Sherlock Holmes became my
literary drug of choice during my adolescent years. As a math and science nerd,
I was captivated by his ability to draw on a vast wealth of knowledge in
chemistry, biology, geology, physics, even human psychology, as he observed
every element of a crime scene and his suspects. I marveled at Holmes’ mastery
of math and logic, skills I honed myself solving logic problems. I even saw
mysteries in my algebra homework with its puzzling word problems that required
me to deduce a series of truth-telling equations to solve for one or more
unknown elements.
In my adult years, my reading tastes gravitated to mystery series featuring women sleuths. I enjoyed reading stories that injected more personality into the heroines, followed their lives as they juggled their work, romance (boyfriends, later husbands), families and friends with their compulsive need to bring murderers to justice. Among my favorites were two PIs, Sara Paretsky’s V.I. Warshawski and Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Milhone, and Diane Mott Davidson’s killer-catching caterer Goldy Schulz. I got into cozy mysteries because of the wacky, humorous small town characters who seemed to invite murder into their lives with every book. But high plot-driven emotion wasn’t really what I was looking for in the stories I read during that period of my life. Sure, there were elements of fear and danger in the climaxes, but such emotions didn’t drive the story.
My favorite authors didn’t pump out books fast enough, leaving time to explore stand-alone thrillers through the likes of John Grisham, Harlan Coben, Mary Higgins Clark, and Lisa Scottoline. The story that really nailed it for me was Gillian Flynn’s psychological thriller Gone Girl. The psychologist in me was keen on discovering the deep dark personal secrets driving a story of an unfaithful man in the aftermath of his wife’s disappearance. The unexpected twists in the tale and the heightened emotional turmoil drew me in like nothing else I’d read. It was a story that kept me turning the pages well into the night. My bookshelves soon became cluttered with the works of Paula Hawkins, Ruth Ware, Lisa Unger, and other masters of the genre.
As
a reader-turned-psychological thriller writer now, my cerebral brain is always engaged with
presenting a mystery, but my work is so much more emotive. My objective isn’t
simply to lay out clues that readers can use to solve a crime, bring a killer
to justice, and clear innocents of murder. My goal is also to create a rising
sense of tension, fear, uncertainty, and danger inside the mind of my heroine
as she struggles to answer three urgent and terrifying questions: Who is out
to kill me? Why? And, most importantly, what must I do to stay alive?
What about you? What books and authors have influenced who you read or what you write?
Dr. Lisa Malice is the award-winning, bestselling author of LEST SHE FORGET, a psychological thriller, which released in December 2023 to rave reviews from authors, readers, and industry reviewers. The debut novel received the 2024 Benjamin Franklin Gold Medal for BEST NEW VOICE in fiction from the Independent Book Publishers Association and finalist honors from the 2024 International Book Awards for Mystery/Suspense. Lisa is a contributing editor for THE BIG THRILL, the digital magazine of International Thriller Writers, and the Events Chair for FL Gulf Coast Chapter of Sisters in Crime. Learn more at www.LisaMalice.com.
Great questions to guide your writing. Like you, I read the classics---Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteI am an eclectic reader. For crime novels, I'm more thriller and suspense than cozy. I avoid horror, dip my toes into fantasy and sci-fi, the occasional "literary" novel, and lots of nonfiction.
ReplyDeleteYes. My tastes have varied over the years. I read a lot of books on our founding fathers and our fight for independence from England. I don't have as much time these days for reading outside of my genre.
DeleteFabulous questions for a thriller writer. And thank you for the trip down memory lane with radio dramas. I remember tucking my transistor radio under my pillow and listening late into the night. They spiked the imagination and taught the power of the spoken word.
ReplyDeleteYes, fun memories. My mother and I were the only mystery fans in a family with 5 kids. Nice to have a special connection between mom and me. I wish she were alive today to see me published. I'm sure she smiling up in Heaven.
DeleteSomeone once told me, "It's not what your characters do that holds the readers, it's how they make your readers feel."
ReplyDeleteI especially love books that pull me into their world, whether it's similar to mine or not. Mauve Binchy, Margaret Yorke, Morgan Llywelyn, Mary Stewart, and J.K. Rowling are some authors who make me feel that way.
Yes, I agree. I'm reading a book now that is leaving me flat. When a book pulls you in, it's hard to put it down.
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