Why I wrote The Grotesque:

I was tired of novels where the “twist” is either obvious by the end of chapter 3, or the climax hits with all the excitement of a damp washcloth. Those safely written novels meant to appease the greatest number of readers possible. I’m sick of tropes and cliche’s, grammatically correct dialog, and unknowable characters. I want the demon child of Trent Reznor, Chuck Palahniuk, and Gillian Flynn. I want twisted philosophies and sympathetic characters who are a bit sick in the head. I want visceral desperation. I want it raw. 

So that’s what I wrote.

Go listen to GAVE UP (OPEN MY EYES) by NIN and FREE by Florence + The Machine. Watch the double feature of FIGHT CLUB followed by BLACK SWAN. Go read INVISIBLE MONSTERS by Chuck Palahniuk, and SHARP OBJECTS and GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn. 

I didn’t want my debut novel to merely be about some crazy thing that happened to some made-up people. I mean, it is, ultimately, but what I sought was that story that kicks around in your head after you close the book or turn off the TV. I want those moments of staring into nothing after the final page. Better yet, the book that makes you go paging back to discover the clues you missed the first time around. I wanted the story that makes your mind race afterward and changes your perspective. I wanted a story about me and about you. Pain. Hope. Loss. Dreams evaporating just beyond our grasp. About the things you think and do when no one sees you - when no one understands. Those moments when you’re lost and desperate.

You might not like my writing. You might hate my style or the characters’ voices. Maybe it’s too in-their-heads for your taste. Maybe, for you, it won’t accomplish any of the things I set out to do. That’s okay. I won’t take it personally. We can still be friends. I just hope that if this sounds like something you might enjoy, that you’ll check it out. And if you do, and it accomplishes any of the things I set out to do, that you’ll leave a nice review on all your favorite online places. And do let me know - whatever you think of it. Good or bad. We all need our escapes. Whether it’s an easy romance, a laugh-a-minute comedy, familiar tropes and cliche’s on every page, a nightmarish body-horror, or an in-your-face psychological thriller, there’s something for all of us. Sometimes, it’s just a little bit harder to find.