# PRIMAL WOUND - Psychological Thriller



## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

When Cicely Scott volunteers to be a kidney donor for her father, she is shocked to discover she is adopted. Suddenly she has lost herself, her history, her identity, her family. But she gains something else. She is free to become whoever she wants to be, informed neither by genetics nor family, but by her own set of ethics. Does that include the license to kill?











Cicely leaves her privileged life in San Francisco to find her birthmother, a frumpy beautician, one step above trailer trash, who lives in rural New Hampshire with her family. She spies on them, insinuates herself into their lives, and befriends her half sister. But her birthmother is terrified when Cicely reveals herself. Why?

Meanwhile, in San Francisco, Homicide Inspector Val Picard tries to track down the murderer of a young preschool teacher who worked with Cicely. Soon Cicely becomes a suspect.

Lies and betrayal lead to the ultimate crime-murder. But who is at fault?


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## welshcorgi (Dec 8, 2009)

Thank you for the opportunity   I liked the synopsis, and the price was VERY reasonable. I am looking forward to reading and will post back with my thoughts


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## Laurie (Jan 9, 2009)

kayakruthie said:


> After my publisher decided to charge $19.99 for the Kindle Edition of one of my old murder mysteries (Good Morning, Darkness), I decided to publish my latest murder mystery straight to Kindle for .99. It's a book I've been working on for years, forever trying to get the tone just right. I posted it this week.
> 
> *Primal Wound *is about a young woman, Cicely Scott, who volunteers to be a kidney donor for her father, and is shocked to discover she is adopted. Suddenly she has lost herself, her history, her identity, her family. But she gains something else. She is free to become whomever she wants to be, informed not by genetics or family, but by her own set of ethics. Does that include the license to kill?
> 
> ...


Sounds good. I one-clicked.


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## Eric C (Aug 3, 2009)

Intriguing plot!


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

I finally figured out how to post the cover, but the little Kindle covers the knife she's holding.  And the drops of blood on her apron!  A little homage to the greatest of all psychological thriller writers, Stephen King.


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## davinci (Feb 24, 2010)

Just bought "Primal Wound".  Looks great.  Keep those novels coming, Ruth.  "Amsterdam 2012" was the best book I've read this year.


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

Thank you, davinci, I do love flattery.  FYI, I am trying to put up a backlist novel, my first, up on Kindle, and two others that have been sitting in my drawer, and a collection of short stories.  I love how freeing publishing to Kindle is--when I think of the fights I've had with publishers over cover choice (and titles)--maybe they've been right, but I do so love to make my own choices.


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## davinci (Feb 24, 2010)

So I finished Primal Wound last night.  I gotta tell you, this reminded me of Stephen King at his best--where spooky and scary is not ghosts but your neighbors and family.  The detective keeps it a fast paced thriller, while the family drama with Cicely gets darker and scarier as people lie to cover their mistakes and greed, and it all leads to the dissolution of personality of an innocent young woman.  Really good.  I still like Amsterdam 2012 better, but this book should do well.


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

Thanks a million, davinci.  Several readers have mentioned a feel of Stephen King in the novel.  King actually lives only about ten minutes away from the fictional town Brockton, Maine, where the story takes place--an area I know well.  My relatives, who live there, used to see him every one in awhile.  There is something sinister about the area.  I suspect if Stephen King grew up in Pasadena, he'd write a very different kind of novel (as would I).


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## davinci (Feb 24, 2010)

I told a friend about your book and she said she had a nervous breakdown when she found out she was adopted.  So your story isn't far fetched at all.  Thought you'd like to know.


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## davinci (Feb 24, 2010)

In the top 500.  Good job, Ruth.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Hi Ruth,

I think you know the drill, but just as a reminder:

We invite you to use your book cover as your avatar and have links to your book and website in your signature. Be sure to read the fine print below. Don't forget to bookmark this thread so you can update it. Although self-promotion is limited to the Book Bazaar, most of our authors have found the best way to promote their books is to be as active throughout KindleBoards as time allows. This is your target audience--book lovers with Kindles!

Thanks for being part of KindleBoards! Feel free to PM us if you have any questions.

Betsy & Ann
Book Bazaar Moderators

_The fine print:
Please add to your existing book thread when you have news about your book rather than start a new one, it helps the members who are trying to follow you. You may have a separate thread for each of your books. We recommend you bookmark your post so that you can find it in the future.  You may respond to all posts, but if there have been no member posts, we ask that you wait a week before "bumping" the thread by posting back-to-back posts of your own. And we ask that Amazon reviews not be repeated here as they are easy to find at your book link. Also, full reviews from other sites should not be posted here, but you may post a short blurb and a link to the full review instead. All this, and more, is included in our Forum Decorum. From time to time our site rules may change; be sure to check Forum Decorum (http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,36.0.html) for the current guidelines and rules. _


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

My short story "Truck Cemetery", published this month in the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, inspired me to complete "Primal Wound".  If you like the Ellery Queen story, I think you'll enjoy the novel.  

Ellery Queen Magazine is incredibly supportive of new writers, so if you have any interest in mystery or suspense writing, give them a try.


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

I just discovered Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine is now available on Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/Ellery-Queens-Mystery-Magazine/dp/B000N8V3FA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1274542367&sr=1-1


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Has been for quite some time. . . . .at least since I got mine in July of 2008. . . . .Also Alfred Hitchcock and Isaac Asimov


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

I know, I know, Ann.  How could I be so slow?  I simply assumed since the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine has been around for so long and is traditional in so many ways that it would be slow to adopt technology.  Wrong!  However their price is more for the Kindle version than for paper, which seems odd.


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## davinci (Feb 24, 2010)

Got curious today and saw your ranking at 173.  Congrats!  Hope you break 100.


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

The hardest part now of being in film script development is how much there is to review.  But they are looking at Kindle books--it's inexpensive and easily accessible--so keep your titles visible.  I know from years of working in the film business that they hate coming up with original material, and would much rather find something from a book.  So they do a lot of scanning of blurbs and reviews, looking for that idea that sparks their imaginations.
  
That said, I got a nibble yesterday from a small production company "for Primal Wound."  I know how these things go--1 in 1,000 optioned properties gets made, but it's exciting nonetheless.  We'll see how it goes.  

Good luck to all


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

"Primal Wound" is featured today on The Indie Spotlight. It looks great! Thanks a million, Greg.

http://www.theindiespotlight.com/


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

Today we're featured on DailyCheapReads.com, formerly known as KindleCheapReads.com.

Thank you Paula for your support, and for helping everyone find the book they want at the price they can afford.

http://dailycheapreads.com/


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

We're now available for Nook! No reviews yet. You'll still have to go to Amazon for that.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/product.aspx?ean=2940012705310


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

Free for a week on Smashwords!


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## VickiT (May 12, 2010)

Talk about a gripping story, Ruth. This is one book I just didn't want to put down. Thank you for such a terrific read.  

I can't wait to read another Ruth Francisco novel!

Cheers
Vicki


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

Thank you, Vicki.  It was a fun book to write.  I wanted to explore the relationship between identity and adoption--are we the sum of our experiences, or is there some immutable core in us that defines us regardless of our choices and the scars we bear.


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

I had to reread this book before I put it up on Kindle, and as I read it I realized how much it is a story about my own ambivalence about growing up in Puritanical New England.  

Even though a story on the surface may appear to have nothing to do with an author's life, it continues to astonish me how personal fiction writing is, how I reveal more of myself through my fiction than I do even to my closest friends.  Perhaps that is one of the reasons writers write--to reveal their most intimate thoughts in a safe "fictional" way.


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## VickiT (May 12, 2010)

kayakruthie said:


> Even though a story on the surface may appear to have nothing to do with an author's life, it continues to astonish me how personal fiction writing is, how I reveal more of myself through my fiction than I do even to my closest friends.


So very true.


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

We share a secret dark side, Vicki.  I've actually forbidden my boyfriend from reading my books because I don't want him to know the evil lurking in my imagination.  I don't know why it is easier to reveal yourself to your readers rather than to your friends and family.  Perhaps it feels safer.  Perhaps it is what drives us to write.  A guilty conscience for which there is no good cause.


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

Although mine is a cautionary tale, Oct. 31 through November 6, 2011 is national adoption week.


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

Another horror tale for Halloween.  That is, if you think people are scarier than monsters!


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

Another good yarn for a cold winter's night.


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

Got interest this week from a small independent production company to make an indie film.  I always get excited, but we've been there before.


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## VickiT (May 12, 2010)

How exciting, Ruth.  Regardless of outcome.

Fingers crossed...

Cheers
Vicki


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

Thanks, Vicki.  I always see my novels as films when I write them, and have written screenplays for a couple of them.  I might have to do an Ed Burns type movie with my own pocket money one of these days.


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

This Friday, October Baby opens, a truly riveting movie about adoption, and the search for one's birthmother.

http://octoberbabymovie.net/


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

If you haven't seen October Baby, it's worth it.


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

This Kindle book continues to sell well.  I guess the question of nature/nurture still tantalises.


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

FREE May 3 - May 4.


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

Today is National Adoption Awareness Day.  But there is a dark side to adoption.  I couldn't really write about the disaster of adoption in my own family--it wasn't my story--but experience informs our writing.


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

Just saw Philomena again.  It's really worth seeing.  Judi Dentch is brilliant.


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## kayakruthie (Jan 28, 2010)

November is National Adoption month.  For puppies, too!


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