The Story Behind the Story with Author Christopher Sweet of New Brunswick, Canada.

 

We are beyond pleased to have Christopher return.

His dynamic novel is gathering lots of great reviews. 

It should. It’s a terrific tale. 

Mr. Sweet is no stranger to the Scribbler. If you missed his last visit, please go HERE. 

Read on, my friends.

 

 

Christopher is the author of four published works, including his newest novel of supernatural horror, The Orchid Room.

He’s worked as a freelance writer, manager, waiter, bartender, event DJ, actor, children’s entertainer, truck driver, shopkeeper, call centre operator, concierge, office assistant, barista, supply teacher, and—most recently—a campground manager.

Christopher is an avid reader and a lover of cinema. He's a nature hound who isn't above crawling through the dirt to get a closer look at a particularly interesting beast, bird, or bug.

He lives with his growing tribe of people and pets on a peaceful river in New Brunswick’s Acadian Peninsula.

Christopher’s newest novel, Encore, is set to be released in April.

 

Title: The Orchid Room 

Synopsis:

The teenagers of Maggie’s Knee have been vanishing without explanation, their disappearances blamed on everything from adolescent rebellion to “shadow people” in the woods. 

Farren Murakami, an eighteen-year-old who has suffered more than most, finds out first-hand where the youth have gone when she’s recruited to join a tribe of teens living in an abandoned camp hidden deep in the woods. It isn’t long before she learns there is more to the story than just runaway kids; a sinister presence dwelling in the forbidden buildings tucked far back in the camp seems to have handpicked her for its purposes.

In her search for answers, Farren discovers her involvement with the tribe goes farther back than she can imagine, and that whatever lives in the forbidden buildings wants much more than the fealty of some kids playing in the forest.

 

The Story Behind the Story:

When I was nineteen or twenty I read an instructional writing book that, very early on, rebuked any writer who dared to base a story or novel on a dream they had. Young as I was, I took this advice to heart and made sure my dreams stayed in the dream world where they belonged. Bummed me out a bit because I tend to have pretty vivid dreams. Goes without saying, whether I like it or not, my dreams have at least peripherally influenced my writing. But I never directly based anything I wrote on a dream I’d had.

Never say never, though, right?

Five or six years ago, while we were still living in Ontario, I had a dream about a girl running away from home. In the dream, she was being chased and escaped her pursuer by leaping into a pond, swimming down through a tunnel, and surfacing in a wooded clearing where a bunch of other kids lived. But since real writers don’t write about their dreams, I let it fade into memory. Several months later, I was hiking an escarpment trail and came across the ruins of an encampment set amongst some crumbled brickwork from a long-forgotten structure. Something about it triggered my memory of the dream I’d had about the girl running from home. The ideas merged and underwent the sort of transformation one can rarely deliberately orchestrate. A major element of The Orchid Room was born.

Over months, and many long walks, I mentally developed the general storyline for The Orchid Room, making notes on whatever was handy—mainly my pocket notebook and, when that wasn’t accessible, the Notes app on my phone, which is especially useful for dictating ideas while walking. I wasn’t really “looking” for another story idea at the time, which allowed the elements to come together pretty organically. Almost any time I had a relatively clear mind, the story would rise to the surface and new elements, characters, and settings would take shape.

I soon had a “world” full of places, characters, hazards, and bad guys. What I really needed was a protagonist to send into the world and fight her way through the nightmare I’d set in motion.

A couple of years earlier, in the summer of 2017, we lost my little sister when she took her own life. Lara was a strong, determined, kind-hearted girl who could and would take on any challenge. In spite of her own struggles, she put the wellbeing of others ahead of herself. Hard as she fought, she ultimately lost the battle being waged within her. Though I didn’t set out to base the character off my sister, I’d like to think the protagonist of The Orchid Room, Farren Murakami, carries the spirit of Lara with her. Both were dealt a rough hand early in life, both had their share of personal demons, and both ultimately wound up living away from home in a less-than-ideal situation for a young person.

The first draft of The Orchid Room was quite a bit different from what wound up being published. Many scenes were rewritten and more than a few characters were added and taken away. Several of them had their page time reduced while others got more backstory and wound up playing a bigger role in the story.

After a less than awesome experience with an editor I hired at a discount (lesson learned), I thought The Orchid Room was ready to be published. I’d been promoting the release date for some time by then and was on track to have the book ready to go by the promised date. With less than a month to go before the publication date, I decided to skim through the book once more, just to make sure nothing small stood out. That was both the worst and best decision I’ve ever made. I scratched out almost the entire first chapter! Anxious, I read on, red pen in hand. I significantly marked up every single chapter in the book, sometimes cutting entire paragraphs and, at other times, adding them. I was powerless to resist the violence. Finally, I was left with a ragged first printed copy of my novel, dozens of pink sticky notes protruding like square tongues from every angle. Nearly every page was soaked in red ink. And with only weeks to go until publication.

I’m not sure I’ve ever been so stressed out. Two weeks to go and dozens of hours of work ahead of me. Seeing my distress, my wife, Annie, told me to forget everything else and focus purely on the book. I’m not sure I’ve ever been given a gift so meaningful. I worked my butt off day and night, sometimes feeling like I was going insane.

With a couple of days left, I uploaded a much-improved, vastly changed version of The Orchid Room. The work was absolutely grueling but it all paid off, the end result is what the book was meant to be all along. I learned a very important lesson about giving oneself ample time for revision. I’ll never again rush a book to its deadline, at least if I can help it. 

Website: Please go HERE.

A question before you go, Chris:

Scribbler: Who was your favourite author, or story, growing up?

Chris: Growing up, and well into my adulthood, Stephen King was my undisputed favourite. I still remember being handed a copy of IT by one of my friend’s parents as an impressionable thirteen year old. I barely understood most of what I was reading, but that book grabbed me, as it did so many others. Tommyknockers came next, followed by nearly everything the man has written. The Dark Tower is still my favourite series.

Buy the Book HERE.

 

Thank you for being our guest once more, Chris. The Orchid Room is a great story. One I enjoyed tremendously.

 Best of luck and we wish you continued success with your writing.

 Thank you to all our visitors and readers.

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