‘Eat and greet’ held with author Napear

Nadine Napear’s first novel, “Journey of a Killer,” is available for purchase. The author held a variation of the “meet and greet” at Starlight Diner in Cape Coral, called an “eat and greet.”
“I originally planned this event when this diner was called Dempsey’s,” Napear said. “Then they closed. When I approached Bill and Cathy, they were more than willing to hold this book signing for me.”
The event was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., and Napear arrived early. She autographed and sold several books before the event even started.
“It seems the writers bug is in my family,” Napear said. “I have an uncle that published two books and my father’s cousin was Sam Levenson (famous TV panelist and author of the 1960s and 1970s). So it’s in the genes. My mom always wanted to be a writer and I did find some of her stuff – she had good stories she just wasn’t quite sure how to write them.”
The journey to publish “Journey of a Killer” was difficult, she said.
“My first publisher accepted the book but then after several months wanted some scenes rewritten,” Napier said. “There is a rape scene in the book that they decided after two months was too graphic and the character too young. I decided that it would damage the story to make the changes they suggested and the publisher and I parted company.
“It was fun writing this book and very challenging,” Napear said. “It took a year to write it and three years to edit it. Because I kept going back to it, I was never satisfied. I’ve never had a class in writing. I realized after writing most of the book I need to explain little things like why the main character needs to have a shovel in her car. I need to explain where the knife came from. I’ve never had to write details like that or clear up details for the reader. This was all new to me and that’s why I took three years editing and rewriting.”
The book has a timeline from 1967 into the 1990s and chapters jump from one date to another either forward or backward. The reader has to pay attention.
“That’s why I titled the book ‘Journey of a Killer,'” Napear said. “I wanted it to be like a journal. The dates were very important and I had sheets of paper with different timelines. Keeping it all straight was challenging. I have a friend that loves details and he picked up on a detail that most people would probably miss. There is a scene where the main character is in a bar watching a baseball game. Well, I picked a National League team and an American League team. My friend advised me that inter-league play didn’t begin until the 1997 season so I had to change one of the teams.”
“Journey of a Killer” is the story of Sunny Whitaker, a young woman raised by the son of a mob enforcer. Whitaker learns from her father that revenge is an acceptable response to those who do her an injustice. As a young girl she follows her father’s instructions and begins killing at age 12. Later in the book, when she is 39 she’s on the run from Detective Spinoza, who has vowed to bring her to justice. Can she get away and start a new life? Or, is it too late?
Napear is already working on her new book, “Parallel Lives.” It is about two women who meet and discover that their personalities and their stories are alike.
“I am very excited about this new book,” Napear said. “It’s completely different from ‘Journey of a Killer’ because it is a more linear story and somewhat easier to write. Hopefully it will be available shortly.”
“Journey of a Killer” is available at Amazon in paperback ($16.72) and Kindle ($5.99).