When I first started writing thrillers, I planned to be a faster writer.
I imagined cranking out a book every six months. But here I am, a year and a half later, still chipping away at Next Exit, Dansville—the first book in my new series, Twisted.
The story centers on Dan Adamik, a frac truck driver who murders his wife in a fit of rage after catching her with her lover.
Desperate to escape the consequences, Dan spirals into guilt and madness—until his wife miraculously reappears, alive, with a bullet lodged in her head and no memory of what happened. Dan sees a chance to rebuild his life, even if it's on a twisted foundation of lies.
Sounds like a premise that would practically write itself, doesn't it? Turns out, it's been anything but.
The Twisted series will explore crime from the perspectives of disturbed perpetrators—morally ambiguous characters who force us to confront uncomfortable questions about guilt, evil and madness.
Writing this kind of story, though, doesn't allow for many shortcuts. It's an intense, unpredictable process, and often leaves me following threads I didn't see coming. (Half the time, it seemed, even I wasn't sure where the story was headed.)
Now I'm deep in the rewrite, untangling loose ends and trying to make sure the twists hit just right. The slog is slow going, but I expect Next Exit, Dansville to be worth the wait.
So James Dain readers—I ask for your forgiveness. And your patience.
