GUEST THRILLER AUTHOR NANNETTE POTTER ON THE INSPIRATION FOR HER PROTAGONIST

An adventuress at heart, Nannette Potter lives vicariously through her fearless and impetuous characters, inventing lives balanced on a knife’s edge. Learn more about her and her books at her website.

I've often wondered what sparks the imagination. Inspiration is all around us through life experiences, nature, and the arts, to name a few. During my research on the historical backdrop of San Francisco for a short story I was writing, I stumbled upon a striking poster featuring The Gibsons, renowned for their awe-inspiring knife-throwing act. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. As I laid my eyes upon the mesmerizing Veiled Wheel of Death, I instantly recognized its potential to shape the identity of my protagonist, Genevieve "Blade" Broussard.

 

Possibly more fortuitous, throughout my life, I've been captivated by the allure of knives. I vividly recall a childhood memory when a neighborhood friend dared me to engage in a risky game of skill, throwing knives at the ground with the goal of avoiding injury. Needless to say, my nerve failed me, and I withdrew from the challenge. Reflecting on that experience, I believe it became a driving force behind the creation of Blade, a woman characterized by fearlessness, audacity, and a love for throwing knives.

 

Like Alice venturing into Wonderland, I willingly plunged into the depths of exploration, delving into the world of impalement arts. Through platforms like YouTube, I discovered The Great Throwdini, observing how he skillfully secured an assistant to a circular target board, which freely rotated around its center point. My mind exploded with endless possibilities. Where could she perform? What would the stage look like? Would she use special effects? What would Blade wear? Blade sprang to life within my mind's eye. I envisioned her commanding the stage, striding confidently in a leather jumpsuit equipped with a holster of knives instead of guns.

 

As I began the intricate process of developing Blade's backstory, a compelling plot began to gradually unfold. With every stroke of creativity, the narrative took shape, weaving a tapestry of an unsolved murder, concealed family secrets, and the enigmatic presence of an ancient Christian brotherhood.

 

I fell in love with Blade and the cast of characters I created. If you feel comfortable sharing, please comment on what has sparked your imagination lately.

 

Pierce the Darkness

A Blade Broussard Novel, Book 1

 

Impalement artist Genevieve “Blade” Broussard’s past and present collide when she accepts a lucrative job offer from Spanish billionaire René Martel. This gig could lead to her big break. Yet the moment Blade arrives on the island, she is greeted by a kidnapper warning of impending danger. Anticipation quickly turns deadly after she overhears Martel’s scheme to assassinate world leaders at the United Nations in Geneva.

 

Soon an attempt is made on her life, and she is on the run. Blade discovers an unsolved murder, family secrets, and an ancient Christian brotherhood are intricately woven together—and she is at the epicenter of this complex labyrinth. Determined to survive and to stop the attack, Blade turns to Chase Maserati, a soldier of the Soldati di Cristo, with a traumatic past and his own code of honor. Racing from Mallorca to Florence to Geneva, Blade and Chase must use all their wits and skills to stop the attack while there is still time.

 

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AN INTERVIEW WITH CRIME AND WOMEN'S FICTION AUTHOR DAMYANTI BISWAS

Today we sit down for a chat with crime and women’s fiction author Damyanti Biswas. Learn more about Damyanti and her books here.

When did you realize you wanted to write novels?

I started writing short stories back in 2008, but it was in 2011 that one of them kept growing and eventually became my first novel, You Beneath Your Skin.

 

How long did it take you to realize your dream of publication?

For me publication was never a dream. It’s always been part of the writing process. I believe that writing begins in the author’s mind but is completed in the reader’s.

 

Are you traditionally published, indie published, or a hybrid author?

I’m traditionally published. You Beneath Your Skin was published by Simon & Schuster India. The Blue Bar is published by Thomas & Mercer, and they have also contracted its sequel.

 

Where do you write?

It depends on what’s good that day. I always end up writing somewhere other than my writing table, sadly. I also write at cafes if I’m too blocked to write at home.

 

Is silence golden, or do you need music to write by? What kind?

I usually write with white noise in the background, either sounds of rain or forest birdsong.

 

How much of your plots and characters are drawn from real life? From your life in particular?

Some of the incidents in my books draw inspiration from newspapers. I’ve not written anything based on my life for the crime novels.

 

Describe your process for naming your character?

The main characters are always born within my consciousness along with their names. The Blue Bar started with Tara without a conscious thought process, and then I had to figure out why she was named so. 

 

The supporting cast is named as per their roles, and these names often change in case they sound too similar. They have names befitting their social class, and the part of India they hail from. India is a complex country, and a fair amount can be divined about a person’s background based on their surnames.

 

Real settings or fictional towns?

So far, all the settings in my novel have been real.

 

If you could have written any book (one that someone else has already written,) which one would it be? Why?

I don’t think I could have written any of the books already written by others. My books emerge from my subconscious, and I can’t picture myself having written any others not already within.

 

Everyone at some point wishes for a do-over. What’s yours?

As a college graduate, I went into fashion design, and lost touch with reading for a few years. I wish I’d understood myself and my calling earlier, and not missed tons of great books. Mortality looms, and on some days, I feel bad I wasted all that time.

 

What’s your biggest pet peeve?

My own tendency to use certain words in my writing, which I then have to pull teeth finding and replacing in an appropriate fashion!

 

You’re stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?

 A good book. A bottle with a water filter. A knife.

 

What was the worst job you’ve ever held?

The absolute worst was as a model at a car fair. 

 

Who’s your all-time favorite literary character (any genre)? Why?

Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. I like her sharp observations and wit, and also her vulnerabilities. She’s one of the earliest heroines of the novel form, and a strong, incredibly wise one.

 

Ocean or mountains? 

Mountains

 

City girl/guy or country girl/guy? 

City

 

What’s on the horizon for you?

I’m editing the sequel to The Blue Bar, after which I’ll be polishing up a novel for submission that my agent really likes. Hope to write another novel this year.

 

Anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself and/or your books?

The Blue Bar is set in Mumbai, a megapolis of 21 million people. It has the most expensive private residence in the world, worth 2 billion USD, with 400,000-square-feet area divided into 27 floors. 

 

Not far from it stands Dharavi, one of the biggest slums in the world. 2 million people crammed into 0.81 square miles.

 

Since my work is set in India, the contrasts shown are extreme, and everyday reality is overwhelming to the senses. In terms of color, sounds, scents, and the sheer density of humanity, Indian cities have few equals. 

 

With The Blue Bar, I’ve tried to take readers to the megacity of Mumbai— its skyscrapers and its underbelly, its stories of love and hate, its beaches and swamps, its movie sets and police stations. I hope readers will come along for the journey. 

 

The Blue Bar

A Blue Mumbai Thriller, Book 1

 

On the dark streets of Mumbai, the paths of a missing dancer, a serial killer, and an inspector with a haunted past converge in an evocative thriller about lost love and murderous obsession.

 

After years of dancing in Mumbai’s bars, Tara Mondal was desperate for a new start. So when a client offered her a life-changing payout to indulge a harmless, if odd, fantasy, she accepted. The setup was simple: wear a blue-sequined saree, enter a crowded railway station, and escape from view in less than three minutes. It was the last time anyone saw Tara.

 

Thirteen years later, Tara’s lover, Inspector Arnav Singh Rajput, is still grappling with her disappearance as he faces a horrifying new crisis: on the city’s outskirts, women’s dismembered bodies are being unearthed from shallow graves. Very little links the murders, except a scattering of blue sequins and a decade’s worth of missing persons reports that correspond with major festivals.

 

Past and present blur as Arnav realizes he’s on the trail of a serial killer and that someone wants his investigation buried at any cost. Could the key to finding Tara and solving these murders be hidden in one of his cold cases? Or will the next body they recover be hers?

 

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BOOK CLUB FRIDAY--AUTHOR S. LEE MANNING INTERVIEWS INTELLIGENCE OFFICER KOLYA PETROV

Today we have something a little different. Recovering attorney turned author, S. Lee Manning sits down to interview Kolya Petrov the protagonist of her debut thriller, Trojan Horse. Learn more about the author and her book at her website. 

S. Lee: Hi, S. Lee Manning here interviewing Kolya Petrov, the protagonist of my espionage novel, Trojan Horse. So, Kolya, would you like to introduce yourself?

 

Kolya (rolls eyes): Not particularly. And you already mentioned my name.

 

S. Lee: You agreed to do this, don’t be a jerk. 

 

Kolya: I was drunk when I agreed. But okay, sorry, I will endeavor not to be a jerk.

 

S. Lee: That would be appreciated. So how did you become a spy?

 

Kolya: I’m an intelligence operative, not a spy. A spy is someone inside a country or organization who gives information to the other side. I’m the person who obtains the information. If you’re going to write espionage novels, you should know the difference. But, to your question: I obtained a law degree, practiced law for six months, and found it unbearably tedious. Meanwhile, my childhood best friend was heading up a crime syndicate in Brooklyn, terrorizing people from my old neighborhood, and killing people who I knew and liked. I offered my services to the FBI, and after closing down the syndicate, I was recruited by the Executive Covert Agency.

 

S. Lee: And do you enjoy your job?

 

Kolya: I did until everything you did to me in this book.

 

S. Lee (shifting uncomfortably): So, can we talk about Alex?

 

Kolya: No.

 

S. Lee: I thought you agreed not to be a jerk.

 

Kolya: I agreed to let you interview me, about me. I did not agree to you interviewing me about Alex.

 

S. Lee: She’s a strong woman. You don’t think she can take care of herself?

 

Kolya: Of course, she can. She can also talk about herself if she wishes. Please feel free to ask her any questions you want.

 

S. Lee: Next blog, maybe. Right now, I’m interviewing you, and I am interested in your feelings for her.

 

Kolya (crosses his arms): Yob tvoyu mat.  

 

S. Lee: I know what that means in Russian, and it’s very rude.

 

Kolya: No ruder than your intruding into my private life.  My feelings for Alex and my relationship with Alex are out of bounds.

 

S. Lee (irritated tone): Okay, fine. Switching topics, did you celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur this year?

 

Kolya: I had some challah with honey. Not bad. But that was the extent of it. 

 

S. Lee: Your experiences in Trojan Horse didn’t make you more interested in exploring Judaism?

 

Kolya: Do you think that experiencing violent anti-Semitism would make me believe in something I didn’t believe in before?

 

S. Lee: It’s been known to happen.

 

Kolya: Not with me. I’m proud of my Jewish heritage, but I was agnostic before Trojan Horse, and I’m agnostic now. Being Jewish doesn’t just mean practicing the religion. It’s complicated.

 

S. Lee: You don’t have a Jewish name, and you don’t look Jewish.

 

Kolya: What does that even mean? You do know that there is no such thing as looking Jewish. There are blond Jews like me. There are brown Jews. There are Black Jews. The name Petrov comes from my grandfather on my father’s side, who wasn’t Jewish, but my other grandparents were. Can we change the topic?

 

S. Lee: Sure. So, what are your future plans?

 

Kolya (cool stare): I was going to ask you that myself. I personally would like to work up some new jazz standards on the piano and catch up on reading. But I have a bad feeling that you’re going to have me hanging off a cliff somewhere in the book that’s scheduled to be published next July.

 

S. Lee (smiles tentatively): There’re no cliffs.

 

Kolya: I was speaking figuratively. But I’m ending the interview now so I have time to enjoy my life before you try to kill me again.

 

S. Lee: Okay, thank you for sitting down with me. Oh, for God’s sake, you could wait until I finish before walking off.  Anyway, this was S. Lee Manning speaking with Kolya Petrov.

 

Trojan Horse

A Kolya Petrov Thriller

 

American operative Kolya Petrov is tracking Mihai Cuza, a descendant of Vlad the Impaler. Kolya suspects him of planning meltdowns of nuclear power plants around the world, but every time Kolya gets close, a member of his team dies in agony. Margaret, the head of Kolya’s agency, seizes upon a devious plan to place a Trojan horse on Cuza’s computer. But for the plan to succeed, she must betray one of her own agents. She chooses Kolya, a Russian-Jewish immigrant with no family, for the honor. Kolya is initially unaware that he’s been set up for kidnapping and torture. Realizing the truth, he must choose between stopping a plot that could kill thousands and protecting his own life and the life of the woman he loves. 

 

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#TRAVEL--GET TO KNOW PRAGUE WITH INTERNATIONAL THRILLER AUTHOR KATHRYN ORZECH

Prague city map

Author Kathryn Orzech writes mystery, suspense, and thrillers set in New England “and other exotic locations” where everyday women face chilling situations, flirt with romance, and brush with the supernatural. An avid film fan, news nerd and traveler, Kathy’s other interests include history and geopolitics, archaeology and psychology, earth science, and parapsychology, leaving few subjects off her literary table. Her real-life website, DreamWatch.com, true paranormal experiences of everyday people, has been online since the late 1990s and was the inspiration for Premonition of Terror when she wondered, What if…?  Learn more about her and her books at her website.

“Exotic Location” Prague, Czech Republic

After character development and plot, setting is next important to me. My world travels (30-plus countries) offer readers a glimpse of another place and culture. Most of Premonition of Terror, a psychic thriller with a global terrorism threat, is set in the northeast USA, with key scenes set in Prague.

A hoard of international souvenirs is stored in my basement, stacked in plastic bins labeled by country. When drafting Premonition, I was torn between an overseas setting in Budapest or Prague. I reviewed my stash of brochures, receipts and mementos including the street maps I used while there. Prague emerged the clear winner.

Prague overview

At first glance, districts on a city map can be confusing with the Old Town, New Town, Lesser Town, and more. I needed the big picture so my first stop was the elevated location of Prague Castle for a confusion-clearing overview. Prague’s most striking feature is the Vltava River that runs through the city, thus easing navigation to at least determine which side you were on.

Said to be one of Europe’s most haunted cities, I found Prague to be fascinating, vibrant, and affordable, an easy walking city with deep-rooted culture. From historical castles, palaces and cathedrals to underground cave restaurants with delicious food and “outstanding” beer (so I was told); from concerts and galleries to river cruises and ghost walking tours, it’s no surprise that Prague attracts visitors from around the world.

Protagonist as innocent tourist

I have no qualms about writing what I don’t know as long as my point of view remains that of a stranger, a visitor, a tourist. In Premonition of Terror, protagonist Kate Kasabian explores popular attractions including Old Town Square with the 600-year-old Astronomical Clock, the Charles Bridge, Powder Tower, Peace Wall, and Prague Castle.

Old Town Square. The Old Town looked to me like a fairy village with Romanesque and Gothic architecture in a labyrinth of cobblestone lanes, and there was always something interesting happening at the square. I especially enjoyed evenings with new friends at favorite sidewalk cafés to people-watch and listen to conversations at nearby tables in a medley of languages, background I used in the book.

The Charles Bridge (aka: Karluv most). An icon bridge and one of many river crossings. Completed in 1390 (30 mostly Baroque statues were added later), it connects Old Town with Lesser Town. More than 500 yards across, by 9:00 AM it is a gauntlet of hawkers, tourists, and an occasional pickpocket. I relished the incessant activity.

Lesser Town (aka: Mala Strana). A lovely area in which to walk, home to Prague Castle and foreign embassies. As my steps crushed fallen leaves against worn sidewalks, I felt I was back home in the Northeast.

John Lennon’s Peace Wall. Let me explain. Sometimes called Prague’s answer to the Berlin Wall, this graffiti-covered wall is often credited for having inspired the Velvet Revolution, a non-violent youth rebellion against Communism. The Peace Wall began with an image of Lennon, a remembrance following his murder. Lyrics from his songs and messages of peace, love and freedom soon followed. Located near the French Embassy, an impulse to find the Peace Wall draws protagonist Kate to Mala Strana where not all is as peaceful as it appears.

Writing this post stirred memories of the sights and sounds of Prague, so thank you all for that.

Premonition of Terror

DreamWatch.com, true paranormal experiences, began as a hobby. It was supposed to be fun—until premonitions from around the world predict the same catastrophic attack.

The last time reluctant psychic Kate Kasabian revealed a prediction, people close to her were hurt. But with thousands of lives at risk, she has no choice but to badger her FBI brother to investigate. He refuses to help. When she sets off to prove her suspicions, he thinks he’s heard the last of her supernatural silliness—until the legendary Matt Chase from Counterterrorism alerts agents to a credible threat eerily similar to Kate’s warnings.

Tracking clues from Prague to New England, Kate trusts dreams and premonitions while Chase relies on technology and global intelligence, but can their unlikely alliance stop the U.S. plot?

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