Day 316 - From the Desk of...

... author
Lee Moylan!
















Well it's the Halloween season and a perfect time to talk about horror! I've gotten many questions regarding Once Upon a Nightmare and decided to address the most common ones today.

One of them is why did I write a story about a serial killer and another is why so graphic? I didn't need more than a moment to answer. I'd known the reasons long before they'd asked.

As I said in my interview, this book was inspired by a nightmare. It was a nightmare probably born out of all the books I've read on serial killers, but this dream completely terrified me. I wanted to get it out, to purge myself of it, so I started to write... Turning this "bad" dream into something "good" seemed like the thing to do.

So why a book on serial killers? Well that was the basis of the dream, and since I'd always wanted to work in forensics, read countless books on the subject, it only made sense that my first story should be based on something I had years of untapped information on.

From the time I was a child and overheard newscasters reporting about murders, read about them in newspapers, I was horrified. To know there were real people out there taking pleasure from others' pain disturbed me beyond words. It was a concept I just could not comprehend. I can't witness an animal suffering, let alone a person. And so I started to read... And read... And what I found out disturbed me even more.

That brings me to the second question - why so graphic. The non-fiction books I've read don't spare any details... Some read like graphic police reports. Most fiction doesn't even come close. The reader never gets the true evil of these people, the true horrors of their crimes.

When I wrote this story, I wanted the reader to feel those scenes. To be put in the shoes of the victim no matter how uncomfortable it made them. I wanted them to go somewhere they don't normally go, some place dark. And come out more wise.

Ignorance, I believe, benefits no one.

So that is the reason behind Once Upon a Nightmare. I hope my readers leave with more than just icy chills!

Happy Halloween!


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I was fascinated when I first found out that this story was so personally connected to Lee. If you haven't picked up a copy of ONCE UPON A NIGHTMARE I definitely think you should, and just in time for Halloween. You won't be disappointed! If you haven't already, check out my review!

Thank you so much Lee, it was a blast working with you =)

Day 280 - Q&A with Author Lee Moylan (& GIVEAWAY!)

Please welcome author Lee Moylan to mis(h)takes!! She's agreed to answer a few questions about her book ONCE UPON A NIGHTMARE, which I reviewed yesterday.

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A little background info before we go on:


Lee Moylan is a fiction writer with a BS degree in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She lives outside of Chicago in the Northwest suburbs with her three children.

Besides a fascination with biology and chemistry, she has a passion for the art of forensics. She has studied many books on the subject as well as those on serial killers. Instead of pursuing a career in forensic chemistry, she decided to raise a family and turn her intellectual and creative talents to the writing of haunting fiction.

Her desire to comprehend the almost incomprehensible has driven her to create a frighteningly believable tale that explores the depths a deranged mind can go. The murderer of Once Upon a Nightmare combines elements of actual criminals.

She has completed her second novel, Fatal Charade, and is currently working on her third.


You can visit her website here.

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Me: Can you describe what ONCE UPON A NIGHTMARE is about?

Lee: Once Upon a Nightmare is a graphic and disturbing story about two women who share a kind of psychic bond and the sadistic serial killer that has targeted them. Despite both women having an ability to 'sense' bad things on the horizon, neither one knows the who, what, where or when. The killer watches them - is near enough to touch them - yet they don't know who he is. As the story unfolds, we get a glimpse inside the killer's mind - hear the dark, twisted thoughts that drive him. But only as he gets closer to his ultimate goal, Sara Bishop, do we get a real taste of the true evil within...

Me: I’ve been dying to know what your inspiration was for ONCE UPON A NIGHTMARE.

Lee: Well, it actually was a nightmare... Probably the worst one I've ever had. In the dream, I awoke to the sight of blood all around my bedroom. It was on the walls, the floor... And then I saw body parts. It was quite horrific. I really thought I was awake. I thought someone had just been murdered in my house! But as I got up to call for help, I realized I was moving without my body, sort of floating around. That's when I looked back at the bed and saw why I was able to move about so freely... I had been the victim. Before the dream ended and I truly awoke, I was trying to communicate with my closest friend. I was trying to get her to call the police, keep my husband and kids from finding me like that and lastly, to find the person who had done it. So, the nightmare was born...

Me: I understand that you have a degree in biochemistry but a passion for forensic science. Did your education and love for forensics help in writing the book?

Lee: Oh, absolutely! I've studied every part of science I could from physical to behavioral to life sciences. I wanted to be a profiler before anyone even knew what that was! So I just took all the information I've been storing for years and put it in my characters' heads...

Me: Did you have to do any additional research?

Lee: No, I guess you could say I've been researching this material since I was a teenager. That was the first time I ever heard the words 'serial killer'. His name was John Wayne Gacy, and he lived a few towns away from me. I never got over seeing those young men's faces and the horrors he committed against them. That was when I began my quest. I just wanted the answer... Why?

Me: What do you think the hardest part about writing your novel was?

Lee: Well writing a novel over a two-year period is difficult because the characters live with you the entire time... (At least that's how it is for me) But the worst thing was writing those truly disturbing scenes. In order to write them, I had to put myself into the killer's mind as well as the victim's. It was brutal. I was having a hard time dissociating from the victims and had to take frequent breaks to get out of those scenes.

Me: Are you currently working on anything?

Lee: Yes, thanks to my most recent nightmare, it's another suspense/thriller. I love the twist in this one! And hopefully my second book, Fatal Charade, will be released next year.

Me: Who are some of your favorite authors and books?

Lee: Oh, I love Stephen King, Edgar Allen Poe, James Patterson, John Steinbeck, F. Scott Fitzgerald... Favorite books? Great Gatsby, Of Mice and Men, loved the creepiness of Pet Semetery, and of course, anything by Poe!

Me: If you could write a book about absolutely anything with another author, who would you choose and what would it be about?

Lee: Hands down, Stephen King, and it would have to be a ghost story, the most haunting one ever! (Hey, if we're gonna dream...)

Me: Thank you so much for taking the time out to answer some questions. I really enjoyed your book and I’m looking forward to reading more of your work.

Lee: Thank you for reviewing it! I hope you had at least a few breathless moments!

Lee's Question for you!

Have you ever 'sensed' anything before it happened? If so, what was it?

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And now for the GIVEAWAY!

Lee has generously offered 1 signed copy to one of my readers! There is no mailing restrictions so everyone is welcome to enter =)

To enter:

-Simply leave a comment expressing you'd like to win the book. You must leave a valid email address so I can contact you if you win - No email = No entry!

For extra entries (you must leave comments telling me you've done so or they will not count.)

+1 for answering Lee's question above!
+1 for commenting on my review here!(<--click the link and post comment there)

+2 for linking to this contest (blog posts, sidebars, twitter, facebook, etc all count - leave a link or you won't get the extra entries)

+2 for becoming a follower of the blog (if you currently follow just mention it below)

The deadline is Sunday, September 27th. One winner will be chosen and announced September 28th. I will email them and they will have 3 days to contact me back with their information.

CONTEST CLOSED

Day 279 - Once Upon a Nightmare

Once Upon a Nightmare

Lee Moylan

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

Release Date: October 2008

Publisher: Crystal Dreams Publishing

Pages: 280

Author Site: http://www.leemoylan.com/

My Rating: 3.75/5

Synopsis [from amazon.com]:

On the night of October thirteenth, the Hunter's Moon descended upon the quiet town of White Chapel. As Sara Bishop drifted off to sleep under its soft illumination, the full moon seemed to have brought with it something far more sinister than a warm glow. At once, the nightmare started. But this wasn't any ordinary nightmare… This one seemed real ─ as if she could smell it, feel it, taste it. It was one of those dreams ─ one that awakened her witch-like sense ─ a harbinger of heartbreak and now, horror.

Together with Rebecca Parker, the only other person who understood her gift, someone who had experienced her own strange senses, Sara hoped to come to terms with this ominous nightmare. But her closest friend and next door neighbor was no where to be found ─ not since the night of October thirteenth. And so it begins. With little help from her skeptical husband or local police, Sara finds herself virtually alone as her grisly dreams crawl from the darkness to become a sick and twisted reality ─ a reality where she has become the ultimate desire of a sadistic serial killer.

As images of death, phantoms and shadows surround Sara in this Halloween season, she needs to listen to the whispers in her mind, use her gift, to unmask those around her, for one of them is the man from her nightmare. And he sees her when she's sleeping… He knows when she's awake. When the next full moon descends upon White Chapel, he will reveal himself to her. And under its silvery glow, a new nightmare will be born. Will Sara Bishop have to experience death itself to stop this killer? Or will her nightmare never end?

Review:

Sara Bishop has a terrifying nightmare one night in October; the night of the Hunter’s Moon. This isn’t your typical nightmare either. This one seems far too real to Sara. It doesn’t just frighten her; it seems to wake up her “other” sense. A sense she’s had for as long as she can remember, it has always told her when things were a little off.

The next morning Sara hopes to talk to her best friend and neighbor, Rebecca Parker. Rebecca shares Sara’s gift and is the only one that truly understands what she’s going through. Maybe Rebecca had a similar experience… Maybe Sara’s gift is warning her of something. But Rebecca isn’t answering her door or her phone.

The entire weekend Sara worries about Rebecca and where she can be. Her senses tell her something is terribly wrong. But her husband tells her it’s nothing and Rebecca is surely safe. When Sara can’t take it anymore she marches over to the house. The scene that awaits Sara is bloody and horrific and marks the beginning of a serial killer’s rampage. Little does Sara know that this serial killer now has his eye on her.

I was warned that the book may be graphic and intense by Lee Moylan herself. With that in mind I found scenes that could be highly uncomfortable for some readers, but I thought they were brutally honest and set the tone very well for the book. I was definitely pulled in by the atmosphere of Lee’s writing and the characters she fleshed out. ONCE UPON A NIGHTMARE is a bloody mystery/thriller that I really enjoyed. I was guessing who the killer was the entire time and was still surprised at the end!

It’s easy to see Lee Moylan’s love for forensic science and passion for it in her writing. I think if you’re in search of an intense thriller, you should definitely pick this up. It’ll make you keep flipping through the pages until you find out who the killer is. Be wary if you don’t like gory scenes, otherwise go out and get a copy!

P.S. Stay tuned for a giveaway and interview tomorrow =)