The Lies That Bind

Reader FAQs

I've gotten numerous questions from readers over the years, mostly wondering why did you decide to do this or why did you have to do that? 

So, in the spirit of satisfying your curiosity and (officially) closing this chapter of my life, I wanted to answer some of those questions here.

DISCLAIMER: There will most definitely be SPOILERS BELOW, so if you haven't yet finished the Psychopath trilogy, starting with The Psychopath Next Door and ending here with The Lies That Bind, I highly recommend you stop reading now (unless spoilers are your thing, of course).

Moving on!

1. What inspired you to write The Psychopath Next Door?

A lot of things. Boredom. An unhealthy fascination with serial killers. A desire to write what you know—the what you know being my own experiences with small towns not unlike Greenwitch.

These were the thoughts that kept me up at night. Along with questions like, how many people have I met in my lifetime who are killers? How many strangers have I passed on the street who are completely and totally unhinged? What would that even look like?

Thus, the foundations for book one were born.

2. Are Cooper and Calla based on people you know in real life?

Nope. Or at least in Calla's case, I genuinely hope not...

3. Alright. I'm gonna call out the elephant in the room. Wouldn't it have been better for everyone in the long run if Calla had actually died?

I mean, yeah. Most likely.

At the end of the day, the decision to give Calla a "happy ending" was an entirely selfish one. I knew, realistically, I could go either way. Calla would either dig herself out of the mess she made with some convoluted scheme, or she wouldn't be able to manage it and she'd end up six feet under.

Both outcomes were equally practical. But which was the right path?

If you don't know how to answer that question—you haven't been paying attention, my friends.

There is no "right path" here. Sometimes, the bad guy who's done a lot of bad shit gets away. This was Calla Parker's undeserved, though certainly hard fought, riding off into the sunset moment.

4. FINE. But Calla and Cooper weren't meant to be together, and I stand by that. WTF?

I know #Callooper stans are a majority here (and no one is more surprised than me by this turn of events), but I also know there are those of you who just...don't see it. Let me be the first to say, I totally get where you're coming from. Calla is an incredibly toxic character, and Cooper is, well...not.

That said, I knew from the start that this wasn't just a tale of murder or revenge or psychotic neighbors, but of choice—the choices we make, each and every one of us, and how those choices can ultimately shape our lives.

Time and again, Cooper chose Calla. At the start, it was about protecting his best friend, and then it became a matter of saving his own skin, and then...well, his motivations became messier as the series progressed, because life is messy and our decisions don't always make sense, no matter our original intentions, and especially when trauma is thrown into the mix.

At the end of it all, Cooper chose to remain friends and ultimately pursue a romantic relationship with Calla, maybe even against his better judgment, for a number of complex reasons that boil down to who he is at his core: a boy with an unshakable sense of loyalty, a thirst for close, authentic companionship, and perhaps a more-than-healthy dose of curiosity (psst—remember the sort-of-totally-creepy shoebox under the bed?).