Guestpost: Liesel K. Hill on writing and 'Dark Remnants'

I am very honoured to be hosting a guespost by the lovely Liesel K. Hill today as part of her blog tour for 'Dark Remnants'. And in even more amazing news, 'Dark Remants' is available for only $0.99 during the blog tour, so hop over to Amazon or Smashwords! 

Hello All, and thanks so much to Juli for having me here today.

I’m a very eclectic person--I love variety in colors, shapes, sizes, organization, and yes, even book genres. I have no fewer than fifty-three goodreads shelves, and will probably add more in the future.

In my writing, I write across three major genres: sci-fi/fantasy, historical fiction, and crime drama. My historical fiction tends to be somewhat literary, but my real forte is in fantasy.
So, why stray to write thriller crime novels you ask?
Like most bookish people, I’ve always been an avid reader. When I was a kid, I read The Boxcar Children. I loved the idea of children solving mysteries. I loved the whodunit of it all. One day, I started a new volume, and two chapters in guessed who the culprit was.

Time to graduate to harder mysteries.

I was still young at the time, so I moved up to--drum roll, please!--Nancy Drew! It didn’t bother me that Nancy was eighteen for about sixty-five years, that her boyfriend was so perfect he was a flat character, or that she managed to out-smart every cop, lawyer, and bad guy she happened across. I was in it for the whodunit. Once I get my teeth into a mystery, I gotta see it through.
Sometimes, I don’t even car who did it, as much as why. What chain of events led to the tragic murder, or bizarre set of events? I’m what you might call a COAM: a Chronic, Over-Analyzer of Motivations (a.k.a. an author) so you can imagine how hard it is for me to put down a great mystery.
Eventually I graduated to adult reads such as Mary Higgins-Clark (the woman’s a genius) and a few others, but I’ve never lost my passion for mystery.
My favorite TV shows also played a role. I’ve been a fan of CSI pretty much since the first episode of the original series aired. I can watch it for hours, just to watch the mysteries unfold. Understanding human motivation is a powerful thing.
I’m also into Criminal Minds (my true love) and I’ve watched lots of cop or otherwise law-enforcement-oriented shows over the years, from Third Watch to Rookie Blue to the X-Files. I even remember watching the Commish with my mom when I was a kid. Anyone remember that show?

And then there are cops in general. I know a few in real life and they are just the most down-to-earth, heroic, generous people you can imagine. They’re so great, if they were characters in fiction, most readers would probably find them unrealistic. I have so much respect for them and what they do. 

All these things came together and I found myself thinking about a story about a fairly average--though ridiculously intelligent and brave--heroine who throws herself into a dangerous world for chivalrous reasons, and gets herself onto the radar of good cop. Once the story started to percolate, it didn’t matter that this genre wasn’t my forte. I knew I’d have to write it sometime or it would keep me up at night.
Since this is the first book in the series, don’t expect all the big mysteries to be solved by the end, but see if you can spot a mystery that the characters think has been solved, but really hasn’t.

This is a series I intend to put out quickly--a new volume every 2-4 months if I can manage it. If you enjoy a good thriller, an attractive cop, a spunky heroine, and plenty of mystery and intrigue in dangerous places, you might enjoy Dark Remnants.
Happy mystery-reading, Everyone! And may the whodunits always be shocking! :D
P.S. Dark Remnants if available right now for $0.99! Get it before the promotion ends!

Does 'Dark Remnants' sound like the kind of book for you? Hop on over to  Liesel's Facebook, Twitter or blog to find out more! In more news, there's a Rafflecopter giveaway!