Shane T. Clark’s debut novel The Devil Won’t Keep Us Apart is a fresh and dark thriller. With a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice and experience working in the prison system, Clark uses his background and experiences to inform his writing. This story follows the paths of two characters–Adrian Franklin and Conner Wallace–told by Elmer Ray. These paths converge, the story is disturbing and surprising, readers often leave reviews telling of how they couldn’t put the book down. Clark’s novel is a coming of age tale, a psychological thriller, and suspenseful to boot. Here, we have the privilege of asking the author some questions about his writing and his inspirations.
The Devil Won’t Keep Us Apart is your latest work. What inspired the story, and what can readers expect from it?
The Devil was inspired through my work history (Chief of Security at a prison) and an article I read on the internet about a woman in Arizona. I had this idea or was intrigued by a “what if” in a prison and I couldn’t figure out the answer. I thought about this idea for a long time, and I was reading this article and the answer hit me.
The Devil is a combination of coming of age, psychological thriller and suspense. Readers can expect to read about a deep human relationship between Elmer Ray and Adrian Franklin. How childhood trauma can shape the human experience and influence/drive persons to do unimaginable things.
“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” This phrase fits Conner Wallace perfectly. The reader gets an idea he is just some drifter with a quick wit and drinking habit, a pugilist with no purpose. As you follow his journey and decisions, one can get a feel he has a value system and purpose for his being.
Could you share some of the key themes or ideas explored in your books, and how they relate to the suspense thriller genre?
Friendship and love between Elmer and Adrian. Adrian’s childhood trauma of lost family members, and sexual and physical abuse. Through his journey, the reader rides with Elmer and sees how Elmer has hard conversations and makes difficult decisions on behalf of Adrian.
Obviously, the readers know Adrian Franklin and Conner Wallace have a role in the brutal murder at the beginning of the novel. The suspense is reading 80k words to get to the answer of how they are involved. Through this journey, Adrian and Conner must navigate several obstacles. Each time they feel like they can exhale, another obstacle is placed in front of them.
What is your writing process like? Do you outline the entire story in advance, or do you let the plot and characters develop as you go?
I knew the end of The Devil, I wrote the finale first. I’d not outlined any part of the book. I named Adrian and threw him in the fictional town of Sherman. Moved him next door to Elmer and off to the races we went. When I wrote a scene, I’d sit in my bed and close my eyes and watch the scene like a movie in my mind and write the story on paper. And when I was done, I’d take a break and transfer the work over to the laptop. When I transferred the manuscript to laptop, I did edits and/or re-write. As I wondered the world, I’d always be thinking about what life experience to throw at Adrian and go home and write. When I finished with Adrian, I started Conner. To develop each, I couldn’t be thinking about the other or their voices would bleed over. The Devil is coming of age (Adrian) and thriller (Conner). Two storylines, two genres–I see it as two books in one.
Can you provide insight into your approach to crafting plot twists and unexpected revelations that keep readers engaged and guessing?
I didn’t force it. The big reveal or twist was the essence of the book. Most books come from the direction of “who did it?” I use the “why did he/she do it?” I let the reader know the “who” from the beginning and use 80K words to explain why. There is one big reveal that nobody knows until Elmer tells the readers. It doesn’t reveal itself. It’s part of Adrian and Conner’s journey.
How do you handle research when writing your novels, particularly when it comes to incorporating real-world elements or locations?
With The Devil, fortunately I did not have to do any research with concerns to prison settings or actions while incarcerated: I’ve seen about everything a person could between the fences. With regards to trauma and traumatic events, I speak to as many subject level experts as I can and use the web to gather as much information as possible before attempting to write about the subject.
All my locations for all my novels are going to be around Chillicothe, Ohio. I imagine all my locations will be actual places I have been. I use Reno, Nevada in The Devil. Months before I wrote those chapters, I was in Reno visiting my brother.
What challenges or obstacles have you encountered as a thriller author, and how have you overcome them?
My biggest challenge is getting my name out there and for readers to take a chance on my novel. I keep telling myself it is a marathon and not a sprint. I’m terrible with self-promotion. I’m trying to be more aggressive with social media.
Being a new author is a difficult task. It is a hill I’m willing to continue climbing.
Can you share any memorable experiences or moments with your readers, such as feedback or interactions that have impacted your writing?
A few months after the release, one person reached out via Twitter. She said The Devil was the best book she had read in 5 years. That was exciting for me. Here is a person who had never met Shane Clark and thoroughly enjoyed the experience of reading my book. Oh, and she was in Argentina. So, a person thousands of miles away found my book and loved it.
As an author, how do you balance the need to meet genre conventions with the desire to create something unique and fresh within the suspense thriller genre?
I don’t try to balance the need: the end goal for me isn’t to write a suspense thriller. My only goal is to write unique and fresh material in my own style. At the end of the end, if it ends up fitting in the suspense thriller genre, then great. I hope everybody is going to love my work, but I recognize and respect any reader’s negative feedback. I’ve seen new books, popular books, with similar storylines. I don’t want to regurgitate exciting storylines and put my name on it.
How do you stay engaged and inspired in a genre that often requires dark or intense subject matter? Do you have any strategies for maintaining creativity and enthusiasm?
Don’t mean to sound catastrophic; however, our planet is in a dark place. It is easy to stay engaged in a world with outrageous and immoral behavior increasing by the day. It isn’t inspiring but it comes to my mind thinking about storylines or potential directions/problems to put in front of my main characters. The storyline will lead to the genre. LOL, so I’d say all my manuscripts will end up as suspense thrillers.
Finally, could you share a personal anecdote, or an interesting behind-the-scenes story related to your journey as an author?
Donald Ray Pollack lives no more than a half mile from me. I didn’t know this initially. Only after I decided to reach out to him did I find out. Without ever meeting him previously, I knocked on his door to solicit a blurb for my book. I don’t want to ramble on; however, he ended up giving me a great review and we have become friends.
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The Devil Won’t Keep Us Apart
Some vendettas can never be forgotten…
When Sherman Rehabilitation Center suffers its first murder in decades, authorities race to find a motive as the media swarms. The brutality is unprecedented, even in a prison setting. One week later, eighty-seven-year-old Elmer Ray walks into the local Ohio Highway Patrol Post, claiming he has the answers. First, they need to hear about the two most interesting people in the world: Adrian Franklin and Conner Wallace.
Adrian Franklin, the young neighbor of Elmer Ray, lived a troubled life of neglect and abuse. He had a bad haircut and a worst nickname. The older man tries to take the boy under his wing in a way no one else has ever done. For Adrian, most see a quick temper and lost soul. Elmer sees something different in him, a sense of loyalty and a yearning to feel loved.
Conner Wallace, a British National, a drifter on a motorcycle, and a pugilist with a quick wit, roamed the west and lived by an unbreakable moral code that got him in more trouble than he bargained for. After a five-year bit in a Nevada prison, he finds a safe haven in the underground fight scene on the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
What does a young boy and foreigner have to do with a brutal prison murder in the sleepy town of Sherman, Ohio? Only Elmer Ray knows the answers. And he isn’t giving them until the Post Commander hears how their lives converge with an Appalachian drug dealer, a sexual predator, and a mob boss to influence the brutality in that prison cell.
The Devil Won’t Keep Us Apart is a shocking and raw account combining a coming-of-age tale with a disturbing psychological thriller.
