We’ve got a new book project underway. Read on!
TITLE: The Thunder
AUTHOR: Scott Norton
WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Young Occultist Loner falls for Beautiful Disaffected Barista and accidentally facilitates her possession by an Evil Spirit. Fairly normal love affair ensues.
WHAT HE CAN TELL US ABOUT IT: The story is set in center city Philadelphia in one of the many tiny “trinity” row homes that line the quiet, narrow streets there. I found the concept of the trinity interesting in both its narrow, claustrophobic structure and its relationship to the trinity in religious doctrine. It gave me the idea of writing an old-fashioned demonic possession story with the customary, flip-floppy twist: our lonely hero actually tries to make the situation work. In his experience, relationships are horrifying and dysfunctional anyway. We fault him for his selfishly simple logic, but begin to understand that, in many ways, despite the horrors intrinsic to the circumstances, both of these characters are slightly better off than they were.
“I think many couples become trapped in the relative comfort of tandem survival and never really strive to greater heights for fear of upsetting their tenuous bond,” says Norton. “Of course, he’s eventually faced with the dilemma of exorcising her before its too late, thereby returning her strength and independence, and facing the darkness of crippling loneliness and solitary pining. In a way she gets what she deserves in the beginning because she’s kind of a loathsome diva with a minimum of self-awareness, but I believe at some point selfless courage needs to happen in order for true love to exist.”
WHEN IT WILL BE RELEASED: “I’m shooting for Fall. Then, I hope to adapt it for the screen.”
TRIVIA: Thunder played a large role in early Lenni Lenape folklore, representing powerful spirits from beyond. The peaceful Lenape got on well with early Delaware Valley settlers, and one wonders how important summoning the spirits was to their “peaceful” survival and integration. For every laugh, there’s a gnashing of teeth.
