Killer Perspective

As a writer, I live in the world of "things are not always as they seem." It's standard operating procedure for those who make things up as a living, so there are some conversations that make perfect sense to me that make no sense to others, or, worse, send a different message than intended. However, these can be good for helping people gain a sense of perspective.

For example, I had lunch the other day with a couple of friends, one a writer and one a fairly normal person (ha ha). My writer friend, whose specialty is thrillers, has been married for 25 years this last Saturday. My non-writer friend, whose specialty is stained-glass and swing dancing, has been married for 19 years. Each is happy in her life, but they way she expresses it is completely and utterly different, and, for me, quite entertaining.

Somehow the conversation--perhaps it was the red wine or maybe the trout sandwich--turned to our spouses and how we knew they were the "one," or at least not "one of the 'not the ones'." My non-writer friend wove a lovely tale of a two people caught up in a flurry of passion, separated by jobs in different parts of the US, who found that their long distance romance struggled under the weight of individual responsibilities to their families and to their individual dreams of success. She wanted to be a rock star accountant to prove to her family that their "baby" could make it on her own; he wanted to make it in graphic design because of his passion for art and technology. They dated all through college and decided to let fate guide them as they applied for jobs during that ever so important senior year. Those "dream" jobs took them miles apart.

Fast forward six months and their relationship is feeling the strain, as do most long distance connections. Like many couples, the came to the conclusion that being so far apart had helped them discover that maybe their relationship wasn't meant to endure, and they decided to break it off. After many tears, they both choose to move on with their lives...alone.

Fast forward another six months. All is going well with his job, although something seems to be missing. All is also going well with her job, although something for her is also missing. They dated others, trying to move forward with their lives based on their belief that their love for each other wasn't strong enough to sustain a long distance relationship. They were living the dream, but they were both miserable.

Then along comes election day, which was the day that he first kissed her outside of their polling precinct years before. Apparently, that moment of nostalgia was overwhelming for both of them (there is nothing like a presidential election to get the ol' romantic juices flowing). He called her, just wanting to hear her voice, and she had already texted him but he hadn't seen it before he called. Their conversation went something like this:

HIM: Are you dating anyone?
HER: No, are you?
HIM: No.
BOTH AT THE SAME TIME: I'll move!

So they had both decided that they'd give up their jobs to move to where they other person was, and that was how they knew they wanted to be together. In the end, the both decided to quit their jobs to find one in a completely different city they had both decided on, and it worked out. That's how my friend explained how they got together, and I have to admit, it got me teary-eyed. So then I tell my story, which you've all heard, and then my other friend tells how she knew her husband was the guy she'd spend the rest of her life with. In short...

"I never once tried to come up with a way to kill him."

Now, I realize this might seem odd to you, but to me, it made perfect sense. My writer friend writes thrillers and spends a lot of time plotting out heinous crimes and all kinds of mystery stuff, and she often--because she's sassy--includes people she knows as her characters. To date, in her novels she's killed off several people who, in real life, had offended her. It's cathartic, she says. However, not once did it--or has it--crossed her mind to try to find a way to off her spouse. My non-writer friend sat there staring and then gulped some of her wine. Not quite the response she was expecting, I guess.

In any case, we had a great lunch and I was reminded of how, sometimes, different perspectives can expand your world, or at least remind you to be more cautious around thriller writers. Happy Reading!

Guest: Patricia Mason is giving away FREE books!

Patricia Mason is the award-winning author of steamy romantic suspense and thriller fiction. She also writes young adult paranormal romance and urban fantasy under the pen name P.R. Mason. Pat escaped from the Midwest winters of her youth by moving, in 2001, to the strange and wonderful city of Savannah, Georgia. She now lives there, happily spending her days as the subject of her cat overlord's mind control experimentation. You can learn more about Pat and her work at her websites www.patriciamason.net and www.prmason.net. You can also find her on twitter @prmason

Q: Please tell us about your latest release, In Deep Shitake. 

Overview Take one devastatingly handsome movie star. Add in one outrageously sexy female private eye with a penchant for food-word obscenities. Mix in a dose of mistaken identity and a handful of Russian mobsters. And they're all In Deep Shitake.

Q: Do you have a review you could share with us?

A: "Once you pick up this great story, you won’t be able to put it down." - Lois Lavrisa, Amazon Kindle Top 100 Author

Q: This sounds fantastic! I also noticed this book has 15 five star reviews at Amazon! Wow congratulations! What inspired this story?

A: Ha ha. I laugh now, but the inspiration came from a particularly embarrassing incident. A few years ago, I was traveling a long distance by car with my two dogs and was trapped in a sudden white out. My car spun 360 degrees on the highway and came to rest off the road in the midst of a snow bank. I was towed out and got back on the road, but by the time I got home a few hours later, the doors of the car were frozen and I couldn't get them open. I was able to roll my window down to about the half-way point. From there, I climbed out, squeezing through the narrow opening. Since I was dressed for comfort in a skirt with slouchy socks and clogs, by the time I got halfway out the window, the socks and shoes had come off and my skirt was about up to my waist. My skirt snagged on something and I was stuck for a few minutes trying to work it free. All the while, I was praying that my neighbors didn't have a video camera or, if they did that it was broken, or....you get the idea. I used this incident, in a fictionalized way, in my new romantic suspense, IN DEEP SHITAKE. My heroine is trying to break INTO the car instead of out when she becomes stuck in a humiliating position.

Q: Oh no! LOL I would hate to be caught in that situation. How did your story’s setting impact your plot or characters?

A: My story is set in Savannah, Georgia, which is a weird and wonderful city. It's my home and I love it here. Savannah is so rich in texture and character that the setting is almost a character all on its own.

Q: I love Savannah! Why did you choose your setting and why was it perfect for your book?

A: The hero of the story is an actor who is extremely famous for one role he played about ten years before the story opens. Savannah is a city where many films and television shows are filmed. So Savannah was a perfect setting for the story not only because of it's great quirkiness but also because it's a plausible place for my hero to be making a comeback film. Savannah also comes into play in that hosts an annual St. Patrick's Day celebration that is one of the biggest in the U.S. The parade becomes a big part of the final part of the story.

Q: Did you choose the title of your book and if so how did you do it?

A:  I did choose the title. It comes from the fact that the main character, Imogene "Mo" uses food words as substitutes for obscenities. Hence the use of shitake mushroom. I though long and hard about the spelling and decided since one i in shitake is an acceptable variant, I would go with it because it is after all supposed to be her substitute for the more crass word.

Q: Please tell us about your favorite character in the book.

A: I love all the characters but my favorite has to be the cat since he is modeled on one of my babies. The cat's cameo was really fun to write and I love what the cover designer did in integrating the cat into the cover art. That cover cat looks so much like my kitty I can't help but smile when I see it.

Q: Please tell us about your other books.

A:  Imogene "Mo", the sexy In Deep Shitake private eye has a short story in the thriller anthology: Bullets, Brass and Babes. The story is called It Keeps Getting Shitakier and follows Mo's efforts to catch a suspected insurance fraud. 

In Deep Shitake and Bullets Brass and Babes are FREE (along with dozens of other ebooks) May 7-9th as part of the Spring Fling Free Par-Tay. Romances (sweet to hot), thrillers, mysteries and more by award-winning and best-selling authors are all free at amazon.com. Readers can go to http://www.freepartay.com for more details on all the books included in the par-tay.

Q: Wow! Readers are definitely going to partay and celebrate such a wonderful giveaway! :) What’s next for you?

A: I am writing a book called Cemetery Tree, which I hope to release in July. Cemetery Tree is a paranormal with more of a horror bent, but it also has romance.

Thank you so much for having my on your blog and for giving me the opportunity to connect with your readers.

Thanks so much Patricia, for being our guest today! And thanks also for the wonderful free books!

Everyone, please go grab those free books at Amazon (links above)!! Also please remember to visit Free Partay May 7 - 9th to find even more FREE books!!