Q&A with Ryan Douglass

  

Photo by J. Monroe

 

 

Ryan Douglass is the author of the new young adult novel Night of Madness. His other books include The Taking of Jake Livingston. He lives in Atlanta. 

 

Q: What inspired you to write Night of Madness, and how did you create your character Mara?

 

A: I wanted to pay homage to the campy horror of the ‘80s while rooting the stakes in the issues young people are currently facing in a highly digitized culture.

 

I created Mara by pulling inspiration from my favorite deadpan characters and trying to explore what’s underneath that tough exterior. She’s someone who is quite vulnerable without necessarily thinking of herself that way or coming off that way.

 

She has a really strong instinct to protect people and to be fair, which I think is what stands out about her in a novel where everyone’s competing to win for themselves.

 

Q: The Kirkus Review of the novel called it a “thrilling fun house mirror of a tale that will keep readers on the edges of their seats.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I like that description. The asylum is like a fun house mirror in the sense that it distorts reality and causes the characters to question what they’re looking at.

 

Mara is supposed to understand Jack Stanley as a creator because she grew up with his movies. She should be able to navigate the experience, but the game doesn’t follow the movie it’s based on exactly, so he doesn’t really get to escape the terror and surprises.

 

I also really wanted the book to be fun and a bit over-the-top. The book has moments that are genuinely unsettling but it’s mostly about having a great time.

 

Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?

 

A: I had no clue what the big reveal would be until I had reached the final act and felt like there should be something that connected Jack and Mara in a way that made their final battle feel personal.

 

I definitely changed things along the way from what I had planned with Temple Hill and they supported my vision. The actual outcome always tends to change once I start writing because so much new material comes up when the story starts telling you what it wants to be, rather than what you set out to make it.  

 

Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

 

A: I mostly want them to be entertained by the shenanigans that ensue. But there are bigger things happening underneath the horror, around the idea of turning people's trauma into entertainment, around chasing external validation or the idea of a “picture perfect” life.

 

I never think readers need to walk away with one specific message, but I think the strongest lesson Mara learns is about how fortunate she already was before she walked into the game, which she needed the game to help her realize.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: I'm finishing up the sequel to Night of Madness, which I may like even more than the original. We get to continue following Mara but there’s a secondary protagonist involved.

 

It still revolves around the legacy of Jack Stanley, but rather than exploring the influencer and social media economy, it looks at dark web subcultures and the impact technofascism has on college-aged youth.

 

Mara is more self-assured this time around and we get to see her in a different light. I'm also working on an adult horror project, so I'm getting to bounce between two different kinds of scary right now, which is fun.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

A: I think the biggest thing is that I want Night of Madness to feel like an experience. I hope readers can give into the ride and allow themselves not to take it too seriously, because the book definitely doesn’t take itself too seriously.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb