Posts
by Colby Marshall
Author of the McKenzie McClendon novels
I was recently on an anniversary trip with my husband, and
while we were taking a romantic river walk, we stopped to look out onto the
water. As we leaned our heads together in the moonlight, I whispered to him, "What is we saw a dead body in the water right now?"
Luckily, he's used to this sort of thing with me being a
thriller writer and all, but this got me to thinking that mystery and thriller
writers and readers are definitely an eccentric bunch. Therefore, I give you
the Top Ten Ways to Know You're a Mystery/Thriller Reader or Writer:
10.) You assume the power company representative who knocks
on your door to tell you he will be trimming limbs too close to the power line
is a government agent/serial killer/robber casing your house. In fact, you
often won't answer the door in case that is so.
9.) You have an escape plan to get away from
a killer chasing you in your house.
8.) When you read a book, you automatically distrust any
character who gains your trust too much.
7.) Every time you start to crank your car, you
subconsciously hold your breath in case you hear that little sound that means turning the
ignition has set off a bomb (as if you could do something about
it).
6.) Having a panic room built into your home does not seem
like paranoia.
5.) You see a really large spiral staircase and feel the
need to mention that it would be very easy for a killer to use said staircase to
plan a death that looks like an accident.
4.) You eye the car in your rearview mirror every time you
turn to make sure he's not tailing you.
3.) You've arranged a code word with your spouse/kids to
signal that text messages are really coming from you.
2.) When you go out of town, you leave three lights on so
the robbers will think someone's still home.
1.) More
than once, you've contemplated the fastest way you could get dressed to run
away from a killer if you are in the shower/in bed/in the bathroom should an
intruder/a mysterious fire/a nemesis out for revenge happen upon your house.
What habits do you have that show your mystery reader or
writer colors?
***************************
Writer
by day, ballroom dancer and choreographer by night, Colby has a tendency to turn
every hobby she has into a job, thus ensuring that she is aperpetual
workaholic. In addition to her 9,502 regular jobs, she is also a contributing
columnist for M
Food and Culture magazine
and is a proud member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime.
She is actively involved in local theaters as a choreographer and
sometimes indulges her prima donna side by taking the stage as an actress. She
lives in Georgia with her family, two mutts, and an array of cats that, if she
were a bit older, would qualify her immediately for crazy cat lady status. Her
debut thriller, Chain
of Command is about
a reporter who discovers the simultaneous assassinations of the President and
Vice President may have been a plot to rocket the very first woman—the Speaker
of the House—into the presidency. Chain
of Command is now
available, and the second book in her McKenzie McClendon series, The
Trade,
is due for publication by Stairway Press this month. You can learn more about Colby and her books at www.colbymarshall.com.
