with her whole life in front of her. Now, she’s reduced to a woman approaching middle age whose only hope for freedom rests on Sidney’s ability to find new evidence that will exonerate her. Grace’s character is shrouded in mystery—dare I use the now-cliché term “unreliable narrator”?
Sidney and Grace are very different from one another but have just enough in common to link them to a common goal of winning Grace’s freedom. Both women will do anything to this end, which becomes one of many problems as the documentary gets further along in production.
BookTrib: This is one of the most gripping books I’ve read in a long time – what do you think the secret is to writing this kind of realistic, impossible-to-put-down thriller?
Charlie: CD: The secret to a great thriller is building anticipation.
A great opening hook is important, and an explosive, the surprise ending is key. But to keep readers engaged through the middle and stop them from putting the book down, you need to make them anticipate what might happen next.
If a reader is constantly guessing what will happen in the next chapter, predicting where the story might go, and wondering about the fate of the characters, then when they put the book down to attend to life, the story will continue to run in their mind. If a reader thinks about the book all day, then they’ll anxiously pick it up again as soon as they get home. And there’s nothing better than a book you can’t wait to get back to.
I’m very proud that so many readers have told me they couldn’t put Don’t Believe It down. And when they had to, they couldn’t wait to pick it up again!
BookTrib: You end this book on a huge cliffhanger! Do you have plans to continue this as a series, or are you happy with leaving us all in suspense?
Charlie: I love leaving you all in suspense! I also love causing you to throw the book across the room after you turn the last page! In a good way, of course
Every time I publish a novel, I hear from readers who ask the same question: Will this story continue? Will we see these characters again? Is this the beginning of a series?
I love that readers connect with my characters enough to want to see their stories continued. It means, on some level, I’ve done my job well.
But my answer to whether a storyline will continue, or if a character will show up again in a future book, has always been that we’ll all (myself included) have to wait and see. I write one story at a time. When I’m done, I take a nice long break and then start thinking of a new one. I’m sure one of these days a character from a previous book will start yelling at me from the shadowed corners of my mind, I’ll listen, and they’ll tell me about a new grand adventure they want to go on. When that happens, I’ll bring them back in another novel. So far, none of my characters have yelled loudly enough for me to hear… the gang from Don’t Believe It included.
DON'T BELIEVE IT is now available for purchase.Read More
—Charlie Donlea
