A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to Jo, Mal, Ben, Chris, Jesse, Sam. Thanks to Mark, Lot, Raff, Kerry, Stephen. Thanks Tony and Natalie. Thanks to Em, Matilda, JJ, Andy. Thanks, Robothams. Thanks to all the readers who sent feedback. Thanks, friends, bloggers, fans. Indebted to Pippa, Steph, Josh, Jon, Sam, Karen. Thanks to all publishing, bookseller, and library staff involved.
Love to Nic.
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James Phelan on the conception of the Alone trilogy
When writing the first novel, Alone:
Chasers,
I wanted to create a story that was entertaining while being something that would stay with readers long after they've put down the book. The ending has proved a great vehicle for that, and for stimulating word of mouth, judging by the feedback I receive through my website. The initial concept was to write something that showed both the good and the bad that can emerge from human nature in the face of catastrophe, and it gives us hope that even in the worst situations, there are those who will remain strong. I like to think that as we finish the book and go back over what has occurred, the reader will be aware that there is always choice and that “survival” is possible.
Prior to writing
Chasers,
I'd just written a dark thriller about the oil-related corruption in Nigeria and extraordinary rendition, and I was about to delve into the sequel that was set against the water crisis in India. I had really enjoyed talking to school groups with my first two Fox novels, and felt that the tone of that series was moving away from those readers. I had some meetings with publishers to discuss some options of writing a series for teens, wrote some samples (of what they wanted, which was boring, stock-standard boy-spy type material, kind of Fox-lite), and then one day, I thought: “what if everything comes tumbling down?” So, I started writing
Chasers
and was swept away with it so much so that sixteen days later I sent the finished manuscript to my agent.
But let's go back a bit. The idea germed when I was in high school, after I'd read
The Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank, a story that has never left me. That book gave me the concept of how a teenager would go in a war zone and explore how a character coped with her alone timeâby communicating with imaginary friends.
At the time, I thought about incorporating this kind of concept into my character Lachlan Fox, who suffers from PTSD, as this was the first novel I started when I was fifteen (which eventually became
FoxHunt,
the first in a thriller series published in Australia) but I felt it didn't work with the genre. It's been on the back burner ever since, and I finally found a way of writing this literary technique into
Chasers
. While the three friends of Jesse's are not “imaginary” (as is Tyler Durdan in
Fight Club
), nor are they characters from a book (as is Anne Frank's coping device), these friends of his were “alive,” once.
So I had that and the idea that the first book should examine the meaning of being truly alone, isolated, and preyed upon. I wanted to write something that shows us we all have the will we need to survive, whatever the personal circumstance we might bring to the reading, so I explored the story of Jesse via empathy through voice, circumstance, choice, and strong imagery (well, that's the intention!).
I'm a total sucker for postapocalyptic storiesâI think the situation is fraught with suspense and ripe for characterization and commentary. I wanted a narrative that would make the reader want to jump into the story and shape it themselvesâa quick but gripping read, with a building of tension, so along the way the reader can't help but think, “What would I do?”âand by the final chapter their ideas and assumptions are turned on their head as they rethink the story. Overall, I wanted to write a book that said some things about life, and as a piece of literature would be discussed and remembered by its readers. Anyway, the sum of all this is that I've created a novel that's quite difficult to talk and take questions about, in public, inasmuch as tiptoeing about and not to give away the ending!
Writing the first draft was easy, like I said it was sixteen days of feverish work where the story just poured out, but then making sure I made the narrative work given that Jesse is alone from the prologue on. As a literary device I took away the speech marks when he's “talking” with his friends, as those discussions were something of an internal soliloquy. I think I got away with that device by stating that the prologue and the body of the book was separated by a THEN and NOW. Only at one point in the body of the novel does Jesse speak aloud, and that's to the infected boy at the East River. That was a key moment where he realized that these chasers are not all evil, where he develops real empathy with them, and realizes that we are too quick to judge others. Then, it's not until the final line of the novel that Jesse has the courage to admit to himself, out loud, that he is alone. I designed that to symbolize that we know he will be okay, that he used his friends all this time to survive, and now he'll be all right on his ownâhe let them go, and with that act he set himself free.
As the series progresses, he meets other survivors. Also, the narrative picks up with action and suspense, so that these three books form a macro-story structure of three acts of a larger picture. We also get some scientific explanations, e.g. the chemical agent of the attack gets a logical explanation. As to “who” perpetrated the attacks . . . well, we get plenty of clues, there's speculation, and there's an “official” explanation at the end of
Quarantine,
but ultimately that is something that I want left for the reader to decide. This is very much an allegorical series and I'm not sure if I want to bore anyone with that yet.... I'll wait and see how it's received and discussed at first, and I always rather a reader makes of the book what they will rather than me being didactic about meaning.
Anyway! Both excited and terrified, Jesse soon realizes there may be worse things than being alone. He learns fast that you cannot count on everyone to be there for you all of the time, that you have to be independent or else you will most likely not survive if you were to lose everyone. Trust and fear are big themes within the story. Although we aren't given details about the attack that has destroyed the city, I don't think we need to know what caused it. We already know how wars start, and we are shown how it ends. Fear? Greed? Lack of trust? All that and more are explored in the relationships of characters throughout the series.
Jesse is a likable narrator, with a natural voice and a well-developed personality. It's easy to sympathize with him based on his situation alone, but he is all the more admirable for refusing to give up even in the most desperate circumstances. He deals with his problems with intelligence and courage, but still has those moments of carelessness and fear that make him human. Readers will be on his side from the beginning, even as they struggle to imagine how they would feel in his place. Though his final triumph involves some loss, it's clear he will persevere and find a way to survive on his own, which makes the ending satisfying.
The only research I did was in relation to Jesse's psychological condition, and that involved reading books and articles and talking to my psychiatrist. The book has many elements from my own life, and I've been to the places that Jesse goes to and sees, albeit the Manhattan I know is still (mostly) standing. I see this as a YA crossover and not gender specific, although I was conscious of writing a story that young male readers would enjoy reading. I'm sure there are some good books being published out there with similar appeal, but to me there seemed to be heaps of straight-up action/adventure books for boys and not much else. Alone was my answer to that.