Remnants
by Carolyn Arnold
Genre : Crime / mystery
FBI agent and
profiler Brandon Fisher and his team are called to Savannah, Georgia, when body
parts belonging to three separate victims are recovered from the Little Ogeechee
River. As the case takes one dark turn after another, Brandon finds himself
embroiled in a creepy psychological nightmare.
Author Interview
Have you ever been on a manhunt or at
the scene where a dead body was found?
I
took part in my local police department’s Citizen’s Academy. As part of this, I
received an inside look at seventeen divisions over a ten-week period. As an
added benefit, each student was afforded a ride-along. And mine… Well, I went
on the perfect one for a crime writer.
My
ride-along actually started out with a manhunt. I experienced the excitement of
wanting to find the guy and found myself scrutinizing every male I spotted in
the area just to make sure he wasn’t the one we were after. Unfortunately, the
search moved to the downtown area from the eastern end of the city where the
hunt had begun, and the sergeant signed off the investigation. By the end of my
ride-along, about five hours later, the man still hadn’t been found.
After
the sergeant left the investigation, he turned to me as he was driving and
asked if I had ever seen a dead body. I told him I had at memorials and
funerals and then asked why. I soon found out that our next stop involved one.
I
figured I’d catch a glimpse of the deceased under a tarp or being wheeled away,
but I got far more than that. I received a front-row seat to a death
investigation. For hours, the sergeant and I were mere feet away from the body.
I witnessed firsthand how it changed color over time, but I also found that I
went into detective-mode. The forensic identification unit—essentially CSIs—was
called in and arrived with collection kits. The team members gloved up, snapped
photographs, took fingerprints from the deceased, and more.
The
entire time that I was on scene, I noticed myself going into a detached
state—the result of adrenaline. Later that evening, it began to sink in that I
had spent hours with a dead body, and I was nauseated. As more time passed, I
became weepy as it sank in that the deceased had been a husband, a father, a
lover, a friend…a person. That night I dreamed about the man. It wasn’t a
nightmare, but I was an officer trying to figure out what had happened to him.
I
couldn’t imagine returning to the field the next day and having a similar
experience or witnessing something even worse, like a violent murder scene or
that of a fatal car accident.
What do members of law enforcement say
about your books?
Many
testimonials attest that I am pleasing readers in law enforcement. They love
that my mysteries are accurate in that regard, and they view that alone as a
sign of my respect for them.
Here
are a few testimonials that I have received on Eleven (Brandon
Fisher FBI series):
“I spent thirty-eight years
with a major police department in Missouri, fifteen of which were in the
homicide section. I also had numerous dealings with the FBI throughout my
career, mostly bank robbery, interstate shipment thefts, and a few kidnappings.
Eleven kept my interest piqued throughout… Loved it.”
–Richard Bartram,
Sergeant (retired), St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, St.
Louis, MO
“I am a forty-year veteran of
police work. All local, no Fed. Eleven was a great read. All the
descriptors and nomenclature were spot on.”
–Joe Danna, Police Officer, Katy Independent
School District Police Department, Katy, TX
“Very good! I worked as a
police officer for eleven years and with the Federal Bureau of Prisons for
twenty-two. I have also dealt with the FBI.”
–Richard Smith, Facilities
Development Manager (retired), Federal Bureau of Prisons, Central Office,
Washington, DC
“A great police procedural! …
Full of twists and turns. The characters are well-developed and a mix of
interesting personalities. … Holds your interest to the end!”
–Mark Davis, FBI Special Agent
(retired), Washington, DC
What did you do before you became a
bestselling author?
For
a living, I worked in accounts receivable for a few different companies
collecting from businesses. Yet, despite working full time, in 2006 I was
reunited with writing. I wrote every chance I got—before work, on lunch breaks,
after work, on the weekends. I became so focused on writing and the publishing
world that hardly a day went by without them being a part of my life, and since
the summer of 2014, I’ve been a full-time author.
How do you know so much about what
criminals think?
I
can’t answer that without incriminating myself… Just kidding.
Everyone
has what we call a “dark side.” In writing these books, I suppose you could say
I tap into this side of my psyche. Whatever I can scheme up is possible, and I
write that which scares and excites me.
When did you know that you had hit the
big time with your books?
When
I got to say good-bye to my day job! Even before I fully resigned, I had cut
back a five-day a week job to four days, then to three. It got to the point,
though, that I loathed going in for that many days, and I knew it was time to
make the move and become a full-time author. That was in the summer of 2014.
Since then, I incorporated my own publishing company in the summer of 2015,
and, at the start of 2016, my husband joined me there full time.
About Author
CAROLYN
ARNOLD is an international best-selling and award-winning author, as well as a
speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has four continuing fiction
series—Detective Madison Knight, Brandon Fisher FBI, McKinley Mysteries, and
Matthew Connor Adventures—and has written nearly thirty books. Her genre
diversity offers her readers everything from cozy to hard-boiled mysteries, and
thrillers to action adventures.
Both her
female detective and FBI profiler series have been praised by those in law
enforcement as being accurate and entertaining, leading her to adopt the
trademark: POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT™.
Carolyn was
born in a small town and enjoys spending time outdoors, but she also loves the
lights of a big city. Grounded by her roots and lifted by her dreams, her
overactive imagination insists that she tell her stories. Her intention is to
touch the hearts of millions with her books, to entertain, inspire, and empower.
She currently
lives just west of Toronto with her husband and beagle and is a member of Crime
Writers of Canada.
Connect with
CAROLYN ARNOLD Online:
Website -
http://carolynarnold.net/
Twitter -
https://twitter.com/Carolyn_Arnold
Facebook -
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolynArnold
And don’t
forget to sign up for her newsletter for up-to-date information on release and
special offers at http://carolynarnold.net/newsletters.
Giveaway
Regards,
Angela
