Where I got the idea for my book
In his book On Writing, Stephen King points out that there is no special place where you can go to find ideas and inspiration. “There is no Idea Dump, no Story Central, no Island of the Buried Bestsellers,” as he says. A lot of writers like to wait for ideas and inspiration to arrive—but any writer who’s ever gotten anything finished knows that that isn’t the way it works. If you wait, then you’ll be standing there with your hands in your pockets looking pretty dumb for a while. Though ideas may promise to come, they’ll always leave you stood up. Dreams don’t come knocking—you have to chase them.
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Where did I find my own idea? I randomly thought it up after watching every single Dateline episode ever released. Then some that weren’t released. Ha-ha, no, not really. Well, kinda…
I got the idea, oddly enough, when I was thinking about the icky, ooey gooey emotion that is love. I know, right? How does thinking about love result in a 230-page book about an investigative journalist hunting a killer? Good question. Before I start coming off as a sadistic psychopath, let me explain…
Relationships are a major part of everyone’s life. They’re a big part of my life, even if I can’t keep one. I enjoy the good sides of relationships and unconditional love. And who doesn’t? I’ve been in some very passionate relationships, but I’ve also been in some very toxic and destructive ones. While single, I’d hang out at public places, like the mall, and just people watch. I watched a lot of couples and tried to get an image of what true love looks like.
Didn’t work.
I soon came to understand that love isn’t something you can see; it’s only something you can feel.
It’s interesting—though a beautiful thing, love can cause people to do some of the ugliest and most fucked up stuff imaginable. It can push us, make us violate our own conscience, and make us forget who we are entirely. That… that is the madness of love. Ultimately, I began wondering what it would look like for an innocent person to completely lose themselves in this madness. I wondered how much of their own conscience they’d violate and how many rules they’d break if this love was put on the wire.
The result?
The Killed Conscience.
The Killed Conscience is set to go live on June 22.
With the date being just days away, I keep expecting myself to feel at least a little nervous… but I don’t. Really, I’m only excited. This has all been one hell of a journey and I know I’ve given it my all, so, I’m happy.
June 23 begins the first part of the blog tour, the book blitz, and… it’s Nina’s birthday! She’s decided to spend it kicking off the blog tour and giving me an interview! Isn’t she the sweetest? 
