Thanks again for subscribing to my newsletter. You may have landed here by entering a KINDLE book promotion or just found it by luck. But if you’re into thrillers, you’re in for a treat.
Expect candid conversations, honesty, occasional profanity, and an eagerness to exchange thoughts and opinions with readers and writers. I especially appreciate comments on anything to do with Thrillers and Suspense novels, movies, or audiobooks. And, I want to know if you appreciated (or hated) a story or topic.
I’m thick-skinned when it comes to my writing, so send your critiques too.
I’ll send the newsletter around the first of each month, or sometimes it might be twice per month if I've got exciting news to share.
A LITTLE ABOUT ME
I write suspense and thriller novels. I love all things mystery, suspense, and thrillers. I READ them, I WATCH them, and I LISTEN to them whenever I can. And because I immerse myself in the genre, naturally it’s what I write.
My love for mysteries started as a child: when I picked up my first Nancy Drew book and read it under the covers with a flashlight, long after “light’s out.” After Nancy Drew, I immersed myself in Agatha Christie novels. The first was her well known, “And Then There Were None.” I love closed door mysteries like that one and sometimes play around creating short ones just to stimulate my imagination.
My life has been one long adventure, starting with living in three different countries. I’m a certified diver and lived on a 48 ft boat for 10 years while cruising with my husband and three critters. I draw on those experiences and all the HAIR-RAISING moments when I write fiction. I don’t mean that I write about diving or boats, but rather that I keep those memories alive, to call up the emotions and physical reactions that help me write vivid scenes and interesting characters. I”ll tell you about some of the adventures and funny moments in future newsletters.
My all-time favorite Thriller author is Harlan Coben, and I strive to write in his style. I’ve even taken a course he taught! His thrillers are full of intrigue, compelling characters, twists and turns, and they always have one, sometimes two, surprise endings. And never a cliffhanger.
The most recent book I read by Coben is “WIN”— about an art heist, a wayward family, revenge, and betrayal. I enjoyed this book because it weaves intrigue, twists and turns, and of course murder, into a compelling read. I especially liked the main character, because he is unapologetic, with a sharp wit, and a dark sense of humor that reminds me of the protagonist in my thriller novel, “Ruthless Alliance.”
ABOUT MY BOOKS:
The books I craft brim with intrigue and psychological suspense, designed to grip you from the first pages. My aim is to make it nearly impossible to set the book aside.
I write all the characters in first person point-of-view (I) because it puts the reader in the character’s head and heightens suspense by leaving room for doubt about the narrator's credibility. It also provides a more immersive experience than other points of view (you, he, she, they.) Some readers can’t read in this viewpoint and have criticized my writing style, but I don’t expect to change it in future books.
Be prepared for lots of twists and a surprise ending.
About the F-word: Yes, I use it in my adult books and I don’t apologize for it. Long ago, it was banned in ‘polite’ society, but today the word has lost much of its stigma and can now be heard in playful conversation, on TV, and in respectable coffee shop discussions. Its use has changed over the years and today it’s the most tweeted cuss word by Americans. And in Britain it recently surpassed “bloody” as the favored obscenity.
I aim to write realistic characters who occasionally use the word in the course of conversations. If you’re offended, don’t read my thrillers.
That’s not to say I use the word regularly —I reserve it for when I’m with someone who won’t be offended, and when I’ve made a mistake as in how "I f*up" when I did this or that.
THE THING ABOUT THRILLERS
Every good thriller should be an entertaining experience. And you may think you’re reading just for enjoyment, but when a THRILLER grabs you by the throat, propels you through the story, and doesn’t let go until the end, you’ve experienced other benefits too. I’m not making this up. The New York Times did a piece on it, which you can find here. According to the study, Thrillers (more than any other genre) will result in the following beneficial effects:
it gets your heart pumping
your lungs get a workout as you breathe faster
mental stimulation when reading thrillers and mysteries serves as a mental obstacle course. It requires analysis as your brain works out the details
after analysis, your brain stores away the data for future reference, which is a workout for your memory.
It provides stress release: although it may sound contradictory, when you’re reading a tension-filled thriller, in addition to heart beat faster and create muscle tension in your neck, shoulders, and jaw. It’s like a stress ball for your mind, and results in a cleansing release similar to the benefits you get from physical exercise.
thrillers help you think about your values and make them stronger. When good wins, it makes the world feel right and gives you more strength.
A SHORT THRILLER TO STIMULATE YOUR MIND
By Luca Storm
The following is a chapter that didn’t make the final cut when I published Ruthless Alliance. It’s never been published. I think you’ll enjoy it, even if you haven't read the book.
I DIDN’T KNOW YOU COULD DO THAT!
Luis Fuentes, the daring undercover DEA agent, chuckled as he admired the Ferrari's finely crafted interior with sleek design and polished controls. But in this moment, what he valued most, was the throaty rumble of the Ferrari's mighty V-12 engine as they sped away from the scene.
“…think about it, Jack… If Alejandro put as much effort into his drug business as he does his cars, we’d never catch him—but here we are—on his heels again.”
“As I’ve always said, your best skill is spotting opportunities. His goons were so distracted by the ladies you sent over, it was no sweat driving away from the car wash in their boss' Ferrari. But I don’t get it…now they’re after us in that souped up Camaro, so how are we going to find Alejandro?
I knew they’d chase us in their backup car, so now’s your chance to show me what you learned by practicing those moves in Fast & Furious. You get to out-maneuver them, but not by much. They can’t suspect our plan is to have Alejandro come after us. He’ll be furious after he hears we have his Ferrari.
Jack glanced at the rear-view mirror, gripped the Ferrari's steering wheel and prepared to make split-second decisions. His eyes glazed over with the anticipation of thrill and razor-sharp focus. Beads of wetness gathered on his neck and back and he tightened his limb muscles, pumping them so they’d be preped to react.
And just as Luis predicted, the pursuers approached in the Camaro, its roar thundering forth as a foreboding sign of danger.
“Show me what you've got, Jack…”
Jack envisioned the green flag and said a sort-of prayer he'd remember the tactics. “Okay, let’s see what I remember. Hold on…”
Luis leaned back in the padded seat, his demeanor calm, but instinct moved one hand toward the gun holstered under his jacket while the other gripped the grab handle and braced against the footwell.
Jack pressed the gas and the car responded instantly. His senses heightened, and he pressed against the back of his seat, like during a plane takeoff. Vibrations coursed through the steering wheel and into his hands and body. Acutely aware of his surroundings,he sailed through the city's intricate web of streets, carving a serpentine trail as unpredictable as it was daring.
The roar of the Ferrari filled their ears with a deep rumble they also felt as the vibrations from the engine resonated through the car and into their bodies. The air in the car felt thick with heated breath and palpable adrenaline as they skirted disaster with each hairpin turn and heart-stopping drift.
Startled bystanders, thrown into chaos by the unexpected intrusion, screamed with terror as they pushed their families out of the reach of the screeching tires and away from devastating physical harm.
Jack executed every maneuver he knew with a surgeon's precision as he sliced through dense traffic like a knife blade. But every turn was echoed by Alejandro’s men, their determination for revenge only topped by fear of their commander’s wrath.
As Jack maneuvered the Ferrari to make a sudden turn, he zoomed in on a woman with a stroller speaking on her phone and crossing the street in front of them. They were yards from her when she turned and saw them careening towards her. She froze, but Jack would’ve rather died than run over a mother with a baby.
He yelled ‘hang on’ and avoided her by crossing two lanes to enter a four-story parking garage on-ramp. He heard the crunch of metal and chaos left behind, but stepped on the gas and maintained speed as they climbed up the levels. The ramp’s walls reverberated with the sound of their engines. But he didn't slow down, even when they reached the top level.
He floored it to the edge without a wall as he made some instantaneous mental calculations and yelled at Luis to brace himself. Luis, mouth ajar with a wild grin on his face, yelled, "You're not serious—"
But Jack was. In a daring maneuver, he launched the Ferrari off the garage, sailing through the air to the lower adjoining parking structure. Time seemed to stretch, each second extending until they at last landed with a jarring bounce. The Ferrari’s tires screeched as they skidded across the concrete, leaving behind a trail of dark tire streaks and smoke. Despite the rough landing, they emerged unscathed after a minute.
Luis let out a whoop of exhilaration, mixed with a surge of adrenaline-fueled laughter. "I can't believe we did that!"
The two of them gazed at the parking lot rooftop where the Camaro halted at the edge. The thugs stared back in disbelief at the bold jump they wouldn't dare imitate.
Then shaking their heads in disbelief, they yelled down an obscenity—their plan foiled by an unimaginable stunt they’d never be able to explain to Alejandro.
A moment later, the flashing lights and sirens of police cars converged on the other parking lot roof. With nowhere to go, the losers put their hands up. Officers swarmed and thrust all four to the ground with the full force of their bodies, cuffing each as they struggled to comprehend their defeat.
Luis and Jack listened as the scene unfolded. They couldn’t see much, but Luis laughed like a maniac—a sound of victory tinged with madness sounding much like Michael Jackson in “Thriller.”
"Hey man, I get that you watched those Fast & Furious movies, but where and when did you practice that maneuver?"
Jack turned to him, with a toothy grin, and his grin grew into a chuckle. “I didn’t” he said, in triumph.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABOUT RUTHLESS ALLIANCE
You may have heard of my first thriller, Ruthless Alliance, a gritty and dark novel with a sense of humor. It’s based on a true terrorism plot that took place in Washington DC in 2011. But due to the secrecy surrounding the dual FBI/DEA operation, much of the facts are still unknown. So I used the available facts and wrote a fiction novel around them.
The novel has 347 reviews as of today and 79% are 5 stars. Pick it up on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or just about any other site that sells ebooks. There’s an audiobook too, available on Audible and most other audiobook platforms. The signed print book is available on LUCASTORM.com and Amazon has both ebooks and print copies.
Here are the links to help you find it:
AMAZON (ebook and print)
APPLE BOOKS
Barnes & Noble
KOBO
Book to Read
EVERAND
VIVIO
KOBO Italy
ANGUS & ROBERTSON (Australia)
That’s it for January! Thanks for reading to the bottom!
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