Angela Crook
Angela Crook is a novelist and mother, from Cleveland, Ohio, who loves writing dark thrillers that often involve the exploration of the inner workings of family relationships.
Her new novel is Hurt Mountain.
My Q&A with the author:
How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?Follow Angela Crook on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.
Originally the title for my book was called Hurt Farm, but, much to my surprise, I learned that farm provokes a negative response in reader, so it became Hurt Mountain. Considering all actions lead to the mountain, I'd say it does quite a bit of the heavy lifting to take the readers into the story.
What's in a name?
Delilah was a significant choice for a name because of the biblical connotations. Hurt is a religious fanatic, his whole world view is based on his religious beliefs, so him choosing the name Delilah was important to highlight that part of his character as well as to convey his obsession for the girl.
How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your novel?
As a teenager, I was well into my life-long love of all things Stephen King, so my teenage self would find my novel very on brand. In fact, my teenage self would urge me to push harder and go further into the dark side of my writing.
Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?
Since it seems most of my story ideas begin with a character, beginnings are often easier for me. It more than anything else stays pretty much the same throughout the editing process. I tend to actually have a pretty good idea where the book starts and how it ends, before I start writing. It's the middle that changes the most. This tends to be where new characters come out to play, and those nasty inconsistencies seem to hide so well. The middle is all about finding my way to that ending that I started with. But I always try to have an open mind when it comes to changing the ending, because you don't really know, until you get there.
Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?
I am happy to say, that me and my characters are worlds apart.
What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?
My writing has always been influenced by music, family, and what's going on in the world around us.
I love a good soundtrack to a book and even if there is not music throughout, it'll always show up in one form or another. Whether it's the song playing over and over on the car radio in the car Delilah was rescued from, or the song that reminds Brandon and Lisa of their love, music definitely has it's place in this book and any other book I've written.
My Book, The Movie: Hurt Mountain.
--Marshal Zeringue
