Widow Town (36 page)

First and foremost, thank you for reading. To know that you’ve spent your time on something I’ve created is the highest compliment and I hope you enjoyed the ride.

So I had this idea and it began the wonderful way many writer’s ideas begin with in the form of a question: What if?

What if there were no sociopaths or serial killers stalking the streets of the world, hiding in plain sight? What if we’d conquered that particular mar on society by finding a gene that
, when active, could give way to those tendencies? Would anyone have a problem with inoculating their children at a young age? Of course not, we do that now to ensure they don’t catch terrible diseases that could end their lives. But could we ever be rid of pure evil in that form forever? Would we be able to control it, or would life find a way?

These are the questions I asked myself while pondering Widow Town. The Tabula Rasa, or “blank slate” theory immediately came to mind while I was researching and this was one of the bases I built the premise on.
The balance between nature and nurture has been debated for centuries, and it’s a terrifying thought to realize that each one of us perhaps has the potential to become something terrible given the right circumstances. I also asked if there were a gene that could contribute to a person developing without empathy, without a conscience, could it be turned off? And if it could, would there be any other way for evil to form, through environment and treatment of the individual? This led me in the direction of placing this particular tale in the future. I do enjoy science fiction but it isn’t my forte so I stayed near the shallow end of the pool when developing technology or referring to some new break through. I also wondered, how much does the world really change over time? Our technology changes of course, along with methods in science, religion, politics, but at the center of it all, do
we
really change?

Of course there is no “murder gene” but the what
-if in this case swept me away with possibilities about how a society would react to a threat that they thought was gone. How they wouldn’t be able to fathom that a monster in human skin could live next door, and they’d never know it, how they would treat a man who believed in something preposterous.

Once again, I hope you enjoyed the book and I appreciate any and all feedback, whether it be a review online or a simple email to tell me your thoughts. Thank you for accompanying me on these journeys
, and I’ll continue to make my best efforts in creating new places for us to travel.

Joe Hart

February
2014

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The Waiting (novel)

Midnight Paths: A Collection of Dark Horror (collection)

The Line Unseen (short story)

The Edge of Life (short story)

Outpost (short story)