“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven..”
― Paradise Lost
The duality of Hell
I have to say. My boss, Hamed, is a spectacular job bringing this story to life on his first photoshoot. To this day, I never expected him to say “Yes”. Martin had to keep reminding me that this project of mine was something very special and people were taking notice of it. Nevertheless, I’m over the moon that Hamed was willing to take part in this little project of mine. I say “little” because the project that I’m going to be working on for next year is going to be quite grand. But that’s not what I want to talk about today. I want to share some “Behind-The-Pen” secrets of What Fresh Hell?
This is the only story that had a focus on hell, instead of heaven, and it gave my brother pause. I mean, a long pause. I didn’t show – or told – my mother or grandmother about this story because I didn’t want them to panic. That or have their friends judge me through them. Nobody got time for that.
Anyway, the title “What Fresh Hell?” came after the story was backward for me because I usually have the title for the story after the outline. I didn’t know how to title the story without giving it away; it was a pretty straightforward story with a linear plot. It had only one main character and the story was told in the first person. Side note, first-person isn’t really my choice of narrator. I mean, I know how to write in the first person but, if I can help it, I very much prefer the third-person perspective in my writing. It gives me more freedom, you know?
However, I tried writing this story in the first person and it just wasn’t working for me. Everybody was in the same situation – and circumstances and there was no room for multiple conversations – observation. It was quickly made clear to me that I need to focus on one person and have that person talk about his current predicament. By making that switch, I managed to write that story in around two days. Everything just…clicked.
Remember the saying “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”. Yeah, I took that to the next level for the main character as I just took the crime that brought him to his current destination and all the events leading up to it including his childhood. Also, point of order, I don’t think I have to explain where he is because the reader will quickly figure it out. I mean, it’s not hard. I came to accept that so it gave me the freedom to play around with the surroundings and really put the main character through the wringer. It was just too much fun.
Interesting fact, I originally had the main character to be of Latin descent. But, after working with Hamed and noticing how fantastic of a job he did, I went back to make the main character Arabic. Trust me, he deserves it and I only had to give him one clear instruction: “Go back to the worst thing you’ve ever done before dying and going to hell”. It took a moment but the moment after that was just pure magic. I have to find a way to get him on another cover; that talent can’t be wasted. If you don’t believe me, see for yourself. And, with that, I hope you enjoy the story.
You can buy the book on Amazon. The link is here.
You can also learn about it on Goodreads. The link for it is here.
