Today, my latest thriller „AchtNacht“ is released, and I'd like to share these lines from my afterword with you:
„In June 2013, my wife Sandra and I were sitting in the Alhambra in Berlin-Wedding. It's the cinema closest to the Virchow Clinic of Charité, where our little Felix was fighting for his life in the neonatology ward. Don't worry, he's doing great now, he's developed wonderfully and at just under four years old, he's already more skilled with his hands than his dad. But back then, born eleven weeks premature, he weighed less than a carton of milk and was connected to nine lines through which he was given blood thinners, blood pressure medication, morphine, and antibiotics. The usual stuff you need when you have a renal vein thrombosis and an intestinal infection at the same time.
The nurses and doctors told us we had a choice: either stare at the monitors that documented the life support and Felix's vital signs non-stop, or take a break. To clear our heads for two hours, to distract ourselves. To find the necessary peace needed when you want to give the little wired bundle of human the much-needed warmth of the nest; for example, when you take it out of the incubator for „kangarooing“ and place it on your chest.
We opted for the distraction alternative and thus for the late showing of „The Purge.“.
There are certainly people who are asking themselves why we picked a horror film of all things, when we ourselves were just experiencing our own private horror. But these people probably rarely read thrillers. It is my deep conviction that we use suspense films and books as a lightning rod, giving us the opportunity to process our pent-up fears and worries in a fear-free environment.
The movie definitely helped my wife and me. (So much so that we immediately went to see World War Z the next day.) For a short time, we were in another world. A world of the future where every crime is allowed in the USA for one day; including murder, so that the American people are „cleansed“ afterward and can live peacefully with each other for an entire year.
It's no secret that every creative achievement builds on another. Filmmakers, musicians, and authors don't draw from a vacuum, but are inspired and motivated by the works of others. In my case, I thought during the opening credits that this brilliant film premise from „The Purge“ (whose second part I find even better, by the way) could find followers in reality today, and not just in twenty or thirty years.
This led me to a follow-up thought: The utopian idea of „everyone against everyone in the future“ was fascinating, but personally, I was much more interested in the realistic „everyone against one in the present.“.
And so I asked myself the question: If I were allowed to nominate a single person to be an outlaw for one night, today, in the here and now, who would I choose?
What do you think? Would you nominate someone for this death lottery? And how would you react if you were chosen yourself? Would you know who would help you? Who could you trust unconditionally not to betray you for the unimaginable sum of ten million euros? Or even to personally murder you?
The answer, who I whoever I would nominate for the Eight Nights is very boring, because in reality I don't wish anything terrible on anyone in my circle of acquaintances; not even my neighbor, who always wants to call the police if someone parks even a millimeter crooked. Although, now that I think about it... ;)“
So far, my explanation of the origin story.
You can find more information about the book and a sample chapter here!
Have „fun“ in the EightNight (if you choose to venture into it...)
All my love
You
Sebastian
