My new novel is a departure for me as I find myself wandering into a genre that I have never written before: a supernatural thriller! The idea came to me in autumn last year and interrupted my work on The King of Pomerania. It did this by proving to be too powerful to ignore and totally taking over my imagination. I have read other books in this genre, I used to like Dean R. Koontz, especially in his early days, along with James Herbert. My only reason for not writing something was simply that I did not have a story that seemed strong enough; until now.

The working title for this book is ‘Why Me?’, which may change by the time I finish it; I like the question posing as a title, but I feel it does not capture the whole book. So, what is it about? Well, the short version is that it concerns a woman who wakes up in a hospital to discover that she is the most recent victim of a serial killer, and the only one to have survived his attack. The police are of course keen to find out what she can remember of the event, while the hospital staff are equally keen to complete her recovery from the serious wounds inflicted on her body. The supernatural part concerns the dreams that Jessica, the protagonist, has every night as in each of them she witnesses a woman being stabbed to death by a man that she presumes to be the killer wo also attacked her. Each dream is different and there are more than four of them; the police think that she is the fifth victim! Also, she comes to realise that she technically died as a result of the attack and that the medical staff cannot explain how she was recovered after flatlining for more than 4 minutes. Things get more mysterious when a man who claims to have been a medium appears in her hospital room despite her being under an armed police guard. He tells her that he can speak to the dead and that she has been chosen, but chosen for what and why?

Normally, when I write a book, I sit down and scribble an outline, which, if the idea remains strong, often becomes the first draft; that did not happen with this book! I went straight into the first draft and wrote it like it was the second draft; complete with dialogue, character names, chapters, and everything else. I have never done this before, but the drive to write this story is so strong. I have a stylesheet to record all the characters and the plot developments, which I am very glad I took the trouble to do. Thrillers need complicated plots. I have now written Jessica’s final confrontation with the killer, so effectively this draft is complete, but the book is not. I have to go back now and review everything that I have written and ensure the the chronology, procedural details, and technical facts are all correct. Readers of the thriller genre do not like simplicity or stupid mistakes, and neither should they, so I have to write in a few more red herrings, develop the characters more, muddy the waters, and see how dark I can make the book. It is currently at 118,000 words, but this extra detailing should take it well beyond that; I am thinking 150,000 words at least.

I read some of the manuscript to my wife and she pointed out that I have a habit of writing strong female characters. I am not sure why that is, other than I find cliched female characters boring. I think it might be because I see women as people and not just as the ‘weaker sex’. Although Jessica is a victim, she is, like most people, much more than a single label; she is complex. She has a past and a future and, as the protagonist, realises that she is going to have to fight to take back control of her life. I find that topic far more interesting to write about than her merely relying on the strong male detective to save her from the killer; I do not think that I could have gotten to 118,000 words with that idea!