One summer I wrote a scene that perfectly linked two of my books together. It had sex, murder and high stakes neatly wrapped up in about seven pages. I never expected to publish that first chapter because it was too risqué, but when it leaked out to a few early readers the response was phenomenal. As I relaxed my prudish, editorial side a bit and tried not to worry about what my mother would say when she read about a threesome in one of my books, I realized that those seven pages created the foundation for a monumental conflict. That conflict became the centerpiece of my novel Sin & Vengeance. I still wonder if I will ever create anything so compelling again.
After
I released
, something quite unexpected happened. Readers
fell in love with the villain. It wasn’t love per se. Randy Black was a guilty
pleasure, a train wreck readers couldn’t look away from. They wanted more. The
problem was that when they thought about it, they wanted to see him punished. I
felt like they wanted me to write a scorching death scene so they could feel
there was justice in the world and go on with their lives feeling safe and
secure.
Writing Randy’s character was extremely liberating and I wasn’t ready to let him go.
A
Demon Awaits began as an experiment and a challenge. I wanted to redeem Randy
Black in my readers’ eyes and help them see the justification I saw for what he
had done. Over these two books, Randy became the tarnished hero who is so
commonplace in fiction today, but his backstory is laid out for readers in an
entire novel. Because the novel ends with Randy as a villainous character,
readers had time to evaluate him based on what he had done. It’s like they had
lived his backstory rather than being told about it in dribs and drabs throughout
later books. When they picked up A Demon Awaits and started reading, they
brought their feelings about Randy Black with them.
A
Demon Awaits opens by rewinding to the last page of Sin & Vengeance and
replaying Randy’s brutal arrest. The next scene stuns many readers. Randy is
confronted by God and told that he has crossed the line of His tolerance. He
must work hard to redeem himself and he is shown what will become of him if he
fails.
What
follows is both a high-action novel and an exploration of the nature of
forgiveness; forgiveness from our God, our government, and ourselves. It can be
argued that there are those in our society that we should give up on. A Demon
Awaits challenges readers to decide who should be saved and who we need saving from.
The book shines a light on clergy reaching out to help, vigilantes seeking to purify the world, corrupt politicians enriching themselves at the expense of the governed, religious fanatics striving to impose their world view, and career criminals plying their trade. In the midst of all this chaos, Randy Black’s future has been hijacked. Randy is faced with unrelenting pressure to commit one final sin that will mean trading freedom on Earth for everlasting damnation. He grapples with the nature of good and evil as he decides who he must save. Seeing this struggle up close, readers have reconsidered how they define good and evil and have come away with very different ideas about Randy Black than they came in with.
Sin
& Vengeance has been adapted for film by LR Productions. The company is
currently shopping the film to Hollywood producers and studios. Please visit
CJ West's website: http://www.22wb.com
From paper to the big screen, that is a huge accomplishment. Congrats!
Posted by: Tannia E. Ortiz-Lopes | February 02, 2009 at 01:11 PM
What an interesting concept! I wish I could think in ways such as this - see something outer and pull it inward to create a work ...brava!
Posted by: kat magendie | February 12, 2009 at 10:50 AM
OOps - that previous comment was supposed to go on Michael Shilling's backstory - as I"ve not read this one yet - I apologize!
Posted by: kat magendie | February 12, 2009 at 10:51 AM