THE FACTS ABOUT THE BOOK
AUTHORS: Richard Finney & D.L. Snell
FICTION: Thriller/Suspense/Action/ Paranormal/Horror/Espionage/Romance/Drama
PUBLICATION DATE: December 1, 2011 Print and Digital
BOOK STATS: Approximately 220,000 words
Amazon prints a version of the book that is 804 pages.
Though the content is exactly the same, the Authors prefer a print version of the book that has a longer page count (937 pages), and a more attractive layout. This book is available through the Publisher; Book Stores; and other indie book-sellers. This version of the book was printed by "Lightening Source."
Amazon prints a version of the book that is 804 pages.
Though the content is exactly the same, the Authors prefer a print version of the book that has a longer page count (937 pages), and a more attractive layout. This book is available through the Publisher; Book Stores; and other indie book-sellers. This version of the book was printed by "Lightening Source."
INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR RICHARD FINNEY
Q: What was the hardest aspect of writing the book?
A: The self-imposed demand to keep up the quality of the work during the writing. When we had gotten past the half way mark of a 1300 page manuscript I became obsessed about ending better and bolder than I had started. … and trying to accomplish the task is delicate if you’re a writer, because you can’t allow that very thought to make you self-conscious and affect your writing. It’s an artisitic Catch-22 situation.
Q: But from everything I’ve gathered, you guys never knew when you were “half-way” through the writing… you almost never knew until the end where you were in the process.
A: That’s essentially true, but not exactly 100% correct. When we reached a certain point, about page 700 (of a 1300 page manuscript) we knew where we were and how much more we had to write. But up to that point, we were constantly surprised about the length of the book. And shocked by how long it was taking to write. It was hard for us to constantly absorb the constant movement of the markers… even harder to explain to our loved ones who were counting on our word that we had begun a novel that was supposed to be 400-500 pages and take less than a year to write.
Q: What happened? How did your novel get away from you?
A: It never got away from us… but at a certain point, around the 200 page mark, we started to get a feeling for what the novel could be. There’s a great quote from Norman Mailer, included in a biography on Herman Melville, written by Andrew Delbanco, on the process of writing -- “A good half of writing consists of being sufficiently sensitive to the moment to reach for the next promise which is usually hidden in some word or phrase just a shift to the side of one’s conscious intent.”
At a certain point… we saw “the next promise” rather than what we originally thought we were going to write about.
"The fear became so real that at a certain point I jumped to the end of the book and wrote out the last two chapters while I still felt in the groove..."
Q: Okay, so the book never got away from you, so does that mean you were in constant control?
A: No! Far from it. At a certain point I become obsessed that I would run out of steam… energy, creative drive… and not be able to finish. To be specific – not finish the book with the quality that I had written over the previous 18 months. The fear became so real that at a certain point I jumped to the end of the book and wrote out the last two chapters while I still felt in the groove… and then set it aside. My thought was that a reader would take the trouble of going through the novel, which turns out to be a 220,000 word book… only to get to the end chapters expecting a BIG FINISH and instead… we were tired and we didn’t end up rewarding them for their effort… of reading 900 pages!
As it turned out, I ended up being more energized at the end of two years of writing on the book than we were when we started. And I will also point out that for the most part both chapters were only changed for grammar and spelling issues… not content. That’s how completely worked out the book was from beginning to the end.
Q: But the fact remains, you started writing a follow up to a novel, “Demon Days” (that came out in December 2009), with the intention of a sequel novel being released soon after, right?
Q: But the fact remains, you started writing a follow up to a novel, “Demon Days” (that came out in December 2009), with the intention of a sequel novel being released soon after, right?
A: Absolutely right. When we started writing the follow-up, we both estimated that in 6 months or less we would have the next book in the “Demon Days” franchise out there. But then sometime in the 4th month we realized the book was becoming deeper, the plot more wide ranging, and the characters we would follow needed more space. At that point we figured it would take overall a year to finish. Then when one year came and went... we both agreed to stop predicting when we would finish and just focused on writing.
"Some of your best clues to what will eventually happen can seem like no clues at all…"
Q: I know you are already writing about some of the major artistic influences on the book? Can you name a few that were minor, but also important?
A: Yes! I dare say probably few who might be reading this have ever heard of a movie called “The Wisdom of Crocodiles.” I met the director and tried to finance a film with him directing. I thought it was an amazing take on vampires and it felt fresh when I first saw it years ago. When I was almost done writing the book, I watched it again with one of my daughters. She loved it and I still thought it was original and fresh. Definitely I can say that movie had an impact on me.
Another movie I have to cite as an influence was “Don’t Look Now.” Though I admit this was one of those instances where you don’t realize how much a movie has influenced you until you see it later. I was 75% finished with the manuscript and I watched this movie (after not seeing it for 20 years) with my daughter (a different daughter than the one I watched “the wisdom of crocodiles”) and I was stunned by how much the movie clearly informed my thought processes during some key points in the novel.
Another movie I have to cite as an influence was “Don’t Look Now.” Though I admit this was one of those instances where you don’t realize how much a movie has influenced you until you see it later. I was 75% finished with the manuscript and I watched this movie (after not seeing it for 20 years) with my daughter (a different daughter than the one I watched “the wisdom of crocodiles”) and I was stunned by how much the movie clearly informed my thought processes during some key points in the novel.
Despite what I say above, there is an intentional homage to the film in one of the chapters that takes place in Aleppo, Syria. So I was at least conscious on some level how much the film meant to me… but when I saw the film with my daughter I realized for the first time how much of an influence the movie had meant to my creative impulses. It informed the way I thought about using protagonists in strange countries. It also helped frame the concept of how a person who doesn’t believe in the supernatural reacts to extraordinary events. It also made me realize that some of your best clues to what will eventually happen can seem like no clues at all… to someone not paying attention.
Q: Anything you can now say about how you are different than when you first began writing the novel?
A: After two years of working on something non-stop… I’m weaker. I’m so glad the book only took two years to write. If it had taken much longer, I might not have been able to finish. The Book would have finished me.
Q: Even while writing in the genre of a modern commercial Thriller you attempted to embody the work with literary ambitions. The most daring creative choice was your decision regarding the narrative point of view throughout the novel.
Lastly, as a concession to achieve maximum impact in telling a story that would keep the reader on edge, I always made sure that if a chapter featured any of the main protagonists sharing time with an antagonist, the POV of that chapter would, by default, fall to the protagonist.
These are the choices you must make in writing a commercial thriller. You always want your reader to feel the protagonist is in jeopardy, which would be lost, or at least compromised, if I adopted the POV from an antagonist in the same chapter that featured a main protagonist. Now an interesting thing occurred when I had a chapter with one or more “antagonists” and no “protagonists.” That’s when readers should probably realize that perhaps someone they think is an “antagonist” is perhaps being restrictively labeled.
Q: Even while writing in the genre of a modern commercial Thriller you attempted to embody the work with literary ambitions. The most daring creative choice was your decision regarding the narrative point of view throughout the novel.
A: During the process of conceiving of “DEMON DAYS – Angel of Light,” I had wanted to experiment with POV. When I was very young, I read many of the works of Agatha Christie, including a very famous novel she wrote (which I will not identify because it would be a SPOILER) that had the narrator of the story ending up being… the killer. It was my first introduction to the “unreliable narrator” concept, but it also showed me the power behind whoever is telling the story can also be in charge of shaping the story for the reader.
Now let me clear, my ambition was not to have the narrator be the killer. “DEMON DAYS-ANGEL OF LIGHT” is not a murder-mystery. But what I did have in mind was to play around with the point-of-view of each chapter and how it affects the way the novel’s narrative would unfold.
"The most effective way to write about an “antagonist” is to remember that in their head, they sincerely believe they are the hero of the story."
Q: Why attempt such a feat? Why not just tell the story from the point-of-view of a “neutral narrator?”
A: I still wanted the resources that come with having a “neutral narrator,” but I also wanted each chapter to have a more personal view point. My goal was to give insight to the reader about the story that was unfolding, but make it even more intimate because they would be seeing it from the purview of a character they were following. And my agenda included not only the protagonists in the story, but other characters as well, including what some would call the… “Villains.” Though I would claim that they are “antagonists,” if any label has to be applied at all. And I would further claim that perhaps a few “antagonists” in the novel are also… “Protagonists.” Very early on in my training as a writer, I learned that the most effective and convincing way to write about a “villain” or an “antagonist” is to remember that in their head, they sincerely believe they are the hero of the story.
Q: So you moved forward with the intention that each chapter would have a different POV?
A: Yes, but still each POV would fall underneath a “style” umbrella. Almost as if we were getting a few different “voices” but they were… part of the same “context.” I also had a few rules. The first rule was that none of the chapters would ever showcase the POV of Satan himself. Whatever “The Angel of Light” was thinking was his business, and his thoughts (or “spin”) would come out the way he chose to communicate. And anything he had to say would be revealed through the point of view of the narrating character. I wanted to keep the essential motivation, thinking, and agenda of Satan (along with “God”) out of the reach of the reader.
Also, since there is the concept of “demonic possession” in the book, there had to be another rule -- I would never adopt the POV of a possessed person.
Lastly, as a concession to achieve maximum impact in telling a story that would keep the reader on edge, I always made sure that if a chapter featured any of the main protagonists sharing time with an antagonist, the POV of that chapter would, by default, fall to the protagonist.
These are the choices you must make in writing a commercial thriller. You always want your reader to feel the protagonist is in jeopardy, which would be lost, or at least compromised, if I adopted the POV from an antagonist in the same chapter that featured a main protagonist. Now an interesting thing occurred when I had a chapter with one or more “antagonists” and no “protagonists.” That’s when readers should probably realize that perhaps someone they think is an “antagonist” is perhaps being restrictively labeled.
Q: And yet you still retained the “neutral narrator?”
A: Yes, throughout the novel, I have a “neutral narrator” who relates what is happening in a “neutral” way. This neutral narrator ends up sharing equal time with the character who is guiding the direction of that particular chapter. Now I want to make it clear that this entire discussion is on a level of “sub textual.” When you are reading the book, the story should unfold in a way that everything I’m describing is, for the most part, seamless.
Q: We've been calling him a “neutral narrator,” but already some advance readers believe that this “neutral narrator” is God.
A: The beauty about novels is that the reader gets to sit in the jury box and come up with their own verdict.
Q: So you decided that writing a 900 page book was not difficult enough – you needed this extra burden?
A: Actually, there were aspects to this device which were not restrictive at all. For instance, at times the chapter’s POV is shared between two characters. However, I will acknowledge that adhering to a very strict POV within each chapter pushed me to become more thoughtful about how the narrative would unfold, which I believe ended up being one of the novel’s strongest points. It allows the reader an intimacy with several of the main characters, and allows a different POV on events as they unfold that would otherwise be restrictive with just one narrator or a limited POV.
"Readers, movie goers, and TV watchers are usually absorbing all three mediums. And in enjoying all three, it has changed the way we all process each medium separately."
Q: You started as a screenwriter, and eventually became also a film and TV producer. Recently, you’ve been writing novels. I believe there’s been a “cross-connection” between the three mediums – Film, TV, and Books – that ended up influencing the writing of your novel, “DEMON DAYS – Angel of Light.”
A: I’ve always loved books… way before I fell in love with movies and TV. But any creative artist in this age who does not pay attention to the fact that all three are important elements of popular culture ignores a simple fact – readers, movie goers, and TV watchers are usually absorbing all three mediums. And in enjoying all three, it has changed the way we all process each medium separately.
Q: But “DEMON DAYS – Angel of Light” is not your first novel. So have you had this philosophy for a while?
A: I certainly had that philosophy on my mind while writing the book “Demon Days,” (which proceeded “DEMON DAYS – Angel of Light”). It’s wonderful that the book has been generally well received, but I believe I fell short with what I wanted to accomplish. I wrote a book that was fast paced and had the visceral thrills of a movie, but ultimately it lacked the character depth of a good novel or a well written dramatic TV series where you get to fully understand the characters.
So, my goal was to completely rectify the situation when I wrote “DEMON DAYS – Angel of Light.” Whether I achieved that goal is now up to readers to decide.
Q: Okay, then let’s talk about a “film” term that some readers will know about, but others may not – a “MacGuffin.”
A: Alfred Hitchcock popularized the term to refer to an object – for him it was something tangible – that, within the framework of all the mystery/thriller movies he was making, would kick start the plot. In “North by Northwest” it’s a roll of microfilm. In “Psycho” it’s money that the main character has stolen. Now eventually in a Hitchcock film, the MacGuffin is tossed aside… discarded… no longer of any interest to the rest of the plot or story as the characters either die or their quest allows them to achieve something… more important. By repeatedly insisting his screenwriters use the same technique, Hitchcock was at least creatively consistent… but it also became a way for a thriller story to be told where the main character often times discovered that not only was the MacGuffin a throwaway, but something in their life was as well.
Q: I brought up the MacGuffin because the plot of your book has everyone trying to get a hold of what is called “the Black pages” -- a medieval document that might reveal the key to a deadly plot to trigger the Apocalypse. The Black Pages are your MacGuffin, and yet you don’t play it in the way a MacGuffin often functions in a thriller plot, right?
"Not only has the author failed to keep up with the possibilities of techniques to reveal his plot and characters, he’s ignored his audience, who have gotten way more sophisticated about receiving a novel’s narrative flow."
A: I’m not going to spoil the surprises of “DEMON DAYS – Angel of Light,” but in an attempt to answer your question, I will confirm that the “Black Pages” function within the plot of the book as the artifact that the main and minor characters are trying to possess. And, you are correct, unlike a Hitchcock movie, these Black Pages are not a “throwaway.” Indeed my goal was to embody the Black Pages with more significance than just being a kick starter to the plot.
Q: Another cross-connection between the three mediums is how you handle your narrative. The way you unfold your plot sometimes feels like it has the energy of a movie or TV series rather than the normal narrative language often done in thriller books.
A: A few years ago, I read a very popular thriller novel, by a very well-known author. I’m not going to name names here because that’s not important. The novel’s premise was said to play out within 48 hours or something like that. Now that is exciting if you’re a reader because it promises a fast paced plot. The reality though was that often times chapters would begin with the characters moving into a room with a “sense of urgency” only to have the author than write something like, “they had met before… many years before … under completely different circumstances…” And then the narrative flow would switch… actually beginning all over again, as the chapter would then depict the prior meeting, in every detail, as if it was happening in the “present.” After that past “scene” was finished, the author then jumped back to the present, played out the scene we had originally begun with, and then the chapter would conclude.
On the most obviously level, that kind of storytelling hurts the pace of a thriller book. And rather than a sense of “urgency,” there was none, which means that “suspense” is going to be a narrative victim as well.
But on another level, that type of storytelling completely ignores this cross connection of the three mediums we’ve been talking about. Not only has the author failed to keep up with the possibilities of techniques to reveal his plot and characters, he’s ignored his audience, who have gotten way more sophisticated about receiving a novel’s narrative flow.
Movies started with non-linear story-telling, and when it was done right, it could enhance the suspense and thrills of the plot. TV series, like “Lost” and “Breaking Bad” have gone even a step farther. They have taken the non-linear storytelling to another level where they are not only dealing with a single episode but they are running a whole season of shows underneath a non-linear umbrella.
Now, “DEMON DAYS – Angel of Light,” is, for the most part, told in a straight forward linear plot. There are “diversions” and what I call “plot hiccups” that allowed me as a writer to increase the suspense, character richness, and thrills. And I was able to attempt this only because I know readers have gotten very sophisticated with the way they absorb their entertainment and I was able to use that sophistication to be very aggressive in my story telling.
So, yes, I grabbed the strengths from all three mediums in writing “DEMON DAYS – Angel of Light.” I would be completely disengaged with my potential audience if I didn’t attempt it.
IMPORTANT LINKS:
Author Blog: http://richardfinney.blogspot.com/
AMAZON AUTHOR Page: http://www.amazon.com/Richard-Finney/e/B002VB89V8/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
SMASHWORDS Page: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/RSFinney
