Thriller
Date Published: April 1 2018
A grieving father – known to the reader only as Teacher – takes on a new identity after the brutal murder of his teenaged son. Masquerading as a substitute teacher, he tracks down the killer – a high school senior – and methodically builds a web to entrap him. Teacher does not desire simple justice or death for the killer; he wants the killer to endure what his son endured. But Teacher’s plan takes a life-shattering turn when he must save his son’s former girlfriend from the clutches of the brutal MS-13 gang.
A taut, suspenseful thriller, Red Rider explores the depths of revenge and the strength of human bonds.
Interview with Gerrit Steenhagen
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Red Rider?
The main character—simply known
as Teacher—searches obsessively for his son’s killer at different high schools.
Teacher sacrifices his wife, his career, and his life for revenge. From the
beginning, Teacher is all in, never letting up, not caring who gets hurt along
the way. The other major character, Girl, was in love with Teacher’s son. She also took his death hard and ended up
falling in with a branch of the ruthless MS-13 street gang. Since her
boyfriend’s death, Girl has been desperately trying to get out of MS-13.
Unfortunately for her, death is the only way out. Girl’s mother recently died
at the hands of MS-13 and now she is left with no place to go. Though Teacher
has an icy exterior, he takes Girl in and looks after her.
Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have
planned for the future?
My next book is The Weatherman. It is a science fiction
novel about a man who believes he is the sun.
It takes place in an interrogation room with a lawyer, a detective, and
a young blind woman, who are all unknowingly connected to the Weatherman.
How
long would you say it takes you to write a book?
Writing a book takes me six months.
What
is your favorite childhood book?
Stephen King’s The Dead Zone was the first book I couldn’t put down. I was in 6th
grade and read it in a weekend.
If
you could spend the day with one of the characters from Red Rider who would it be? Please tell us why you chose this
particular character, where you would go and what you would do.
The character I would choose is Teacher’s
wife. I would want her to know everything Teacher did for her and the measures
he took to avenge their son. I would walk her out of the house and take her
across the street to another house. I would tell her Teacher was living in that
house, watching over her, making sure she was always safe.
What
was the hardest scene from Red Rider
to write?
The ending was the hardest scene to
write. I went back and forth with Teacher’s outcome. I really wanted to keep
him around and find happiness, perhaps start a new life, but it didn’t fit his
fate. No matter how many different scenarios I wrote, his fate had to be death.
He had done too much to go back, yet for him it was all worth it—all or
nothing.
What
made you want to become a writer?
I didn’t have many friends growing up and
was quite lonely. I was able to create friends and adventures through writing.
Writing filled that void of loneliness.
Just
for fun
(a
Favorite song: I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite song, but
anytime I write an action scene, I listen to Simply the Best by Tina Turner over and over until the scene is
complete.
(b
Favorite book: The End of the Affair by
Graham Greene
(c
Favorite movie: Eastern Promises
(d
Favorite tv show: The
Night Of
(e
Favorite Food: Oatmeal with Honey
(f
Favorite drink: Fresh squeezed Orange Juice
(g
Favorite website: Amazon
Thanks
so much for visiting with us today!
About the Author
Gerrit Steenhagen grew up in San Diego, California. He wrote, produced, and directed the indie drama If Tomorrow Comes. He currently resides in Los Angeles.
Contact Links
Purchase Link
1 comments:
Thank you for posting
Post a Comment