Suspense, Mystery, Horror and Thriller Fiction NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2016 Iconic Author Edition CHRISTIE GOLDEN REED FARREL COLEMAN MARCIA CLARK ANDREW PETERSON THE “BEST OF” DANA KING 2016 JACK KETCHUM Embracing the Panic PRESTON & CHILD Anthony Franze Talks LAURELL K. HAMILTON Writing with ANNE RICE HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN DEAN KOONTZ 䰀攀攀 䌀栀椀氀搀 䰀椀猀愀 䜀愀爀搀渀攀爀 ㈀ ㄀㜀 吀栀爀椀氀氀攀爀䴀愀猀琀攀爀 ㈀ ㄀㜀 匀椀氀瘀攀爀 䈀甀氀氀攀琀 䠀攀愀琀栀攀爀 䜀爀愀栀愀洀 䨀漀栀渀 䰀攀猀挀爀漀愀爀琀 ㈀ ㄀㘀 吀栀爀椀氀氀攀爀䴀愀猀琀攀爀 ㈀ ㄀㘀 匀椀氀瘀攀爀 䈀甀氀氀攀琀 䜀爀愀渀搀 䠀礀愀琀琀Ⰰ 一夀䌀 뜀 䨀甀氀礀 ㄀㄀ⴀ㄀㔀Ⰰ ㈀ ㄀㜀 吀䠀刀䤀䰀䰀䔀刀䘀䔀匀吀⸀䌀伀䴀 From the Editor Can you believe that we are rapidly approaching the end of 2016? And what a year it has been! Now that certain things CREDITS are finally over, we can sit back and breathe John Raab and read. But first we need to search for President & Chairman something that is lost. I can’t tell you when Shannon Raab we lost it, but I certainly hope we can all find Creative Director it again. What I’m talking about is the holiday we call Thanksgiving. Romaine Reeves CFO Thanksgiving is a holiday that has been caught up and mired down in the manic extravaganza called Christmas shopping. For Amy Lignor years now, several companies open their doors on Thanksgiving night around 6:00 pm, Editor forcing workers to leave their families and go to work so people can act like idiots while Jim Thomsen searching for the next Tickle Me Elmo (which will end up thrown in the corner of the Copy Editor room before New Year’s Day.) Thanksgiving is a holiday where we used to sit down and give thanks for all the Contributors Mark P. Sadler joy we are experiencing in our lives. It was always the ultimate family holiday because Susan Santangelo there was no pressure worrying about if Uncle Fred would like the shirt you bought him. Kaye George Thanksgiving should be a calm day—a day to celebrate the coming together of people, Weldon Burge Ashley Wintters making peace, enjoying a meal and sharing some true fellowship. Instead…Thanksgiving D.P. Lyle M.D. is simply a day to shop. The special part of Thanksgiving has been turned into a few profit- Kathleen Heady Andrew MacRae making hours, and nothing more. Melissa Dalton It’s sad when I see more stories focusing on “Black Friday” (a day most people don’t Elliott Capon J.M. LeDuc even understand the meaning of) instead of the history of Thanksgiving and why it’s so Holly Price important to us. I have to wonder, if Christmas fell on July 30th, would July 4th suffer the Kari Wainwright same fate? Have we become such a society of consumers that we’ve let far more important David Ingram Jodi Hanson things fall by the wayside? I don’t know…and I hope I’m wrong. Susan May I think that Thanksgiving is hiding in the corner with old Elmo, waiting to come out Jenny Hilborne Anthony J. Franze and surprise us. I think that if we give it a chance, we could remember the special feeling Kristin Centorcelli we had years ago when we smelled the turkey an hour Jerry Zavada before it was placed in the center of the table; or, Leslie Borghini Mary Lignor enjoying that piece of pumpkin pie while watching Julie Whiteley the football game. I hear people all the time saying Sara Guisti Jeff Ayers that they wish they could just “unplug” for a day Elise Cooper and relax. Well…guess what? That day is still here. Customer Service and I hope this time around you all spent some quality Subscriptions: time with the people you love. Perhaps even donated For 24/7 service, please use our website, www.suspensemagazine.com or write to: some food to a shelter in order to feed people you SUSPENSE MAGAZINE at don’t know, but who truly need your kindness. 26500 Agoura Road, #102-474 I believe that if we all look hard enough we will Calabasas, CA 91302 Suspense Magazine does not share our find Thanksgiving again. And remember: There are magazine subscriber list with third-party still 363 days left to shop after the bird has been companies. consumed, so there’s still plenty of time to spend Rates: $24.00 (Electronic Subscrip- your money. tion) per year. All foreign subscrip- John Raab tions must be payable in U.S. funds. CEO/Publisher Suspense Magazine ■ “Reviews within this magazine are the opinions of the individual reviewers and are provided solely for the purpose of assisting readers in determining another's thoughts on the book under discussion and shall not be interpreted as professional advice or the opinion of any other than the individual reviewer. The following reviewers who may appear in this magazine are also individual clients of Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine: J.M. LeDuc, Leslie Borghini, Susan Santangelo, Jeff Ayers, and Amy Lignor.” Model/Photographer Credit: Nejron Photo SuspenseMagazine.com 1 CONTENTSUSPENSE MAGAZINE November/ December 2016 / Vol. 073 Writing With a Partner: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly By Dennis Palumbo 3 Christie Golden Expands the Assassin’s Creed Universe 5 Excerpt: “Love You Dead” By Peter James 8 Marcia Clark on “Moral Defense” and Having Hope in Hollywood 11 Forensic Files By D P Lyle, MD. 14 Inside the Pages: Suspense Magazine Book Reviews 16 Suspense Magazine Movie Reviews By Jeff Ayers 38 Hank Phillippi Ryan’s Rules of Fiction By Anthony Franze 40 Featured Artist: Evelyne Paniez .......................................43 2016 “Best of” Introduction 49 Always Evolving: Sit Down with Andrew Peterson 80 Writing a PI Novel Wasn’t Always Easy With Dana King 82 The Hourglass By Jeff Ayers 85 Reed Farrel Coleman: Thinks Everyone Should Have a “Debt to Pay” ������������� 89 How to Engage With Influencers on Twitter By Lynne Constantine ��������������������� 94 Excerpt: “Crimson Death” By Laurell K Hamilton 99 Prodigal Son By Mark Mellon 102 The American Dream By Laura Stewart Schmidt 116 WRITING WITH A PARTNER: THE GOOD, THE BAD, & THE UGLY By Dennis Palumbo Press Photo Credit: Provided by Author Now and again a screen- or TV writer patient of mine wrestles with the idea of taking on a writing partner. Having done dozens of therapy sessions with writing teams over the years—plus having begun my former career in Hollywood as half of a sitcom-writing partnership—I have more than a few thoughts about the potential benefits, liabilities and turmoil of doing so. Let’s call these (with apologies to Sergio Leone) the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The Good: The obvious benefits of a writing partner can be reduced down to the familiar adage: “Two heads are better than one.” With a partner you have the advantage of a sounding board for your ideas, a straight man (or woman) for your jokes, and a life-raft when your inspiration is sinking. A partner brings less obvious benefits, as well. If you’re prone to procrastination, just knowing that your partner is waiting impatiently for you to join in will help motivate you. A writing partner can pull the two of you up when you’re feeling down. Moreover, when pitching a story to a producer or studio exec, your memory might suddenly flag, or you’ll get the narrative elements out of order and panic sets in. In which case, a good writing partner can step up and pinch-hit for you. (It helps, too, when a pitch goes badly to have someone with whom to commiserate over beers at the inevitable post-mortem.) Finally, a writing partner can be the obvious solution to a well-known downside to the profession: it can be lonely. For many TV and film writers I know, taking on a partner rescued them from an experience of loneliness that, after a number of years, had grown literally intolerable. Next up, the Bad: For just as many writers I know, the thought of having to compromise their vision, negotiate scenes and dialogue, and split credit (and fees) is equally intolerable. The inverse of the loneliness to which writers often succumb is the sublime privacy and freedom from interference that a solo writer enjoys. “It’s bad enough,” one of my patients told me, “to have to take notes from agents, producers, directors and actors. But having to take them from a writing partner is maddening.” This patient, as you may have guessed, had worked with a partner for years before going her own way. Which brings up another dilemma that plagues writing partnerships: how you’re each perceived in the marketplace. Is one of you considered the more talented, funnier, easier to get along with? Within the partnership itself, is the division of labor fair, effective, logical? And who decides these concerns? Which of the two of you assumes the role of team spokesperson, agent liaison, the one who has the star’s ear on set? And, lastly, what happens when the two writers grow in different directions? When, for example, one has ambitions to write dramatic film or TV scripts, while the other prefers to stay in comedy? When one writer wants to try his or her hand at a novel or play? Or decides to go on a three-month spiritual retreat? What does the partner do, sit around and wait? Or start looking for a new partner? Which brings me, regrettably, to the aspect of writing partnerships that I’ve dubbed, the Ugly: As I mentioned up SuspenseMagazine.com 3 front, I do see writing teams in my therapy practice, and usually for the same reason I see romantic couples—issues involving money, communication, power, jealousy and fear of abandonment.