What would you do if you realized you had just married a serial killer??

Every one in awhile you come across a story that scares you, yet you can't put it down. That is what Sharon Donovan has done. Scare me to death!
Imagine if you found out you had just married a serial killer. What would you do?????

How would you feel if you realized you had just married a serial killer?

I would like to explore some of the most famous serial killers of our time and their psychological backgrounds. Serial killers are deeply disturbed individuals. What do Charlie Manson, Ted Bundy and Jeffery Dahmer have in common? Childhood abuse seems to play a significant role in the destruction of their psyche. According to psychologists, if a child is traumatized before the age of twelve, it can cause irreparable damage. Even though a child that has been abused may block it out by dissociating, the trauma festers in the darkest recesses of the mind and can cause the mind to corrupt and can create the very horror we know as a serial killer.

Who could forget Charlie Manson and the Manson murders? The book Helter Skelter still gives me the wee willies. What could have caused this monster to orchestrate such a string of violence that still shocks and horrifies society several decades later? He was neglected as a child and did not know who his biological father was and suffered from severe psychological problems as a result. During a prison interview, Manson said that his mother beat him up and stole money from him, and he in turn, beat her back.

Ted Bundy was plagued with fear and self-doubt from the sixth grade into high school and college. He was a very disturbed individual, and evidence suggests his trauma began when he learned his sister was his mother. The aura surrounding Ted Bundy is still a mystery to this day. How could he lead such a double life? A family man and a demented killer?

Then there is Jeffery Dohmer. He had parents that loved him yet he still grew up to be one of the most repulsive killers of our time. Why? What would cause a seemingly normal child to become so violent? What would cause him to do unspeakable things to his victims yet show no shame or remorse?

For whatever reason, morbid curiosity or wanting to figure out the puzzle, serial killers draw us in. We want to read about them, talk about them, study them. I am no exception. The mind fascinates me. It’s a tricky faux. It can bend. It can break. It can snap. I took psychology classes for this very reason, to get into the mind of a killer. And once I had all my research and notes in short order, I created my most complex character to date. Michael DeVeccio is a cold-blooded killer in my newly released novel Mask of the Betrayer. In this psychological thriller, I take the reader on an incredible journey of one man’s life and the destruction of his psyche. What could have caused an innocent blue-eyed boy to grow up to become the most chilling serial killer of his time?

Michael DeVeccio is a sociopath. He is highly intelligent, devastatingly handsome and charismatic. He is sole beneficiary to a billion dollar dynasty and rules the world with absolute power. Yet if anyone dares and betrays him, he will kill them with a sword and shroud their corpse in a macabre skull mask with no remorse. He has the right to decide who will live and who will die. Something so traumatic happened in Michael’s life at the age of twelve, causing him to totally dissociate and lose his identity. Michael fell victim to a domineering uncle, a feared and revered leader of organized crime who trained his nephew to be his number one assassin. I hope you will enjoy reading Mask of the Betrayer as much as I enjoyed writing it. Here is a blurb and excerpt.

Mask of the Betrayer
Sharon Donovan


Fiction-Psychological thriller/suspense
Whimsical Publications,
LLC/paperback 282 pages
April 2010
$13.95
ISBN-13: 978-1-936167-06-7

Blurb
When the whispers in the night, the whispers of her lover, are the whispers of a killer, will Margot escape before she becomes the next victim? Deep in the foothills of Red Rock Canyon, a serial killer stalks. He leaves his signature—a skull mask on the corpse. But when the homicide cop realizes the crimes are the reenactment of a case never solved ten years ago--all fingers point to Michael DeVeccio. And when Margot realizes she is married to the killer, her life becomes a living nightmare. Suspecting her affair with Carlos, he had surveillance equipment installed all over the mansion. Once he showed her the very graphic video of her and his uncle going a tit in the satin-lined coffin, he’d used it to his advantage.
Michael suspected his uncle knew more about his parents’ accident than he’d let on, but couldn’t prove a thing. Desperate to uncover the truth, Michael blackmailed Candace into getting Carlos to confess on tape. If she failed, she’d be killed. Stuck between a rock and a hard spot, Candace had done things to the old coot that disgusted even her. But those things had made the old man sing like a canary and the taped confession had saved her life. After her mission was a done deal, Michael kicked her out of Vegas and told her if she ever returned, he would rip her lungs out.



Excerpt
Reaching Carlos DeVeccio’s bedroom, she got a little thrill as old memories surfaced.
Just a few more seconds and she’d fall into the arms of her lover. She smiled to herself. She had returned to Vegas for a reason. She was flat broke. But after tonight, Michael would be her ticket back into the world of luxury. Then she’d be mistress of the manor once more. And more to the point, she’d have access to his billion dollar bank roll. With a devious smile, she pushed her way through the heavy mahogany door.
Crossing the threshold, she entered the house of horrors. Carlos DeVeccio had been a real nut, one straight out of the books. But with her fetish for face masks, she loved his collection and had often come into his wing just to admire them. What a thrill it had been to have sex in the coffin, howling along with the werewolf. Some might think it a bit kinky, but they didn’t know what they were missing. Calling out to her lover, her pulse quickened a beat. “Michael? Are you here yet, darling?”That’s when she heard it, manic laughter from the final circle of hell. A slither of fear trickled down her spine, releasing a wild rush of adrenaline. Carlos? She thought about the death of Lacy Diamond. Two Ninja assassinations were no coincidence. Sensing danger, she felt for her sword. It was gone. Panic soared through her. Where the hell was it? The laughter got louder and louder, moving in closer and closer. It seemed to be bouncing off the walls. She couldn’t tell from which direction it was coming. Just then, the bell in the tower gonged, thundering off the walls like canon balls. Instinctively, she covered her ears with her hands. Where the hell was Michael?
Evil eyes from the face masks followed her every move. She had to escape this hell before it was too late. She couldn’t think over the gonging of the bell. Every few seconds, the werewolf howled at the moon. She screamed, even though she knew no one would ever hear her. Floundering in wild disarray, disoriented by the darkness and relentless gonging, she searched in vain for the door. Her arms swam in mid-air, like a person drowning, desperate for an anchor, something to hold onto. She reached out and grabbed at nothing. She had to find a way out of this mausoleum of the living dead before it was too late. Where the hell was Michael?
The laughter got closer. Perspiration drenched her skin. The chilling laughter echoed in her ears, louder and louder, closer and closer. The bell in the bell tower broke through the thin filament of sanity she had left. The werewolf open his mouth and howled at the moon. Where was Michael? He’d know what to do. He was a master. His fencing skills were extraordinary. He could wield a Ninja star with his eyes closed and hit the mark. Where was he?
Blood thundered in her ears, but not loud enough to block out the manic laughter. It was close but she couldn’t see a thing. She wished she had her sword. She turned to run; it was too late. She heard a distinct click. The killer had just depressed the button on her Zorro sword, releasing the thirty-seven inch blade. His psychotic laughter reached an ear-splitting crescendo just as the bell in the tower gonged out its last chime. From the dark shadows, Valentino pounced, her Zorro sword gleaming in the moonlight.
“Surprise!” he thrust the sword into her heart. “I promised to make you scream, darling Candace. Let me hear you scream.”

Thanks for a great preview Sharon welcome to the Pink Fuzzy Slipper Writers Blog, we are so proud to have you here.
We hope you have the best of luck with a wonderful tale. Just don't shut out the lights please!!



MASK OF THE BETRAYER
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Whimsical Publications, LLC
www.whimsicalpublications.com


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