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In A Promise of Revenge (The Death of Javier), are any of the characters real or are
the events from your own life?
Thank goodness, no! The people and events are all made up. Like many writers, I draw upon
past experiences, research and contacts to develop composites of people, events and places. If
you look carefully at the characters, you may be able to identify traits or mannerisms that
belong to someone you know. I have very few ties to the characters in this book. But I have
struggled with excess weight for most of my life and I was born in Indiana.
Some of the characters in A Promise of Revenge (The Death of Javier) seem so real.
Are you sure they're made up?
The feelings expressed by the characters are common to most people, and for that reason the
characters seem real to most readers. When I write, I try to put myself into the character that I
am writing about, and ask questions like, what can this person see, hear, touch and even smell.
Also, I ask questions about the character's feelings, the impact of an event, and how would the
person act or react, given the history, training, experiences or other details about that person.
“Dyna”?
Javier is pronounced, HAH vee air, and Dyna, DYE nah.
Do you have any more books in the works?
Definitely! Some of the characters have generated enough interest and materials to form the basis for their
own books. The Secret at St. Sans, which is the next book in the series, A Promise of Revenge, became
available in 2004. A Promise of Revenge will continue with “More Than Guilty,” scheduled for completion
in 2005. Other books are in the works. For previews of these books, go to the top of this page, click on the
tab entitled “Her Books,” then go to the book that you want to preview, and click on the preview icon.
Written in an easy-to-read style, the series is suitable for a wide range of readers. The target audience
for this series includes persons who enjoy reading murder mysteries, especially novels with subplots
dealing with medical and legal issues. Also, fans of crime dramas and soap operas will enjoy this
series because of the interaction between multiple characters and the unexpected twists.
What is unusual or unique about this book series?
The series is unique because it includes interactions between characters from multiple professions,
such as doctors, lawyers, pharmacists, law enforcement personnel and others. Another unique aspect
of this book series is that it contains no profanity nor sexually explicit scenes. Further, the plot
outcomes are sometimes unexpected. And no, the villain doesn't always go to jail in the end.
“trihyperboodiol” appears. How do you pronounce this word and what is it?
Trihyperboodiol is pronounced, try hi per BOO dee all. It is a made up name for a drug, and is an important part
of the next book, The Secret at St. Sans. By the way, the section where this word appears is the preview
section for the next book, The Secret at St. Sans. To find out why the drug is important in that book, you'll
have to read that book.
This book might be compared to a prequel; it provides background information about some of the
characters. Also, A Promise of Revenge (The Death of Javier) contains tiny bits of later books in the
series. While reading this book helps in understanding the characters, each book can be read apart from the
others.
Do other books in the series cover long time periods?
The next two books, The Secret at St. Sans and “More Than Guilty” involve shorter time periods. Each
covers a period of about a year.
Writing novels is one of my life's goals. When I first graduated from law school, more than twenty years ago, I wanted to
write novels. I subscribed to a writing magazine, and jotted down ideas. But other parts of my life called me first, like paying
bills and eating. Then, several years ago, after meeting two unique writers, I decided to make this goal a reality. One of the
women faced some unusual times in her life, but wrote plays and even a full-length screen play! The other woman, a single
parent, wrote a novel while working full-time! Her secret was simple: Get up just a little earlier, write when you can, even if
it's just a few lines, and don't give up. Her formula worked for me too, and resulted in two books being completed within
months of each other, namely A Promise of Revenge (The Death of Javier) and my 2004 book, The Secret at St. Sans.
These books weren't written overnight; the concept for the series was born in 1998 on a vacation to Missouri.
(The Death of Javier)?
To sharpen my skills in scene creation, I took courses in audio and visual production. One of the
key parts of writing fiction is being able to paint a picture with words so that others can see and
experience the same thing.
Javier)?
Personally, I think the most fascinating component of this book is how the subplots intertwine.
In life, few extraordinary experiences exist in isolation. Usually, some smaller, seemingly trivial
or unrelated events happen, and then BOOM! Something major happens next. For example, a
decision made by one person to leave five minutes later for work, may result in that person
crossing the path of someone new. Recognizing the interconnectedness of events in real life,
my books have multiple plots occurring at the same time.
Most of all, I hope that readers will enjoy this book, and identify in some way with the feelings of at
least one character, or with certain experiences of a character or with the period covered by the book.
But it would be nice if readers thought about the choices that the characters made, and how they might
react if placed in similar circumstances. What would you do for a loved one? Give up a kidney? Delay
your dreams to help someone else out? Take care of younger brothers and sisters? Sacrifice something
precious so that your loved ones can have a better life?
©2005 Terri Kay. All rights reserved.