How is writing
psychological fiction different from writing a romance or murder mystery?
I’m
making the comparison with the other two genres you mentioned strictly as a
reader, since I don’t write in either of those genres. It’s my observation that
in the romance genre, the hero and the heroine want the same thing; to come
together, give in to their passion, although neither one knows it at the
beginning or they fight it, deny it all together. In psychological fiction, the
protagonist wants to be as far away as possible from the antagonist whether the
antagonist is a person, event, circumstance, or the war going on in his/her
head. In crime fiction, the hero wants to catch the bad guy who’s committing
vicious crimes, usually murder. In psychological fiction, the bad guy isn’t
necessarily a murderer.
Psychological fiction places a strong emphasis on motives,
circumstances and internal actions, which manifests themselves externally. This
genre delves into not only what happened but why. My novel Conspiracy of Silence is a psychological thriller and the
psychological thriller borrows from the mystery, suspense and thriller genres
but reverses the structure of the traditional thriller. The traditional
thriller emphasizes the plot and physical action and tension. The psychological
thriller emphasizes the characters and in Conspiracy
of Silence, the protagonist has to use her mental resources to match wits
with a formidable opponent, all the while battling for balance and
understanding in her own mind about her circumstances.
BLURB:
Nina Kasai is a gorgeous, Ivy League educated executive who would do
anything to keep her past a secret, even from her husband. Seventeen years ago,
she ran for her life and the truth has been locked away in the pages of her
hidden diary, and in the mind of a disturbed woman who will never tell—ever.
When Nina lands the cover of a prestigious business magazine however,
she can no longer hide from the powerful enemy she escaped. Phillip Copeland
wants to be the next Governor of Massachusetts and he’s not above using his
power and influence to silence Nina. He warns her to keep quiet about what
happened all those years ago—or else.
As the stakes are raised, both politically and personally, Nina
realizes the only way to win this game is to tell the truth. But who will
believe her since her diary has been destroyed, and the only other witness
isn’t talking?
Nina’s one chance at reclaiming her life hinges on a dramatic
courtroom battle where nothing is as it seems. And when the verdict is read,
four lives will be forever altere
Excerpt:
The telephone rang at three a.m. A drowsy Nina answered it.
“I have bad news.”
She didn’t need a psychic to tell her that. It was three in
the morning.
“What is it?” she asked Dan McCloud.
“It’s Constance Buckwell. She’s dead, Nina.”
Nina turned on the lamp on the nightstand and rubbed the
sleep from her eyes.
“How could she be dead? I just spoke to her last night. She
emphatically told me she was going to lie on the witness stand.”
“It’s a tough break, for her and for us.” Dan McCloud
couldn’t hide his disappointment. Even at this ungodly hour, he was thinking
like a lawyer.
“How did she die?” Nina asked.
“Heart attack. She was on her way home and collapsed on the
bus. She made it to the hospital alive but died shortly afterwards.”
“This isn’t a good time to bring this up, but we just
suffered a major setback and we need to rethink our strategy,” McCloud said.
“This case is going to come down to your testimony. I’m still optimistic about
our chances, but you have to be the most compelling witness in this case. Your
recollection of details is what’s going to persuade a jury to vote for a
conviction. Can you meet me at seven?”
Nina shook Marc awake. “We have big trouble.”
“What?” he asked without moving.
“Constance is gone. No more star witness.”
Marc popped up like a Jack-in-the-Box. “Where did she go?”
To hell is my best guess.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Gledé Browne
Kabongo began writing at age 14 when she covered soccer matches for her
hometown newspaper. She has also written
for the Patriot Ledger and Metrowest Daily News, two Massachusetts based
newspapers. She earned a master’s degree in communications from Clark
University, and once had dreams of winning a Pulitzer Prize for journalism.
These days her dreams have shifted to winning the Pulitzer for fiction, and a
Best Screenplay Academy Award. For the past decade, Gledé has worked in senior
marketing roles for organizations in the Information Technology, publishing and
non-profit sectors. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two sons.
Author website: http://www.gledebrownekabongo.com
Twitter:
@gkabongo
Buy links
Amazon
Barnes &
Noble
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/conspiracy-of-silence-gled-browne-kabongo/1112772082?ean=9781475945690
iUniverse
Gledé
will be awarding an Italian leather journal to a randomly drawn commenter
(US/Canada Only) during the tour.
7 comments:
Thanks for hosting today.
I enjoyed the excerpt, thank you.
Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com
Goddess, you are most welcome.
Ingeborg,
Thanks for stopping by.
Very nice excerpt.
bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
thanks for the chance to win
hense1kk At cmich DOT edu
I've never really thought about the difference in those specific genres. I suppose that's because nowadays you rarely find a book that is strictly one genre. Thanks for the guest post glede!
andralynn7@gmail.com
Post a Comment