The story behind Only One Survives
The very first sliver of an idea came from an abandoned house a few miles from my home. I drove past it one frigid afternoon, and saw the words Come Play written in red paint on the front door, which I found deliciously creepy. The image stuck with me, and I attempted to build a story featuring an abandoned lodge and work colleagues, but it didn’t sit right.
I sent a short description of my idea to my friends, authors Jennifer Hillier and Samantha M. Bailey, asking what they thought. They both liked it, and Sam suggested I make the group of people a band. The idea gave me an immediate ooh moment followed by one of them thinks the band’s worth more dead than alive. I knew I was onto something because writing a thriller featuring a band felt fresh and cool. The story shifted quite significantly compared to my initial idea, but the abandoned house remained a constant.
My editor, Dina Davis, was a fantastic help in my pulling the plot together because I got stuck as I developed the outline. We brainstormed Vienna and the Bittersweet’s trajectories, and our collaboration was brilliant. I’m immensely proud of how the novel turned out.
What did you prefer writing: character or plot?
Personally, I find it impossible to separate them because they’re intrinsically linked. I typically start with the plot, and as I thought about it and built on my “what if…” scenario, Vienna’s character took shape and guided the story. I couldn’t have grown one without the other.
Did any of your characters “speak” to you?
All. The. Time. I “heard” (i.e. imagined) conversations between my characters, or they’d nudge me to get my butt in my chair and tell the story. Sometimes I’d go to bed with a plot point bugging me and by morning it was be solved. The brain and sub-conscience are wonderful tools indeed.
What surprised you as you wrote ONLY ONE SURVIVES?
How much I enjoyed crafting the different pieces for the book, meaning newspaper articles, blog posts, radio interview transcripts, and social media comments. The majority of Only One Survives is told from drummer Vienna’s point of view, so adding these elements was a fun and interesting way to show what was happening from a different perspective. The radio interview transcripts, in particular, were a blast to write because I could vividly imagine the characters chatting to one another.
Is anything in ONLY ONE SURVIVES based on real-life experiences?
Heck no! There might be the odd detail or reference to something here or there, but the rest is made up. That’s the fabulous part of my job.
What’s your favorite part about writing/being an author? What do you find challenging?
The camaraderie of the writing community is like nothing I’ve experienced elsewhere. Authors, agents, publishers, readers, reviewers—we all love books and it’s wonderful.
In terms of writing, I adore the anticipation of starting a new novel where everything is open, and the only limit is my imagination. I also love when I get to the editing part and think, “Yeah, there’s something here” — it’s always such a rush. What’s challenging? Pushing through the first draft and the edit thereof. I need cookies for both!
Find Hannah Mary McKinnon at Chilling Tales: Thrilling Fiction with Amber Cowie and S.C. Lalli on Oct. 19. Tickets are available now.