OBSESSION
by Lisa Beth Darling

Lisa is giving away 3 ebooks of Obsession

Rafflecopter Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MmQ1ZDEyM2M1MDdiYzc0ZWE2ZjI5MDQ3ZGYyZGE5Ojcz/

Author Interview

How did you choose your genre? What made you write this book? I don’t like to think of myself as solely a genre writer. When I was growing up there was really no such thing as a ‘genre writer’. One was simply a ‘writer’ or a ‘novelist’.  As far as OBSESSION goes, it’s a horror story with romantic and sexual elements wherein Eddie, The Shaw Street Strangler, sets his sights on our sweet heroine, Helen Makris.  It was inspired by two things; a friend and a weekly blog hop I used to belong to.  Years ago a friend and I would give each other writing assignments and one week he came up with the title The Shaw Street Strangler and the object was to write a one page story to go with the title. I wrote the story and Eddie stayed with me for years. I wrote him into a novel but he wasn’t happy.  A few years down the road I joined a weekly blog hop and one week we were given ‘obsession’ as the theme for the weekly story.  Eddie popped back into my head and this novel was born.

Writers write what they know, and must observe the world. Are you a first born, middle or last child and how does this shape your view of the world?This is a difficult question to answer for me. Technically I’m first born but I was given up for adoption then I was raised an only child.  I admit I was spoiled rotten so far as material things go but as far as freedom goes, not so much. I wasn’t allowed to leave my yard until I was 7. I wasn’t allowed to leave my street until I was 12 and then it was only to go one street over in either direction. I was treated as a miniature adult from the get-go and expected to be ‘seen and not heard’ when there were other adults around.  Needless to say, when I hit 16 I became the most rebellious thing you ever saw but in an elegant and sophisticated manner. I left home one month after graduating high school.  If anything, my upbringing taught me how to be civilized, how to think before I speak, and that having lots of things is very nice but not as nice a thing as being able to say and do the things I really want to say and do.

Where is your favorite place to write? Home in my office where all of my goodies are.  In the nice weather I might take the old laptop outside and write on the deck.

How do you feel about killing your darlings, and what do you do with the remains? Never kill a character unless it’s necessary and then do it big! Have fun with it. I suppose that’s easy for me to say because killing off a beloved character isn’t a mainstay of my writing. When I kill someone, for the most part, they have it coming to them, they’ve earned it, they deserve it, and I’m going to give it to them.  Once in a while I do have to kill off a beloved but minor character to advance the story in some manner.  That usually sucks a little, in “Kingdoms of War” I had to kill off the last three women who stuck with our hero Ares God of War. They succumbed to a disease that’s wiped out the majority of planet Earth. It was hard to write because it had to be drawn out and detailed and I didn’t stop until I was bawling because if I don’t cry over it why should anyone else?  When it was over, I threw them on a big pyre and lit up the night with the fire that took them to the Underworld.

You are introduced to your favorite author. Who is it, and what is that one burning question you must ask them? Stephen King and chances are I just standing there smiling, nodding my head, and stuttering like a bumbling idiot.

Inquiring minds want to know…tell readers something about you that no one knows. The old billfold that I’ve carried around with me for the last 30 years or so belonged to my grandfather.

You are stranded on a deserted island with only a back pack for company. What three items are in your survival pack? A 1980s style boom box, 100 dozen ‘D’ cell batteries and all of my CDs.

If you could have one super power in your existence, what would it be? It might be Time Travel but not to change anything just to see things and observe.

Favorite snack? Nacho Cheese Doritos

Indy 500 – Do you know how to get where you’re going or do you drive the speed limit? Depends on the road. I almost always know where I’m going and how to get there so if the road obliges then I just open that sucker up and scream on down the highway.

 

Blurb

In A Small Town Secrets Are Kept and Then They Kill

Helen Makris tried to make a new life for herself in Tarrytown, Maine where she expected to quietly live out the rest of her days pursuing her passion of photography. She never expected to attract the attentions of Colonel Kevin Smith or those of The Shaw Street Strangler a serial killer hunting the young women of the picturesque New England village.

Two Second-Chance lovers both with painful pasts, Helen and Kevin grow closer as the bodies pile up until suspicion forms around Helen’s new lover and his noticeable absences from town. As The Strangler zeroes in on Helen Kevin is determined not only to prove his innocence but to keep her from becoming The Shaw Street Stranger’s next victim.

Come along for a spine tingling ride that descends deep into the diseased mind of a serial killer. This chilling suspenseful thriller will have you on the edge of your seat to the very last word.

 

Excerpt

Sitting next to her with his own steaming cup of coffee, Kevin eases back and then turns to her.  “Tell me about this Shaw Street Strangler character.”

“Oh, him,” Helen sighs and take a long sip from her mug.  “I saved a lot of the papers for you, I knew you’d want to read them.”

“So I do,” he readily agrees.  “Tell me first.”  Gently reaching out with one hand, Kevin gets under her bent knees to pull her legs straight and settle her slippered feet in his lap.

For the next hour or more, over cups of coffee and while the cabin warms, they sit and chat about the biggest news to hit Tarrytown in…well…in just about forever.  When she finishes he sits there a long moment letting it all settle before he speaks.  “You know you left both doors open last night.  If there’s some maniac on the loose, Ellie, you need to keep them locked.”

“No, I didn’t,” Helen shakes her head and looks at him queerly.  “I locked them before I got into the shower.”

Kevin can’t tell if she’s placating him or if she might have had one too many Valium earlier in the day yesterday and simply thought she’d locked the doors.  He does know that when he arrived he put his hand on the front door’s knob and it opened, he walked in and stood in the hall listening to her sing along with Ella and waiting for her to make her appearance.  If he’d been this Shaw Street Strangler character, Ellie would have been easy pickings.  “How do you think I got in, Ellie?”

Ellie sighs as she takes down a long drink from her third cup of coffee.  “I locked them,” she whispers in protest.

“No, you didn’t.  The front door was unlocked and the slider was ajar.”  Kevin takes her hands in his. “Listen to me, El, you have to be more careful, make sure to lock your doors.  Don’t you know I’d go crazy if something happened to you?”

“Would you?”

“Yes.”  Wishing she’d take this a bit more seriously, “I can’t go through losing another woman, Ellie,” Kevin confesses, “don’t make me, ok?”

“I have you to keep me safe.”  Her hands close around his as the tenderness and sincerity in his voice wraps around her heart.  “I did lock them but, for you, from now on I’ll make double sure.  Good enough?”

“For now.”  He slides the palm of his hand over the side of her head wanting to say I love you but fearing she isn’t ready to hear it.

 

Author Bio

I’m 47 years-old and I’ve been married to wonderful and talented husband, Roy, for the last 27 years. Together we’ve raised two beautiful daughters to adulthood right here in my hometown of New London, CT.

Through my full-length novels and series I strive to bring conflict, passion, love, and suspense to unique couples–how about a Greek God and a Fey, a retiring military man and an aging widowed hippie, a famous writer/director and a lonely hitch-hiker, or a b-grade actor and a very lucky first-time author? Since I’m never one to shy away from the less pleasant things in life, indeed I believe that it is in the Darkness where Character is created, determined, and defined, my heroes and heroines have their love tested by demons from within and without.

ALL of my works are intended for a Mature Audience Only this includes most of my non-fiction books.  They are intended for those who like their reading on the dark and gritty side. They are not intended for the faint of heart or those who enjoy a sweet read.

 

AUTHOR LINKS:

Website: http://www.moonsmusings.com

Blog: http://lbdarling.wordpress.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/lbdarling

Twitter: lb_darling

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1577311.Lisa_Beth_Darling

 

Buy Links

Amazon/Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Lisa-Beth-Darling/e/B002BMDA9I/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/lisa-beth-darling

Goodreads Link – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13503777-obsession

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