From the Crime Writer’s Library—Journey into Darkness

One of the things that those of us who write about crime have over those who actually investigate those crimes in real life is that we get to choose how far along the journey into darkness we need to go. Journey into Darkness by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker follows John Douglas as he dives into the minds and motives of some of the modern day’s most horrific serial killers.

John Douglas was not just an FBI Behavioral Analyst (more commonly known as Profiler), he created the department in the FBI against doubts and naysayers. How he or those who have followed in his footsteps are able to shut out the abyss that they must stare into would be a topic to write about on its own.  Regardless if you write thrillers or mysteries—be them cozies or hardboiled, the techniques Douglas developed in profiling killers should be applied to your criminals, whatever those crimes are.

Journey into Darkness is:

 “John Douglas, who headed the FBI's elite Investigative Support Unit, told the story of his brilliant and terrifying career tracking down some of the most heinous criminals in history. Using behavioral profiling and criminal investigative analysis to get into the head and psyche of both the criminal and victim — to feel what they felt at the critical moment — Douglas helped crack many high profile cases, including the Trailside Killer, the Atlanta child murders, and the Tylenol murders. Now, working again with his co-author Mark Olshaker, Douglas delves further into the criminal mind with a series of chilling new cases in Journey into Darkness: Follow the FBI's premier investigative profiler as he penetrates the minds and motives of the most terrifying serial killers.

“In Journey into Darkness, Douglas profiles vicious serial killers, rapists, and child molesters. He is straightforward, blunt, often irreverent, and outspoken, but takes pains not to glorify any of these murderers. Some of the unique cases Douglas discusses include:

“The Clairemont killer — Six women were found stabbed to death in San Diego, three in the same apartment complex. In each case, the killer entered through an unlocked door or window in the late morning to early afternoon. A suspect was in custody, tied to one of the murders through a DNA match. Douglas was called upon to use his profiling techniques to link the other five murders to the suspect. Douglas looked at the "signature" of the killer, and found that all the murders were committed by the same man. The prosecution used the profile to force the jury to find the defendant guilty of all six murders, if they felt he was guilty of the one murder. Celophus Prince was found guilty on all counts.

“The schoolgirl murders — What became Canada's "trial of the century." Several schoolgirls disappeared in 1992; their bodies were dumped several weeks later, beaten and sexually attacked. Canadian police agencies contacted the FBI for help on the case and to get a profile on the killer and, according to witnesses, his accomplice. Following the advice of the Investigative Support Unit in Quantico, Canada aired a television special entitled "The Abduction of Kristin French," allowing agent Gregg McCrary to describe the killer's profile on air. Knowing that the murderer and his accomplice would be watching, he planned to confront the unknown killer, assuring him he would be caught. Paul Bernardo was arrested on February 17, 1993, turned in by his wife and partner in crime, Karla Leanne Homolka. The profile was dead on the money.

“Richmond's First Serial Murderer — In 1987, Richmodd, Virginia, was struck by a serial rapist/murderer. The Richmond police called upon the Investigative Support Unit in Quantico to make up a profile of the perpetrator. The crimes and profile beared a remarkable resemblance to a string of burglaries, rapes and murders in Alexandria, Virginia, several years before. Agent Steve Mardigian then formulated a complex strategy that caught the killer who fit the profile to a tee. In the process he helped free a wrongly convicted man, who due to his low intelligence level, had become confused and confessed to the crime.

“The brutal and sadistic murder of Suzanne Marie Collins, a beautiful young Marine on the verge of a brilliant career. The culprit was caught and confessed to her killing, but his story was very different than what really happened. By delving into Sedley Alley's mind, Douglas helped bring the murderer to justice, recreating the evening from the perspective of a sadistic and angry man. Suzanne Collins' horrifying end haunts Douglas to this day.

“Douglas delves into other cases, including Polly Klaas' abduction and murder by Richard Allen Davis, the tragedy that lead to the creation of Megan's Law; the abduction and murder of six-year-old Cassandra Lynn Hansen, who was snatched from an evening church service; and the vicious murder and sexual assault of Nancy Newman and her two daughters, eight-year-old Melissa and three-year-old Angie in Anchorage, Alaska. He also explores the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, focusing on the double homicide purely from a behavioral perspective. Douglas examines what the facts at and surrounding the crime scene told about the killer from a behavioral point of view. From Douglas's profile, the only viable suspect to date is O.J. Simpson.

“With Journey into Darkness, Douglas provides more than a glimpse into the minds of serial killers; he demonstrates what a powerful weapon behavioral science has become. Profiling criminals helps not only to capture them, but also helps society understand how these predators work and what can be done to prevent them from striking again. Douglas focuses especially on pedophiles and child abductors, fully explaining what drives them, and how to keep children away from them. As he points out, "The best way to protect your children is to know your enemy." He includes eight rules for safety, a list of steps parents can take to prevent child abduction and exploitation, tips on how to detect sexual exploitation, basic rules of safety for children, and a chart, based on age, which details the safety skills children should have to protect themselves.

“In his review for Mindhunter in The New York Times Book Review, Dean Koontz said, "Because of his insights and the power of the material, he leaves us shaken, gripped by a quiet grief for the innocent victims and anguished by the human condition." Journey into Darkness continues this perilous trip into the psyche of the serial killer, but also offers a glimmer of hope that profiling may enable law enforcement to see the indicators of a serial killer's mind and intervene before he kills, or kills again.

“The world's top pioneer and expert on criminal profiling--the author of the international bestseller Mindhunter--delves further into the criminal mind . . . and reveals the fascinating circumstances of each crime in detail as he explores the larger issues, including crime prevention and rehabilitation.”—book description on Barnes and Noble.

If you wish to dig deeper into the darker side of your criminal characters, understand what they do by understanding who they are, this is one book you need to read.

Thank you for reading and please visit www.davidalanlucas.com and www.thewriterslens.com. You can also follow me on twitter @Owlkenpowriter and the Writer’s Lens @TheWritersLens. Fiction is the world where the philosopher is the most free in our society to explore the human condition as he chooses.

Monday Book Giveaway: Serial by John Lutz

This week, The Writers' Lens is honored to bring its readers a master--a legend--of the thriller and mystery genre: John Lutz.

"If I've scared somebody enough to disturb their sleep--that's good."--John Lutz

The Writers' Lens: When you are starting to work on a new novel, what do you find brings the story into focus for you? A Character? A setting? Something else?

John Lutz: Almost always the characters, and something of their relationship with each other. The interplay between the characters is as important as the characters themselves.

WL: How did you learn to write suspenseful thrillers?

JL:  By writing and writing and writing. I think the more you write, the more you learn, and the better you write. Also I enjoy reading suspense novels; especially if they are set in New York City, such as Lawrence Sanders’ “Deadly Sin” series, published in the seventies. New York is a great place to set a novel.

WL: What key things make your thrillers work?

JL: I would like to think they work because of the characters. They have to be real enough for the reader to identify with them and on a certain level feel what they are feeling and share in their experience.

"As a writer you're getting inside the skin of your character in your book in the same way an actor gets inside the skin of a character he plays on stage."-- John Lutz

WL: What was the hardest part of writing thrillers and suspense?

JL:  It’s more difficult and time consuming to write a long, multiple viewpoint novel than to write a linear detective novel or conventional whodunit. There are more plates to keep spinning.

WL: You are currently writing about serial killers.  When you write their scenes, do you ever scare yourself?

JL: Nope. I’m too wrapped up in technique, and wondering if what I’m doing is working, to feel what I hope the reader will feel. It’s gratifying to receive e-mails from women thanking me for having scared them. Makes me think I’m on the right track.

WL: How do you sharpen your suspenseful scenes and when do you know, as the writer, that you have it the way you want it?

JL: When I believe I’ve revised enough, I set aside what I’ve written and come back to it later with a fresh perspective. If it still feels to me that I’ve nailed a scene or story, I’m satisfied.

WL: What themes in your fiction writing seem to drive you the most?

JL: I like my fiction to convey the notion that there are patterns and  real cause and effect in life (which is for the most part  pretty random) and that once we discern what’s happening, we have the ability to cope with it, or at least learn to accept it.

WL: Do you work on multiple novels at once? If so, how many?

JL: I take it one book at a time, though if I’m between phases, such as a finished first draft, or a second, I might work on another project. I’m probably giving the impression that I revise a lot. I do.

WL: How easy was it to take the leap of faith to become a serious writer and chase this career? What did you find that you had to do to take the step?

JL:  When I received a surprisingly large advance for a novel, it became apparent to me that this was my most marketable skill. I knew I could combine what I very much enjoyed doing (writing) with obtaining what I very much needed (money). A liberating moment.

WL: In years past, new writers would battle their way in the pulp magazines to build their readerships and their careers. Do you think that is still the case in the explosion of electronic readers, blogs, e-zines, and other like media? Who do you see as the current gatekeeper of the good writers and those who are still developing?

JL: A comprehensive answer would take several pages, and then it might be far wrong. Maybe the most interesting thing about book-biz these days is that no one knows for sure where it is headed. Where we’ve been, and where we are, might be much different from where we’re going. There seems to be no gatekeeper, and the gate is wide open.

WL: When you plot your novels, from whose point of view do you plot from? The protagonist’s? The antagonist’s? The narrator’s? Some one else?

JL: In a thriller I write from several alternating  points of view. I also like to write more linear PI novels from the protagonist’s POV, and in third person.

WL: Arthur C. Clarke once wrote that when science catches up with the science fiction writer, the science fiction writer needs to make a leap forward.  With fictional shows like CSI and reality TV shows like Killer Instinct, do you feel that you have had to take a leap forward as a thriller writer to stay atop of the changes in the science of criminal investigation? How do you stay ahead of the game?

JL: Definitely we have to leap, or at least crawl, forward to keep up. DNA alone has forced many changes. Cell phones mean everyone can be in touch with everyone else. The Internet provides information it took fictional detectives not so long ago weeks (or chapters) to obtain. The more sophisticated cell phones become, the more we crime writers have to adapt, because almost everyone now has a cell phone, which is also a camera, which is also a GPS system, which is also a research library, which is also a newspaper morgue, which is also a recorder, which is also…

WL: What novels, books, articles, magazines or other media most useful when you are researching serial killers and criminal investigation?

JL:  See above. Google is probably my main source of research material.

WL: You are a master and a legend in the genres of suspense and mystery.  What was your biggest fear when you decided to first be published as a novelist?  Do you still have those fears with each new book or are there other fears that come up?

JL: Like most of the writers I knew when I was starting out, my biggest fear was that I wouldn’t sell enough copies to prompt the sale of another book. Fewer fears now. I’m more confident that if I take the time and trouble to revise, I can make whatever it is I’m writing work, Unlike many writers, I really do enjoy revising, so that’s not much of a problem. It’s meticulous work, but it’s what  lends the fiction life.  To paraphrase Mark Twain: “The difference between the adequate word and the precise word is the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”

WL: What is your writing schedule like?

JL: I usually work in the morning, then after lunch revise what I’ve written.  In both morning and afternoon, before starting to work I check e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, to make sure nothing requires immediate attention.

WL: If you could have coffee (or drink of your choice) with four other authors from any time period, who would you choose and why?

JL: Shakespeare, to see if I could get an honest answer out of him.; H.H. Munro (Saki) to see if I could figure out how he did what no one else has been able to do; Joseph Conrad, to see if he talks as rhythmically as he writes; Edgar Allan Poe, to see if I could cheer him up.

WL: How could my readers learn more about you?

JL: They could visit my Facebook author page, Twitter, or my website, http://www.johnlutzonline.com

Here are some additional videos on YouTube about John Lutz and his stories:

Meet John Lutz: http://youtu.be/aOsTgiwxUMM

John Lutz: The World of Frank Quinn: http://youtu.be/ZrH6MlWQaek

How do you win a free signed copy of this novel?  To enter the contest, simply leave a comment or question on the Writers'Lens blog between now (April 9th) and midnight April 14, 2012. Please include your email so we can reach you if you win. The more comments you leave, the greater your chance of winning the contest. If you refer others to The Writer's Lens who mention your name in their comments, I'll enter your name again in our random number generator along with theirs, also increasing your chances at winning! The winner will be chosen after midnight on Saturday, April 14 and the announcement made on Sunday, April 15, Good luck and comment often. Good luck!

Thank you for reading and please visit www.davidalanlucas.com and www.thewriterslens.com. You can also follow me on twitter @Owlkenpowriter and the Writer’s Lens @TheWritersLens. Fiction is the world where the philosopher is the most free in our society to explore the human condition as he chooses.

Comment to win signed copy of SERIAL by NY Times bestselling author John Lutz

Recently I had the opportunity to meet New York Times bestselling author John Lutz at a lecture offered by the St. Louis Writers Guild. I didn't miss the chance to pick up a signed copy of SERIAL, his new Frank Quinn novel.

  

"The killer becomes the hunted...She was gagged. Violated. Tortured. Nailing the killer is priority number one and only the best will do--that means Frank Quinn. And Quinn wouldn't want it any other way. Because he recognizes the victim. Years ago, as a homicide detective, he saved her young life. Now the hunt is on, and deep in his gut, Quinn welcomes it. he knows he's seeing the work of a truly twisted serial killer. Except it's not the ritual weapon that makes this killer so disturbing. It's who he kills--and how he makes them suffer..."

John Lutz is the author of more than 40 novels and over 200 short stories and articles. His SWF SEEKS SAME was made into the hit movie SINGLE WHITE FEMALE, starring Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh, and his novel THE EX was made into the HBO original movie of the same title, for which he co-authored the screenplay. 

To enter the contest, simply leave a comment or question on The Writers' Lens blog between now (Nov. 21) and midnight Nov. 26, 2011. Please include your email so we can reach you if you win. The more comments you leave, the greater your chance of winning the contest. If you refer others to The Writers' Lens who mention your name in their comments, we'll enter your name again in our random number generator along with theirs, also increasing your chances at winning! The winner will be chosen after midnight on Saturday and the announcement made on Sunday, Nov. 27. 

Thanks in advance for your comments, and good luck!