Obsessiveness Pays Off
Lost Grove: Part One follows a tenacious lawman who digs into the mystery of a woman’s death, discovering the town is hiding more secrets than he anticipated. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Charlotte: The idea first originated when I visited the quaint and stunning Victorian town of Ferndale, CA. I was inspired by the picturesque surroundings and the magical vibes it made me feel. While I was there, I came up with the idea of a series of interconnected weird tales, something akin to Josh Mallerman’s Goblin, six separate tales that all happen in the same town, with some loose connections. A few of the original stories I came up with were one about The Green Man, one about Mary the Vampire, and one about a mysterious institute (which became the Orbriallis).
Alex: When Charlotte brought the idea to me, I came up with the concept of tying them all together through a detective story, which are my favorite books to read.
Charlotte: I came up with the idea and image of Sarah Elizabeth’s body being found on a beach. With Mary being there.
Alex: And I grabbed the baton from there to come up with the actual case.
Sergeant Seth Wolfe is an intelligent and intense character who is set on discovering the secrets that the town has hidden even as the clues drift away. What was the inspiration for the main character’s traits and dialogue?
Charlotte: I think Seth was an amalgamation of some of my favorite detective characters from books, as well as my husband.
Alex: Insider secret – that’s me. The husband. But what else are you leaving out, Charlotte? Don’t hold back.
Charlotte: Ugh, fine. Yes, I will also admit there was a little bit of Seth Rollins, the current WWE Champion, in there.
Alex: There ya go. So, Charlotte established his overall character and then passed him off to me, knowing my penchant for detectives. I wrote the majority of Seth’s dialogue and really leaned into the stoic nature that Charlotte came up with. He’s seen things in his almost twenty years as a homicide detective in San Francisco that make it hard for him to get phased by much. I also consciously forced his dialogue to not be from my personal voice.
Charlotte: Right, because truthfully, you talk more like Nate Abbot, one of our favorite teen characters.
Alex: Very true, which is why I had to rewrite a lot of his dialogue to make him awesome and hilarious.
Charlotte: Is that why? (laughs)
What was the hardest part about writing a mystery story, where you constantly have to give just enough to keep the mystery alive until the big reveal?
Charlotte: I think one of the hardest parts of writing a mystery story is keeping track of the clues and what’s been revealed, when, and by whom.
Alex: And this is where our obsessiveness pays off. We did an epic amount of prep work before digging in to start actually writing the novel(s). Coming up with the overall story arc first, and then using flashcards to break it down event-by-event, date-by-date, covering our entire living room floor with them.
Charlotte: Yes, that was very important. But we also had to allow for natural surprises to come out in the process of writing the novel and not be fully tied to these pre-planned events.
Alex: Right. Much like preparing for an opponent in sports. Like if I were a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves—-
Charlotte: You’re not.
Alex: No, but if I were, it would be practice, practice, practice, study tape, read reports. But then, when the game comes, we’d have to be willing to throw all of that aside and just go play. Allow for the opponent, in this case, our story, to challenge you and force you to switch gears.
Can you tell us a little about where the story goes in book two and when the novel will be available?
Charlotte: I’m going to take a queue from Mr. Scott Gimple, franchise boss of The Walking Dead Universe, and vaguely reply: you’ll get answers.
Alex: (laughs) Oh, I think we can say a little more than that. Every now and then, Gimple will actually give the audience something to chew on. I will say this: the title of book two is The Orbriallis Institute, which one could logically conclude that you’ll learn a lot more about the mysterious research facility.
Charlotte: Very true. I will add that you’ll also see the teenager’s friendships grow and that their mystery will take less of a backseat in this one.
Alex: And you’ll learn more about the Green Man and that Peter Andalu—
Charlotte: Okay, that’s enough.
Alex: Fine, fine. Can we at least tell them the date?
Charlotte: Absolutely. The Orbriallis Institute: Lost Grove Part Two will be released on Tuesday, October 8th.
Alex: And that’s this year, 2024. So, not long to wait! Just the way we planned it.
Charlotte Zang Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Alex J. Knudsen Author Links: Goodreads | Facebook | Website | Amazon
In the eerie, enigmatic town of Lost Grove, where secrets whispered among the rustling pines are as thick as the fog rolling in from the sea, the discovery of Sarah Elizabeth Grahams’ lifeless corpse on the windswept beach is but the first note in a haunting symphony of mysteries.
Sergeant Seth Wolfe, the town’s tenacious lawman, penetrates the cryptic and labyrinthine secrets veiled beneath the town’s murky facade. A connection to Sarah Elizabeth, one he could never have fathomed, begins to take shape, blurring the lines between his own existence and the mysteries that enshroud the town. Suspects multiply like whispers in a haunted forest, but each lead unravels, and the mysteries of the case deepen.
Meanwhile, a group of local teenagers embark on their own harrowing mission, driven by a relentless desire to answer the riddle of their friend’s vanished brother and expose the sinister secrets harbored by an affluent institute nestled in the heart of Lost Grove. Bringing their disturbing findings to Seth, he discovers eerie parallels between their quest and his case.
As Seth dives deeper into the abyss of darkness gripping Lost Grove, an unsettling incident threatens to derail his investigation and shatter the illusions of safety the town has harbored for far too long. A chilling web of malevolence begins to tighten its grip, ensnaring them all in a nightmarish dance that will test the limits of their resolve.
Readers who love the eerie, unsettling mystery of Stephen King’s The Outsider and the monstrous legends of Brian McGreevy’s Hemlock Grove will enjoy this twisty, taut thriller.
Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2024/03/10/obsessiveness-pays-off/
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