Guest Blogger, Cynthia Eden

Please join me in welcoming author Cynthia Eden who will be the special guest blogger here at Thoughts in Progress today as part of her virtual book tour.

Cynthia’s latest release is DEADLY FEAR (ISBN: 9780446559249) and thanks to Anna and the folks at the Hachette Book Group I have 5 copies of this book to giveaway. To enter the contest, send me an e-mail (mcbookshelf@gmail.com). Your subject line should read, “Win DEADLY FEAR.” Your message should include your name and mailing address. The contest is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only and no post office box addresses can be accepted. Just so you know, I don’t share the mailing information or use it for any other purpose. The deadline to enter for giveaway is 8 p.m. (EST) on Tuesday, Aug. 10.

Here’s a brief synopsis of the 416 page book: FBI Special Agent Monica Davenport has made a career out of profiling serial killers. But getting inside the twisted minds of the cruel and the sadistic has taken its toll: She's walled herself off from the world. Yet Monica can't ignore fellow agent Luke Dante, the only man who ever broke through her defenses.

Luke has the unique ability to put victims at ease . . . professionally, he and Monica made a perfect team. Now they're reunited to catch a murderer who uses his victims' deepest, darkest fears for sport - but their investigative skills aren't enough. Luke and Monica will have to face the secrets from their past, the ones that terrify them the most, if they are to have a future together.
But can they catch a killer whose weapon is . . .DEADLY FEAR

Cynthia joins us to talk about writing and the research she did for this book.

My first romantic suspense novel, DEADLY FEAR, required some pretty extensive research. Lucky for me, l love research. 

When it comes to researching my books, I tend to divide my research into several areas. First up, career research for my characters. Since both my hero and heroine are FBI agents in DEADLY FEAR, it was pretty easy to focus my research. I learned about FBI training, about the tough standards for the agents, and the behind-the-scenes stressors that an agent faces. It’s not all glamour and glory—and I tried to portray that in my Deadly books.

Then, it was time for some crime scene investigation. Thanks to CSI, readers are pretty crime scene savvy these days.  So I wanted to make sure all of my crime scene details were accurate—and that meant hitting the books. My research shelves are full of crime scene and evidence handbooks. I joke to my husband that I could get rid of a body and all blood evidence in twenty minutes (well, he thinks I’m joking—I’m not).

Next, it was time for one of the most challenging aspects of my research…getting into the mind of a serial killer. Monica Davenport, the heroine of DEADLY FEAR, is a profiler. So it’s her job to think like a killer. And since I was writing her character—yes, you guessed it, I had a crash course on profiling.  One of the psychology professors at my local university happens to be a very good friend of mine, and when I needed psych advice, she was my go-to-girl.  (I do pity the poor people who were seated next to us during some of our killer conversations at restaurants.) Aided with her input and the massive amount of information that is available on the Internet, I began to construct my killer.

Sure, he changed a bit along the way, but characters do that. They always evolve during the story.  The best-laid plans with characters can often go awry—or, go down a more interesting path than the one originally planned.

Research is one of the most interesting aspects of my job.  I know dozens of ways to dispose of a body, I know how to lead an arson investigation, and I know how to conduct a ghost hunt—all courtesy of research I’ve conducted for my books.  And I’m already looking forward to my next research adventure!

Is there any area that you’d like to research? Do you think you’d like hand’s on research (like going on a real ghost hunt…I did that a few weeks ago!) or would you prefer getting your information from books and the Internet? Thanks!

Cynthia, thanks for joining us today and sharing this. It’s always interesting to see how authors go about doing the various types of research needed to write a novel.

Cynthia’s website is www.cynthiaeden.com and she can also be found on twitter at www.twitter.com/cynthiaeden