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Readalong And Q&A with David Staniforth - Void
I agree, Brenda, ive read some books too where the end of the first chapter is the hook. About the intimacy too.
Probably should have asked this when we mentioned about Penny/Tom being good together....Penny had "baggage" of her own. When we think of one of the major questions of the book, "How much can we trust our memories",
Could Penny trust hers?
What did she do to this memory?
David, In your research, is this what most people do?
Betsy wrote: "Probably should have asked this when we mentioned about Penny/Tom being good together....Penny had "baggage" of her own. When we think of one of the major questions of the book, "How much can we ..."
I believe most of us can trust our memories, until we come down to the fine details. My research went as far as the psychological memory testing that is mentioned in the book, as well as a look into police witness testimony and how much they differ. Brenda's comment confirms this in regard to her and her siblings recollection of their childhood. My recollection differs in subtle ways form that of my brother and sister. (view spoiler) Other than that, my research stretches to people I know personally, who have quite distorted recollections of their past.
I wonder, Bestsy, if you have any views on this, or indeed anyone else.
I do. I have a "lingering" memory from the summer after 6th grade. My dad, a wonderful man, took me swimming to a local pool and his soldier friend, who was in town, came with us. My dad was out of the pool, and it was just me and , I'll call him Joe. Joe had been very friendly to me all day but that didn't seem odd to me. We were just hanging onto the side of the pool, Joe came very close to me and put his leg up to the crotch of my bathing suit; that did seem odd. I just swam away and got out of the pool, back to the blanket and my dad to whom I said nothing and Joe acted like nothing had happened.I have often wondered IF this memory is real or just a part of an active imagination of a soon-to-be teen. I really don't know if I can "trust" this memory, or not, and it has not greatly affected me in any way. It just occurs to me, every now and then, w/ certain triggers.
I finished your book David and it is excellent. I still have a review to write and I will, I just like to 'sleep on it' before writing. I love Pauline. She is who I want to grow up to be. She still makes her house a home (that strikes a chord with me) and she is still very active and open-minded. I know it was mentioned earlier but I would love a story about Pauline.
In terms of memory, I remember the infamous McMartin daycare scandal. False memories were implanted into children by the way that questions were asked and what children thought people wanted them to answer. It created quite the hysteria in the 1980's in regards to child sexual abuse. No one was ever convicted and no proof was ever discovered of people's memories.My point was, memory is so very tricky. I don't think very many of us can remember events accurately, only how we perceived the event. Excellent writing on how Tom deals with his.
Pat wrote: "I finished your book David and it is excellent. I still have a review to write and I will, I just like to 'sleep on it' before writing. I love Pauline. She is who I want to grow up to be. She sti..."
Thank you, Pat. Pleased you enjoyed it. I look forward to reading your review. If I can conjure a suitable story for Pauline, one that excites me, I will write it :~)
Pat wrote: "In terms of memory, I remember the infamous McMartin daycare scandal. False memories were implanted into children by the way that questions were asked and what children thought people wanted them t..."As you know from reading Void, It incorporates altered memories that are both self induced and that have been altered by another. They were to help the holder of those memories. The picture you paint here, Pat, is to help the criminal. I can imagine that is quite prevalent, especially in crimes to do with children.
I think the issue of remembering events accurately is something that effects everyone, though. I got to thinking why that might be, which led me to think about how different readers interpret a book differently. As you get to the end of a novel, you're relying on your memory to recollect the story. I feel a person makes a story their own based on their personal experiences and view points on life, and that this in turn makes certain points stand out more for one reader than they would for another. Therein, they each have a different memory in regard to that read and would write a different review. I wonder, in this light, if the same goes for real life events, after all, the mind would process them in exactly the same way.
I watched an excellent documentary about the brain recently, and it incorporated much about the 'mind' too, especially memory - and all the events in Void have it nailed very well. Memory is almost fluid and it is subject to manipulation by the brain and by outside sources too.I almost finished reading Void last night - just a few pages to go, and I hope to have it licked tonight.
You certainly do have to rely on your memory as you near the end of the book, trying to recall things mentioned in the past. It all makes for wonderful reading, David.
Superb job, sir!
Thank you, Andy, really pleased you're enjoying the book, and finding it agrees with information that you have gleaned elsewhere.It really is a fascinating subject, the questioning of which surely marks us as human.
I'd like to ask everyone if they associate certain songs with certain memories. That is something that is strong with me.More Than A Feeling by Boston reminds me of one of my brothers because we sang it together once. We harmonized really great! Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynner is another brother because he told me it represented something he was experiencing. Barbara Ann by the Beach Boys always reminds me of a cousin because she hated that song. I can still hear her saying, "It's Barbara Ann not Barber Ann." :-)
I think David added an extra dimension by including songs. As I recently told him, I heard Angel by Aerosmith and immediately thought of him and VOID.
I'm sure more will come to me, but one that instantly spring to mind (quite an obvious one) is Meatloaf's - Bat Out of Hell, which takes me straight to my biker days. When driving the car with that playing, I feel myself leaning into corners.Glen Campbell's - Wichita Lineman takes me back to being around eight and going on day trips in the car with my parents.
Lighthouse family's Ocean drive makes me think of holidays abroad with my own children, driving to the airport in the early hours.
I've just realised I could go on and on (music just love it) so I'll stop there :~)
Mod
Some great comments.
Won't spoil it for others, but I just wanted to add how much I enjoyed the alley scene, and the guitar scene. Don't laugh, but I so wanted to be Tom.
Funny you should say that, Andy, so did I. Writing the dream!
Brenda, More Than a Feeling is one of my all time favourites. I remember sitting in my old Cortina with that song on repeat. it was summer, and I was drenched in sweat. Eventually the neighbours came out and complained about the noise. Good old days.
Sean wrote: "Love Light house Family, Lifted is great.Some great comments."
One of the best bands ive seen in a small venue.
I agree, Sean, some great discussion and questions. More to come, hopefully.
Pauline's likeability was mentioned again by another member; we all seem to like her b/c she has so many qualities that we admire.Playing devil's advocate: Would you have liked the story just as much WITHOUT Pauline? Needed for a purpose?
Were we ever told why she is estranged so completely from her son/grandson and I just "forgot" ??
David, How do you "pick" your characters ? Do you assign them roles ahead of time or let them take their own direction?
Loved the song discussion above :)
David, I am reading Imperfect Strangers now and I just love it also. I like some of the similarities. Memories and music in particular. Earlier we talked about first person. I cannot imagine I S without using first person. I love the way in both novels you take us inside the characters and also that everything is not black and white. (As in Pauline and Penny having their own problems)
Betsy wrote: "Pauline's likeability was mentioned again by another member; we all seem to like her b/c she has so many qualities that we admire.Playing devil's advocate: Would you have liked the story just as ..."
For my own mind I don't think the story would have been as good without Pauline, and to some extent she is included for a purpose. Kaitlyn is include for more of a purpose though, from a writerly perspective. In many ways she is the voice of the reader, placed to ask the questions that the reader might voice, or to direct to the questions I would like them to. Hopefully this narrative ploy isn't too obvious.
I did not disclose why Pauline is estranged from her son/grandson. I purposefully wanted to let the readers mind go where it will, and your thoughts would be interesting to hear, if they did indeed wander in any direction.
Picking characters. From the beginning Tom, Penny, Tom's mum, and Pauline were set in place and pretty much fleshed out. Kaitlyn I added later, because Penny's scenes were all introspection and it just wasn't working, IMO. The other minor characters that Tom encounters were also invented as they were needed. I do find the major characters wanting to take a different route than I originally planned for them, for that reason I tend to not make my plans too rigid.
Karen B. wrote: "David, I am reading Imperfect Strangers now and I just love it also. I like some of the similarities. Memories and music in particular. Earlier we talked about first person. I cannot imagine I S ..."Karen, I am flattered that you enjoyed VOID enough that you would move right on to reading Imperfect Strangers. And delighted that you are loving it. Yes, there probably are some similarities, and I couldn't imagine doing it in 3rd person either, for the reason you outline of being taken inside the character's mind. Everything certainly is not black and white in Imperfect, moreover those shades of grey in interpreted meaning became a major theme of the novel.
David, You give us such good explanations which really enhance our overall enjoyment of your book ! Thank you for taking your time to do this for us !I do want to say here, before I lose the thought....
The parallelism you created between Penny / Tom = one wants to forget / one wants to remember, yet both with repressed memories, greatly appealed to me !
Betsy wrote: "David, You give us such good explanations which really enhance our overall enjoyment of your book ! Thank you for taking your time to do this for us !I do want to say here, before I lose the thou..."
Thank you, Betsy, but this really is a two way thing. Without such great questions and observations being directed my way, it would just be me waffling, and failing miserably to cover anywhere near as much stuff. So, thank you back, to you and all that have so far taken part.
Great that the polarity appealed; really nice when a plan comes together.
Betsy, And I loved the fact that there were memories that neither of them wanted to dig into further. It gave it greater sense of realism.
Karen B. wrote: "Betsy, And I loved the fact that there were memories that neither of them wanted to dig into further. It gave it greater sense of realism."I'm pleased you think so, Karen. Nice to know that you're discussing it together as readers. Do you find each other having slightly differing takes on the novel overall, or highlighting something the other missed?
I just happen to like the way Karen thinks. Sometimes when I am pondering something that I don't completely understand, she will zero in on just the right thought.It's just like now. I'm sure that she will come up with something very plausible to explain dear Pauline's estrangement from her son/grandson , which I didn't "get".
I would imagine that Pauline would have been a good mother, somewhat strict (she was a headmistress) but providing a loving home. Perhaps an incident after her husband/ the father died.... maybe involving money, although that doesn't seem right. And, her grandson did live w/ her while attending school but then he went off to Canada ....
So, I have nothing but loose ends. OK, Karen, what are your thoughts or let's hear from some others.
First of all, I like being in discussions with Betsy because she asks the BEST questions that make me think. We do think differently about some things, but I think we encourage each other to read and think and then sharing with others and listening to (reading) what they think makes the book so much more enjoyable. I would love to know what causes Pauline's estrangement from her son as well. She has been such a good mother figure to Tom (and later to Penny) . But sometimes in real life our children don't see the positive in us that our friends do.
I didn't really give much thought to a reason, but it was inspired by a situation that I came across. It also relates to having different memories of growing up. An elderly lady I encountered was telling me that she has two sons. As far as she was concerned, both were raised in the same way and had the same share of love. One of them lives in the next street to her with his own family and visits many times a week. The other son left home as soon as he was old enough, never visited and moved to Scotland with his job. Apparently, he's never been in touch and she has no idea why he left or his reason for doing so. She told me that was the most painful part: the not knowing.That element struck a chord with me, and for that reason I stuck with the not knowing. I also felt the situation would make someone like Pauline more likely to reach out and help Tom. Or that maybe she had been the kind of mother that would find it difficult to show affection, perhaps in line with her own childhood. It was to suggest this that I had her refer to her friends as associates, and though she loves them all dearly and is viewed as a great friend, I feel she also likes a little distance. I felt it likely too, that she would see Tom's situation as an opportunity to do things a little differently.
This is just an example of the things that went through my mind while writing. In no way do I intend for it to be taken as a definitive answer. I love the ambiguity of it, and the possibility for each and every reader to insert their own scenario.
I had totally forgotten that she referred to her friends as associates. That would fit with a certain distancing. Maybe too with being estranged from her son, that made her want to help others maybe be there more for them, than she had been for her son. Once again I like the end not being tied up here.
Ambiguity can be a good thing ; as you said, it leaves us all open for our own interpretations/ possibilities.And speaking of characters.... Do you feel that Nicky, the barmaid at The Foundry, was good for Tom ? She also really liked his singing and was impressed with his guitar playing = something else to make you wonder about Tom's past, eh?
I thought it very "gentlemanly" of Tom that he's so up front w/ Nicky and doesn't want her to think bad of him.
In "another" life, do you feel that Nicky and Tom could have had a relationship , or not ?
Betsy, you are reading my mind. I was just going to ask about Nicky. I do think they could have had a relationship and I think he told her to also prevent himself from slipping. Once he tells her he's less likely to give in to temptation.
David wrote: "Pat wrote: "In terms of memory, I remember the infamous McMartin daycare scandal. False memories were implanted into children by the way that questions were asked and what children thought people w..."I completely agree David. What an experience means to one person will alter a memory compared to another person experiencing the exact same thing. It's a matter of our perception.
Andrew wrote: "Won't spoil it for others, but I just wanted to add how much I enjoyed the alley scene, and the guitar scene. Don't laugh, but I so wanted to be Tom."Hell, I wanted to be Tom reading those scenes!!
Betsy wrote: "Pauline's likeability was mentioned again by another member; we all seem to like her b/c she has so many qualities that we admire.Playing devil's advocate: Would you have liked the story just as ..."
For me, I think I needed Pauline. Tom would have seemed so much more desparate and I might have questioned his believability more. Pauline gave me faith in Tom and that faith was demonstrated through his interactions with her.
Karen B. wrote: "Betsy, you are reading my mind. I was just going to ask about Nicky. I do think they could have had a relationship and I think he told her to also prevent himself from slipping. Once he tells her h..."Good to hear from you, Pat, Keep those good thoughts and posts coming!
I really liked Nicky !! She's an uncomplicated, happy soul. It's obvious that she likes Tom but doesn't push herself on him. When they were riding to Castleton and had that little "tiff", she didn't brood over it, shook it off and got over it quickly. Tom also confides in Nicky so he must trust her.
Yep, I believe that Tom likes Nicky a lot and if not for the journal/notebook re. Penny, they "could" have gotten to know one another better.
David, Nicky was another great secondary character, another likeable character. Perhaps you were purposely creating characters who were sympathetic to Tom ? Although I'm sure that the story determines your characters' personalities, I like their likeability !!!
Pat wrote: "Betsy wrote: "Pauline's likeability was mentioned again by another member; we all seem to like her b/c she has so many qualities that we admire.Playing devil's advocate: Would you have liked the ..."
Pat, so well put!
VOID is incredible..beyond incredible. I began it this AM on Kindle Unlimited and am astounded.
Mod
I really liked Pauline too, probably my favourite character from the whole book. There was something about her straightforward no-nonsense approach that was really endearing.
Totally agree on the perception front. I hadn't given it much thought before but it's true how we get to the end of the book and then have to remember all that has gone on before. Can be challenge for my limited grey cells! But the fact that one incident can be viewed by many and have totally different recollections is very true. Memory is a minefield and I thought the concept of short and long term memory loss was handled well here and the part stress can play. As for linking songs, it was a good idea but then I think we tend to do it in our everyday life. Many tracks I hear now can bring back vivid memories, smells and feelings and send me back to that time.
Mallory Heart wrote: "VOID is incredible..beyond incredible. I began it this AM on Kindle Unlimited and am astounded."It's hard to put down, isn't it, Mallory ??
We're anxious to hear what you thought about the characters and everything else that you liked about this "incredible" book !
Great to so such enthusiastic participation, thank you all.I'm genuinely blown away by the response to my book :~)
Karen B. wrote: "Betsy, you are reading my mind. I was just going to ask about Nicky. I do think they could have had a relationship and I think he told her to also prevent himself from slipping. Once he tells her h..."This did enter my mind when writing, Karen. Telling Nicky to act as a kind of barrier. I also had in mind that Tom is hoping he is a good guy, and at this stage doesn't really know, so going that extra mile to prove it to himself.
Pat wrote: "Andrew wrote: "Won't spoil it for others, but I just wanted to add how much I enjoyed the alley scene, and the guitar scene. Don't laugh, but I so wanted to be Tom."Hell, I wanted to be Tom readi..."
Nice to know it's not only guys that want to jump into the Jack Reacher like shoes.
Pat wrote: Pauline gave me faith in Tom and that faith was demonstrated through his interactions with her."Well observed , Pat, exactly my line of thinking, and a major reason for her inclusion.
OMG, David, you mentioned my BEST favorite contemporary male character = REACHER !!!! What a guy!Wanted to tell you too that I loved reading about the reliable memory research re. the people watching the traffic accident.
I found their perceptions fascinating which led to the issue of implanted memory. Is that your direct tie in with Penny?
Betsy wrote: David, Nicky was another great secondary character, another likeable character. Perhaps you were purposely creating characters who were sympathetic to Tom ? Although I'm sure that the story determines your characters' personalities, I like their likeability !!! I'm pleased that readers are finding the characters likeable. My last thriller Imperfect Strangers was an experiment in writing a novel and trying to get readers to feel empathy for dislikable characters. Many people said they did not like the characters but still enjoyed the story. With VOID I wanted to see if I could write a thriller where all of the characters were liked but still generate a menacing air of suspense.
I created characters that were sympathetic to Tom to give the reader the impression that people would feel comfortable in his company. I think with some people you just get a gut feeling, the question is, can you trust it?
Mallory Heart wrote: "VOID is incredible..beyond incredible. I began it this AM on Kindle Unlimited and am astounded."I think Mallory is liking it :D
Thank you. I hope that passion extends through to the end. You've put a big smile on my face.
Janet wrote: "I'm really glad for David that this book is getting the positivity it deserves.I really liked Pauline too, probably my favourite character from the whole book. There was something about her strai..."
Thank you, Janet. I appreciate that sentiment.
Another advocate for a Pauline book; best get my thinking cap on :~)
Betsy wrote: "Mallory Heart wrote: "VOID is incredible..beyond incredible. I began it this AM on Kindle Unlimited and am astounded."It's hard to put down, isn't it, Mallory ??
We're anxious to hear what you thought about the characters and everything else that you liked about this "incredible" book !"
Thank you, Betsy. I don't think an author could hear many comments that would better 'hard to put down'.
And thank you, too, for encouraging others to post their thoughts. The more the merrier.
Betsy wrote: "OMG, David, you mentioned my BEST favorite contemporary male character = REACHER !!!! What a guy!Wanted to tell you too that I loved reading about the reliable memory research re. the people wat..."
I've read all the Reacher books, Betsy. In fact they were my introduction to thrillers. I was a dedicated fan of fantasy before that.
That piece of research regarding the van did inspire the implanted memory, yes. It came to me purely by accident when researching how memory works. It was a non-fiction spoken word CD that I borrowed from the library. I don't recall the title but when I have the information I'll post it on here.
A Good Thriller
Books mentioned in this topic
Imperfect Strangers (other topics)Void (other topics)
Imperfect Strangers (other topics)
Void (other topics)
The Self Illusion: How the Social Brain Creates Identity (other topics)
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I've also had the memory loss due to anesthesia. That is a known side effect.