Alex Kava's Blog

In my latest novel, BEFORE EVIL a waitress named Rita plays an important role in the story. But this isn’t the first time. In fact, with the exception of A PERFECT EVIL, every single one of my 16 novels includes a waitress named Rita. Some of you who have read my books back-to-back may have noticed this. Usually it’s very subtle.

So why did I do this?

When my first book was published I was explaining to a radio host how I love to use the ALFRED HITCHCOCK APPROACH TO SUSPENSE. Hitchcock was a brilliant filmmaker who understood how to lead his audience to the edge of their seats then leave them with only their imaginations. I always tell readers that YOUR IMAGINATION WILL TERRIFY YOU much more than anything I can put into words.

During that same conversation with the radio host, he asked if I’d ever considered inserting myself into my novels like Hitchcock did with his cameos in his movies.

What a great idea, I thought. But I didn’t want to be so obvious by having someone named Alex. Waitress was one of my first jobs as a teenager, so I decided I would have one in every book. I don’t remember how I chose the name Rita.

In BEFORE EVIL a waitress named Rita finally gets to be a secondary character, but if you pick up any one of my other books (again, with the exception of A PERFECT EVIL), look for the waitress named Rita. http://bit.ly/OrderBeforeEvil

I never intended to write a series. I know that may seem hard to believe, especially now after eleven books featuring FBI Special Agent Maggie O’Dell—fourteen, if you consider the Ryder Creed series which includes Maggie.

When I wrote my debut novel, A Perfect Evil, I intended for it be a standalone novel. I didn’t even read series novels back in those days. But A Perfect Evil became an international bestseller, and suddenly, my publisher insisted I write a follow-up.

Honestly, I had no clue how to write a sequel. I had already handed in the proposal for another standalone. But I put it aside, and I wrote Split Second. It was an international bestseller, too, and I was told we needed one more Maggie O’Dell novel. So I wrote The Soul Catcher.

Understand that while I was writing these books I was literally learning how to create a series, and I felt like I was doing it by the seat of my pants.

Now as I look back, I truly believe this method—though it seemed like pure madness at the time—was actually a blessing. It kept the character of Maggie fresh and dynamic. I got to know Maggie alongside my readers. Together we watched her grow and mature. We learned what she was capable of doing, and each time I gave her something new and different to deal with. I burned down her house in Fireproof, locked her in a chest freezer in At the Stroke of Madness, exposed her to the Ebola virus in Exposed, threw her into the path of a hurricane in Damaged, and left her stranded in Blackwater River State Park in Stranded.

Poor Maggie!

But little by little, I came to understand who Maggie O’Dell is. What her flaws and vulnerabilities are as well as her greatest strengths. I came to understand why we cheer on this stubborn lone wolf, who as a professional will do whatever it takes to do the right thing. She doesn’t think twice about racing toward danger, but she quickly runs away from personal relationships.

Many of you readers have asked for a prequel to this series for a long time now. My early career was driven—and made possible—by what my readers wanted. But it’s taken me some time to write this prequel. Two years ago, I even wrote it as a short story for Brenda Novak’s Sweet Dreams boxed set that included twelve other thriller authors. Which by the way, if you enjoyed that short story and think you already read Before Evil—not to worry. That short story was a minor piece that made me realize how much more there was to explore. Before Evil, the novel, is almost 80,000 words. But the short story—along with eleven books in the series—did help me get to know and understand Maggie well enough that I could finally tell you about her early life experiences. Those experiences that helped shape who she is today.

Also, I never understood why anyone would want to revisit Albert Stucky, aka the Collector, let alone read about his early cat and mouse game with Maggie. After all, if you’ve read the first two books in the series, you already know how that first chase ended. It’s documented in A Perfect Evil and in Split Second.

Or is it?

Maybe, just maybe, Maggie never did share all the details.

So let the chase begin!

To those of you who are new to this series—this is a great place to start. To my dear readers who have been alongside me on this incredible journey since the beginning, I hope you enjoy this.

I want to share with you how excited I am to have this book back in print. A PERFECT EVIL was my first novel. It started the amazing journey with FBI profiler Maggie O'Dell, so it holds a special place in my heart. But after selling 1.6 million copies worldwide, the publisher allowed it to go out of print. The digital version was still available but if readers wanted a print edition they had to search and hope to find a used copy.

As an author I can't even explain how much it means when readers tell me that one of my books encouraged them to read again or helped them get through a challenging time in their lives. Of all the books I've written, A PERFECT EVIL is the one I hear about from readers the most. And that's after adding 15 more books--10 of those in the Maggie O'Dell series.

I've spent the last four years fighting to get the print rights back to A PERFECT EVIL and four other titles that have gone out of print. Hopefully I'll be reprinting all of them this year. But I wanted to share with you the first results of my efforts.

A PERFECT EVIL is now available in a new trade paperback edition. Personalized and autographed copies are available at my website: http://bit.ly/2mwKAVA and to celebrate I'm including a cool crime scene bookmark with every purchase through my website. The book is also available on amazon, B&N and at select bookstores.

One of the fun things about this project was what I could add for my readers. Not only does the book have a brand new cover but there's also a BONUS SECTION. It gave me a chance to share some behind the scenes trivia and details that I've never talked about before. And we included a discussion guide for book clubs along with the backstory of the two real crimes that influenced the novel.

So A PERFECT EVIL is back and I'm so thrilled at the timing Because for those of you who are Maggie fans, I have some other great news. I'm finishing the last chapters for the brand new prequel to the series. BEFORE EVIL will be published this summer. I'll tell you more about that soon.

Erica, JT and I just re-released our novella collaborations (SLICES OF NIGHT and STORM SEASON). Both are now offered as eBooks and in print. http://bit.ly/2j54dF8

What an interesting and exciting experience this was.

We had already been friends for several years. Then during Thrillerfest one evening in New York we got together for dinner at Remi. Our mutual friend Deb Carlin suggested that the three of us write a book together. She even offered to coordinate the effort. I'm sure she had no idea what she was getting herself into because just trying to get three creative people on the same schedule can be like herding cats.

For our first effort we decided to develop a killer including his motives and even speculate about who his victims would be. Then we decided we would deal with this killer in each of our hometowns, each with our protagonist. Erica started with him in New Orleans. JT dealt with him in Nashville, and I took care of him in Omaha.

The result was SLICES OF NIGHT and I think all of us--including our cat herder, Deb Carlin--were surprised and impressed with what we had created.

Our second effort was STORM SEASON. All three of us used the same storm front moving across the country. Again in different cities--this time Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Pensacola. I'll never forget, we came up with the idea months before and as we were finishing up our writing and putting it together, Hurricane Sandy stormed its way up the East Coast.

Almost five years have gone by. Both those novellas were originally released in eBooks. Now for the first time we've made them available in print. To celebrate we decided to sit down and share some fun facts about the three of us.


What did you want to be when you were growing up?
ERICA: An artist, as in paints and brushes.
JT: Denver’s first female firefighter.
ALEX: A cowboy, a veterinarian, Emma Peel, a writer. And yes, in that order!

What is your favorite adult book?
ERICA: GHOST STORY by Peter Straub.
JT: It’s toss up between LOLITA, ANTHEM, and OUTLANDER
ALEX: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee. My dog Scout (who I was blessed to have beside me for 16 years before he passed) was named for Scout Finch.

Who has had the biggest influence on your writing career?
ERICA: My mother. Besides instilling a love of reading, she taught me that I could do anything I put my mind to.
JT: Hemingway. Still influenced by his ethos today. But also, Erica and Alex — I wanted to be you well before I was writing, when I was simply a fan, and not a friend.
ALEX: As far as technique and style, it's Alfred Hitchcock. I love his approach to building suspense.

Do you have a guilty pleasure?
ERICA: Dark chocolate, dark chocolate and dark chocolate. In that order.
JT: The Daily Mail Femail section. Pure gossip, and I love it.
ALEX: Playing Angry Birds or Toy Blast.

Can you name one thing/trait/indulgence/habit/pet peeve that any of your protagonists share with you?
ERICA: Easy one! My addiction to coffee.
JT: Taylor’s incessant messing with her hair. It’s a major nervous tic of mine. I didn’t even realize I’d unconsciously written it into the books until a reader pointed it out at an event.
ALEX: Both Maggie O'Dell and Ryder Creed share my love of dogs.

What's your favorite holiday?
ERICA: Christmas! I’m one of those who start listening to Christmas music Thanksgiving Day and don’t stop until New Years Day.
JT: Thanksgiving. No pressure, lots of fun and great Beaujolais nouveau!
ALEX: No question--Christmas! One of my Christmas villages even stays out all year on one of our fireplace's mantel.

Name your fur babies!
ERICA: Aww, you know I love my fur baby — An oversized golden retriever named Roxie.
JT: Jameson and Jordan, aka the Minions who are twin sisters, gorgeous silver mackeral tabby cats.
ALEX: My pack of Westies: Duncan, Boomer, Maggie and Huck

When I wrote my first novel, the advice I heard the most was, “Write what you know.”

I grew up outside of Silver Creek, Nebraska. Population 500. My high school graduating class was twenty-three. I went to college on an art scholarship. Oh and by the way, that college was a Catholic all-women’s college. I went on to a career in graphic design, public relations and advertising. Over the last fifteen novels I’ve been writing about murder. I can safely tell you that I am not writing what I know.

Because I don’t have a background in forensics or law enforcement I’ve had to rely on research and the experts I’ve met along the way. Experts who have generously offered their time and shared their experiences. Their real-life details have breathed life into my Maggie O’Dell series, and their friendships have enriched my personal as well as my professional life. Through these experts I’ve been able to write what I did not know.

Over the years the experts and my research have taken me through a variety of topics like: Ebola (Exposed), Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy (At the Stroke of Madness), domestic terrorism (Black Friday), the underground trafficking of body parts (Damaged), and food contamination in our school lunch programs (Hotwire). It was one of these experts who told me about cadaver dogs and their amazing capabilities. I’ve been fascinated ever since and chomping at the bit to include a cadaver dog in one of my novels. You see, dogs are something that I know.

I’ve been passionate about dogs my whole life. One my earliest memories is the day I followed our farm dogs everywhere they went, until suddenly I looked back and saw our house was a tiny speck in the distance. I think I was three or four years old. What I remember from that experience was pure joy, until of course, my frantic mother found me.

My entire life I’ve surrounded myself with dogs, some of which have been rescues. I’ve had as many as six in my pack at one time. Each and every one of them has been a special member of my family – their entrance, a celebration; their exit a deep and profound sadness.

With my new series (Stranded, Breaking Creed and Silent Creed) I am finally writing something that I know. Dogs! And with Ryder Creed I’ve found a kindred soul – both of us happy to live quite simply in the company of dogs.

Before I became an author I owned my own graphic design firm. As a small business owner I recognized the value of loyal customers. They were the ones who helped pay my bills and put food on my table. I always looked for ways to reward them and thank them.

When I became an author I was surprised that when my publisher talked about “their customers,” they were talking about booksellers, book warehousers, book distributors, book vendors, and sometimes they’d include librarians.

But what about readers?

One of the best things about the ebook explosion is that there are so many more choices. Readers no longer have to depend on publishers to decide which books and which authors are worthy of printing and therefore, worthy of reading.

This summer when you go on vacation and you’re looking for something to read, you’re no longer limited to a few bestsellers on display at the airport kiosk. All you have to do is download whatever you’re in the mood to read.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love print books and I’m one of those passengers you’ll see on board your flight, lugging along a hardcover novel. But I’ll also have my iPad along that has a full bookshelf of research books at my fingertips.

The addition of all those choices is a big reward for readers, but it’s also a reminder to me that as an author I appreciate even more so, those of you readers who choose my novels. That’s why last year I started rewarding readers with a gift when they pre-order my latest novel. In fact, they even get to choose their gift. You can check it out at my website: www.alexkava.com. For every pre-ordered copy of STRANDED (before July 16th), I’m giving a thank you gift: a 14 oz. ceramic mug, a fun tote, or an insulated lunch bag.

It’s just a small token of my appreciation, because I know that readers are my customers and I think they deserve to be rewarded for their loyalty.