Crime Detective Mystery Thriller Group discussion

We can start the group read for Delirious by Daniel Palmer. My memory of reading this book was that I could not put it down. You may not want to start it at night. Daniel Palmer will be joining us.

Hi there...I'm here. Never done this before, but seems like fun. I'm hard at work on new stuff, but DELIRIOUS is a very special book to me and I hope you enjoy the story. I'll answer any questions you have, tell you anything you want to know about the book, writing, publishing, that sort of thing. Thanks for picking this story for your book club. It's truly a thrill for me. Happy reading! -Daniel

Ron wrote: "

We can start the group read for Delirious by Daniel Palmer. My memory of reading this book was that I could not put it down. You may not want to start it at night. ..."

The Coma i read was by Robin Cook. Is there another one?

Daniel wrote: "Hi there...I'm here. Never done this before, but seems like fun. I'm hard at work on new stuff, but DELIRIOUS is a very special book to me and I hope you enjoy the story. I'll answer any questions ..."

Hi Daniel..Im Marian by the way:)Sounds like you are a dog lover..you have a dog?What inspired you to write this novel?

Hi Marian...allow me to borrow something I wrote elsewhere about the dog. I'm not exaggerating to say I owe my writing career to Monte. So much so that I named my dog, who is 7 months old, Monte!

Here's the true story....

Back before I was published, acquiring editors at various publishing houses loved DELIRIOUS, but thought Charlie was too rough around the edges. He wasn’t a very kind person at the start of the story. I conveyed my publishing woes to a good friend of mine over burgers and beers and he suggested I give my protagonist a dog. It took me about two seconds to see the genius of his idea. I contacted my agent who took about one second to see it. “Yeah, a dog,” she said. “Give him a dog.”

From there, I reached out to a cousin (see a theme here?) who happens to be a veterinarian. We spent an hour talking about dog breeds, searching for the best breed for Charlie. We settled on a beagle. From there I gave Monte his quirks, chewing shoes and his devote love for the neighbor’s poodle, Maxine. A few weeks later I signed a three book contract with Kensington.

As for the inspiration...well I wanted to write a psychological drama that would play to my strengths of my technology background (I use to help launch e-commerce sites for biggie retailers like Barnes & Noble and Dick's Sporting Goods). I came up with the characters of Charlie and Joe and liked their dynamic so I built the story around them. Say has everyone here read the book? I don't want to give away any spoilers. :)

I think Charlie and Monte are perfect for each other Daniel:)I have some more questions to ask you..but I need to go and get supper going.But,will you be writing mostly thrillers?I see your working on your next novel.

Yum dinner. I'm hungry! I'm a suspense novelist by trade, but I've dabbled in other formats (aka screenplays) and other genres (aka medical suspense see: TRAUMA which came out last Tuesday) and I harbor dreams of writing young adult when I find the magic wand that adds time to my day. Enjoy your supper.

Daniel wrote: "As for the inspiration...well I wanted to write a psychological drama that would play to my strengths of my technology background (I use to help launch e-commerce sites for biggie retailers like Ba..."

Have it ordered but it hasnt come yet. Haven't read it yet.

Daniel wrote: "Yum dinner. I'm hungry! I'm a suspense novelist by trade, but I've dabbled in other formats (aka screenplays) and other genres (aka medical suspense see: TRAUMA which came out last Tuesday) and I h..."

Thank you Daniel for answering my questions:)I to,love medical suspense novels as well.Your new book Trauma,is it out worldwide?I live in Canada,but I shall look into it,as it looks awesome!

Debbie wrote: "Ron wrote: "

We can start the group read for Delirious by Daniel Palmer. My memory of reading this book was that I could not put it down. You may not want to start i..."

No Debbie. My age is catching up to me. Sorry about that.

I guess the question I always seem to ask is about the writing process. It was said in the book, Who Was That Lady, that Craig Rice wrote by the seat of her pants. She would go into a room and write the book in a few hours and that was it.
What is your writing process?

Ron wrote: "Debbie wrote: "Ron wrote: "

We can start the group read for Delirious by Daniel Palmer. My memory of reading this book was that I could not put it down. You may not ..."

Thought maybe I missed one!

Ron, it's an evolving thing, part thought out, part inspiration, and part goodness knows what. All I know for certain is that writing is hard. You have a good imagination and be a little fearless (or a lot). I think I have a general idea of the story and flow, and my instincts tell me if the pacing seems right. The result might work for everyone, but the majority of my readers seem to like what I do, so I don't think I'll tweak my process. I write a twelve or so page outline, sketch out the characters, get a sense for the beginning, middle and end. Then I write. But writing is really rewriting, so I do a lot of that as well.

Ron wrote: "I guess the question I always seem to ask is about the writing process. It was said in the book, Who Was That Lady, that Craig Rice wrote by the seat of her pants. She would go into a room and wri..."

Ron, it's an evolving thing, part thought out, part inspiration, and part goodness knows what. All I know for certain is that writing is hard. You have a good imagination and be a little fearless (or a lot). I think I have a general idea of the story and flow, and my instincts tell me if the pacing seems right. The result might work for everyone, but the majority of my readers seem to like what I do, so I don't think I'll tweak my process. I write a twelve or so page outline, sketch out the characters, get a sense for the beginning, middle and end. Then I write. But writing is really rewriting, so I do a lot of that as well.

Marian wrote: "Daniel wrote: "Yum dinner. I'm hungry! I'm a suspense novelist by trade, but I've dabbled in other formats (aka screenplays) and other genres (aka medical suspense see: TRAUMA which came out last T..."

Should be available for sale in Canada, thanks for asking. Trauma is a blend of my style with the style of late father, Michael Palmer. You can read the author's note included with the book for the story behind the story. http://www.michaelpalmerbooks.com/tra...

Ron, Marin and Daniel: this novel sounds very good, and I adore dogs, too; dogs are about 'as good as it gets.'

Slow reading it but it is good so far

Janeandjerry wrote: "Slow reading it but it is good so far"

Might be a little case of the first novel fumbling. As I've gone on I've gotten a wee bit better at cutting out the parts people skip. That said, if you can forgive and read on I think you'll find the novel takes you for an entertaining and twisty ride. Thanks for sticking with it.

Daniel wrote: "Janeandjerry wrote: "Slow reading it but it is good so far"

Might be a little case of the first novel fumbling. As I've gone on I've gotten a wee bit better at cutting out the parts people skip. T..."

From what I have read so far Daniel,I really like your book..I have a couple other books on the go at the same time,but there smaller reads.And I did look up your newest book "Trauma" and it is on my Kobo site.

Daniel wrote: "Janeandjerry wrote: "Slow reading it but it is good so far"

Might be a little case of the first novel fumbling. As I've gone on I've gotten a wee bit better at cutting out the parts people skip. T..."

I am pushing on with reading just hopefully get it finished by time its due back at library...lol

I really enjoyed Delirious and will start on it again tonight just to refresh my memory.

Ron wrote: "I really enjoyed Delirious and will start on it again tonight just to refresh my memory."

Well that's good Ron! It would be a long book group for me if nobody likes it! haha.

I'm sure that people will enjoy the book. We're glad you're here.

Ron wrote: "I'm sure that people will enjoy the book. We're glad you're here."

Happy to participate. Ask me anything.

I don't know if you had any thoughts on the definition of the term Psychological Thriller. I kind of wonder if there is one since it seems to be loosely based even as going as far as saying that the movie The Boy Next Door with Jennifer Lopez is a psychological thriller. It seems to me that I have to agree that maybe we are overusing this term and maybe the proper term should be thriller.

I should mention that I did not see The Boy Next Door and have no intention of seeing it and did not understand why these cable promos say that it was a psychological thriller. My feeling is that there should be some sort of mystery in there although I don't want to use labels on books or movies.

Janeandjerry wrote: "Daniel wrote: "Janeandjerry wrote: "Slow reading it but it is good so far"

Might be a little case of the first novel fumbling. As I've gone on I've gotten a wee bit better at cutting out the parts..."

Currently on chapter 16

Skye wrote: "Ron, Marin and Daniel: this novel sounds very good, and I adore dogs, too; dogs are about 'as good as it gets.'"

I forgot about Monte until I started reading the book again. I'm still a cat person though but Monte is good.

As I'm reading this again, one of the things that stands out is that Charles Giles is a typical abrasive and probably abusive director in this company. I would probably compare him with Al "Chainsaw" Dunlap and other CEO's which I think in this case is great since I have worked with people like this as well. I thought the challenge here is if I'm going to have sympathy for Charles since he will be going through a lot of problems in this story.
In any case, I thought he was a compelling and a believable character along with other characters in Delirious and hope to hear how these characters are developed.

Ron wrote: "I don't know if you had any thoughts on the definition of the term Psychological Thriller. I kind of wonder if there is one since it seems to be loosely based even as going as far as saying that t..."

I think it's "psychological" when there is some ambiguity around the mental state of a character--is he/she sane or evil? Deceitful or telling the truth? A killer or not? Is his/her memory to be trusted? So by that standard Delirious fits, as does Gone Girl, Girl on a Train, and many others like it. In the movie Boy Next Door, the audience knows the boy is no good therefore it's suspense. The question is HOW will she get away from the boy next door not, not if anybody is actually after her. If there was a question if she is just paranoid then it becomes more psychological suspense. Hope that helps clarify.

I had one big false start with Delirious. I tried to make it ‘thrilling’ by creating an interesting and complex plot. What I found to be lacking in my story were the characters. Readers care about the plot to the extent that they care about the characters. If readers become invested in the characters, they’ll turn pages simply to find out what happens next. When I refocused my story on the relationship between the two brothers, Charlie and Joe, I found the story’s soul. I wish I could tell you that the rest of it was easy from there, but it was all really hard work.

There are certainly parallels between Charlie’s experiences and my own. We both cut our professional teeth in the world of high tech start up companies and left those jobs to join larger, more established firms. Charlie is an amalgam of personalities and people I’ve encountered throughout my career. However, I based his work ethic on my personal experiences in the start up world. The decision to make Charlie a musician was influenced only in part by my being a musician as well. I use music throughout DELIRIOUS to highlight the central conflict between Charlie and his schizophrenic brother, Joe. Because the brothers are at opposite ends of the emotional spectrum, it seemed fitting to make Charlie a proficient jazz guitarist, and Joe a rock and roll drummer.

Charlie lacked sympathy...so that's why I gave him a dog. :)

Daniel wrote: "Ron wrote: "I don't know if you had any thoughts on the definition of the term Psychological Thriller. I kind of wonder if there is one since it seems to be loosely based even as going as far as s..."

I can see that. That does clear this up for me. I think others might feel the same way since there has been some debate about this in our group and other groups. Thank you.

Daniel wrote: "I had one big false start with Delirious. I tried to make it ‘thrilling’ by creating an interesting and complex plot. What I found to be lacking in my story were the characters. Readers care about ..."

I still had a lot of sympathy for Charlie as the story moved along but Monte being there was good.

Daniel wrote: "I had one big false start with Delirious. I tried to make it ‘thrilling’ by creating an interesting and complex plot. What I found to be lacking in my story were the characters. Readers care about ..."

I get the impression that this is kind of a Silicon Valley story then which I like. You don't get to see stories with this type of business setting.

Ron wrote: "Daniel wrote: "I had one big false start with Delirious. I tried to make it ‘thrilling’ by creating an interesting and complex plot. What I found to be lacking in my story were the characters. Read..."

A well respected venture capitalist made DELIRIOUS his pick for a WSJ summer read. I knew that world pretty well when I wrote the book. It's been a while since I've seen the inside of cube.

http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2...

Reading the book now. Dont want to put it down.

Glad you're enjoying it Debbie. That's why I recommended that people should start the book during the day. If you start it at night, you won't be able to go to sleep. Then again, I had a lot of late nights with this book.

Ron wrote: "Glad you're enjoying it Debbie. That's why I recommended that people should start the book during the day. If you start it at night, you won't be able to go to sleep. Then again, I had a lot of ..."

You are not kidding! I just finished it this evening, and spent most of the afternoon wishing I was reading instead of at my kids soccer games. I really wanted to know how everything had been done, and the explanation was very satisfying.

Yes, this book can keep you distracted and make you put things on hold until you're finished with it.
The good thing about this book is that more people can jump in and start reading it because they'll be finished in a few days. I think I finished this book in 3 days.

In any case Jenn, I'm glad you enjoyed the book. Looking forward to hearing your comments and questions.

This is a great post that Kirsten had put up regarding 22 signs that a book is taking over your life. If you're reading Delirious, you may want to read this article.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10...

I read the book in two days, was so invested in Charlie and Joe (whom i absolutely loved in spite of everything). After all, he couldn't do any more for his condition than what he had been doing. I'd love to see another book with these characters and a certain someone who helps them at the end who is not female, if you get my drift! Dont want to give anything away to people who haven't finished reading it.

Two days! That's great. There are times that I wish that I could finish a book in two days. Last year, I did finish a book in one day but that was due to the fact that I started in the morning and it was a holiday.
Other than that, my minimum is 3-4 days if it's a great book like Delirious.
In any case, I think this leads to a question on how a story is paced so that we can be sucked in and get to the point where we can't put a book like this down.

Ron wrote: "Two days! That's great. There are times that I wish that I could finish a book in two days. Last year, I did finish a book in one day but that was due to the fact that I started in the morning..."

It started out a little slow for me, setting up the background info on Charlie but once it took off i didnt want to stop reading. I have to admit there were times i wanted to slap Charlie! Lol! He could be really aggravating, particularly regarding his harsh treatment of others, but by the end i was totally hooked on his character.

I agree on that Debbie and that's why I thought he's a great realistic character considering that this book takes place in the corporate world. He did keep the story moving as a character, that's for sure.

Thank you Ron for recommending this book to me:)

Ron wrote: "I agree on that Debbie and that's why I thought he's a great realistic character considering that this book takes place in the corporate world. He did keep the story moving as a character, that's ..."

In spite of their difficulties, I was particularly touched by Charlie's and Joe's relationship in the end. Darn! There is so much more I want to comment on but will have to wait until others finish the book!

One of my questions is when you write about technology and the things that can possibly be done with it, I'm sure there are always people ready to pick it apart for accuracy. Does your editor have to make sure it is somewhat accurate, or does it not matter since it's a work of fiction anyway?

Marian wrote: "Thank you Ron for recommending this book to me:)"

No problem Marian. I'm glad you enjoyed it and hope to see you at other group reads. Looking forward to hearing more of your comments and questions.