"I’ve never held a gun, but I still shoot people."

I'd like to welcome Canadian thriller author Russell Brooks to Criminal Minds at Work. As soon as I read the title of Russell's post, I knew it would be perfect for this blog. He's got the same warped sense of humor as the rest of us. Plus he's holding a contest. Russell, take it away! ~Cheryl

A question that I often get about Pandora’s Succession was how I managed to be so detailed about the guns that were used throughout the story. I can relate. I’ve never owned a gun, or fired one for that matter. I tried to get my brother to hook me up since he’s in the Canadian army, but he reminded me that I’d need a permit. After all, this is Canada. However, I knew that it was important to be as descriptive as possible when it came to writing about weapons because I knew that my audience would be composed of current and former military officers, government agents and even police officers. Contrary to popular belief, readers are the most important critics, not book reviewers. You want proof? How many times have critics blasted a movie that you enjoyed. In fact, despite what the critics said, you still recommended it to your friends, correct? So I knew that being as accurate about sidearms or weapons was important if I expected to win back readers for future novels.

As we know, there are several varieties of guns—the Ruger, the Hechler and Koch, the Magnum, and many more. So why was it important for my protagonist, Ridley Fox, to use the Hechler and Koch rather than a Ruger? Why not have Fox use any gun? They’re all the same, right? Wrong. Allow me to let you in on a secret. In a previous draft, Fox used a Ruger in the opening chapter until a buddy of mine—who knows more about guns than I do—advised me that the Ruger would be too large a sidearm for Fox to use—and that he’d never be able to conceal it in the seat of his pants as described in the novel. He suggested that Fox use the Heckler and Koch (HK) instead because it is lighter, smaller, and yields a more powerful punch than the Ruger. I verified the info that he sent me and saw that he was right. I thanked him immediately and replaced Fox’s weapon.

Another matter of importance was that Fox used a noise suppressor—or silencer—in some situations. It was equally important to know that I’d need to arm Fox with a weapon where one can attach a noise suppressor—because not all sidearms accommodate one. In addition the sidearm would have to be small enough for him to conceal. The HK, thankfully, was still the perfect weapon for Fox.

Furthermore, since this is an international thriller, one must expect that in different areas of the world, people would be using different kind of guns. For example, when Fox was in Darfur confronting the Janjaweed, Fox noticed that they were using Chinese-made assault rifles. I read in the news about the immorality of China selling weapons to Sudan since they were being used against innocent Darfurians. Although the situation in Darfur has changed, one could expect the same weapons to still be present in that region.

As illustrated, although I’m not a big gun enthusiast or firearms expert, I had no choice but to learn as much as I can about guns in order to add to the realism of the story. By the way, when I mentioned earlier that I wanted my brother to hook me up with a gun, it was simply for the experience of holding one. That way I can be more descriptive when I write. I’d never think of shooting anyone that gets in my way. Ridley can do that for me.

PS. Thanks Jimmy G. for helping me out again.

I’d like to thank bestselling author, Cheryl Kaye Tardif, for hosting me during this tour.

(You're very welcome, Russell.)

CONTEST:
Everyone that leaves a comment with their email address (in the body of your message) will win an autographed book cover. After the blog tour, 10 commentors from all of the blogs will be drawn to win free autographed ebook copies of Pandora's Succession.

Pandora's Succession is available at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.  

You can learn more about Russell at: http://www.russellparkway.com

Guest Post: Researching the Crime with Robin Cain

Today's guest blogger is Robin Pope, author of When Dreams Bleed, and she's discussing the nitty-gritty details that most crime authors have learned to love, those sometimes tiny references that make a work believable and 'real', found via one method--RESEARCH. ~ Cheryl Kaye Tardif

“Where in the world did you come up with this stuff?”

This is a question I’ve been asked more than once by people who’ve read my book, WHEN DREAMS BLEED. A brutalized body washed up on the shores of a lake in Washington and a gruesome suicide-by-firearm are just not the sort of things on which a ‘middle-aged, middle-America, law abiding woman’ like me would normally have any insights. So, where in the world do I – or any author of crime-based novels – come up with this stuff?

Research, research and more research.

Writing a crime story requires great attention to detail – particularly if the crime is a figment of the writer’s imagination. It’s not an easy undertaking to create motivation, details, plausible events and the ensuing investigation. An author must think like a criminal or a cop and be convincing enough to ensure that the reader will ‘believe’. Since most authors don’t have firsthand knowledge of crime, creating a crime scene (particularly in the case of a homicide) requires hours and hours of research.

Even though as it was mentioned here in a previous blog that crimes in real life, more often than not, lack real justification, readers still like to understand the rationale, what led the criminals to do what they did and how it all happened. Readers like to get into the minds of criminals. That’s what makes a good story. No one wants to hear that some guy buried a knife in his wife simply because she read the Sunday paper first or that someone killed their neighbor over a badly trimmed tree. Though this is the stuff of real life, the fact of the matter is that engaging stories need to be far more complex.

Want to know about blood spatter patterns? What kinds of bugs infest a body a few days after death? The fragments that are left behind by certain bullets? The criminal charges passed down in a certain city for negligent homicide? One doesn’t need a degree in forensic science or contacts in criminal law to ascertain these facts. All this information is within anyone’s reach as long as they have the time, inclination and research skills.

The internet has opened the doors to a wealth of information. With a few clicks of a mouse, a writer can pull up sample crime scene photos (http://www.crime-scene-photos.com/) or get information on how DNA typing is done (www.ornl.gov/hgmis/elsi/forensics.shtml). There are even sites out there that make searching easier. According to the info on its website, http://www.crimespider.com/ has ‘compiled the best crime/ law enforcement sites and categorized topics so one doesn’t have to sort through hundreds of sites to find the one that fits the bill’.

No, this ‘middle-aged, middle-America, law-abiding woman’ doesn’t have any first-hand knowledge about murder or suicide, but, like any good author, I’ve done my research. Every fact, event, character and motivation in WHEN DREAMS BLEED is a figment of my imagination, but they were all based on something I found somewhere during my research.

Now – all you authors who write stories on vampires – what I want to know is, “Where in the world did you come up with this stuff????”

© 2010 Robin Cain

Robin Cain lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with her husband, daughter, three dogs, three horses and donkey. As a novelist and regular contributing writer for an online publication, she spends her days searching for the perfect words to amuse, enlighten and touch her readers. By reading her work, you’ve not only helped make her dreams come true, but others as well.

Robin Cain's website

Robin Cain's Blog

Guest blog: Using True Crime as Inspiration

I’m author Victoria Roder and I’m thrilled to be visiting on Criminal Minds at Work. As an author, the world around me is an endless opportunity for writing material. Everything I see, touch, taste, hear, and observe is ripe for the picking. I find the news to be a great source for storyline ideas. You can’t make up some of the crazy things people do. I wanted to share with you some unusual headlines from reputable newspapers I came across in my research.

• Police Seek Drag-dressing Car Thief
• Man in Superman Cape Stole Truck
• Three Charged in Bridal Shower Brawl
• Murder, Adultery, Witchcraft! Buffalo’s Shocking ‘Scandal of the Century!’
• Teenager Guilty of ‘Vampire’ Murder
• Dead Body Mistaken by Neighbors as a Halloween Display
• US woman found guilty of killing her husband by squashing him

The woman actually sat on her husband and suffocated him! If I wrote that in my novel readers might think the plot line was too far fetched, but it is actual news. I find human behavior fascinating and I am addicted to true crime shows. Did this woman suffocate her husband to death in a moment of irrationality or was something more sinister boiling under the surface of her personality for a long time? What made this wife murder her husband when the woman next door is capable of choosing divorce over suffocation, stabbing, or shooting her husband? True crime is crazier than fiction.

Feeding into my fascination of studying why people commit crimes, writing my suspense murder mystery novel, Bolt Action was thrilling. Secrets of the past, murder, mystery, revenge, deception, sexual tension, and the “State Quarter Killer”; Bolt Action from Champagne Books offers it all. Check out the book video at YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqcYL_G7h7s. The buy link is http://www.omnilit.com/product-boltaction-426568-152.html

Victoria Roder lives in Central Wisconsin with her husband and house full of pets. She enjoys riding motorcycle, camping, hiking, shooting bow, and snow shoeing in the winter. Victoria Roder is also the author of paranormal romance The Dream House Visions and Nightmares, Asylett Press 2009. Her first picture book, What if a Zebra had Triangles? will be released soon from Vintage Reflections Publishing. She can be contacted through her website www.victoriaroder.com.