Darian O'Connor is an upper class young man with aspirations as a fantasy scenery painter. When his mother is raped and murdered he seeks vengeance, but afterwards he can hardly return to his oppressive upper class life and finds himself driven to execute again while on his frequent road trips for new inspiring scenery. As he journeys into manhood he finds himself teetering on the edge of madness and righteousness, in a disturbing and gratifying place where right and wrong change with his moods.(Includes some poems and stories by characters within the story.) /THE BACK STORY: Darian leads this story about how violence begets violence in our society. He is a character that walked into my head when I was 12 and he stayed there--literally! The first picture I had of him in my mind's eye was him walking in from the side smiling/smirking, and me not yet knowing who he was or what I was going to do with him. I paid attention to him on and off for 13 years, sometimes feeling like I wished he'd chosen someone else's head to walk into, someone with the talent to write his story, but finally I was able to tell his story. I wrote a few different versions of his story over the years, then wrote the first draft of this novel in three weeks, but it would take several more edits for it to be finished. /The first draft/version of this novel was called The Scenery of North America because the character is a fantasy scenery painter but becomes a vigilante for both reasons of morality and reasons of growing insanity and moral ambiguity--the "scenery" of North American culture and society these days, I think especially in the US and Mexico. And he does travel to all three North American countries in the story. In the final version he also goes to Europe for a while so I obviously had to change the title. I played with the title, Live Boldly, Regret Nothing, and I generally don't think one should waste time with regret but should instead learn from experiences, good and bad, and from mistakes (which is always what my dad said, emphasizing after his Catholic upbringing that guilt is something you should never feel since that just means someone is trying to shame and control you; he emphasized learning from mistakes instead). But given the somewhat murderous nature of the story I didn't want to risk sending out a message that might suggest that if you really hurt others you shouldn't care. So I decided it would be better to have a title that simply says not to have fear. (Even my mom used to say about things like child abductors, "Don't be afraid, be aware." She said not to live in fear because fear would paralyze you and it's much better to be proactive, to see dangers coming by keeping a look out for them and be smart enough to avoid them.) /It is a rare story of mine led by an upper class, very wealthy character. But with two dead parents and a crushing sense of obligation to live up to the family reputation and live a life that would make his parents proud of him, this story shows some of the benefits of financial wealth while simultaneously proving that it cannot buy you happiness. Inheriting a million dollar house, a classic car, and a full time maid doesn't bring Darian happiness. /For the photo art direction I chose to emphasize both the dark, disturbing and the freeing nature of the story. The cover photo was taken while flying into a city just before dawn. The author photo is one my father took of me after we took a boat ride, which was a gift from a friend. (After our friend read 8 Days a Week as one of my "test readers"--since I couldn't afford an editor--he was inspired to repair his post-divorce relationship with his daughter.) The friend enjoyed kicking back so I did most of the driving, much to my delight. I preferred to use a photo that emphasized how I live and where my writing comes from, going out and living life. They aren't the best-quality photos but they are the correct ones. (From my website: avacollopybooks.wee
About the Author: Ava Collopy has traveled around North America and Europe while working various paid and volunteer jobs. She hails from Portland, Oregon and Dublin, Ireland. Her work is published in 'Adrift', 'Brilliant Flash Fiction', 'Down in the Dirt', 'Sunlight in the Sanctuary', 'Pulse Literary Journal', and others. Her website is Ava Collopy Books: http: //www.avacollopybooks.weebly.com