The Limits to Peril

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: It’s a difficult juggle.

Thriller writers write books that need to be--thrilling. Scary. Tense. High-stakes. Life and death.

But.

Are there limits to peril? Now, you all are saying, and I can hear you: DON’T KILL A DOG OR CAT. But what about—children? We know bad things happen to children in real life, but there’s clearly a line in books that many authors and readers will not cross.

The wonderful Kris Calvin has thought about this, more closely than most of us ever could. And for her thriller ALL THAT FALL she’s made an interesting--and even innovative--decision about it.

See what you think.

Thrillers Without Harm to Children
by Kris Calvin

Our life experiences influence the books we decide to read and the stories we choose to write. I had a difficult childhood. I did not feel safe in my own home. I know I’m not unique in that, but I was fortunate to live close enough to a public library that I could walk to it from a young age. There, I found adults who were kind, and books that offered a world where children in peril—whether from dragons or monsters or dastardly villains—were safe.



   

I don’t have photos of me smiling as a child.

As an adult, I'm still drawn to adventure stories, most often in the form of thrillers. But many compelling tales in the genre told by talented writers include explicit and even graphic harm to children. As a survivor of some of the circumstances portrayed, I can't expose myself to that.

I know firsthand what a child’s terror feels like.

Some survivors of trauma find healing in converting their experiences to fiction, through which they share with others what occurred, constrained between the covers of a book.

I’m not there yet and might never be.

So how is it that I came to write a thriller, and in particular, one that centers on the kidnapping of a three-year-old girl?

When I weave a narrative in my head prior to putting pen to paper, it often harkens back to the adventure stories of my youth, containing similar elements: a protagonist in jeopardy, a quest against all odds, bodies piling up (usually off screen), and a positive resolution.

Though losses may be suffered, good ultimately triumphs over evil.

But that narrative is only the start of my writing process.

I don’t outline. I might have a twist or two in mind, a character, and possibly a setting. I see where it takes me, my only demand being that something exciting and important happen right away to signal the start of an adventure!

For All That Fall, the bare bones of the first few scenes were 15-year-old Luke increasingly getting into trouble in minor ways with the law. Enter 32-year-old Emma, Luke’s mother’s best friend, who intervenes and stumbles into a world of hate crimes, corruption and intrigue. But as the tension builds and Emma and Luke are faced with a myriad of dangerous challenges, three-year-old Vivian suddenly shows up, is kidnapped, and takes center stage.

Not something I had planned.

Warning, I’m about to provide a nonspecific, broad spoiler—I will not reveal plot twists or identify “whodunnit.” But if you read on, you will have a general sense of how things turn out.

As the story flowed, though Vivian was unquestionably in danger and I worried for her, she was never left alone with bad people. There was always a protector for her, and while she was sometimes frightened, she was not harmed in any way that could not be healed. 

When I closed the story, I felt that Vivian had showed the kind of resilience and courage, even at age three, that gives hope as to how children in difficult circumstances could not only survive, but might inspire us to have hope in all things, big and small.

When All That Fall was provided to advance readers, I was surprised (I shouldn’t have been) that there was a comment in a post beneath a review from a potential reader (someone who had not yet read it) stating they “would give this one a pass since they couldn’t bear to read about harm to children.”

I thought, “Wait, me, too! Don’t worry!”

So my website, sandwiched between the “buy buttons” and the reviews, contains the following. I hope it will help readers, who might otherwise hesitate, decide to join me on this journey.



I’m smiling now. I’d like them to smile with me.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: That is so interesting, isn’t it? To risk an almost-but-not-really spoiler—to ALLOW the reader to read the book with pleasure instead of apprehensiveness. We know bad things happen to children in real life, but there’s clearly a line in books that many authors and readers will not cross.
Huh. What do you think about that, reds and readers?



(author photo credit Andy Wallace Photography)

Kris Calvin is the author of the thriller novel, ALL THAT FALL (April 13, 2021; Crooked Lane Books). She served for more than 20 years as the CEO of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and was honored for her leadership in advocacy for children by the California Legislature and Governor’s office. In addition to writing thrillers and mysteries, she teaches and consults in organizational dynamics, strategic planning and nonpartisan advocacy training. You can visit Kris online at kriscalvin.com.




My three “kids” and me.