justincronin

The Cleveland Cavaliers, apparently. Also the Expeditionary Forces of the Army of the Republic of Texas.

Planned it from the start. I've known the last sentence since July 2007 when it came to me as I was standing in a parking lot at the Shaws Market in Hyannis, MA.

Here's one thing I always do: I ask each of my characters, "What's the thing you're not telling anyone?" In other words, what event in your life has, in a sense, never really ended and is always present? I think of this as the stone around my character's neck, and everybody has one -- I have one, you have one, all the people in The Passage have one.

That's a tough one. A lot of discipline is required, but I seem to have that. For me the darkest days come when there's some logical question I can't easily solve -- how to get my characters from here to there, or get two characters in the same room, or the dynamics of a large action sequence. I remember one really bad day a couple of years ago walking endlessly around the block into an icy wind trying to solve just such a problem. In the end the answer always comes, but it can be a struggle.

Thanks for the kind words. As for your question: I don't really have an answer! I always like a few mysteries to rest in the book.