tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61735631803525819502024-03-13T22:01:43.245-04:00Lystra Books and Literary ServicesLystra Books and Literary Services is a small non-traditional publisher. We also offer editorial services and advice to self-publishing authors.Lystra Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15715310315632288892noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173563180352581950.post-1708400823851975452018-07-09T10:55:00.000-04:002018-07-09T10:55:04.492-04:00An Interview with Nora about THE WORST THING<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Bold",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">AN INTERVIEW WITH NORA GASKIN,
AUTHOR OF THE WORST THING<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Bold",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you feel like women, working as
models and actresses, invite stalking and/or<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Bold",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">harassment by being so alluring—like
Angel, in your novel </span></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-BoldItalic",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-BoldItalic; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
Worst Thing</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Bold",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Simple
answer: no, they don’t invite it. But it’s a complex question because it is one
women<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">have
had to deal with since Adam blamed Eve. I would hope young girls could skip the
princess stage and go right to the astronaut, athlete, writer, entrepreneur
stage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Then
again, I worry that STEM (education based on science, technology, engineering,
and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">mathematics)
leaves out some important stuff, too. STEAM, with the A for Arts, is better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I
admire creative women, women who are successful in business, and women who take
control of their own destinies writ large or small. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
problem is, not everyone can distinguish between the costume and the person who
wears it. Sometimes, the person in the costume loses her grip on that
distinction, too. In </span><i><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-SemiItalic",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-SemiItalic; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
Worst Thing</span></i><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">, Angie loved her life of
make-believe, as she worked as a model. Her maturation was interrupted by a
traumatic event, so we don’t know who she may have become. Another character,
Dorrie, fought back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I
hope my characters stand on their own as individuals who make choices, even as
they are<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">influenced
by the choices others make, as we all do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Bold",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you follow real-life crime
stories?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Bold",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Which?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Lots.
I miss the old days of Court TV. I could get home from work in time to see half
a day’s<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">testimony
from California during the O.J. Simpson trial and the Menendez Brothers’ trial,
then the networks would replay it all. I DO still watch crime shows on TV, both
fiction and factual.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">And
I published a non-fiction book, </span><i><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Italic",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Italic; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Time
of Death</span></i><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">, about a devastating crime in
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, my hometown, that influenced me as a child, and
continues to fascinate me. I think of the hows and whys of the crime, the way
it was investigated, and the resulting false conviction. It still has impact on
me and also on my community.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I’m
drawn to stories about justice gone wrong, especially wrongful convictions. I
want to see justice done, but that means justice for the accused as well as for
the victim.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Bold",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What draws you to reading and
writing about crime?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Bold",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Why are crime stories compelling?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
writer and the reader work together to try and understand where evil comes from
and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">how
it works. And usually, the stories end with order restored. The bad actor is
caught and gets his due, society is safe again. Or at least, we can hope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Bold",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Tell us about the title of the book
you just published: </span></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-BoldItalic",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-BoldItalic; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
Worst Thing<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
title came to me early in the process. It was inspired by Kate Atkinson’s
title, </span><i><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Italic",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Italic; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When Will There Be Good News? </span></i><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The answer is, pretty much never.
In that book, things go from bad to worse to worse to worse. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Early
in </span><i><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-SemiItalic",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-SemiItalic; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Worst Thing</span></i><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">, we learn that our young
protagonist, Kellah, believes the deaths of her parents in a freak accident is
the worst thing that will ever happen to her. That belief gives her a
fearlessness that borders on recklessness. Then she finds out the accident is
just the worst thing so far. That is what happens in life. We can’t know what
will come tomorrow, or five years from now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Yet
we survive and continue to live in a world in which terrible things happen.
Kellah must dig deeper than she ever thought she would to move forward.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Bold",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Tell us about the character, Kellah,
who starts out believing the worst thing for her<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Bold",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">has already happened?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In
May or June 2014, I had just reread Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel </span><i><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Italic",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Italic; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Talented Mr. Ripley</span></i><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">, and I wondered, what is it like
to write a character like Ripley, a pure sociopath. Then I wondered, what would
it be like to write a female character like Ripley. Kellah sprang to life. Kellah
turned out not to be the sociopath that Ripley is, not to be as amoral, but she
is outside of some cultural norms. Her fearlessness, amounting to recklessness,
sets her apart. She doesn’t behave as other people do. She’s small, pretty,
bookish—not the woman you expect to take on evil. But she doesn’t give it
second thought. Kellah is still my female version of Tom Ripley.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Bold",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What did you come to learn when
writing about the stalker, Albert?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Bold",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">You seem to show fully the mindset of
the criminal.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Albert
is trying to do the right thing. He is proof that we all want the same things
in life, to love and to be loved. But he got it twisted and turned inside out.
His is a life wasted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Bold",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">How did your editing the anthology
of </span></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-BoldItalic",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-BoldItalic; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Carolina Crimes: 21 Tales of
Need, Greed and<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-BoldItalic",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-BoldItalic; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Dirty Deeds</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Bold",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">, introduced by Jeffrey Deaver as “some
of the finest crime writers ever to set ink to paper and pixels to disk,”
influence your writing of </span></b><b><i><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-BoldItalic",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-BoldItalic; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Worst Thing</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Bold",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I
was well into </span><i><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-SemiItalic",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-SemiItalic; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
Worst Thing </span></i><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">when the offer to edit the second
anthology in the </span><i><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Italic",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Italic; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Carolina
Crimes </span></i><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">series came along. Having the
opportunity to edit 21 stories and work with 21 writers certainly added to my
understanding of how crime fiction works. Some of the stories are darkly funny.
Some are purely creepy. Most hold up a mirror to world, reflecting the same
issues that lead me to read and write suspense.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Bold",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What are you working on now?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "ChronicleTextG1-Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: ChronicleTextG1-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Years
ago, a man who was clearly guilty of murder chose to plead guilty. As a person
living the community in which his crime happened, I felt cheated. Since there
was no trial, a lot of questions went unanswered. I felt that he was truly
remorseful and even though there is no doubt about his guilt, I felt there was
more to his story than ever came out. I want to explore a character with a conscience,
who has a hard time living with what he’d done. I’m eager to see where that
takes me. I’m sure it’ll be to unexpected places.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Lystra Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15715310315632288892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173563180352581950.post-12637510030751455692018-05-03T16:53:00.002-04:002018-05-03T16:53:38.183-04:00A Day of Suspense: Two Writers and Lunch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NEuc69xnew4/WqBCGzdIx7I/AAAAAAAAAv0/bS3pn7l2A8o9Rg80boTQm5Fjf6bgXZwlwCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/worst.anovel.cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="825" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NEuc69xnew4/WqBCGzdIx7I/AAAAAAAAAv0/bS3pn7l2A8o9Rg80boTQm5Fjf6bgXZwlwCPcBGAYYCw/s320/worst.anovel.cover.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
Saturday, May 19, 2019<br />McIntyre's Books, Fearrington Village, Pittsboro, NC<br /><a href="https://www.fearrington.com/mcintyres-books/" target="_blank">https://www.fearrington.com/mcintyres-books/</a></h4>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<br />11:00 a.m. Jenny Milchman reads from her new novel,<br /><i>Wicked River</i></h4>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<br />12:30 to 1:30<br />Two suspense writers talk craft and paths to publication over lunch at The Belted Goat. Please call 919-542-3030 to reserve a place. Space is limited. </h4>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
<br />2:00 p.m. Nora Gaskin launches her new novel, <i>The Worst Thing</i></h4>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Lystra Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15715310315632288892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173563180352581950.post-83438525156081743112018-03-07T14:50:00.001-05:002018-03-07T14:50:38.277-05:00The Best News is, THE WORST THING is almost here! <br />
<h2>
<i>The Worst Thing, </i>a new novel by Nora Gaskin, will appear in the spring of 2018. </h2>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NEuc69xnew4/WqBCGzdIx7I/AAAAAAAAAvw/W5f2vLwEdT8neafMfkIX3aj1AlBKPXS1QCLcBGAs/s1600/worst.anovel.cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="825" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NEuc69xnew4/WqBCGzdIx7I/AAAAAAAAAvw/W5f2vLwEdT8neafMfkIX3aj1AlBKPXS1QCLcBGAs/s320/worst.anovel.cover.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
<br /></h3>
<div>
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">* “A tight,
spare novel of suspense” * “Fascinating” * “Real” * “Original”</span></b></div>
<h3>
<div class="Body">
“Who says a nice girl can’t write a convincing psychopath? In <i>The
Worst Thing</i>, Nora Gaskin introduces Ape, a character so real, so broken, so
deliciously creepy (“Are you scared?” he asks one of his victims. “I need you
to be scared.”) you won’t be able to look away from him. You might even catch
yourself secretly, guiltily admiring him. You surely won’t forget him.” —Kim
Church, author of <i>Byrd</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="Body">
“<i>The Worst Thing </i>is <b>a tight, spare novel of suspense</b>,
reminiscent of Ruth Rendell. With a bad guy Gaskin fashions from the inside
out, whose demise you will root for even as you come to understand his needs,
this story has the depth and substance of one that will be read for years to
come.” —<span lang="DE" style="mso-ansi-language: DE;">Jenny Milchman, </span><i>USA
Today</i> bestselling & Mary Higgins Clark award-winning author<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
“A gripping story of a traumatic crime and how it affects the
lives of everyone associated with it, from the police to a building
handyman. It has all the plot twists and turns you want from an absorbing
crime novel, but the book's <b>real </b>strength is in its characters<b>.</b>
Most of the main characters are women who are tested and respond in ways that
are human and believable. The men feel like <b>real</b> people
too. The ending is equally <b>real</b>. Highly recommended.” —<span lang="DE" style="mso-ansi-language: DE;">Sarah Shaber, </span>award-winning author
of the Louise Pearlie WWII mysteries <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body">
“Shadowy foreboding and well-earned emotions lured me in, while <b>f</b><b><span lang="IT" style="mso-ansi-language: IT;">ascinating</span></b> backstories, absence
of gore, and <b>realistic police work</b> insured that I enjoyed every word of
this tightly woven<s> </s><b><span lang="PT" style="mso-ansi-language: PT;">original
</span>thriller</b>.” —Karen Pullen, author of <i>Cold Feet</i> and <i>Cold
Heart</i><o:p></o:p></div>
</h3>
Lystra Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15715310315632288892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173563180352581950.post-66819166815096936002017-09-22T17:03:00.003-04:002017-09-22T17:03:52.068-04:00Make a Writer SmileAs a publisher and author,** I have read a lot about how books come to be bought and sold. There are detailed marketing plans and some clever ideas out there, but here is how it works: <b>readers buy books that are recommended by a trusted person. Don't you?</b><br />
<br />
Of course that trusted person could be a famous reviewer with a national following, but he or she is more likely to be a friend or family member. Sometimes he or she is a total and anonymous stranger. I've gone to Amazon just to read reviews, haven't you?<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--zYW7SEtg1Q/UJBCvRQmNvI/AAAAAAAAAfI/2b3433ZR5ho/s1600/Bookshelf+for+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--zYW7SEtg1Q/UJBCvRQmNvI/AAAAAAAAAfI/2b3433ZR5ho/s1600/Bookshelf+for+blog.jpg" /></a>So if you've read a book that pleases you, make the author smile. Write a review for www.amazon.com or for www.goodreads.com. Tell five people. Buy it for a friend.<br />
<br />
The author who has sold millions of copies and the one who has sold tens of copies have this in common. They were readers before they were writers. And when they put the hours, days, weeks, months and years into a book, all they want is for one reader to like it and to tell another reader about it.<br />
<br />
I promise that's true. You may be thinking that Fame and Fortune must be involved, because why else would someone spend years on such an uncertain enterprise. I will promise you something else. F & F are rare in this crazy enterprise. Where they do exist, it is because way back in the misty past, one person liked a book and told another person about it.<br />
<br />
So ultimately, if you love to read, it's worth your time to make a writer smile. It is what keeps him or her going.<br />
<br />
**<i><b>Until Proven: a Mystery in 2 Parts,</b></i> written by Nora Gaskin, published by Lystra Books and Literary Services, LLC.<br />
<br />Lystra Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15715310315632288892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173563180352581950.post-1138826338339939432013-05-29T15:18:00.004-04:002013-05-29T15:18:51.089-04:00Me, on TV!<a href="http://www.carolinanow.tv/video/entry/author-nora-gaskin" target="_blank">http://www.carolinanow.tv/video/entry/author-nora-gaskin</a><br />
<br />
Now this was fun. I hope all Lystra Books authors will have their 3 minutes in the spotlight!<br />
<br />Lystra Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15715310315632288892noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6173563180352581950.post-63114083078792028752013-04-10T13:16:00.001-04:002013-04-10T13:16:28.971-04:00ON THE STATE OF THINGSThose of you who live in the NC Public Radio broadcasting area know that Frank Stasio is a remarkable interviewer and a wonderful part of the community. His show, The State of Things, has formed its own community of listeners. I've been one of them for a long time, so it was a great honor to be interviewed on the show on April 9, 2013.<br />
<br />
Here is the link, if you would care to listen.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://wunc.org/post/nc-author-revisits-unsolved-murder-mystery-chapel-hill" target="_blank">http://wunc.org/post/nc-author-revisits-unsolved-murder-mystery-chapel-hill</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kJN1YO1jJvA/UWWeNDfTauI/AAAAAAAAAhg/RpXHLlQnGZ8/s1600/Me+at+McIntyres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kJN1YO1jJvA/UWWeNDfTauI/AAAAAAAAAhg/RpXHLlQnGZ8/s320/Me+at+McIntyres.jpg" width="202" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />Lystra Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15715310315632288892noreply@blogger.com0