Behind-the-Scenes of HALOED
While drafting my new psychological thriller, HALOED, I was teaching a serial killer course. To prepare for week three I dove deep into the mind, motivation, and crimes of Israel Keyes. I’d drawn a firm line between the two projects until Ah-ha! Moment slapped me across the face.
Even though the finish line for HALOED was within reach, I couldn’t ignore the new idea.
It’s a game-changer, and the perfect way to round out the series as a whole. It also required me to go back to page one, drop in a few new clues, and include POV chapters from the killer.
I don’t know if you’re familiar with Israel Keyes. He’s a brutal, frightening, unapologetic killer who murdered for the thrill of it, and a sexual sadist who lacked empathy for anyone other than himself. But—and here’s one of the reasons I chose him—he’s among the few serial killers I’ve studied that rattled me to my core.
Who better to face-off with Sage? cue maniacal laughter
The second reason I chose Keyes was because his MO fit my plot. And that’s when the lines blurred between fiction and nonfiction. If he frightened me, imagine how readers will react?
To write a character in deep point-of-view we need to know everything about them or slipping into their skin would be challenging at best.
As part of my research for class, I sat through endless video confessions from Keyes, and learned a lot about who he was as a person and what motivated him to kill.
The part of him that most frightened me was his complete lack of empathy toward anyone or anything, his arrogance, his inflated self-worth, and the violent blitz attack of his home invasions.
If I softened his psychopathic personality, I’d lose the qualities that made me choose him in the first place. A softer villain wouldn’t pack the same punch. And let’s face it, after going head-to-head with numerous other serial killers in MARRED, CLEAVED, SCATHED, and RACKED, Sage is no shrinking violent. She needed a frightening opponent.
So, I viewed the world as Keyes did. Thought as he did. Felt his complete lack of emotion.
At first, it was problematic for one huge reason—I despised everything about the guy. But then the literary gods took over, and my killer morphed into…more. And I felt his obsession, his determination, his focus. I didn’t have to agree with him, but I learned to understand him. In hindsight, it sounds crazy. But I had to accept him to write from his perspective.
When my editor read HALOED, she looked forward to his chapters. Not because she liked him, necessarily, but because of his unpredictability. What will he do next? How far will he go? Is there a line he won’t cross? And that resulted in nail-biting suspense.
Obviously, I can’t answer those question here, but you can find out for yourself. HALOED is now available for preorder!!! Even though it’s book 5 of the Grafton County Series, you can totally read it as a standalone and not feel lost.
Check out the cover. The artist blew me away…
Description of HALOED
She may be paranoid, but is she right?
A string of gruesome murders rocks the small town of Alexandria, New Hampshire, with all the victims staged to resemble dead angels, and strange red and pink balloons appearing out of nowhere.
All the clues point to the Romeo Killer’s return. Except one: he died eight years ago.
Paranoid and on edge, Sage’s theory makes no sense. Dead serial killers don’t rise from the grave. Yet she swears he’s here, hungering for the only angel to slip through his grasp—Sage.
With only hours left to live, how can Sage convince her Sheriff husband before the sand in her hourglass runs out?
Did I mention it’s only $1.49?
Regular readers of this blog might remember my post on forensic botany. That’s in HALOED, too, along with forensic anthropology. Okay, enough hints. You can find the special preorder price for HALOED on Amazon.
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Sue Coletta
Sue Coletta is an award-winning crime writer and an active member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. Feedspot and Expertido.org named her Murder Blog as “Best 100 Crime Blogs on the Net.” She also blogs on the Kill Zone (Writer's Digest "101 Best Websites for Writers"), Writers Helping Writers, and StoryEmpire. Sue lives with her husband in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Her backlist includes psychological thrillers, the Mayhem Series (books 1-3) and Grafton County Series, and true crime/narrative nonfiction. Now, she exclusively writes eco-thrillers, Mayhem Series (books 4-9 and continuing). Sue's appeared on the Emmy award-winning true crime series, Storm of Suspicion, and three episodes of A Time to Kill on Investigation Discovery. When she's not writing, she loves spending time with her murder of crows, who live free but come when called by name. And nature feeds her soul.
16 Comments
Diana Peach
Oh, Jeez, Sue. Well, you hooked me, and I pre-ordered. Yikes. I expect I’ll be up for a few nights, terrified to close my eyes. Your research was impressive and I could feel your enthusiasm in describing this character and the process of getting into his head. I’m looking forward to the read. 🙂
Sue Coletta
Yay!!! Thanks so much, Diana. As long as you leave all the lights on and the doors locked, you’ll be fine. 😉
Priscilla Bettis
Haloed sounds scary and fun. And yes, the cover rocks!
Sue Coletta
Thanks, Priscilla!
Mike C. Tuggle
Haloed sounds like a blast. I pre-ordered this morning. Looking forward to diving into it!
Sue Coletta
Yay! Thank you, Mike!
CS Boyack
Congratulations, Sue. So excited for you.
Sue Coletta
Thanks so much, Craig! Sorry for the late reply. I had an all day book signing yesterday.
sherry fundin
Serial killers fascinate me too. After the Mayhem series, I can hardly wait to read about this villain. I would be interested in seeing your search history. LOL
sherry @ fundinmental
Sue Coletta
Hahaha. If anything ever happened to my husband, I could be convicted by my search history alone. 😉
I’ll let you know when I receive my ARCs, Sherry.
Garry Rodgers
I’d heard of Israel Keyes, Sue, but had to Google him for a refresher. What a monster! A complete lack of remorse or empathy. Excellent cover and title. Best wishes for the book and I’ve preordered 🙂
Sue Coletta
Keyes really was a monster. Thank God he’s dead, but it makes you wonder how many more Keyes are walking among us.
Thanks so much, Garry!
Jan Sikes
First of all, I love the new cover! It has such an eery feel to it and obviously fits the story. I cannot imagine trying to slip into the skin of a narcissistic serial killer. It would probably give me nightmares! Fascinating research!
Sue Coletta
It did give me nightmares! But I took it as a good thing. It meant I’d crawled deep into his psyche. 😉
Thanks! The cover artist did an amazing job.
Margot Kinberg
How absolutely fascinating, Sue! And you have such a good point about the need to put ourselves in characters’ shoes, so to speak. If we can’t understand a character, how do we expect readers to understand that chracter? It’s interesting, too, to contemplate what it would be like to have absolutely no empathy, and to be driven only by our own wishes/needs. I can see how that would be both unsettling to the core and fascinating, too. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Sue Coletta
Exactly, Margot. It wasn’t easy basing a fictional killer on Israel Keyes. He had absolutely no redeeming qualities. Not sure my killer does either, but I do understand him, and that’s the most important thing. 🙂