Inspiration

The really creepy thing about this novel is that the book really was inspired by Benny. When I was 4-5 years old, I had an imaginary friend named Benny. And while I wasn’t able to recall very much about him because I was so young, I do remember talking about him when I was a child and being aware of a presence I always equated with Benny. So when I sat down to write this novel after spending several months interviewing my parents and older brother to help resurrect Benny, I must admit I felt as if he was looking over my shoulder. Usually when I write I don’t get scared of what I am writing even though the subject matter is always supernatural and somewhat horrific. This time, compelled to write over 80% of the novel while my wife and children were asleep at night, I got pretty scared and had to stop working on it more than once. A few times my wife came into the office unannounced and scared the crap out of me. Sometimes I experienced this paranoid inkling that Benny was in the room zipping around and playing silly games. These experiences got transferred into the novel and helped to make it a successful effort.

Special Thanks

to Mark Matlock, my cover artist and Stephanie Vie and Jennifer de Winter for their editing and proofreading help. Also, to my wife Rebecca for being so wonderful when I'm writing.

rs hill