Donnell Ann Bell's Deadly Recall Released!

 Sex, politics and religion are not topics discussed in polite company. Donnell Ann Bell writes about all three in her new novel, Deadly Recall. When I heard that Donnell’s second novel was about to be released, my hands itched. I wanted to read the book and interview her. She’s won numerous awards for her writing, so when I found out that Donnell was a finalist in the 2010 Golden Heart® contest for unpublished novels with the manuscript for Deadly Recall, it was no surprise. Deadly Recall was meant to be published.

Here’s a teaser for everyone from Donnell’s website: “Seventeen years ago Eden Moran blocked out a murder. Heaven help her, she’s about to remember.”

Elaine: Parts of the book read like a romance, others, like a mystery and the remainder is suspense. How did you decide on the structure for Deadly Recall?

Donnell: Hi, Elaine. Whoa! Way to make me go and think. I wrote the book, in my opinion, the way it needed to be written. Deadly Recall is a romantic suspense, but there’s a strong mystery that needs to be told in its pages. In my mind it’s two subgenres. At least, the mysteries I read include suspense.

As for the setup, because Eden, my protagonist, has repressed memories, I needed a catalyst to make her remember. When my police detective interviews Eden, he’s the spark that activates her heroine’s journey and Detective Kevin Dancer’s call to adventure. Trust is an issue for Eden, and for her to give in to her memories, she needed a confidant, a support system. Detective Dancer, in trying to solve his cold case, is attracted to Eden and fills that role. Kind of like the setup of Romancing the Stone with Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas. Joan Wilder has to trust Jack T. Colton before they can go after the jewel and save Joan’s sister. In Deadly Recall, Eden has to trust Detective Dancer, so we can get to the heart of the mystery and find out who killed Sister Beatrice.

Elaine: In categorizing novels for the market, mixing two genres seems acceptable. But what do you do when three (sub)genres are mixed?

Donnell: Again, I see Deadly Recall as two subgenres. Not so in The Past Came Hunting, where I incorporated a bit of Women’s Fiction and even Young Adult into my Romantic Suspense.

In the past, mixing genres has been discouraged by the major publishing houses because their marketing departments are tasked with labeling books for brick and mortar bookstores. Thanks to small presses and electronic publishing, publishers have branched out freeing authors to enlarge their storytelling parameters.

One of the reasons fellow Sisters in Crime author Ann Charles created her own publishing company (when she had plenty of offers) was because she had so many subgenres in her series. Note: I still prefer tight writing and pacing. And here might be a good place to mention in Catholic school I received checkmarks for ‘failure to conform.’

Elaine: The premise of Deadly Recall, an apt title, relies on the trauma repressed memories of female main character, Eden Moran. What did your research into this psychological phenomenon teach you?

Donnell: That it’s an inconclusive, misunderstood field, and that psychiatric and mental-health professionals still have a lot to learn. Law enforcement and the judicial system remain highly suspicious of people who use repressed memories as a defense. Something I can’t fault them with; it’s too inconclusive. Works great for a fiction plot, though.

While researching my plot, I read stories written by alleged victims with repressed memories. One that struck me was a case in California. A little girl watched her father abuse, murder and bury her best friend in the desert. As an adult, the daughter claims something triggered the event and her memories resurfaced. She testified against her father, sending him to prison and solving a decades-old cold case. That newspaper article definitely sparked my idea for Deadly Recall.

Elaine: Eden’s repressed memories include not only a murderous day’s memory, but also a talent that she failed to realize. Is this common in people who have trauma repressed memories?

Donnell: I have no idea if it’s common, only that to me it made sense. I formed Eden’s goal, motivation and conflict here. Eden’s gift was encouraged by a woman she loved, Sister Beatrice, and quashed by her regular music teacher, Sister Agnes. Eden loved playing the piano for Sister Beatrice, despised playing for Sister Agnes. With Sister Beatrice gone, and Eden blocking, one of the side effects she suffers is that she suppresses her talent.

Elaine: In Deadly Recall, you explore issues in the Catholic Church. Were you raised Catholic?

Donnell: I was raised Catholic and still am. I may touch on issues in the story, but I tried not to dwell, justify or preach on any of them. That would be author intrusion and not the purpose of this book. Deadly Recall is simply Eden’s journey (she’s definitely fallen away), a love story and a mystery.

The primary reason I chose the Catholic Church is that I’m a firm believer that every story has to have conflict. In my debut novel, a police lieutenant and ex-con fall in love. In Deadly Recall, two equally off-limit characters are drawn together. If I placed this story inside, say, the Baptist or Methodist Church, the conflict wouldn’t have been as great as their members don’t take a vow of celibacy.

Elaine: Eden’s horrible relationship to a nun contributes to her repressed memories. Do you think the Church confuses the concept of humility with humiliation?

Donnell: I can’t speak for the Church. I can, however, speak for human nature. People often bend a rule or a commandment to suit their purposes. In my Catholic school experience, and later when I entered public school, I had good teachers and bad teachers. Later, when I entered the working world, I had good bosses and bad bosses—and I should insert here, I was certainly no angel. Jealousy, belittling and bullying exist in every stage of life and in secular and non-secular organizations alike. Fortunately, goodness, kindness and generosity prevail as well. Human nature is that constant struggle of good versus evil, which happily keeps us writers in business.

Elaine: Eden Moran and the male main character, Kevin Dancer, both come from dysfunctional families. Both have issues from their past. How do they overcome those issues?

Donnell: One of the things I got out of writing this book is that every single character, save the killer, finds forgiveness or forgives someone. Eden, who has been estranged from her family, is reunited with them. Kevin forgives his stepfather and vice versa. Kevin also realizes that although Eden shares his stepfather’s profession, she is nothing like him. Kevin aka Detective Dancer also changes his mindset that not everyone accused of a crime is guilty. Finally, when the bishop asks Eden to forgive Sister Agnes, and to free her memories of Sister Beatrice, Eden turns a page. This freedom allows her to regain her gift. In my mind, forgiveness is what enables people to move forward, and that is what I hope readers take away from this story.  

Elaine: Do you think past problems have to be resolved in order to have functional relationships in the present—can you really leave the past behind?

Donnell: Although I took psychology in college, and have training as a volunteer victims’ advocate, I’m speculating when I say some people possess the character and willpower to overcome; others regress, refuse, lash out and/or seek addiction. So many factors determine your question and my inability to answer it—brain, environment, prenatal care, heredity. I will say analyzing the human condition is why I write.

Elaine: After reading The Past Came Hunting, your first published novel in 2011 and Deadly Recall, haunting is a common theme of your work. Why, and will you ever write a supernatural novel?

Donnell: While the characters are definitely “haunted,” and although I enjoy reading otherworldly novels, I enjoy dealing with real world events more. I do have a reincarnation story, called “The Memory Maker,” that took first place in the Gothic Romance Writers Chapter, in – oh, no—The Haunted Hearts Contest.  I may drag it out of mothballs someday.

Elaine: Did you stay with Bell Bridge Books, the publisher of The Past Came Hunting or move to a new publisher? Why?

Donnell: I stayed with Bell Bridge and signed a two-book contract with them in which Deadly Recall was book one. I love working with Bell Bridge Books and the wonderful staff, including my editor Pat Van Wie. The main reason is because Debra Dixon and Deborah Smith are not only publishers, but they are successful authors and widely respected in the industry. They also understand authors. When Debra Dixon said she had a vested interest in seeing both publisher and author succeed, I was like. . .where do I sign?

Elaine: What comes next, Donnell?

Donnell: I just turned in book two of my contract, working title called, “Betrayed.” This book takes place in Denver, keeping with my theme Too Close to Home and should come out late 2013. I’m excited about Betrayed. I learned a lot from this book and stretched as an author to write it.

Bonus: Salty or Sweet? Not sure what this means, but, I’ll bite, especially if they’re chocolate-covered pretzels. Thanks so much for having me, Elaine.

Elaine: You fudged!

Donnell Ann Bell is a two-time Golden Heart® finalist. Her debut novel The Past Came Hunting became an Amazon bestseller, reaching as high as #6 on the paid overall list and finaling in 2012 Gayle Wilson Award for Excellence, RWA’s® Greater Detroit Bookseller’s Best, and the 2012 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. Deadly Recall, brought to you by Bell Bridge Books, is her second published novel. Learn more about Donnell at www.donnellannbell.com