Today's Chat with Sarah features Zack Kaplan author of Three Graves.
To view the official review, click here.
To view the book on Amazon, click here.
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1. Can you tell us more about who you are outside of writing?
I’ll start with the single most impactful thing that shaped who I am… When I was 13 years old, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease and was treated with Chemotherapy and Radiation. From that point the course I was on changed completely, and since I had no choice in the matter, I feel strongly that it was a positive. Don’t get me wrong, it was not enjoyable and I’ve dealt with the repercussions my whole life, but it gave me this ‘never give up’, ‘tough it out,’ ‘be the last person standing’ mentality, that I think you need to have in most endeavors, including something as competitive as trying to make a living as a writer. I’m a serious CrossFit enthusiast so I like torturing myself and I have a day job as a voiceover agent at a major Talent Agency in Los Angeles.
2. What turned you on to literature?
Escape… When I was sick, books, television, and movies let me go to another place where I didn’t think about being bald or nauseous from the chemo and once I was healthy, writing became an outlet of expression that I enjoyed more than any other. I’ve always liked knowing things, and that sounds like a huge, duh, but reading is one of the purest forms of obtaining knowledge. I consider my brain a muscle and using it to both absorb and create is something I believe will keep me sharp indefinitely.
3. What author has been most influential to you?
This question is complicated. Chuck Palahniuk made me want to become an author. From the beginning I liked his style and how he told stories and wrote what I’d imagine he liked, not to just find an audience. But James Ellroy and Elmore Leonard were crucial for me, as my sensibility has a theatrical component. Lastly, Quentin Tarantino (not an author obviously) really influenced my writing a lot.
4. Let's talk about your book, Three Graves. The book is a crime thriller that has two alternating timelines. How did you keep them straight?
Two of the my pet peeves are a lack of continuity and plot holes, so I was obsessive in keeping things straight and it was just a lot of reading the novel over and over again and making detailed notes of potential issues. I also didn’t get crazy specific with the timelines. I didn’t want to paint myself in a corner and mention “Tuesday October whatever.”
5. The reviewer, @Prisallen, states that these protagonists are not typical. Are they based on real people?
I think every character is an amalgamation of characteristics the author has witnessed in real life or from other media (books/TV/Movies). You want to create a realistic realm but have the liberty of dialing up or down each aspect of who these people are to create this ‘could be a real person’ feeling, even if they are doing unimaginable things. Ironically, I spent so much time with these characters that I full well expected to bump into one of them. They seemed like real people to me eventually.
6. Three Graves features the police force in LA. How did you do your research to make you so realistic? How much time did it require?
The internet is a magical place where you can learn about and research just about anything. I wouldn’t be shocked if the FBI flagged my internet search history, because I also didn’t know a lot about drugs or guns or serial killers or how to make nooses as an actual example. The whole endeavor of getting this book to a place I felt good about took so long that actually answering ‘how long’ is impossible.
7. Humor is used throughout the story to bring some relief to the tension. Is that a reflection of your personality?
Absolutely… I definitely use humor to deflect… diffuse… relieve tension… you name it. When I was first sick, I asked my mom, “Am I going to die?” And she said, ‘Yeah… just not from this.”
8. What's next for you? Are there more books in the works?
My next book will be three short stories with one common through line that will introduce the main character of the subsequent book. I have two of the three stories outlined and just need to carve out time to get my words down.
