Displacement

“aSSemBLed FRiEnDS, wE hAVe a sitUATIOn wHIch rEQuireS oUR mOst CAREful aTTentiON.”

Displacement came about from my desire to prove, mostly to myself, that The Stealer of Worlds wasn’t an accident, and I could write another novel length piece. At the time I didn’t have a big enough idea for another YA book (and the Robert sequels were still very much ‘in development’), so I pulled an idea for a thriller I’d been mulling over for a while off the shelf, and got to work on that.

The original “secret” at the heart of the conspiracy (after all, what drives a thriller but a need to discover the hidden truth?) was something very different indeed – in fact I may even use it one day somewhere else at some point.

But then I realised with The Stealer of Worlds, and a scene near the start which upon first glance seems to be out of place, that I needed to start knitting together the various ideas I was having. So, out went the original idea, and in came something which tied Robert’s adventure into the larger narrative brewing in my mind.

Displacement was also important to prove I could write a “grown ups” book, and that The Stealer of Worlds was not a one-off – basically, if I could be a ‘real’ writer.

Several years later (more than I care to think about – in my defence I do do this in on my commute!) and more rewrites than I want to recall, I had the 450 odd pages of Rebecca and her pursuit, through her childhood, for the truth.

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So, if you’ve bought or read The Stealer of Worlds (for yourself, or your kids) then pick up a copy of Displacement and find out how Robert Cotts’ discoveries in that book have a profound effect on everyone on earth’s lives when he grows up to become a man. I hope you like it.

rd.