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Readalong and Q&A with Susan May - Deadly Messengers
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Janet , Moderator
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Dec 31, 2015 08:52AM
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Been MIA from this group, sorry 2015 was more hectic than I wanted Was wondering what my next book would be and have decided to grab this one,,,sounds great and will participate more....Happy and Healthy 2016..to all
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Just let Susan know, and she will send you a copy.
Sean wrote: "NEED A FREE COPY !Just let Susan know, and she will send you a copy."
Thank you so much... but I belong to Kindle Unlimited and it happens to be a book that is on the Unlimited list.....already got it..hope to start it as soon as I finish the one I am on now...
I read this last year, and it is an excellent read!
Sean this is the one where the author is available all month correct?
Sandy *The world could end while I was reading and I would never notice* wrote: "I read this last year, and it is an excellent read!"Thanks Sandy. You are very kind. Hope all is well for the new year in your beautiful country. I'm getting over there in the next year or two. I want my kids to see how lovely it is. :)
Diane Lynch wrote: "Sean this is the one where the author is available all month correct?"I'll be here, Diane, checking in every day. If you would like a FREE e-copy just message me your email or email me at susanmay21@iinet.net.au and I will send you a link to grab it in any format you need. Readers tell me it's a very quick read (very kind of them to say that, too.)
Agnes (BeaderBubbe) wrote: "Sean wrote: "NEED A FREE COPY !Just let Susan know, and she will send you a copy."
Thank you so much... but I belong to Kindle Unlimited and it happens to be a book that is on the Unlimited list..."
Thanks, Agnes, for mentioning that it is in Kindle Unlimited. All my books are up at Kindle Unlimited, which means they are exclusive to Amazon. If anyone else needs Deadly Messengers on a different format, I am happy to send it to you via email.
Hi all,I just thought I would bring over this message from another thread regarding grabbing Deadly Messengers for FREE or that you can
read it for FREE on Kindle Unlimited.Thanks so much for your hospitality here at A Good Thriller. I look forward to chatting.
***************************************************************
Deadly Messengers sales have surprised the heck out of me. It's been selling like crazy on Amazon USA since its release and is usually ranking in the top #400 on the Amazon US store.
Readers have been very supportive with many reviewers here on Good Reads saying its one of the best thrillers they've read all year and that they couldn't put it down.
To thank "A Good Thriller" for hosting a read-a-long in January, I would love to offer all members an e-copy in any format you like for FREE. I just need your email address to send you a link to grab the file type you need.
DEADLY MESSENGERS, along with all my other books are FREE to read on KINDLE UNLIMITED, so if you are a member there, it's very easy to grab them from Amazon.
As a special gift, in the same email I will send you copies of my three short story collections. Some of the stories included have won international short story awards. They're also selling really well on Amazon. Most days they're ranking in the top 10 in short horror stories (mostly #2 & #3), up there with Mr. Stephen King. I call him my ranking buddy because we seem to be in the same categories next to each other all the time.
Anyway, don't be shy, either message me or leave your email here (if you're comfortable doing that) or email me at susanmay21@iinet.net.au and I will shoot an email out to you so you can grab the books.
Most readers have only taken a day or two to read Deadly Messengers (since they can't put it down they tell me), and the storyline raises some very unique questions, which I'll be happy to answer on the read-a-long.
I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you to Sean and Christine for inviting me here. I'm so thrilled.
Susan May
P.S. Please remember to send me your email and I will reply within 24 hours to you.
I messaged you my email through goodreads. Looking forward to your book. Thanks very much Susan
Im new to this group, but this sounds great. Im going to grab it on unlimited later today.
Mod
Susan is here, and a regular member.
I will be starting after my next read (Net Galley book)
Hi Katie, welcome.I'm not at A Good Thriller as much as I would like these past 2 months, but I can guarantee they are a friendly, great bunch of people. Do stick around.
Thanks, also, for reading my book. I hope you enjoy.
I started reading Deadly Messengers :)Only a couple of chapters, and i like it so far :)
To all the people that are reading this book I have to tell you when you are done you are going to think long an hard about it. It was a great read. Sean you will probably read this book in a couple of days because it is a page turner. Hi Susan hope all is well with you and you are writing another page turner.
Chris wrote: "To all the people that are reading this book I have to tell you when you are done you are going to think long an hard about it. It was a great read. Sean you will probably read this book in a coupl..."Now you have my interest. Going to finish book I am reading now and start Deadly Messengers...cant wait.
Absolutely loved Deadly Messengers, hope all of you enjoy it too. :)
Carrie wrote: "Absolutely loved Deadly Messengers, hope all of you enjoy it too. :)Susan granted me a book last year and I couldn't put it down. Very fast paced.
Great! I'm halfway through it and I like it so far!
I also read Deadly Messengers last year - what a ride you are in for! A thrilling, gripping book. Enjoy *:D
Not only is this an excellent read, but you will find Susan to be a very engaging discussant who will answer and discuss anything with her fans. She takes care of her readers.
Okay I am 3/4 through the reread and it is still an amazing book. Can't wait to see what questions are asked and answered and the discussion of the book. Some parts did scare the bejezus out of me because damn they could be true in real time.
Just started the book, but here are two questions I've always wanted to ask authors. 1. I am curious how authors decide to dedicate the book to. I wonder if authors worry about offending people they don't dedicate them -ha! so who is Franco? :)
2. What do you call those excerpts from other authors in the beginning of a book -is there a word for them? And what purpose do they serve? They often seem "high fallutin'" and honestly I often have no idea what they mean. Is it just a tradition and how did you pick yours?
and one I always like to ask
How do you come up with your character names? Toby Benson?
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!
Dave. I'm a female author who writes in a dark film noir style. Current talks with Hollywood for movie or series. My answer to your question is two fold 1) I'm a trial lawyer and I deal with real life terrible things everyday and 2) when you are writing about a serial killer, you can't dumb things down. You have to write reality, no matter how horrifying that is. My killer uses a scalpel and highly concentrated sulfuric acid to kill his victims. You can't dumb that down.
Solange wrote: "Dave. I'm a female author who writes in a dark film noir style. Current talks with Hollywood for movie or series. My answer to your question is two fold 1) I'm a trial lawyer and I deal with real l..."Thank you for sharing your perspective. Yes, I appreciate that reality can be horrifying. Still, my question is to the emotional state of the author when immersing herself into these horrifying events, even though they are imagined.
I too am an author of thrillers, and I cannot be emotionally unattached from my writing. I feel the pain I am am subjecting my characters to just as if it were real. Which leads me to the question.
Mod
THe first murder is indeed grizzly-something that strikes a deeper horror. I can't find the exact passage but Susan says something like (view spoiler)
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!"The opening scene kind of threw me too and I first thought oh no not another slasher book. The scene sets the tone for the rest of the book
I'm halfway through the book and i love it!! The horrible killings seems so real and sick, The description so vivid, i felt i was actually witnessing them!!It is different from any thriller i read lately, and i can't see how all this is going to end!
Perri wrote: "THe first murder is indeed grizzly-something that strikes a deeper horror. I can't find the exact passage but Susan says something like [spoilers removed]"That passage almost gave me nightmares, Perri. It was a horrible scene, but it was also the one that really made want to keep reading and see what all this is about!!
Chris 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!"The opening scene kind of..."
Chris, I thought I was into a fantastical story or perhaps science fiction after that first chapter!
Christine wrote: "Chris 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!"The opening..."
I wasn't going to read the book after reading it but on the other hand it got me hooked to read it and I believe I read the book in 4 days.
Just picked it up from KU, can't wait to get started. Looks good!
Susan, I have finished your book. I read the book as a stretch commitment to broaden my reading. I don't care to read books that describe the murder in detail, but I still enjoyed the book.
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!
Faouzia wrote: "I started reading Deadly Messengers :)Only a couple of chapters, and i like it so far :)"
Thanks Faouzia. Glad you are enjoying the story.
Carrie wrote: "Absolutely loved Deadly Messengers, hope all of you enjoy it too. :)"Thanks, Carrie. You are very kind. Nice to see you here. I've been too busy trying to get my short story collections up for readers. Now they're done, I think my life can go back to semi-normal and I will be here more often. ;)
Erleen wrote: "Great! I'm halfway through it and I like it so far!"Thanks Erleen. Looking forward to hearing what you think of the whole book.
Sandy *The world could end while I was reading and I would never notice* wrote: "I also read Deadly Messengers last year - what a ride you are in for! A thrilling, gripping book. Enjoy *:D"Thanks, Sandy, you lovely Kiwi person, you. You are very kind.
Christine wrote: "Not only is this an excellent read, but you will find Susan to be a very engaging discussant who will answer and discuss anything with her fans. She takes care of her readers."Ah, Christine, my North American publicist, lol, you are very kind to me. I hope to be an engaging discussant. Would you believe I've never heard of the word discussant. However, it will now go on my bio. "Known to be an engaging discussant, especially when awake."
Chris wrote: "Okay I am 3/4 through the reread and it is still an amazing book. Can't wait to see what questions are asked and answered and the discussion of the book. Some parts did scare the bejesus out of me ..."I am so humbled you are re-reading Deadly, Chris. That is a real honor for me that somebody would read one of my books twice. I'm glad too, because I think you read an early version of the book before it had its final edit.
Perri wrote: "Just started the book, but here are two questions I've always wanted to ask authors. 1. I am curious how authors decide to dedicate the book to. I wonder if authors worry about offending people they don't dedicate them -ha! so who is Franco? :)
2. What do you call those excerpts from other authors in the beginning of a book -is there a word for them? And what purpose do they serve? They often seem "high fallutin'" and honestly I often have no idea what they mean. Is it just a tradition and how did you pick yours?
and one I always like to ask
How do you come up with your character names? Toby Benson? "
Hi Perri,
Thanks for the questions and thanks for reading Deadly.
1. I'm sure every author has a different idea for their dedications. I think I've dedicated my books so far to my parents, my husband (that's who Franco is), and my kids, and my short story collections to all those authors who inspired me to write in the dark thriller genre. After this, I'm in trouble, I don't have anyone else. I might have to pick random people out of the phone book. When I dedicated Deadly to my husband and wrote: "For Franco. You know why," it's because the poor guy had to suffer through my ups and downs for the past five years (authors' moods can turn on a dime or a whim or a bad sentence). He's my first best reader. He's really spot on with his feedback. So when I think about it, I'll probably dedicate every book in the future to keep him on side. I kinda need him.
2. I think the technical name for the blurbs at the beginning of the book supplied by other authors are 'pull quotes'. A lot of time they are kind of a quid pro quo thing set up by the publisher. I've got them in a couple of my books. However, with Deadly I came up with the idea of including all my early reader's pull quotes in the front of the book. I loved the idea of every one of them being part of the book. And, if the book became successful they could brag they had a part in it. I plan to do that with every one of my books going forward. It was so fun. Although, I expected to have about 20 of them and ended up with over 100, so it became a lot of work. However, it was a labor of love and gratitude.
3. Finally names ... many authors say they labor over a name. Well, I sit there for a few seconds and write down the first thing that comes into my head. That's pretty much how I plot, too. However, the names can and do change sometimes. For instance Trip started out as Skip, and my poor editor had to find all the places where I'd accidentally left it as Skip. Kendall Jennings ... well, after about the third edit, I started thinking, I've heard that name before, it seems familiar. Then I realised, Kendall Jenner (one of the Kardashians), but by then I was married to the name, so it stayed. Toby Benson ... don't know, first name that came into my head, but I was looking for just an every guy kind of name.
However, my next book a supernatural thriller called The Troubles Keeper, has a main character by the name of Rory Fine. Now I didn't come up with that name, the character popped into my head when the plot alighted upon me and said, "I'm Rory Fine, fine by nature and Fine by name, and I've got a story to tell you."
Yup, authors hear voices, we sure do. Thanks for your great questions, Perri.
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 question, and I've asked that question of other authors myself when I've interviewed them. Here's the weird thing with the way I write, I really feel as if I'm in the shoes of the character, so when they commit a terrible act, even a violent act, I'm thinking exactly what they're thinking.
So Toby Benson felt justified (even though he doesn't know why), so I feel justified and that it's the right thing to do. Further in, one of the killers is quite delighted by the way he commits his murders, finding it even beautiful and artistic. Well, I could see his point of view. You look through their eyes. Quite a few readers have said they feel sorry for my 'bad guys,' not just in Deadly but in my other stories. They should really hate them. I think it's because I don't judge the antagonists in my stories. I simply tell their story from their point of view. And even though they're crazy, you kind of understand why. They are never black and white in their motives, I hope, or the character becomes cliche.
One thing, though, I don't let my sister-in-laws read my work and I'm not thrilled when close friends read them either. I'm a pretty fun, kind, respectful person, and I worry they'll think that some of these thoughts are my own. But they're simply not.
In fact, if there is an overly violent scene in a film, I will actually cover my eyes and, at the same time, push my palms into my ears so I don't have to experience the scene. My husband knows when I do that, he has to tell me when its over. So he's sitting next to me, saying, "Not yet, not yet. Okay, now you're safe."
I know, you would never think I'd be like that, but I'm a very non-violent person. But as Stephen King says, sometimes you don't get a choice what you write. It's just the way your mind works. Since I was very young, I've loved dark thrillers, so that's what I write.
Christine wrote: "Chris 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!"The opening..."
That's so funny because being a non-plotter, I actually thought the killers were being controlled by some kind of alien, so that first scene does have a little bit of a sci-fi feel to it. And I do write sci-fi as well. So you are correct in picking up a little bit of sci-fi remnants there.
Perri wrote: "Up to massacre number three and all I have to say is [spoilers removed]"Perri wrote: "Up to massacre number three and all I have to say is [spoilers removed]"
Perri, trust me I'm a mother, too. I couldn't have that happen without good reason. You'll be happy in the end, I think ... I hope.
A Good Thriller
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