Michael inviting Joe to go along on their illegal break in
was a controversial decision both in and out of the story. I had several beta readers tell me that they
hated it and others tell me they loved it.
Personally, I insisted on it because there is a limit to what can be
accomplished under the table. The Harris
family is so used to taking care of things themselves that they’ve forgotten
the law can be a resource. Exposing
someone legally is much more effective at neutralizing them than vigilante
justice. This decision is part of
Michael’s growth and development as a character.
This chapter has a few of my favorite lines in it. “Our witness is the ghost of a twelve-year
old boy who has been dead at least eighty years, delivered through a medium who
is certifiably crazy.” And “Fee, Fie, Foe, Fum, F*cker” which I’m considering
putting on a t-shirt.
It is true that in experiments no animal would get into an
enclosed space with a known predator, no matter what inducements were
offered. Shocks, food, doesn’t
matter. I’m extrapolating slightly that
no animal on the planet will do it, but if mice and monkeys won’t, I’m pretty
sure no wild animal will either. I first
heard this fact during a presentation of Gavin De Becker’s The Gift of Fear on Oprah.
Dalhard’s backstory came to me early on. His mother using his father for power and
influence. Him removing his father when
his father’s obsessions became an obstacle to his own power. I don’t know if you could have a more perfect
environment for raising a sociopath.
No comments:
Post a Comment