BITE BACK! Behind the page…

As we eagerly tumble towards the release of your soon-to-be adored darkly comedic 90’s-flavored teen horror novel, allow me to spill the beans on its creation.

BRACE YOURSELVES, WE’RE GOING BACK TO EARTH WITH A BITE!

So, after the publication of my debut novel Survive the Universe, I was hesitant about diving into its sprawling sequel. I mean, STU took ages to finish! Though to be fair, it was a side project while juggling umpteen other things, but still, it was a mammoth task. So I was a little hesitant to plunge into writing its sequel, which was likely to be another hefty 33-chapter tome.

During the STU saga, I started nurturing a bunch of ideas for other stories set in modern times or recent history. One of these ideas was just a vague sketch of an opening scene – a teenage boy peering out of his window and making eye contact with a vampire girl passing by. I also fancied the notion of crafting a vampire bloke who wasn’t the classic rich, charming type. These two ideas began to merge.

Oh, and then I reminisced about watching the Twilight movie and realized it was nothing like any teenage experience I’d been near (seriously, Edward and his crew wouldn’t have lasted a day at my school).

To speed up the writing process this time, I decided to set the story in my hometown of Sittingbourne, smack dab in the scorching summer of 1995. It was a period I’d been itching to write about, and this was the perfect opportunity. While I drew a lot from my daily routine and hangouts at the time (taking the train to college, evenings at the Ypres Tavern pub, you know the drill), this tale is definitely not autobiographical. Plot-wise, I only had the beginning and the end in mind when I started writing, which actually felt liberating after STU, where I had to follow a pre-written synopsis.

The goal was to get it written and out into the wild within ten months, which, let’s be real, was probably a tad overambitious for me. Some personal stuff popped up, and there were a few months where very little progress was made, but I kept chipping away. With the unwavering support and help from my beloved wife, Laura, I managed to finish it and get it ready roughly fourteen months after starting it.

Music was always going to play a large part in the book and as such I compiled a playlist-cum-soundtrack for the story as I went along with each chapter taking each title from the lyrics of the songs included (see if you can guess the songs by the lyrics). And then I created an additional in-narrative mix tape playlist to really focus in on and celebrate the 1994/1995 Britpop bloom.

And now, it’s hurtling its way to you, dear readers! Eighteen glorious GORY chapters, a little over 80k FANG-tatsic words. May everyone relish reading it as much as I relished writing it!

GET YOURSELF A COPY OF BITE BACK HERE!