READ CHAPTERS 13-16, THEN ENJOY THIS!

DYING BREATH read along - Day 4

I am not a Bed and Breakfast kind of girl, and that may be reflected in the scenes where Lucinda spends time at one on the island. When I check into a hotel, I really, really like—okay, need–my own bathroom (not shared with strangers!), television, air-conditioning, sound-proof walls, and my privacy. I know many people love the B&B experience, and maybe I’m missing out, but I can’t help it. Friendly and outgoing as I am, I’m just not into making conversation with strangers over a communal breakfast.

I stayed in a charming Victorian B&B during my first visit to Long Beach Island back in 1988, and let’s just say it wasn’t my favorite lodging ever. In other words, Lucinda’s experience in the stuffy third floor bedroom–sans air conditioning, in July--was drawn more from personal experience than imagination!

You’ll notice as you read that while both Cam and Lucinda, through their psychic visions, are privy to information about the missing girls, neither of them is able to avert tragedy. This frustrating helplessness is a very real part of many psychics’ experiences.

I spoke with one renowned psychic who has had troubling, after-the-fact visions involving high profile cases such as Natalee Holloway’s. As she put it, it’s not as though she can simply go out and rescue the victims when this happens to her.

So in DYING BREATH, with both Cam and Lucinda, I’ve really tried to capture the emotional impact that goes along with this kind of experience.

Anther obviously emotional situation for Cam is her troubled marriage to Mike. My decision to write about a newly-separated heroine was inspired by several of my closest friends in real life who suddenly found themselves going through separation and divorce. For awhile there, it really seemed as though every couple my husband and I knew was calling it quits. In some cases, the news came out of left field–not just to us, but even to the unwitting spouse who had thought everything was just fine.

To create Cam’s and Mike’s marital problems, I had to imagine what it would be like to find that a husband or wife you trusted and thought you knew could turn out to be a complete stranger, capable of inflicting terrible pain. Unfortunately, my friends knew only too well. As I was writing about Cam and Mike, I was also lending emotional support to friends who were discovering what it was like to date again, to juggle child visitation, to tell their parents their marriages were over, to live alone again. Many of their experiences are recaptured here–for better and for worse.

I read newspapers every day and watch a lot of television news, 20/20, 48 Hours, Dateline, etc. When you write suspense novels, that stuff kind of goes with the territory. Whenever I follow a high-profile case in which a child disappears, the parents invariably wind up as suspects at some point. The Jon Benet Ramsey case comes immediately to mind–and, more recently, the case involving the British tourists, Kate and Gerry McCann, and their daughter Madeleine.

That story unfolded as I was writing DYING BREATH, and at the time, my heart ached for the distraught parents. Later, when they were brought in as suspects, I was horrified. Some instinct told me that they–like the Ramseys–were probably innocent (although as a parent, I personally couldn’t fathom leaving my young children alone in a hotel room).

What would it be like, I wondered, to not only endure the loss of and the frantic search for your child, but to endure harsh questioning and condemnation from the media and the public? Perhaps Madeline McCann’s parents are guilty–who knows?–but for the vast majority of parents who aren’t, that must be a living nightmare. I touched upon the scenario here in the scene in which Rebecca Pearson’s parents are being questioned about her disappearance.

When meeting with psychics and mediums as part of my research, I learned that often, they are "given" information that they are not quite sure how to interpret. For instance, if they glimpse an image that doesn’t seem to make immediate sense, they have to determine whether they are seeing a literal re-enactment of something that has happened or will happen, or whether the image is symbolic. Over time, Clairvoyants tend to develop their own personal "psychic shorthand," which helps them a great deal with interpretation. For instance, one medium friend of mine told me that whenever she is "shown" (in a psychic reading) white roses, she knows that she is touching in with a mother.

Here, Lucinda, the more developed psychic, isn’t initially quite sure how to interpret the shark’s fin. Eventually, she comes to realize–much to her horror--that the bloody shark feeding imagery is indeed a literal vision of the missing victim’s eventual fate. The process by which she arrived at that conclusion stems from information I gleaned from talking to real-life psychics.

Every good thriller has red herrings, and this book is no exception. These chapters are chock full of them–as well as a number of important clues to the killer’s identity. It might be fun, when you’ve reached the end of the book and know the killer’s identity, to go back and reread this section and see if you can spot some of the red herrings and clues!

We learn, in passing, that Lucinda has decided to take an Alaskan cruise in a suite on board the Norwegian Star. That is precisely what my family and I did last August, just a few weeks after I finished writing DYING BREATH. I suppose I had the upcoming cruise on the brain as I was finishing the novel, which explains that plot element. However–hint, hint–DYING LIGHT might actually revisit Lucinda’s plans for the cruise. I hadn’t yet done much plotting for the sequel while writing this one, but the cruise played nicely into the theme that eventually developed.

Other elements from my daily life have worked their way in here as well. For instance, I’ve described Debbie’s new "hired woman," Dolores, as bearing a resemblance to Amelia Earhardt. This was a little nod to one of my favorite historical subjects.

I’ve done considerable research into Amelia’s disappearance, mostly because I’m fascinated by unsolved historic mysteries. However, a part of me might just be plotting to write a book on the subject one day. There are a number of similar historic topics I’ve researched almost obsessively: Lizzie Borden, The Titanic, The Romanovs, various assassinations and unsolved crimes. So don’t be surprised if one of them becomes a springboard for a future project!

There’s something about summertime that seems to breed fast, strong bonds between people who might otherwise keep each other at arm’s length, at least for awhile. Summer is a carefree, fleeting season and so, often, are the romances and friendships that come with it--particularly when we’re not in our usual surroundings, whether at camp, on college break, at a vacation house, etc.

I wanted to capture that summer relationship phenomenon in this book and have done so using Tess and Heath (romantic), Cam and the other moms on the island, and Tess and Beth (friendships). Anyway, without Debbie, Petra and Gwen, Cam’s character would have risked becoming too introspective, too isolated. She needed a couple of confidantes.

When I’m working on creating a multi-dimensional setting in my books, I frequently turn to music. We all know a soundtrack can be incredibly evocative in a movie or television program. Music can be equally so on the printed page–as long as you use familiar songs the reader will recognize. Music can set a mood, or provide foreshadowing, or even help to make a character come alive.

One of my favorite scenes in DYING BREATH is the one in which Lucinda is driving, thinking of Randy, and listening to the "Best of U2 1980-90 CD." I am a huge U2 fan and that particular collection has most of my favorite U2 songs on it. Those of you who have read my other novels–including last year’s DON’T SCREAM–will realize that this isn’t the first time I’ve turned to my man Bono as literary inspiration. :-)


Today’s contest question: In chapters 13-16, there are at least four songs whose lyrics the characters hear in this section. The first person to correctly name four song titles and artists below will receive a CD featuring one of the songs. Good luck! (Remember only members can enter.. So if you're a member make sure you're signed in. If you're not a member, click here to join the Wendy Corsi Staub Community and take part in this and other great experiences!)

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Friday’s assignment is, of course, to read the rest of the book!