B. B. Griffith - Psychological Thriller About Sleepwalking

B. B. Griffith writes thrillers of all types, from psychological to supernatural. He is the author of the Tournament series, the Vanished series, and the Gordon Pope series. As our Author of the Day, he tells us all about his latest book, The Sleepwalkers, in which a 12-year old boy is accused of committing violent assault while asleep.

Please give us a short introduction to what The Sleepwalkers is about.

Gordon Pope is a gifted child-psychiatrist who has fallen on hard times. He agrees to be an expert witness in the chilling case of a 12-year-old boy accused of violent assault who claims he was asleep the whole time. What Gordon doesn't know is that he'll be thrown into a race against time to save the boy, and himself, before it’s too late.

What inspired you to write about a boy who might have committed a crime in his sleep?

I used to sleepwalk as a child, and my parents tell me stories of how I ended up in strange places in the house. I did a little research and found out that actual murders have been committed by people who (at least claim) that they were asleep, and I thought it was a perfect thriller topic.

Tell us more about Gordon Pope - what makes him so special?

Gordon Pope is very gifted and committed, but also a very vulnerable person. He’s going through a rough patch personally and he lacks confidence despite his ability. He’s a great analyst, but he’s also wrapped up in his own head. I think he’s really a relatable character.

Readers report that the novel was very hard to put down. How do you manage to keep them at the edge of their seats?

The book takes place over a brief window of time. Gordon has to beat the clock to save his patient, so there’s a constant sense of impending crisis that I think really keeps the pace fast.

What intrigues you about the psychology of sleep studies?

Mostly how little we really understand about sleep. We know sleep is very important, and we have a lot of interesting theories about what dreams are and why we need sleep, but nobody really understands why we have to recharge for hours and hours at a time every night in order to survive. It’s all a bit of a mystery.

How much research did this book require from you, and what was the most interesting aspect of your research?

This book required a lot of research on the psychology of sleep, especially around REM and sleep cycles. I found the sleep cycle research most interesting. We live a lot of our life in our sleep. While our bodies are still, our minds are racing!

Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

I can ride a unicycle! Although I haven’t in some time. Maybe don’t hold me to that one.

What was the toughest thing you had to go through when writing The Sleepwalkers?

Time management. Every book I write is an exercise in patience, but this book took me a lot of time to research and write. I do think it was all worth it though!

Do you have any interesting writing habits? What is an average writing day like for you?

I wrote this whole book on an old word processor. The kind that we used to practice typing on in elementary school. It isn’t connected to the internet, so it’s easier to write without wandering over to the internet to waste time.

What are you working on right now? 

I’m working on a new series that is a missing-persons thriller with a dash of urban fantasy. It takes place in Las Vegas, which is fun for me to write about, and it focuses on the magic behind luck.

Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?

Readers can check out my web page at www.griffithpublishing.com, or reach out to me on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/bbgriffithauthor/

I also have a mailing list where I notify fans of new releases and when my books are discounted or free. You can sign up here: http://eepurl.com/SObZj