Susan Yancey

I told you not to have that damn baby, "he said, throwing his third beer can across the kitchen in the direction of the already overflowing trashcan. "I told you to get an abortion!" He looked at the sink that held stacks of dishes and floating bits of food, which was now spilling over onto the decaying Formica countertop, and made a sound of disgust. Passing on his way to the refrigerator, a strong whiff of curdled milk drifted from the sink. He brought his fingers to his nose and blew air out in an attempt to get rid of the smell that had settled in his nostrils. He cursed at the dishes and raised his arm in preparation to hurl them onto the floor but stopped himself and instead went to the refrigerator for another beer. The remaining beers rattled as he yanked open the door. Grabbing another, he popped open the top and allowed cool air to get rid of any lingering odor. After taking several long swallows, he did a quick scan of the refrigerator's contents: beer and butter. He gritted his teeth and slammed the door shut. "F---" he stopped, mid-curse surprised by the small figure staring up at him. He smiled, bent down, and ran his hand across his son's hair. "What a shithole this place is, huh James?" He didn't wait for confirmation. "Things were a lot better when it was just the three of us, wasn't it" The boy nodded, not wanting to disappoint his father. "Yeah," he chugged the rest of his beer and tossed the can in the direction of the sink. He leaned down and looked directly into his son's eyes. He said, "I'll see ya, boy." He opened up the refrigerator for the last time, took another beer, and opened the back screen door, ready to leave. Holding it open with one hand, he turned and yelled into the air, "I'm not working my ass off to feed a kid I don't know is even mine!" He let go of the hinge-less screen door, and it slammed behind him. James watched silently as his father walked out of his life. It had been months since he walked out. Initially, she believed that things might improve without her husband's hostility in the house, but things had only gotten worse, especially her relationship with James. Tears streamed down her fame as she remembered holding her firstborn son with such love and hope. Now. he would barely look at her. The revulsion from his father had passed down to their eleven-year old son. She now held the only ally she had left, hoping for another chance at renewed love from a child, and closed her eyes to hold on to her memory. She was brought back to the present by a sense of James standing in front of her. Before she could put any thoughts together, he asked, "When is Dad coming back?" She lifted her head at the sound of his voice, her eyes welling up. She had been waiting for the question but still did not know how to soften the answer. "I don't know James. I don't know if he is." He looked straight through her. She watched him go into the kitchen and heard the slamming of the cabinets. She shuddered and bent her head down to focus once again on the sleeping innocence in her arms.

First Assignment: Story Statement Detective McAllister enlists the help of Dr. Kem Hunter, a forensic psychologist, to track down and bring justice to a serial killer that is targeting a specific family type. Second Assignment: Sketch my antagonist James Martin played second fiddle to his mother after his new baby brother was born. His father abandoned the family, and with each passing day his pent up hate and anger towards his mother and the baby was building. Until one day he had enough... Eleven-year old James Martin was found outside his burning home after his mother had been brutally murdered. He watched in horror as his baby brother was saved by a "hero" passing by. James is hidden in the bushes full of rage at the sight of his brother being saved. When the authorities find him they were uncertain if he was a fortuitous victim or the perpetrator of the heinous crime. With no living relatives and the inability to speak, James was placed in the DeJarnette Sanitarium.James remained there until his escape at the age of seventeen. His whereabouts to this day, are still unknown... What happens when the fickle winds of fate deliver a serial killer to your doorstep? What happens when the very thing you are striving for after is just too close to catch? Third Assignment: Book Title(s) Striving After Wind is based on Ecclesiastes 1:14 and the meaning that it invokes: -pursuing wisdom and the understanding of madness and folly -rewarding oneself with pleasure -thinking one can control the outcome of their lives/and others -seeking immortality/trying to make a lasting name for oneself Fourth Assignment: Comparables-who compares to you and why? Red Dragon-Thomas Harris When the Bough Breaks-Jonathan Kellerman Both of these authors have written psychological thrilling stories with well developed characters. There are psychological factions in both books that relate to the antagonists childhood trauma that ultimately created the monsters they become. Fifth Assignment: Hook Line Everyone is a suspect, and no one is presumed innocent as a savage serial killer targets the most vulnerable of families. The only truth is that all involved are striving after wind. Sixth Assignment: a) sketch conditions for the inner conflict of my protagonist(s) b) sketch hypothetical scenario for the "secondary conflict" involving the social environment -Detective McAllister, believing she does not have the experience with serial killers asks for help from forensic psychologist (Dr. Hunter) -Detective McAllister is forced to look at associates as possible suspects, including her new love interest -Catherine (a psychologist) who has been helpful to the police in the past, and worked with Detective McAllister is now having to deal with her husband being a person on interest in the serial killings due to his best selling book that mirrors the crimes. Secondary Conflict -Catherine's desire to help in the murder investigation to clear her husbands name is repeatedly told to stay away from the investigation by Detective McAllister -Catherine's past relationship as a graduate student with her professor Dr. Hunter, who is now helping Detective McAllister with the investigation. How far does she go to insert herself in the investigation? What rules is she willing to bend/break? Seventh Assignment: sketch out settings Prologue: The book begins with a young James Martin who brutally kills his mother, attempts to kill his baby brother, and sets his house on fire. Thirty Years Later: A young graduate student, Catherine, is listening to her professor, Dr. Hunter, at the University of Virginia lecturing about a case of a young boy with elective mutism, that potentially killed his mother. Modern Day: Catherine had relayed the story of James Martin to her husband who writes a best selling book based on the case study. The setting is based in Fairfax County Virgina and each chapter is set from the perspective of Detective McAllister, Catherine, and the Killer