Patch and Stuff.

For anyone in the world who actually reads this blog (God bless you for the effort) I've mentioned my dog a few times. This picture is of Patch's first summer, and he's bigger now, but less than 20lbs. I owe a lot to him, to his unconditional love for me. Sure, he has stanky breath and barks too much, but he's my best friend, the best friend a writer could ever have.

But now on to crime things.

What makes a person murder? Gives them their MO and takes them into the dark place that leads to the spilling of blood? Some say brain chemicals, other say an abusive upbringing, and still others assert that it has to do with plain, untainted evil. The truth is, we're all capable of murder. It's inside all of us. The killers and serial murderers simply have a hard time controlling themselves. Ted Bundy had a normal upbringing. He had loving parents, went to college and graduated, and then started killing people. In his last interview before his execution, he told Dr. James Dobson that violent, sadistic pornography was the reason for his sick lusts. He was not raised to be a killer. Albert Fish preceded Bundy by decades. He practiced cannibalism and even sent letters to his victim's families, telling them how their loved ones suffered before they died. He could be explained as pure evil. His nature, his entire life, tainted by darkness through and through. We just don't know why people do what they do.

I can write as many manuscripts on crime that I want, but it's only my interpretation and could b e far from the truth. The truth is beyond me, but I'm searching for it. Why do people hurt their fellow man? How can one person so viciously and torturously take the life of another human being?

Off to discover.

Kate

Freelance and the Blood Countess...

The Holy Roman Empire, Transylvania

Along with my Psychology major fiance, I've been reading a book on female serial killers. This picture is of Elizabeth Bathory, and she is the only one of her kind. All known female serial killers since Elizabeth were influenced and led by an alpha male. That was not the Countess's experience. She began her bloody campaign while her husband was actually away fighting the Turks- he had done nothing to encourage her sadistic desires.

In the late 1500s and early 1600s it is believed that she tortured and killed over 600 servant girls and young women. Her methods were brutal, and a lot of the truth is worse than the legend. She was arrested in 1610 at the age of fifty, and was entombed alive with only a small window through which she received food. Only her noble blood kept her from immediate execution. She survived four years before supposedly being found dead on the floor of her chamber, still looking as cruelly beautiful as ever.

They called her a vampire because when she was finished murdering a victim, she was often sopping with the girl's blood. The peasants who lived beneath her castle were terrified and the population was dwindling- almost all of the eligible girls had gone to work for Elizabeth, and had never came home. Pretty grisly, huh? When we were reading about her I couldn't help but think of a fiction story I could write. Maybe Elizabeth was a vampire. Maybe she didn't die on the floor of her tomb. Maybe she's alive today...

On to freelance. I've fiddled around with the idea for two years now and have finally decided to give it a try. My resume is built, my web page is http://www.google.com/profiles/katethompsonportfolio and I'm shaking in my boots. When you first go to college, you don't think about life after the fact. Everything is new an exciting and the real world can wait. That novelty wears off around junior year, which is where I am now. Now, I have to pay attention to the real world, because by next summer I need to know how I'm going to make enough money to feet my dog when I'm done with my BFA. Next year, I need to find me a grad school. I'm confident that I can write about almost any subject (except any form of math whatsoever) as long as I'm given a directive and research topics. All I need are professionals and private parties who are interested in what I have to offer. Hmm... where are you?

And because this blog is supposed to be about Daniel Bellamy, I'm going to put some new information in here about him, too. The pieces are starting to come together. Suddenly, there's hope for Daniel in his quest to catch the person responsible for his sister's murder. Before he gets the information he needs, he receives a phone call. There's been another double homicide. They hadn't been quick enough. When I last left Daniel, he was on his way to the scene of the crime. This one will be grislier than the first.

Kate.

No, really, I AM Batman.

Well, I've been MIA and have no excuse for it. Schools back up and running full force but it's been enjoyable for the most part (except for ART- I like to draw as much as the next person, but who says, "I want you to capture the emotion of your model" in reference to a messenger bag?). My English Novel class is so good I actually look forward to it... which might be slightly twisted, but that's a-o-k with me. For one of my classes I get to just sit and write. Yeah, I said it. It's the best class ever invented. EVER.

I got engaged at the end of the summer and have been planning a wedding (245 days to go) and yes, Daniel's story has been progressing. I'm around 225 and have enough material and thoughts to hopefully get me another hundred pages. Afterward, it's copy editing time! I have more news about Dan, but breakfast and class calls my name. I'll have to get back to you on that.

Quick-Quip

Hey everyone, just a quick blog to let you know that I haven't vanished. Family Canada trip took up the end of the summer (I got engaged!) and now I'm back at school, starting my second day of classes... it all goes by so fast.

I'm loving the apartment and our new roomie, Kels! It's finally a home here at 101 Water Street! I dont have much else to type right now because homework calls.

204 and a Dog Named Patch

Daniel has been out in full force over the last week. Sebago Lake, Maine seems to be my place of catharsis, my zenith, my mecca of inspiration. Sitting on that porch on a balmy summer day is like a defibrillator for my creative heart. Dan and I got to 204 pages today. It's not a huge number, and I'm not half done, but it's a solid, good, three digit number that I always like to get to. At this point in a manuscript, there's just no turning back. Finish it, even if it sucks, because of the countless hours and backaches that went into the process.

Patch is sitting with me, my little writing assistant, always there to cuddle with me when I hit a road block or a particularly hard passage. He's never far away and I always know it... because his breath reeks to high heaven. Patch looks at me with those big, brown, wonderful eyes that are always saying, "Mom, I love you." I couldn't ask for a better four-legged companion as I take on my writing journey. For example, he's creeping in front of my face so I cant see the screen of my laptop. Let me tell you, his breath is PHEW! I need to get this dog some Greenies ASAP! Well, as Patch is always here for me, I always need to be here for him, and right now, he needs some lovin'.

Venting Part 2

Ever heard the expression "Guns don't kill people, people kill people"? Well, that's taken on new meaning for me as I've researched and written Daniel's story. Morbid curiosity leads me forward into the darkness, where I learn reasons people kill and the methods law enforcement use to apprehend them. The problem is, the good guys don't win as often as we'd like to think they do.

People kill other people in horrific, brutal ways, and that's just a fact of life we have to live with. It goes all the way back to the beginning, to Cain and Able. One man, jealous, smashes his brothers skull in with a rock. What kind of world is this? We fight the government, put up a fuss about health care, insurance, gas prices, life in general. WAKE UP AMERICA, there are other threats we need to open our eyes to. RAPE MURDER INCEST KIDNAP TORTURE SLAVERY DIVORCE these things are killing our country, too. Who cares about finances when our streets are bathed in blood, when we can't walk down the street without being scared when a car slows down?

Let's no forget WAR in all of this. It deserves a paragraph of its own. I'm not going to complain about the wars we're in, because THAT is not going to get us out of them. What I am going to complain about is deeper than some political decision, some disliked president, some ignorance. What about the victims? When did they become "civilian casualties"? Where are the mothers and fathers and children, the wives and husbands and friends? They become statistics, numbers, things to be seen and forgotten.

That is the real threat. People kill people, and we look the other way. Think about that.

Take a Bite Out of Crime

Yesterday was the most productive day I've had in a month. It's those days that make choosing writing as a career seem like an okay idea. I think I've identified my problem. Being motivationless is not a good life choice for someone who wants to write a novel. So far, I've stuck with the 5-10 page a day quota, and I'm going to do my best to keep it up. I hit the 154 page mark last night and did some thinking. I'm just about half way done telling the story. Daniel has so much to say!

I found this picture of McGruff the Crime Dog and thought it was a real blast from the 90s. He was THE crime deterrent for young children, and I remember him fondly. I thought he needed to make an appearance on Dan's blog. Weirdly fitting. Dan in canine form.