J.K. Winn is a published novelist, playwright, and
poet. Learn more about her and her books at her website.
The Scent of Suspense
There are many different
avenues for structuring a thriller, but I chose of design my suspense novel, Out of the Shadow, around the olfactory
sense. We all know the sense of smell is powerful and at the same time, often
unconscious. Because of that, it's not unusual to experience a memory triggered
by a forgotten odor. Our sense of smell is potent enough to determine whom we
are attracted to, or repelled by, and acts as one of the most important
deciding factors in choosing a mate. Even when it's outside of our awareness,
it influences many of the choices we make and what we do with our lives.
With that in mind, I decided
to use a whiff of cologne as the precipitating incident that sets my heroine
Becca on the trail of the perpetrator. A single sniff causes her to experience
thoughts and feelings which send her on a downward spiral, making her aware,
even though she has only fragmented memory, that a traumatic event took place
earlier in her life, and the person responsible for that crime is also behind
her recent rape and her husband's murder. It soon becomes clear that her only
hope of solving the current crimes and protecting herself from this faceless
menace is to follow the olfactory thread back to the time and place in her life
where it originated.
I'm hoping you'll find this
concept intriguing enough to want to follow Becca's quest to discover this
criminal's identify before he can do any more damage. And, if you enjoy this
read, I hope you will also check out the soon-to-be-released sequel, Night of the Shadow, Book Two in the Shadow
Series, this spring.
Out of the Shadow
Two
women. One goal. To uncover the truth no matter the cost.
A
survivor of rape and her husband's murder, all Becca Rosen wants to do is move
on with her life, but how can she when she's being stalked by a psychopath with
an attitude---and an agenda. The police are no help because they're convinced,
with her history of mental illness, Becca has faked the rape to get away with
murder. On top of that, Becca has begun to have flashbacks of childhood abuse,
possibly at the hands of the rapist. Not knowing where to turn, and feeling
like she might go crazy again, Becca hires psychologist Sarah Abrams.
Three
men come into Becca's life around the same time. While each of these men has
his charms, Becca can't be certain whether one of them is the perpetrator. Or
could it be someone else? Together Becca and Sarah start on a course of
hypnotherapy to discover the abuser's identity. Will their work reveal the real
killer before it's too late, or will Becca fall prey once again to this
demented criminal?
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2 comments:
Wow! What a great -- and unique -- premise!
Thank you Angela. It was fun creating this story and I've been told it's one of the most unique books my readers have ever read.
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