Guest Post by Author Lorne Oliver

Welcome to the Willow Tree, Lorne. Below you will find a blurb for Lorne's book, Red island, and a post on the subject of serial killers.

I would like to take this time to announce that coming very soon Red Island will be out in paperback.  To celebrate I am having 2 FREE days on June12 and 13^th.  And look for the second book in The Sgt. Reid Series, Red Serge, coming out at the end of August.

Amazon link to Red Island

Red Island - blurb

Was it the nightmare that woke Reid or the phone ringing in the middle of the night that brought on the dream? Sgt. Reid of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police moved his family to Prince Edward Island, “The Gentle Island,” to get away from crime and homicides. He had to get away from the nightmares and concentrate on his family.

It’s a lovely place to live. The sound of the ocean crashing against sandy beaches, sand dunes covered in tufts of dancing green grass…

…And then there is the young woman hanging from a tree. It isn’t a gentle island any more.

It’s Ben’s world.  Whether we live or die is all up to him and Reid is going to have to play his game.

Inside the Mind of the Red Island Killer

Before starting Red Island I wanted to write something that told the reader how a serial killer could possibly become a monster.  Was there a way to tell that little Teddy burning ants with a magnifying glass was going to be the torturer and killer of women when he grew up?   BUT, and it’s a big but (hence the capitals, duh) I didn’t want the killer to be the hero.  I wanted him to be someone that people could, even though he did disgustingly evil things, the reader could relate to, but not side with.  After all he was going to be doing some pretty nasty things to women.  Even though I write fiction about serial killers it still makes me sick that some people look up to them.  I didn’t want that to happen in my book.

The serial killer I write about is one of those news maker types like Ted Bundy, Dahmer, BTK, and Zodiac.  In my research into them I discovered that there are a lot more out there than the mass public ever hears about.

I developed the Red Island Killer on a couple of key factors that can often been found in known serial killers.  That is not to say that these are definitive.  Everyone out there is different.

1.      Emotional and psychological abuse – getting torn down with unexpected bouts of anger and insults can make the child crawl into themselves.  They can see the world as an evil place.

2.      Bedwetting past the age of 5 – when research was first done on serial killers the unholy trinity was starting fires, bedwetting, and cruelty to animals.  It is not believed that actually wetting the bed is a trait of a serial killer, it depends on how it is handled by others (as in teasing and getting angry) and how the person thinks of it themselves.

3.      Cruelty to animals – this is a biggie.  Jeffrey Dahmer, Dennis Rader (BTK)…reports say that most serial killers did some type of animal cruelty.  It is a way for them to live out their murderous fantasies.  But can also be a way to practice and hone their skills.

4.      Voyeurism – As they get into their teen years they can often get into voyeurism and fetishes starting as “harmless” as being a peeping-tom.  They can also develop into stealing women’s clothes and belongings, bondage, and rape.  Canadian serial killer, Colonel Russell Williams started his road to killing by breaking into houses and stealing women’s lingerie and wearing them.

5.      Sexual trauma – abuse, having to witness violent acts, and being sexually humiliated can lead to great anger and having violent fantasies.  Killer Henry Lee Lucas was forced to watch his prostitute mother have sex and on a few occasions was sent to school barefoot and wearing a dress and curlers.

In my mid-twenties I realised I could have been profiled as a serial killer.  I was the right age, I was a loner, I worked menial jobs, I studied people – it wouldn’t have taken much.  I was missing the key ingredients….of course there are always exceptions to the rule.

In Red Island you get to see what the police are doing, but you also get to see this guy growing up from a young kid being picked on to a terrifying monster.

Lorne's blog   You can learn more about Lorne's books. Thanks for stopping by today, Lorne.