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The Haunting of Tyrese Walker

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This moment of clarity was the beginning of a wonderful journey with Tyrese. I wanted to explore grief and mental health for all readers, but I especially wanted Tyrese to be a vehicle for boys to examine loss and processing pain, as well of course as create an atmospheric ghost story. As I began to listen to Tyrese’s voice and hear the story he wanted to tell, little did I know that it would become a transportive and cathartic experience from the emptiness of loss to the celebration and light of life and all that still lives in my heart. The Haunting of Tyrese Walker is both skin-crawlingly creepy and beautiful. It magnificently and powerfully links supernatural activity & grief together, so much so I was mesmerised. I was greatly impressed by JP Rose’s The Haunting of Tyrese Walker which uses grief, loss and mental health as a convincing basis to build an excellent horror story which could be read by both Middle Grade and YA audiences. It was creepy and unsettling rather than outright scary and because it was not particularly gory or violent it should attract a wider audience and such was its quality it deserves to. It was a compelling read and I sped through it in a few sittings, I also adored the use of the Jamaican folklore, which had me reaching for Google to find out what the supernatural references of ‘Duppy’ and ‘Soucouyant’ meant. The story was also beautifully paced, had a clever way of eliminating adults from the adventure and had three terrific main characters. It was also refreshing to read a novel with a boy as the main character, as these types of books are virtually always dominated by female narratives. Equally so, I enjoyed the fact that the author did not feel the need to throw in a developing romance, as the story really did not need it and the importance was how Tyrese Walker overcame his own personal, painful and complex inner demons which were portrayed incredibly sensitively.

I adore psychological horror, and it can be a fantastic vehicle to explore and navigate difficult emotions, issues and situations, feeling like one of the few places to experience fear safely. And although I’ve always written adult fiction, my passion, my desire, was to write and tell stories for teens and young YA. Despite the obvious differences writing for adult readers (I felt a huge responsibility to create an honest portrayal of the complex relationship young people can have with grief), I found the whole process empowering, cathartic and uplifting. Was there any particular reason that you decided to write a YA novel as your previous novels have been adult crime novels? Did you want a new challenge?

He, Marvin and a new friend called Ellie, herself left to her own devices by a busy father find themselves running round the island, escaping unknown enemies and not-quite-real beings, and have no idea what's going on. Who is the Shadow Man who seems to be after Ty - and why? As Tyrese is starting to come out of his shell, he starts to feel a presence that seems to be watching him, haunting him. He learns about a legend, the mysterious Shadow Man and is convinced that he is after him. But why is he targeting Tyrese and how is he going to get rid of it? I loved hearing about other cultural stories and the way the story all unwinds to keep Ty's own current life situation as key, his confused and guilty thoughts very well portrayed and dealt with.

Soon, though, Tyrese notices that there really are unusual and inexplicable things happening to him. He is haunted by genuinely terrifying ghosts, which are perfectly described to the effect that readers will find it impossible to discern if Tyrese is being haunted by duppies and other ancient ghouls, or if his grief is somehow causing him to lose his grip on reality. How do you write such detailed descriptions of the surroundings? Have you based the book's settings on places you know? His mom decides that some time off would be really beneficial to him and would give him the chance to reconnect with his culture and his old self. So they take a flight to Jamaica where Tyrese will still struggle at the beginning to adapt. By slowly showing aspects of Tyrese's life such as his father, you are able to fully emotionally connect with his character. Did you ever find yourself debating whether to reveal more or less? Yes, I'm writing one now and really enjoying it. It will be another psychological horror, it will be a slightly older YA and this time with vampires.

Why did you choose to write in third person rather than first person, and was it difficult at times to explain Tyrese's feelings without it being in the first person?

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