After a body is found in Central Park, two teenage New Yorkers with violent tendencies become the prime suspects. The police bring in a psychologist to observe the duo’s erratic behavior, but as he’s drawn deeper into the investigation, both his professional and personal life become increasingly jeopardized.
Before writing Dawn’s Web, a new thriller novel focused on these three characters, local author and English teacher Patrick Shattuck drew inspiration from a real murder case. He based his two youths, Dawn and Zander, off of Daphne Abdela and Chris Vasquez, the pair charged with killing Michael McMorrow in New York in 1997.
But the names have been changed for the novel, and the psychologist, Dr. Duncan Bright, is a fictional character of Shattuck’s own creation. Shattuck recently opened up to the Sun via an email interview, in which he discussed his creative process while writing Dawn’s Web and his own personal connection to the McMorrow case.
Sun: Is it true that your experience working as a high school English teacher in Manhattan, years before moving to Santa Maria, inspired you to write Dawn’s Web?
Shattuck: Christopher Vasquez, one of the two youths charged with killing McMorrow, was attending the school where I had worked for 16 years when the horrific crime shocked the city. This personal connection to the story led me to take up this psychological exploration in fiction.
Sun: How long did you live and teach in Manhattan for? And what originally brought you to move to Santa Maria?
Shattuck: I am originally from Syracuse, New York, however I moved to Manhattan in 1994 and taught high school there for 18 years. My wife is from Santa Maria, and we moved here in 2014 after we had our second child. I have been a lecturer in the English Department at [Allan] Hancock [College] since 2015.
Sun: While basing Dawn’s Web around a real murder, you created a fictional protagonist, Dr. Duncan Bright—a psychologist who becomes involved with the case. How would you describe your process developing this multi-layered character? Are parts of him based on anyone from your own life?
Shattuck: When writing the novel, I interviewed several psychologists, so I’m sure they helped compose Dr. Bright. Creating his flaws was easy because I found material every time I looked in the mirror. However, all the characters in the book, including Dr. Bright, took on a life of their own as the book progressed, and all I had to do was listen to them.
Sun: Prior to writing the novel, would you have called yourself a big fan of psychological thrillers? If so, what are some of your favorite thriller novels or films?
Shattuck: I am definitely a big fan of the genre. Some of my favorite thriller novels are Crime and Punishment and Rebecca, while some of my favorite films are The Silence of the Lambs, Psycho, Strangers on a Train, and Night of the Hunter.
Sun: To any aspiring authors potentially reading this interview, what advice would you give them? Is there a piece of advice you were once given when starting out that has always stuck with you?
Shattuck: My piece of advice would be don’t give up, and don’t let anybody tell you you’re no good. If you want to write, that means you’re a writer, so don’t let anyone come between you and your dream.
Sun: With Dawn’s Web complete, do you have any writing projects in mind you’re excited about possibly working on next?
Shattuck: At the moment, I’m working on something in the realm of magical realism, but I can’t say any more about it because it’s in the larval stage.
Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood always loves to hear from local authors. Send comments to cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 5-12, 2022.