The Hardest Chapter: Wiley Cash

We caught up with Wiley Cash, last year’s winner of the CWA John Creasey Award for Best First Novel to ask him which of the chapters was the hardest to write in his stunning début, A Land More Kind Than Home.

Here’s what he had to say:

“That’s tough to answer because I don’t really think of my novels in terms of chapters; I tend to think more in terms of scenes. In A Land More Kind Than Home, one scene that I found particularly tough was the scene in which Clem, the local sheriff, discovers his son’s body on the side of the road. His son has been electrocuted while installing power lines, and now his body is lying under a sheet in the snow. Clem sees that the rubber soles of his son’s boots are still smoking. The foreman, Jimmy Hall, has left the site, and Clem suspects it’s because he’s drinking and may be indirectly responsible for the accident. The scene is narrated by Clem, and it was tough for me to navigate all of his emotions: sadness, devastation, rage, a need for revenge. I had to trust Clem enough and believe in his character enough to let him do the talking. I had to let him lead me through his loss and his grief, and I had to stand by and watch him react when he finally finds Jimmy Hall.”

Wiley is currently writing his next novel and we can’t wait to hear more about it.

Wiley Cash is on Facebook and Goodreads.

Check back soon for more news from Wiley Cash!