A Marlow and Sage Mystery Series
A Nursery Rhyme Suspense Series
Title: Ginger Bread Man
Author: Lee Strauss
Genre: New Adult, Science Fiction, Suspense
BLURB supplied by Xpresso Book Tours
FRINGE meets CASTLE in this New Adult Sci-fi Mystery Suspense.
College girl meets boy online.
A killer targets girls like her.
She’s next on the list.
The boy wants to save her.
She thinks it’s him.
A killer targets girls like her.
She’s next on the list.
The boy wants to save her.
She thinks it’s him.
It’s worse than they both think.
Series Release Schedule & Purchase Lainks
Run Run Run – December 31st
As Fast As You Can – January 7th
You Can’t Catch Me – January 14th
Gingerbread Man (ep 1-3) complete – January 28th
ABOUT THE AUTHOR & Q&A
LEE STRAUSS
&
GINGERBREAD MAN
I write mixed genre
Romance, most recently The Minstrel Series. I also
write fun, lower YA fiction (time-travel and fantasy) as ELLE Strauss. I
divide my time between BC, Canada and Dresden, Germany
and enjoy drinking coffee and eating chocolate in both places.
I write mixed genre
Romance, most recently The Minstrel Series. I also
write fun, lower YA fiction (time-travel and fantasy) as ELLE Strauss. I
divide my time between BC, Canada and Dresden, Germany
and enjoy drinking coffee and eating chocolate in both places.
How did you get the idea for A
Nursery Rhyme Suspense Series?
My husband and I were in London
researching for a couple of books in my romance series, and while walking
around we started talking about the story idea that led to Run Run Run. I wish
I could remember exactly what triggered the idea, but unfortunately, that
tidbit is lost. It was sometime later that I decided to work with the Nursery
Rhyme theme.
Why are you writing it in episodes
and not just one long book?
Short answer: The story suits the
episodic format. Each episode is told in a different manner and isn’t
streamlined enough to flow as one narrative. Think about how TV shows work.
Long answer: See my guest post blog on Why Serials?
What genres do you write?
I write two main genres. Science
Fiction/Dystopian with strong mystery, suspense and romantic elements. A
Nursery Rhyme Suspense and The Perception Series fit here. I also write
Contemporary Romance, primarily The Minstrel Series, which is set in the
singer-songwriter world.
You also write under a pen name?
I do. I write lighter YA fantasy as
Elle Strauss
Tell us a bit about your person life.
I was born in a suburb of Chicago. I
split my time between Kelowna, BC Canada and Dresden Germany. I’ve been married
for 27 years and have four grown children. My husband is a musician and works a
lot in Europe, which is why we live there for half of the year.
How long have you been writing?
I’m a late bloomer. I didn’t start
writing until my early thirties.
Are you a cat or a dog person?
Definitely cat. J
What are you working on next?
I’m working on Row Row Row Your Boat,
the next installment in A Nursery Rhyme Suspense, and as Elle Strauss I’m
working on the 5th book in The Clockwise Series.
Where can we find out more about you
and your books?
Everything you’d like to know about
my books and how to follow me on social media can be found at leestraussbooks.com
AUTHOR LINKS
GUEST POST
Gingerbread Man
Why Serials?
What is the
fascination with serials? It seems like everyone is writing them now. And
readers are reading them. I can tell you from a writer’s perspective why I’m
writing A Nursery Rhyme Suspense, and as a reader I can tell you why I like to
read them.
They are like
literary TV shows. I think most people would agree that television writing in
the past decade has been outstanding (for the most part). Think Breaking Bad,
Friday Night Lights, Gilmore Girls. There is a reason why these shows were so
successful. The writing is terrific.
There has also
been a trend in TV shows that follow one long story arc, rather than each
episode being it’s own arc. These have seen recent success as a result of
streaming TV and sites like Netflix that allow for binge watching. It’s easy to
start from the beginning and watch right through to the end. Breaking Bad is
written this way as is Terminator: The Sara Connor Chronicles and the first
season of Veronica Mars (VM was a hybrid: a season long story arc mixed with
episodic short story arcs)
Serials are
like literary TV shows. Some authors write whole seasons of six or more volumes
to tell one story. Some write short episodes, each 10k to 15k each. Others,
like myself, write longer episodes of more than 20k that would also qualify as
novellas.
Episodic writing
takes a lot of thought. Whereas a novel as a beginning, middle and end, when
writing serials, each episode has to have a beginning, middle and end (that’s
not to say the ending won’t be a cliff – it most likely will – much like TV
shows do, to entice the viewer to tune in again next week or to click the next
episode on Netflix.) Episodes have to make sense on their own. I think that
makes for tighter and more interesting writing. At least it makes it a
challenge to the writer.
And like TV,
each episode can be slightly different in tone or style from the others, if the
author choses. With the Gingerbread Man, episode 1 is told from the Victim’s
and the male protagonist’s point of view with very few scenes from the female
protagonist. In episode 2 the point of view alternates between the male and
female protagonist and in the third episode, it’s told entirely from the male
protagonist’s point of view. These are devices that maybe wouldn’t work well in
one novel, but are fine in episodic writing.
Readers love
serials for the same reason they love their favorite TV shows. They can consume
episodes in a short amount of time, they anticipate the next installment and
they grow attached to the characters and their unique world and personal
struggles.
If you’ve never
tried reading a serial before, I hope you will give Run Run Run – Gingerbread Man a chance.
Why I Set A
Nursery Rhyme Suspense in Detroit.
One of the
first things an author has to do when beginning a new story idea is to decide
where the story takes place. In the same way a character is created and
developed, with physical and emotional characteristics and backstory for
motivation, setting needs to be established. A setting developed thoroughly can
work as its own character, making the story richer as a result.
I knew A
Nursery Rhyme Suspense serial series was going to fall in the sci-fi dystopian
genre, but I really had no idea where to set it until one day I turned on CNN
and the travel program Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain was on. And you
guessed it, he was in Detroit. I follow the news so I knew Detroit was a city
in crisis and had recently declared bankruptcy. When Anthony Bourdain led me
through the abandoned factories and neighborhoods, I knew I’d found my setting.
When you get
into Gingerbread Man, you’ll see that I’ve presented alternate versions of
Detroit, taking many artistic liberties. Sometimes my fictional Detroit is a
city of wealth and beauty and sometimes… it’s far worse. I created a fictional
university so that I could play around with setting and not be tied to real
life facts (plus, I didn’t want to shed any real universities in a bad light).
Like many authors, I’m grateful for sites like Google Earth, Wikipedia and
YouTube that help me get the details I’m after.
I’ve never
visited Detroit in real life, but I’d really like to one day.
***GIVEAWAY***
Tour wide giveaway
I love the idea of a suspensful nursery ryhme, these books sound great. I would love to read them. Thank you
ReplyDeleteThanks Jeanz!
ReplyDelete