After finishing the galleys of my first book, a reader asked me, "Why do you write about murder? Doesn't all that gory stuff mean you're kind of . . . twisted?"
I've thought a lot about that question. If he asked me today, here's what I'd say:
Crime fiction taps into a deeper realm within us all. There is a murder, violent death by Cain's hand. The fabric of society is ripped open, damaged. Someone must step in, make things right. Our hero enters the killer's world, she battles forces beyond her comprehension in a world where evil reigns. She takes us with her into that world and we are safe in the knowledge that she will do what must be done. Our hero keeps us a hair's breadth from the abyss, sacrificing all to bring the killer to justice, to repair the damage, to speak for the dead. To speak for us.
S0 . . . that's why I write crime fiction. And yes, I am a HUGE fan of Joseph Campbell. Nuff' said.