Opening: A Halloween Story That Refuses to Stay in One World
- A Halloween party is a familiar story setting, but Mirror Mirror takes that starting point into territory involving murder, possession, time travel, and parallel realities.
Looking back at the finished novel, was there a particular moment when you realized the story had grown into something much bigger than the premise you started with?
My first novel, Mirror Mirror, grew out of a short story with the same title, written over ten years earlier. The short story focused more on the mysterious book Sandy Tillman, the protagonist, discovered in the library of the centuries-old Hawthorne House while pre-party planning. The inscription in the book laid the groundwork for questions that begged for answers. From that point, the ancient leather-bound tome titled “Mirror Mirror,” its contents, and implications of possession defined a much larger story.
I’d love to understand what that turning point looked like from your perspective as the writer.
I write under the influence of a Relentless Wench Muse (RWM), who manages to remain just out of reach. I admit that the turning point was prompted by Her when She whispered into my mind in Her saucy Australian accent, saying, “There’s more story here, Mate.” And She was correct. The story wasn’t just about a Halloween party; it was about what the party set off, the first of many dominoes that would fall. One of my first interviewers described the novel’s genre as horror. After the party’s chaos, the story became horror for some and a paranormal thriller for others. The Halloween party was a prop that brought key characters together, and their extreme interactions led to a much larger story about extraordinary things happening to an ordinary person.
- The mysterious book at the center of the story is more than an object that moves the plot forward; it becomes deeply entangled with Sandy’s life and the choices she faces.
What interested you about giving an object such a powerful role in the story, and what did you want it to represent beyond its supernatural abilities?
The ancient tome served as connective tissue between two things: the ornate dressing mirror, which became a portal when she touched it, and the introduction of the Entity from the 11th dimension. I suppose the ancient tome also served as a pivot point because it surfaces throughout the novel, supporting or contradicting Sandy’s predicaments, acting as a catalyst, and adding a wrinkle in the story. The inscription inside the cover set the story’s tone: “Whoever possesses this book shall have exclusive control of all reflective powers that flow forth when called upon in good stead by the righteous.”
The inscription created more questions than answers for Sandy. Exclusive control? Reflective powers? Flow forth? Called upon? Good stead? By the righteous? – How? The inscription said nothing about whether whoever possessed the book would be possessed by it. The book’s contents made that clear as she read deeper, and the more she read, the more terrified she became. Sandy wanted nothing to do with being possessed by anything or anyone. Her world had been disrupted, turning an ordinary real estate agent into someone facing extraordinary circumstances beyond her understanding and control. The book provided instructions specific to the possessor’s reflective powers… powers she did not want or need. The book also served as connective tissue, an earthly proxy for the eleventh-dimension Entity. As a result, Sandy learns that the book not only possessed her, but the Entity did, too. I suppose that compounding chain of connection lends itself to horror. Can’t argue with that logic.
Behind the Story: Characters, Choices, and Consequences
3. Sandy Tillman is thrust into circumstances she never asked for, yet she must keep responding to events that grow increasingly extraordinary.
What interested you about placing an essentially ordinary person in a situation where the rules of her world and eventually reality itself can no longer be trusted?
I wish I could say everything that happened to Sandy after reading the inscription inside the cover was planned. Not so much. When I write, I follow where the story takes me. I guess that makes me a Pantser rather than a Planner. Writing from a seat-of-the-pants third-person perspective lets my characters show the story through what they do, say, think, or don’t, rather than me telling it. Call it stream of consciousness, if you prefer, but I don’t have a pre-planned story outline because the story will deviate within a page or two. The circumstances I put Sandy in ran counter to who she thought she was: a controlled, level-headed, logical-thinking, ordinary person. I wanted to see how she would react to situations outside her normal. I wanted her to explore trusting something other than herself.
I’m particularly interested in how you approached her responses to events she could never have prepared for.
Sandy showed me agility amid her terror as she was forced to confront what came at her. Most of what confronted her was outside her real-world experience and completely unexpected. For example, brushing dust off the mirror’s surface with her hand activated a portal, turning a dressing mirror from something that reflects into a surface that projects. As the portal came alive, an Entity spoke to her telepathically in a male voice only she could hear. The voice had no physical manifestation beyond a purple glow on the mirror’s surface and a warmth that radiated when it first spoke. Terrified and unsure where to turn, she fled. As the story progresses, the Entity, the source of her terror, slowly evolves from a threat into a source of counsel she can reluctantly trust. Sandy was forced to abandon her need to understand and maintain control and instead trust, with little assurance that she wasn’t putting herself at great risk.
- As the story unfolds, the consequences of one event lead to another, and Sandy’s situation becomes increasingly complicated.
When developing a story with so many shifting circumstances, how do you decide which consequences to follow and which possibilities to leave unexplored?
I don’t think there were as many shifting circumstances as there were changes in the environment she found herself in as the relationship with the Entity evolved and became more undeniable. She didn’t want a relationship with anyone, nor did the Entity, but their environment changed beyond what either planned or anticipated because of events external to both of them. The question became how each would react to spontaneous events, and how the ebb and flow of trust and reliance shaped their responses. I wanted an interdimensional relationship to form, and exploring their reactions to the evolving environment provided a path toward that end; however, the journey required the entire book.
- Without revealing anything you’d prefer readers to discover for themselves…
Was there a character, relationship, or development in Mirror Mirror that turned out differently from what you initially expected while writing it?
As a Pantser, I had no expectations for where this story would take me. The Entity, who Sandy ultimately names Paul, is initially hated and feared. She wanted nothing to do with him, and forming a relationship was the furthest thing from her mind. Paul felt the same way, but quickly adopted the role of protector when events during the party led to a double murder, followed by a bogus indictment for second-degree murder and false imprisonment for a crime she did not commit. Sandy needed Paul as law enforcement pursued her, and she discovered she could reach out to him from any reflective surface.
Their non-relationship preference evolved dramatically when she was forced to trust and rely on him to orchestrate otherworldly time travel… several times, when law enforcement closed in, and she had no choice. As different timelines and parallel universes complicated her life, she had to avoid otherworldly relationships at all costs, especially contact with her other self in a parallel universe. New characters joined the story during her incarceration, turbulent trial, and abusive jailor, false indictment, and grand exit. Did I expect any of that to happen? No, but I must confess I was involved by writing what I witnessed as it happened.
If so, what changed your thinking, and did that change affect the direction of the larger story?
I honestly don’t think the story ever stopped changing direction, because the larger story was that it kept changing, and as the author, I kept swimming to stay in the current. Several readers said they read the novel straight through because something unexpected was always happening, and the need to see what came next kept them engaged. Personally, I gravitate toward authors who keep me engaged with a compelling storyline. In Mirror Mirror, my thinking didn’t change; it evolved with the story, and I focused on staying in the flow. I suppose I could blame my RWM, but it was a collaboration, and She enjoyed it as much as I did.
The Imagination Behind the Mirror
Your novel brings together speculative ideas, suspense, supernatural elements, and questions about the nature of reality. Some readers may approach the book expecting one kind of story and discover something quite different.
What do you hope readers will be willing to embrace when a story refuses to stay within familiar genre boundaries?
A recent interviewer called me a genre-bender, and I gladly accepted it because I don’t typically start a story with a preconceived genre in mind. If the story flows logically from horror to paranormal that eventually devolves into an interdimensional romance, and the transitions aren’t jarring or disruptive, I’m okay with that. As I said earlier, I am a Pantser, and a story’s flow isn’t entirely under my control; it’s a collaboration between my RWM and my characters. Several Goodreads reviewers thought Mirror Mirror would be a Halloween-oriented ghost haunting and were pleased to see it start with the Party of the Century, then blow hell wide open and take them somewhere unexpected, with nothing to do with a Halloween headset.
- Your research into dimensions and alternate realities helped inform the world of Mirror Mirror.
How do you decide when a real-world concept or an intriguing piece of research belongs in a story, and when it is better left in your research notes?
I spent hours researching different dimensions, from basic definitions to more complex ideas I couldn’t understand, let alone include in the story. Much of it added no value to the story I wanted to write, so I left it in my notes. Oddly enough, I sifted through definitions of numerous dimensions, searching for a way a portal could let us shift between our 3-D world of length, height, and width combined with a fourth dimension: distance measured by movement over time. The fifth dimension is theoretical, and in physics, it is often conceptualized as a space of possible worlds or alternative realities, where different initial conditions or choices could lead to different versions of events. Given its theoretical status, the challenge was to imagine different timelines and parallel universes there, and that worked for my story. The remaining challenge was how to get there and back, and that’s where the eleventh dimension appeared to offer the solution – freedom of movement from ours, as did the fifth through the tenth dimensions. I saw the eleventh as a sort of Uber dimension; hence, Paul came from it.
And who can research dimensions without including String Theory? Since Paul was in the eleventh dimension, he was pure energy; therefore, Sandy couldn’t see him. Sandy was energy too; we all are, but the particles that make up our cells vibrate slowly enough to appear as solid matter. In a state of pure energy, Paul vibrated at a much higher frequency. He was invisible… until he slowed his vibrations enough to appear as matter… ultimately as Paul, for Sandy’s benefit. I left the nuts and bolts of String Theory in my notes, along with a significant portion of my gray matter.
I’d be interested in how you balance the fascination of an idea with the need to keep the reader emotionally connected to the characters.
Unless a reader is a physicist, String Theory is a non-starter. Still, for authenticity, a brief explanation of why it matters gives enough context to believe a pure-energy entity from the eleventh dimension can become flesh and blood. Evidence of an evolving relationship appears when Sandy names the Entity Paul. Her desire to know him beyond the voice in her head grew as her trust pushed her past fear and doubt about whether she could trust him. By that point, he had saved her several times, with no expectations beyond keeping her safe. Through the dialogue in her head with Paul and their friendly sparring, when he accused her of having a 3-D brain, the story opened the door for the emotional growth they both needed to drop their resistance and embrace each other’s presence.
The Writer Behind the Words
8. You’ve described yourself as a “Writer of Things,” and Mirror Mirror is part of a much larger body of work.
What does that identity mean to you today?
To me, it’s simple: I’m not a one-trick pony. For readers, I hope it prompts the question, “I wonder what else he’s written?” Over the years, I’ve written short stories and dabbled in poetry, some of which survived a 2005 computer crash. For 35+ years in Corporate Sales Training and Performance Consulting, I’ve written everything from training courses to sales proposals to performance assessments. Currently, I have a collection of Short Stories, Lies, and Other Embellishments called Always a Story, and I write random thoughts and scripture-based devotions every morning. Being known as a Writer of Things seemed to cover all the bases.
Has your understanding of yourself as a storyteller changed since writing your first novel?
I understand one thing: if I don’t write, it won’t get written. Since Mirror Mirror, I’ve become Redeployed, Unsupervised, Unfiltered, and occasionally Undisciplined, with enough free time to create as a free-range Writer of Things. Writing is therapeutic, and it keeps me out of jail. Additionally, I’m a product of my past. My grandfather, Ralph Mervin Wise, was a master storyteller who could spin countless ghost stories, plus he wrote children’s stories. My father, Dr. Fred H. Wise, was a very intelligent man and a master bullshit artist. That genetic history should leave little to the imagination about where my talents originated.
- You’ve also been exploring personas and backstories in your writing.
How much of a character’s unseen history do you need to understand before you can write that character convincingly, and how much do you prefer to discover as the story develops?
Every character has a story with details that never make it into the novel, which is why I develop personas and backstories after I write the story. For example, I know more about Sandy Tillman now that Mirror Mirror has been published than when we first met. After my first meeting with a character, I have a good high-level sense of who they are and what I want them to contribute to the story. Personality and character details surface as the story develops from what they do, say, or think. My readers experience the character’s growth the same way… as they read the story. For me, it’s a personal thing to know more about each character. I’ve actually gone back into a story after I’ve written it because something in a character’s backstory could add more value if I plant a seed strategically along their growth path.
I’m curious about the relationship between the work readers see on the page and the thinking that happens behind it.
Hopefully, readers will see the substantive work behind what they read, evidence that I’m invested in a good, authentic tale, even if it is a sci-fi piece. Mirror Mirror is a good example of an invisible eleventh-dimensional entity of pure energy that manifests as a flesh-and-blood human. Without research and a few high-level details, that morphosis would feel shallow, even though it’s total fiction. I try to build authenticity in the make-believe. Honestly, thinking never stops once the story is written. I firmly believe a story never ends. Mirror Mirror was a ten-year-old short story that became a novel. The same goes for editing: it never ends; an author runs out of time, gets sick of the story, or dies.
The Reader’s Experience
With Halloween approaching, Mirror Mirror offers readers a seasonal doorway into a story that goes well beyond the usual haunted-house or Halloween-night premise.
What kind of reading experience do you hope someone has when they pick up the book expecting a spooky seasonal story and discover how far Sandy’s journey takes them?
I mentioned Goodreads reviewers earlier, where several readers expected a spooky Halloween ghost story. They were surprised, and not the least bit disappointed, after Sandy breaks the ghost-story paradigm. I want readers who have no clue where Mirror Mirror will take them. I love how engaging the story is, and the Goodreads reviews bear this out.
- After readers finish Mirror Mirror:
What would you most like them to remember not only about Sandy’s journey, but about the imagination and storyteller behind it?
Character development is at the top of my list. Choosing a name and writing a physical description are obviously important, but who is behind those deep blue eyes, and why do they reveal sadness, fear, or a glimmer of expectation? Where does the personality they reveal come from in their actions or dialogue shared in the story? As the author, I need to know those things before I can add value to the story and give my readers meaning.
I want readers to stop during the story when a twist surprises them, and think, “Wow, I didn’t see that coming.” Or wonder something like, “Oh, Sandy, you poor thing. What’s going to happen to you next?” The greatest compliment for me is when a reader’s reaction sticks with them after they finish the last page. Hopefully long enough to go back to Amazon for a taste of something else.
- For someone discovering you for the first time through Mirror Mirror:
Where would you hope their curiosity takes them next?
Selfishly? Back to Amazon for more of my work. As with every story I’ve written, there is a hook that subtly, and sometimes not so subtly, hints there’s more story here, Mate, and another book is coming. The last line of Mirror Mirror does exactly that.
Is there a particular aspect of your wider catalogue or your ongoing work that you’d love new readers to explore?
My Amazon Catalog reflects barely four years of fiction writing: seven published novels and one WIP.
To date, I have only one non-fiction book that focuses on my corporate career: Confessions of a Performance Ninja.
I gravitate toward authors who write engaging, compelling tales, like Johnathan Maberry, Lee Child, John Sandford, Gregg Hurwitz, Mark Greaney, Brad Thor, and others, whose use of third-person POV and creative dialogue has influenced my writing. I aspire to be known for delivering the kind of tale that leaves readers wondering, What’s around the next corner?
Closing Thought
Gary, thank you for taking us behind the story. Mirror Mirror begins with an event readers can recognize, but its journey reaches far beyond that starting point. We hope this conversation gives readers a deeper appreciation of the imagination behind the novel and a reason to keep an eye on what the “Writer of Things” brings us next.
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“Mirror Mirror: Halloween Party of the Century” – https://bit.ly/3C4qWqK
Mirror Mirror Goodreads Reviews – bit.ly/4sSgsn5
Video Trailer – https://bit.ly/3GTztmG
Author Website – Learning by Living – https://learningbyliving.blog
(Search on Mirror Mirror for all related articles and extras.
