A: Satan’s Chamber takes place in Washington, DC, and Sudan. While we are both intimately familiar with the former location, the latter location called for a great deal of research. Sudan was once a patchwork of independent kingdoms. Its modern borders were arbitrarily defined by colonial invaders in the nineteenth century. The resulting geographical and cultural diversity has spelled political chaos ever since, especially after the discovery of oil further inflamed the volatile situation. At the same time, the ancient history of the region is rich and complex. It took us two and one half years to get to know this extraordinary land, then create the story that occurs there.

Q: What was the toughest part in writing your book?

A: Cross-country collaboration was our biggest challenge. Regular phone calls and constant email transmissions can’t compare to face to face discussion. (We had only four, fabulous day-long brainstorming sessions in those two and a half years.) Still the rewards of collaboration far outweighed the difficulties posed by distance. When it comes to figuring out the next plot twist, or the next layer in a character, again and again, two heads were better than one! And we both shared the same commitment to crafting a riveting story of survival, courage and redemption.

Q: How did you settle on the title Satan’s Chamber?

A: Satan’s Chamber is a metaphor for the geo-political circumstances mirrored in our story, soul-destroying circumstances dictated by ruthlessness and greed. To say more might give away too much of the story. Yet among those trapped in this hellish situation, there are those who fight back, survive, and pursue salvation for all.

Q: Is the National Identity Movement a real movement in Sudan?

A: The NIM is not a real movement, but the issue of national identity must be foremost in any plan to resolve the chaos of Sudan. Home to many tribes, languages, and ethnicities, the country has been at war with itself for three-quarters of its existence.

Q: Are Tory and Wilkins going to hook up?

A: The chemistry is certainly there. But they are both independent spirits, and we have to get further into our second Tory book before we will know for sure how their relationship will play out. Stay tuned — the next book promises to be an even more thrilling ride for Tory.

Q: Why does the title refer to “Short-Circuit the Hardwiring”?

A: Strangely enough, the worlds of neuroscience and psychology tell us that as human beings, we are “hardwired” to mishandle conflict in at least two important ways. We are biologically and psychologically “hardwired” to do all the wrong things when conflict arises!

Q: What is the difference between “Biological Hardwiring” and “Psychological Hardwiring?”

A: Using MRI technology researchers observed biological hardwiring when a person is challenged or attacked. In other words, his/her belief system might be questioned, or his/her standing in the group might be challenged. The rational brain shuts down! Its blood supply is reduced, and the most primitive portion of the brain, the portion that controls the fear response, takes over. The person responds with a mild “fight or flight” response that typically presents as aggressive behavior–sarcasm, ridicule abuse. The recipient of this behavior typically reacts in mild “fight or flight,” returning the sarcastic, ridiculing, or abusive behavior, or becomes silent or frozen. We’ve all witnessed this; we’ve all been a part of it. Few of us recognize what is happening. We think that this is the way arguments or conflict have to be. It seems perfectly natural, and it rarely dawns on us that there could be a different way of disagreeing with someone using our rational brain.

Psychological hardwiring is more complicated. Suffice it to say that I have borrowed a concept from the worlds of psychology and organizational development. Each of these fields has its own terminology for describing how we as humans take information in and process that information and then react to it. The concept teaches that our reaction to the event is not based on the event, but rather on the way one interprets the event.

I call this concept the “Story” process. It explains why people in conflict are so certain that the other person is wrong and they are right: their “Story” is telling them this at a deep subconscious level. The fact that we make “Stories” is also a key to turning conflict into a positive, relationship building, problem-solving moment – if we know how to use it correctly.

Q: Who is your intended audience for TRUST?

A: Originally, it was for supervisors in the workplace. However, readers are showing me that the trust-building skills in the book are useful for everyone – employees in the workplace; couples in disagreement; parents and teens in disagreement; neighbors in disagreement. You name it! Any two people in disagreement about anything can use the skills taught in TRUST to resolve the conflict, and turn the experience from a negative, relationship damaging moment to a positive, problem-solving, relationship-building moment.

Q: What is the most important lesson you would like your readers to learn after reading TRUST?

A: I want people to recognize that conflict does not have to be a powerful negative experience to be avoided at all costs–because the costs of avoidance are very high. Once they realize that, then, with the other tools in the book, they can begin to take charge of conflict and transform it to a positive, problem-solving, relationship-building experience.

American author and humorist, Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, set the gold standard for capturing Americana with wit and engaging style.  This coming November, his autobiography will finally be made available to the world.

Shannon McMahon is a summer intern at Fuze Publishing and a literature major at American University.

The Playwriting Intensive selected 60 participants from 300 applications and was held in the Theatre Lab and rehearsal rooms of the Kennedy Center, along with a coffee shop across the street called Cup’a Cup’a, where Molly caught several sightings of a mouse-in-residence (not the computer kind).  There were on-the-spot writing exercises, and nightly homework assignments based on actors’ improvisations, stage directions, selected photos, and design challenges.  As a former professor at the U.S. Naval Academy, Molly called it “plebe summer for playwrights.”

Led by Gary Garrison, Executive Director for Creative Affairs, The Dramatists Guild, “the program consists of rigorous writing workshops and discussions of the art, craft and business of playwriting with the Program’s Director and a wide range of distinguished guest artists. Informal concert readings of participants’ work will be scheduled in the evening during the ten-day period.”

Molly will discuss her experiences in next week’s newsletter.

The Satan’s Chamber trailer:

Interested in learning about The Gift of El Tio? Larry Buchanan and Karen Gans are also available to visit your book club in the Pacific Northwest or by Skype anywhere in the country.  Emailfuzepublishing@gmail.com for more details.