Painless By Marty Thornley
Publication date: January 12, 2018
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Adult, Horror, Psychological Thriller
Summary:
The debut psychological-horror novel from author Marty Thornley is a page-turning ride, a front row seat to a clinical trial gone horribly wrong.
For Greg Owens, this was supposed to be a chance to end years of back pain and escape his reliance on pain pills. If it all worked out, he could maybe even get back the life he left behind as the pills took control.
Instead, as the patients are cured of their physical pain, they encounter a different sort of pain building inside them – obsessive thoughts, depression, self-destruction.
The side-effects grow worse, and the suspense ratchets tighter. The patients want answers and violent revenge, setting them on a collision course with a crazed doctor, determined to protect his life’s obsession.—What readers are saying…“…most definitely a recommended read, though it’s probably not the best choice for those with a weak stomach.”“Gruesome and twisted. Awesome!!!”“OMG this book. Holy heck the gruesome descriptions of blood and gore and guts was SO RAD. I found myself cringing and fidgeting and yes, even feeling a bit nauseous in some spots – but totally in a GOOD WAY! Painless was exactly what I wanted in a super-unique, creepy, shocking horror-thriller.”
Interview
Do you recall how your interest in writing originated or did you always just know you wanted to be a writer?
The first memory of actually wanting to write, thinking that it was something I could do and be interested in, was around 13. I had started reading Stephen King, the first adult books I had ever read. But it was his short stories that made me think I could write. I remember thinking they were so short, I could do that. I don’t remember ever thinking I might write a book, but I thought I might have some ideas that would be good short stories.
What inspired Painless?
There was a whole terrible time for horror films, when everything was either PG-13 and silly or the torture-porn films like Hostel and Saw. I remember watching them, seeing all this blood an violence with no character development or suspense, and thinking that I felt nothing. So, almost as a joke, I thought of an idea that would flip that all around and make it literal. How about a doctor that cures pain? What if we had to watch people being tortured but they felt nothing? The story morphed from there, but that was the original spark.
Which came first for you, the characters or the plot?
It’s always a combination of both for me. The first idea was simply “A doctor that has cured physical pain.” Then I started thinking about how that would work, so I placed it in a remote clinical trial. That forced it into an ensemble character piece. I must have watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest about 20 times as I wrote the opening scenes. I had to see how a diverse group of characters was introduced bit-by-bit. So I had to develop interesting new characters, weave them in one at a time, and that led right back to the plot. It had to be paced a certain way - some were there first, some last, etc.
Is there anything you found particularly challenging when you were writing Painless?
I originally wrote Painless as a screenplay. In a month. From idea to finished script. I had never written anything that quickly. Years later, when I decided to turn it into my first novel, I had to go back and fill in all the character stuff that was only ever implied by the screenplay. If you imagine a film of this story, you would get to see almost nothing going inside the characters’ heads. There would just be a lot of blood and odd behavior and you would have to wonder why they were doing it all. I liked that idea and thought it was what would make the film creepy. But, in the book, you have no visuals and all internal thought. So it became very personal. When [SPOILER ALERT] I wrote about Paula dying, I had to write from her point of view as she faded away. I cried a little when I finished that chapter and could not go back to writing for a couple days.
If you could be one of your characters from any of your books, who would you chose? Why?
I only have the one book and almost everyone dies. So this is tough. I have to admit though, that after I finished Painless, I realized I might be more like the crazy doctor than I ever thought. I work too much, especially if I am deep into a project. If I am in the zone and get interrupted I’m pretty sure I look up at people like Jack Torrence in The Shining because it just threw mw off track and now it will take time get back to whatever I was obsessing over.
When writing Painless, was there anyone or anything specific that inspired the character Greg?
When I originally wrote the screenplay, no. However the only reason I turned Painless into a book is that years after I had put it down and stored it in a box, it was discovered that my brother had a problem with prescription painkillers. Unfortunately, he eventually died of an overdose. A year or so after that, I realized I had not written anything in years, so started digging through my old screenplays. Painless had always been my favorite writing, and as I re-read it I realized how I could write some of my brother into the story. Greg is not exactly my brother, just another blue-collar guy who struggled with pills. There are also pieces of other characters that echo some title traits that family and friends would recognize - Franky, the guy who always has a pocket knife, or Cesar, the guy who could be funny one minute and lose his temper the next.
In your opinion what three words best describe Greg?
In denial. Means well.
Quickies:
Coffee or Tea?
Coffee
Milk chocolate or Dark?
Dark
Favorite novel and why?
I never have favorites. Films, TV, books. I have many favorites but I’ve never been good at naming just one.
Hard copy books or e-books? Why?
The real thing. I prefer 6x9 paperbacks.
What kind of weather do you write best in?
1st choice - Any weather at night.
2nd choice - Rain or fog.
3rd choice - Snowed in.
Favorite author and why?
This is a terrible thing to admit, but I was never a huge reader. I read a million screenplays over the years, but as long as I was writing and thinking film I didn’t have the time or interest in reading novels. So, I can only name Stephen King and Harlan Coben. King for his influence on me creatively and Coben for his page-turning Hitchcockian suspense.
Author Bio: Marty started writing short stories as a teenager, inspired as much by favorite books and movies as the environment and characters that define the South Shore of Massachusetts. The pull of the movies dragged him first to film school and finally to Los Angeles, where he poked at the outskirts of the industry with screenplays and short films.
As his interest in a film career fizzled, he rebuilt himself bit-by-bit as a programmer. He spent the next decade building websites, finally realizing that something had been lost. His stories were collecting dust in the back of his brain while he sat through conference calls and code reviews.
So he returned to the woods of New England and the calming darkness under the trees. He returned to find the things that crawl in the undergrowth and turn them into words on the page. He dusted off one of his screenplays and turned it into his first novel. In the process, a dormant storyteller was awakened and is now seeking the next blank page to fill.
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