Charles Pero's Journal

Working with My Publicist

noreply@blogger.com (Who is Charles Pero?) — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 17:18:00 +0000

A publicist, as defined by the folks at Wikipedia, has the following main function: "A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, or for a work such as a book or film." When my publisher suggested that I have a publicist at the publishing house for the specific purpose of promoting and handling my books, I thought it was a good idea. I realized that having someone to promote The Twisted Killer Series, The Maze Murderer, and Pero Thrillers would take me and my books where we needed to be.

I agreed that it would be in my best interest to have someone working at the company's physical location in order to have better access to my materials, books, and everyday functions of the publishing business.

It's quite a unique experience to have someone promoting my materials, and I have not yet had the pleasure of personally meeting S. (the publicist) yet. Still, because of all the phone conversations and emails we've sent back and forth, I feel as if we have known each other for a long time.

I like having a publicist to help set up interviews, work with my schedule, write press releases and complete all sorts of other everyday activities. As you might imagine, it would be difficult for me to find time to do all these things and still operate my family's international agricultural business. I also find it helpful to bounce ideas off S., sometimes just to generate fresh concepts.

To be perfectly frank, I often find it hard to get used to working with someone new. Fortunately, by keeping communications open with S., and letting her know my expectations, I'm sure we'll be able to develop a bond of mutual trust, which will allow us to work well together.

A Writer's Dream

noreply@blogger.com (Who is Charles Pero?) — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:17:00 +0000

It was always my dream...
...to get my stories out of my head and into books so my stories could be read around the world.

...to make the characters in the Twisted Killer Series come alive and to share their personalities with my readers.

...to have my mother and father come up to me and say, "i am proud of you, son."

...to have my sister Angela, who reads two novels a week, say to me that my stories were as good as the best of them.

When I first started this new adventure of writing murder mysteries involving serial killers, I found it to be an intriguing experience. I researched and gathered a lot of information about serial killers so that I could describe an authentic crime scene in The Maze Murderer, in which "Frank and Vinny" (my main characters) would find clues.

While researching the subject of serial killers, I came to my own conclusions about these criminals, which I'd like to share with you.

One of my biggest theories is that serial killers are copycats. This type of copycat killing has been going on for years. For instance, in the 1800's in Australia, children were being murdered by babysitter serial killers. It was the custom in those days for parents to leave their children with babysitters for weeks, but when the parents returned to pick them up, they found the children had been killed and the serial killers were already looking for the next town.

Let's take Jeffrey Dahmer, for example. He loved to eat humans. Did you know that in the 1920's a grandfather named Labert Fisher used to lure children into his home and he would eat just their asses. Did Jeffrey Dahmer read about Fisher and want to follow in his footsteps?

Makes one thank about it, doesn't it? It sure made me start thinking about it.

I could go on and on about similar killings, but I am getting tired and need to get some rest. I love to write just before I go to sleep, because in the morning an idea for the next plot will pop into my head. So it's time to sleep so I can dream and wake up with more to tell you...

Radio Interviews

noreply@blogger.com (Who is Charles Pero?) — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 17:15:00 +0000

I'm trying to send a quick email out of my office at the Pero Vegetable Company before the noon hour. I shuffle some files around and stretch across a mound of paperwork to grab my Twisted Killer Series Folder which was (of course) on the opposite end of my desk. This is what I call the "process." By process I am transforming my role as a businessman into that of an author. A day can never get old or mundane by having the luxury to change my occupations at the flip of a switch. One minute, businessman...next minute mystery thrillers author specializing in serial killers.

I'm in a hurry because the radio station from the Midwest is going to call me on my cell phone at any minute for the interview we scheduled just a week ago. My office phone rings, but there is no time for niceties since I'm printing off my notes for the radio interview, all the while trying to complete that initial email.

Ah, email...SENT. Notes...PRINTED. Folder with special circumstances cases...FOUND and READY. My cell phone rings. It's showtime.

I like radio interviews. the hosts have great questions and the natural ability to involve the audience. Each station and their projected audience ask different questions. It's truly amazing how many different variations of questions and comments you get based on what kind of people you are speaking to.

One thing is certain, and I can always rely on this factor: Serial killers have been found all over the Country, and people from those areas want to talk about "their" serial killer. It is a strange phenomenon, and perhaps our fascination with serial killers is quite askew. For example: Ted Bundy. You are probably very familiar with his name and his motives and methods. But can you name just one of his victims? People want to hear about the killer: where they worked, personal information, how they "ticked," everything. For today's interview, I printed off notes for the BTK killer or the "Bind Torture Kill" murderer, since he was from the Midwest and I'm interviewing with a Midwest station.

It's important to understand your audience when doing radio interviews, I'm still learning as I go. My publicist has created an online event calendar for me on this website to showcase what day and time my radio interviews are scheduled. If you happen to be in the broadcast area in which I'm interviewing, call the station; I'd like to hear from you!