Behind Bars at THE SCRUBS
My supernatural-thriller The Scrubs came out in paperback a couple of years ago and I relaunched it as an eBook a few months ago. I'm happy to say that it's doing really well, which warms my cockles as it's one of the few stories I've written set in my native England.
It's the story of James Jeter, a notorious serial killer with a sixth sense, holds court inside London’s Wormwood Scrubs Prison. He’s the focus of the “North Wing Project.” Under the influence of a hallucinogen, Jeter can create an alternative world known as “The Rift” containing the souls of his victims. Pardons are on offer to inmates who’ll enter The Rift. Michael Keeler has nothing to lose and little to live for. He’s sent into The Rift to learn the identity of Jeter’s last victim. It’s a mission where the guilty can be redeemed, but at a price…
Like all my books, there's a story behind the story and when it comes to The Scrubs, it was the prison’s name that inspired the story. The Scrubs is the nickname for Wormwood Scrubs, a real prison in London. I was thinking about names of places and things and how we forget their original meanings. You say Wormwood Scrubs to anyone in London, they’ll think of the prison, not why it was named that. I considered the name Wormwood Scrubs and pictured a field of wormwood in place of the prison and my imagination started turning. I turned my attention to wormwood itself. For those that don’t know, it’s a dangerous plant. It’s essentially poisonous and a hallucinogen. It’s what used to go into absinthe, until it was decided it was too dangerous. I had images of the prisoners affected by what used to grow under their feet and how that might change if someone with special abilities were affected by wormwood’s properties. From that I knew I had the foundation for a wild tale and I decided to have a flawed hero take on an evil man under the influence of a dangerous hallucinogen.
I know I’m biased, but I have a real fondness for the story as it pulls together so many elements and genres from horror and sci-fi to hardboiled crime. It’s a very vivid tale, which I think will stick with people. I love writing about damaged heroes and Michael Keeler falls neatly into that mold as a guy looking for redemption. I hope readers get behind his need to redeem himself while combating a vile antagonist.
The Scrubs is the first book in a trilogy of tales. The other books SCRUBBERS and SCRUB LAND will be finished later this year.
I released the book under my pen name of all things very dark, Simon Janus, to separate myself from my more typical crime thrillers.
The eBook is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Diesel, Kobo, the Apple ibookstore and Smashwords. The last remaining copies of the paperback are still available at Horror Mall.
People can read an excerpt here.
I’m really proud of the piece and I hope people will give it a closer look.
It's the story of James Jeter, a notorious serial killer with a sixth sense, holds court inside London’s Wormwood Scrubs Prison. He’s the focus of the “North Wing Project.” Under the influence of a hallucinogen, Jeter can create an alternative world known as “The Rift” containing the souls of his victims. Pardons are on offer to inmates who’ll enter The Rift. Michael Keeler has nothing to lose and little to live for. He’s sent into The Rift to learn the identity of Jeter’s last victim. It’s a mission where the guilty can be redeemed, but at a price… Like all my books, there's a story behind the story and when it comes to The Scrubs, it was the prison’s name that inspired the story. The Scrubs is the nickname for Wormwood Scrubs, a real prison in London. I was thinking about names of places and things and how we forget their original meanings. You say Wormwood Scrubs to anyone in London, they’ll think of the prison, not why it was named that. I considered the name Wormwood Scrubs and pictured a field of wormwood in place of the prison and my imagination started turning. I turned my attention to wormwood itself. For those that don’t know, it’s a dangerous plant. It’s essentially poisonous and a hallucinogen. It’s what used to go into absinthe, until it was decided it was too dangerous. I had images of the prisoners affected by what used to grow under their feet and how that might change if someone with special abilities were affected by wormwood’s properties. From that I knew I had the foundation for a wild tale and I decided to have a flawed hero take on an evil man under the influence of a dangerous hallucinogen.
I know I’m biased, but I have a real fondness for the story as it pulls together so many elements and genres from horror and sci-fi to hardboiled crime. It’s a very vivid tale, which I think will stick with people. I love writing about damaged heroes and Michael Keeler falls neatly into that mold as a guy looking for redemption. I hope readers get behind his need to redeem himself while combating a vile antagonist. The Scrubs is the first book in a trilogy of tales. The other books SCRUBBERS and SCRUB LAND will be finished later this year.
I released the book under my pen name of all things very dark, Simon Janus, to separate myself from my more typical crime thrillers.
The eBook is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Diesel, Kobo, the Apple ibookstore and Smashwords. The last remaining copies of the paperback are still available at Horror Mall.
People can read an excerpt here.
I’m really proud of the piece and I hope people will give it a closer look.
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Kim
(new)
Dec 19, 2010 02:03PM
Very much looking forward to reading this as an e-book. Thanks for relaunching it digitally.
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No probs. My opinion is that my obligation is to the reader. The reader wants a print book, or audio book or ebook, I have to make that happen. If the reader wants in written in syrup on a pancake, I'll make that happen too. It's all about the reader.I'll be releasing more of my backlist electronically next year.
Tell me how you like The Scrubs when you're done with it.
