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Readalong and Q&A with Susan May - Deadly Messengers
Dave wrote: "Hi Susan. Enjoying the read, thank you and well done! If you have a moment, please comment on previous question (above)... would love to understand your thought process as you write. Thank you!"I hope you are happy with the answer above, Dave. Thank you for reading the book, too. I appreciate it. I really feel as though its my job to tell the characters' stories, so if they end up doing terrible things, I have to tell it like it is, without any judgement. I never judge my characters or second-guess them.
The only time I intervene is when they're being boring. For some reason Kendall had a propensity to sit around too long at coffee shops, cafes or her desk at home, drinking coffee and worrying all the time. So many times I had to tell her to get up and get moving. I kind of feel like if they spend too much time sitting down or talking, I pick them up by the scruff of the neck and move them on to some kind of activity.
I have little conversations with them like, "I hope you're enjoying your coffee because the readers sure won't be enjoying themselves if you drink that slow."
There's a scene later in the book, which will come as a real shock. Anytime I see a reader on Good Reads write in an update "Oh my God!", I know they've just read it. Well, when that scene was written, I actually said to the character, "Are you sure? Readers will not be happy." However, they argued the point, and I just said, "Well carry on then, but seriously this is out-on-a-limb stuff. I hope you know what you're doing." And when the book was done, I was happy with their decision.
I know I sound crazy, but there comes a point for a writer when you've written enough (it took me years), I believe, when suddenly you no longer write characters or manipulate a plot. You simply follow behind them taking notes. You do nudge a story along sometimes, but for the most part the story writes itself. Stephen King talks about this. He said that he believes writers self-hypnotise themselves and end up deep in their subconscious. It does kind of feel like that.
Sometimes, though, when the muse doesn't arrive (because I write every day when I'm drafting no matter what), and then you have to step in and do the writing. That's when it's really hard going. However, I don't have many of those days, thank goodness.
Lynn wrote: "I loved this book so well written :)"Thanks, Lynn, I really appreciate your kind words, always. Happy new year, fellow Sandgroper. lol.
My apologies for not visiting the thread for the past three days and then writing multiple answers for everyone to wade through. I hope I haven't bored everybody away. In person, I talk a lot, too. lol. I promise to visit every day from now on, so the questions and comments don't mount up. Happy reading, and if anyone has come late to the party, please feel free to request a FREE copy of Deadly Messengers. Just message me.
Susan wrote: "Dave wrote: "Started reading Deadly Messengers. The first killing is pretty dark. Question for Susan, what are you feeling when you write these grisly scenes? Thank you!"Hi Dave, that's a great q..."
Haha! My wife is the same way (regarding bloody scenes in movies). And yes, she loves to read Stephen King.
Susan wrote: "Dave wrote: "Hi Susan. Enjoying the read, thank you and well done! If you have a moment, please comment on previous question (above)... would love to understand your thought process as you write. T..."Thank you Susan. I appreciate your detailed answers. If I may followup--what emotions are you feeling as you write the actions of the murderers. I'm a quarter of the way into the book, just finished with Benito's work.
I am curious--hopefully not obnoxiously so--because I see your murderers as victims. I've just read hints to this as well. It reads to me that the murderers are devoid of emotion, and yet what they do is horrific and highly emotional to read. It would seem to put you, the author, in an odd emotional state as you write that. Am I correct?
By the way, I love this observation about Kendall's mental state: "As long as she [Kendall] focused on writing the story, pretending it was just a fictional story, she was okay." I think that says something about you, how you are able to separate what you imagine from what you are.
Thank you.
Ditto Dave -I also appreciate the detailed and answers and also tend to be very curious. Thanks for explaining why you are thanking Franco. Sometimes authors have tantalizing dedications which read like in- jokes and I'm left wondering. I LOVE that you put early reader's comments in your prologue. I admire readers who take the time and commitment to read less commercially popular authors and I think it's great that you acknowledged yours. But what I was asking about was the quote in books from different authors. For you it was the Shakespeare quote. How do you go about selecting those and what special significance does it hold? I'm about three quarters done and things are becoming more clear. Your description of telling Kendall to quit goofing around and get to work,- so funny. Seems you two are girl friends. Do you see more books with these characters?
Finally, I was wondering how hard is it to read reactions to you stories? I'm sure it's gratifying to read positive reviews, but what about the not so glowing?
I finished reading the book and i enjoyed it. I was intrigued by the violence and the randomness of the crimes at the beginning, and that was what caught me actually and made the book seem different.
And as strange as it may seem, the solution of the enigma made sense in a way.
I don't want to spoil the story for the others, but i do have a question regarding the end:
Was there a particular message you wanted to send through this book?? or it was just an interesting plot you thought of?
Faouzia wrote: "I finished reading the book and i enjoyed it. I was intrigued by the violence and the randomness of the crimes at the beginning, and that was what caught me actually and made the book seem differe..."
Ooh Faauzia, that's a great question! Also interesting the ten crazy drugs you don't know about is a thing http://listverse.com/2013/01/10/10-cr...
Dave wrote: "Susan wrote: "Dave wrote: "Hi Susan. Enjoying the read, thank you and well done! If you have a moment, please comment on previous question (above)... would love to understand your thought process a..."I don't mind delving into this at all, Dave. I see you're an author, too. Like you, I'm very curious about other authors' process, too.
However, sorry to disappoint, but when I write horror scenes like Benito's, for instance, I'm just totally with the character. Benito was fascinated with the fire. He thought it was akin to creating art. So that's all I felt. His admiration for what he was doing. He didn't bad about what he did, and so neither did I.
I will say the one time I choked up was in the third mass killing. It's hard not to comment without giving away the storyline, but the very last page of that scene with the mom choked me up.
The only time I feel awful and really emotional is when I write scenes with something terrible about children being taken from their parents or hurt. A few of my short stories with children are poignant in their horror and they have made me cry. There's a short story called Back Again (which is about a mother who must relive the day her son is killed over and over again in order to save him) that the main character ends up doing what she does in regards to the antagonist of the story. In her position, I could never ever find myself doing what she does.
Another difference I think is that you are reading a book at reading pace, so you should, I hope, feel fully immersed in the story and the emotions. Carried along by them, if I've done my job. However, I'm writing the story slowly , maybe ten pages a day, so that effect is a little bit lost on me. Although, I know the feelings I'm hoping will be created and I'm right there, but it's sort of happening in slow motion.
So that's a long winded answer to explain that nope, I'm not hugely emotional about the violence or the horror. When it comes down to it, this is what I write, this is what I like to read and write, and so it's another day at the office for a very nice, sweet, mom. I'm just like Stephen King says about himself, I see swamp monsters where people see a peaceful, beautiful lake. Even if this wasn't a popular genre, I'd still have to write stories like this, because that's all I got. lol.
Perri wrote: "Ditto Dave -I also appreciate the detailed and answers and also tend to be very curious. Thanks for explaining why you are thanking Franco. Sometimes authors have tantalizing dedications which read..."Oh, Perri, such wonderful questions. You guys are really making me think hard about things I don't' always think about. I love that. So thank you very much.
The quotes in the front of books, in my case the Shakespearean quote, are meant to herald this is what the book is about. The other thing they are there for is to say, "Look at me. I read Shakespeare, and actually understand it, therefore, I must be really smart. lol.
In the case of my quote, I wanted to add something in that was kind of an inside joke once you've read the book, and I just wanted to look very, very clever. ha ha. I think, once you finish the book, Perri, you will see what I mean if you reread the quote. It was fun choosing it, but there is no historical significance to me.
And, yes, I decided to put the quotes from my early readers in there, because it happened to me with Caroline Kepnes.You. The publisher included a quote from my review in the front of her book in the UK/Australian edition, and I was thrilled. So I thought I'd love to give that opportunity to some of my readers as a reward for taking a chance on an author they've never read before.
This leads me to your next question, because of promising to include pull quotes in the book from all reviewers who left a review by the 15th September, I had to read every single review and check in every day to Good Reads so I didn't miss any. I ended up with a spreadsheet and a system. It became very involved as the review count grew. There were 160 odd reviews by the time the book launched, and I believe I messaged every reviewer and thanked them. The downside was I had to read the negative ones. It doesn't matter how many great reviews you receive sometimes the negative ones do get to you. It's just the ones that are particularly snarky and personal I don't appreciate. I keep wondering why someone would want to write such mean things and spend a lot of time and add photos into a review for a book that they hated. You would just move one, I would think and not waste any more valuable time on it. However, they come with the territory and its part of the game. So you just shrug it off. However, if a hundred readers out of 200 say the same thing, then I'd better listen. So far that hasn't happened.
On the other hand, when there are many positive reviews, I can sometimes become really overwhelmed and burst into tears. (It's what you dream about for years as a writer). My poor husband has taken a few calls in the lead up to the launch of Deadly from a sobbing wife. He just tells me I'm crazy. That, too, goes with the territory. lol.
Faouzia wrote: "I finished reading the book and i enjoyed it. I was intrigued by the violence and the randomness of the crimes at the beginning, and that was what caught me actually and made the book seem differe..."
Wow, you read it quickly, Faouzia, and thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
You know, Stephen King said: If you're going to spend six months to a year on a book, you'd better make it about something. Every one of my stories starts with a random idea. In this case, I just wanted to get into the heads of several bad characters with evil intent who weren't evil. So I wrote the first scene and the rest flowed from there. I didn't know what was going to happen. I didn't even know who the bad guys were to start with. I just kept writing hoping I'd find out.
By the time, I get to the end of the first draft of every book or story I write, I start to see there might be a theme here. None of it is intended. After the second draft, I know fully what it is, and I start talking to the long-suffering husband about what I've discovered. It's like finding hidden Easter eggs. So then in the third draft, I go back and flesh those out, so there is a theme that by the end should feel like a ribbon through the story.
The conclusion at the end should feel like a resolution and a full stop to what the story was really about. So, in the case of Deadly ,it was about dealing with tragedies of your past and not running away from them or finding other less healthy ways to handle their emotions. If any of my characters would take the time to go see a psychologist, I wouldn't have a story. lol.
When it comes to what seems an obvious commentary of the physical mechanism in the book (Without writing a spoiler here), there's no message. I just found a lot of that stuff in research, and I'd have to do a lot more thorough research to form a solid opinion. It was really a plot device, and lucky my son found it or I would be stuck. Very interesting stuff, though, isn't it?
So it certainly seems like I might have framed this book and my other book Back Again around a theme, in reality the message evolved via the characters telling the story. I guess they wanted to send a message.
I think the message and the fact you felt as though the enigma character made sense comes back to what I've said. If you hear any human beings story from the beginning, you can understand why they did what they did. It doesn't excuse them, but you can see they are just as much a victim as their victims, well maybe not quite.
So the trick for an author is to supply a good enough, credible reason for a character to behave the way they do. I love in these TV shows and films where you actually root for the antagonist like Dexter or Tony Soprano. That's clever writing.
I take only a little credit for my stories and plots. The glory goes to the characters, if you enjoy my work. Any failings are mine as a writer that I haven't told their story well enough. Again, I know it sounds weird, but this talking to characters as if they're your partners and not something you manipulate comes after writing for a long time. I have two books and many short stories sitting on my hard drive that have never been published, and I've been writing seriously for over five years, and before that all through my youth until a successful business and children took me away for two decades.
Thanks for your wonderful questions.
I haven't had chance to start reading the book yet, but i am loving these questions and detailed answers.
Thank you very much for your wonderful answer.Those chapters when we were literally inside the killer's mind were amazing!
I thank your son for his lucky addition, cause i enjoyed that part of the plot, a lot. It seemed different and very interesting. and in a way, real too.
In fact, i really like it how you explained about talking to the characters, because as a reader, i never really like a book unless i feel connected with the characters, as if i really know them. So it is really great.
Looking forward to reading more of your books :) and thanks again for giving me Deadly Messengers.
David wrote: "I haven't had chance to start reading the book yet, but i am loving these questions and detailed answers."Happy to oblige, Dave (lol, as I wrote that I heard it in the Hal (the computer's) voice from 2001 Space Odyssey.) I hope you enjoy the book when you do get to it. :)
Would love to leave a comment but too busy reading lol. Definitely a "can't put down" book.
Faouzia wrote: "Thank you very much for your wonderful answer.Those chapters when we were literally inside the killer's mind were amazing!
I thank your son for his lucky addition, cause i enjoyed that part of the..."
Thank you, Faouzia, for your lovely words. I feel the same. I don't find too many books where I feel as though I'm entering into another world. Stephen King is good at it. Last year, I really liked Caroline Kepnes You and a couple of other books and that was it. I only usually find about 3 a year like that.
When it comes to plot twists and story ideas, I am really pushed, but I love being challenged. I'm a film and book reviewer, although more a film reviewer. As such I see about 160 odd films a year on screen and read about 40 books. So once I've seen a plot mechanism or twist I can't have that one in my stories.
I'll decide to write something when I start thinking I haven't heard of a story like and idea I come up with. I like being likened to Stephen King or Gillian Flynn as someone did recently (although I take comparisons with great writers very lightly albeit its still quite the thrill), but I would not like to hear that a story I've written is like Girl On The Train or Gone Girl or Finders Keepers or anything else another author has written. I hope to write original stories but in the vein of writers who write wicked, unpredictable twists with dark humor.
I think too many writers, indie and traditionally published, see a genre or subgenre do well, then they jump on the bandwagon. Then you get dozens of copy cat books and the genre burns out. Look for dozens and dozens, if not hundreds, of books released in the first part of this year touting 'like The Girl On The Train' or 'Gone Girl'.
Faouzia, I'm looking forward to you reading more of my books, too. Thank you.
Mod
I have Dave new book to read shortly, and looking forward to his latest book. Starting yours today.
And also reading David Videcette first novel/manuscript.
Looking forward to starting yours, and I see some great questions.
Susan wrote: "Dave wrote: "Susan wrote: "Dave wrote: "Hi Susan. Enjoying the read, thank you and well done! If you have a moment, please comment on previous question (above)... would love to understand your thou..."Thank you... I appreciate your candor and willingness to share your experiences. Cheers!
Agnes (BeaderBubbe) wrote: "Would love to leave a comment but too busy reading lol. Definitely a "can't put down" book."Agnes, music to my ears. lol
Sean wrote: "Susan, our friend here Dave Edlund is a great author, and has a great biography with a great career.I have Dave new book to read shortly, and looking forward to his latest book. Starting yours to..."
I saw that, Sean. I hope to read some of his work soon. I'm just so behind with my reading at the moment. I like to read a book a week, but I'm not getting there. Hope once the kids finish their summer holidays end of January my life will return to a more normal pace. I look forward to hearing what you think, too, when you do read it. Thanks for reading. :)
Dave wrote: "Susan wrote: "Dave wrote: "Susan wrote: "Dave wrote: "Hi Susan. Enjoying the read, thank you and well done! If you have a moment, please comment on previous question (above)... would love to unders..."Very welcome, Dave. I really appreciate you taking the time to stop in and ask questions ... and such great ones, too.
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Read 26% of the book in one day !
Sean wrote: "Susan, our friend here Dave Edlund is a great author, and has a great biography with a great career.I have Dave new book to read shortly, and looking forward to his latest book. Starting yours to..."
Thank you Sean, you are very kind. Cheers!
Mod
Susan , loving the book, the excitement with every new chapter, and new shocks is great.
I am just over half way now.
Susan, I would love a free copy. The book sounds so good! I cannot wait to read it!
Sean wrote: "Yes Susan started last night, and reading today.Read 26% of the book in one day !"
It is a fast read book. When have books like that I wish I could read them in a day 2 tops.
Sean wrote: "Yes Susan started last night, and reading today.Read 26% of the book in one day !"
Well, that is a good sign. I know how busy you are, Sean.
Amy wrote: "Susan, I would love a free copy. The book sounds so good! I cannot wait to read it!"Hi Amy, I'd love you to read the book. Just message me your email address and I will shoot it over to you, along with a little surprise of a couple of other short story collections as a special gift. Come, join in the fun!
Sean wrote: "Pay me later !!Susan , loving the book, the excitement with every new chapter, and new shocks is great.
I am just over half way now."
Good grief, Sean! I hope you are taking time to eat and drink some water. lol
Chris wrote: "Sean wrote: "Yes Susan started last night, and reading today.Read 26% of the book in one day !"
It is a fast read book. When have books like that I wish I could read them in a day 2 tops."
I'm the same, Chris, but its so rare to find a book with pace. I've just started reading Hidden Bodies and I think this could be the one. Caroline Kepnes first YOU was a real page turner. I've just started listening to a Rachel Abbott book, which seems like a real page turner as well.
It's not so difficult to write a page turner. All you have to do is dangle a question or two or three at the end of each chapter. Then when a reader tells themselves (like we all do) that they'll stop reading at the next chapter, they see the question or the "talisman" as Stephen King calls it in the last paragraph, and they can't stop. They have to know the answer.
The other trick is to keep the overarching question of what is going on, going for as long as you can.
With Deadly Messengers a crime thriller, a genre I've never written in before, I brought my dark thriller sensibilities to the storyline without realising it until I started getting some early reviews in. Now dark thrillers and horror stories aren't always about whodunnit, they are many times about howdunnit and how will they be stopped, whether a person or some evil entity.
So some people who are used to reading whodunnits commented that they worked out who was behind everything half way though. However, that was planned, because the real question is how and why and what will happen to our protagonists? So all through the book is laced many, many talismans to chase.
My next book, though, The Troubles Keeper is a dark supernatural thriller, but it is a whodunnit and a howdunnit. So you don't discover the antagonist until much later in the book. Still a page turner I hope with lots of talismans.
Everyone on my mailing list will be receiving a free copy of that book. So do sign up for that. http://www.susanmaywriter.com/p/loadi... If I've already sent you a free copy of Deadly Messengers then you are on another list of my early readers and you will also receive a copy.
Keep the questions coming on Deadly. They've been great. And thanks for reading my book. I'm so humbled and grateful.
Mod
Some tennis and some snooker.
About to start reading now in lunchbreak !
65% done.
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4 stars.
Thanks Susan. I am going to now read through some of the question, but not ask any till near the end of the month, when more have read the book.
Mod
Our February book readalong is free from today for five days.
Martin Link ... Misdirection
I've sent my email to susan via goodreads message hope I'm not too late
Kittykorn wrote: "I've sent my email to susan via goodreads message hope I'm not too late"Nobody will be too late from A Good Thriller to grab Deadly Messengers for free. Even if you don't join in the Q & A. I love this group. Members have been so supportive of my book, so I'm happy to offer a little treat, too. I'll also send my 3 short story collections Behind Dark Doors (one): Six Suspenseful Short Stories
. So please anyone who reads this thread, do message me via private message (try not to leave a message on my questions page) and I will happily send you the books.
Diane Lynch wrote: "I'm starting now."Bon Voyage! Look forward to hearing your thoughts, Diane.
Mod
Susan you will be getting lots of messages/e-mails/posts !!
Today alone due to Group post re your book and Martin Links book, had nearly twenty PM's.
Get ready for another rush of readers. You are up early !
Please can I get access to a free copy of 'The Messenger'. It sounds like a great book. Cannot wait to get stuck into a new author
Did I read somewhere that Deadly Messengers was being looked at for a movie?Susan, I'm amazed how you got right into the minds of the killers which is really what intrigued so much about the story.
Do you think a screen adaptation would be able to convey what they are thinking as well as you did in the book?
Susan I just want to say again as I've said from the beginning...love your books and I'm on the last book you have and can't put it down either just like DEADLY MESSENGERS the book BACK AGAIN is just as moving as all the rest of your books. Thank you for everything...XOXOX JANE
Sean wrote: "Wow...Susan you will be getting lots of messages/e-mails/posts !!
Today alone due to Group post re your book and Martin Links book, had nearly twenty PM's.
Get ready for another rush of readers..."
Yes, I just received a bunch of requests. Keep them coming, wonderful readers. This is why a writer writes ... to be read. I've been lucky enough that Deadly Messengers is selling really well. Currently it's ranking in top #500 on US Amazon. Has been under #1000 ranking for several months, so its sold in the many thousands, so I'm more than happy and grateful to give away copies at A Good Thriller.
Carl wrote: "Please can I get access to a free copy of 'The Messenger'. It sounds like a great book. Cannot wait to get stuck into a new author"
Hi Carl, I've just send it to you via an email. :)
Veronica wrote: "Did I read somewhere that Deadly Messengers was being looked at for a movie?Susan, I'm amazed how you got right into the minds of the killers which is really what intrigued so much about the story..."
Hi Veronica,
How lovely to see you here.
Yes, just before Xmas I received an email out of the blue asking if the film and TV rights were available. I thought it was a joke, but turns out it came from a reasonable sized Hollywood production company. They've made films with Meryl Streep, Jim Carrey, Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, and others. That was pretty cool when I realised they were serious.
However, they tell me the whole team has to read it before they do anything more. So the chances of anything else happening are probably not huge. But still it's nice to know somebody thought enough of it to enquire. Even if they did option the book, there's only a slim chance a production would go ahead.
And, yes, I do think it would adapt well to film or TV. I think a lot of people know I am a film reviewer. So that means I see about 160+ films a year and watch a fair bit of good TV series (loving Netflix, FX, & Presto programs). That means that I'm kind of channelling, just by absorption, cinematic nuances in the writing. Well, I hope I do.
I think most books don't translate as well to screen because they all mostly allow you inside the head of the characters and film doesn't allow for that. Although, I think they did a fantastic job of The Revenant and The Martian recently. And The Martian was all in the head of the protagonist.
Thanks for the question, Veronica. It was a good one.
Janeandjerry wrote: "Susan I just want to say again as I've said from the beginning...love your books and I'm on the last book you have and can't put it down either just like DEADLY MESSENGERS the book BACK AGAIN is ju..."Jane, you are so kind to say that. You've made my day. I'm glad you're enjoying Back Again. I do still love that book. I always though everyone would complain that Deadly Messengers was nothing compared to Back Again, but then I guess authors feel that way with every new book they put out there. Until you start getting the reviews in, you just don't know if you've gotten it right.
Susan - I just started the book. It really starts from the get-go, doesn't it? I just wondered after reading the first chapter if you were inspired by an X-Files episode: "Blood" ?http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751085/?...
Susan - I just started the book. It really starts from the get-go, doesn't it? I just wondered after reading the first chapter if you were inspired by an X-Files episode: "Blood" ?http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751085/?...
Susan - I just started the book. It really starts from the get-go, doesn't it? I just wondered after reading the first chapter if you were inspired by an X-Files episode: "Blood" ?http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751085/?...
Susan - I just started the book. It really starts from the get-go, doesn't it? I just wondered after reading the first chapter if you were inspired by an X-Files episode: "Blood" ?http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751085/?...
A Good Thriller
Books mentioned in this topic
Tastes of Love and Evil (other topics)Behind Dark Doors (one): Six Suspenseful Short Stories (other topics)
Behind Dark Doors (two): Six Suspenseful Short Stories (other topics)
Behind Dark Doors (three): Six Suspenseful Short Stories (other topics)
Deadly Messengers (other topics)
More...
Debbie, thank you so much for reading the book anyway. Isn't it funny, I don't think of it as the violence being detailed, but then I think its because I see it through the eyes of the character's committing the killings, and they don't see it as violent at least in this book. Totally understand, though. I'm finding these days I just don't like to watch particularly violent movies or TV shows.
My teenage son loves The Walking Dead, and I used to as well. However, I'm finding it very disturbing these days. Not sure why, actually. I used to love all that stuff. Maybe the makeup is looking too real nowadays.