On Guilt

“Guilt is the price we pay willingly for doing what we are going to do anyway.”
Isabelle Holland

JAN: I'm fascinated by guilt, in part because it is so destructive, but also because I've known and profiled a few sociopaths. The complete absence of guilt is startling. You can actually see the ability to feel guilt missing from someone's eyes.I used to think I always felt guilty because I was Irish-Catholic, but I'm starting to think it's just an inborn trait. A tendency to self-criticism. Too much of that tendency is self-destructive. Too little and you can destroy others with abandon.Anyway, murder mysteries are all about guilt, right? Only I find that I use guilt more in the creation of my protagonist, Hallie Ahern, than in the creation of my bad guys.

In past books, Hallie has wrestled with the lines she crosses in journalism to complete her investigation. In this book, she is wrestling with the lines of humanity she crosses to do her job as a journalist.I know Hallie Ephron wrote an entire mystery entitled Guilt, and will have a lot to offer on this topic. But I'm also wondering how everyone else makes literary use of the incredible power of guilt.

RO: I've got the Catholic thing, too, so guilt is a part of my life. I feel guilty about something every day (I'm really revealing all of my neuroses in this blog, aren't I?)- even if it's something as small as not sending a thank you note fast enough. (Thank you Alice and Alison...the notes are coming.)Perhaps that's the reason my characters are remarkably guilt-free. Maybe that's my fantasy...the way nebbish-y guys write superheroes.Since I write cozies, I haven't dealt with hardened criminals yet. My bad guys seem to fall into the amoral greed-lust-revenge crowd, and - at least as I've created them - they have the ability to do what they think must be done unfettered by anything as annoying as guilt.

ROBERTA: I'm with Jan on this one though I was raised a white-bread Presbyterian. Even so, I generally feel guilty about everything and my protagonists do as well! It is a real motivator: Let something go long enough and the guilty feelings start to snowball until that item finally gets moved up the list. I think the kind of guilt we're talking about is related to feeling privileged too. Is is possible to feel lucky and happy without that underlying sense of guilt? The villains in my books tend to have some pressing need or grudge that feels strong enough to completely overwhelm any sense of guilt.

HANK: Guilt. On one end of the spectrum is feeling one "ought to be" doing something because of responsibility in a relationship, to society, to a job, to a loved one--but instead, they do something else.Something, probably, that's bound up with one of the other prime motivators, selfishness. But still, if I use frozen brown rice for dinner instead of making the 45-minute kind, or if I don't fold the fitted sheets perfectly because it's too much of a pain, or if I leave work the tiniest bit early because I want to work on my book--yeah, I feel twinges of guilt. But not GUILTY.

On the other hand..when the human foible selfishness twists and morphs into greed and vengeance and it outpaces responsibility and morality--then guilt turns to guilty. As in--the one who becomes the bad guy.And I think what makes the best bad guys so interesting is that they can all tell you a reason why they've decided whatever they're doing is okay. I love the moment in a mystery when you find out whodunnit--but whydunnit is more interesting and certainly more fun to write when you're creating a character. When the reader finds the 'why'--and suddenly all those clues that have been so carefully laid out in the 300 pages before click together like a Rubik's cube and you see the real picture--that's very satisfying. Because then you've got a real person.

HALLIE: Exactly! Guilt is what the villain in a mystery novel doesn't feel, because from his/her point of view, there were utterly compelling reasons for the and it HAD TO BE done. Whereas the rest of us feel overwhelming guilt for all sorts of things over which we, in fact, have absolutely no control (our children's unhappiness, the price of fish...) What I'm fascinated by, from a plotting point of view, is the difference between guilt and shame. Characters feel compelled to hide whatever it is that causes them guilt or shame, and secrets are the lifeblood of a mystery novel.

WE LOVE YOU, PATRY FRANCIS

We need to tell you three things:

1. Patry Francis' paperback version of her wonderful book is out. Right now. The hardback of her 'Liar's Diary' is already getting wild acclaim and rave reviews. And you probably have read it. But even if you have, please buy another copy. And one for a pal. And one for another pal.

2. She'd do the same for you, she really would. She's that wonderful, that caring, that devoted, that honorable, that unique.

3. And now, she's going to survive a bout with a really nasty cancer. She can beat it.

But she can't be on the promo road for the paperback Liar's Diary and be winning the cancer war at the same time. So, as we said. Go buy some books.

In fact, why not buy one for yourself and one for a friend? And if you like it, tell people!
Here are links to THE LIAR'S DIARY at Amazon,https://mail.whdh.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.amazon.com/Liars-Diary-Patry-Francis/dp/0452289157/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8%26s=books%26qid=1201406501%26sr=8-1 You can also buy directly from Penguin to save 15% (after you add the book to your cart, just enter the word PATRY in the coupon code field and click ‘update cart’ to activate the discount). Or go to your favoite bookstore. And ask 'em to sell the heck out of it.

Here's Patry at Crime Bake, before any of us knew her bad news. That's her on the left, smiling like there's nothing wrong. And the rest of us, (Patry, me (Hank Phillippi Ryan) Joe Finder, Kate Flora, Dorothy Cannell and Chuck Hogan) happy to be there, without a clue what was happening to our dear colleague.

After being introduced on line by our mutual pal Amy MacKinnon, I met Patry in person at her first--maybe her first?--reading for Liar's Diary. It was at the wonderful Porter Square books, and she admitted she was terrified. This incredibly talented author, and genius poet, was afraid, she whispered, to speak in front of people. Now you have to imagine, theres a room full of friends and family and fans. And our dear Patry has stage fright. Her loving and wonderfully supportive husband was there to cheer her on. And as it of course turned out, she was terrific.

She told me about her history, and her....well, you should read about it first hand. Not from me. Visit her blog...to be transported into a world where imagination and joy reign. http://www.patryfrancis.com/

But first: click over to Amazon or Penquin and buy the book.

Here are the publisher's words about the Liars Diary:
Answering the question of what is more powerful—family or friendship? this debut novel unforgettably shows how far one woman would go to protect either.

They couldn't be more different, but they form a friendship that will alter both their fates. When Ali Mather blows into town, breaking all the rules and breaking hearts (despite the fact that she is pushing forty), she also makes a mark on an unlikely family. Almost against her will, Jeanne Cross feels drawn to this strangely vibrant woman, a fascination that begins to infect Jeanne’s “perfect” husband as well as their teenaged son.

At the heart of the friendship between Ali and Jeanne are deep-seated emotional needs, vulnerabilities they have each been recording in their diaries. Ali also senses another kind of vulnerability; she believes someone has been entering her house when she is not at home—and not with the usual intentions. What this burglar wants is nothing less than a piece of Ali’s soul.
When a murderer strikes and Jeanne’s son is arrested, we learn that the key to the crime lies in the diaries of two very different women . . . but only one of them is telling the truth. A chilling tour of troubled minds, The Liar’s Diary signals the launch of an immensely talented new novelist who knows just how to keep her readers guessing.

And now, here are Patry's words, straight from her blog: "Though my novel deals with murder, betrayal, and the even more lethal crimes of the heart, the real subjects of THE LIAR'S DIARY are music, love, friendship, self-sacrifice and courage. The darkness is only there for contrast; it's only there to make us realize how bright the light can be. I'm sure that most writers whose work does not flinch from the exploration of evil feel the same."

I hope you've met Patry. If you have, you may not have gotten this far on the blog because you're out buying her book. That's great. If you haven't met her--seek her out the next ime you're at a conference. Tell her you're glad she's well, and writing, and that we missed her while she was in the hospital.

Then get her to autograph the books you bought today.

Get well soon, Patry.

With much love

Hank and Hallie and Rosemary and Roberta and Jan

On Guilt Again

“Guilt is the price we pay willingly for doing what we are going to do anyway.” Isabelle Holland

JAN: I'm fascinated by guilt, in part because it is so destructive, but also because I've known and profiled a few sociopaths. The complete absence of guilt is startling. You can actually see the ability to feel guilt missing from someone's eyes.

I used to think I always felt guilty because I was Irish-Catholic, but I'm starting to think it's just an inborn trait. A tendency to self-criticism. Too much of that tendency is self-destructive. Too little and you can destroy others with abandon.

Anyway, murder mysteries are all about guilt, right? Only I find that I use guilt more in the creation of my protagonist, Hallie Ahern, than in the creation of my bad guys. In past books, Hallie has wrestled with the lines she crosses in journalism to complete her investigation. In this book, she is wrestling with the lines of humanity she crosses to do her job as a journalist.

I know Hallie Ephron wrote an entire mystery entitled Guilt, and will have a lot to offer on this topic. But I'm also wondering how everyone else makes literary use of the incredible power of guilt.

RO: I've got the Catholic thing, too, so guilt is a part of my life. I feel guilty about something every day (I'm really revealing all of my neuroses in this blog, aren't I?)- even if it's something as small as not sending a thank you note fast enough. (Thank you Alice and Alison...the notes are coming.)Perhaps that's the reason my characters are remarkably guilt-free. Maybe that's my fantasy...the way nebbish-y guys write superheroes.

Since I write cozies, I haven't dealt with hardened criminals yet. My bad guys seem to fall into the amoral greed-lust-revenge crowd, and - at least as I've created them - they have the ability to do what they think must be done unfettered by anything as annoying as guilt.

ROBERTA: I'm with Jan on this one though I was raised a white-bread Presbyterian. Even so, I generally feel guilty about everything and my protagonists do as well! It is a real motivator: Let something go long enough and the guilty feelings start to snowball until that item finally gets moved up the list. I think the kind of guilt we're talking about is related to feeling privileged too. Is is possible to feel lucky and happy without that underlying sense of guilt? The villains in my books tend to have some pressing need or grudge that feels strong enough to completely overwhelm any sense of guilt.

HANK: Guilt. One one end of the spectrum is feeling one "ought to be" doing something because of responsibility in a relationship, to society, to a job, to a loved one--but instead, they do something else.

Something, probably, that's bound up with one of the other prime motivators, selfishness. But still, if I use frozen brown rice for dinner instead of making the 45-minute kind, or if I don't fold the fitted sheets perfectly because it's too much of a pain, or if I leave work the tiniest bit early because I want to work on my book--yeah, I feel twinges of guilt. But not GUILTY.

On the other hand..when the human foible selfishness twists and morphs into greed and vengeance and it outpaces responsibility and morality--then guilt turns to guilty. As in--the one who becomes the bad guy.

And I think what makes the best bad guys so interesting is that they can all tell you a reason why they've decided whatever they're doing is okay. I love the moment in a mystery when you find out whodunnit--but whydunnit is more interesting and certainly more fun to write when you're creating a character. When the reader finds the 'why'--and suddenly all those clues that have been so carefully laid out in the 300 pages before click together like a Rubik's cube and you see the real picture--that's very satisfying. Because then you've got a real person.

HALLIE: Exactly! Guilt is what the villain in a mystery novel doesn't feel, because from his/her point of view, there were utterly compelling reasons for the and it HAD TO BE done. Whereas the rest of us feel overwhelming guilt for all sorts of things over which we, in fact, have absolutely no control (our children's unhappiness, the price of fish...) What I'm fascinated by, from a plotting point of view, is the difference between guilt and shame. Characters feel compelled to hide whatever it is that causes them guilt or shame, and secrets are the lifeblood of a mystery novel.