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Ask the Author: Blake Crouch

“Since the paperback release for Recursion is this coming Tuesday (March 10) I've turned on ask the author anything. I'll answer as many questions as I can!� Blake Crouch

Answered Questions (235)

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I lived in Roscoe Village in Chicago for many years. I recall Dark Matter beginning there, but the descriptions didn't match the real Roscoe Village neighborhood. I wonder if that was on purpose to set the story up in an alternate reality from the beginning? If so do we ever land in our reality within the book?
Blake Crouch I came up with Dark Matter at one of my best friend's house (he lives in Roscoe Village and is also a writer). But some of the big breakthroughs came at Longman & Eagle in Logan Square, so I just blended the neighborhoods together.
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Does Amor Towles know you used his name in your book Recursion? (I am reading Recursion and think it a great book. Really making me think what memory is).
Blake Crouch Yes. Amor's a friend.
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Hi Blake! Firstly, thanks for the signed & personalized copy of Recursion (My buddy Sean from Durango sent it from your book release - Loved it). Dark Matter is one of my favorite sci-fi books of all time. I've read Run, Recursion and just finished the Wayward Pines trilogy (I want more, but totally respect your decision to let it end how it did). My question for you...what should I read next? Pick one for me!
Blake Crouch My pleasure! I would read the novella Summer Frost next (ebook, but free with Amazon Prime) and my novel Abandon.
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I love your books, but I have a problem: I've read them all. What are some great novels you've read that you think others should check out?
Blake Crouch Time & Again by Jack Finney
Exhalation and Stories of Your Life by Ted Chiang
The Brilliance Trilogy by Marcus Sakey
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Devolution by Max Brooks (June 2020)
The Martian and Artemis by Andy Weir
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Way Station by Cliff Simak
Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth
A Headful of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

That should get you started!
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Just a quick word to say that I thoroughly enjoyed Dark Matter. A book that keeps my interest are what I consider a good read. Any more like that coming?
Blake Crouch Yes! Working on a new one right now!
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How much of Dark Matter is based on current scientific thinking?
Blake Crouch All of it:
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Who’s your favorite character you’ve written and why?
Blake Crouch Letty Dobesh. She took almost on development. Just... arrived, fully formed. Never had that happen before.
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Hi Blake, I wanted to tell you how much I loved Dark Matter! It sits on my Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ "best" shelf with very few others. I appreciate that you don't feel like you have to tie your stories up in a nice, neat little bow. I think this restraint is essential in making an author truly great. Do you ever fight the urge to wrap things up too perfectly, or are you naturally inclined to create cliff hanger?
Blake Crouch Thx so much for the kind words, Lauren. And yes! Ending books the right way is probably the hardest part of writing for me. I had at least three potential endings for Recursion and none felt correct b/c they were all too "neat."
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Do you have a background in physics or other science?
Blake Crouch None at all. I'm an English major with a creative writing minor.
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Do you have something special about Van Gogh? I've noticed both Jason and Barry had a Van Gogh hanging somewhere in their houses. Is there something related to the fact that Starry Night resembles two different places merging?
Blake Crouch Huh... not that I'm aware of. Or at least, it wasn't intentional. I do love Van Gogh's art and I find his life story fascinating.
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Do you see yourself writing a second book on dark matter on what happened after?
Blake Crouch I don't think so. I'm on to new stories and characters.
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I love the Andrew Thomas/Luther Kite series. Do you plan to include them in future novels? Thank you!
Blake Crouch Probably not, but thanks so much for the kind words!
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How do you manage to keep the suspense throughout the story?
Blake Crouch This is a hard one to answer. I think a lot of it is intuitive and it's a mix of a cool overarching concept married to very real characters we care about.
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Did you consider to approach Netflix or HBO to turn the Wayward Pines into a TV series as I watched the FOX version and it did not do justice to your books?
Blake Crouch I can't recall who we approached about Wayward Pines, but FOX gave us the best path forward to actually making the show. I thought they did a great job rolling it out. It changed, my life.
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Have you ever thought of making a book 4 for the series Wayward Pines?
Blake Crouch Yes, and I don't think I will do it.
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Is it hard to build such powerful characters?
Blake Crouch I certainly feel like my characters only become truly fully alive in the final drafts of a book. So I guess my answer is it takes many drafts to get there.
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I love these lines (especially the end) from Dark Matter and wanted to say thanks: “It’s like we get so set in our ways, so entrenched in those grooves. We stop seeing our loved ones for who they are. But tonight, right now, I see you again like the first time we met, when the sound of your voice and your smell was this new country.� Do you use personal analogues to write about emotion?
Blake Crouch I definitely do.
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what would be the most important thing that you would feel all aspiring writers should focus on?
Blake Crouch Read everything you can get your hands on.
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I love your exploration into the idea of self and what makes you you in Dark Matter. What philosophical ideas of self do you gravitate toward?
Blake Crouch I gravitate toward the idea that self, or consciousness, is a cosmic accident, and a complete illusion.
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I loved the ending of Recursion and felt it was the right ending for it. Was there ever an alternative ending that you considered?
Blake Crouch Thank you! And yes, I wrote several endings for Recursion. In fact, the first draft and a completely different back half!
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Blake Crouch
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