Kyle Romines asked Andrew Van Wey:

I just finished FORSAKEN--what a moving and well-written story. You had me hooked from the prologue. As an older brother who treated my little brother very poorly when we were younger (and am constantly trying to atone for it), the whole story had a deep impact on me. It felt so real I have to ask--where did the idea for this story come from? Do you have any siblings, younger or older, who influenced the story?

Andrew Van Wey Hiya Kyle!

Thanks for the kind words. And sorry for taking so long to respond. It's not often that I'm on Goodreads, but I'm hoping to change that.

FORSAKEN came about from a convergence of an old family story of being accidentally locked inside a trunk in a basement, though it was my mother who was the victim. Story went that my uncle moved a coffee table over the trunk she was hiding inside, locking her in.

Like you, I was the eldest sibling in my family. As all eldest siblings know that they've often fallen short of ideal leadership. I did too. But that's just the nature of youth too, and I'm fortunate to be great friends with my younger brother and sister; they're incredible folks.

The last major influence came in the form of the panting itself. I've long imagined that the dead will use whatever medium they can to communicate. In the case of this book, it was art, and since art lends itself so well to different interpretations it made sense that much of this story would revolve around Daniel interpreting this art, its history, and his connection to its creation.

Great question! I hope that answers it.

Cheers!

—Andrew

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