Reading the Quest Story

Suspense/Thriller fiction is often built around the quest. A quest requires the main character to solve a mystery, find something that's missing or solve a problem. The quest teaches the main character something about life so that he or she is a new person at the end. My video goes into this topic.

To learn more about my suspense novel Fulfillment, click here for Amazon or click here for paperback.

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Not Exactly Hardboiled Noir

In noir fiction, you have a fatally flawed main character who ends up dead or worse. The writing is cynical and dark. Most of my fiction gives you the hard hitting, cynical style of a noir drama, but my stories end up in a good place. It’s not possible for a noir story to have a happy ending, so my novels are not true noir.

So why bring this up?
Noir fiction tells a compelling story about life’s losers and ne’er-do-wells. My characters pass through a loser phase but then find redemption. I’m taking the loser and saving his soul by dragging him or her through some muddy places.

I like to lighten the mood with humor. In Fulfillment, humor relieves the tension in an otherwise dark world of the first century C.E. In Faerie Tale, which I’ll release this summer, humor again provides the necessary relief from a frightening world.

In my current work in progress, which shall remain unnamed for the moment, I’m using a heavy amount of humor to the point where I may lose the deep noir darkness, but I’ll keep some of the gray tones. So you may say that I’ll be reversing the style from noir with a touch of humor to humor with a touch of noir.

Style distinguishes an author’s work. Once you have read a few novels by the same author you will be able to pick out the author’s writing even if the name is not given. Style is one of things that makes your favorite author your favorite.

To learn more about my suspense novel Fulfillment, click here for Amazon or click here for paperback.

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You Noir What You Noir

In this video I talk about my dark, mysterious "noir" writing style. Enjoy.

To learn more about my suspense novel Fulfillment, click here for Amazon or click here for paperback.

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Watch How the Author Deals with Good Vs. Evil

Suspense stories invariably deal with the battle of good versus evil. Modern suspense writers often make it difficult or impossible for the reader to tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys. Yet, the conflict of good and evil is at the heart of western literature. The way the author handles the moral conflict indicates how he or she views the world, or at least the world of the story.

Is your vampire good or evil in the book you are reading? What about the terrorist? One country’s terrorist is another country’s national hero. Same is true of the spy. Is King Kong good or evil?

In Alfred Hitchcock’s suspense movies, you can tell the good guys from the bad guys. Hitchcock created his films during an age when making this distinction was important to the art of film making. Today’s film makers and suspense authors seem unconcerned about the moral implications of their work, yet it is impossible for them to leave their moral stamp out of their work.

As a suspense novel reader, you have an opportunity to learn about the moral compass that guides the writer. Understanding the moral climate of a work gives you a deeper insight into the action. You'll gain a better understanding for why the characters behave the way they do. And you'll make better guesses as you try to predict what will happen next.

You also gain a richer reading experience by considering the author's moral viewpoint in light of your own. How does the novel affect your own sense of morality? For example, is it really okay for the main character to cheat on his spouse? Did the main character do the right thing when she blew the villain’s head off with a shotgun in the last scene? Just because a vampire makes a good lover, does that make it right for him to turn his love interest into a vampire?

Considering the moral implications and values reflected in the suspense novels you read helps you evaluate your own moral compass. If the author’s moral viewpoint seems out of kilter with your own, is it your morals or the author's that need adjustment?

To learn more about my suspense novel Fulfillment, click here for Amazon or click here for paperback.

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Suspense Often Mixes in Other Genres

As you're reading a suspense/thriller novel, stay alert for elements of other fiction genres. Authors like to mix in their choice of mystery, sci-fi, horror, romance or other genres. Mystery and suspense go hand-in-hand. The main action will be about what happens next in the story, but the characters also may be trying to solve a mystery that occurred in the past. By mixing suspense and mystery, the author creates a sense of foreboding as you worry about whether the killer will strike again. And you worry about which of the characters is the killer.

I like to include an element of romance in my suspense stories as do many of the authors I read. Just because the world is about to explode doesn’t mean you can’t take time out to fall in love. Suspense stories add an element to the romance as you become concerned if the bad guy is going to kill the girl before she realizes he’s the killer. It may be a match made in heaven, but that doesn’t mean the author can’t kill off the young beau before the wedding.

Sci-fi almost always includes a big element of suspense so there’s no reason not to mix a little sci-fi with a suspense novel. A new technology may be the very thing the terrorist needs to blow up New Jersey before the lovers meet on the beaches of Wildwood.

And what would a good suspense story be without a monster? While we’re mixing in the monster, let’s make him a lover like King Kong or your favorite vampire. The werewolf can be a romantic interest during the day and the villain at night. It’s all up to the author. The more mixing and matching of genres and characters, usually the better and richer the story.

To learn more about my suspense novel Fulfillment, click here for Amazon or click here for paperback.

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Riding the Suspense Roller Coaster

The suspense or thriller novel builds your anticipation of what will happen next. It succeeds by working on your emotions to build a sense of dread, awe or whatever feeling is appropriate as you anticipate what will happen next in the story. Fear and terror are often involved, but other emotions can come into play as well, such as love as you anticipate two people coming together in a suspense-filled forbidden romance. Worry and anxiety play a big role in thriller stories. The author is free to play with any and all emotions while gearing the reader up for what happens next. 

For example, in the film Psycho, Hitchcock spends a lengthy portion of the movie developing Janet Leigh’s character before killing her off in the infamous shower scene. Why spend so much time on a character who is not the main focus of the film? Hitchcock wants you to be emotionally involved with the murder victim before he kills her off to heighten your reaction to the shower scene. Because you care about Marion Crane (Janet Leigh’s character), you experience a greater sense of terror and a heightened sense of loss when she is murdered.

My novel, Fulfillment, is a suspense yarn woven around the original Christmas story. Have you ever wondered about the young girl chosen to become the mother of Jesus? What was she like? Unlike Hitchcock, I throw her into the muddle with Satan before you get to know her. You’ll learn about her as the story of her war with Satan moves forward to the inevitable birth of Jesus and beyond. For the character of Rachel (“Rachel weeps and will not be comforted”), I spend several chapters developing this delightful young mother just so you can fall in love with her and then experience the depths of her despair when the soldiers arrive.

The idea of the thriller or suspense novel is to take you on an emotional roller coaster ride. If you like roller coasters, watch Psycho or read my novel. Enjoy.

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Suspense, Terror, Romance, Oh My!

Writers choose a genre of fiction that works best for them. I focus on suspense/thriller while mixing in elements of other genres. This video covers the types of fiction I blend together to make a story.

To learn more about my suspense novel Fulfillment, click here for Amazon or click here for paperback.

Here’s another novel idea…
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