KidnApp, the App that lets people schedule customized kidnAppings, makes the setting for the series unique. Though it’s set in a typical American city (Baltimore), the tension kidnApp gives the story turns everything upside-down. Characters, nicknamed Waiters, are constantly wondering then they might disappear. After submitting their request, they habitually check their cell phones as the 48-hour kidnApp window depletes. Takers, the kidnAppers, are constantly on the prowl. That layer of the App and social network is ever-present. There’s no hiding from it. That’s what makes this series so different.

“Submitting” is a big metaphor in the series. Waiters literally submit their kidnApp requests. The fact that the App company has completely control over you during that duration of time really shadows our current relationship to social media like Facebook and Instagram. They have a great deal of power over us. As the villain of the series develops, the reader begins to see what the abuse of those powers might look like.

When I started the series, I thought to myself, “What if Mark Zuckerberg was a total maniac?” “What if he just did what he pleased with an administrative cell phone version of Facebook?” “What exclusive features would his special version of the Facebook App have?” Those possibilities really blow the narrative of So Say the Waiters open.

All of my characters are based on people I know. Mostly, they are amalgamations of people from my past. But I’m definitely a little bit of Dani and Henry. I’ve lived both lives.

A lot of readers can relate to Dani: she’s right out of college and is having a hard time paying her bills. She’s idealistic and smart, tough and wild. Henry is way more conservative. His fiancée left him with a massive mortgage that he can’t afford. He hates his current job until kidnApp comes along.

Readers even relate to the more aggressive Takers in the series. You start wondering what you would do with all the power that comes with kidnApp. Imagine knowing where any person is at any time – now imagine being able to “assign” yourself that person as a willing kidnAppee – now imagine you have a fan base of hundreds of thousands of users who are waiting to see who you take next.

Without spoiling anything, the story is just as much about friendship and loyalty as it is about critiquing social media. Dani and Henry, thought they only start as business partners, develop in ways neither of them would have imagined at the beginning of the books. Minor characters also become more important as their alliances shift and the world of kidnApp becomes larger. What a reader might have thought was a meaningless personal connection will reveal itself as something deeper.

You would assume that this is a cynical book, but it’s not. I believe in creating your own culture through creativity, and a lot ofSo Say the Waiters is about that. Society thrives when we bring meaning to our own lives. It’s the characters who care about each other who make that creative world meaningful – just like the world we live in. KidnApp is just a vehicle for telling those real-world people stories of love and loss.

Many of the takes (kidnAppings) are left up to the reader to fill in. I don’t believe in spelling a lot out for the audience. That’s boring. If readers feel uncomfortable, it’s their imaginations filling in the blanks. I think that is way more powerful, and people will leave the book feeling they were in the story along with the characters.

The ability to abuse the power of the App might make people feel uncomfortable, but it’s a lesson in how much we surrender when we hit “submit”.

It took me about 15 years to figure out how to write this story. I’ve been a bartender, dance party promoter, and an office worker so I draw a lot from my own life. Dani’s experiences in small punk/indie rock clubs is firsthand from my post-college days. I ran a really popular weekly dance night at a club for years so a lot of that experience is in the series.

Henry basically works where I currently work: an office. And then everyone can relate to the social network aspect of So Say the Waiters. I guess the only thing I haven’t been in the story is a real-life kidnapper.

The city I live in has definitely influenced the story in a big way. Two characters ride illegal dirt bikes around town, which is common in Baltimore. One is an African American poet who adores Walt Whitman. Another character is an older, cigar smoking Taker who I’d can imagine being when I’m 60.

These books really just did pour out of me. I outlined the first book in about three months and then sat down on August 1st, 2012, and hammered out the first draft in a month. It was sort of insane. I think I just waited so long and prepared to intensely that once I started on the story it just burst out of me. There wasn’t a whole lot of research involved.

I’m a true believer in outlining novels. This series is so layered that I had to. With the non-linear story and eight main characters, I rely on the outline a lot. This series is character driven and unfolds rather slowly. With so many characters interacting with one another, the outline is key to making everything link up and circle back around.

I have a cabin in my back yard that I write in at the same time every day when I’m working on a novel. I never really binge-write. Working for an hour or two every day adds up so after a few months a manuscript starts to take shape and you’ve completed something substantial.

The internet gets turned off. My phone is hidden far away. In the past I’ve worn earplugs. It also helps to have a space dedicated specifically to creating your work. My cabin is perfect.

Writers block is tough, but I have a few methods to get over it. Driving or walking around and talking to myself, talking out the dialog and plot, thinking from the character’s perspective, helps a great deal. Often times I go to the mall and people watch. I take mental notes and walk around there too. If anyone saw me talking to myself they would probably assume I’m nuts.

Video games, well-written ones, have also inspired me during some severe writers block. Games like Bioshock Infinite andRed Dead Redemption use narrative devices that are smart and pack an emotional punch. That’s what I’m looking to do in So Say the Waiters.