A PussyCat with an Uzi

My mother-in-law works at a funeral home in Missouri, where many of her co-workers read my books.  They particularly like the Just Call Me Angel series.  After reading the series, one lady asked her if I was a violent person, wherein my mother-in-law chuckled and said, “Oh, no, she’s a pussycat…with an Oozie.”

I have spoken to numerous book clubs wherein a similar question has been posed:   How do you come up with all of the different ways to kill people in your books?

I started thinking… I wonder how many of my readers ponder the same question?  Does someone who writes about acts of violence have to be a violent person?

The Just Call Me Angel series is set in Chicago and deals with the Mafia from a feisty female viewpoint.  It’s unique because it shows a balance between the cold-hearted killer mentality and the tender-hearted nurturer perspective.  Sometimes lines are crossed, just like in real life; but, for the most part, Angel’s hope is that no one would die.

I’ll admit, when writing an Angel book, I study guns and explore the possibilities of how a particular weapon will cause death.  It’s morbid to think about in real life, but in the context of researching for a novel, it becomes exciting.

Does it make me a violent person?  No.  It makes me a creative person, who explores acts of violence only on the pages of my novels. 

Sometimes in life, violence is necessary.  For example, acts of self-defense, or in defense of another person, etc., but it certainly shouldn’t be the norm; and in my life it is not.

I only run around making people offers they can’t refuse in my books.  In real life, I am a pussycat who, for the most part, keeps her oozie tucked quietly away.  J