Title: Captured Lies
Author: Maggie Thom
Published: October 2012, Re-release March 19th
Publisher: Quadessence Solutions
Word Count: 97,000
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Recommended Age: Teen +
Synopsis:
She was kidnapped not once but twice and now someone wants her dead because of it…
Her life was a lie!
Bailey knew her upbringing wasn’t normal but she’s worked hard to stabilize her life. At 29, she finally has a good business, a stable home; her life is miles from that of her childhood. Then suddenly her mother dies, leaving a gaping hole and a discovery that they may not even be related. If Guy, the private investigator is to be believed, her life is a lie. Using the skills she learned on the streets, Bailey travels back through a sketchy and dangerous past, to find answers. Dodging bullets, staying ahead of those who want her dead and convincing Guy she can do it alone, are making it difficult to discover not only the secrets of her mother’s past but that of a family claiming she is theirs.
Everyone seems to have a story… but who’s telling the truth? And who wants her dead? Is Guy part of the solution? Or part of the problem? To discover the facts, she’ll have to untangle a web of deceit, lies, and secrets, dating back over thirty years.
But can she do it in time…
Excerpt from Captured Lies:
Bailey moved closer to the open door.
“Did you tell her?”
“No.” Something was mumbled she couldn’t make out, then, “…let me worry about that.”
“What’s happening?”
“Donna Saunders aka Donna Zajic, married to Doug Zajic, a Member of Parliament. Donna disappeared in July of 1983. There was suspected abuse. Several calls, no charges. She was never seen again after the early morning of July 6, 1983. There was even question of him murdering her. Since no body, no blood, no sign of foul play, they had to drop it. The car she took when she left was finally recovered in southeast Calgary. Apparently she gave it to some guy at the airport and paid him to park it miles away. No sign of her buying a ticket though, to fly anywhere. I think that’s where Mr. Lund comes in. I’m guessing he’s responsible for getting her a new name. I’m just not clear why. Nor do I understand this next part.” There was silence except for the clacking of the computer keys. “It seems our Mr. Lund was playing a bit of a nasty game. He was getting twenty thousand dollars for territory fees – don’t know what that means – and another twelve thousand for cabin fees from Mr. Zajic and was paying Donna eight thousand dollars. So he pocketed at least twenty-eight thousand dollars a month for himself. Not clear on whether it was agreed upon or what. I’m guessing it was blackmail. The man was a pro. The list of people he was being paid by for some crazy things – everyone from police officers, to lawyers, to judges, to members of parliament. Nasty man. He had to be responsible for Donna’s name change. I just don’t get why.”
“There’s no way in hell my mom was getting eight thousand dollars a month. We lived like rats in the sewer most of the time.”
“Did you tell her?”
“No.” Something was mumbled she couldn’t make out, then, “…let me worry about that.”
“What’s happening?”
“Donna Saunders aka Donna Zajic, married to Doug Zajic, a Member of Parliament. Donna disappeared in July of 1983. There was suspected abuse. Several calls, no charges. She was never seen again after the early morning of July 6, 1983. There was even question of him murdering her. Since no body, no blood, no sign of foul play, they had to drop it. The car she took when she left was finally recovered in southeast Calgary. Apparently she gave it to some guy at the airport and paid him to park it miles away. No sign of her buying a ticket though, to fly anywhere. I think that’s where Mr. Lund comes in. I’m guessing he’s responsible for getting her a new name. I’m just not clear why. Nor do I understand this next part.” There was silence except for the clacking of the computer keys. “It seems our Mr. Lund was playing a bit of a nasty game. He was getting twenty thousand dollars for territory fees – don’t know what that means – and another twelve thousand for cabin fees from Mr. Zajic and was paying Donna eight thousand dollars. So he pocketed at least twenty-eight thousand dollars a month for himself. Not clear on whether it was agreed upon or what. I’m guessing it was blackmail. The man was a pro. The list of people he was being paid by for some crazy things – everyone from police officers, to lawyers, to judges, to members of parliament. Nasty man. He had to be responsible for Donna’s name change. I just don’t get why.”
“There’s no way in hell my mom was getting eight thousand dollars a month. We lived like rats in the sewer most of the time.”
About the Author:
Award winning author, Maggie Thom, took the challenge and leapt off, leaving a fulltime, twenty year career in management, to write full time. After publishing her first suspense/thriller book Captured Lies, October 2012, she published her second novel, Tainted Waters, April, 2013. Tainted Waters went on to win Suspense and Thriller Book of the Year through Turning the Pages Magazine. She is excited to publish her third novel, Deceitful Truths, March 2014. An avid reader and writer her whole life, she decided to break the monotony of wishing to be an author by making it happen. She is an avid nature lover and likes nothing better than to take a book, hike to a remote spot by a river or waterfalls and read. Married to her best friend, she is learning that humor, love and patience help her navigate her way through her twins’ teen years. Her motto: Escape to read and Read to escape. “Maggie Thom writes a fast paced thriller laced with romance that keeps the reader interested and on edge!” InDtale Magazine.
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The Cuts
By Maggie Thom
By Maggie Thom
Talk to any author and they will tell you that writing a story is fun, exciting, demanding, frustrating, intriguing, compelling and overwhelming but most of all a labor of love. It has to be because once the first draft is done, that’s when the work really begins. That’s when the hair pulling, agonizing chore of reading through everything that has been written is gone through and the tough decision of what stays and what goes, has to be made. The cuts… are the hardest decision.
Now is when the author has to go through and make sure that what they have written makes sense. That the order of the things happening, makes sense. That the character doesn’t all of a sudden go from having green eyes to blue for no apparent reason. That the characters, setting and plot all fit the story.
Now is when the author has to go through and make sure that what they have written makes sense. That the order of the things happening, makes sense. That the character doesn’t all of a sudden go from having green eyes to blue for no apparent reason. That the characters, setting and plot all fit the story.
It sounds simple enough that of course you wouldn’t have those things happen. The truth is that it happens a lot. When you’re trying to keep track of what has been written in 20,000 words, 60,000, 100,000 words – every person, every job, every quirk, every physical attribute, every little thing about each person and then you have to keep track of each place, each item, each twist and turn as well as the entire plot… it happens.
An author has to read through their story over and over and over to try to catch all of this and to tighten it up and ensure it’s as tightly knit as it can be.
So here’s where it gets tough. To get to that point, a writer has to edit… and edit… and edit. It is tedious, frustrating and exciting, all at the same time. It’s about removing words that don’t fit with the story. Sometimes removing phrases, that although are appealing to the writer and sometimes are downright awesome, they just don’t work in this context. This is when it really gets agonizing because a paragraph might need to be cut and sometimes it might be a whole scene. It’s tedious, because you have to keep everything in mind that you have going on in the story and ensure that what you’ve written fits and is possible within the parameters of the plot. It’s frustrating, because sometimes you have to cut situations that you really like but the problem is that they don’t move the story along and may even detract from it. And it’s exciting, because a whole new, more engaging version, emerges.
When I was writing Captured Lies, there were some scenes that I had to cut that were downright painful to do. I really liked them but I realized that they had to go, they just became too detracting from the overall story. So out they went. And although it was really tough to do, I think it did make the story that much more compelling, suspenseful and interesting.
Editing and rewriting, really is the toughest part of writing. Writers often don’t like to let go of something they’ve written but cuts are necessary as well as painful but important to ensure that a story is the most compelling it can be.
Editing and rewriting, really is the toughest part of writing. Writers often don’t like to let go of something they’ve written but cuts are necessary as well as painful but important to ensure that a story is the most compelling it can be.
Giveaway Details:
There is a tour wide giveaway. Prizes include the following:
- $10 Amazon Gift Card
- 2 eBook copies of Tainted Waters
Giveaway is International.
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8 Comments
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Great excerpt!
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Great article! I love your books Maggie Thom, they are very well written, very engaging and they all pull me into the story. You know how to make the cut!
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This sounds really good. I look forward to reading it.
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This sounds like an exciting read! Thanks for the giveaway 🙂
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Thank you so much for hosting Captured Lies on your blog. I appreciate your sharing it with your followers. 🙂
