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Writing Journey SA Tameez
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I am often asked where I got the inspiration for my new crime thriller, LET ME OUT, and I’m never quite sure how to respond. This is partly due to it being an incredibly dark story that explores some difficult emotions, but mainly because I have no idea what possessed me to write it. I have been told that I am like the moon – I have a dark side that no one sees. I wasn’t sure how to take that so I turned the person who said it into a character in my book and killed them. I guess that sort of sums me up.

What I can tell you about LET ME OUT is that it is a story that matured in my head for a long time. The plot and the characters pestered me almost every day until I finally built the courage to free the story from the pits of my mind and spray the words onto paper. There was no specific time or place where I conjured it up – like an epiphany, it just sort of came to me.

I thought about someone being trapped in a room and deliberated how they would feel and how they would deal with their circumstances. This led to me creating the protagonist, Victoria. A young girl who finds herself trapped in a room and unable to remember how she got there. I wanted to add a unique spin to the thriller by telling the story from the perspective of a 13-year-old girl. Which meant that I had to get inside the mind of a 13-year-old girl – probably the most difficult thing I ever had to do and I regretted it almost immediately. But after a few chapters, I got used to her and then there was no turning back.

What I didn’t want to do was write another ‘I Am Legend’ and base the entire story on just one main character. This was difficult as the story mainly revolved around Victoria alone. The challenge was then to bring the story to life using other means and I hope I pulled it off. I guess you will be the judge of that when you read it.

Those who know me know my favourite characters to write and develop are always the bad guys. I love creating interesting villains. So I really wanted to create a memorable villain. A villain that you love and hate – or just love to hate.

The story will take you on a roller-coaster of confusion until the very end. That’s where you will be hit with a powerful twist.

The novel took me about 6 lonely months to write and although it wasn’t easy, I loved every moment of it. I really hope you enjoy it and I would love to get your feedback.

LET ME OUT will be officially released in May 2019 – The exact date will be revealed soon via social media.

 


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