Kelly Miller's Blog - Posts Tagged "crime"
The Similarities Between Me and My Main Character
Interested in finding out how I'm similar to my main character Detective Kate Springer in Dead Like Me? Check out my blog post at http://apps.kellymillerauthor.com/blog
Detective Kate Springer Answers the Tough Questions
Kelly Miller asked me to stop by her blog and answer some questions. When I asked why the hell anyone would want to hear from me, she said people find me fascinating. Kelly had quite a few questions so this is the first in a two-part installment that gives you a little glimpse into my life.
1. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? I’ve always wanted to fight for the little guy, for those who didn’t have a voice. Combine that with my strong sense of right and wrong and I guess it was inevitable I ended up in law enforcement. When I transferred to Tampa, I worked my ass off to make detective. Now that I’m in the homicide department, every day I’m battling for those who’ve had their voices prematurely silenced.
2. What group did you hang out with in high school? I was more of a loner in high school. Kept my head down, my grades up. Couldn’t wait to escape to college.
3. What do you do to unwind and relax? I like to take out my aggression on the gun range. If that doesn’t give me the release I’m looking for, I’ll head over to the gym and hit the punching bag. If that doesn’t do it, I’ll get into the ring and spar. Last resort—I’ll pick up a guy and take out all my aggression on him.
4. Morning Person? Or Night Person? I’m definitely a night person. I can work a crime scene all night long but get me up before the rays peek through my window shade and I’m a bear. At least until I’ve had my morning Coke.
5. If you could apologize to someone in your past, who would it be? I’m more the type to hold a grudge. The better question would be “Who owes me an apology?”
6. What would we find under your bed? Dust dogs. Normal people have dust bunnies under their beds. Not much of a housekeeper so mine are bigger and meaner.
7. What one word best describes you? Controlling. But I’m trying to work on that.
8. What makes you happy? Happy? Seems to me that’s such a fleeting emotion. Unattainable for any length of time. So many people pretend to be happy, pasting a smile on their faces just for nicety sake. The best I hope for on a daily basis is contentment.
9.What is something people would be surprised to know about you? If you're one of the lucky few I let into my inner circle, I’ll fight to the death for you. I’m loyal above all else.
1. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? I’ve always wanted to fight for the little guy, for those who didn’t have a voice. Combine that with my strong sense of right and wrong and I guess it was inevitable I ended up in law enforcement. When I transferred to Tampa, I worked my ass off to make detective. Now that I’m in the homicide department, every day I’m battling for those who’ve had their voices prematurely silenced.
2. What group did you hang out with in high school? I was more of a loner in high school. Kept my head down, my grades up. Couldn’t wait to escape to college.
3. What do you do to unwind and relax? I like to take out my aggression on the gun range. If that doesn’t give me the release I’m looking for, I’ll head over to the gym and hit the punching bag. If that doesn’t do it, I’ll get into the ring and spar. Last resort—I’ll pick up a guy and take out all my aggression on him.
4. Morning Person? Or Night Person? I’m definitely a night person. I can work a crime scene all night long but get me up before the rays peek through my window shade and I’m a bear. At least until I’ve had my morning Coke.
5. If you could apologize to someone in your past, who would it be? I’m more the type to hold a grudge. The better question would be “Who owes me an apology?”
6. What would we find under your bed? Dust dogs. Normal people have dust bunnies under their beds. Not much of a housekeeper so mine are bigger and meaner.
7. What one word best describes you? Controlling. But I’m trying to work on that.
8. What makes you happy? Happy? Seems to me that’s such a fleeting emotion. Unattainable for any length of time. So many people pretend to be happy, pasting a smile on their faces just for nicety sake. The best I hope for on a daily basis is contentment.
9.What is something people would be surprised to know about you? If you're one of the lucky few I let into my inner circle, I’ll fight to the death for you. I’m loyal above all else.
Title Reveal
Ready for the second book in the Detective Kate Springer series? Well it just went to the publisher last week so it'll be awhile before it's ready. In the meantime I thought I'd reveal the title on my blog. Check it out at http://apps.kellymillerauthor.com/blo....
Dead Like Me FREE on the Kindle
Good news, my mystery novel, Dead Like Me, is FREE today (6/29) and tomorrow (6/30). If you have a Kindle or a Kindle app on the iPad, computer, or phone you can download a free copy using this link: http://ow.ly/gXD3q.
Even if you've read the book, I'd really appreciate it if you could take a quick moment to download it. The more downloads the book gets, the better its Amazon ranking will be. And the better the ranking, the more exposure the book gets. So this will really help me out.
I’d also appreciate it if you could forward this message along to your friends or post the first couple of paragraphs in your FB newsfeed. Thanks for your support!
I'll be keeping an eye on the ranking and share the news with you next week. Right now the ebook's ranked at 170,821 on Amazon. I have quite a ways to go to break the top 100!
Even if you've read the book, I'd really appreciate it if you could take a quick moment to download it. The more downloads the book gets, the better its Amazon ranking will be. And the better the ranking, the more exposure the book gets. So this will really help me out.
I’d also appreciate it if you could forward this message along to your friends or post the first couple of paragraphs in your FB newsfeed. Thanks for your support!
I'll be keeping an eye on the ranking and share the news with you next week. Right now the ebook's ranked at 170,821 on Amazon. I have quite a ways to go to break the top 100!
July FREE Days for "Dead Like Me" on the Kindle
If you didn’t get a chance to download Dead Like Me for free on the Kindle in June, today’s your lucky day. Click on this Amazon link to get your copy now. It’s free Wednesday, June 24 and Thursday, June 25.
If you’ve already read the book, please share your opinion and include the link to the free book on your social networking sites. Feel free to email an announcement to your friends, post on Facebook, tweet, or blog about the freebie. Here’s the link you can copy: http://ow.ly/gXD3q
In June, my book got over 14,000 downloads. I don't know if I can repeat that kind of success but I'll sure try. As always, thanks for your support!
If you’ve already read the book, please share your opinion and include the link to the free book on your social networking sites. Feel free to email an announcement to your friends, post on Facebook, tweet, or blog about the freebie. Here’s the link you can copy: http://ow.ly/gXD3q
In June, my book got over 14,000 downloads. I don't know if I can repeat that kind of success but I'll sure try. As always, thanks for your support!
A Burning Question About Kate's Believability
Have you read my first book, Dead Like Me? Today, I’m going to tackle a question that’s come up in a couple of the book clubs I’ve met with. The same issue’s also been mentioned in a few of the reviews for Dead Like Me. SPOILER ALERT: STOP READING IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE BOOK.
The question has to do with the believability that Detective Kate Springer kept her traumatic past a secret from her partner Patrick Jessup. In the book, Kate gets called out to a crime scene where the murdered girl reminds her of herself at the age of thirteen. Seeing the body of the girl brought back memories that Kate had buried long ago. This pushes her deeper into crisis as she’s already trying to deal with her childhood sexual abuse in therapy. Crisis is a term psychologists use for sexual assault survivors who are in the emergency stage of the healing process. This stage happens when a survivor is beginning to deal with memories of abuse and the suppressed feelings that come with it.
The childhood trauma that Kate endured was so horrific that in order to keep doing her job, to even put one foot in front of the other, she had to lock away all of her emotions into a mental box. By exposing her true feelings to her therapist, all of the once tightly sealed emotions began seeping through the cracks of this box. Kate was doing her best to keep control of everything. But in order to do that, she had to lock away anything that reminded her of the past.
Normally, Kate had keen detective skills but since she was in crisis, any clues reminding her of her past were brushed under the rug. This is why she didn’t realize what the daisy really meant.
When Robert White left Elgin after Kate’s mother confronted him with the knowledge of the sexual abuse, Kate completely shut out any memory of him. Again that was one of her coping mechanisms. She had to block it out in order to function. So when things started showing up that reminded her of Robert, her response was to shut it out.
Then to actually see Robert in her interrogation room, it completely turned her inside out. It was like all of her nerve endings were exposed and her feelings were all at a heightened state. She started acting illogically which made her keep things from her partner. Many readers held this against Kate. They couldn’t empathize with this part of her story because they had never experienced something like this or known anyone who had. Thus they thought it was all too unbelievable.
Did you have a problem with the believability factor? Hopefully this gives you a peek into my mind and why I wrote the story in this way.
The question has to do with the believability that Detective Kate Springer kept her traumatic past a secret from her partner Patrick Jessup. In the book, Kate gets called out to a crime scene where the murdered girl reminds her of herself at the age of thirteen. Seeing the body of the girl brought back memories that Kate had buried long ago. This pushes her deeper into crisis as she’s already trying to deal with her childhood sexual abuse in therapy. Crisis is a term psychologists use for sexual assault survivors who are in the emergency stage of the healing process. This stage happens when a survivor is beginning to deal with memories of abuse and the suppressed feelings that come with it.
The childhood trauma that Kate endured was so horrific that in order to keep doing her job, to even put one foot in front of the other, she had to lock away all of her emotions into a mental box. By exposing her true feelings to her therapist, all of the once tightly sealed emotions began seeping through the cracks of this box. Kate was doing her best to keep control of everything. But in order to do that, she had to lock away anything that reminded her of the past.
Normally, Kate had keen detective skills but since she was in crisis, any clues reminding her of her past were brushed under the rug. This is why she didn’t realize what the daisy really meant.
When Robert White left Elgin after Kate’s mother confronted him with the knowledge of the sexual abuse, Kate completely shut out any memory of him. Again that was one of her coping mechanisms. She had to block it out in order to function. So when things started showing up that reminded her of Robert, her response was to shut it out.
Then to actually see Robert in her interrogation room, it completely turned her inside out. It was like all of her nerve endings were exposed and her feelings were all at a heightened state. She started acting illogically which made her keep things from her partner. Many readers held this against Kate. They couldn’t empathize with this part of her story because they had never experienced something like this or known anyone who had. Thus they thought it was all too unbelievable.
Did you have a problem with the believability factor? Hopefully this gives you a peek into my mind and why I wrote the story in this way.
Cover Reveal for "Deadly Fantasies"
I have a double dose of good news. First, I want to share with you the cover of Deadly Fantasies, the second book in the Detective Kate Springer series. Head over to my blog to check it out. In my not so humble opinion, I think the graphic designer, Dave King, did a phenomenal job creating a wonderful work of art. It also marries well with the first book, Dead Like Me. Stand the two novels side by side and you can tell they belong in the same series.
Another bit of good news is that Deadly Fantasies is ready for presale on my publisher’s website. Reserve your paperback copy at Black Rose Writing. If you order early, the publisher will ship it to you on the debut date, December 19. You might even get it in time for Christmas. But I'm not making any promises. The paperback and e-book will be available everywhere else (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, etc.) two weeks after the debut date on January 2, 2014.
Another bit of good news is that Deadly Fantasies is ready for presale on my publisher’s website. Reserve your paperback copy at Black Rose Writing. If you order early, the publisher will ship it to you on the debut date, December 19. You might even get it in time for Christmas. But I'm not making any promises. The paperback and e-book will be available everywhere else (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, etc.) two weeks after the debut date on January 2, 2014.
Happy Debut Day!
Happy debut day to me! The second novel in my Detective Kate Springer Series, Deadly Fantasies, is available for sale on Amazon and all your other favorite bookselling websites.
Thank you to everyone who ordered a presale copy already. The sales must be coming in steadily. On Tuesday, Amazon had the paperback version of Deadly Fantasies ranked at about 350,000 in its bestsellers list. It may not seem like such a great number, until you take into consideration, Dead Like Me, is currently ranked at over two million. So thank you!
Would you like to read the first chapter of Deadly Fantasies to get a little taste of what it’s all about? It's available on my website, so head on over for a sneak peek at the book.
Thank you to everyone who ordered a presale copy already. The sales must be coming in steadily. On Tuesday, Amazon had the paperback version of Deadly Fantasies ranked at about 350,000 in its bestsellers list. It may not seem like such a great number, until you take into consideration, Dead Like Me, is currently ranked at over two million. So thank you!
Would you like to read the first chapter of Deadly Fantasies to get a little taste of what it’s all about? It's available on my website, so head on over for a sneak peek at the book.
Win a Copy of Both Kelly's Books
In combination with my Deadly Fantasies Blog Tour, I'm holding a giveaway. One winner will come away with two signed paperback books--a copy of "Dead Like Me" and the newest novel in the Detective Kate Springer Series, "Deadly Fantasies." Just head over to Kelly Miller's Blog and on the bottom, right hand side of the page is the entry form. The giveaway is open until February 14. Good luck!
