#BlogTour #CharacterSpotlight Dead and Gone by DL Michaels @DLMichaels_ @Aria_Fiction #Thriller

Today I welcome DL Michaels to my blog to talk about his character, Annie Parker, from his psychological thriller, Dead and Gone.

Please introduce us to your character and tell me how you created her …

Characters seem to form in a similar way to the actual birth process – mentally, a tiny seed of singular, defining, DNA, fuses with another particular, then growing organically. I wanted a protagonist that was female and a grandmother, and from there came the other characteristics of being in her 40’s, of mixed race and not being dysfunctional herself (as so many lead detectives are). Instead, Annie had to be strong. Her family needed her strength. She held them together, no matter what happened (as so many women do).  And I wanted the offender to commit a series of crimes that outraged us – until we understood the motivations and circumstances that led to them happening. Creating sympathy for the villain in a piece is always difficult, so it led to some very close scrutiny and structured rewrites.

Did you write the book to accommodate Annie or Annie to accommodate the book?

The plot came first. I was intrigued by the notion of people being bound together for life, by a childhood secret. After that, I had to figure out who those people might be, what their lifestyles would be like and how keeping the secret might affect them on a daily and long-term basis. In a way, the main protagonist, Annie was an afterthought, but certainly not a secondary character. It was quickly apparent that she would have to only be very clever in working out what the secret was, but she would have to have a special level of resilience to crack the case.

What do you like most about Annie?

A number of very powerful women come head to head, their fortunes tied together because of something that can’t be disclosed, and a tremendous battle of wits ensues. I think the main characters understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses and despite being on opposite sides, a certain respect comes from that.

What do you like least about Annie?

There’s nothing I don’t like about Annie. Everyone should have an Annie in their life. She’s a no-nonsense, straight-speaking, dust-yourself-down-and-get-on-with-it type of person. The type of friend or family member who’d you’d turn to for an ice bucket reminder to stop feeling sorry for yourself. There are other characters in the book who are deceptive and horrible, but that’s life, isn’t it? You have to work out who to trust and love, and sometimes you make mistakes by hitching your wagon to the wrong star.

Did your early readers/editorial team like her to start with or did you have to change her in any way?

Annie was an instant hit, but one of the others had to be toned down. I can’t say who, as it will give too much away.

Does she have any similarities with anyone real?

I know a lot of police officers – and some criminals too – so, yes, there are some ‘real’ life similarities, but I’d probably get in all kinds of trouble if I named names.  What Annie Parker definitely is not, is a Jane Tennison figure. She’s a more complex character than that, living in a more complex age.  She’s a widow, a mum, a grandmother and a detective, working on cases that haven’t been solved for decades, where the clues are sometimes even older than she is.

What are your plans for Annie?

Annie and her sidekick Nisha are (I think) inseparable, and there are already plans to have them return on another case.

Would you be friends in real life?

I’d like to think so, but I suspect Annie would find me too high maintenance!

If you’d like to find out more about Annie, then you need to get your hands on a copy of Dead and Gone, it’s out now, here’s the blurb …

Aria (1 May 2018)

In a world built on lies, who can you ever trust? A nail-biting thriller introducing DI Annie Parker. For fans of Angela Marsons and Tess Gerritson, Dead and Gone delivers twists at every deliciously unpredictable turn.

Paula Smith could have had it all… if it weren’t for her husband Danny who is resentful of her success and increasingly prone to alcoholic rages. She should leave him, but he knows something that could bring her whole world crashing down.

Sarah has found the kind of happiness with Martin she never thought possible. Yet, he has a secret that could threaten everything they share. But he is not the only one with a secret…

DI Annie Parker, mother, grandmother and widow, has plenty of baggage of her own, but she’s still determined to be the best police officer she can be. When she and her sergeant Nisha Patel hear about a 20-year-old murder that nobody knew about, nothing will stop them from tracking down the killer, even if it brings them up against one of the most dangerous crime families in the country.

Hugest thanks for joining me today, and for my spot on the tour! Keep up with the rest of the tour:

 

About the author …

DL Michaels lives in the Peak District, Derbyshire in England, where Dead and Gone is set, the first thriller to feature DI Annie Parker.

For fans of Angela Marsons and Tess Gerritson, Dead and Gone delivers twists at every deliciously unpredictable turn.

Paula Smith could have had it all… if it weren’t for her husband Danny who is resentful of her success and increasingly prone to alcoholic rages. She should leave him, but he knows something that could bring her whole world crashing down.

Sarah has found the kind of happiness with Martin she never thought possible. Yet, he has a secret that could threaten everything they share. But he is not the only one with a secret…

DI Annie Parker, mother, grandmother and widow, has plenty of baggage of her own, but she’s still determined to be the best police officer she can be. When she and her sergeant Nisha Patel hear about a 20-year-old murder that nobody knew about, nothing will stop them from tracking down the killer, even if it brings them up against one of the most dangerous crime families in the country.