Murder by 4

Ah! I see Stephens joined another site. Can’t say that I blame her. It’s murder out there.

Not that I mind. After all, writing is her business. Mine’s homicide. A little more pressing, wouldn’t you say? In case you’re wondering, I’m Harper. Sam Harper and Stephens is one woman who won’t accept no for an answer; acts as if the word “can’t” doesn’t exist. She’s enough to drive a good man to drinking.

Don’t get me wrong. We're friends – good friends for a while now. But I was doing just fine or so I thought until she plunged into my life and changed everything. I'm no different than any other guy. I was content to go to work, put my time in, and get the hell out. All right, so my life wasn’t worth the powder it would take to blow it away. But she wouldn’t let go -- forced me to talk about my case. Wanted to know every detail about the criminals in SILENCED CRY. To be honest, I was ready to give up, but she insisted we dig in, work the clues until there was nothing left to question except my sanity. Thought that was my job -- to drive others crazy. Let me tell you, I found my match.

Don’t let what S. W. Vaughn said about Stephens give you the wrong impression. It’s worse, much worse. I’ve seen Stephens in action. Been in her office late at night – one, two in the morning. Everyone’s in bed; her husband, the kids, the dogs, everyone. Hell, I want to be in bed, but no, she won’t let things drop until all the details in each crime scene are just as they should be.

So what drives her? I mean, she sounds normal, seems to be in every other way. Know what she told me? It’s nothing less than a passion. Yeah, that's right. Passion. I think it goes much deeper. I’ve seen the look in her eyes when she reads e-mails from readers. The ones who like the complexity of the crimes we deal with, the characters Stephens makes me go after, the twists we have to follow to find the guilty. One person called her writing his new favorite rollercoaster ride. She liked that -- a lot.

Look, I’m just a cop, but I guess it makes sense. After all, where would she and I be without readers? Nowhere, my friend. Want to know what else? She said the day she forgets that is the day she’ll quit. So for crying out loud, keep those e-mails coming. The ten minutes she’s focused on you, means ten more minutes of sleep for me.

See you later,
Harper