Captive - FourTris

INTERVIEW THINGY IDK

Question One: I love the title of this book, but what are your reasons for naming it Captive?

There's this Halsey lyric from her song Hurricane: "And held him captive in my kiss.."

And it spreads light on the impacts a relationship can really have on the people involved. I called the book Captive because that was what Tris was. And it's something that she didn't realise until AUGUST 30, when she finally put her foot down and thought, I don't deserve this. And until that moment when she called her mum, she never knew that she was trapped in her own emotions or that toxic relationship she just couldn't escape from. And that's what we do as a human race. We blind ourselves with the good aspects of things and completely brush everything else under the carpet. We need to stop doing that.

Question Two: In Captive you chose to tell the story backwards, beginning at the end, so to speak. I think it was a really smart and interesting idea, but why do you feel it was the best way to tell Tris's story?

The structure of the story has a lot to do with my purpose for writing the book. I wrote it because I wanted people to understand abusive relationships, and why the victims of domestic violence don't simply walk away. So often, a person thinks of themselves as too smart to end up in a similar situation. As the person reads, he or she chooses a defining moment (often the first time an abuser pushes or hits the victim) where they say to themselves, "that is when I would have left." From then on, they place a certain amount of blame on the victim for being in the situation in the first place.

By telling the story in reverse chronological order, it removes the reader's ability to judge the protagonist. They don't know the events that led up to the abuse, so they can sit back and observe.

Question Three: This book is a shift in tone from some of your previous ones, going into a very dark place. What inspired this story? I love you btw!

I love you too! And I guess I relate to it a lot because I was involved in a relationship that, while not extremely physically abusive, was intense and difficult, and became the inspiration for this story. I was only with that person for a year, but it had a profoundly deep impact on me, in much the same way Tobias changes Tris. That's a big part of why Tris's relationship is exactly a year long.

I attempted to write a book like Captive a few times over the course of a couple of months, but I never got beyond the first couple of chapters. Once I tried writing it in reverse chronological order, the dam broke, and it was done (as you can see) within eighteen days.

Question Four: Tobias is interesting because he's got a volatile temper and he abuses Tris both physically and psychologically. But we see that he's been treated that way all his life as well. We may sympathize with his background but not condone his behavior and actions. How did you achieve that balance?

I've read a few things on Wattpad that contain themes of abuse in relationships, and I didn't feel like any of them capture it just right. The problem is, the abuser in those books simply has an "anger problem." But domestic violence is about so much more than just someone's temper.

It was important to me that readers realize that Tobias isn't a bad guy—just a very broken one. I spent a lot of time developing Tobias's backstory, so that readers could understand what brought him to such a place. Truth be told, I'm a little nervous that people will be upset that he comes across sympathetic. My point isn't to make what he does seem okay, or even justifiable, but just to make it clear that there are deeply rooted problems here, far beyond anger management.

Question Five: Christina, like Al, serves as a reminder of Tris's previous life/previous self. She doesn't like Tobias but for the most part she just lets Tris drift away from her. Did you ever consider having Christina discover the physical abuse? And if so, would she have been more assertive about intervening?