Dr. Mike McLaughlin, an alumnus of SEAK’s Medical Fiction Writing for Physicians course, has recently completed a unique on-line reading experience titled The Satin Strangler Blogs under the pseudonym of N. Michael Caputo.
Who was the Satin Strangler . . . and how many men did she seduce and kill? The story leads us across the internet in an innovative click-through reading experience that attempts to answer these questions as the body count sky-rockets. This free on-line creation is delivered through the varied, biased, and often contradictory perspectives of 12 different bloggers. But the 105 blog posts that comprise the central story are only scratching the surface of this blog and social media e-world.
Amidst a media frenzy, Destiny Blande is accused of killing countless men as the Satin Strangler. Despite her acquittal, Destiny is widely considered guilty. She wants only to get her life back, but everyone else is obsessed with her and looking to cash in on their 15 minutes of fame. Do we believe Destiny’s attorney, the psychotic Barabbas, the digital-age preacher, the potheads, the serial murder aficionado, the stream of media rubbernecking writer-wannabes, or none of them? We will have to decide as we navigate this story of seduction and murder through this on-line community tracking the media megastar.
On-line readers can click straight through the central story or take their personalized experience as far “off- road” as they wish. Active readers seeking the full experience can explore endless detours through the 12 full-blown blog sites and interact through social media opportunities. We are encouraged to share our own fictitious experiences regarding the events of the story by commenting on the posts as we tour The Satin Strangler Blogs, adding our footprints for future readers to track. We emerge at the other end (if we choose to emerge) with an individualized reading experience and as another contributor to the world of the Satin Strangler.
The Satin Strangler Blogs is also now available as an e-book at this link. Part 1 is free, and the Complete story may be purchased.
“I was able to apply a lot of the principles that were covered in SEAK’s writing course when working on this project,” says Dr. McLaughlin. “Then I took the story and gave it an approach all my own, which is particularly gratifying.”