Let's Kidnap Me (Author Interview)

  

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GPPGJVC/

What inspired you to write Let's Kidnap Me?

I wanted my first novel to be a story that would be relatable to a young demographic, specifically millennials, Gen Z, etc. I wanted to write a fun story about characters that everyone could either relate to or say, “I know someone JUST like that character!” 

I thought to myself, what is a topic that most millennials and Gen Z’ers would relate to and what came to mind ultimately was “what am I doing with my life?” I feel a lot of our younger generation are struggling with existential crises and an overall feeling of having no direction in their life. So, what does someone who has no idea what they want to do what their life do? What lengths to do they go to? Well, they resort to a life of crime, of course! I kid, but this story is basically about contemporary youths who are frustrated and tired of trying to go about life the “legitimate” way and getting nowhere and instead turning to drastic measures.

 Can you tell us how Claire and Corey’s characters developed in your mind?

I wanted Claire and Corey to be opposites of sorts. I enjoy writing sassy, bratty characters and that is very much Claire. Full of sass and energy. Corey is more lowkey and downbeat. They say opposites attract, right? Well, these two attract in the worst way. I wanted it to be clear to the reader why these two aren’t a good match for each other despite having been together for quite a while when we meet them.

 What challenges did you face while writing a story with such a unique plot?

I wanted to represent the and the female voice as equally as I could. Since the story switches back and forth from the perspectives of Claire and Corey, I didn’t want the story to seem like I, the author, leaned more toward one side rather than the other. And of course, me being a male, I didn’t want to mis-represent the female perspective of Claire, so I tried as best as I could to be fair writing both perspectives.

 How do you think readers will relate to Claire’s frustrations with her life?

I think many of us in this day and age feel directionless and don’t quite know what to do with ourselves or what direction to take our lives in. This is the crisis Claire is in. Now, make no mistake, Claire is spoiled and self-entitled, that’s embedded in her character, but there’s a vulnerability to her that I’m hoping female and male readers could latch onto.

She is sad on the inside and is really looking to be loved by her boyfriend, Corey. She’s crazy about him and he’s the thing that’s helping keep her grounded, so to speak.  She hatches the idea of the fake kidnapping scheme mainly because she wants to run away with him and wants the two of them to live happily ever after without any monetary concern. I think everyone at some point of their lives has had that fantasy of running away with their significant other and just “escaping” life.

 What was the most fun part of writing this book?

I honestly loved getting into the wacky, twisted heads of both characters and activating different parts of my brain to achieve the male and female voices of these characters as best as I could. In fact, I think I had slightly more fun writing Claire than Corey. She’s a firecracker for sure.

 Did you always know how the story would end, or did it evolve as you wrote?

The story definitely evolved as I wrote. I don’t think I figured out the end of the book until I started approaching the end. Luckily it came pretty naturally at that point.

 How would you describe the dynamic between Claire and Corey?

Claire and Corey have a lopsided relationship. Claire is obsessed with Corey and Corey has had it with Claire. However, Corey hasn’t divulged that to Claire, so she is unfortunately blissfully ignorant to what Corey has been feeling inside. Corey doesn’t want to hurt Claire’s feelings, but he is not happy and knows that the relationship is approaching its climax. Make no mistake, Corey is very much leading Claire on, and he knows it and thus why he’s hoping this kidnapping scheme is his “easy” ticket out.

 What message or theme do you hope readers take away from the book?

I think even though the plot of the book revolves around this fake kidnapping, the real beating heart of the book is about relationships, or rather toxic relationships. Toxic relationships are sadly very timely with my generation and the younger generations. I wanted to present how differently two people in a dysfunctional relationship like this think and act.

These two are not the kind of people you want to model your relationship after!

 How did you balance humor and tension in the story?

I always like to lace my stories with humor in general. I never want the humor to be slapstick or break the tone, but I like to try to make people chuckle while they are on edge. There’s an undercurrent of dark humor throughout this story that hopefully the readers will find relieving after the moments of tension and suspense.

 What are you working on next; will it have a similar tone or style?

I am nearing completion on my second novel which I am looking to publish during the holiday season of 2024. It’s a very different story but has a similar tone to Let’s Kidnap Me but plays with genres a bit. It is what I would call a romantic comedy, that evolves into a drama that evolves into a thriller.