Knees and Berninas and Snow (Oh My)
Monday, March 10, 2008
Blogger's not working for me today either. I wanted to upload a photo of my Bernina 1000 (I decided to call her Bernadette, not for Bernadette of Lourdes but for the song by the Four Tops) but the internet was being stubborn.
But let me tell you about Phantom, the gray cat whose picture showed up last time.
He arrived at our house last winter, slipping through the darkness like a ghost. We called him, but he vanished, we were patient, but he scampered away like a ghost, so of course we named him Phantom. Finally my daughter Kate went out with a piece of cheese and lured him into the house and he hasn't left since. Well he leaves long enough to slaughter innocent birds and mice but he always returns, and sleeps on my stomach or hip when he's not sprawled in the sun.
And he's still Phantom, because oddly enough, half of his face is white, like the mask on the Phantom of the Opera. A great, great cat. (We never need to get cats from rescue -- they find us).
My poor knee blew up last week, and I spent last Monday in the ER, unable to blog, but now I'm hobbling around, doing a stellar impersonation of Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men (though my hair is better).
And my depression is slowly lifting. It's a sunny day (though it's 25 degrees) and no snow or ice storms for a couple of days so at least I can enjoy it while in lasts.
In the meantime, I bought Bernadette a baby brother (Benny). An 802, which is small and portable and cute as hell. I may give it to my pal, but it's hard to let go of a Bernina, even if you already have three other sewing machines.
We've finished DOGS AND GODDESSES, and we're turning it in today, and now I can turn my thoughts to serial killers. Doing creepy research, I found out Ted Bundy worked for the Republican party (even found a bumper sticker on ebay that reads TED BUNDY WAS A REPUBLICAN) and other, even more disturbing things. I'm really not big on putrefaction and severed body parts, so I'm not sure how my serial killer is going to progress, but I've got an open mind and a fabulous heroine, so we shall see.
In the meantime, I gotta deal with a crippled knee (they're talking total knee replacement now) and a landscape formed of solid ice.
But spring is coming, I'm losing weight, I've got two Berninas and books to write.
To quote Ike and Tina Turner, I know it's gonna work out fine.
Who among you like serial killers? I think they're kind of vile, but I did write an excellent Jack the Ripper book any moons ago (BREAK THE NIGHT) so I'm hoping I can make this work.
What are your favorite serial killer books? I need inspiration.
But let me tell you about Phantom, the gray cat whose picture showed up last time.
He arrived at our house last winter, slipping through the darkness like a ghost. We called him, but he vanished, we were patient, but he scampered away like a ghost, so of course we named him Phantom. Finally my daughter Kate went out with a piece of cheese and lured him into the house and he hasn't left since. Well he leaves long enough to slaughter innocent birds and mice but he always returns, and sleeps on my stomach or hip when he's not sprawled in the sun.
And he's still Phantom, because oddly enough, half of his face is white, like the mask on the Phantom of the Opera. A great, great cat. (We never need to get cats from rescue -- they find us).
My poor knee blew up last week, and I spent last Monday in the ER, unable to blog, but now I'm hobbling around, doing a stellar impersonation of Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men (though my hair is better).
And my depression is slowly lifting. It's a sunny day (though it's 25 degrees) and no snow or ice storms for a couple of days so at least I can enjoy it while in lasts.
In the meantime, I bought Bernadette a baby brother (Benny). An 802, which is small and portable and cute as hell. I may give it to my pal, but it's hard to let go of a Bernina, even if you already have three other sewing machines.
We've finished DOGS AND GODDESSES, and we're turning it in today, and now I can turn my thoughts to serial killers. Doing creepy research, I found out Ted Bundy worked for the Republican party (even found a bumper sticker on ebay that reads TED BUNDY WAS A REPUBLICAN) and other, even more disturbing things. I'm really not big on putrefaction and severed body parts, so I'm not sure how my serial killer is going to progress, but I've got an open mind and a fabulous heroine, so we shall see.
In the meantime, I gotta deal with a crippled knee (they're talking total knee replacement now) and a landscape formed of solid ice.
But spring is coming, I'm losing weight, I've got two Berninas and books to write.
To quote Ike and Tina Turner, I know it's gonna work out fine.
Who among you like serial killers? I think they're kind of vile, but I did write an excellent Jack the Ripper book any moons ago (BREAK THE NIGHT) so I'm hoping I can make this work.
What are your favorite serial killer books? I need inspiration.
posted by Anne Stuart at 12:23 PM
20 Comments:
Oh sweetie, hugs on the knee... well, ice and heat on the knee and hugs on you. The plum tree in the neighbor's yard is starting to blossom because the trees see sun and don't know it's not really spring yet - the whole thing is still very starkly Zen in line - and I thought of you when I saw it. May the true spring come soon.
Hope your knee improves. I think serial killers are vile. But I did love Tami Hoag's Ashes to Ashes. But it seemed like after the success of Ashes to Ashes, every contemporary romantic suspense writer was doing a serial killer. Some did not do it well. One writer whom I usually enjoy a lot grossed me out with the graphic violence in one of books. She didn't have Hoag's knack for creating tension. Really gross violence doesn't create tension. I can handle the violent scenes in Ashes to Ashes because it was a part of a very well told story, but what grabbed was the tension and the characters. Put a kid in danger, I am a sucker for it. I am not a big fan of a lot of graphic violence. Love suspense, love tension, love a mystery, love a kick ass heroine.
Robyn Carr's MIND TRYST has always stuck with me, in part because for once the woman in jeopardy didn't act like an idiot. (The book came out in the mid-90s, when such a heroine was a bit more novel.)
Lynda
Lisa Gardner's THE KILLING HOUR
and
Chelsea Cain's HEARTSICK.
Seria killers to DIE for!
Trust me.
Pam
p.s. LOVE your work, whether it be historical, NIGHTFALLesque (OHG), or more recent.
Lisa Gardner's THE KILLING HOUR
and
Chelsea Cain's HEARTSICK.
Serial killers to DIE for, trust me.
Pam
p.s. Love your work, whether it be historicals, NIGHTFALLesque (omg), or more recent.
Sorry for the repetitive post. Google gave me a hard time with my password, and I ended up typing the darn thing TWICE!
Lisa Gardner's THE KILLING HOUR
and
Chelsea Cain's HEARTSICK.
Seria killers to DIE for!
Trust me.
Pam
p.s. LOVE your work, whether it be historical, NIGHTFALLesque (OHG), or more recent.
Lisa Gardner's THE KILLING HOUR
and
Chelsea Cain's HEARTSICK.
Seria killers to DIE for!
Trust me.
Pam
p.s. LOVE your work, whether it be historical, NIGHTFALLesque (OHG), or more recent.
Oh my god! You got a Bernina? I'm from Switzerland myself (now living in the U.S.) and those ARE THE BEST!! We used those in school a lot but I really suck at sewing, sorry. I also like Tami Hoags Ashes to Ashes a lot (as serial killers go).
Anne, your books are AWESOME and please never stop writing. Can't wait for Reno's story!
Pretty much every villain in James Patterson's Alex Cross books is a serial killer. I just read Kay Hooper's Blood Dreams and was highly entertained by the creepiness with the psychic twist. Looking forward to the next one!
wow this is amazing that you blog...is it REALLY you? I still can't get over it, and am imagining a team of bloggers doing this in your name. Anyway I love your books! I've finished reading Ice Storm and think it is the sexiest of all the stories, and now I find myself daydreaming more about Killian than about my boyfriend.
sorry to hear about your knee. At least you're walking around now. Ice and NSAIDS!
Hrm... loving Dexter at the moment.
Love your Ice series.
Tami Hoag's serial killers are great.
My husband loves to read a lot of true crime stuff, ie. mafia, Hell's Angels etc.
He finished a book at Xmas about Richard "Iceman" Kuklinski. He was a mob hitman and killed people in some crazy ways. If you're looking for a serial killer he's it!
Take care of the knee!
I'm with inkgrrl, I LOVE Dexter. DH bought me all 3 books in the series but I'm rationing them because I have no idea when/if Lindsay is coming out with a 4th.
Dexter is twisted and sly and sharp and smart as hell; everything I wish I was, except for the killer part. Well, maybe for my ex, I could make an exception.
Oh NO! :( I'm so sorry to hear about your knee. Please take good care of yourself, ok? <3
As for serial killers, I have a fascination with them! Would love to see how you work with one as a character in your books. :)
I sometimes would read things on 'crimelibrary.com' because they are an excellent resource for RL serial killer information. I have to limit my time there, it makes me ill reading some of that...BUT for research purposes it's perfect! :)
Good luck ok? I'm sending healing thoughts to you for your knee.
Oh gosh Ann, please write a new book. This has been such a long winter for me. I need a sexy hero (go Bonnie Tyler) to get me thru til hot summer fun. I put away Ice Storm just days before I left for Italy On December 27th. I've been living on my memories of that great week-long trip and working my brains out since I got back. During the day I'm in an office and at night, I work at a nationally acclaimed coffee/bakery shop. I need one of your great books to curl up with when I crawl in to bed, until my eyes close on their own. HURRY HURRY HURRY!
Serial killers are vile but there is something facinating about the twisted human mind. Lisa Gardner(Perfect Husband) and James Patterson and sometimes Sandra Brown (Hello Darkness) can really get into the twisted mind. Reading their books can scare the heck out of you. I am new at reading Anne Stuart book and have to say that I fell in love with the "Ice" series. I absolutely love all her male characters--so dark and tormented. The female characters are very kick-butt. I would like to see a female character that is as tormented and dark as her male counterpart. Can't wait to read her next book--keep up the great work Anne!!
My favorite serial killer? Hannibal Lecter. . .I actually understand why he offs many of his victims. . .can you top him? Go for it. Did you read Hannibal?
Hope your knee feels better soon. If surgery is what it takes, bite the bullet, lie back and enjoy it.
Ain't depression a mean old SOB?
Just want to thank you for the hours of reading pleasure you've given me. I have several of your novels on my keeper shelf. No one does the dark romantic hero better than you.
Wrote to Mira. I want a sequel to Fire and Ice.
In the meanwhile, when are you going to write the Japanese vampire novel????
Any chance that you could write some more "category" romances like Museum Piece you wrote for Harlequin American Romance? Or are these books on your "been there done that" list? Seems like a way to keep the wolf from the door while you write those longer, darker novels which your fans (and I AM one)love, too.
I've very ambivalent about today's romantic suspense output. Seems to me that most authors fall down on one end of the marriage of two genres. Personally, I go for more romance and less suspense although I do love the occasional thriller.
But I think of myself as an old fogey, so what do I know? I do know that I don't purchase nearly as much fiction (particularly romantic suspense) as I once did. You are one of the few authors still on my automatic "buy" list.
Pleeeeeeeze give us some more gothics. Tell your publisher I said so.
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