Article and Interview by Elise Cooper
The Vanishing by Jayne Krentz is an action-packed story that relies heavily on the paranormal. The psychic element adds to the suspense along with murder, conspiracies, and a kidnapping.
The story opens fifteen years earlier where two teenage girls, Catalina Lark and Olivia Dayton witness a murder in a cave. Convinced the girls were hallucinating, their story was dismissed.
Readers find out how the government was running paranormal experiments in the mountains close to a town in Fogg Lake Washington. After a gas explosion, residents of the town started having visions. But after the government sent representatives to find out what happened the residents bled their “hallucination” on food subjects, as they were determined not to become research subjects. Some Fogg Lake descendants, including protagonists Catalina and Olivia, were later born with “another sight.”
Fast-forward to the present day where Cat and Olivia open a private investigation firm in Seattle. To help solve crimes they rely heavily on paranormal gifts: Cat has visions of the past and Olivia has the ability to read auras. After Olivia suddenly disappears, Cat fears it has something to do with the murder they witnessed fifteen years earlier. She reluctantly agrees to help another investigator, Slater Arganbright, find who is behind a series of recent murders as long as he helps her find Olivia. Needless to say, a romance forms between the two.
The story has passion, love, danger, and at times the dialogue is very humorous. Krentz creates an atmosphere of tension, drama, and danger.
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?
Jayne Krentz: In the 50s, 60s, and 70s, there was serious governmental paranormal research going on. There were a lot of facilities built. It was a type of arms race with the Soviet Union who was also exploring paranormal research. In hindsight, I think both countries went a little crazy with it. But for me, it makes good plot material. I thought about what could happen after it was shut down.
EC: Did you base it on anything?
JK: My Bluestone Project is based loosely on the Manhattan Nuclear Bomb project. There were several scattered lands that were isolated from each other for security reasons. These places were put in non-populated areas. I wanted to show how the government ran secret labs. I wrote “The Foundation” as an undercover government agency that is devoted to studying the paranormal, policing those who went rogue, protecting those with ‘talents,’ and handles crimes that often go unobserved because they don’t look like crimes to the police, but they look like natural disasters or deaths.
EC: Is the town of Fogg Lake real?
JK: I like the setting to be in Washington state. Making up my own town allows me to easy manipulate the pieces instead of having to stick to the reality on the ground. There are still so many tiny towns and wild places in the state, and I’m always amazed that people still disappear in the mountains. I like drawing on the wild energy of nature for the storylines. And the energy of Seattle is at the core of the story: Almost any kind of character can come out of our town.
EC: How would you define Catalina?
JK: Regarding her talent, she is able work through a crime scene by having visions of what happened. She sees manifestations of the emotions of both the killer and victim with her intuition taking over. She is one of the adult grandchildren of those effected that are the characters in the story. Cat is cool, controlling, brave, and smart.
EC: How would you describe Olivia?
JK: She is Cats’ best friend who is much more of a free spirit. Knowing that her mother was murdered is an important part of her backstory. She has a lot of guts and is very resourceful. Her talent is seeing auras.
EC: How would you describe Slater?
JK: Protective, kind, intelligent, and caring. A nice guy who is determined to take care of those in trouble. His greatest fear is he will become a monster like those he hunts. But Cat just shrugs him off and tells him that she is too busy worrying about other things, like finding Olivia. Her attitude worked well to help ground Slater, and for him to realize that Catalina knows the difference between a real monster and someone whose powers are just a little different, which doesn’t bother her.
EC: Can you explain some of the vocabulary used? What is a blank?
JK: It is a slang term for a sociopath.
EC: Normal versus Crazy?
JK: Where are the lines and who determines what is normal and what is not. A professor I once had in college said ‘you know you are normal if you are not in an institution.’
EC: Going Dark?
JK: It is when the psychic senses are turned down. Those with it learn when to use it and when to tune it down. It is shutting down and controlling the sixth sense. All the characters have personal control.
EC: Can you tell us about your next book(s)?
JK: Out in May is an Amanda Quick book titled Close-Up. It takes place in the 1930s where the heroine is a photographer who realizes another photographer is a murderer.
This series will be out in about a year and is titled All the Colors of Night. The hero and heroine are new characters. Several characters from this book will be returning except Slater and Cat. The plot has someone who works for the Foundation trying to find who put his father into a coma.
EC: THANK YOU!!
