The Follow-Up Question

My picture pops up every few seconds above…does this look like the face of someone you should tell everything to?  No?  Well, if so, you’re in the minority, because everywhere I go, I hear at least one life story in a day.

No kidding.

My husband always remarked on my ability to make small talk with people around me, perfect strangers even, and wonder what it was that made me a magnet for people who have stories to tell.  It was our friend, a retired New York City Police detective named John, who came up with the only theory to explain this phenomenon.

Apparently, I ask the “follow-up question.”

What is the “follow-up question,” you ask?  Well, seemingly, it’s that one extra question that will get the person telling you the most intimate, darkest secrets of their life despite the fact that they’ve never laid eyes on you.  It’s the question that I guess lets the teller know that you want to hear every single detail of their story—of their life, even—and that you won’t rest until you do.  It’s the question that keeps you molded to the same spot in the local pharmacy or in the parking lot at Target or on the phone with “Marco,” in India, who is helping you reconnect to the internet after a recent storm.  It’s the question that separates me, just your average writer/housewife/mother/textbook editor from anyone else I know.

A less generous friend calls me a “psycho magnet,” but I don’t think that’s what I am.  I am just a person who is interested enough in some lonely—or maybe just talkative—person’s life to ask the one question that will set the monologue wheels in motion.  John, the detective, said that if the textbook thing (my day job) ever went south, I should apply to the police department and focus on interrogations.  Jim says that if assigned to the terrorism task force, I would be busting terrorists left and right.  People tell me stuff even if they’re not supposed to.

Unfortunately, I usually hear a lot about intestinal trouble or a diatribe about the horrendous service at _________________ where the person telling me tried to buy ___________________ only to have no one wait on them.  That usually dovetails into a more personal story about their spouse, or their children, or a wayward niece of nephew.  Don’t ask me how we get there, but somehow, we always do.

But there are other, more interesting stories that come out of the follow-up question.  Case in point:  the day my first book, MURDER 101, was published, the only place that had copies was a local gift store which was owned by a dear friend who had placed his order early and had what seemed like the first copies printed.  He had set the books up on a large round table in the middle of the store, announcing their arrival with much fanfare.  He called me the minute the display was up and I headed over to the store to see what it looked like to have fifty copies of your first publication displayed in the middle of my favorite store in town. 

It was fabulous.

As I was gushing over the incredible display, a woman sidled up beside me.

“These your books?”

They were, I assured her.

“What are they about?”

This was back in the day before I had perfected my “elevator pitch;” you know, the one-sentence description of the book and the series that would perfectly describe what it was and let the potential reader know if it was right for them.  I set about describing the book from start to finish. 

The woman held her hand up to stop me when I got to around page fifty.  “So the murder is fiction?”

Rather than tell her that I thought it was compelling and leapt off the page, despite being “fiction,” I let her know that it was and asked her what she liked to read.  She shook off that question.

“I know about a real murder,” she whispered, clearly dismissive of my character, Alison Bergeron, and the body in the trunk of poor Alison’s car.  (In the interest of full disclosure, this was not a confession on her part.)

By this time, my husband and the owner of the store had wandered off to peruse the latest men’s offerings from Crabtree and Evelyn and I, despite my internal warning system, said, “Really?  Who got murdered?”  Most people, when confronted with a woman with wild hair, and even wilder eyes, would have probably joined Jim at the Crabtree and Evelyn display to see if their razor balm really did cut down on razor burn, but to me, this was too good to pass up.  The woman proceeded to regale me with stories of her “research,” and how she kept it all in a safe deposit box lest someone else get a hold of her ideas and the story.  It was just that good, in her mind.

I let her ramble on and then the kiss of death: I asked the follow-up question to the follow-up question in the form of “have you started writing?” which led her to a list of reasons as to why she hadn’t. (She, apparently, was very busy.  At the time, I had two children, a husband, a dog, and a full-time job.  Oh, and daily chemotherapy to attend to.  I wasn’t busy at all.)

I never did find out who got murdered and I also don’t know if she ever wrote her story, never mind get it published.  I used to see her around town and she would always give me a look that would either say “Do I know you?” or “Now that you know about the murder and the safety deposit box, I have to kill you, too!” but I couldn’t tell which it was.

 So there you have it, one example of where the follow-up question can lead.  And trust me:  it’s never good.

Hey, Stiletto friends…are you one of those people to whom others tell everything?  Do you ask the follow-up question to your own detriment?  And thanks to my friend and fellow Stiletto blogger, Susan McBride, for prompting the topic of this post.  After reading about her sharing with her A/C repairman, it dawned on me that I, too, had this special gift called "tell me your life story."  Thanks, Susan!

Maggie Barbieri

Planning a Writers Conference

For the past few years I've been the conference chair for the Public Safety Writers Association's writing conference. When I started we had about 16 attendees. The latest one in July, we had 50.

This is a different type of conference because everyone who comes wants to learn to be a better writer whether they are a retired cop, FBI agent, police dispatcher, Secret Service agent, coroner, lawyer, fireman, police psychiatrist, forensic expert or someone who wants to write mysteries that might include people of these professions. Because these are the people who attend, these are the people who offer to speak.

Fortunately for me, when one conference is over, these experts come up with ideas about what they'd like to talk about for the next conference. We don't pay anyone who speaks, nor do we comp them, they must pay the conference fee just like anyone else.

Because most come wanting to learn how to write better we also have panels about settings, etc. One of the funniest panels was called Cop Talk. A former police dispatcher asked questions of four former officers, things like, "What was the most embarrassing thing you did while on the job?" These guy were hilarious and surprisingly honest.

The most popular speaker talked about writing screen plays and TV scripts. My favorite was the police psychologist.

It does take a lot of planning to arrange the program so that something that is lively will be on at 9:30 so everyone will show up, something that will keep everyone awake after lunch, and a speaker or panel so engaging that no one will leave until the day is over.  It came together well this year, and I hope I can pull it off again for next year.

If you'd like to know more about the conference and what went on, you can go to the website http://www.policewriter.com/ and read the after conference newsletter and see some of the photos.

I had a wonderful time even though I did have to work at keeping everything moving. 

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com/

For Once in My Life

For my day job as a nonfiction author, I'm writing an article on the inspiring and delightful Spirit of Goodwill Band. The 28 members of the ensemble have physical and mental disabilities, yet amaze audiences with their professional sound and style. They're not just good for a group of disabled musicians – they're good.

As part of my research I watched For Once in My Life, a documentary on the band. I was expecting to learn how those with disabilities were taught to play instruments and sing in harmony. Instead, the members of the band taught me lessons in courage, determination, self-discipline, optimism, and plain hard work.

One scene really resonated with me. Melissa Cason, a young woman with Down's Syndrome, sings and plays the drums and tambourine. She keeps perfect time to the beat. But when the band arrives at the venue for their performance before the Conference of U.S. Mayors, Melissa is terrified to learn that she needs to stand on a riser during the performance. She's always played with the band while standing on the floor and the height, although only 2 feet off the ground, terrifies her. A support staffer tries to reassure Melissa that she will stand right behind her to guarantee that Melissa doesn't fall, but to no avail. Melissa climbs down off the riser. She's going to miss the performance…until the music starts. You can see the fear in the young woman's eyes – and the longing to be part of something she loves. And with courage and determination, she climbs back up on the riser and rejoins the band.

My children joke that "worry" is my middle name. I've got a host of fears and most of them are irrational. You can tell me until the cows come home that flying is safer than driving, but I'm still terrified of traveling by airplane. I empathized with Melissa because I'm no fan of heights either. But as I watched this group of determined men and women, unfettered by the disabilities that too many people had used to define them, I found myself empowered to move beyond my own fears and limited visions.

Jim Bigham, the director of For Once In My Life, explained in a post-documentary interview, "Success belongs to those who do something with what they have, rather than to those who have the most." Genius, however we define it, is never enough. I learned anew that I was the only one keeping me from pursuing my dreams. Whether it's to write the novel that's been kicking around in my mind for years or it's to visit Hawaii which entails at least 12 hours on an airplane, it's up to me. I can choose to invest the time and energy in a new book without focusing on whether or not it sells. I can battle my flight demons in order to visit the tropical paradise.

For Once in My Life is available for sale on DVD, as well as through Netflix and i-Tunes. Visit the website, http://www.4onceinmylife.com/ for more information about this remarkable band and documentary.

Marian, the Northern half of Evelyn David

BREAKING NEWS!!!! Lottawatah Twister, the 6th volume of the Brianna Sullivan Mysteries was published on July 16, 2011!  See links below for purchase at Amazon, BN.com, and Smashwords. Lottawatah Twister is the sixth book in the Brianna Sullivan Mysteries ebook series. A novella-length story, Lottawatah Twister continues the spooky, yet funny saga of psychic Brianna Sullivan who planned to travel the country in her motor home looking for adventure, but unexpectedly ended up in a small town in Oklahoma. In Lottawatah Twister, a powerful tornado wreaks destruction on everything in its path and stirs up some unsettled ghosts. It's up to Brianna to figure out whodunnit before the killer strikes again. Leon, the adorable and digestively-challenged bulldog, is back at the center of the action and more than once saves the day – and the beef jerky. Brianna is forced to answer a question that she's avoided since the day she arrived in Lottawatah: why is she sticking around? Lottawatah Twister has more twists and turns than a funnel cloud, with humor to make you laugh out loud and a romance that will touch your heart.

As a special offer to Stiletto Gang readers, send an e-mail to evelyn@evelyndavid.com, and we'll send you a coupon for a free download of  "I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries," the first Brianna Sullivan e-book. Offer expires midnight, August 2, 2011. Enjoy!

Brianna Sullivan Mysteries - e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Lottawatah Twister - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

The Sullivan Investigation Series
Murder Drops the Ball (Spring 2011)
Murder Takes the Cake- Paperback - Kindle
Murder Off the Books- Paperback - Kindle
Riley Come Home (short story)- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

Romances

Love Lessons - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords

Live Simply, Live Well.

by Rachel Brady

I did two significant things in July. I bought a house and I cancelled my Twitter account. Different scales of magnitude, but interesting parallels nonetheless.

First, the house. I'm something of a minimalist. Having a lot of "stuff" around me stresses me out. In it, I see things to clean, mend, put away, maintain, file, etc. Clutter severely impedes my ability to relax and when I'm around it I find myself powerless to live in the moment. Instead, I'll decide to relax after such-and-such is cleaned/mended/put away/filed/etc. So I try to keep "stuff" to a minimum.

Preparing for the move, I resolved to move only those things that I either 1) use or 2) love. I held firm to that and quickly discovered something. I'd been holding on to certain items because they were important to somebody else, but not important to me.

The main culprit was my father. For more than twenty years, I've moved (countless times) artifacts that once belonged to his mother, or to him in his earlier years, that were given to me because they were special to him. Not to seem callous (I'm not callous, I just don't like "things") but these items aren't special to me. I'm not sure when I became the family pack mule , but I handed that pack right back this month.

I think my predicament originated years ago, before I was wise to my dad's ways. I'm pretty sure now that it was directed at me in the spirit of: "I don't want these things anymore, but they are too special/noteworthy/expensive to give/throw away, so here, Rachel. A gift! For you!" I'll likely use this technique on my own children one day, so I'm not necessarily disapproving it. Just saying that I'm getting smarter. Slowly. My kids can figure it out when they're in their thirties, too. Fifties if I'm lucky.

In any case, my new home contains only those things that I use or love. Serenity.

Now, Twitter.

Twitter is not so different from my grandmother's old candle or my father's collection of 1970s airline silverware, which I'm not entirely certain he acquired via legitimate means. The reason Twitter is not so different is that I neither use Twitter nor love it, yet I've kept that stupid account for years because other people (writers, publishers, agents) say I should. But Twitter was my father's old end table. My grandmother's weathered jewelry box. It was a burden thrust upon me by someone else who said--rather compellingly--that it was very, very important for a writer to have and keep.

Like the PanAm silverware, Twitter held no value to me. So it's gone. If I never see another @, #, or RT, it'll be too soon. #goodriddance

My colleague Brian says it's fine for people to be weird as long as they know they're weird. I get that I'm over the top with my aversion to extraneous belongings and my diminishing patience for social media and the Internet in general. Those are my wacky, quirky design features. I'm okay with being a little strange.

And I'm curious too. What things are you holding onto in life--possessions, ideas, habits--that aren't helping you be your most fulfilled, most peaceful self? Are you in a place where you can identify them and finally drop them?

What's in a title?

by Maria Geraci

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Everyone recognizes Shakespeare's famous line from Romeo and Juliet. And in theory, I have to agree with the Bard. What truly matters is what something is, not what it's called. The fact that we've been programmed to think of a rose as beautiful and sweet smelling and a weed as ugly and nasty is part of our own life experiences. The reality of what something is, is mixed with the name we know it by.

Being in the business of writing books that I hope will sell (and sell big) however, I have to give a lot of credence to titles. Titles are a reader's (consumer's) first perception of what a book is and what it's about and can install either a negative or a positive reaction in the reader. If the reaction is positive, then the reader might pick up your book (or scroll down the screen) to find out more about your novel. But if it's negative, your novel might not even get that chance. In this highly competitive market, your book needs all the chances it can to connect with readers. This is why I spend a lot of time thinking about my titles. I admit, most times, I think of my title even before I really know what my book is about. Titles come to me in my sleep or in both my conscious and subconscious thinking in much the same way story ideas do. Even if I don't get to keep my title (this happened to me only once, with my debut book) the title still forms the basis of the story and the story builds on that title. Which might seem kind of backward to some people, but not to me.

So what makes a good title?

First off, it should reflect the story. I really hate when a title seems disjointed from the story it's attached to. A title should also reflect the genre you write in. Big Bad Mother from Outer Space wouldn't be a typical women's fiction title (although on second thought, it does have a certain appeal, but you get my drift.) Titles should be catchy. They should be original yet also have some hint of familiarity that resonates with us. Here are a few novels that over the years have caught my eye based on the title alone:

When Dashing Met Danger   Historical regency romance. It sounds sexy and fun, and it is.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding   Okay, so this was a film, but really. How brilliant is this title?
Good in Bed  One of the best titles ever. Jennifer Weiner, I hate you :)
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet  I've already got a tear in my eye just from the cover and title on this book.
Little Women  I had to put this in here because I love this book so much.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Love in the Time of Cholera   You have no idea how much I want to do a rip off version of this title. Still working on it...
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies  So not everyone loved it, but I did.
The Devil Wears Prada   Great book, but better movie.

I could go on... but you get my drift. What are some of your favorite titles? Have you ever bought a book based solely on the title?

How to write with pickles

by Bethany Maines

I just read a blog about a woman who bought her husband a giant 5’ chicken because they got into an argument about the need for more bath towels. It was done with a great deal of love, humor and antagonism – like a good marriage.  Or at least like my marriage.  I frequently tell my husband he has extra-large fingernails; he finds this statement bizarre and tells me I just have midget hands.  I haven’t bought him a giant chicken yet, but we’ve only been married for some amount of years under five (I’ve outsourced this knowledge to my husband and he’s not home), maybe when we get to 15 we’ll have reached the giant chicken stage.

But my point is, (stick with me here – I usually get to a point sooner or later) that relationships, even loving ones, frequently work in opposition, as well as compliment, to each other. And yet, that simple, everyday dynamic is one of the harder motivations to write into a character. Why would anyone in her right mind buy a giant chicken and leave it on their front porch to annoy their husband? That’s not logical, or as my agent sometimes says, “I’m just not seeing it – I don’t think she has significant motivation.” Um… he said the pink beach towels were good enough for regular bath towels? That’s practically an engraved invitation for giant chickens right there.

What I’ve discovered is that there are two kinds of people in this world – the chicken people and the non-chicken people. Unfortunately, I don’t get to pick which ones read my books, which means that I have to write for the non-chicken people. And they are much less willing to take that leap to chicken on the front porch ringing the door-bell with me. Which means that I have to do writerly things like establish a history of chicken type actions in my character. Sometimes I add alcohol to an incident – that seems to help readers believe the unbelievable idea of chickens. But I think the most important technique I use is to make sure the tone of my story matches the tone of my character.

I once wrote a science fiction story – very serious, very edgy etc – and at some point my character ate a pickle. Why? Because she likes pickles. But I was informed, in no uncertain terms by my critique group that pickles weren’t allowed. Apparently, pickles are an inherently funny food choice and not in the least sci-fi. I railed against the anti-pickelites, but they were right. You can’t just throw a pickle in from out of no where and expect readers to roll with it. They have to know they’re in a pickle type book.

And then it occurred to me that I must be living a pickle type life if I think 5’chickens are a good thing. I’m ok with that.

Get out your dancing shoes

by: Joelle Charbonneau

Let the trumpets and cymbals sound. Tell the band to strike up a tune because we are having a party. I am celebrating the completion of my new novel. Hurray! And at the end of this post I plan on giving something away to complete the celebration. So stay tuned.

Writing this manuscript was a great deal of fun and now comes the real work – editing it. There are a lot of schools of thought on how and when you should edit. And since I tend to like to try new things will admit that I’ve probably tried them all.

There are a lot of writers who actually edit as they write their first draft. Susan Elizabeth Philips is one who edits what she wrote the previous day before getting down to writing new pages. That way the story gets cleaned up and the characters are fresh in her head when she gets down to business. It might take longer to get the manuscript written, but hey – it is ready to go out the door when you’re done. This one has never worked for me, but Susan’s writing rocks. Which clearly means I am doing something wrong.

A lot of people say that once a book is finished you should stick it in a drawer for a couple of weeks so you have enough distance that you can look at your work with a fresh eye. This was one of those things my high school English teachers always told me to do. And hey – it sounded great, but during my high school years I worked best under pressure. As in midnight before the paper is due at 8AM kind of pressure. (And yes for all my college friends – I confess. I did this in college, too.) Fresh eyes? HA! I was happy to settle for slightly reddened eyes. But while I didn’t use this much in my early years, I feel it has huge merit and I’ve used it more than once to what I hope was great success. Distance between you and your writing means you’ll actually see what is written on the page instead of what you intended to write.

Which brings me to method number three. This won’t come as a surprise to my family or my friends, but I am kind of the impatient sort. If there is work to be done, I want to do it NOW! Which is why I ask (beg, bribe, threaten) my fabulous beta reader and wonderful husband to read along as I write. (Yes, our marriage survives this, which is a testament to his patience or my cooking – you can decide which.) He makes notes on the manuscript which gives me a starting point when I go back and start revising. Which tends to be the day after I finish the book. And yes – you guessed it. I have already started revising my current manuscript. I can’t help myself.

Which way is best? You tell me. Is there one editing plan that works better for you than another? Did you revise one way in high school and change your style in college? I really want to know.

And for all of you still reading this post – I have an extra ARC copy of SKATING OVER THE LINE (Sept. 27, St. Martin’s Minotaur) that I am going to give away to one commenter today! Please leave your name and e-mail address in the comments line so I can get a hold of the winner. I’ll do the drawing after midnight so get your comments in before then.

Thanks for celebrating with me.

Lori's Book Sense

Welcome to July's edition of Lori's Book Sense. I hope you like the hot titles I've got for you this month.

Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens ~ All her life, Sara Gallagher has wondered about her birth parents. As an adopted child with two sisters who were born naturally to her parents, Sara did not have an ideal home life. The question of why she was given up for adoption has always haunted her. Finally, she is ready to take steps and to find closure. But some questions are better left unanswered. After months of research, Sara locates her birth mother---only to be met with horror and rejection. Then she discovers the devastating truth: Her mother was the only victim ever to escape a killer who has been hunting women every summer for decades. But Sara soon realizes the only thing worse than finding out about her father is him finding out about her. What if murder is in your blood? Never Knowing is a complex and compelling portrayal of one woman’s quest to understand herself, her origins, and her family. That is, if she can survive. . . .

  

Never Knowing is told in the same vein as the author’s previous book Still Missing. It is told through Sara’s voice as she relates the day, days, or weeks past events to her therapist.  Each chapter starts with Sara apologizing for missing an appointment, thanking her for fitting her in so quickly, or maybe asking about her how she’s doing herself.  The chapter then moves you right back into the story as if you’re standing next to Sara, virtually holding her hand, as she relates the horrific events of what her life has become. I was a bit concerned as to how this book would play out compared to her first novel, wondering if the same format (of the chapter beginning in the therapist’s office, then moving to the story) could work again. Chevy Stevens was certainly not a one-hit-wonder with this format. Once again, she makes the concept work.  I had such a visceral experience when reading this book. I could feel the dislike coming from Sara’s father, I could see the distrust in Evan’s eyes with the male cop, I could hear the resentment in Julia’s voice when confronted with Sara reappearing in her life, and I could taste the bitterness in Sara’s mouth when having to deal with the man how fathered her. Never Knowing is one woman’s heart-wrenching search to find the truth and then having to deal with the consequences of what she finds. 

No Rest For The Dead - Andrew Guili (Editor) ~  Alexander McCall Smith. Sandra Brown. Faye Kellerman. J.A. Jance. Jeffery Deaver. Kathy Reichs. Lisa Scottoline. Jeff Lindsay. These are only a handful of the names that make up the all-star lineup of authors behind No Rest for the Dead, a tale of vengeance, greed, and love that flows seamlessly, in the words of David Baldacci, “as it passes from one creator's mind to the next.”  When Christopher Thomas, a ruthless curator at San Francisco’s McFall Art Museum, is murdered and his decaying body is found in an iron maiden in a Berlin museum, his wife, Rosemary, is the primary suspect, and she is tried, convicted and executed. Ten years later, Jon Nunn, the detective who cracked the case, is convinced that the wrong person was put to death. In the years since the case was closed, he's discovered a web of deceit and betrayal surrounding the Thomases that could implicate any number of people in the crime. With the help of the dead woman's friend, he plans to gather everyone who was there the night Christopher died and finally uncover the truth, suspect by suspect. Solving this case may be Nunn’s last chance for redemption … but the shadowy forces behind Christopher’s death will stop at nothing to silence the past forever. In this innovative storytelling approach, each of these twenty-five bestselling writers brings their distinctive voice to a chapter of the narrative, building the tension to a shocking, explosive finale. No Rest for the Dead is a thrilling, page-turning accomplishment that only America’s very best authors could achieve.

When I read the preview for this book I was immediately enticed. So many great authors all in one place?! A readers dream come true.  Was it possible for twenty-five different authors to write one seamless story? I would quickly find out that the answer was – Heck yeah!  Each author writes a different chapter in the book, and each one begins with the name of the author penning that particular chapter. Since some of my favorite authors (Faye Kellerman, Sandra Brown, Tess Gerritsen, to name a few) took part in this fantastic endeavor, I thought I would be able to differentiate their writing, their voice,  from the authors that I don’t know as well. That just wasn’t the case. All of these authors worked so well together that the chapters blended into one another beautifully. I’d love to know how it was done. Did one author write an outline the others worked off of? Did one author write a chapter and then pass if off to the next in line? Who decided which chapter each other would write? Did all of the authors know how it would end (by an outline), or did only the authors of the last few chapters know where the book would go?  If the authors name wasn’t at the beginning of each chapter, I would never have known that this book was written by so many different people. They all came together to emit one strong, fantastically woven tale. 

Eyes Wide Open by Andrew Gross ~   A horrible family tragedy that may not be what it seems . . .A past encounter with an infamous killer turns deadly today . . .An ordinary man must risk his own family to find the truth.Jay Erlich's nephew has been found at the bottom of a cliff at Morrow Bay. It's all just a tragic suicide, until secrets from the past begin to rear up again. Did a notorious killer, jailed for many decades, have his hand in this?Years ago, Jay Erlich's older brother, Charlie, a wayward child of the sixties, set out for California, where he fell under the sway of a charismatic but deeply disturbed cultlike figure. Tragedy ensued and lives were destroyed, but as the decades passed, Charlie married and raised a family and lived a quiet, secluded life under the radar. Yet the demons that nearly destroyed him never completely disappeared.When Jay heads out west to help his grieving brother, he is pulled back into Charlie's past—and begins to suspect that his nephew's suicide may not have been that at all. With eyes wide open, Jay puts his own life at risk to uncover the truth, a quest that goes beyond the edge of madness and a family haunted by a secret past . . . and into the depths of evil. Drawing on two real-life experiences from his own past, Gross has crafted a richly personal, yet utterly terrifying tale of two brothers, one successful, one wayward, trying to bridge the gap of what tore them apart.

Eyes Wide Open is full of murder, mystery, sadness, family, and forgiveness. But what truly makes this book stand out is that Andrew Gross has written an amazing, and extremely personal novel with Eyes Wide Open. The emotions that pour out of Jay, Charlie, and Gabriella are so raw, so real, that you can actually feel them coming off the pages of the book. You can literally feel how much each of those affected by Evan’s loss are truly hurting, because the author felt this hurt himself.  Eyes Wide Open is not your typical Andrew Gross book. This is a very personal story for him. He took the basis of his own family tragedy and turned it into a remarkable story that will make you hold your loved ones closer, think about what is most important in your life, and be more compassionate for those that may not be as perfect as you are. This story will stay with you for a long time to come. 

Until Next Month .........