4.) Where did you come up with the names in the story?

     The protagonist’s name—Dory—is short for one of my favorite names—Dorian.

     Tommy, the janitor, is named after the first person who befriended me at Berklee, and that Tommy is a drummer. The topic of drumming comes up in a scene with Dory and Tommy, and he is the first person who befriends Dory in the psych. hospital. Some people think he was named after Tommy Lee, but that is not the case; Tommy Lee never crossed my mind while I was writing this. Though his name came from someone I know, Tommy’s character is actually inspired by Danny Trejo’s character in Rob Zombie’s Halloween II, the psych. tech. who befriended Michael Myers in the asylum. I love Danny Trejo! He’s a badass!

     Arie is named for the Jamaican meaning of Irie—all right—as in “Every little thing’s gonna be all right” from Bob Marley’s song “Three Little Birds”. That song has special meaning for me. I’m a big Marley fan and I wanted to incorporate that somehow.  Also, the meaning of Arie is lion of God, and my girls here are a force of good, so there’s that link as well.

     Nurse Hatchet was named that way because a hatchet is a weapon. (I have a slasher story—which still needs to find a home—where the street where the killings take place is named Cleaves St. I love to play with words!) My nurse was not inspired by the nurse in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, though many people think she was. But in hindsight, she does bring that character to mind, so I understand why people assume that. I worked as a psych. tech. in a psych. hospital, and Nurse Hatchet was slightly inspired by a co-worker of mine, but not a nurse—a psych. tech.

     Dr. Headstrom, the psychiatrist who plays a very small though important role, was named that way because he’s a head doctor.  After I named him, I couldn’t help but recall Max Headroom from the 80s, and it made me laugh. It also made me consider changing the doctor’s name, but I laughed. I decided it was the perfect name for this character. 

6.) If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?

     I do sometimes think about a certain confrontational scene in the book that I might like to make different, and perhaps a little better, but I can’t dwell on that. I still like how it’s written because it fits certain aspects of the book and the characters. I think some of my rethinking about it is partly due to reader responses, but I also know that when I wrote that scene I was also wondering if I should write if differently. I was writing for a submission deadline, and, honestly, I also didn’t think I had enough time to revise the scene and get it tight by the deadline. So I left it alone. Again, I can’t dwell on that now. I just take that forward with me while I write the sequel. Who knows, maybe one day I will rewrite that scene with a reissue of the book. You can’t always tell what the future will bring.

7) Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?

     Less is more—that is the big lesson I learned. I’m normally an all-in sort of writer. Everything in my head goes on the page. But not everything in my head is pertinent to push the story forward and for the reader to get pulled along through the story. I hear some people complain about Stephen King and how his stories can often go on and on with scene descriptions. Some readers love that. Some readers hate that. (Many readers don’t care at all—if it has Stephen King’s name on it, they’ll read it no matter what. Personally, I’m a big S. King fan.) I’m trying to find a happy medium—enough scene description to give the reader a visual image and to set the mood, but not so much that the reader loses the sense of the actual story. My biggest fear with my writing—Here it comes!—is that a reader will come to a section in my book that makes them want to close it and set it aside. I want to be able to hold the reader’s attention long enough for them to read the whole damn book. (Then, hopefully, they’ll post a review somewhere online and share my book. Maybe it’s a good review. Maybe it’s not such a good review. But reviews are gold, and getting them is always a struggle for beginning writers like me.) 

     Pacing: writing this book made me think long and hard about the pacing and rhythm of a story. I love reading out loud; it helps me really set the mood with my voice, and it helps me get to know the characters better. It also helps me hear the rhythm and pacing better, and it always helps me discover where things are off, or clunky, or too slow or too fast, and where the rhythm falters and makes me trip over the words. Then I know what needs tweaking for a better flow. In my mind—everything makes music, and I want my stories to roll off the tongue like a song you can’t help but sing along with every time you hear it. (But not like one of those simple, crappy formulaic-catchy songs you hate but can’t get out of your head.)