Beyond The Shadows follows a reporter and detective who are trying to track down a serial killer before he strikes again. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

As a television news reporter, I was assigned to cover and report on the trials of two serial killers who were both convicted and sentenced to the death penalty.  After the convictions I was able to approach and interview them as they were being transferred out of the courtroom.  You can feel evil and what you do as a reporter is you remove yourself from who you are, do the interview and then walk away.  They both told me they were innocent; I felt the evil standing there with the microphone in my hand and I knew they were guilty, and the jury was right.  I always wanted to be a published author and I knew I needed to share this experience of evil to warn everyone to be always alert and aware of their surroundings.

In my mystery novel, Beyond the Shadows, the talented Dallas television news reporter Claire McKenzie hits the airwaves, warning the public about the killer tagged the ‘Smiley Face Murderer’ and reporting the latest information on the investigation.  While Dallas Homicide Detective Lance Harris searches for the killer of eight women, Claire, his former girlfriend, becomes entangled in the investigation when Harris discovers Claire knows the killer personally. In a race to find the killer, will Lance be able to save Claire? Find out if Claire becomes the serial killer’s next victim.  The inspiration of goodness and love does defeat the bad and evil in the world.

How do you balance story development with shocking plot twists? Or can they be the same thing?

As an author your goal is to surprise and intrigue your audience.  Writing, you put yourself in the story and turn the story for the readers in twists and turns. You write with concentration, you think of something that takes you by surprise, then take an angle in hopes you are on the right track for a successful plot twist.  When writing you want to draw readers’ attention away from a plot directive and it will make the plot more surprising when you later reveal the truth of what happened.  In writing a mystery you give enough detail to make the twist believable but then you keep it hidden for the surprise and reasoning behind the plot and the outcome.  Let your characters create, bring together your plot twists, guidance of the story and final ending. Always write with momentum and guidance to your ending so your readers can feel it.

What was the hardest part about writing a mystery story, where you constantly have to give just enough to keep the mystery alive until the big reveal?

Anytime you write it is a challenge. Writing a mystery is challenging because you have your plot, your characterization and creation of suspense and you can’t give away the mystery and the hook.

You must know every detail of the crime and aim for constant intrigue and always remember your plot is the story of the mystery, and that you can’t reveal it until the conclusion.  The main character is diligent until every clue is resolved. Your writing must connect and make your reader feel the trauma and suspense along with feeling relevant and significant.  And then at the reveal, your reader must feel it, support it, and salute it for your story to be spot on. Enjoy reading!

What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?

The Beyond the Shadows story is far from over.  Throughout the investigation, strange people, unusual incidents, and scary connections keep coming up and a startling reveal is just the beginning.  As Chief detective Lance Harris knows as a homicide police investigator over the years, the connections to danger, fear and insanity never end and his determination to keep the community safe will never end.

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