New Thriller Novel - Degrees Of Deceit / Happenings In The Outhouse 10-April-2026

Degrees Of Deceit - Kindle edition by Peterson, Mark S. R.. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Justice finally has a name.

Driven by the untimely death of their daughter Samantha, the Larson's take the law into their own hands.  They blend in the shadows, hunting the predators who are seeking out innocent victims to prey upon.  They are a criminal's worst nightmare

They are The Unnoticeables.

Degrees of Deceit is an exciting thriller novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat, twisting and turning to the very end.

Pick up this exciting new novel, in a brand new crossover series, at Amazon or wherever you get your favorite ebooks.

Degrees Of Deceit - Kindle edition by Peterson, Mark S. R.. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Tattered Robes is published / Happenings In The Outhouse 16-April-2021

Tattered Robes, the latest thriller in the Central Division Series, is out!

Synopsis: A Catholic priest with a dark past is brutally murdered in a ritualistic fashion.  But as Minneapolis PD investigators Kolin Raynes and Kelly King employ the latest advances in Forensics and DNA analysis, they soon discover solving this case leads them down an even darker path.

Here is a link to my website, which will give you the ebook option of your choice.

Enjoy!

Tattered Robes / Happenings In The Outhouse 19-March-2021

 Tattered Robes, the fifth novel in the Central Division Series, is completed, coming in at a little over 78,000 words.  Which equates to around 350 pages.

I'm hoping to have the editing completed and published by the end of this month.

What's it about, you may ask?

I have not written the official blurb, but it centers around the investigation behind the brutal murder of a Catholic priest.

It was an interesting, complex story to write, and at the same time it was a bit of therapy.  Next week, I'll share the official blurb as well as the cover--crossing fingers.

Stay tuned . . .

Next Novel Almost Done / Happenings In The Outhouse 12-Feb-2021

65,000 words and counting . . .

Looking back, the last novel I finished was in July 2018.  And the last book in this thriller series was published in September 2016.  Far too long.

Oh, sure, I've had a few other shorter things written, including two in 2020, but a full-length novel?  Nope.  Not for a while.

How long?  I'm shooting for the end of the month, but with the massively cold weather and car troubles, my mind isn't where it should be.

Be patient, my friends.  More details to come . . .

49K and counting / Happenings In The Outhouse 8-Jan-2021

I'm past the 49,000 word mark on the latest thriller.  I'm still holding off on sharing the title as well as what it's about.

To tease it a little, think the Netflix show The Keepers meets Dexter.

Sort of.

I am well past what many writers call the messy middle, where writers get stuck and stop writing.  With a thriller, there are many things going on at once, so there were times I didn't know what was up or down.  I had to go back a few times and write everything down, every lead and piece of evidence, until I could clear them up.

It's been fun.

And it's been therapeutic.

But more on that later.

For now, back to writing . . .

Using lists wisely / Happenings In The Outhouse 20-Nov-2020

I have written about lists and their importance before.  However, I saw that need come to a head about a month ago as I was struggling to write the next thriller in the Central Division Series.

The story is about a Catholic priest who was brutally murdered and the investigation to find the killer.  And, like all thrillers, there is a lot going on and I kept losing track of some key pieces.

So I made a list.  I made a list of every possible scenario and piece of evidence, and when I addressed it I crossed it off the list.  I can tell you for a fact that this has made a tremendous difference.

But the question I asked myself was why.  Why now?  I've written thrillers before and not needed such a list.

I'm not going to sugarcoat this, so here it goes.  I have a lot going on.  I know I'm not alone in this.  With losing my wife in January 2020 to the global pandemic to working from home, there are good points to this all and some that are more difficult to manage.  So my mind hasn't been all there.

The list helps.

If you find yourself getting sidetracked, see if a list will help get you back on track.  I am currently around the 27,000 word mark on the thriller, and these past few weeks I have seen great progress as I chug forward.

How far to take creative license / Happenings In The Outhouse 13-Nov-2020

I am currently writing a thriller set around the murder of a Catholic priest.  Having grown up a Lutheran, I know little about the inner workings of the Catholic Church.  So I had to do a bit of research.

Yes, I watched the Netflix series The Keepers.  And, of course, I was revolted to wonder how the types of crimes covered in the show could exist within such an organization.  But thinking that all I needed to know about the Catholic Church could be had by watch this show would be like thinking all I needed to know about the FBI could be gleaned from watching the movie Silence of the Lambs.

Absurd, I know.

I have done enough research to be competent in how the Church works for the story itself, and I have a disclaimer stating that I know I didn't get everything right.

However, how far can one take creative license?  I just finished reading a thriller, based on a town not far from where I live.  In fact, the title of the book is also the name of the town--for reasons that will soon be clear, I am not naming it here.  Why?  Because I hated it.  I know hate is such a strong word, but I felt it was one of the worst books I had ever read.  The only reason I read it to the end was because of the town.

In the end, many of the events that occurred became clear due to an unreliable narrator.  Books like Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train also had unreliable narrators, and were also books I disliked and had a difficult time reading.  But this one that I recently read was so unbelievable that there was no way things like that could happen.  Ever!

This might be a longer than usual post today, so please be patient.

I also recently read a thriller about a serial killer who terrorized the San Francisco area.  The killings spanned across a few decades, with a quiet period in between.  The detective, new to the position, took on this killer's case as it became personal, for her father was the one who investigated the crimes years before.  Now, where the creative license comes into play is at the end.  The detective is immediately recruited into the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit.  Sorry, anyone who knows anything about the FBI knows that this would NEVER happen.  That is not how they get recruits for the BAU.  The author could've mentioned this, how unusual the recruitment was, but failed to do so.

And with that, it fell short.

This other one, about the town close to where I live, just had one event after the other that just would NEVER happen.  One or two things, I can overlook it.  But every single chapter had event after event that was completely unbelievable.  The narrator, an author herself, actually used her father-in-law's name as a villain in a book, portraying him as this cardboard 2-dimensional evil bad guy--sorry, if that happened, she would've been sued big time.  Also, apparently, a big name actress loved her book so much that she called the author personally to say she wants to make it into a movie.  Sorry, this doesn't happen either.

It's okay to take creative license.  And if you feel something it out of the norm, take a moment and mention that.  There is so much more I could say, but I may speak about it again on a later post, one dealing with the notion of an unreliable narrator.

Beholder's Eye is (finally) free in the Amazon Kindle store!

Yes, you heard it right!  I was finally able to get Beholder's Eye, the first novel in the Central Division thriller series free in the Amazon Kindle store.

Here is a link to the store: Beholder's Eye.

Here's the full link from my website.

Another discussion on story details / Happenings In The Outhouse 31-July-2020

I recently re-read Red Dragon by Thomas Harris, the book he published before the iconic Silence of the Lambs.

Despite it being published in 1981, the details of the criminal investigations that took place in the novel were mind-blowing.  And all of this was before DNA was introduced as a major player in crime scene analysis in the mid-1990's, thanks to the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.  And of course we are now light years ahead in DNA analysis, with all the advances in just the last few years.

But can details be too much?

My answer: it depends on the story you're telling.

Many of Tom Clancy's books delve into minute details of military equipment, like submarines and ships and tanks, but at its core is the story.  The story is never lost.  Jeffrey Deaver's The Bone Collector is written as close to a textbook in crime scene collection as possible, albeit the story is threaded through it like a skillful weaver.

Are you going to get all details right?  Heavens no!  My youngest daughter and I were watching an episode of Friends, the one where the gang sans Ross go on a trip in Phoebe's cab and get stuck at a rest area with no gas.  Who do they call?  Ross.  Although they have no idea where they are.

My daughter turns to me and asks, "Why don't they look at the map that's on the wall?"

"What map?"

"There's always a map at rest stops that shows 'You are here'.  Why don't they look at that?"

Very astute, for an intelligent fourteen-year-old.  And a level of detail that was either never considered by the show writers.  Or, it was considered, but to move the story along they decided to ignore it.

I am currently past the 10,000 word mark on my latest thriller, and I can assure you I do not have the same level of detail as Deaver or Harris in my crime scene investigation.  But there are many other authors who don't either.  The story is moving along nicely.

And in the end, that's all that matters.  Telling a story.  If you want to read a textbook, read a textbook.  But if you want to read a story, read a story.

Disclaimers and expectations / Happenings In The Outhouse 25-May-2018

I have been listening to a number of true crime podcasts lately (thanks in big part to the Netflix show Mindhunter).

One thing I have noticed about a fair amount of them are the disclaimers they have before each podcast.  Or, if they come to a graphic part where they're describing a murder or something demented being done to another person, they give a disclaimer.

Why?

First, these are true crime podcasts.  We should expect the blood and gore, the graphic nature of the sick individuals who create much havoc in society.  My wife buys a lot of discounted or free ebooks, many of them in the romance genre.  I will admit, I do read some of these.  I recently read one that bordered on pornography.  It was extremely graphic and delved into the weirder side of sex.  I will not give the title or the author, but I did look back to see if there was a disclaimer.

There wasn't one.

I read a number of thrillers and true crime books.  Again, no disclaimers there either.

Why is this?

It's because we expect it.

I've read a fair amount of Stephen King horror novels and I don't believe I have found one single disclaimer on any of them.  Why?  Because we expect to be scared to death.

The same goes with thrillers and the like.

So, to all of the true crime podcasters out there, quit putting disclaimers on your podcasts.  We expect the blood and gore and graphic crap.  It's true crime for crying out loud!

We expect it!

Mindhunter May Be Shifting My Next Project / Happenings In The Outhouse 08-Dec-2017

Strange Birth, the first book in the Repel Trilogy (my first superhero novel), is near completion.
I am speculating a mid-January release date.  Stay tuned.

Then . . . what's next?

I truly want to get this trilogy complete and out into the world, but Mindhunter the new Netflix series has spurred my interest in serial killers once again (honestly, did it ever leave?)

The series is intriguing--enough so that I have watched the entire season twice.  And both times over an entire weekend.  The episodes merge smoothly from one to the next.

Mindhunter has also drawn me back to my Central Division thriller series.  I have an idea for book five as well as . . . at this point, it's a shorter (I think) book that occurs right after the events of book 1: Beholder's Eye.

So I am at a crossroads: do I finish the trilogy or write these others?  Also, there is a horror novel that I am completely rewriting.

Choices . . .

The future is bright, my friend.  There is much work to be done.

Discarded published - another first draft begins / Happenings In The Outhouse 01-Apr-2016

The FBI estimates that over 100,000 young women and children are victims of human sex trafficking.  Globally, that number is in the millions.

Yes, you heard right.  Millions.

Discarded, the third in my Central Division Series of thriller novels tackles human sex trafficking head-on.  It was published earlier this week.  Here's a link to the Amazon page.  For roughly 90 days, it will be exclusive with Amazon, and then afterwards I will make the determination on when it will be published on the other platforms, like Google Play, Barnes and Noble, Apple iBooks, etc.

If you have an Amazon Kindle Unlimited account, you can pick up Discarded for free using your monthly subscription.

However . . . unless you're completely dying to read it, I suggest waiting about a month to purchase it.  Huh?  Why?

Because I will be running a promotion on Discarded as well as the other two novels in the Central Division Series: Beholder's Eye and Straight Razor.  Then, you can purchase all three novels for roughly 66% off.

Stay tuned, I will share more specific dates when it comes closer.

Yesterday morning, I started the first draft to the fourth novel in the series.  I spent most of the week outlining the book.  It worked out better than I thought, but let's see how it holds up as I keep writing the first draft.

Happenings In The Outhouse 16-Aug-2013 / What next?

Beholder's Eye is out on the Kindle.

I have also enrolled it in the KDP Select program so you may borrow it, if you're an Amazon Prime member.  I'm not doing the "free thing" (yet) as I have nothing else out in the series.

But I'm working on it--the next in the Central Division Series.  I'm still undecided yet if I want to do the "free thing" or not.

I got it uploaded Sunday (after getting a cover done by a professional) and already I've gotten a few sales.  Not bad for a relatively unknown author.

What's next?

I'm holding off on the Beholder's Eye sequel for the next few weeks as I have two projects I'm working on: an inspirational novella tentatively titled Obituary Of A Loser and a short story to be submitted next month for the Writers Of The Future contest.

The Obituary novella is about a third complete in its edits, and should be closer to complete by next week.  The short story has a little more work to it.  When Obituary is complete, I will be uploaded it to the Amazon Kindle too.

Happenings In The Outhouse 26-Jul-2013 / New thriller

Yesterday, I completely revamped my current project list--okay, completely may not be the right word, but I did change it up a bit.

I do have sequels in mind for Beholder's Eye, in a series I'm calling the Central Division Series.  I started one years ago, only getting the first four chapters down before stopping.  Guess when I wrote them?

In December . . . 2004!

Needless to say, those few chapters need a lot of work.  Scratch that, I'm completely rewriting them--there's that pesty word again, completely; even here it's not true.  I'm keeping the bones of it, but fleshing it out greatly.

These past few days, I've been thinking about how the thriller will go, plotting and outlining in my head.  At this point, I believe I'm ready to start writing.  I know where it's going to end.  I'm excited for it, because the journey I'm going to take in the first draft will be interesting how it'll all turn out.

This Wednesday was also our Permanent Ink writers group meeting.  Only one other was in attendance.  The meeting went well: I shared half of a short story, which will end up being my next submission to the Writers of the Future contest.  Evelyn shared a story she'll be submitting soon regarding her husband's life on the farm where he grew up.  It's very interesting, these stories from the past.  I can't wait for them to be published, so I can share them with all my readers.

Lastly, I got some great news regarding Beholder's Eye.  It was rejected by the small press.  Good news, you say?  Yes.  I would've taken any news as good, because them the story will have a direction towards publication.  At this point, I'm trying to nail down a cool cover, and then it'll be up on the Kindle shortly.

Happenings In The Outhouse 31-Aug-2012 / My crash course on thriller novels

Typically, during the editing phase of Beholder's Eye, I've done an average of 3 chapters at time.  Right now, due to a few reasons, I'm doing 5.

The main reason is that the amount of pages only totals 15.  An average of 3 pages a chapter.  Also, as the investigation starts barrelling towards the home plate, these five chapters fit nicely and are carry a common theme between them.

In other words, right now I'm currently working on chapters 43-47.

I try to mix up my chapter lengths.  Some authors (James Patterson, for one) is the ultimate king of the short chapter.  Most of his are 2-3 pages long.  Not all of mine are short.  I don't consciously plan out how long the chapters are.  It depends on what's happening in the story, by in large.

Aside from that, I recieved notice from an area writing contest that my short story was not selected as one of the chosen to be published in a local area story collection.  I'm a little bummed out, but once again it reminds me that writing is hard work.  I'm not bitter about it.  It's the nature of the game.  Instead of putting it back out there, I'll be posting it up for free on this blog in the near future so everyone can enjoy.  It's called "Salute" so be sure to watch out for it.

Let's talk about what I'm currently reading.  A few weeks ago, I decided that I needed a small crash course in thriller writers.  I read from a wide variety of authors and genres, and since Beholder's Eye is a thriller, there are a number of authors I've never read.  So, I did.  I picked up:

Persuader by Lee Child

Tell No One by Harlan Coben

Blood Work by Michael Connelly (I've read Connelly before, just never this book)

The Program by Stephen White (I've also read White before)

Blowback by Brad Thor

I have others on the mental "to read" list as well.  Be sure to check out my book list on Good Reads.

For fun, here's a catchy tune about a famous fantasy author.  There's a few colorful words, so if the "B-word" offends you, do not watch it.

Violence in thrillers - how much is too much

How much is too much violence in thrillers?

This is completely subjective, and will vary from author to author.  The use of violence is a tool.  Some writers (and this is not just with thrillers writers) have to show every blow-by-blow, every punch or kick or knife strike.  Then, there are others who show virtually no such specific action.

In order to do it right, violence must serve a purpose.  But, do not underestimate the power of the reader's imagination.  I recently came to grips with this on chapter 25 of my thriller Beholder's Eye.  The chapter centers around a teenage girl, who is kidnapped by a serial killer.  The chapter ends with her death.  During the first draft, I showed her very violent, very bloody death.  After thinking about it, I ended with the butcher knife being raised above the killer's head.  It would serve no purpose to show her death because we actually see a similar death in chapter 2--I don't need to show it again.

Also, I liked the way the chapter ended, because it leaves the reader wanting more.

Read some of your favorite authors.  How do they deal with violence?

Hooks - the great debate of "how many"

I once read a recent interview with a thriller writer where the interviewer was asked about hooks.  The writer said that there needs to be a major hook at the end of every chapter, to pull the reader into the next and beyond.

He is dead wrong--no pun intended.

If there were major hooks at the end of every chapter, the reader would get exhausted and be forced to quit reading.  Take your favorite bestselling thriller writer (not that the one in the interview wasn't--no offense but he wasn't as well known as John Sandford or James Patterson) and examine any one of their thrillers.  Where are the hooks?  In every single chapter?  Nope.

Didn't think so.

The key is to sprinkle hooks throughout your book, without it seeming like there is one around every corner.  This may be a piss-poor answer, but there should be just the right amount of hooks, not too many and not too few.

What is a hook?

In its simplest forms, a hook is a plot technique that draws the reader to continue reading the story.  This is typically at the end of chapters--but not every one.

Also, a hook should move the story along, not be some gimmick.  Don't end your chapter with, "And he opened the door and saw . . ."   Only to open the next chapter with, "His mother, holding a birthday cake.  And it wasn't even his birthday."

In Stephen King's 11/22/63 he ends with one of his chapters with the main character stepping through the portal, from 2011 to 1958.  That's it.  No gimmick.  Just plain, awesome writing.  And does every chapter end with a hook?  Nope.

Chances are, you know what hooks are, you just had to put a name to the technique.  Once again, I stress not to put hooks at the end of every chapter.  Hooks shouldn't be what drives a reader to read your story.  If you build your characters well enough and your readers will like them, they'll read it.

How I wrote the thriller "Beholder's Eye"

There is a fallacy in creative writing that in specific genres one has to outline.  Thrillers and mysteries are both genres that staunch outliners will say that these styles of stories need to be outlined or else they won't be any good.

Hogwash!

Case in point is Stephen King--even though he writes horror genre mostly, many of his stories delve into the mystery and thriller genres as well.

Okay, okay.  Stephen King can do it, but he has to be it.

Beholder's Eye was written entirely without an outline.  In fact, when I first wrote it, I didn't even know who the killer was--how odd is that!  Halfway through the book, when I discovered who the killer really was, I did go back and tweak and foreshadow some of the earlier chapters, but hell that's what editing is for.

How about mystery writers?  I read a book called They Wrote The Book: Thirteen Women Mystery Writers Tell All  It's a fascinating read, and it's funny to note that some of these mystery writers are outliners--and are adamant that this is the only way to go--and others who discover the story as it unfolds.

Once again, I have to tell you that I do not outline but if you need to, go for it.  Every writer is different, including you.  Do what works well for you.

What not to do with a thriller

Thrillers are stories that keep you on the edge of your seat, with suspenseful tension, but how does one accomplish this?

One could write hundreds--if not thousands--of pages on this topic, but let me use a metaphor to show you.

The tension in your story is a lot like fishing.  When you snag that big fish, you don't just reel it in with all the tension and strength you can muster.  Your line will break and the fish will be gone.  The best way is to keep the tension on at times, while other times you let up, allowing the fish/reader to take a breather.

The same goes with your thriller.  Pull the tension too tight and you'll lose the reader, wearing them out.  Keep the tension too loose and your reader will go do something else.

Read up on your favorite thriller authors and see how they accomplish this feat on tension.

When is a story good enough?

Bottom line: a story is probably never good enough.  But the real question that needs to be asked is: when is it good enough to get published?

This is something all writers struggle with, from amatuer and professional.  The difference is the professional writer has a team of editors and readers who can help with this process.  For the rest of us, we need to write and re-write and re-write and re-write . . . all the while relying on no one else but ourselves.

I've been working on Beholder's Eye for several years now (harboring a guess at around 2002 or 2003 when the first draft was written) but it hasn't all been for BE.  I wrote a 900-page fantasy epic right afterwards--yes, I went from horror on my first three novels, a thriller on the fourth, and the fifth is fantasy . . . phew!--so my time hasn't been dedicated to this one book.  I've also written the beginning bones to about two dozen other novels and several short stories.

But I have come back to it from time to time.  Then, in April 2010, our little library in Red Lake Falls was honored to have a literary genius Ian Graham Leask speak on the publishing industry and even took questions from each and every one of us.  I asked him about thrillers.  He said that thrillers, unlike other genres like fantasy, are typically time-sensitive.  He asked me to go back through my thriller and update things to see how "timely" they are.  This made a world of difference.  In the original drafts, my cops were using paper case files when in fact they're should be using something more modern and digital.

Back to the original question on when a story is good enough for publication . . . is entirely up to other readers and literary agents/editors.  Try your story out on a writers' group.  Nowadays, I read a story so often until it "sounds" as good as it's going to get, chiseling off all the little bumps from my literary sculpture.

And, if all else fails, try write something else.  You should always be writing.  Keep in mind, Stephen King didn't publish the first book he wrote either.  Carrie was his third.