Latest Books DERANGED FAN with Vincent Zandri

NOW YOU SEE HER. NOW YOU DON’T. NOW YOU’RE DEAD!

A writer who’s suffering from a prolonged bout of writer’s block is hunted down by a fan…a deranged fan who now only wants him to write a new novel and dedicate it to her. She stalks him and makes his life a living hell. At the same time, no one believes he’s being harassed, convinced he is simply cracking up under the constant pressure to produce words and make money. From Thriller Award winner Vincent Zandri comes a tale of suspense, fear, and dread.

Vincent Zandri

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Vincent Zandri recently sat down with The Big Thrill to discuss his latest contemporary thriller, DERANGED FAN.

Can you pinpoint a moment or incident that sparked the idea for this book?

I met a young couple in one of my locals. The wife of the couple is a writer and desperate for a book deal one day to the point of tears. Her young husband is very supportive but obviously there’s only so much he can do. But it turns out, she’s a fan or at the very least, knows who I am. So, I offer her what I think is sage advice. It’s all very benign.

But then I wondered, what if it all took a turn for the dark side and the nice young couple became stalkers and worse, killers. You know, you will kill to get what you want.

Some of it is based on a couple of real-life stalkers I’ve had to endure in my own writing life.

Were there any particular books, movies, or songs that were knocking around in your head while you were writing this one?

Of course, Stephen King’s, Misery comes to mind. But other than that, the book was initially inspired by real-life stalkers. I had no choice but to enlist the help of the state police.

In addition to a great read, what do you hope readers will take away from this story?

Be careful what you wish for. The protagonist “writer” in the book is loosely based on myself, and it reflects the many ups and downs even the most successful of full-time writers (never mind me) must endure without blowing their brains out.