Catching Up with Carolyn Arnold

The Reading Cafe is happy to have Carolyn Arnold with us today.  Carolyn has just released Sacrifice, which is her third book in her Madison Knight series.

Let’s talk to Carolyn now.

 

TRC: Hi  Carolyn.  Thank you for taking the time to visit us at The Reading Cafe, to discuss your new release “Sacrifice”, as well as to give us an update as to what you have in store for us for the remainder of the year and in 2013.

 

TRC: Sacrifice was released on August 1st.  This is the third novel in your Madison Knight series.  For those people who may not have read this series, would you please give us a brief description?

Carolyn: The Madison Knight series is designed as a stand-alone, which means you can read these books out of order and still pick up on the series’ characters and the storyline.

Major Crimes Detective Madison Knight, fueled by determination to find justice for the victims, is a strong, independent female amidst a career dominated by men.  If you love a female lead, I invite you to meet Madison for yourself.

Madison Knight series in order:

TIES THAT BIND, 1st in the series, available now
Meet Madison Knight as she and partner must pull together to stop a potential serial killer.

JUSTIFIED, 2nd in the series, available now
See the softer side of Madison Knight in Justified as she’s assigned to a case on Christmas Eve. 

SACRIFICE, 3rd in the series, available now
Madison must risk all, including her career, to bring a killer to justice.

TRC: Would you please tell us about Madison, how you came up with the idea of a murder detective as your heroine?  Can you please also tell us the storyline in Sacrifice?

Carolyn: I enjoy reading and watching programs in the crime genre.  So, when I realized how much I loved writing, it seemed apt I would follow in line with what I chose for entertainment. 

Madison Knight was born because a lot of detective novels, television shows, or movies regularly depict a male detective as the lead and pair him with a submissive, female partner.  I didn’t want that.  Female cops have to be tough; they’re expected to compete at the same standards as men.  And, let’s face it, primarily it’s still a male-dominated career.  So not only do they have the rigors of the job, they are faced with a prejudice from “the boy’s club”.  They have to prove themselves strong and tough on a regular basis, despite being genetically pre-disposed with a more emotional make-up.  The great thing about female cops is they can use their emotion and intuition to pick up on small things their male counterpart may miss.

Here’s a copy of the jacket cover for SACRIFICE:

When the son of business tycoon Marcus Randall washes up on the shore of the Bradshaw River, Detective Madison Knight must sacrifice everything–including her career–to find justice for the “perfect murder”.

With Randall already on the radar of the Secret Service for fraud and counterfeiting, the investigation sheds new light and they require the full cooperation of the Stiles PD. But with power and money to back him, Marcus has a reach that extends right inside the police department.

If Madison’s going to find out the truth, she’ll have to sort through the lies and balance diplomacy with politics.

TRC: How many books do you plan for this series?

Carolyn: I don’t have a set number of books in mind but will keep writing Madison Knight as long as my readers want her, or her personal growth has been exhausted.  At this point, I have 3 released and a 4th written as a first draft.

TRC: What were your challenges in writing about Madison, who is a detective in major crimes division?

Carolyn: Research.  For one, I don’t have a background as a cop, nor do I have family who are.  So in order to make sure that my facts are accurate, this involves a lot of research on police department hierarchy and forensics.  And I never take one source and go from there.  I am careful to cross-reference material on a subject to make sure I have a solid understanding.

As for the politics among the ranks and the relationships, I immersed a part of myself in there.  What did I think it would be like to be a cop?  I built this on facts I had learned but humanized it.

According to a friend I’ve made, who had 30 years experience on the job, he swears I must have been a cop at one time.  As he described TIES THAT BIND, the first in the Madison Knight series:  “Police procedural at its best…. After 30 years as a cop I thought I would be bored with this book in less than a chapter, I was wrong. I just finished “Ties That bind” by Carolyn Arnold. It is amazing. If you like cop stories that are “technically correct”, read “Ties”. The attention to detail is incredible. From a cops perspective the technical details of the story are definitely legit. Arnold really did her homework in “Ties” researching interview techniques, evidence procedures, medical terminology, and legal issues that usually are painfully absent in most police procedural novels. Not in “Ties”, seriously the most technically correct police procedural novel I have ever read. The fictional side was even more entertaining than the facts! The relationships of the characters in the novel are as interesting and thought provoking, as the facts of the police and legal tactics described. I highly recommend “Ties That Bind”. If you want an entertaining, yet realistic read check it out.” 

TRC: Your website says you have another book coming this year… Assassination of a Dignitary.  Would you care to tell us the premise of this book and when are you expecting to release this book?

Carolyn: Assassination of a Dignitary is a thriller and is not part of the Madison Knight series.   It is set to release late fall/early winter 2012.

The following is the book blurb (it may be revised):
Raymond Hunter’s murderous past has returned and demands one final favor. Now, eighteen years later, settled as an accountant and family man, he assumed life would be calm. He thought wrong.  The Italian mafia wants him back.

The directions are simple:  Kill Governor Behler and be out for good.

An odd request since the mafia typically respects dignitaries, but in order to protect his family he has no choice but to accept the job.  He picks the date and location—Niagara Falls, New York—two hundred and forty miles away.  But when things go wrong, his family is kidnapped and he’s given twenty-four hours to set things right if he ever wants to see them again.  With time running out, Raymond discovers the real reason for the hit, and with law enforcement closing in, he fears he may not be able to save them.

TRC: You write a few different genres, such as Mystery/Suspense, Thrillers, Romance.  Do you have a preference?  Is there any other genre that interests you for the future?

Carolyn: My passion is between the mysteries and thrillers.

It’s ironic that you ask about other genres, because lately I’ve been dabbling in women’s fiction.  What started out as a short story may become a novelette or novella.  It’s probably a little soon to promote it, but I’m excited to say when it’s complete all proceeds will go to the Alzheimer’s Society in memoriam of my father-in-law.

TRC: Would you like to share with us what else you may have upcoming in 2012, as well as what you are projecting for 2013?

Carolyn: This year should see the release of ASSASSINATION OF A DIGNITARY, as discussed earlier.  It may possibly see the release of the women’s fiction piece I’m working on as well, but no promises there.

Next year should see the release of the 4th Madison Knight novel, FOUND INNOCENT, and possibly another novel.

TRC: Do you have a specific writing process?  Does it change when you are writing different genres? 

Carolyn: For the most part, I write as if I was watching a movie.  With my mysteries and thrillers, I have a basic premise as to the outcome but that doesn’t mean that by the time I get there that’s how things are.  I’ve been known to get to the end, and say, wait a minute this person’s not the killer, this one is.  It’s fun when that happens.  As it turned out, when it happened to me the clues were in the story all along.  This is the fun part about being a writer—going on unexpected journeys with your characters.

While I’m writing a first draft, I’ll have ideas for scenes or dialogue hit me, and I’ll note this at the end of where I’m at to pick up later.  There are times, however, I sit down to write and have no idea where I’m going next.  But, somehow, the scene(s) flow and before I know it I’ve written a lot of words.  It’s ironic, because those moments when I’m not sure exactly where the plot’s going can turn out to be some of the best writing sessions.

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Carolyn: Just that I want to thank my readers.  If it wasn’t for them, my words would fall on a page and grow stale.  My readers keep me going and add further purpose and direction to my life.

Also, I invite everyone to connect with me online, as follows:

Amazon Author Page• Website • Blog • Twitter • Facebook 

TRC:Thank you, Carolyn for giving us an update on what we can look forward to for the rest of this year and next.  Good luck on Sacrifice.