UNDER THE COVER!

Well, not really under the cover, but here IS the cover you've all been waiting for. Jefferson Airplane serenades Karoline into the world....When the truth is found to be lies, and all the joy within you dies, don't you want somebody to love, don't you need somebody to love...?

And here's a snippet of my wonderful Kirkus Review:

  "In her latest novel, Astolfo (Legacy, 2012, etc.) takes what at first glance appears to be a straightforward story of murder and guilt to an unexpected place ... where love is discovered.  -->

A deliciously vibrant portrait that realistically muddles good and evil."—Kirkus Reviews

Judge a Book by Its Cover! And - off to Guelp today.

Come over to see me at Alison Bruce's blog, Summer Shorts, since I am in Guelph with her today!

Also thinking about Sweet Karoline's cover. If Mel Bradshaw is right about the explosive nature of this book - maybe there should be a bomb on the cover?? What do you think??

Here's a trivia question for you: what singer do I see every time he comes to Toronto and what does he have to do with Sweet Karoline?

She's A Lady...NOT

Recently a friend of mine (let's call her Florence) lent my book, The Bridgeman, to a new acquaintance of hers. (Let's call her Gladys.) When Gladys was finished, she returned to Florence and asked her what kind of person I was. Gladys figured I must be a closet psychopath and how on earth could I be friends with the sweet Flo? Gladys didn't think I could possibly be a lady and depict the scary evil-doing that appears in my book.

Well, I must admit that Gladys is right about one thing. I am no lady. I am a bit of a loud mouth, I have been known to swear, I have even - on occasion - consumed too much wine. I don't feel comfortable with my ankles crossed. I can't cook and I do like calisthenics in the bedroom with my husband. I get incensed when I visit a public washroom and have to choose between "Men" and "Ladies". Why can't there be one for women? I mean, it's even one letter less. Do they think too many guys will make a mistake and miss the WO?

So I write about nasty things that happen, sometimes to good people, sometimes to innocent animals and even children. That does sound gruesome. But it's reality. It's the heart of darkness of humanity. I like to explore it because I find the human race so contradictory, fascinating, and puzzling. I want to see inside the criminal mind and try to explain it. Moreover, I want to punish the bad and reward the good.

I love dark, gritty, meaty mysteries like the kind Minette Walters writes, or sometimes P.D. James. They are women, too, I'd bet.

Contrawvessy

Or contro-vers-y. Doesn't matter how you pronounce it. I'm surprised that I am surprised by the debate that erupted over The Bridgeman. After all, I wrote it with the express purpose of shocking my readers. I wanted to present the dichotomy between the love that two people have for one another (Emily Taylor and her husband Langford) and the twisted lack of love that some people suffer from. To go even further, I wanted to demonstrate the evils of power: the use of physical strength or intellectual prowess over those less well equipped. Such as the abuse of domestic animals, who for the most part are passive, weaker, and not as schooled in manipulative ways...mostly because we've made them that way. I wanted Emily to question her judgement, too. How could she think the mild-mannered caretaker was what he appeared to be? Can people don masks that completely obscure their hideous sins? I think they can. In fact, most of us know they can - look at all the psychopaths who played the part of "quiet neighbors".  Emily wonders if she has been completely duped. Not only that, she's haunted by her own guilt, by the fact that she, too, has a mask, a hidden self. Despite the harshness of the puppy mill and the animal abuse club described in the book, it's essentially a novel of hope and love and the conquering of evil. I guess that's why I was surprised by the strong negative reactions from some readers. They seemed to focus on the evil and forget that, in the end, the bad guys got punished and the good guys were exonerated. Not only that, the puppies were freed. And Emily, though she still hasn't come to terms with her secret past, does achieve some measure of satisfaction. Ah, contrawvessy - good for the soul?

Evil: Born or Raised?

The Bridgeman         Victim      Legacy     Seventh Fire

By day, I am a mild-mannered middle-aged retired elementary school Principal. By night, I am the writer of crime and mystery that often involved gruesome murders and twisted psyches. When people read my books, they usually look at me (or my mild mannered mild aged picture) and ask me where on earth I get the disgusting ideas for my crime novels. I often respond (somewhat sarcastically) have you read the newspaper lately?

I must admit that Abnormal Psychology was my favorite subject. Maybe I should try to explain before you call emergency services. I went to university after three years of teaching and many other years of wishing I were a published writer instead. When I planned my degree beforehand, I assumed that English would be my major. Then along came psychology, with its tug toward a topic by which I was mesmerized, not only in my teaching profession, but also in my writing. A perfect marriage.

I love writing crime and mystery. I love the fact that there is a puzzle or a problem, and almost always, a good solution. Most of the time, justice is served. The problem is solved, the good are rewarded and the bad are punished. Therefore any social issue can be explored. There’s no place I won’t go if the story calls for me to go there.

On top of that, I had taught children. Some of them, to quote Jonathan Kellerman in his book on violent children, were “savage spawn”. Many of them were puzzles that I never solved in my real life. From my point of view, and that of the teachers in my school, the parents often appeared normal, caring, and just as puzzled as we were. Of course, there were times when it was obvious that the home background was fractured or dysfunctional or abusive. Those students we could explain to a certain extent.

The ones who appeared to come from average, dedicated and loving parents, and yet perpetrated some pretty wicked crimes, were the children I found fascinating. Sometimes I would look into their eyes and see nothing. Flat, dead, no-conscience, emotionless expressions. A few had a kind of glow that shone as bright and hurtful as a direct flashlight beam when they chose to turn their glare on you. I was hooked on what made them tick!

Then there were the kids from abusive, neglectful or insane situations who were sweet, kind, thoughtful people. The sort I employed as Peer Helpers because they knew how to read others and how to deal with deceit and cruelty.

There are theories that psychopaths have brains that are wired differently. They feel no empathy, are narcissistic and obsessed. Reader’s Digest once published an article entitled, “Psychopaths among us”. There are those who claim that a great number of CEO’s (those people who get paid millions of dollars to hire and fire) share a great many characteristics with psychopaths and sociopaths. They just use that extra “edge” and lack of sympathy in more socially acceptable ways.

The hidden evil in some people – the ability to wear a mask of nice while seething with twisted thoughts underneath – is even more fascinating to me. Once when I was driving through a small Ontario town, I had to wait at an old-fashioned drawbridge that spanned the canal. A man in a checkered jacket was working away at the wheels, a completely blank and bored look on his broad, plain face. I began to think – what if he were a murdered in disguise?

Thus was born The Bridgeman, my first mystery novel. “I deserve no more smiles, no friendship, no pity, no love, no feather or silk or fur, no soft skin.” My character had some self-recrimination, and turned out to be capable of love, so he was not completely savage, but he was close.

The story explores the man’s ability, however, to wear a mask on a daily basis, while he couldn’t seem to resist abusing the innocent. “If anyone guessed my secret, saw into my dark perverted heart, they would loathe me even more than I despise myself.” His words belie that fact that he went about his life, an ordinary life on the surface, yet was consumed with the thrill, the power of the destruction of another being. “I sliced and cut out the pieces of what had been a living, breathing, laughing, jumping, warm creature. I was its skin, its movement, its shape, its god, its creator, its destroyer.” And you thought Dexter was bad.

From my experiences in schools, or from the newspapers, where kids shot and killed other kids, burned down a house (with their families inside), tortured and maimed animals, my character, The Bridgeman, is not so far-fetched. Nor are the other diabolical characters in the ensuing novels of my series very far from reality. They are scary, but these people do exist.

However, what I love about the world of fiction – everything turns out all right in the end. Every time!

Catherine (Cathy) Astolfo

www.catherineastolfo.com

www.imajinbooks.com

Have You Met a Psychopath on the Road?

For my latest book, I am researching psychopaths. Talk about infusing your dreams with nightmarish faces and situations! When I was in university, psychology classes were, admittedly, my favourite. I’d thought English would be my first choice, but it was the study of human behaviour that interested me most. Maybe that’s because I was a teacher.

Not that all of the kids I taught were psychos, but there were a few. Some of them are now either CEO’s of big companies, living under a bridge, or in jail. The rest I’ve lost track of. A couple were only sheep in wolves’ clothing, because they turned around and became responsible citizens. Or maybe they are the ones who hide best. Maybe they’re like Dexter.

Those kids whose eyes glinted when they hurt another child, or flashed when you told them to sit down, or became vacant when you tried to instruct them – those were the ones I found fascinating.

In the case of my latest tome, the psychopath is an adult. Someone who manipulates and uses others strictly for her own comfort and gain. She appears to be caring and sweet on the outside, but inside…

So I want you to help me! On your road of life thus far, have you met a psychopath? Has someone completely and utterly fooled you, used you, discarded you? Or do you know someone who has had that experience? If so, write to me! Tell me all about it. I promise not to copy your story. I just want to glean the feelings. And don’t worry if you’re not a writer. The words don’t matter. The situations and the emotions are what interest me.

Email me at castolfo.com.

Visit my other psychopaths at The Bridgeman or Victim.