Features: December 2007 Archives
ITW contributing editor, Keith Raffel , recently chatted with Kathryn Mackel to discuss her new "Christian chiller" Vanished.
Q. You've characterized your newest book Vanished as a "Christian chiller." I haven't heard that phrase before. What does it mean?
A. I write for an audience that recognizes the struggle beyond what we can see. Supernatural thrillers are big in the Christian market but, because this readership associates "horror" with slasher and torture films, I coined the term "Christian chiller."
Q. So, what's Vanished all about?
A. If I were pitching this as a screenplay, I'd say it's Lost meets Lord of the Flies.
A terrorist bombing combines with a rogue experiment to create a
magnetic blast that rips a working-class city loose from the world. The
displaced area is surrounded by a thick mist in which nothing is what
it seems.
With no power, water, or communications, police sergeant Jason Logan
fights to keep order and track the terrorist. Nurse-practitioner Kaya
de Los Santos treats the injured with only what she can garner from a
local mom-and-pop drug store. As the days go on, resources become
scarce, and battle lines are drawn among the various neighborhoods.
When the mist begins to clear, the vanished engage in a battle against
enemies they've only known in nightmares.
ThrillerFest
ITW's annual celebration of the thriller world is the largest event of its kind, a meeting place for authors, readers, budding writers, and publishing industry professionals.
This year we're in the heart of New York in July, with two special add-on events, CraftFest and AgentFest, where authors of all levels can meet the professionals.
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