Mystery
Date Published: 2/1/2021
What would you do if God asked you to help destroy the world?
After a full-grown gorilla is kidnapped in the middle of the night from the San Diego Zoo, Jim is hired by a Hollywood movie producer to try to track down the animal. Following the death of a child and the collapse of a marriage, Jim has been surviving as a private detective in Los Angeles. Jim follows the peculiar trial of clues, including the business card of a mysterious gypsy fortune teller, deep into the dark abandoned subway tunnels beneath New York City. Meanwhile, a young boy in Brooklyn secretly keeps a list of his fears in his closet, adding fears and crossing them off as he ages. Near the top of the list is one word that has never been crossed off: “God”. Their lives become mixed in this darkly relevant, heart pounding adventure that will keep you up at night, making you ask yourself questions that you may not be ready to answer.
Interview
Is There a Message in Your Novel That You Want Readers to Grasp?
Trevor Shane Response: List of Fears starts out as an oddball, but relatively straightforward, detective story where a rich movie producer hires a private detective to find a gorilla that has been kidnapped from the San Diego Zoo. It doesn’t take long for the story to turn in directions that I hope surprises readers and makes them think. Instead of sending readers a specific message, I hope that List of Fears forces them to question certain fundamental aspects of the world around them, all while keeping them entertained. Specifically, I hope readers walk away from List of Fears with new questions about free will and the meaning on purpose of life. From there, I leave it up to the readers to discover their own meaning, their own message.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Trevor Shane Response: I’ve now written seven novels and published six of them. Each one of them has had its own challenges. Of all of them, List of Fears was far and away the easiest one for me to write. This story really seemed to flow out of me. Every chapter, every paragraph, even every sentence had a purpose in the story and in bringing the characters to life.
How many books have you written and which is your favorite?
Trevor Shane Response: Of the six novels that I’ve published, List of Fears is the only one that I chose to self-publish. Each of the others were published either by Penguin Random House. I chose to self-publish List of Fears because, as much as I love every book that I’ve written, it is far and away my favorite. I simply love List of Fears too much to subject it to the normal editing process where you are asked to make changes for commercial purposes. I didn’t want to change a thing.
If You had the chance to cast your main character from Hollywood today, who would you pick and why?
Trevor Shane Response: List of Fears has three or four main characters, all of them with specific traits that I think make them compelling. Jim, the private detective, is an everyman who’s been beat down by life but who is still grasping for some sort of hope. I feel like Jeremy Renner plays that type of role really well. Vintner is kind of the opposite. He’s a character that’s had everything fall into place for him but he’s still searching for meaning, so it would have to be an actor that can combine confidence with sadness. Someone like Denzel Washington could really nail that. Finally, Darryl and Virgil would have to be played by unknowns because I wouldn’t want anyone coming into this with any pre-conceived notions.
When did you begin writing?
Trevor Shane Response: I also wanted to be a writer, but I didn’t really begin writing in earnest until about fifteen years ago, when I turned thirty. Until then, I was afraid that I hadn’t lived enough to have anything worth sharing. Now, I’m old enough to know that everyone has something worth sharing, no matter how much you’ve lived and what you’ve experienced. Everyone has something unique to bring to the table.
How long did it take to complete your first book?
Trevor Shane Response: My first book took about two and half years to write. By contrast, List of Fears only took about six months. As I said, it simply flowed out of me.
Did you have an author who inspired you to become a writer?
Trevor Shane Response: I’ve read so many books that have been meaningful to me during my life. I would consider the authors of each of them an inspiration. The authors that I have found the most inspiring were the ones that wrote books that I loved but that never found a broader audience. It’s easy to write when you know that people are going to read your work. It takes real courage to write when you don’t.
What is your favorite part of the writing process?
Trevor Shane Response: I love the quote: “I hate writing but I love having written.” I find some truth in that. However, my favorite part of the writing process is the brainstorming at the beginning. I love developing the story in my head. That part isn’t even work. It’s work getting what’s in my head down on to a piece of paper.
Describe your latest book in 4 words.
Trevor Shane Response: Dark, meaningful, entertaining, pulp.
Can you share a little bit about your current work or what is in the future for your writing?
Trevor Shane Response: COVID has made life exhausting so I haven’t been writing too much. I do have a few ideas floating around in my head though. One concept that I’ve been thinking about for a while is a superhero type character but one who develops their superpowers, not by random chance or luck, or even something that they were born with, but through years of study and practice. I love stories about people who are obsessed with their own art or skills because I love people who have such obsessions. I am attracted to passion and love reading about it.
About The Author
Trevor Shane’s novels have been published across the globe in numerous different languages. He is the author of the Children of Paranoia series and the award-nominated Memory Detective series. He is a graduate of Columbia University and Georgetown Law Center. He currently lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two sons.
Contact Links
Twitter:@childofparanoia
Purchase Link
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