Original Idea

One of the things that sells books to publishers is having a unique high concept.

I knew when I wanted to take my novels to another level, that I wanted to branch out from more classic romance into something more mainstream and contemporary. Something more like the exciting novels I've come to love in my own reading life (you know...the books that inspired me to specialize in romantic suspense in my Atlanta Heroes Superromance series ;o)

And one of the common responses I received from all the editors who read my Derk Legacy pitch was that I had a unique, original idea on my hands. So, thanks in part to Bob Mayer's Original Idea workshop during one of his weekend retreats years ago (where I was just starting to get my brain churning around doing a different kind of book), here's the original idea for my new "Legacy" series for Dorchester books ;o)

Original Idea: Psychic powers are exploited to assassinate classified government targets—using only the mind, scientists can custom design and remote-trigger violent daydreams.

Premise: Hijacking nightmares, secret government scientists imbed sleeper programming into the subconscious of unsuspecting people. Homicidal fantasies (lucid dreams) can then be triggered in the waking world, transforming innocents into deadly weapons. Beware—your next daydream could become a living nightmare.

The first two stories in the series, Dark Legacy and Haunted Legacy (or Forogtten Legacy, I can't decide about the title for the sequel), are paranormal romantic suspense, based on a secret family legacy of psychic power that a government weapon's program wants to exploit...

Come back tomorrow, for a closer look at the legacy ;o)