Landon Parham's Blog - Posts Tagged "thriller"
First Night of Summer Book Trailer
New release! First Night of Summer book trailer. Be sure to watch on youtube or author page. Let me know your feedback and enjoy!
Landon Parham
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_FI2ELrcV4
All Kindle, iBook, and Nook ebook versions on sale for $5.99 all summer. Buy your copy now!
First Night of Summer
Landon Parham
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_FI2ELrcV4
All Kindle, iBook, and Nook ebook versions on sale for $5.99 all summer. Buy your copy now!
First Night of Summer
Finalist in Readers' Favorite International Book Award Contest
NEW Announcement! "First Night of Summer" became a finalist in the Readers Favorite International Book Award contest in Miami.
A Happy Ending
Each time someone reads "First Night of Summer", it helps to raise awareness for the safety and welfare of children.
I was touched to hear the story of a reader just the other day. He came to me and explained that his daughter is a single mother with an eight-year-old daughter of her own. He recently found out that she had a new boyfriend hanging around, and wondered if he should look the guy up--just for fun and to satisfy his curiosity. What he found blew him away and came as a shock.
The new boyfriend had a record, and a full conviction as a sex-offender with a child. The father called his daughter immediately and explained the situation. She was dumbfounded. The very next day, the boyfriend was scheduled to babysit her eight-year-old daughter by himself at a nearby water park.
Because this little girl's grandfather had just finished "First Night of Summer", the seed was planted that people are not always who they appear to be. He discovered that his granddaughter's future caretaker had the potential, and history, to cause her harm.
I have always said, if "First Night of Summer" can save ONE child from a terrible experience, all the difficulty in creating it will have been worth it. And now it is!
I share this because our world is too uncomfortable, by and large, to speak of the taboo subject--child predation. Only through awareness can we protect the innocent. Join me and help raise awareness through fiction.
I was touched to hear the story of a reader just the other day. He came to me and explained that his daughter is a single mother with an eight-year-old daughter of her own. He recently found out that she had a new boyfriend hanging around, and wondered if he should look the guy up--just for fun and to satisfy his curiosity. What he found blew him away and came as a shock.
The new boyfriend had a record, and a full conviction as a sex-offender with a child. The father called his daughter immediately and explained the situation. She was dumbfounded. The very next day, the boyfriend was scheduled to babysit her eight-year-old daughter by himself at a nearby water park.
Because this little girl's grandfather had just finished "First Night of Summer", the seed was planted that people are not always who they appear to be. He discovered that his granddaughter's future caretaker had the potential, and history, to cause her harm.
I have always said, if "First Night of Summer" can save ONE child from a terrible experience, all the difficulty in creating it will have been worth it. And now it is!
I share this because our world is too uncomfortable, by and large, to speak of the taboo subject--child predation. Only through awareness can we protect the innocent. Join me and help raise awareness through fiction.
LIVE Twitter Chat Tonight 10 pm EST
LIVE Twitter Chat @ 10 PM EST
Party Begins Tonight! Tuesday, July 16th 2013. Join us to discuss First Night of Summer with @LandonParham #ParhamWeek
Party Begins Tonight! Tuesday, July 16th 2013. Join us to discuss First Night of Summer with @LandonParham #ParhamWeek
Sandra Brown's Author Pick - Debut Authors Collection
https://ebookstore.sony.com/collectio...
New York Times #1 bestselling author, Sandra Brown, and Sony Reader have just endorsed First Night of Summer on Sony's "Debut Authors Collection" page.
Click the link above to check it out. And be sure to take a look at Sandra's new book, Breath of Scandal, while you're there.
Feel free to ask me questions or post comments.
Landon Parham
New York Times #1 bestselling author, Sandra Brown, and Sony Reader have just endorsed First Night of Summer on Sony's "Debut Authors Collection" page.
Click the link above to check it out. And be sure to take a look at Sandra's new book, Breath of Scandal, while you're there.
Feel free to ask me questions or post comments.
Landon Parham
Author's Note
Disassociation from reality is the most deplorable act a society can commit. Sweep all the taboo unpleasantries of life under the rug, and there they will reside, just as dangerous, forever lurking beneath the surface.
In the United States alone, a child goes missing every forty seconds. While most are recovered alive and unharmed, many are forced to suffer the indignity and pain of abuse, often sexual.
Each year, approximately one hundred of these children are brutally murdered at the hands of their abductors. Countless others are never added to this statistic because they remain lost, never to be found or heard from again.
In the United States alone, a child goes missing every forty seconds. While most are recovered alive and unharmed, many are forced to suffer the indignity and pain of abuse, often sexual.
Each year, approximately one hundred of these children are brutally murdered at the hands of their abductors. Countless others are never added to this statistic because they remain lost, never to be found or heard from again.
*Live* with Trends & Friends Talk Show- Author, Landon Parham
Author, Landon Parham discusses his debut suspense novel, First Night of Summer.
Click to watch video:
http://www.everythinglubbock.com/stor...
Click to watch video:
http://www.everythinglubbock.com/stor...
The Responsibilities of Thriller Authors
As an author, there are certain responsibilities that come with the territory. We have a platform and, therefore, should respect the reality that our words will reach beyond our own minds and impress our personal views and opinions upon others—regardless of what those views and opinions may be. On some level, others will get a glimpse into our imaginations, personal experiences, thoughts, and doctrine. Intended or not, this is simply the way of it.
Personally, I write fiction. And although fiction is technically defined as a work of the imagination, all writers draw from personal experience by some degree. As people who believe that the words we place onto paper have value, value enough to submit to others for their enjoyment…judgment…education…I ask you, what is your goal? Beyond the monetary achievement of provisions, what, if anything, is the deeper meaning to your prose? How do you want to affect readers? To sum it up, what is the most basic feeling you want them to walk away with?
In the next few hundred words, I want to explain why I do what I do. At the very least, I hope you find it interesting. At best…well, I hope you find it inspiring.
The number one question I am asked as a thriller writer is this: “How can you write about such horrible things?” The second most asked question about my writing is: “How do you capture so much raw emotion?”
If you read my debut novel, First Night of Summer, you don’t have to go far before realizing that I am going to confront an exceedingly taboo subject. Having said that, you don’t have to read much further to understand that the deplorable subject matter is balanced by the deep love of family, the indelible gumption of the human spirit, and the profound power of forgiveness that has the ability to soothe the evilest of wrongdoings.
My most influential author, Dean Koontz, said, “If we are not willing to acknowledge evil, we will never stand up to it.”
Another of my favorite quotes is by Edmund Burke. He said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
My purest passion in life—writer or not—is to shed light on issues that the world at large is unwilling to acknowledge. The kind of issues that when finally talked about are referred to with benign words and phrases in order tame their despicable nature. In doing so, those who have not suffered such atrocities may digest the information in a manner as to not disrupt the delicate balance of their daily existence.
As strong a statement as that may be, I go back to where I began. As an author, who is my responsibility to? Is it to the reader? The real life people who inspire my characters and their hardships? Perhaps even the demons I strive to expose through metaphor and analogy. Or, why not all of them? Why can I, we, the creators and directors of fiction, not deliver the goods to all concerned?
If a villain in a story is not exposed for who they truly are, who does that help? My opinion is that it only helps the people who are like that in the real world. The last thing evil wants is a spotlight, so I turn on the lights and show the truth.
If the struggle of a parent…spouse…lover…friend…is not accurately portrayed, who does that reach? Who does it assist in their personal life? To me, it seems like it helps no one—no one except those who wish to turn a blind eye on those who have suffered deep tragedy.
The old saying, don’t judge someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes, is as accurate today as it ever was.
To readers, be not afraid to feel emotion—deeply. Be not afraid to learn about the real truths. Be not afraid to understand—the good and the bad.
Writers, be not afraid to stretch the boundaries of your characters. Be not afraid of putting true meaning into your stories. If you make it personal, I promise it will glow brighter than you ever imagined. Lastly: Be not afraid of criticism. When someone goes to the effort to criticize, it’s because you struck a chord.
I’d like to leave you all with something; something that provides both peace and motivation for me—not merely with writing, but also my daily walk.
You can’t change everyone’s mind, but you can show them a different perspective.
I believe this to be the truest task of good story, fiction or otherwise.
Personally, I write fiction. And although fiction is technically defined as a work of the imagination, all writers draw from personal experience by some degree. As people who believe that the words we place onto paper have value, value enough to submit to others for their enjoyment…judgment…education…I ask you, what is your goal? Beyond the monetary achievement of provisions, what, if anything, is the deeper meaning to your prose? How do you want to affect readers? To sum it up, what is the most basic feeling you want them to walk away with?
In the next few hundred words, I want to explain why I do what I do. At the very least, I hope you find it interesting. At best…well, I hope you find it inspiring.
The number one question I am asked as a thriller writer is this: “How can you write about such horrible things?” The second most asked question about my writing is: “How do you capture so much raw emotion?”
If you read my debut novel, First Night of Summer, you don’t have to go far before realizing that I am going to confront an exceedingly taboo subject. Having said that, you don’t have to read much further to understand that the deplorable subject matter is balanced by the deep love of family, the indelible gumption of the human spirit, and the profound power of forgiveness that has the ability to soothe the evilest of wrongdoings.
My most influential author, Dean Koontz, said, “If we are not willing to acknowledge evil, we will never stand up to it.”
Another of my favorite quotes is by Edmund Burke. He said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
My purest passion in life—writer or not—is to shed light on issues that the world at large is unwilling to acknowledge. The kind of issues that when finally talked about are referred to with benign words and phrases in order tame their despicable nature. In doing so, those who have not suffered such atrocities may digest the information in a manner as to not disrupt the delicate balance of their daily existence.
As strong a statement as that may be, I go back to where I began. As an author, who is my responsibility to? Is it to the reader? The real life people who inspire my characters and their hardships? Perhaps even the demons I strive to expose through metaphor and analogy. Or, why not all of them? Why can I, we, the creators and directors of fiction, not deliver the goods to all concerned?
If a villain in a story is not exposed for who they truly are, who does that help? My opinion is that it only helps the people who are like that in the real world. The last thing evil wants is a spotlight, so I turn on the lights and show the truth.
If the struggle of a parent…spouse…lover…friend…is not accurately portrayed, who does that reach? Who does it assist in their personal life? To me, it seems like it helps no one—no one except those who wish to turn a blind eye on those who have suffered deep tragedy.
The old saying, don’t judge someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes, is as accurate today as it ever was.
To readers, be not afraid to feel emotion—deeply. Be not afraid to learn about the real truths. Be not afraid to understand—the good and the bad.
Writers, be not afraid to stretch the boundaries of your characters. Be not afraid of putting true meaning into your stories. If you make it personal, I promise it will glow brighter than you ever imagined. Lastly: Be not afraid of criticism. When someone goes to the effort to criticize, it’s because you struck a chord.
I’d like to leave you all with something; something that provides both peace and motivation for me—not merely with writing, but also my daily walk.
You can’t change everyone’s mind, but you can show them a different perspective.
I believe this to be the truest task of good story, fiction or otherwise.
