I am so happy to share with you this awesome debut novel and a new author that I will be keeping my EYE on. We have a giveaway, review and some questions answered by the author along with an update on what is happening in her world of writing. So come on in and sit a spell. Let us entertain you. ^_^
A psychological thriller that will not leave you in the dark, because you will be turning on every light in the house to keep the terror at bay. Even the cover creeped me out. lol
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Too Dark To Sleep by Dianne Gallagher
Not only is this a story of a serial killer, but it is also a story of a woman’s descent into madness after the death of her child.
Maggie had tried to commit suicide and there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that she had meant business. The scars went from wrist to elbow. She entered the Darkness and could not seem to find her way back to the light.
She was approached to act as a consultant on the case she was working before she had tried to commit suicide. Two young women had been murdered, and she believed it was the same killer. Now there was a third.
She thought for some time, before she made the decision to take it on.
They teamed her up with a rookie, Nick Dublowski, who seemed to smile his way through life.
Would the case save her, or finish her off?
5 STARS – Would buy it for them (lol)
I won this book in a Giveaway on I Read A Book Once. I received the signed paperback and couldn’t help but start to read it immediately. I mean, look at the cover. And the title, so descriptive of the book. Thank you for the wonderful Giveaway.
Dianne Gallagher did an excellent job of making her psychological terror seem as if the dark were a physical being stalking Maggie. The details had chills running up and down my spine as I got up and turned on the lights. What was that flash out of the corner of my eye? I swear I keep seeing something. Goosebumps make the hair on my arms stand up as if by static electricity.
The suspense kept me engrossed in the book, unable to put it down.
I loved her description of Maggie:
“Everything about the woman should’ve read frail, but it didn’t. It was like looking at a knife blade in the sun. Cold. Hard. Sharp.”
I think the book did a great job of addressing depression, showing how it can dominate and take over a person’s life, leaving them feeling as if there is only one way out. BUT I don’t want you to think this book is only about depression.
It’s also about Maggie’s determination to make a serial killer pay for his crimes. It becomes her life’s mission, after he makes it personal. When you think it can’t get any deeper or darker, it does. It is a thriller of a highest caliber.
The ending blew me away. I would love to tell you about it, but you will have to read the book. If you like thrillers, this is one you don’t want to let pass you by.
This is Dianne Gallagher’s debut novel. If this is the beginning of her writing career, I can hardly wait to see what the future holds. Well done Dianne.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dianne has learned one big lesson. Life is never a straight line.
Starting in theatre with a BFA from the University of Minnesota, Dianne focused on performance intially, but then discovered playwriting with several of her competition-winning plays being performed at the University. A move to Los Angeles gave her the opportunity to do a little screenwriting. While working on her own spec material, she formatted, edited, critiqued scripts… and even wrote a redux of that B-movie classic, The Crawling Eye.
Now in the Chicago area, Dianne has put her energy into novels. After increased success in ghosting and editing, she started writing for herself. The result is the debut novel, Too Dark to Sleep.
FAQS ABOUT DIANNE:
When do you write?
When I have time and ideas. I’m a ruminator, so I usually have to walk around with an
idea for a while before I put anything on paper. I’m also not as disciplined as I should be.
I’m easily distracted unless I’m burning with a really good story. Of course, I could make
myself write, but I’d just end up with a lot of useless pages. When the stars align and I’m
in the groove, I can pop out 20 or more good pages at a sitting and that’s the best kind of
writing.
What kind of research do you do?
For Too Dark to Sleep, I used Practical Homicide Investigations by Vernon
Geberth, Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation by Barry Fisher and David Fisher, the
DSM-IV, some forensic psychology articles and a variety of other sources including, early
on, a Chicago police officer. I also spent a fair amount of time researching the Outfit and
their role in Chicago. Once my head is filled with the hard core stuff, I basically put it
aside and just write. Research is great, but a compelling story is better. It’s awkward to
read something that sounds like someone quoting what they learned, so much of the
research I do never makes it specifically to the page. The idea is not to read the facts, but
read the affects the facts have on the story.
Where do your ideas come from?
For Too Dark to Sleep, it all started after a conversation in which one question stuck with
me. What would you do if you lost everything? The conversation lasted hours and I’m sure
too much wine was consumed, but one question was the seed. There was this great
character floating around in my head who needed someplace to go, so I put the two
together and things just kind of fell into place.
For Indigo, my agent at the time suggested I come up with something new, so he threw
out a few suggested hot topics. Honestly, it’s really hard to write to market, but one of the
ideas led me to a twist in the approach… which led me to days of research and nothing
even remotely interesting or fun to write… but it did give me an interesting new
protagonist. There’s nothing quite so frustrating as a good character with no place
to play. Then one day I was watching this, well, silly show about psychic kids… which led
to me stumbling across Indigo children… which led to reading a ton of books and articles
on various subjects that seemed kind of connected… then, things just kind of fell into
place.
How long have you been writing?
A long time. My first “novel” was in fifth grade. My teacher, Mr. Zimmerman, was very
supportive. I might have pursued writing more had I not gotten bitten by the acting bug. I
did competitive speech and drama all through middle school and high school, majoring in
theater in college. About a year in, I realized I was a competent performer, but nothing
amazing. I decided to enter the university’s one-act play competition and won three years
in a row. Thought about getting a masters in that area. However, much to my
chagrine, Charles Nolte, who was teaching at the time at the University of Minnesota and
who loved my plays, told me I was really a novelist… not a playwright. I tried to prove him wrong for many years. When my husband decided to go to film school in California, I tried my hand at screenwriting. When we moved back to the Midwest, I switched to editing, critiquing and ghosting fiction while we raised two kids. Then after some successes in the ghosting and rewriting field, I realized it was time to stop selling my work to my clients and start writing for myself. So here I am. Even though Too Dark to Sleep is my first novel… I’ve got a lot of writing under my belt.
Who do you read?
Oddly enough, I don’t read in my genre. I’m a huge sci-fi geek. Bradbury’s Illustrated
Man got me started at a very early age. I also love William Gibson, Larry Niven, Asimov…
you know the standards. Love the Year’s Best Science Fiction anthologies. When I need a
really good laugh, Christopher Moore is a huge favorite. Honestly, when I read, I read to
get away and to relax.
WIP
I’m working on the first book of a new (and slightly less noir) mystery series. Indigo should be ready for release later this year.
Synopsis:
A sleepy Illinois suburb is rocked when one of its children doesn’t come home. And not just any child. An Indigo child. Psychologist Sid Adler is contracted to interview the Indigo children and their families. And she’s sure here’s something even more dangerous than a child abductor lurking in the quiet town.
I’ve got about a hundred pages of the next Maggie Quinn book and hope to release that some time next year.
Feel free to stalk Dianne at the links below:
Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest / LinkedIn
To purchase Dianne Gallagher’s debut novel, simply click on the cover below.
GIVEAWAY
Dianne Gallagher is offering for the Giveaway two signed paperbacks to domestic (US) winners and two signed ebooks (mobi, epub or pdf) to international winners.
Easy entry as always, just leave your email address and answer the question:
What would you do if you lost everything? I chose this question because it was Dianne’s inspiration for this book, Too Dark To Sleep.
Signed paperback winners: Daphne and Kristie
Signed ebook winners: Laura and Tamara
Congratulations and a big thank you to all you wonderful commenters!
Giveaway is Closed.
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Carly M. Duncan is a television producer by day and a writer whenever there is time. Her first short story was published when she was in high school after a writing group prompted her to begin blogging before it was cool. Carly’s debut novel, Marcie, was released in 2013. Though she’ll forever be a California girl at heart, she now lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband, two children and beloved Westie.
