Dear Reader
Dear Reader,
Locked wards are fortresses, with countless rules, regulations and security measures. Outsiders generally are never permitted entry. But in order to write my new novel - to collect authentic details to populate its pages and understand what my characters were experiencing - I knew I had to somehow find a way to get inside one.
Finally, I found someone in a city hundreds of miles from my own who agreed to bring me in for a visit. I learned there are stringent rules for visitors:
*No jewelry so you won’t be choked with your own necklace.
*No cell phones, pens, or purses – all are potential weapons.
*Dark, plain clothing only with no lettering or logos to avoid triggering a resident.
*If a resident approaches, never show fear.
*Don’t maintain prolonged eye contact.
During my visits, I experienced everything my characters did. Once, as my escorts and I began to enter the series of secure doors to the ward, guards began rushing past us. There was about to be a “take-down” for a resident who’d attacked another man and was threatening more violence.
When the agitated resident caught sight of me, he began banging on the thick plastic security wall, trying to get to me.
"He smells fresh blood,” a nurse commented – a phrase that made it into my novel.
Some of the residents of locked wards are accused of pathological stalking, assault, even murder, which is one reason why I was drawn to set this novel in one. I’ve explored the concept of evil and its source in several novels, but never have I plunged in as deeply as I did in The Locked Ward.
I hope you enjoy stepping into the surreal setting of a locked ward, where it may seem as if the world has tipped on its axis. After my last visit, I left the hospital and sat down on a bench for an hour, unable to move. Then I went to my hotel and began to write. This book is the result.
Sincerely,
Sarah Pekkanen
Locked wards are fortresses, with countless rules, regulations and security measures. Outsiders generally are never permitted entry. But in order to write my new novel - to collect authentic details to populate its pages and understand what my characters were experiencing - I knew I had to somehow find a way to get inside one.
Finally, I found someone in a city hundreds of miles from my own who agreed to bring me in for a visit. I learned there are stringent rules for visitors:
*No jewelry so you won’t be choked with your own necklace.
*No cell phones, pens, or purses – all are potential weapons.
*Dark, plain clothing only with no lettering or logos to avoid triggering a resident.
*If a resident approaches, never show fear.
*Don’t maintain prolonged eye contact.
During my visits, I experienced everything my characters did. Once, as my escorts and I began to enter the series of secure doors to the ward, guards began rushing past us. There was about to be a “take-down” for a resident who’d attacked another man and was threatening more violence.
When the agitated resident caught sight of me, he began banging on the thick plastic security wall, trying to get to me.
"He smells fresh blood,” a nurse commented – a phrase that made it into my novel.
Some of the residents of locked wards are accused of pathological stalking, assault, even murder, which is one reason why I was drawn to set this novel in one. I’ve explored the concept of evil and its source in several novels, but never have I plunged in as deeply as I did in The Locked Ward.
I hope you enjoy stepping into the surreal setting of a locked ward, where it may seem as if the world has tipped on its axis. After my last visit, I left the hospital and sat down on a bench for an hour, unable to move. Then I went to my hotel and began to write. This book is the result.
Sincerely,
Sarah Pekkanen
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