A Conversation with Lisa Regan, author of crime thriller 'Aberration'
--------------
About the Book:
FBI analyst Kassidy Bishop is assigned to the “For You” killer’s task force after a series of sadistic murders bearing the same signature arise in different parts of the country.
The homicides are both calculated and savage, occurring in different states, but bearing the same signature: the words “for you” scribbled at each crime scene. The case chills Kassidy, bringing back memories of her own encounter
Kassidy’s mentor, legendary agent Talia “The Confessor” Crossen knows the task force assignment is Kassidy’s chance to prove to her colleagues that she belongs in the Behavior Analysis Unit. For five years, other FBI agents and profilers scoffed at Kassidy’s appointment to the BAU, believing she was only offered the position in exchange for her silence about the brutal assault that almost killed her.
The stakes rise when the task force links the killer’s signature to Kassidy. As more and more bodies turn up, Kassidy must delve into her past and the mysterious death of her twin sister, which holds the key to uncovering the killer’s identity.
The closer Kassidy comes to finding the killer, the closer she comes to a deadly confrontation that could cost her everything—including her own life.
Purchase your copy at AMAZON.
--------------
Q: Welcome to The Writer's Life! Now that your book has been published, we’d
love to find out more about the process.
Can we begin by having you take us at the beginning? Where did you come up with the idea to write
your book?
I used to live in a very small apartment in college and for a time, many of my possessions disappeared from it. I never found them or figured out where they went, but it got me to thinking about stalkers. I wondered what if you had a benign stalker who looked out for you rather than tried to hurt you? I wanted to write a story about it, but of course that idea wasn’t entertaining so I had to transform my stalker into a serial killer. In the book, part of the story—the part that is told from Wyatt’s point of view—shows how he goes from nice guy stalker to serial killer. When I started Aberration, I had also been reading several true crime books by legendary former FBI profilers, and I really wanted to do a story with a profiler in it. So I combined my stalker idea with the profiler character and Aberration was born.
Q: How hard was it to write a book like this and do
you have any tips that you could pass on which would make the journey easier
for other writers?
It was very difficult to write a book like this because of the major twists at the end. To make them work, there were certain pieces of information that had to be held back until exactly the right time. If I revealed too much too soon, the book would lose its pace and impact, and readers would get bored. But if I waited too long to reveal certain things, readers would be confused and frustrated. My advice if you're writing a crime thriller or a novel where you've got a big reveal at the end is to make an outline of your book after you've completed a draft so you can see all the pieces of it as they stand--kind of like an aerial view of your book. That will give you a better idea as to where certain bits of information can and should be revealed along the way.
Q: Who is your publisher and how did you find them
or did you self-publish?
My publisher is Sapphire Star Publishing. My agent was pitching to small presses when my friend and fellow author, Nancy S. Thompson signed with them for her first novel, The Mistaken. After she signed with them, I asked my agent to pitch to them. The rest, as they say, is history.
Q: Is there anything that surprised you about
getting your first book published?
I was surprised by how many people actually read it! Many people bought it to show support, but I never expected so many people to read it. A lot of people who bought it are not typically readers, and yet they gave it a chance.
Q: Can you describe the feeling when you saw your
published book for the first time?
It was incredibly overwhelming. I definitely got tears in my eyes. Seeing the culmination of almost a decade of work and the realization of a lifelong dream rendered me completely speechless. I kept flipping the pages and thinking, those are my words in there! Besides the birth of my child and marrying my husband, it is definitely up there as one of the most thrilling moments of my life.
Q: What other books (if any) are you working on and
when will they be published?
My first novel, Finding Claire Fletcher is available now. I’m working on a third novel now called Hold Still which is about a gritty, single-mom police detective from Philadelphia who is hunting down a group of serial rapists. I don’t have a release date for that one yet, but I’m working on it.
Q: Fun question: How does your book contribute to
making this world a better place?
Hopefully it will creep people out enough to make them take their personal safety more seriously!
Q: Finally, what message (if any) are you trying to
get across with your book?
With this story I had hoped to show that bullying can have long-term, disastrous effects. Of course this is a grossly exaggerated example but fiction gives authors license to do that sort of thing. Also, especially for women, we should all be careful who we let into our lives and how much access we grant them to our private lives.
Thank you so much for hosting me! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat interview! I'm still learning new things about you.
ReplyDelete