If you haven’t already read my review of this thrilling sequel, what have you been doing? It’s here anyway! Bite Risk is a series you must read and Caught Dead is a sequel which raises the stakes and definitely the tension. Thank you to S.J. Wills for taking part in a Q&A with me.
• Congratulations with Bite Risk: Caught Dead about to be released. What have you enjoyed most since the first Bite Risk was released?
Thank you! I think my favourite thing has been hearing from children and teens who enjoyed the first book – especially the ones who don’t normally read horror/thrillers but surprised themselves and are now looking for more of this kind of thing.This genre can feel really empowering and energizing for children, because they get to experience feeling a bit scared and excited while knowing that actually, they’re safe.
• Did you approach the planning process differently for Caught Dead as you had created the world and characters in the first Bite Risk?
There was less to do in the sense that I was already familiar with those aspects, but there were different planning challenges this time. At various points Sel is… let’s say ‘unavailable’ to tell the story, so other characters get a go at narrating as well. Moving from one voice to another, I had to decide who would be best to reveal different parts of the puzzle, in what order. Not everyone is in the same time zone, which meant I had to keep a close eye on that for consistencyand to make sure it wouldn’t get confusing. Also, there are a few competing agendas going on, so I had to make sure I was keeping careful track of who knew what, who wanted what, who was where, and why. At times it felt like trying to wrestle eels into a neat row. I’d get a couple in place, then find the others had wriggled off. It’s all very well to plan, but sometimes when I get into the nitty gritty of the first draft I spot problems that I hadn’t anticipated, and have to rethink.
• There were so many genuinely scary moments in Caught Dead. What was your favourite part of the book to write?
I’m not sure what this says about me, but I enjoy getting my characters in trouble. I push myself to think ‘And now how can I make it worse?’ over and over again. I’m pretty good at catastrophizing, which is a terrible, anxiety-inducing habit in real life and not at all recommended, BUT it does come in handy for writing thrillers and horror, so I try to channel as much of it as I can into my books. Probably the most fun I had was in the last fifth or so of Caught Dead, the climactic scenes.
• To me, the Revenant is one of the foulest, most brutal villains. Who/what are your horror inspirations when writing?
The Tripods trilogy by John Christopher had a big impact on me as a teen. In the second book – the City of Gold and Lead– the Master, whom Will (the main character) serves, was absolutely fascinating to me. Disgusting, terrifying, evil, violent, gentle, and vulnerable at the same time. As an adult, Ifind everything M.R. Carey writes exciting and inspiring. I’m inspired by TV, too: I love screenwriting that surprises as well as horrifies me – Severance was deliciously disturbing and gave me lots to think about.
• Your books are so edgy for readers in that you don’t genuinely know who will survive to the end. How invested do you get in your characters?
I am pretty attached to them all and I want them to succeed, but every now and then I do glance at them sadly and think ‘oh dear, I’m not sure you’re going to make it’, as if it’s not up to me. Sometimes I have plans for a particular character but then I find I’m making them do something else, because it suddenly seems right. I think that’s what a lot of authors mean when they say their characters take over – the more you write them, the more you realize what they would do and that’s not always the same thing you thought at the start of the draft.When that happens it’s both infuriating and exciting, but I do think it makes me more invested in them!
• Who was your favourite character to write this time?
I liked writing Mika, as a fresh voice. I introduced her briefly in the first book knowing that she would have a much bigger part to play in this one. Other characters don’t pay any attention to her in book one but there’s no ignoring her in Caught Dead. She’s inspired by one of my best friends, who is a particularly kick-ass person.
• Any teasers for book 3 please?
The end of Caught Dead drops a big clue as to what is to come in the third book. There are some alarming developments. The internet is swirling with all sorts of nonsense conspiracy theories about Sel, and they have real, dangerous consequences for him and his friends. The horror aspect ramps up a little more – I trawled my nightmares and memories for things that terrify and truly repulse me, and put those in.
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