What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Vanishing Bodies?
I started writing the novel around 2016. By 2017, I was working on it quite a bit. I wrapped up the first draft around 2018. After a few years, and loads of feedback, I went back and rewrote the entire thing again 2022. So it’s been a long while in the making!
Originally, when I was working on the novel (in 2017) I was trying to write a standard romance. About halfway through I realized I wanted to make it science fiction. So I did. (In the original, the main character was just supposed to commit suicide and die. In the new version, he cannot die.) As far as inspiration is concerned, I dedicated this to a girl I used to know. I’ll leave it at that!
If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Vanishing Bodies, what would they be?
For Adam Micah, the theme song would be Time by Hans Zimmer. For Lilyanne, I think it’d be Slow Your Breath Down by Future of Forestry.
What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?
My favorite genre to read is nonfiction. I haven’t written anything nonfiction (yet!). I don’t read science fiction, but it’s one of my favorite genres to write in.
What books are on your TBR pile right now?
I’m finishing a cult novel right now that’s titled Of All Things Sacred. As such, I’ve been watching cult documentaries, reading about the Manson family, and such. I’m really drowning in conspiracy theories right now!
At the moment, I’m also reading Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O’Neill. As I’m already beginning research for my next book (based on the JFK assassination), I’m doing a lot of reading for that. And, yes, for anyone wondering, I will be reading all the conspiracy books and anti-conspiracy books. I’ve already read Bugliosi’s Helter Skelter and have his massive 1,600 page JFK book Reclaiming History in my library. Though, I would add, I’m not fond of Bugliosi’s scholarship (I don’t think he’s that good). In any case, I’m working my way through the JFK files. So my TBR pile is mostly JFK related.
What scene in your book was your favorite to write?
My favorite scenes to write, in general, are the poetic scenes and scenes that deal with philosophy or meaning of life. So the final scene between Adam and his father was probably one of my favorites.
Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)
Coffee, peanut butter jelly sandwich, same location, same time, same seat, every morning. I am done by noon. I don’t write in the afternoons or in the evenings. I always write first thing in the morning. I’m religious about it.
Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?
A million quotations that I live by. I love quotations! For this novel, I think the motto was, “Memory can make a thing seem to have been much more than it was.” Marilynne Robinson wrote those words in her book Gilead. That nostalgic-romantic sentiment encapsulated so much of Vanishing Bodies and what it was about.
If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?
It’s best to find someone you can remember with. That’s worth finding. The entire book is about that.
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