D.
Melhoff says he wanted his recently-released GRIMM WOODS to remind us of
Hollywood “slasher” films, but with a more complex villain. He has set his
story at a holiday camp because “remote, helpless, isolated, etc.” helped him
create the “tone” he wanted. Kirkus Reviews says the book is, "The literary equivalent of a
slasher movie, one that garners its biggest frights with mere
implication."
Melhoff
is working on his next thriller, which he plans to finish by the end of the
year. When he’s not writing, he studies and practices Spanish and hopes to be able to carry
on conversations—also by the end of the year.
Q: You have
described GRIMM WOODS as a thriller or a horror story. What makes it a
thriller?
D. Melhoff: From day one,
I wanted GRIMM WOODS to feel like a Hollywood slasher film—in fact, the first
draft was a screenplay, not a novel. A lot of elements are reminiscent of those
films, including the setting (a remote summer camp), the characters (horny
teenage counselors), and the antagonist (an unknown terror in the woods). While
the story draws on these familiar components, I also didn’t want the antagonist
to be a typical 2D slasher villain, so that area required more thought and
exploration.
Q: What turned
you to writing horror stories? Who
is your favorite “horror” author? Why?
D. Melhoff: Writers write
what they like reading, and I’m no exception. If I had to name a favorite
author, I’d say Stephen King, although Thomas Harris would be a close second.
You can’t top Silence of the Lambs.
Q: Why will
readers care about your characters? Are they bigger than life or just ordinary
people?
D. Melhoff: The main
character, Scott, isn’t very likeable at the beginning. He’s arrogant,
irresponsible, selfish—the list goes on. But throughout the story, he’s forced
to make decisions that reveal his true nature is really that of a protector,
which gives him a significant bump in likeability (according to the book’s
Kirkus review, at least). Most of the secondary characters are one-dimensional
murder props, but that’s par for the slasher course. Again, it was the tone I was
going for.
Q: Does the
concept of villain versus hero apply to GRIMM WOODS? What makes a compelling
villain?
D. Melhoff: Oh, yes. In
fact, the concept of “who’s a villain vs. who’s a hero” is one of the central
themes in the book. More specifically, it explores the idea that sometimes bad
things are necessary in order for good things to happen. A compelling villain
is one whose idea of good vs. bad is the opposite of your protagonist’s.
Q: Is humor
helpful in telling your story?
D. Melhoff: You need a
healthy dose of humor and suspense in any story, regardless of genre. Think of
your favorite thriller novel—chances are you can pick out funny characters,
situations, or lines. Conversely, with non-thrillers, moments of suspense
create conflict and propel the story forward. So yes, humor is certainly helpful in telling my stories and
making them more believable.
Q: Do you write
strictly to scare, i.e., entertain, readers? Or do you embed a few messages
along the way?
D. Melhoff: I write to
thrill more than scare. In fact, I actually don’t like movies that make you
jump, which most friends consider strange. In GRIMM WOODS, there aren’t
embedded messages so much as interwoven themes. People can draw their own
conclusions.
Q: How
important is believability or credibility to engage your readers? How do you
pull them into your story?
D. Melhoff: Suspension of
disbelief is paramount. Readers can’t be thinking, “Why doesn’t someone do X”
or “Why haven’t they tried Y?” If you can cross your t’s and dot your i’s to
the point where your audience has no clue what they would do in a character’s
situation, you’re on the right track.
Q: Do you use
the setting at a camp to build suspense? Could you have told the same story in
a city?
D. Melhoff: The camp was necessary
given the tone I was going for—i.e., remote, helpless, isolated, etc. Placing
it in a city would have resulted in an entirely different story, one that would
have likely involved more of the crime genre.
Q: What’s next?
D. Melhoff: I’ve begun outlining
my next project but don’t have a first draft yet, which I’m hoping to complete
by the end of the year. It’ll be another thriller novel—i.e., nothing
paranormal or supernatural.
Q: Tell us
about D. Melhoff. What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
D. Melhoff: When I’m not
writing (aka procrastinating) I can usually be found eating or fumbling my way
through a variety of Spanish workbooks. My goal is to be able to carry out
conversations in Spanish by the end of the year. Duolingo says I’m currently
27% fluent, but whoever came up with that algorithm is an overly generous liar.
About D.
Melhoff
D.
Melhoff was born in a prairie ghost town that few people have heard of and even
fewer have visited. While most of his stories are for adults, he also enjoys
terrifying younger audiences from time to time, as seen in his series of
twisted picture books for children. He credits King, Poe, Hitchcock, Harris,
Stoker, and his second grade school teacher, Mrs. Lake, for turning him to
horror. For more information, visit grimmwoods.com.
About GRIMM WOODS
A remote summer camp becomes a lurid crime scene when the bodies
of two teenagers are found in a bloody, real-life rendering of a classic Grimm’s
fairy tale. Trapped in the wilderness, the remaining counsellors must follow a
trail of dark children’s fables in order to outwit a psychopath and save the
dwindling survivors before falling prey to their own gruesome endings.
Drawing on the grisly, uncensored details of history’s most famous
fairy tales, Grimm Woods is a heart-pounding thriller about a deranged killer
who uses traditional children’s stories as tropes in elaborate murders. Set
against the backdrop of modern-day Michigan, it’s a journey through the mind of
a dangerous zealot and a shocking glimpse into the bedtime stories you thought
you knew.
Links
Purchase Links
Exclusive to Amazon - Buy Link
Author
Links
Website ~an online hub for everything related to classic fairy tales, as well as the promotional site for D. Melhoff's thriller novel of the same title
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