by KJ HoweIt's my pleasure to welcome thriller author Jason Starr to the lair. Jason is here to share details about his fascinating new novel, THE FOLLOWER, a story about dating gone wrong. Has he landed on the right blog or what? Okay, Jason, take it away!
HOW CHEESEY IS TOO CHEESEY?
"Every guy stalks his first girlfriend."
A writer friend of mine had this comment after reading my novel Tough Luck, in which a young man has an obsessive relationship with this "first love." My friend was exaggerating, of course, but I think there was some truth to the observation. I think when people are young and inexperienced with dating, they don't really know how to behave yet.
They can easily misjudge situations and miss signals, and they don't know how to handle rejection. Most people don't become actual stalkers, but they may get obsessive and go overboard to try to impress their dates.For me, the most enjoyable part of writing a suspense fiction is exploring that "what if?" factor. I love taking normal situations that everyone can identify with, and then pushing them to the extreme. In THE FOLLOWER I tackled the darker side of romantic love head-on. Katie Porter has moved to New York after graduating from Wesleyan her life is consumed by work and dating. She has a job she hates and boyfriend she's not sure she really likes. Then—apparently by chance—she runs into a guy from her past, Peter Wells. Initially she sees him as a friend and confidant, but he sees her as much more.
THE FOLLOWER is written in a very close third-person style. I wanted to get into the heads of each character to create suspense, but I also wanted to explore how men and women often have such widely divergent perceptions of the same events, and how easily they can misinterpret each other's motives. Peter, for example, considers himself to be a great romantic. He's obsessed with Jane Austen—he knows the film versions of Pride and Prejudice practically by heart and he practices "the Mr. Darcy look" in the mirror every day. He also likes to, well, pleasure himself while watching the BBC version of the film. In addition, he has seen just about every cheesy romantic comedy, and part of his delusion is that he envisions himself as a lead actor in these films. Katie, meanwhile, has a completely different impression of Peter. She sees him as a nice guy, but kind of awkward, and she doesn’t understand why he’s going so overboard to impress her.
One of the pivotal scenes is Peter and Katie's first date. Well, at least it's a date as far as Peter is concerned. Determined to sweep Katie away, he's gotten the best flowers, the best wine, and the best gourmet food for their picnic in Central Park. But from Katie's point of view the date is a total train wreck and for the first time she starts to suspect that something is seriously off about this guy.
While I've never gone as far as Peter does to impress a date, I've been guilty of the occasional excessive dinner or excessive gift (it never seemed to work). What's the most overboard thing someone has ever done to try to impress you on a date, and was it successful? And what's the most overboard thing that you've done to impress someone else?
KJ back...great questions, Jason. I once had a guy sing "You've Lost that Loving Feeling" to my voice mail because I didn't want to go out with him after one date. Definitely creeped me out, so I'd say it was a losing proposition for him. I can't wait to hear about everyone else's experiences.
JASON STARR is the Barry and Anthony Award-winning nine crime novels which have been published in ten languages. His latest thriller from St. Martin's Press, THE FOLLOWER, is on-sale this week in a new mass market paperback edition. Visit http://www.jasonstarr.com/ and sign up for Jason Starr's newsletter for a chance to win a 50-dollar Amazon gift certificate, and other exciting prizes. Newsletter subscribers will also be eligible to win free advance copies of Jason Starr’s next thriller PANIC ATTACK, which will be on-sale in August, 2009.
50 comments:
hmm
WTG Tiffany!!!
I'm a fan of the obsessive and really like writing it in my characters.
Not sure if I've done anything to really impress someone, I'm very much a see me, this is what I am, this is what you get kinda gal.
Not sure anyone has gone out of his way for me either. I've been married ten years... I forget the days long ago... okay, so they aren't that long ago, obviously I've not had any sweeping gestures... my marriage proposal consisted of the comment... pick a date, tiff. ;)
Hi Jason,
I'm not sure anyone's ever gone really overboard to impress me, but I know I occasionally followed around guys that I had crushes on in college. I wonder if that counts...hmmm....
The stalker thing definitely gives me the heebie jeebies. I'm sure your book would keep me up all night long! Do you do anything special to try to get into the mind of your female characters?
Hey, Tiff! It's rooster day!!!!
Jason, welcome to the lair! I'm still boggling at the P&P self-pleasuring thing! That's something I've never even considered! Mr. Darcy would be shocked! The book sounds fantastic. And congratulations on all your success.
K.J., you bring us some really interesting guests!
Congrats, Tiff!
I'm echoing what Anna Campbell said...the P&P thing is boggling and your book sounds really great! Congrats on all your success.
Can you tell us anything more about PANIC ATTACK? Was THE FOLLOWER the first book you wrote and sold?
Congrats Tiffany have fun with him
Great post Jason the book sounds really interesting I do love suspense in books I like to be on the edge of my seat.
I have been married for 31 years and he didn't stalk me there was something that just clicked with us although I worked with a girl once who was obessed with a guy at work and she used to follow him home and ring him all the time and he just wasn't interested she eventually gave up with out any major dramas. It was interesting watching everything unfold.
Congrats on the books Jason
Have Fun
Helen
Hi Jason,
Congrats on the paperback release of "The Follower." Do you have plans to return to playwriting?
Hi Jason, welcome to the Lair! Oh, boy, you brought back some memories! Not of stalking, of course, I mean about dating. I can't recall anything really outrageous that I've done to attract someone's attention (although calling to ask someone to my formal/prom in the middle of one of the biggest football matches of the season would probably have been a mistake).
At university, a very nice guy (too nice!) tried to buy me a black velvet ball dress I had my eye on. It was a lovely gesture but it was far too expensive as a gift and I couldn't let him do it, especially when I liked him as a friend. I bought the dress myself and we never went out, but funnily enough, we still keep in touch.
Woohoo, Tiffany, you snagged the bird! Congrats!
Jason, welcome to The Lair where our BB's obsessively stalk "The Golden Rooster" WTG, Tiffany!
There have been several gentlemen over the years that I tried to entice with constant offering of baked goods. You know, the old "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach" thing.
Best I got back were a trail of crumbs... :-0
As romance fiction writers we often discuss how we are able to get into the "male mind set". How do you do it for your female characters?
Hi, Jason. Welcome to the lair! The Follower sounds fascinating. I really like the idea of starting out with a situation most people would consider normal, then gradually pushing it beyond the point at which most of us feel comfortable. Where is that line? At what point does it get uncomfortable, or is it such a gradual slide that you're waaaaay deep in trouble by the time you actually call it?
Those are my favorite plot lines, because they really force you to look a little askance at all the odd-ball stuff you've blown off in your life. Stuff that didn't really come to anything, but had the potential to get....weird.
Good stuff.
But, man, did you really have to sully the Mr. Darcy Look (because we all know it & love it) by giving it to an unbalanced stalker? Waaah! (Deep breath, think of Colin Firth....) :-)
Thanks for a great guest blog today.
You got him, Tiff! Keep and eye on him and hide the car keys.
Okay, Jason, your book sounds insidiously creepy - my favorite!
My late DH was a prison psychiatrist so the kinds of things people do when they are obsessed does not surprise me. Even the P & P thing doesn't shock me. The world is full of .... strange people!
I had a guy that refused to take "this just isn't working" for an answer. I mean he went so far as to mail me an engagement ring! When he showed up at my parents' house and said we were engaged and he was going to be staying with them, that was it! I told Mom to call the police and they persuaded him to go back to Virginia. Definitely a strange experience.
The only guys I have tried to impress have been opera directors. They tend to be impressed with either talent or looks and offers of sex. Needless to say, if they didn't like my singing I didn't get the part. Sleeping with overweight, arrogant Germans who think bathing is optional is NOT something I am willing to do to impress anyone!
Hey, it's great to be here in the lair!
Thanks for that great intro, Kim!
Tiffany, yeah I guess "obsessive" is a theme that reappears in my books. Also, "delusional." But I always try to do it with a layer of irony and humor.
Kirsten, hmm I don't know, following around guys you have crushes on sounds pretty devious to me :) Seriously, I think we've all done that to some extent. It's that line, though, that some people cross.
THE FOLLOWER is actually my eighth novel (and I've also co-written 3 books with the Irish author, Ken Bruen).
Thanks for asking about PANIC ATTACK, Elyssa! PANIC ATTACK (which is due out in August from St. Martin's Pree) is about a psychologist, Dr. Adam Bloom, who lives with his family in a big house in Forest Hills, an afluent neighborhood in Queens, New York. The Blooms house is broken into one night and Adam defends his family and shoots one of his intruders, but the other one gets away. The Blooms try to recover from the break-in (and its effect on their relationships) until strange things start to happen all over again...My father is a psychologist, and has a lot of friends who are psychologists, so I think it was inevitable that I wrote about on. And what better character for a psychological thriller. :)
Jane, I'd love to write a play again someday. I had a couple of things produced at Off-Off Broadway theaters, but they had nothing to do with crime and suspsense. I'd love to try to write a thriller for the stage.
Great question re female characters, Joan! I've had strong female characters in my other books, but never the focus like in The Follower (and in Panic Attack there are two major female characters). For me, it's the same as writing about any character who's different than I am. It's all about getting down the attitude of the character, I think, and trying to get into their mindset. I did want to get the details right, though. Katie (from The Follower) is into shopping, so I had to lurk around Sephora and the womens' department at Bloomingdales, etc, gathering info.
Hi Jason and Welcome to the Lair!! Its great to have another thriller writer in to visit the Banditas.
KJ, great interview.
Tiffany, way to nab the chook! Go you! Grins.
As to "out there" dates...hmmm, there was the guy who did the carriage ride thing after one date. I was terrified he was going to propose.
Or on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, the chiropracter I was dating popped the question between patients at his office. As in, "Hey, I'm between patients, and I know you're working on something, but how about we get married?"
So (NOT) romantic!
Snork.
Gathering intel at Bloomies and Sephora, Jason? SNORK! love it
OMG, Jeanne, that's what happens in the THE FOLLOWER! I didn't describe that part in my post, but Peter takes Katie on a carriage ride on their first date. I must have been channeling you :)
Okay, that's spooky, Jason! Sounds too like Peter's as needy and slurrgy as the guy...Please don't tell me Peter's a CFP and a nerd as well?
Hahahaha!
Jason, are most of your readers women or men? It sounds like the subject matter of THE FOLLOWER is going increase those female readers--there's nothing we like better than dating stories gone wrong. :) I love the fact that you had to "pretend" to love shopping.
Okay, Kim, you're right, he came to the right place. This book sounds like a must have on my TBR shelf. Jason, if this has a 2008 Copyright, you should enter the Daphne's Published Mainstream competition. See Kim for details ;) I love what you said about getting in each of your characters' heads. I adore books like this. And this book sounds anything but cheesy. Great blog, Kim, thanks for the heads up!
Yay TIffany! Way to snag the bird!
Jason - LOL on you lurking about Sephoria and Bloomies. I'm sure THAT didn't have some customers anxiously checking over their shoulders *g*.
The book sounds great. When is it to be released? Or is it on the shelves now?
My boyfriend, now husband, once bought me a very expensive camera for Christmas. It was a bit much for poor girl me, but unlike Christine - I kept it. Then the same guy punched out a guy in defense of my honor. Wait a minute...did I MARRY the obsessive creepy (well not so creepy) guy? Too late now - that was 35 years ago.
I had to lurk around Sephora and the womens' department at Bloomingdales, etc, gathering info.
Did you have your colors done while at Sephora's? ;-)
To observe the natives in their habitat your better bet would have been to scope out the shoe department at Sak's...MAJOR shoppers there!
And what a writer won't do for their craft. Any guy I know would just as soon have a cement truck run over their legs as to have to go to "THE MALL".....
Of course I stalked the first guy I liked. I biked by his house multiple times a day trying to get a glimpse of him.
Isn't that normal?
LOL
Love the premise
and I love how you tweak an experience everyone has had.
Very clever.
Hey Jason! Good to see a guy who understands that stalking isn't sexy, lol!
But it is intriguing when our characters are obsessed, isn't it?
Have to say, the most romantic and impressive gift a guy ever gave me was during a snowy January when I was post-call, he let me sleep while he trucked through the snow and sleet to get the oil changed on my car....
The least impressive was when I was much younger and a guy proposed marriage to me--by drawing a sword and proclaiming me his "Dejah Thora" (from Edgar Rice Burroughs, yeah, was a big SF/F reader back then) and threatening to slice himself if I didn't say yes.
Our paths quickly parted--last I heard he was in drug rehab.....
OMGosh, CJ, didn't Dejah Thora bring back some memories...
Glad to know the guy's in rehab, at least...arrrgh.
Hey Donnell, post the URL for Jason to the Daphnes. That WOULD be a good one for him. I'm planning to enter it. Don't entries open Jan 1?
Our Bandita's KJ - today's hostess! - Nancy Northcott, and Jo Lewis have been BIG Daphne winners. I won my category a few years ago... :> LURVE the Daphne and so do editors...
Tiffany, congratulations on grabbing the rooster!
Jason, welcome to the lair and congratulations on your latest release! If I did anything overboard to impress someone, I've mercifully forgotten it. No one's ever done anything overboard to impress me, which sounds a bit dull. On the other hand, it beats having a stalker.
I like books that take a logical, reasonable situation and make it . . . more. The differences between men's and women's perceptions, in many situations and no just dating, are legion, but taking them to an extreme can be anywhere from ludicrous to terrifying. Your books sound very intriguing.
Joanie, I might have known your "overboard" would involve baked goods. *g* If you ever want to spread some cheer to banditas, you know where to send your kitchen creations.
Louisa, a friend of mine had an old boyfriend periodically turn up in creepy kinds of ways for several years. I'm glad things worked out for you.
Jeanne--seriously? That has to be one of the nuttier proposals on record.
Also, our buddy Louisa Cornell WON the historical category of the Daphne last year, leave us not forget!
Ha! Yep, Nancy, it wasn't very romantic. By contrast, the very fab husband did the whole "get down on one knee" deal. VERY romantic.
Gosh, wonder how I knew he was the right one? Snork.
Shame on me for forgetting Lousia! Yes indeed another FAB Daphne Gal!
Seriously, Jason, its a great contest to get exposure for your work in a whole different category of readers.
Way to go, Louisa!
Christine, the dh decided he would buy me a dress for my birthday just after we got engaged. We were at the mall (his aversion to which he was then concealing) and he spotted a dress store that looked, in my opinion, out of reach.
Him: That looks like a good store. Let's go in there.
Me: It looks a little too good. Pricey. Let's try one of the department stores.
Him: No, this'll be great. Come on.
If I hadn't already been alerted by the marble floors, floral throw rugs, and delicate furniture, I would've known we were in trouble when I realized all the price tags were hanging out of sight--way down in the dresses where you couldn't see them without working at it.
A saleslady drifted over and selected a few things for me. As I went to try them on, she offered him something to drink. That sealed it for me. I knew then there was no way the hidden price tags would say anything in our reach, but I figured I'd have to try these dresses on. Two of them didn't work--unflattering color or style. The third . . . was fabulous. Deep pink, portrait neck, cap sleeves, princess lines and a gored mid-calf skirt that swished when I moved.
The future dh loved it. And said so. Unequivocally and repeatedly. Nitpicking, I pretended it didn't suit me.
We left the store, and he said, "That dress was great on you. We should get it."
I said, "If you insist, but I really didn't think you wanted to spend $300 on a dress, especially when we have wedding expenses ahead." This was 1987 money, mind you.
His jaw literally dropped. His face turned a couple of degrees paler. But then he kind of set his face and said, "You look terrific in that. If you want it, we should get it."
How sweet is that? And he'd already "landed" me. But I couldn't see that, and we found an actual suit, which I could wear to work, for less than half that. So all was well that ended well. But now he accepts my assessment as to a store's affordability without insisting we go in. *g*
And he's a lot harder to drag to the mall . . .
Jason, I second (third?) the comments on the Daphne. It's a small contest numbers-wise but big in the splash it makes.
Joan, you clearly know all the NYC shopping tricks. You'll have to take me sometime.
Louisa wrote: Sleeping with overweight, arrogant Germans who think bathing is optional is NOT something I am willing to do to impress anyone!
Eeeew. Good for you. Yuck, what a prospect!
Haha, I meant to comment on that too, Louisa. The visual...EWWW!
Nancy, I have a terrible time getting my DH to the Mall. Then again, I don't like it much either, so it's pretty easy to avoid!
Jeanne, I can't find clothes anywhere else, though I occasionally have luck at the thrift shop our Jr. League runs. He has a good eye for clothes that flatter me. Anything he's liked, even if I'm doubtful about it, has always gotten me compliments.
If you ever want to spread some cheer to banditas, you know where to send your kitchen creations.
Yeah, but...um...I don't want to DATE ya'll!!!!
I almost snagged an orthopaedic resident with mini-pumpkin pies one year. Medical/Surgical residents are pretty easy to entice with FOOD.
Joan, you clearly know all the NYC shopping tricks
I learned from the best. My CP has dragged me to every designer shoe department in NYC, Atlanta and Dallas. I've become somewhat of an expert (even giving my take to other customers) and no longer audibly GASP at the prices.
And Nancy, I just fell in love with your DH...awwwwww....
See Jason? You had to go and bring up shopping, LOL
Wow, what great comments!
Kim, actually I think I get a mix of male and female readers (at least going by fan mail, etc). I definitely seemed to get a much larger female readership for THE FOLLOWER.
Ah, yes, Sephora..well, I wanted to be very precise with this stuff so, for example, when Katie goes shopping there she buys the lip venom "in Orgasm." :) A lot of female readers and women at my publishing house have told me that I pulled it off, so if you read the book I hope this all rings true for you.
Thanks so much for the Daphne suggestion (I think THE FOLLOWER would have been eligible last year though--it's the mass market paperback edition that was just published)
Jason
Welcome to the Lair, Jason, and thanks for hosting him KJ!
I am intrigued by your latest book THE FOLLOWER because I also write mainstream suspense.
You talk about tight third-person POV, Jason. Would you mind elaborating on that? In other words, did you use omniscient POV in your previous titles and how does that different from your third-person?
Thanks for joining us today.
Tiffany, congratulations on getting the rooster!
Jason, welcome to the Lair! I think you're so right about how differently women and men perceive the same situation. My husband and I compare notes ALL THE TIME on what he thinks happened in a scenario vs. what I think happened.
I've found that most of the time, he is fairly clueless about how people were reacting to what was being done or said. He thinks he knows what others were thinking, but he is often WAY off base. How do I know? Because I go and ask people, "So what did you think when...?" He doesn't. He assumes his impression was correct. It cracks me up!
As to my experiences with over-the-topness, once I was sort-of-but-not-really dating someone who I considered a friend. He considered me the love of his life. I knew he did, but I never gave him any reason to believe I considered him more than a friend. Once, we had been somewhere and he had given me a couple of flowers. I knew he was getting all mushy and wanted to be more than friends, so when I left I deliberately left the flowers behind. He followed me in his car, caught up to me, jumped out at a stoplight and gave me the flowers. People around us smiled and thought it so romantic. I was so embarrassed!
Oh, I thought of a few more, too. Maybe one is enough, though...
Ooh, I have a creepy stalker story! When I was a sophomore in college, I spent a lot of time at dance clubs (a topic already explored in other blog posts). Once I met a guy at one near my college who was handsome, but a bit too...intense, I suppose. I got the visceral "he's crazy" vibe.
I told him my name (why not, we had no Google then) and he told me his. We may have danced or something. He said he was majoring in engineering and he was looking for a wife and he thought we would be very compatible. I didn't give him my number or anything, because he weirded me out.
Next thing I know, he has called and left me a message at my on-campus apartment. Creepy enough, right? That's when I found out that all campus apartment numbers were listed in a directory in the student center (which freaked me and my roommates out). So, he had looked me up - fine. I never returned his call.
Next thing I know, he is leaving messages asking me to meet him at a restaurant called 'Casablanca' at a certain date and time. Uh...i didn't show. He tried again, leaving this, once again, in a message with a roommate. It freaked me and my roommate out. I started looking over my shoulder on campus between classes, expecting him to be lurking around. Creeeeepy!
Ah, yes, Sephora..well, I wanted to be very precise with this stuff so, for example, when Katie goes shopping there she buys the lip venom "in Orgasm." :)
Ok...um...ok.....
(Adding Sephora to Xmas shopping list tomorrow)
I have to say that I am very close to a male relative who has always tended to give his heart too quickly. Stalker? No,not in the least but I've seen the hurt and the disappointment pound at him and it broke my heart.
Okay, I've got some good ones. Broke up with a guy who proceeded to throw rocks at my apartment window one night a few months later...because I was cooking dinner for a new flame. Then, a few nights after that, I woke up...and crazed former boyfriend was IN MY BEDROOM, staring down at me. Scared me silly. Life lesson learned, from then on I called the locksmith immediately after a break up.
I have to say, I never had great luck on the NY dating scene when I lived there. And The Follower is a great read, definitely pick it up if you get a chance!!!
PS- I bet Jason goes in Sephora anyway for hair conditioner, he's world-renowned for his flowing locks ;-)
Welcome to the Lair, Jason :-)
Lets see, the most creepy thing any guy has done? I think it'd be my high school boyfriend, after I broke up with him. He spraypainted my nickname on the street in front of my house. Huge...
Tell ya what, pissing off theparents is hardly the way to win a girl back LOL
Caren, that truly is creepy. I'm glad he took the hint and went away.
JT, we're definitely going shopping. You know way more than I do about stores.
And yeah, I know you don't want to date the rest of us, but think how much happier the lair is when we're all on a chocolate high. *g*
Jason, getting women right seems to be very hard for a lot of men. The late epic fantasy author Robert Jordan was also very good at it. You probably know that RWA and its chapters devote a lot of time to writing the male POV.
Tawny wrote: Tell ya what, pissing off the parents is hardly the way to win a girl back LOL.
A friend of ours, mother of two boys, once said she thought a form of logic decay set in about age 13 and lasted to about age 17. I've met some teenaged girls about whom I'd say the same thing. I guess this guy thought you'd be so awed that all would be well?
Michelle, that's beyond scary! I'm glad it turned out well.
I am not sure anyone every done anything to impress me but I have followed this guy around that I was struck on. I guess you could say I was stalking him. Maybe.
Jason should definitely do the Daphnes! It is a great contest and really classy operation. Not to mention that Death by Chocolate party that serves as the awards ceremony! Right KJ and Nancy?
Panic Attack sounds great, Jason. I was married to a prison psychiatrist for 14 years and the only thing that dealing with prisoners on a daily basis did for him was make him EXTREMELY cautious about dealing with strangers. And needless to say security at our house was pretty strict. He didn't have photos or anything about me in his office. He didn't even carry them in his wallet. He wore his wedding ring and that was it.
Now my security system consists of the early warning system of nine rescued dogs in dog runs around my 1 acre yard and 4 yap yap dogs (chihuahuas and dachshunds in the house) as my backup warning system and burglar alarm. The good thing is that some of the dog runs can only be seen when you get right up to the house (I have five acres and my home sits in the middle of them.)so you have no idea the dogs are actually locked up. Scares the dust out of people. The UPS man won't come down until he calls me to make sure it is safe!
Hi Jason and Bandits,
Jason I checked out your site and signed up for your newsletter.
I like how your books sounds. :)
Dina
Huge thanks to Jason for being in the lair today! You're welcome back anytime!
Hey again!
Those are some great, weird, and scary stories. Thanks for sharing them!
Re point of view--close third person, for me, is when I am so inside a character's point of view that the reader gets a very narrow, skewed view of the world.
Thank you again for having me, it was a blast!
Okay, Jeanne, just saw your request and Jason, you should consider the Daphne. I think your book would definitely rise to the top in Mainstream. I'm going to order this book! The Daphne web page isn't up yet, but it starts January 15, 2009 with a deadline of March 16, 2009. E-mail me at bellson@comcast.net with any questions. And congratulations on your book and Kim, great blog. Thank you!
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