How it came to be.
This is a short story I wrote over late 2010 and early 2011. The story blossomed from an idea I had about a man calmly commiting murder, disposing of the body and dealing with the psychological fall out. I deliberately wanted to leave out the backstory of the who/why/how/when to tantalise the reader, to keep an edgey element to the narrative.
Similarly, the protagonists are left shadowy and vague, providing only mere glimpses of who they are and what motivates them. We only know the second name of the main character, and we know more or less nothing of the victim. We don't know why Boyd does the work he does, or who he does it for. We don't know who he killed or why he had to die or if he deserved it. That's the way I wanted it.
I like short, sharp, economical writing, and while there's evidence of it my novel, Seven Seconds, I couldn't keep it up for 73,000+ words, but I felt more able to maintain the style with Unfamiliar Country.
If you buy Unfamiliar Country, I hope you enjoy the style and pace I've employed here.
