RUN RUN RUN
Gingerbread Man – Episode 1
A Nursery Rhyme Suspense
By Lee Strauss
Mystery Sci-fi/
Romantic Suspense
Romantic Suspense
FRINGE meets CASTLE in this New Adult Sci-fi
Mystery Suspense.
Mystery Suspense.
College girl meets boy online.
A killer targets girls like her.
She's next on the list.
The boy wants to save her.
She thinks it's him.
It's worse than they both think.
RUN RUN RUN is the first part
of a three part episode - Gingerbread Man - in the romantic suspense series, A
Nursery Rhyme Suspense by Amazon best-selling author Lee Strauss.
of a three part episode - Gingerbread Man - in the romantic suspense series, A
Nursery Rhyme Suspense by Amazon best-selling author Lee Strauss.
Episode release dates:
1) Run Run Run - December 31
1) Run Run Run - December 31
2) As Fast As You Can - January 7
3) You Can't Catch Me - January 14
Gingerbread Man (ep 1-3) complete - January 28
Buy on December 31
Amazon | iBooks | Nook | Kobo | Google Play
Purchase:
Episode 3: http://www.amazon.ca/You-Cant-Catch-Gingerbread-episode-ebook/dp/B00Q8WP8II?tag=smarturl-ca-20
(Boxed
set will be released on Jan 28th)
AUTHOR
BIO:
I
write mixed genre Romance, most recently The Minstrel Series.
I also write fun, lower YA fiction (time-travel and fantasy) as ELLE Strauss. I divide my time between BC, Canada and Dresden, Germany and enjoy drinking coffee and eating chocolate in both places.
Author links:
I also write fun, lower YA fiction (time-travel and fantasy) as ELLE Strauss. I divide my time between BC, Canada and Dresden, Germany and enjoy drinking coffee and eating chocolate in both places.
Author links:
Excerpt:
SAGE
“I
met this guy,” Teagan said quietly. “He said something that kind of creeped me
out.”
met this guy,” Teagan said quietly. “He said something that kind of creeped me
out.”
I
blinked several times as I processed this and twisted to face her. “You’re online
dating?”
blinked several times as I processed this and twisted to face her. “You’re online
dating?”
She
shot me a horrified look. “No! It’s not a dating site. It’s a campus chat
room.”
shot me a horrified look. “No! It’s not a dating site. It’s a campus chat
room.”
Nora
swung her legs around and returned to a sitting position. “What’d he say?”
swung her legs around and returned to a sitting position. “What’d he say?”
“Well,”
Teagan began, “he told me that there had been a rape and that I should be
careful.”
Teagan began, “he told me that there had been a rape and that I should be
careful.”
I
didn’t get it. “Why does that creep you out?”
didn’t get it. “Why does that creep you out?”
“Because
he told me about the rape before it happened.”
he told me about the rape before it happened.”
What?
Nora and I chimed in together. “Before?”
Nora and I chimed in together. “Before?”
I
leaned forward and asked, “He predicted the rape? How?”
leaned forward and asked, “He predicted the rape? How?”
Teagan
shrugged. “Maybe he’s psychic?”
shrugged. “Maybe he’s psychic?”
“Or,”
Nora began, “he did it. His way of playing with your head.”
Nora began, “he did it. His way of playing with your head.”
Lee Strauss Guest Posts
Gingerbread Man
Why Serials?
What is the fascination with
serials? It seems like everyone is writing them now. And readers are reading
them. I can tell you from a writer’s perspective why I’m writing A Nursery
Rhyme Suspense, and as a reader I can tell you why I like to read them.
They are like literary TV shows.
I think most people would agree that television writing in the past decade has
been outstanding (for the most part). Think Breaking Bad, Friday Night Lights,
Gilmore Girls. There is a reason why these shows were so successful. The
writing is terrific.
There has also been a trend in
TV shows that follow one long story arc, rather than each episode being it’s
own arc. These have seen recent success as a result of streaming TV and sites
like Netflix that allow for binge watching. It’s easy to start from the
beginning and watch right through to the end. Breaking Bad is written this way
as is Terminator: The Sara Connor Chronicles and the first season of Veronica
Mars (VM was a hybrid: a season long story arc mixed with episodic short story
arcs)
Serials are like literary TV
shows. Some authors write whole seasons of six or more volumes to tell one
story. Some write short episodes, each 10k to 15k each. Others, like myself,
write longer episodes of more than 20k that would also qualify as novellas.
Episodic writing takes a lot of
thought. Whereas a novel as a beginning, middle and end, when writing serials,
each episode has to have a beginning, middle and end (that’s not to say the
ending won’t be a cliff – it most likely will – much like TV shows do, to
entice the viewer to tune in again next week or to click the next episode on
Netflix.) Episodes have to make sense on their own. I think that makes for
tighter and more interesting writing. At least it makes it a challenge to the
writer.
And like TV, each episode can be
slightly different in tone or style from the others, if the author choses. With
the Gingerbread Man, episode 1 is told from the Victim’s and the male
protagonist’s point of view with very few scenes from the female protagonist.
In episode 2 the point of view alternates between the male and female
protagonist and in the third episode, it’s told entirely from the male
protagonist’s point of view. These are devices that maybe wouldn’t work well in
one novel, but are fine in episodic writing.
Readers love serials for the
same reason they love their favorite TV shows. They can consume episodes in a
short amount of time, they anticipate the next installment and they grow attached
to the characters and their unique world and personal struggles.
If you’ve never tried reading a
serial before, I hope you will give Run
Run Run – Gingerbread Man a chance.
Lee
Why I Set A Nursery Rhyme
Suspense in Detroit.
One of the first things an
author has to do when beginning a new story idea is to decide where the story
takes place. In the same way a character is created and developed, with
physical and emotional characteristics and backstory for motivation, setting
needs to be established. A setting developed thoroughly can work as its own
character, making the story richer as a result.
I knew A Nursery Rhyme Suspense
serial series was going to fall in the sci-fi dystopian genre, but I really had
no idea where to set it until one day I turned on CNN and the travel program
Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain was on. And you guessed it, he was in
Detroit. I follow the news so I knew Detroit was a city in crisis and had
recently declared bankruptcy. When Anthony Bourdain led me through the abandoned
factories and neighborhoods, I knew I’d found my setting.
When you get into Gingerbread
Man, you’ll see that I’ve presented alternate versions of Detroit, taking many
artistic liberties. Sometimes my fictional Detroit is a city of wealth and
beauty and sometimes… it’s far worse. I created a fictional university so that
I could play around with setting and not be tied to real life facts (plus, I
didn’t want to shed any real universities in a bad light). Like many authors,
I’m grateful for sites like Google Earth, Wikipedia and YouTube that help me
get the details I’m after.
I’ve never visited Detroit in
real life, but I’d really like to one day.
Lee
AS FAST AS YOU CAN
YOU CAN’T CATCH ME
Read all three
episodes by January 14 or wait until January 28 for the compete boxed set.
episodes by January 14 or wait until January 28 for the compete boxed set.
GINGERBREAD MAN
(episodes 1-3
complete)
complete)
Preorder on AMAZON
Lee Strauss Interview questions.
Gingerbread Man
Q: How did you get the idea for A Nursery Rhyme Suspense
Series?
A: My husband and I were in London researching for a couple
of books in my romance series, and while walking around we started talking about
the story idea that led to Run Run Run.
I wish I could remember exactly what triggered the idea, but unfortunately,
that tidbit is lost. It was sometime later that I decided to work with the
Nursery Rhyme theme.
Q: Why are you writing it in episodes and not just one long
book?
A: Short answer: The story suits the episodic format. Each
episode is told in a different manner and isn’t streamlined enough to flow as
one narrative. Think about how TV shows work. Long answer: See my guest post
blog on Why Serials?
Q: What genres do you write?
A: I write two main genres. Science Fiction/Dystopian with
strong mystery, suspense and romantic elements. A Nursery Rhyme Suspense and
The Perception Series fit here. I also write Contemporary Romance, primarily
The Minstrel Series, which is set in the singer-songwriter world.
Q: You also write under a pen name?
A: I do. I write lighter YA fantasy as Elle Strauss
Q: Tell us a bit about your person life.
A: I was born in a suburb of Chicago. I split my time
between Kelowna, BC Canada and Dresden Germany. I’ve been married for 27 years
and have four grown children. My husband is a musician and works a lot in
Europe, which is why we live there for half of the year.
Q: How long have you been writing?
A: I’m a late bloomer. I didn’t start writing until my early
thirties.
Q: Are you a cat or a dog person?
A: Definitely cat. J
Q: What are you working on next?
A: I’m working on Row
Row Row Your Boat, the next installment in A Nursery Rhyme Suspense, and as
Elle Strauss I’m working on the 5th book in The Clockwise Series.
Q: Where can we find out more about you and your books?
A: Everything you’d like to know about my books and how to
follow me on social media can be found at leestraussbooks.com
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