#GuestPost Scary Stories by Elena Dillon #Author of BREATHE #thriller

Elena Dillon talks about scary books in today's feature on Rachelle's Window:

I used to like to read really scary books. Stephen King and Dean Koontz were some of my favorites.  I still really love suspense novels or even thrillers, no big surprise since I write Romantic Suspense.  Horror, however, gets to be too much for me and will give me screaming nightmares. 

What is it about a scary story?  Why do we love to be creeped out or sit on the edge of our seats? Is it the excitement of not knowing what will happen next?  I imagine I must look like such a weirdo when I am reading these kinds of stories.  Sometimes I can feel myself getting all cramped up and tense while I wait to see if the heroine is going to get away. Will she make it? Is the bad guy hiding around the corner?  I have caught my husband looking at me and shaking his head a few times.

 I do love me a good villain though.  I can’t wait to see, will he be caught or will he get away to cause more grief in the next book? I love to hate them.  I want to know what their motivation is. What would make the character do that? Why is he so evil?

After I wrote Breathe, people would tell me that my book was creepy or scary. I guess I accomplished what I set out to do, but I was surprised to find out that writing them is a lot different than reading them. I was never scared or freaked out for my heroine.  I didn’t like the villain, of course, but he had to be there.   I kind of liked that he came out as creepy as I intended.  Wasn’t that the point? I definitely liked being in the driver’s seat when it came to what happens to the bad guy and very cool side benefit of being an author? Writing it didn’t cause nightmares.

Book Description for Breathe:

Jasmine’s life wasn’t normal for a 16 year old girl.  It hadn’t been normal since the murder of her older sister, Daisy, two years ago. Her life had been changed forever. The monster that murdered Daisy was never caught.  That was the reason her family decided to move away from their hometown in Southern California, to start over.  Hopefully in a place where the last name Rourke wouldn’t bring on staring or judgment or morbid curiosity.

In Lafayette, Louisiana things are quite a bit different but in a good way.  Good manners, Cajun accents and a whole lot of Southern Hospitality all make her think things are going in the right direction.  On top of that the most gorgeous boy she has ever met is interested in her. Her new friends are better than she could have hoped for even if she is worried about what they might think when they find out who she is.  Life would be perfect if odd things didn’t keep happening.  Creepy phone calls, texts, and flowers in her locker start adding up quickly to something terrifying. Could the Monster have followed them to Lafayette? Was he coming after her this time?  Maybe she was just worrying unnecessarily…or not.

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