The Real Reason Why I Went From Writing Heartwarming Romances to Horrific Crime

A friend recently commented on my new story, There's Nothing Sad About It, stating that "[She] would've never predicted [me] writing something like this." This reaction is a reaction that I get a lot. Nobody expects me to write a story like this. I am known for writing emotional, touching, heartwarming romances. Sure I've written a few things that have been "out-there" (like Holly and Fuel to the Fire), but this--how could a writer like me write something like this?

It's simple, really: I am a self-proclaimed forensic science freak. I'm not ashamed of this--not at all. That's certainly not why I don't "put [my love] out there." I just choose to not tell people that until I get to know them better.

I took a forensic entomology (the study of bugs in forensic science) this past year and we had about half the class drop it before the cut-off date. (There's a period of time--three days, to be exact--that you can drop a class before the official "sememster" starts.) A lot of people cannot handle the blood and guts, let alone learning in extreme detail all about serial killers and how people kill other people. It's understandable, of course, which is why I don't tell everyone about my love for forensic science right away.

The truth is, though, I've been interested in forensic science for many, many years. I started watching television shows on true crime with my dad at age eleven (those shows are rated TV-14, whoops!). I've always been an avid reader, and some of my favorite novels to read are about true crimes. I once read a 500+ page book about a true crime on a trip to Disney World (which is VERY surprising, since my love for anything Disney is probably my biggest love of all time). I even thought about going into the forensic science field for a short time a few years ago.

What really fascinates me, however, is the human mind--how it works, why it works that way. Another career field that I wanted to go into--and was very serious about, actually--was psychology. I am utterly fascinated by why humans do the things they do. And when it comes to "killers," my intrigue grows even more. The television show Criminal Minds is one of my favorite shows of all time. I mean absolutely no offense to other television shows that are centered around crime (such as CSI, Law & Order, etc.), but I really enjoy learning about the 'why' of the crime rather than the 'how.' You can hash and re-hash the 'how' forever: he was stabbed, she was shot, he was beaten, she was strangled; but the 'why' is never, ever the same in any two cases. Yes, you may get two husbands who kill their wives because they have mistresses and want to marry them, so they put a huge life insurance policy on their wives and then shoot them in the back of the head. But if you dig deeper, there is always a little quirk in each case that makes it unique.

This fascination is what led me to write There's Nothing Sad About It. If you haven't noticed by now, the story is still going to focus on the details of the crime, but the main focus is going to be on the psychology behind the crimes--why did this group of five young adults decide to do this, how did they become psychopaths, what let them to become psychopaths. Each of the five has a story, and each story leads into another, and when you put all of them together, you get the crazy story of why/how they have killed seventeen people... and counting.

With this information, it's probably pretty obvious now how I went from writing heartwarming romances to writing horrific crime--it's been inside of me all along. I just chose now to show all of you guys.

If you are at all interested by what I just mentioned, here are some things that I have read on extensively that I find extremely fascinating:

1. The Macdonald triad: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macdonald_triad

2. The CSI Effect: http://www.nij.gov/journals/259/csi-effect.htm

3. Michael Peterson "The Staircase Murders": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Peterson_(author)

4. Ann Rule's If You Really Loved Me: http://www.epinions.com/review/If_You_Really_Loved_Me_A_True_Story_of_Desire_and_Murder_by_Ann_Rule/content_323839757956?sb=1 (my favorite book; read EVERYTHING by Ann Rule!)

5. Scott Peterson: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Peterson (I followed this case from beginning to end, read books on it... it's a good one.)

AND WATCH CRIMINAL MINDS! :D