Shane Briant: Worst Nightmares
Book Club Picks
May 20, 2009. Shane Briant and Queenie D chat about his debut thriller, Worst Nightmares.
Book Club Picks: Interview with Shane Briant
Where
did the idea for the dream website serial killer originate?
I
was astonished by how many young people shared all their secret fears and darkest secrets with total strangers on the Internet. They seemed to have
absolutely no sense of security. Added to that they were happy to use their credit cards with abandon and chat to the opposite sex on dating sites,
the object of which was to meet these strangers in bars and 'get to know' them. What was different about the Internet from a man walking up to a
girl in the street and saying "Hey, you look cute, how about we go and have a drink and get to know each other?"
So I came up with the idea of a serial killer who was trawling the Net for victims that appealed. What better idea than to pretend to help them
overcome their phobias and then make them come true!
Book Club Picks: Interview with Shane Briant
I'm
not going to sugar-coat my opinion...this book is creepy! However, it's very well done, intriguing and keeps the reader feeling edgy. How do you get
into the mind of a serial killer like the one you've created in this story?
Delighted
you find it creepy!! I get into the mind of weird people in the same way I have approached playing psychopaths on film for all these years. I try
to imagine what it must be like to be a person with ABSOLUTELY no compassion or morality. So, for instance, I want something? I take it! I don't
like someone? I stick a knife in them and walk away, happy. I see someone screaming because I've done something dastardly to them? I laugh!
Book Club Picks: Interview with Shane Briant
An
interesting element to the story was the underlying notion of what it means to be successful. There were times where fame seemed to supersede law.
Do you think it's true that when a celebrity is caught up in a horrific, questionable situation the police treat the investigation differently than
they would of a "regular" citizen?
Absolutely!
That’s one of my themes. Of course, ultimately they get the same justice, BUT they have the best lawyers, they are treated with respect when arrested
and not stuck in a cage with drug addicts and crazy people. They generally make bail. The LAPD think twice about arresting them because they are
aware of the media attention they'll draw. I'd definitely like to be rich and famous if I were a criminal too!
Book Club Picks: Interview with Shane Briant
I'm
an avid mystery reader so am suspicious of all characters from page one in this genre. I began to have a sneaking suspicion of who the guilty person
was going to be but instead of making me like the book less, I liked it more! It added to the creepy and twisted plot. Did you leave a few clues
for the close reader for this reason?
GREAT!
That was the idea! I had only a few central characters so I wanted people to think it was possible that any of the three could be twisted. Can't
give away any clues but one of them could have been a split personality who never knew his other side was doing these things. And let's face it;
until you get to the end, it STILL was only a guess, hey?
Book Club Picks: Interview with Shane Briant
The
end left much to be considered. I don't want to spoil for others so I won't say, but I'm curious as to why you didn't come to a more definite
conclusion?
THE
SEQUEL!!!!!! Personally, I like to keep all the balls up in the air. Can't let things be too 'concluded' as long as it's generally satisfying. I
couldn't leave Mr. X where he was. That was a gimme. But once that was done, leave it a bit creepy. I have just finished the sequel Worst Nightmares – The Game.
I LOVED writing that one. It's set in LA and Paris. Wow, it's very dark and creepy and follows on directly from the first book.
Book Club Picks: Interview with Shane Briant
Can
you tell us anything about your current writing projects?
Editing
Worst Nightmares – the Game. Off to Book Expo America in New York next week. Then maybe another Worst Nightmares. I think the story
has legs for one more! I love these twisted people.
And thank YOU for all your interest. I adore feed back from readers of my books. That's what makes me write with a fervor.
Best wishes!
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