Behind the Scenes

with Frank Peretti

Q. How did the power of story affect you as a child?

1. It affected me in a special way. I remember watching “The Wonderful World of Disney” on television; the stories and the action were a part of me. It was something I knew immediately I wanted to do – be a part of the story. I knew I was innately made to be a storyteller. Some people read stories as a “receptor.” I read stories as a creator.

17. Your stories have a strong visual element. How do you write for the reader to “see” the story?

1. Classic novels are written for the love of words, the richness of language. And while there is a place for that style of writing, the bulk of today’s readers want a story to create vivid images in the mind. I try to write for our present culture, which is visually-oriented. It is interesting how little you can give a reader and yet he or she will picture it perfectly.

Q. How is Monster different from your other books?

A. Monster, more than any other book, I wrote from a cinematic view, a screenplay mentality. There is not a lot of back story on the characters. I decided to experiment – I wanted to write a story where you’d learn about the characters by watching them do what they are doing, not by reading their family history. There may be some critics or readers who don’t like it, but I left some details out to see if the power of the story could carry the book. The speed of Monster’s storyline is a factor. I’m banking on it.

Q. Much of religious fiction is didactic. How do you avoid that in Monster?

A. It is a tightrope to walk. Christian fiction spends a lot of time making its point. But good fiction needs to spend more time making the story work. Yes, I have an idea I am trying to move further in Monster. But I don’t want to frame an entire story around an argument.

Q. What is the process for writing your novels?

A. It is always the same four-step process: brainspilling, outlining, writing and re-writing. Any novel I write takes a full two years to complete. I outline thoroughly and plan the book carefully before I ever begin to write.

Q&A, Peretti on Writing, page two

Q. Your novels deal often deal with unknown evil – demons, sin, oppression and now monsters. Why does your writing explore the dark side?

A. It is given I will be pegged as a suspense writer. I guess I find those topics interesting. But if you don’t have some kind of evil – well, at the least some kind of struggle – then you don’t have a story to tell. You’ve got to have something to drive the story. You’ve got to have something to keep the pages turning.

Q. Why do you believe people like to be frightened?

A. Honestly, I have no idea. Why do people go on rollercoasters? As far as I’m concerned, fright doesn’t have much to do with why a book is read. It is the intrigue of the story.

Q. What scares you?

A. Spinning in the snow in a car (laughs).

Q. Do you have a germ of an idea for your next book?

A. I honestly am thinking about doing another Darkness* book. I want to get a wider perspective of what’s going on in those stories—what is happening in the world around the characters. After Pearl Harbor, the world was changed. If you could make a list of the things that changed after 9-11, that would be something. I am beginning to think that one of the best ways to explore this phenomenon is through a sequel to This Present Darkness.

February 2005

*This Present Darkness was Peretti’s first international bestseller, and with the sequel, Piercing the Darkness, has sold more than 4.5 million copies to date.

Monster

By Frank Peretti

Available April 12, 2005, from WestBow Press

Hardcover: ISBN: 0-8499-1180-X, $24.99, 464 pages

Audio: CD, 270 minutes, $26.00, ISBN: 1-5955-4020-2

www.TheMonsterHunt.com

www.Perettionline.com

For review copies and author interviews, contact Jana at McClure Muntsinger Public Relations

jana@mmpublicrelations.com, 804.754.2118