Fiction Vixen Book Reviews is pleased to welcome Cynthia Eden to the blog today. She is kicking off her blog tour for her latest release, Deadly Fear.
Into the Minds of Monsters (or How To Research a Psychological Thriller)
Hi, everyone! It is great to be here (thank you, Fiction Vixen!).
Today, I want to talk a bit about monsters. No, I’m not referring to vampires or werewolves (though I do so adore those supernatural guys). Instead, I want to chat about the real-life monsters who are out there—killers, kidnappers, and arsonists. When I began writing my Deadly series for Grand Central’s Forever line, I knew that I wanted to explore the “real-life” monsters who can make the world such a scary place.
In DEADLY FEAR, my heroine and my hero are both FBI agents. They work for a fictional unit called the Serial Services Division (the SSD). Their job is to track and to apprehend serials. In order to do that tracking, well, my heroine Monica Davenport has to get into the minds of the killers. She’s a profiler, so it’s her job to think like a killer.
As I began to write DEADLY FEAR, researching a profiler’s job was the easy part for me. Researching the mind of a killer—that was harder. When you are researching a psychological thriller, you have to delve into the good and the bad parts of the human psyche. And there are some very bad parts out there. Lucky for me, I have a friend who teaches psychology classes at our local university. So, when I wanted some fast and hard advice on the darkness that can dwell behind the handsome face of the man next-door, I turned to her.
I don’t think that any person is wholly good. We all have a bit of darkness inside, don’t we? But can some people be completely bad? I think they can be…especially after talking with my friend and conducting my research. So many killers have walked the streets. Actually, here in the U.S., we have more serial killers than any other country! Not the best statistic for tourism!
Yes, researching a psychological thriller can take you down a dark and twisted path, but that is the path that a killer would take, so it’s the path I explored for my book.
And DEADLY FEAR is a dark book. The characters haven’t led perfect lives, but Monica and her hero, Luke Dante, are trying to do their best to fight on the side of the “good” guys (as close to good as they can be, anyway).
But what do you think? Are people truly 100% good? Are some folks totally evil? What’s your take?
Thanks for checking out my post and heading into the minds of monsters with me!
Cynthia Eden
Thank you Cynthia for the wonderful post and for sharing a little bit about your research for DEADLY FEAR .
Thanks to Hachette Book Group I have three copies of DEADLY FEAR by Cynthia Eden to give away to three lucky readers. To enter, simply answer Cynthia’s question from her blog post:
“But what do you think? Are people truly 100% good? Are some folks totally evil? What’s your take?”
Because the prizes are shipped directly from the publisher, contest is open to those with a US or Canadian mailing address, no PO boxes please. Giveaway is open until August 13, winner announced the next day. Good luck to all who enter!
About Sophia (FV)
Hmm. It seems like circumstances could dictate the degree of good or evil, but no one is 100% either way. I do think that the more a person can get away with socially or morally wrong behavior, the more evil they can become. If there is no one regulating their behavior (friends, family, lovers) they lose more of their humanity.
I think there's good and evil in everyone. No one can totally be 100% one way or the other.Its the way you choose to live your life that matters.You pick if you want to be good or bad.
elaing8(at)netscape(dot)net
No one in completely evil and no one is completely good either. It's the ying yang of the world. Good and evil. Thanks for the contest! Enjoy your summer!
I guess it would depend.. I don't think anyone is 100 percent anything. But I'm not saying the best of people are bad, I just don't think someone can be 100 good. Nobodies perfect.
natashajennex(at)gmail(dot)com
Great interview. Cynthia's book sounds good. I think there is good and evil in everyone.
Crystal816[at]hotmail[dot}com
I don't think it's possible for someone to be 100% good because everyone has their vices and naughty desires, but it is possible for someone to be completely bad/evil like serial killers. And the fact is that people can go either way depending on the choices they make in life.
lilazncutie1215(at)yahoo(dot)com
I don't think anyone is 100% good or bad. We have some of each in us. Some people make the decision to build on the good…others don't.
forwhlz at gmail dot com
I don't anyone can be 100% good or evil. I think we're all our own shade of grey falling somewhere inbetween.
cwilliams127 at gmail dot com
I agree with everyone, except I think some people are Evil, no one can say they're born that way but I think a conscience is what keeps people from wanting to do bad things. I'm not 100% good, but I think a lot of people live their lives trying to be. I think your surroundings make a huge impression on how you act and what you do.
chirth7@yahoo.com
Hi, Lillie! You make such a good point. I think if there is no regulator, folks will definitely push the boundaries.
Hi, elaing8! I so agree–it's the way you choose to live your life that matters the most.
Thanks for checking out the post, Taylor! I hope you're having a great summer!
So true, Natasha! No one is perfect!
Hey, Crystal! Thank you!
Oh, Jeanette, we do all have our vices, don't we? Though I like to think my chocolate vice is mostly harmless.
Sandy, I think those folks who choose to build on bad instead of good can be downright scary.
Chantel, I like your response–we're all a shade of grey.
Christine, you've brought up a great point. In my psych classes, the big discussion was always about the impact of nature vs. nurture. Are we born bad? Or do we become that way because of our environment?
I don't think anyone can be 100% good. It isn't possible and still be human, it's called making mistakes. Now, I have met someone purely evil by accident at my son's preschool, years ago. It was so bad the hairs on arm stood up. I found out a few months later he had murdered a couple of disabled women. I don't know if he was 100% evil, but it was close enough to scare me.
twoofakind12@yahoo.com
I do not think anyone is 100% good. The concept just boggles the mind. I most certainly am not. Could someone be or become 100% bad, perhaps. Much easier to believe that is possible. I do not however believe someone can be born bad.
robin [at] intensewhisper [dot] com
But what do you think? Are people truly 100% good? Are some folks totally evil? What’s your take?
No one is 100% good. We all have our darkside. We all think about doing the wrong thing sometimes. Life isn't always easy on us and through our experiences we are challenged constantly to do the right thing. We are in a constant battle for our souls and we all have to face evil at some point. Our actions make us who we are. Then there are some people who are born totally evil. There is not an ounce of good inside of them. I think it has alot to do with the family you are born into and their genes. Please enter me in contest.
I don't think people are 100% good or evil. I think we're all a mixture of everything. It's our choices that define whether we are good or evil or a mixture of both.
No, no one is totally good, and yes, there are some that are totally evil. Even the best person has told a little white lie once in awhile.
I'll keep this simple. No, no one is 100% good and yes, someone can be totally evil. History has shown us this many times over.
I think there is no 100% good or evil. I think we all possess good and evil in it. I mean think about it… we all have it in us.
Thanks for the chance!!!!
alliwantandmorebooks@ gmail.com
I don't think that someone can be 100% good or evil. I think that as people we strive to make the best decisions possible, but we all make mistakes, good and bad ones!
I don't think anyone is 100% good or evil. There is good and bad in everyone. It what are choices are that defines us.
I don't think people are all good, or all bad. I think it depends on the circumstances and the choices that are made.
Deadly Fear sounds like a fantastic book!
chey127 at hotmail dot com
Debbie, that is such a frightening story! Real-life can often be so scary.
Hey, Robin! I don't think anyone can be born bad, either. I like to think people have control over what they do/become.
Hi, Tore! Thanks for checking out the post. And you're right–we all have a dark side.
Lynnette, good point! Most folks are a mix of both.
Oh, Meredith, don't get me going on the white lies…those slip out so easily!
Scorpio, I'm a former history teacher, and you're making an excellent argument–some people have been terrifying.
Hey, Cecile! I agree.
Thanks for your take, Nicole! So true–we all make mistakes.
Jellybelly, choices…where would we be without 'em?
Thanks, chey! And I do feel like circumstances play a key role in the actions that people choose to take.
100% good or evil? Impossible. No matter whether you're totally committed to being the "good guy" or the evil villain, I believe that true human nature dictates one must be balanced in some way. Even the most angelic person has some measure of evil, even if only a jealous though or vindictive idea. Same can be said for evil peeps. Some way, somewhere, he/she has done good, I am certain of it!
Thanks
Kate aka YzhaBella
mleger0546(@)rogers(dot)com
Thank you all for the comments!!
I don't think anyone is 100% good but I do believe some are 100% evil just watch the news. It pretty bad.
usignolc(at)yahooDOTcom
I would like to believe that there is a modicum of good in everybody – I don't if I can say that there are people are 100% good, I mean in order for good to exist – evil must exist so it negates the possibility of complete goodness. There are people who cater to their evil side a lot more – it's hard to dissuade oneself that they are not evil incarnate in that case.
*hugs*
Anna
s7anna@yahoo.ca
I believe that there is people that are more good then evil and people that are more evil then good most of us fall in the middle some where.I hope I'm more good then evil.
sasluvbooks(at)yahoo.com
No one is 100% good. There was only one and he died over 2010 yrs ago. I do believe there are some people who are 100% bad. There are some people who have been evil since they were children. Their mind is not normal and they don't think about good or bad they just do what they feel like doing with out any regrets.
misskallie2000 at yahoo dot com
Good and evil are subjective. I think no one can be purely good or purely evil. There's genetics and mental illness to take into account….
lovemybabysquid at yahoo dot com
There is good and evil in everyone – it's how you choose to live your life that you push the other aside.
I believe there is good and evil in each person. It's the choices that we make that separate us.
Tricky question but I have to go to my ol' nature vs nurture argument. I don't think anyone is truly born 100% Evil but what they experience growing up can certainly cause them to BECOME that way!!
I think there is both in everyone. Some people pull towards one way or another and some sit in between. I could change my mind tomorrow. lol
dorcontest at gmail dot com
Everyone is made up of greys. No one is a 100% good or bad since everyone has that one thing that they'd sacrifice anything for, the weakness that dictates their actions.
joderjo402 AT gmail DOT com
Happy Release Day, Cynthia. I don't really believe people can truly be 100% good. Maybe a little evil exists in most of us, but we don't necessarily act on them. I do believe people can be pure evil with no redeeming qualities at all.
janie1215 AT excite DOT com
This is a hard one. There are too many variables, genetics, environment, which I believe is a very BIG part of how a person sees themselves and the world around them. but, there are definately medical deficiencies that cause certain 'evil' behavior. Most people, who grow up in a loving family try to be 'good' and even those who have 'evil' thoughts know good from bad but, cannot control what they do or do not have any reason to even care.
gcpeach17 at aol dot com
No I don't think it is possible for anyone to be 100% good. Everyone has wicked thoughts that they won't ever admit to but just because a person isn't good all the time doesn't automatically make them an evil person.
Stephanie G
sgradel(at)gmail(dot)com
Hello,
Thanks for the giveaway. I don't think that anyone is 100% good, even the best people can have lapses in judgement or make a mistake. Mostly, though, people determine their character through their choices and its not always as simple as good vs bad. Now, on the flip side, sometimes I think there are some truly evil people in the world (serial killers). Jennifer D.
There's no perfection in being human, so no 100% good. I think the victory here is in steadily aspiring to be good. Evil? Somehow that one seems so much more complete, so much less applicable to degrees of determination. Is the kidnapper who kills one child victim less evil than the predecessor who killed two? In my mind, no. Each is evil.
No person is truly good or truly evil. I am of the decision that people make their own choices and choose their own walks of life. But I do understand that there are those that are highly inclined to go in one direction or another. : P
Everyone makes their own choices. But I do believe that there are people who are close to 100% good or evil. But no one that has never done something that can swing them in the other direction.
bacchus76 at myself dot com
I think good & bad exist in everyone. We all have thoughts & inclinations that would be considered "bad", and even the worst of human beings may have impulses to do "good." It's our decisions to act on our impulses & thoughts that determine good or evil.
gevin13{at}gmail{dot}com
I don't think that anyone is totally evil or good. I think that they are a mix of both sometimes the bad does seem to out weigh the good though.
sstrode@scrtc.com
There are people who are all good (bless their hearts!), some totally bad (I watch too many crime shows!), but there are others who are a combination (hey, it's human!)!
delilah0180(at)yahoo(dot)com
I think we all have a combination of good and evil in us and it takes being raised right and realizing that good is always the better choice for people to make that part of their natures.
Iwould love to read this, thanks for hosting!
misusedinnocence@aol.com
I don't think anyone is 100% good or 100% evil. I believe we have tendencies and characters perhaps more inclined toward goodness or evil. I do believe that there is goodness in everyone, even those who appear to be truly evil. I like to believe that most people are msotly good.
bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com
I don't think anyone is 100% good. We all have done or said things we shouldn't. But I do believe that some people are totally evil. I don't think there is that many, for the good far out number the evil.
ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net
This is a hard question, common sense tells me no, no one person can be 100% good or 100% evil. But the thing is I know of one person (and only one) who I know very well, who I have never seen do, say or act in anyway, evil. There is not an evil bone in her body. So I guess it is possible.
I follow through GFC
This is a very hard question. I think people are a combination of good and evil.No one is 100 percent either way. I have two classmates who were extremely nice and your "Average Joes." They literally burned someone alive and are now sitting on death row. I like to hope that the good in most people outweigh the bad.
I think that most of us are mostly good with a touch of bad,but I believe that their are people out there who are truly evil,ie serial killers.I believe that there are a few totally good people walking around and we run into them maybe once in a lifetime.cardshark42(at)hotmail(dot)com
I never think anyone is 100% good. There has to be some self preservation just to stay alive. However, although I don't believe that people are born bad, I do believe that there are asocial and amoral types that develop that can be 100% bad.
I think some are totally evil, and unlike some of the other comments, yes some are totally good. but I think the majority are a mixture
I believe everybody has a little evil side
I think everybody is a mix of good and evil—but some have some much evil in them that is overwhelms any good and no one can see the little good they do have. The scary ones to me, though, are the ones that have a lot of evil, but mask it so well that they fool people into thinking that they are good.
farrell@crosslake.net
i think there can be people out there that are completely evil and completely good, but most of us regular folk are good with a little splash of evil. it's whether we act on it or not that makes us good…
k_sunshine1977 at yahoo dot com
I think most people are mostly good and a few are mostly evil.
I definitely think some people are evil through and through. Are some people born good..yes but pure as the drive snow..no
rhondastruthers atyahoo.ca
Mary D
zenrei57 (at) hotmail (dot) com
I think we are somewhere between polarities, given free will to make choices on a sliding scale of grey.
So no, I don't think it's possible for either extreme to exist in human form. For one thing, wouldn't *pure evil* annihilate itself? Or *pure goodness* sacrifice itself?
Humans, and perhaps all living creatures, are doomed/blessed to walk a rocky road between the two paths.
I don't think people are inherently evil-I think that some people choose evil because they like it.
I think that we all have the choice to do good or evil. God gave us free will.
susansmoaks at gmail dot com
Most people are good with some evilness thrown in. Nobody is good all of the time. There are also those who are truely evil and those people should be away from society rotting in prison.
I think most people are mostly good with just a little bit of evil mixed in. But I can't help but think that some people are truly evil!
tlannan30[at]yahoo[dot]com
I have always believed that there is some good in everyone and I keep wishing that people would stop proving me wrong … haha jk. everyone has it in them it just depends on whether they decide to use it or not.
I believe that everybody has the capability to do evil things as well as good. An individual may be heavily angled toward one or the other, but all you have to do is look at the news to find bad people who might do something good (maybe just a little thing) or vice versa. Sometimes it is hard to find the good, or even the bad, but it is there.
cgclynsg0 @ gmail dot com
I don't think ANYONE is 100% good or bad. They might be 99% in one direction, but there's usually at least something small that they've done, said or thought sometime in their life that tips them just a little bit in the other direction.
ayoung3360@hotmail.com
I believe that we are born with a sinful nature and, at some point we choose how we want to be. vidomich(at)yahoo(dot)com
I believe that people are inherently a mix of good and evil. Some people start out good and are derailed by life experience to the dark side. Other people are more inclined to the dark side but have elements of good to them as well…in a society that needs to affix labels to everything/everyone, this question proves no one is black or white, we all lie in shades of gray.
I believe there are some people who completely lack a conscience, lack empathy and compassion for others. Those people are capable of being completely evil under the right circumstances. I read "Alone with the Devil" by Ronald Markman, a courtroom psychiatrist. It's a compelling read if you're interested in the psychology of sociopathic killers.
I don't believe anyone is 100% good. I think some people become totally evil. garrettsambo@aol.com