We're launching the Book Tour for THE SOCIETY OF THE WATCHERS by Scott Keen

Author Interview

What inspired you to write The Society of the Watchers?

I once watched a documentary on the dark ages. It talked about how advanced Rome was before it fell. There were all these technologies that suddenly no one knew about. They were lost to history. That idea intrigued me. And that was the basis for the world creation. I also wanted to avoid technology. We’ve lost things in our digital age and, in one sense, I wanted to get back to a time before all the advancements without going backward.

What do you love most about the story?

The thing I love most is the village of Kilhaven. The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world, but everyone is pretty pleased with life. It is not a dark, gray world where everyone is depressed. Why would they be? They knew very little about our world and were not attached to its ways any more than we are attached to the way of life 150 years before we existed. These people built for themselves a new life in a village they love. I think that is what I like most. It is a world and a village that I would not mind living in.

What challenged you about writing it?

I’ve never written a mystery. So that was the challenging part: dropping little hints about what’s going on throughout the story and, to some extent, why. You have to do this without giving up the answer. Creating misdirections without cheating is not easy. And I can’t even say if I did it well. I’m too familiar with the story, and I know its ending.

Which character do you most relate to and why?

I would say Jarvis Graye is the character I relate to most. He has similar insecurities I did as a kid. His thought processes were/are similar to mine. He longs for adventure and does not want to live a mundane life, but also doesn’t know how to achieve it. To a great extent, Jarvis Graye is me as a kid, at least in my head.

What do you hope readers will take with them after they've read it?

I hope readers fall in love with the village and the way of life, like I did. Of course, I hope they love the story and find it exciting and well-written. But I also would like them to love the world that was created, to love the village that Jarvis Graye lives within. I’ve tried to create some sort of world that is cozy, but dangerous.

What do you enjoy doing when you're not writing?

I enjoy a lot of things. I love movies. During the summer, my family and I go to the drive-in whenever we can. I also like video editing and making short films with my family. So we’ve spent a fair amount of time doing that as well.