GUEST POST... WITH LEE THOMPSON
Hi folks,
I'm pleased today to have a guest poster, Lee Thompson, a good friend and terrific writer, who has a new book out he'd like to talk about. Lee and I met a few years ago at a Bouchercon and have become great friends. He's a terrific writer and I'm delighted to help give him and his work a bit of additional exposure. He also provides some great tips for writers here. Without further ado, here's Lee...
From Lee Thompson's desk...
(Lee and his son Austin)
A Texas Senator and his wife go missing… On the same day, their son is slaughtered by an enigmatic killer on the lawn of ex-Governor Edward Wood's residence. Sammy, Wood's drug dealing son, suspects his father of the crime. After all, his old man snapped once before and crippled his wife with a lead pipe. But there's something more to these events…something deeper and festering just beneath the surface…
In direct opposition to Homicide Detective Jim Thompson, Sammy begins an investigation of his own, searching for the truth in a labyrinth of lies, deception, depravity and violence that drags him deeper into darkness and mayhem with each step. And in doing so, brings them all into the sights of an elusive and horrifying killer who may not be what he seems.
A brutal killer on a rampage of carnage…a hardened detective on the brink…an antihero from the shadows…a terrifying mystery that could destroy them all… Welcome to Lee Thompson’s A BEAUTIFUL MADNESS blog tour! This blog, and the others participating, will receive a paperback copy to give to a random reader who leaves a comment and shares this post.
Throughout the book tour, I’ll be sharing fun facts about my first Mystery/Thriller, and also offering dubious advice to novice writers because I’ve had writers and editors farther along the path than myself give me tips that have helped me tremendously. If you want to up your game, pay attention and pass what you find useful on to those in your critique groups.
If you’re here as a reader, thanks so much. You’re every author’s life source. You’re the yin to our yang. The stories we set down on paper don’t seem to exist until someone else has read them, and the more the merrier. First/Easy Ideas (Are they worth writing?)
A writer (let’s call him Charles) gets an idea and immediately starts writing his story. The excitement of that idea might help him finish it, and then later, looking back a month or year from now, Charles will probably find that certain elements of his story still interest him (that quick bit of snappy dialogue, or a certain description) but with more experience and distance he’ll probably also find what had seemed amazing during the creative portion now reads and feels only ho-hum.
I think lots of easy ideas are a waste of time. Many a manuscript isn’t sellable because the first idea that strikes Charles’ fancy has occurred to ten thousand other writers, and the same idea will find ten thousand other writers next year. Editors want fresh ideas, ideas only you could write. Yet it’s understandable why Charles loves ideas like this. They’re easy to write. But they’re also incredibly predictable.
If you want to write something more original you have to resist the easy ideas that are more than likely someone else’s vision, and find your own. As a reader, picking up a book where Charles copies a Lee Child, or Stephen King, or Dean Koontz idea, the copy comes off terribly tepid. And it’s sad in a way, because in Charles’ deluded mind—I’m speaking from experience, I’m very deluded—he will believe that his creation is nearly as goodas Child or King or Koontz. I believe experience is the best teacher, and we can get better at judging the value of our ideas nearly instantaneously, which is kind of cool.
Want to read some Crime novels with interesting and fresh ideas? Check out THE RAPIST by Les Edgerton, and FEAST DAY OF FOOLS by James Lee Burke, they’re two of my favorites.
In A BEAUTIFUL MADNESS I wanted to avoid a lot of the Crime tropes I’ve read in a lot of other novels. Luckily my heroes paved the way by writing their own stories instead of taking the easy, boring, predictable route. In their novels, and in my own, the story is about more than just one main character, which is nice because it adds depth to the story and brings out sides of every character that might have otherwise been unattainable.
Buy on Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Madness-Lee-Thompson-ebook/dp/B00K36ITGS/ Buy the Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/A-Beautiful-Madness-Lee-Thompson/dp/1940544297/ Author bio: Lee Thompson is the author of the Suspense novels A BEAUTIFUL MADNESS (August 2014), IT’S ONLY DEATH (January 2015), and WITH FURY IN HAND (May 2015). The dominating threads weaved throughout his work are love, loss, and learning how to live again. A firm believer in the enduring power of the human spirit, Lee believes that stories, no matter their format, set us on the path of transformation. He is represented by the extraordinary Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary. Visit Lee’s website to discover more: www.leethompsonfiction.com A BEAUTIFUL MADNESS main page (http://www.leethompsonfiction.com/?page_id=2423)
Enter to win a paperback copy! There will also be a grand prize at the end of the tour where one winner will receive my novel, and four other DarkFuse novels in Kindle format! Simply leave a comment on this blog and share the link.
Thanks to those who participate.
Happy reading~ Lee Thanks, Lee! Glom onto a copy, folks--you'll become a fan! Blue skies,Les
I'm pleased today to have a guest poster, Lee Thompson, a good friend and terrific writer, who has a new book out he'd like to talk about. Lee and I met a few years ago at a Bouchercon and have become great friends. He's a terrific writer and I'm delighted to help give him and his work a bit of additional exposure. He also provides some great tips for writers here. Without further ado, here's Lee...
From Lee Thompson's desk...
(Lee and his son Austin)A Texas Senator and his wife go missing… On the same day, their son is slaughtered by an enigmatic killer on the lawn of ex-Governor Edward Wood's residence. Sammy, Wood's drug dealing son, suspects his father of the crime. After all, his old man snapped once before and crippled his wife with a lead pipe. But there's something more to these events…something deeper and festering just beneath the surface…
In direct opposition to Homicide Detective Jim Thompson, Sammy begins an investigation of his own, searching for the truth in a labyrinth of lies, deception, depravity and violence that drags him deeper into darkness and mayhem with each step. And in doing so, brings them all into the sights of an elusive and horrifying killer who may not be what he seems.
A brutal killer on a rampage of carnage…a hardened detective on the brink…an antihero from the shadows…a terrifying mystery that could destroy them all… Welcome to Lee Thompson’s A BEAUTIFUL MADNESS blog tour! This blog, and the others participating, will receive a paperback copy to give to a random reader who leaves a comment and shares this post.
Throughout the book tour, I’ll be sharing fun facts about my first Mystery/Thriller, and also offering dubious advice to novice writers because I’ve had writers and editors farther along the path than myself give me tips that have helped me tremendously. If you want to up your game, pay attention and pass what you find useful on to those in your critique groups.
If you’re here as a reader, thanks so much. You’re every author’s life source. You’re the yin to our yang. The stories we set down on paper don’t seem to exist until someone else has read them, and the more the merrier. First/Easy Ideas (Are they worth writing?)
A writer (let’s call him Charles) gets an idea and immediately starts writing his story. The excitement of that idea might help him finish it, and then later, looking back a month or year from now, Charles will probably find that certain elements of his story still interest him (that quick bit of snappy dialogue, or a certain description) but with more experience and distance he’ll probably also find what had seemed amazing during the creative portion now reads and feels only ho-hum.
I think lots of easy ideas are a waste of time. Many a manuscript isn’t sellable because the first idea that strikes Charles’ fancy has occurred to ten thousand other writers, and the same idea will find ten thousand other writers next year. Editors want fresh ideas, ideas only you could write. Yet it’s understandable why Charles loves ideas like this. They’re easy to write. But they’re also incredibly predictable.
If you want to write something more original you have to resist the easy ideas that are more than likely someone else’s vision, and find your own. As a reader, picking up a book where Charles copies a Lee Child, or Stephen King, or Dean Koontz idea, the copy comes off terribly tepid. And it’s sad in a way, because in Charles’ deluded mind—I’m speaking from experience, I’m very deluded—he will believe that his creation is nearly as goodas Child or King or Koontz. I believe experience is the best teacher, and we can get better at judging the value of our ideas nearly instantaneously, which is kind of cool.
Want to read some Crime novels with interesting and fresh ideas? Check out THE RAPIST by Les Edgerton, and FEAST DAY OF FOOLS by James Lee Burke, they’re two of my favorites.
In A BEAUTIFUL MADNESS I wanted to avoid a lot of the Crime tropes I’ve read in a lot of other novels. Luckily my heroes paved the way by writing their own stories instead of taking the easy, boring, predictable route. In their novels, and in my own, the story is about more than just one main character, which is nice because it adds depth to the story and brings out sides of every character that might have otherwise been unattainable.
Buy on Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Madness-Lee-Thompson-ebook/dp/B00K36ITGS/ Buy the Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/A-Beautiful-Madness-Lee-Thompson/dp/1940544297/ Author bio: Lee Thompson is the author of the Suspense novels A BEAUTIFUL MADNESS (August 2014), IT’S ONLY DEATH (January 2015), and WITH FURY IN HAND (May 2015). The dominating threads weaved throughout his work are love, loss, and learning how to live again. A firm believer in the enduring power of the human spirit, Lee believes that stories, no matter their format, set us on the path of transformation. He is represented by the extraordinary Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary. Visit Lee’s website to discover more: www.leethompsonfiction.com A BEAUTIFUL MADNESS main page (http://www.leethompsonfiction.com/?page_id=2423)
Enter to win a paperback copy! There will also be a grand prize at the end of the tour where one winner will receive my novel, and four other DarkFuse novels in Kindle format! Simply leave a comment on this blog and share the link.
Thanks to those who participate.
Happy reading~ Lee Thanks, Lee! Glom onto a copy, folks--you'll become a fan! Blue skies,Les
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Would that it were so simple. The ideas that come into your head unbidden are probably at least somewhat original, but it seems that some genres do have elements of a thousand times gone before. Damsel in distress, jaded PI, villains not even a mother could love. You know the usual suspects. Uh oh, there I go with the unoriginal again.
So how to break free of cliche? I, for one, don't really know, but I am trying to baby-step my way there. It's a slog, I tell you!
I look forward to your story. Best good luck.
Tom