With three books racing to the top of Amazon’s bestseller lists and an innovative supernatural thriller scaring the hell out of readers everywhere, you probably already know who James Hankins is. In fact you probably already own a copy of DRAWN. (If not – stop reading this and click here to make your Kindle happy. Check out the reviews. Read the preview. Get it. I’m not kidding.)

So I’m thrilled to have James here at The Scary Story to tell us a little about himself and his book, Drawn. 

Lake: Thanks for being here, James. I saw that few Amazon reviewers rate your work as comparable to Stephen King. What’s it like to be alongside the most successful horror writer in the history of literature? 

James: To be compared favorably to such a master is humbling and gratifying, to say the least. I love Stephen King. With DRAWN, I certainly didn’t set out to garner such a comparison, but if readers see similarities and want to grace me with such a compliment, I accept it gladly! 

Lake: However, you’re not solely a horror writer. The three books you have out now are all thrillers, but they rank in different genres. Any plans to focus on one genre more than another?

James: As you say, though all thrillers, my books also fall comfortably into their own subgenres. BROTHERS AND BONES is a suspense thriller about a lawyer whose life is turned upside down when an addled-brained homeless man calls him by a nickname formerly known by only one other person in the world—the lawyer’s brother, who went missing thirteen years ago. JACK OF SPADES is a police procedural about a state police detective chasing a serial killer who wears the smiling mask of a wildly popular cartoon alien. The mask contains voice-changing technology, disguising the killer’s voice with that of the alien’s—an adorable cross between a robot and a Munchkin. So he wears the face and speaks in the voice of the cartoon character, all while doing nasty things to his victims. Finally, DRAWN is a supernatural thriller about four very different people being compelled by different forces—some supernatural, some all too human—toward a shared destiny, all while the life of an innocent boy hangs in the balance. 

As for my focus, I’ll certainly stick to thrillers, but as far as subgenres within that larger category, I don’t know for certain. I’d love for readers to let me continue to write whatever kind of thriller I’d like to write, and trust me that the read will be an exciting one. As you note, each of my books is different and I’ve had many readers tell me that they enjoy the variety. Of course, there are others who would prefer I continue to write one kind over another. I tend to write whatever story comes to my mind as long as it really grabs me. My hope is that if it hooks me, it will hook my readers too, regardless of the precise thriller subgenre into which it might fall.

Lake: Let’s talk about DRAWN. All of the characters in the story are real and distinctly different, but my favorite cast member is Boone. His disfigurement and agoraphobia make him an especially sympathetic and courageous person to root for. Can you tell us what inspired Boone and how he came to life? 

James: Thanks for saying that, Lake. I’m glad his character resonated with you. I really like Boone. He’s had a tough time and his problems nearly swallowed him at one time, but he’s coping as best he can. The four protagonists in DRAWN are all very different from each other, but the are all lonely, isolated for different reasons. Alice is in a lonely marriage. Miguel is a runaway, alone on the streets. Nathan is an elderly widower. And Boone is isolated for two reasons: his facial scars make him want to limit human interaction, and his severe agoraphobia forces the issue for him. So, as with the other three protagonists, Boone’s character started with loneliness. I hit upon agoraphobia for him, then thought about what could instill that in him. I decided that for him, it would be facial disfigurement, which was almost certainly inspired by one of my favorite stories and the themes it contains— Beauty and the Beast (the fairy tale more than the Disney version!). I’ve always loved the story for its simmering danger, for the darkness in the Beast, and for the sacrifices of the characters throughout. The idea of a good soul trapped in an unsightly exterior has always appealed to me. That theme makes Cyrano de Bergerac one of my all-time favorite pieces of literature. So when I was creating my four protagonists, looking for ways to distance them from the rest of the world, I hit upon facial disfigurement (and Boone’s nearly total blindness) to add to the poor guy’s agoraphobia. 

Lake: Miguel, the little runaway, is a great character, too. I found that my concern for the kid kept me turning pages. How’d you capture the intensity of those scenes and the danger that Miguel is in without turning readers off? 

James: My goal was to focus on the intensity, as you say, on the suspense, the frightening possibilities, and stay away from anything graphic. I concentrated on the threat, not on actual abuse. Even when the bad guys think about their past experiences, they do so in generalities. I kept away from specific actions. We’ve all heard terrible stories, real things that happen to unfortunate victims. Sometimes a writer can merely suggest that someone has something truly evil in mind and the reader can fill in the blanks in their minds, and do it more effectively than an author could do it with written words. 

Lake: Okay, last question. You’ve written screenplays, so are there any plans on taking DRAWN or the other books to Hollywood? Of the three out now, which of them do you think would make the best movie? 

James: I’d love to see any or all of my books become movies. My film and screenwriting background help me see my stories cinematically, something that probably shapes my writing. I do see them as movies. I write novels now, which I love and which will always be my primary storytelling avenue, but if my agent and I one day get a book into the right film producer’s hands, I’d be thrilled.  

Lake: Awesome. Thanks for being here. 

James: Thanks so much for having me, Lake. 

Learn more about James Hankins at his site James Hankins Books and connect with him on Facebook and Twitter. Believe me, this is a writer you want to know.  

From Amazon: In DRAWN, a mysterious little boy has begun appearing in the paintings of an artist who can’t remember ever actually seeing him. A partially blind, disfigured agoraphobic who suffers crippling panic attacks if he even tries to leave his apartment is forced out by an unseen entity. A lonely widower begins to suffer terrifying nightmares that his long-missing, presumed-dead son is still alive and in mortal danger. A young runaway realizes that a man he thought was his traveling companion is actually his captor…and a predator. 

The lives of four very different people, driven by different but very powerful forces, crash together as they fight to solve their individual mysteries, to defeat a brutal enemy, and to save the life of an innocent boy. Get it today. 

Thanks for visiting The Scary Story. Don’t forget to check out my debut for Kindle, Thorns In Dark Places. And remember – stay in the light… LL