The
Heroes and Villains of Everyday Life
You go about your business and
suddenly you come across an individual who’s not exactly… kind.
Who’s not the type of person you’d like to ask to come over for dinner. Who’s definitely not the type of person you
would accept around your children without feeling the urge to load your weapon.
This individual could be male or
female, young or old, a stranger or a remote acquaintance. It doesn’t matter;
these people just happened to cross our paths regardless of how much we’d want
to never meet them again. Just to clarify, they could be the road rage driver
who cut in front of you then honked and yelled at you for no good reason. They
could be the creep who stalked your daughter on her way back from school. They
could be the neighbor who poured detergent at the root of your favorite tree
because she doesn’t like the fallen leaves on her lawn.
Or you find yourself humbled by
an act of kindness coming from a total stranger, someone who goes out of their
way to help you, while expecting nothing in return. Someone you’d love to have over for dinner,
but words fail to come out of your mouth to extend the invite. You can barely whisper
thank you as they turn to leave, but they’ll be forever in your heart, together
with the gratitude for having had the opportunity to meet them, even if for a
split second.
It doesn’t matter how these people
look like; authors build physiognomies easily. We don’t need much inspiration
for physical descriptions. Where these people really bring value into our
artistic lives is through allowing us a glimpse into their souls. I don’t mean that in a biblical way, not even
remotely. Pragmatically though, such people make great heroes or villains. Sometimes I like to look at one of these
individuals and ask myself, “If you were a serial killer, who would you
kill? How would you go about it? What would pleasure you the most? And how would I catch you?” Or, on the other
hand, “If you were my hero, how would you rescue me?”
Just like there are colors,
myriads of colors in nature, there are equally many facets to human behavior.
Sometimes people surprise us, whether in a good way or a bad one, but that
dimension, that depth of perception, of feeling, of emotion, we only find in
nature, in real people. In the strangers that provide us with inspiration for
characters that that will become memorable, whether heroes or villains.
I like to people watch sometimes,
looking for that edge of behavior, that wow moment when a complete stranger
becomes a hero at the local mall just by returning a wallet or helping someone
cross the street. All my characters are fictional, but here and there one of
the traits they exhibit comes from a person who has crossed my path, at some
point in time when I was watching. It’s discreet, buried amongst other
personality traits my character is exhibiting, and it’s totally unrecognizable.
After all, villains won’t admit they’re villains, and heroes don’t know they’re
heroes.
All I do is watch, pay attention to
the people that cross my path, and my world populates with countless heroes,
and a few villains too.
Dawn Girl
Tess Winnett Series
Book One
Leslie Wolfe
Genre: Crime Thriller / Police Procedural
Publisher: Italics Publishing
Date of Publication: 8/30/2016
ISBN: 978-1-945302-06-0
ASIN: B01I0X2YR0
Number of pages: 225
Word Count: 71,000
Cover Artist: Sam Roman
Tagline: Pristine, golden beaches and a dead body
Book Description:
Her blue eyes wide open, glossed over. A few specks of sand clung to her long, dark lashes. Her beautiful face, immobile, covered in sparkling flecks of sand. Her lips slightly parted as if to let a last breath escape.
Who is the beautiful girl found at dawn, on a deserted stretch of golden sand beach? What is her secret?
FBI Special Agent Tess Winnett searches for answers relentlessly. With each step, each new finding, she uncovers unsettling facts leading to a single possible conclusion: Dawn Girl is not the only victim. Her killer has killed before.
Hiding a terrible secret of her own, Special Agent Tess Winnett faces her inmost fears, in a heart-stopping race to catch a killer who’s getting ready to end yet another life. Will she find the killer in time? Will she be able to stop him? At what cost?
The rules of the game have changed.
So has the textbook definition of a serial killer.
Special Agent Tess Winnett is the bold, direct, and short-fused heroine of Dawn Girl. Putting her life on the line, she doesn’t pull any punches, searching only for the truth, and for the man who takes lives on her watch. Intelligent, resourceful, and uncompromising, Tess will take readers on a memorable, white-knuckled journey in this suspenseful, gripping serial killer thriller.
Excerpt:
She made an
effort to open her eyes, compelling her heavy eyelids to obey. She swallowed
hard, her throat raw and dry, as she urged the wave of nausea to subside. Dizzy
and confused, she struggled to gain awareness. Where was she? She felt numb and
shaky, unable to move, as if awakening from a deep sleep or a coma. She tried
to move her arms, but couldn’t. Something kept her immobilized, but didn’t hurt
her. Or maybe she couldn’t feel the pain, not anymore.
About the Author:
Bestselling author Leslie Wolfe is passionate about writing fiction, despite spending a significant number of years climbing the corporate ladder. Leaving the coveted world of boardrooms for the blissful peace of the Florida-based "Wolves’ den," Leslie answers one true calling: writing.
Leslie’s novels break the mold of traditional thrillers. Fascinated by technology and psychology, Leslie brings extensive background and research in these fields that empower and add texture to a signature, multi-dimensional, engaging writing style.
Leslie released the first novel, Executive, in October 2011. It was very well received, including inquiries from Hollywood. Since then, Leslie published numerous novels and enjoyed growing success and recognition in the marketplace. Among Leslie’s most notable works, The Watson Girl (2017) was recognized for offering a unique insight into the mind of a serial killer and a rarely seen first person account of his actions, in a dramatic and intense procedural thriller.
A complete list of Leslie’s titles is available at http://wolfenovels.com/titles
Follow Leslie on Twitter: @WolfeNovels
Leslie’s Goodreads profile: http://bit.ly/LWolfeGR
Like Leslie's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/wolfenovels
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wolfenovels
Visit Leslie’s website for the latest news: www.WolfeNovels.com
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3 $20 gift card combos, “Coffee and a Book,” Starbucks and Amazon gift cards $10 each.
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