Gravestone (44 page)

112. Little Bird

Sometimes I wonder if the bluebird watches me.

I’ve seen him too many times to wonder if it’s just random. Too many times around my house and on my deck and by my window.

I know it’s him. I just wonder why he’s still around.

Sometimes I think the bluebird is a ghost of Jocelyn that’s haunting me, trying to get me to understand its language and find the key.

Sometimes I think it’s Iris looking at me with questioning eyes, wondering how I could have entered her life only to see it all burn to the ground.

Sometimes I think it’s an angel wondering what happened to me and where I went wrong.

Sometimes I think it’s a demon out to get me, out to corner me and pin me down and peck my eyes out.

And sometimes I think it’s just a bluebird out there, flying because it has nothing better to do.

I like the last thought the best.

Yeah.

But that doesn’t mean I believe it.

Also by Travis Thrasher

The Promise Remains

The Watermark

The Second Thief

Three Roads Home

Gun Lake

Admission

Blinded

Sky Blue

Out of the Devil’s Mouth

Isolation

Ghostwriter

Every Breath You Take

Broken

40

The Solitary Tales

Solitary

Gravestone

… a little more …

When a delightful concert comes to an end,

the orchestra might offer an encore.

When a fine meal comes to an end,

it’s always nice to savor a bit of dessert.

When a great story comes to an end,

we think you may want to linger.

And so, we offer …

AfterWords—
just a little something more after you

have finished a David C Cook novel.

We invite you to stay awhile in the story.

Thanks for reading!

Turn the page for …

• Three Recommended Playlists

• Behind the Book: The Empire Strikes Back

• A Snapshot

Three Recommended Playlists

GRAVESTONE PLAYLIST #1 For the Walkman

1. “A Forest” by The Cure

2. “Domino” by Genesis

3. “In a Lonely Place” by New Order

4. “Walk through the Fire” by Peter Gabriel

5. “The Ghost in You” by The Psychedelic Furs

6. “Millimillenary” by Cocteau Twins

7. “The Hurting” by Tears for Fears

8. “That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore” by The Smiths

9. “Someone Speaks” by Anything Box

10. “Shouldn’t Have Done That” by Depeche Mode

11. “Save a Prayer” by Duran Duran

12. “Mad World” by Tears for Fears

13. “New Day” by The Cure

14. “The Seventh Stranger” by Duran Duran

15. “Song to the Siren” by This Mortal Coil

16. “Faith” by The Cure

GRAVESTONE PLAYLIST #2 For the iPod

1. “Story” by Great Northern

2. “Reckoner” by Radiohead

3. “Keep Quiet” by Hot Chip

4. “Missing Persons 1 & 2” by OneRepublic

5. “Canvas” by Imogen Heap

6. “Norway” by Beach House

7. “This Is Who I Am” by Cause and Effect

8. “Keep the Car Running” by Arcade Fire

9. “Dissolved Girl” by Massive Attack

10. “Miss You” by Trentemøller

11. “Mad World” by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules

12. “Rabbit in Your Headlights” by UNKLE

13. “The Space in Between” by How to Destroy Angels

14. “Little Bird” by Imogen Heap

GRAVESTONE PLAYLIST #3 For the movie

1. “Turquoise Mix” by Johan Söderqvist (from
Earth Made of Glass
soundtrack)

2. “Caught” by David Julyan (from
The Prestige
soundtrack)

3. “Christmas Island” by Depeche Mode

4. “The Artifact & Living” by Michael Andrews (from
Donnie Darko
soundtrack)

5. “Waves, Waves, Waves” by M83

6. “Aker” by Johan Söderqvist (unreleased)

7. “The Low Places” by Jon Hopkins

8. “Night—City Back Street” by David Lynch and Marek Zebrowski

9. “The Field of Gold” by Alexander Malter (from
Fireflies in the Garden
soundtrack)

10. “Slipping Away” by Michael Andrews (from
Donnie Darko
soundtrack)

11. “End Credit Mix” by Johan Söderqvist (from
Earth Made of Glass
soundtrack)

12. “The Long Walk” by Mark Isham (from
The Crazies
soundtrack)

13. “The Big Ship” by Brian Eno

Behind the Book: The Empire Strikes Back

When I started to dive into
Gravestone,
the second of four books in The Solitary Tales, I began to study second installments of series. Not just book series, but movies as well.

This led me to rewatch
The Empire Strikes Back
and break it down.

There’s a reason why so many people regard this Star Wars movie as the best one ever made.

First off, it’s action packed. The story starts off fast and never slows.

It dives deeper into the main characters of the story, separating them and charting their own unique journeys.

It gives us brand-new, lovable characters. “Star Wars without Yoda, unthinkable would be, hmmm?” Okay, sorry, that’s my Yoda-speak for you. But seriously, can you imagine not having Yoda as part of the overall story? Or how about Boba Fett, a minor character that was so cool he made you want to become a bounty hunter?

But most of all,
The Empire Strikes Back
was dark. It ended on quite the downer. (Need I even bother saying “spoiler alert”?) At the end of the film, Han Solo is frozen in carbonite and taken away to some guy named Jabba the Hutt. Luke’s no better off. His dad is Darth Vader, after all. And his father decides to lop off his hand.

So when all is said and done, the story leaves us breathless, waiting for what comes next.

With this in mind, I set out to write
Gravestone.

Unfortunately, the scene where Chris’s father comes back and cuts off his hand was axed by my editor. As was the scene where Chris meets Iris in a small hut in the swamp.

No, the universe of Stars Wars is quite different from that of Solitary. It’s a whole other genre. But since this was my first foray into writing a second installment, I let
The
Empire Strikes Back
help me with the storytelling.

If you’re wondering where these stories are headed, let me promise you that I do know … even if I don’t know exactly how we’re going to get there. Or who exactly is going to survive.

So what of book three?

Well, I’m going to take a unique approach to the book that we’re calling
Temptation.
It’s going to pick up right where we’ve left Chris, but it’s going to go off in a different direction. That’s all I’ll say. You’ll be surprised, but not for the reasons you might expect.

I hope you stay tuned for the ride. Lots more to come in Chris’s journey. Lots more to discover about Solitary and the people … and even the animals … who live there.

This tenth grader didn’t do anything noteworthy except for one thing: sneaking into the girls’ dorm and getting expelled from high school. This unfortunate event provided the catalyst for changing schools and entering a whole new existence in North Carolina. At least it would provide good material for writing many years later.

For more information on Travis Thrasher,
visit www.TravisThrasher.com.