Today I am very excited to have Natasha Preston visiting Songs & Stories to talk about her new book, The Cellar. Please, join in the conversation! You can check out my review of The Cellar here.
Ms. Preston, welcome to Songs & Stories! I do believe
you are the first author of a psychological thriller to visit and I am very
much looking forward to picking your brain. Would you care for a cup of tea?
Coffee?
Hi! Thanks for
having me. Oh I love coffee, too much probably! Thanks.
When reading The Cellar I was particularly struck by the
characters; they were all very realistic and interesting in their different
ways. Which POV did you enjoy writing the most?
I enjoyed writing Clover/Colin the most. He’s so
complex and so different to any other characters I’ve written before. It was a
little too easy to write actually! But there were times when I couldn’t, it was
quite emotionally draining having to think the way he does and I wasn’t always
in the mood to do it. The challenge was great though.
How much research was required to write The Cellar?
Most of the research was things
like missing person cases, how easy is it to get hold of body bags and how long
it takes a body to decompose under water – Summer had to be missing for a
certain time before the search was launched, stupidly easy and quicker than I
thought. All things that look very suspicious if my internet history is ever
searched!
The Cellar managed to send shivers down my spine several
times; what are some of your favorite shivery stories?
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King. I think I felt just about
every emotion possible while reading that and had plenty of shivery moments! And
Gone Girl. I literally don’t know what to say about that book other than it’s
phenomenal and I wish I’d written it.
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I try for a bit of both. Before I start writing I have
to know I’ve got a story there so I usually plan what’s going to happen.
Planning is very simple one line bullet point notes though because I know I’ll
change things throughout. I have two thick notebooks full of story ideas
that’ll keep me busy well into 2018.
Have you thought about writing a sequel? I loved the way
The Cellar ended, but I am very curious about what happens to the characters
next. If you’re not writing a sequel, what are your future writing plans?
I’ve written a sequel but I did it
way too soon (when I still wanted them all to just go away) so it’s not right.
I’m more interested in a prequel about Clover after the death of his mother
through to kidnapping Summer, and Rose running
away from home, living on the street/in hostels and being kidnapped. I love
Rose and Clover’s characters because there’s so much more to them than just
what you see in The Cellar.
If you could cast any actor to play Clover, who would it
be?
Physically I picture him
as Anthony Perkins with that groomed, normal guy appearance but he passed away
in 1992. I honestly don’t know who I would cast as Clover, sorry!
Thank you so much for stopping by and answering my questions! I'm looking forward to whatever you write next. :)
Lieder Madchen
