Monday, June 1, 2020

Owen Mullen’s IN HARM’S WAY is #164 in the never-ending series called INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION


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****Owen Mullen’s IN HARM’S WAY is #164 in the never-ending series called INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION where the Chris Rice Cooper Blog (CRC) focuses on one specific excerpt from a fiction genre and how that fiction writer wrote that specific excerpt.  All INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION links are at the end of this piece

Name of fiction work? And were there other names you considered that you would like to share with us? In Harm’s Way...the original title was Stranger With A Grudge. When I began writing this book I quickly realised it had more than one story to it and the title was changed

What is the date you began writing this piece of fiction and the date when you completely finished the piece of fiction?
Started writing in January of 2018 and completed June 2018

Where did you do most of your writing for this fiction work? I now write almost anywhere but at this point it had to be the studio every day – just me, the pc and the view

What were your writing habits while writing this work- did you drink something as you wrote, listen to music, write in pen and paper, directly on the laptop; specific time of day? Again, habits change over time but some things tend to be standard, like: I almost always have a coffee, herbal tea, or soda water on the go. No music [unless I’m writing in the main house and Christine has her exercise/yoga sounds going]. I always plot on paper and write directly to pc. For this book, I was in situ from 9am until around 4pm when I would start edits and next day’s plotting.

Please include just one excerpt and include page numbers as references.  This one excerpt can be as short or as long as you prefer.

Page 42-43

Mackenzie walked on the grass at the side of the road. Behind her buried in the traffic noise she heard male voices, though she wasn’t able to make out what they were saying. Thirty yards further on they were closer. Surely their bigger stride would take them past? She slowed to let them. When they didn’t, she quickened her step. It didn’t make sense. They should’ve overtaken her by now. Maybe they felt as uncomfortable as she did.
But the voices were still there. Indistinct. Louder. In the middle of the afternoon there was no one around. She was alone.
Suddenly, a pleasant walk had become something else, something scary and sinister, and she was afraid. Her heart pounded in her chest. Her throat was dry. She broke into a run.
A mocking laugh died in the air.
Or did she imagine it?
When she couldn’t run any further she stopped, panting and exhausted, too spooked to look round. At first, there was nothing. No footsteps. No conversation. She breathed a sigh of relief, glad Adele wasn’t there to witness her overreaction to what was probably the wind in the trees. The explanation was obvious and she almost blushed. She’d underestimated the effect of coming off booze. Added to the strain of her marriage her nerves were stretched to breaking point. That was it. A smile tugged the corners of her mouth. Christ, what an idiot.
Then she heard it again. Closer.
Mackenzie screwed up her courage and spun round. It wasn’t two men, it was one man, the one in the black coat from the supermarket, talking to himself.
She stepped back and stumbled on the verge, almost falling under a passing car. The startled driver pulled into the middle of the road, nearly crashing into a van in the other lane. Both vehicles blasted their horns and raced on. She felt faint. For a moment she thought she was going to pass out. Nobody had believed her but they were wrong. It was him.
He was real.
He tilted his head and smiled. Mackenzie got to her feet and faced him. ‘Who are you? What do you want?’
The man in the black coat stared unblinking and didn’t answer.
Mackenzie screamed at him. ‘Who the hell are you?’
Nothing except a slow smile.
‘Get away from me, d’you hear?’
He didn’t move.
She tried to hail a passing car.
Then another.
When that didn’t work, Mackenzie Crawford did the only thing left: she ran. And this time she didn’t stop.



Why is this excerpt so emotional for you as a writer to write?  And can you describe your own emotional experience of writing this specific excerpt? I had to speak to people who’d experienced the kind of problems dealt with in this book, at times what they told me was challenging to listen to. This particular passage was especially difficult for me because this actually happened to my wife. (Left) While I was writing I could taste her fear and was damned by my helplessness to save her. Not comfortable. Not at all.

Were there any deletions from this excerpt that you can share with us? Because I write straight to pc I’m afraid I don’t have any rough drafts but I’ve included a picture of me during an initial plotting session.
          There were no deletions from this particular book. However, the story had already been written into a book from the Charlie Cameron series and had to be stripped from there and re-written without Charlie. This was the point where I decided to keep DI Andrew Geddes as the investigating police officer to the delight of the Charlie fans.

      
Bestselling author Owen Mullen is a McIlvanney Crime Book Of The Year long-listed novelist.
Owen graduated from Strathclyde University, moved to London, and worked as a rock musician, session singer and songwriter. He had a hit record in Japan with a band he refuses to name; He still loves to perform on occasion. His passion for travel has taken him on many adventures from the Amazon and Africa to the colorful continent of India and Nepal. A gregarious recluse, he and his wife, Christine, split their time between Glasgow, and their home in the Greek Islands where Owen writes.





INSIDE THE EMOTION OF FICTION links

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Thriller Novel
John Hunter – The Veteran

002   11 18 2018 Ed Protzzel’s
Futuristic/Mystery/Thriller
The Antiquities Dealer 

003   11 23 2018 Janice Seagraves’s
Science Fiction Romance
Exodus Arcon

004   11 29 2018 Christian Fennell’s
Literary Fiction Novel
The Fiddler in the Night

005  12 02 2018 Jessica Mathews’s
Adult Paranormal Romance
Death Adjacent
006  12 04 2018 Robin Jansen’s
Literary Fiction Novel
Ruby the Indomitable

007  12 12 2018  Adair Valerez’s
Literary Fiction Novel
Scrim

008  12 17 218 Kit Frazier’s
Mystery Novel
Dead Copy

009 12 21 2019 Robert Craven’s
Noir/Spy Novel
The Road of a Thousand Tigers

010 01 13 2019 Kristine Goodfellow’s
Contemporary Romantic Fiction
The Other Twin

011 01 17 2019 Nancy J Cohen’s
Cozy Mystery
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012 01 20 2019 Charles Salzberg’s
Crime Novel
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013 01 23 2019 Alexis Fancher’s
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015 01 31 2019 Robin Tidwell’s
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016 02 07 2019 J.D. Trafford’s
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Young Adult ScieFi/Fantasy/Romance/Adventure
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Mainstream Fiction/ Suspense/ Historical
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Multidimensional Fiction
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Urban Fantasy
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Post-Colonialist Novel
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022 03 02 2019 Carol Johnson’s
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024 03 08 2019 Marlin Barton’s
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025 03 18 2019 Laura Hunter’s
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026 03 21 2019 Maggie Rivers’s
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027  03 25 2019 Faith Gibson’s
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029 04 04 2019 Betty Bolte’s
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030 04 05 2019  Marianne Maili’s
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Lucy, go see

031 04 10 2019 Gregory Erich Phillips’s
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032 04 15 2019 Jason Ament’s
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033 04 24 2019 Stephen P. Keirnan’s
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034 05 01 2019 George Kramer’s
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035 05 05 2019 Erika Sams’s
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036 05 07 2019 Mark Wisniewski’s
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#132 02 11 2020 Joan Joachim’s
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#134 02 17 2020 Soraya M Lane’s
Women Historical Fiction
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#135 03 07 2020
Linked Fiction
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#136 03 15 2020
Science Fiction Romance
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#137 03 17 2020
Crime Fiction
12 Bullets
by O’Neil De Noux

#138 03 18 2020
Flash Fiction Piece
Radical
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#139 03 20 2020
Mystery
HERE BE MONSTERS
By Jamie Sheffield


#140 03 21 2020
Character Driven Novel
UNBROKEN
By Jamie Lisa Forbes

#141 03 23 2020
Literary Murder Mystery
COLD COUNTRY
By Russell Rowland

#142 04 01 2020
Sci-Fi/Paranormal
SWEET SLEEP
By Kim Cormack

#143 04 02 2020
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“Night Rounds”
by James Reasoner

#144 04 03 2020
Southern Fiction
LITTLE TEA
By Claire Fullerton

#145 04 04 2020
Mainstream novel with elements of crime, mystery, and magic
THE FORGETTING FLOWER
by Karen Hugg

#146 04 07 2020
Historical Fiction
MEDICIS DAUGHTER
by Sophie Perinot

#147 04 08 2020
Dark Urban Fantasy with elements of Paranormal Romance
COVEN BORN
by Stephanie Reisner aka AUDREY BRICE

#148 04 13 2020
Mystery With A Fantasy Twist
DEATH LIVES IN THE WATER
By Shoshana Edwards

#149 04 14 2020
Historical Fiction
ASHES
by Sharon Glogal Friedman

#150 04 19 2020
Vampire Horror Novelette
Blood Thrasher:  The Devil’s in the Metal
by Adam Messer

#151 04 25 2020
Historical Fiction
Charis in the World of Wonders
by Marly Youmans

#152 04 29 2020
Historical Fiction
The Master of Verona
by David Blixt

#153 04 30 2020
General Fiction (Family)
Bread Bags & Bullies:  Surviving the 80s
by Steven Manchester

#154 05 01 2020
Adventure-Thriller/Horror
Into The Ashes
by Lee Murray

#155 05 06 2020
Coming of Age/Crime Novel
All Things Left In The Wild
by James Wade

#156 05 10 2020
Paranormal Mystery
Southern Bound
by Stuart Jaffe

#157 05 13 2020
Mystery/Crime Novel
Yardbird
By Mark Slade

#158 05 15 2020
Horror/Crime Novel
Hotel Nowhere
By David E Adkins
#159 05 16 2020
Satire/Crime Novel
THE LYING BASTARD
by Clint Margrave

#160 05 19 2020
Southern Gothic Fiction
REVIVING THE HAWTHORN SISTERS
by Emily Carpenter

#161 05 21 2020
Women’s Domestic Life Fiction
MERCY HOUSE
by Alena Dillon

#162 05 26 2020
Screenplay/Film
BEAST MODE
by Drew Fortune and Spain Willingham

#163 05 31 2020
Coming of Age/ Psychological Thriller
MY SISTER & OTHER LIARS
by Ruth Dugdall

#164 06 01 2020
Psychological Thriller
IN HARM’S WAY
by Owen Mullen
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2020/06/owen-mullens-in-harms-way-is-164-in.html

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