This is a slasher, why no opening kill?
I toyed with this idea for a little bit but ultimately decided against it. I figured it may be a risk, since there isn't a murder until a ways into the story, but was hoping the mystery in the set up would help to satiate anyone's lust for carnage. Since it didn't end up happening, I guess I can tell you what it was originally going to be: there was to be a prequel chapter that went over the events of 1991, from the perspective of the Killer. I liked the idea but thought it may be a little too cliche and ultimately decided against it. I thought the mystery of what happened in 1991 was much better than actually showing it, especially since's it is described by Liz later.
Where's all the sex?
I've gotten this question more times than I can count and I have a very simple answer for that: I felt weird writing it. Had the characters been a little older, I'm not sure if I would have had an issue but given their age, I did. With the violence, I felt that I was already pushing some boundaries and didn't want to go too far into the dark side on that front. Any of the characters that would have been having sex were below the age of 18 and so I didn't feel right going further into that. Things were already gratuitous enough and I didn't want to be classless. Do I regret it? Not really, as I already have felt awkward enough about my masturbation line and excessive drug use.
Why all the drinking and drug use?
This is a book about teenagers. I really think that about sums it up but if you somehow think that teenagers are innocent little angels, I have news for you. So that's why I included a lot of that. Most teens drink alcohol at some point and at least try marijuana. I didn't think it was an accurate portrayal unless I included that, especially since I was avoiding excessive sex.
Can we talk about THE KILLER?!
This is something that nearly everyone gets a hold of me about when they've finished the book. I've managed to keep it a secret from even my closest of friends/family (Marc still doesn't know who the killer is and he was there from the very beginning of my insane ideas for this book). So it's time to finally discuss it.
Carol was conceived to be the killer from almost the very beginning. There was a brief bit of time where I was toying with the idea of Carol and Al but I ultimately decided I wanted it to be entirely her idea. I think the idea that one person can do all of this damage and have such violence pent up inside them is terrifying. The original plan was to have the last words of the book reveal the identity of the killer but I ended up adding "See you real soon" because I thought it really showed how fucked up Carol is. I also thought that it capped things off well, while still letting the reader know that more is along the way.
I really have to thank Marc for opening my eyes to Carol. Originally she was much more overt and annoying in her obsession with Watanka. But after he told me she was his favorite character and he admired how much she loved her job, I changed my approach to the character. It made me see her main motivation as just serving the camp and ultimately that ended up being the catalyst for what made her crack. If you want to see the much more overt and annoying Carol, check out some of the chapters that I released nearly two years ago.
Carol was conceived to be the killer from almost the very beginning. There was a brief bit of time where I was toying with the idea of Carol and Al but I ultimately decided I wanted it to be entirely her idea. I think the idea that one person can do all of this damage and have such violence pent up inside them is terrifying. The original plan was to have the last words of the book reveal the identity of the killer but I ended up adding "See you real soon" because I thought it really showed how fucked up Carol is. I also thought that it capped things off well, while still letting the reader know that more is along the way.
I really have to thank Marc for opening my eyes to Carol. Originally she was much more overt and annoying in her obsession with Watanka. But after he told me she was his favorite character and he admired how much she loved her job, I changed my approach to the character. It made me see her main motivation as just serving the camp and ultimately that ended up being the catalyst for what made her crack. If you want to see the much more overt and annoying Carol, check out some of the chapters that I released nearly two years ago.
When will the sequel be out?
At this point, I have absolutely no freaking idea. Crimson Summer has been out for just over two months and I'm hard at work on Lies Our Family Tell Us which I am looking to get published. After that, work on the sequel will begin full force. I already have several ideas about where the book is going--Hell, I guess I don't have to beat around the bush. It will still be the slasher theme but I will tease that it will be taking place at a different location and Watanka will not be involved in any way, shape or form. I was really tempted to start right away, but I really want more reader feedback before I dive back into that world. See what worked and what didn't; which I think I have a pretty good idea of now. The only characters I can confirm as returning are Liz, Chase, and Carol.