Victoria asked Trace Conger:

For your book, "The Prison Guards Son" was it difficult to write about a gruesome murder regarding a 4 year old child? I have a son who is 2 and I just couldn't imagine. Just thinking about what I was about to read I was already having tears in my eyes.

Trace Conger Thanks for the question, Victoria. I have two young ones myself, so I know exactly where you're coming from. The short answer is "no" for a few reasons. First, that part of the story is told in the past tense and is essentially Finn reading the case file and sharing the crime with the reader as background.

Had it been actually happening (instead of having already happened) it would have been much harder to write, and I'm sure I would have held back a lot. But, since Finn is sharing the details of the case file, there is more distance to it (for me anyway).

I will say, however, that the crime itself (the murder of Josh Baker) is directly inspired by the real life murder of James Bulger (England, 1993). I read a lot about the Bulger case and it was a horrific experience. Knowing that such evil exists in the world is more terrifying than any Stephen King novel. I actually wrote a few articles about how deeply that case effected me, again having two children of my own. That part of the process was much worse than writing the scene in The Prison Guard's Son.

I hope that clears it up, and I hope you enjoyed the novel.

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