I recently received a reader email asking me quite a few questions about books one and two in The Solitary Tales. I asked her if I could share the questions and answers on my blog, and she said yes.
So hopefully this will answer some of the questions about Solitary and Gravestone!
(And one obvious note–there are spoilers below in case you haven’t read the books!)
1) Is Solitary even a real place?
It’s definitely made up but I’ve based it off a couple of different small towns in North Carolina. Mostly due to appearances and not due to anything bad happening in them.
2) Why (Why, Why, Why) is that place, the place between dreams and reality even concocted in Gravestone?! I know in the end it”s kind of critical because it leads to a big change in Chris” life, but it does get sort of annoying while he”s visiting Jocelyn. I mean, it just makes him go even more in some sorts of denial.
This is an excellent question. I can’t answer it now, but I will say that the answer will come. And the answer is very important, too.
3) Is it like… an important turning page in Gravestone that Chris and Poe kiss?
Chris was as surprised as you might have been that he was kissing Poe.
4)Jared”s really…freaky. I never understood him. Is his character just to be a distraction to Chris or something, or to help himself get out of his own situation? Or just to get rid of Chris?! Oh my gosh.
There is a distinct reason why Jared suddenly came into Chris’s life. We will know more about that later in books #3 and #4.
Now I have some comments (and questions yet mixed in):
1) I found both Solitary and Gravestone to be good books. Yet, when I started reading Gravestone, something was different.Gravestone has a darker feel to it, it”s more…odd. Solitary is a bit lighter. Is this maybe because Chris hadn”t had to deal with Jocelyn”s death yet?
I’m glad you noticed this. Gravestone was meant to be darker. Solitary introduces Chris to this strange, creepy world, but in that world there is a sweet romance happening. Of course, we reach the shocking end, plunging us into book two.
Book three, Temptation, will shift gears a bit. I hope book four, Hurt, does too. I want each book to have its own color and vibe to it.
2) I found Iris to be quite the character. An old lady, yet quite truthful and eye-opening. Does she ever come back? (I forgot if she died or not.)
We don’t know if she died or not at the end of book two. You will find out that answer by the end of the series.
3) Why is it titled Gravestone? It”s not like Chris visits Jocelyn”s gravestone or something.
Ah, but what about that church in the woods? The one with the gravestone inside the church? With the french quote???
4) The random bluebird on the back. There is something about that bluebird.
That bluebird could be the key to the entire series. Or maybe not.
5)What is up with Pastor Freaky? He”s got a motive, and, obviously, it”s not good. All in all, it is kinda freaky that he didn”t die. Make that very freaky.
I think it would be cool to have a little more backstory on Pastor Freaky, don’t you? Hmmmm. He’s going to surprise people with his story.
6) There”s a reason for Poe moving at the end of the book. Is that because she was talking about “escaping once and for all” when she was talking to Chris about keeping him around a little longer?
She doesn’t have an option of staying or leaving. So once again Chris loses someone dear to him. Yes, there are big picture and small picture reasons for Poe leaving.
So okay–that didn’t really answer that many of your questions. But I promise those questions will eventually be answered. There is a reason Chris is experiencing all of these crazy things. Book three is going to answer A LOT. I promise you.
Thanks for reading!!