Author Q&A For The Grid 2: Quest for Vengeance
Spoiler Alert!
This article contains some spoilers for The Grid Trilogy 2: Quest for Vengeance – you have been warned!
Q: So Matt's alive? Is Tom?
A: Matt was alive all the time, this explains the mysterious end to his Justice Trial in The Grid.
I'll reveal how it all happened in book 3, there's another surprise twist to come yet and it relates to that storyline.
As for Tom, well, I'm not going to reveal that just yet.
However, you will definitely find out what happened to Lucy's dad, you'll get a full explanation in book 3.
Q: What have you got against Wiz and Dillon?
A: Poor old Wiz, he gets to dangle from a scaffold pole at the top of a tower block, he has a run-in with the Centuria and he's left dangling in a lift with Dillon's life hanging in the balance right at the end.
I'm sorry to have to reveal that it only gets worse in book 3.
Seriously!
If you think that's bad, wait until you see the terrible decision that Wiz has to make in book 3 🙂
Q: You don't give anybody an easy time really, do you?
A: No!
For each character who survived between books 1 & 2, I ramped up the action for each of them.
Joe and Lucy have a terrible time in The Grid, but then, doesn't everybody?
Hannah gets the shock of her life when she becomes a Gridder.
They'd all thought that it would be like an administrative job at Fortrillium – how wrong they were.
As for Max Penner, his hand gets a bit of a bashing in this book.
There's worse to come for Max too, he has quite a journey in book 3.
Oh, and let's not forget Mitchell – he almost comes a cropper at the hands of Damien Hunter.
And yes, there's still worse to come for him too 🙂
Q: Was it intentional to be so cinematic about the books?
A: Definitely.
When I'm writing these books, I'm seeing the films in my head.
I use a writing software called Novel Factory to sketch out my characters.
I find it really helps to picture actors in the roles of leading characters.
There's a final climax scene in The Grid 3 which was completely conceived cinematically.
I'd love to see it on the screen – it'll take some careful timing, mind you.
Q: We get to see some humanity in Damien this time around, why did you do that?
A: I don't like baddies who are only 3-dimensional.
In The Secret Bunker I gave Dr Pierce a back story to create more empathy with him.
Damien got a bit of that too, he has a big motivation to be reunited with his family.
Nobody is ever 100% good or 100% bad, so I think it's always good to muddy the waters a little and find out what motivates some of the seemingly evil characters.
Q: Why does each book end on a cliffhanger?
A: A lot of readers don't like the cliffhanger endings and I've even started adding little warning notes in the Amazon blurbs.
However, I think the three book method of writing a story works really well – I love a trilogy.
In my mind, this is no different from a TV series end-of-season cliffhanger.
I love them but I hate them at the same time … I'm always back for the next series though 🙂
Q: Anything you can reveal about book 3?
Yes, the action gets turned up a few notches!
Joe and Lucy are out of the frying pan, into the fire.
Wiz and Dillon have to tackle their problem in the elevator, Hannah, Mitchell, Julia, Max and Jena have just been thrown in The Grid and Talya just became leader of the rebels.
Oh, and there's a big twist to come which completely changes the source of jeopardy in the story.
Enjoy!