The Mists of Stone Lake was written a 16 months after my daughter was murdered. Luckily the people responsible were arrested within a few months after they found her body. In the back of the book, under the author's note, I wrote what I imagine happened. I was way off base. It was close, but not exactly. Since I was still waiting for the trials (still am), there was a lot of guessing involved.
In the book 5 people murdered the woman. (By the way, my daughter's murder wasn't quite so brutal.) In writing the book, I all but one of the characters a back story. What happened to turn them into the monsters they'd become. This helped me to understand that the people who took my Rose weren't born evil. Like my characters, something in life (must have) happened (I pray and believe it to be true). Each character represented one of the people involved in my daughter's murder. The one who didn't get a back story, well, I guess I wasn't ready to make him human. At least not yet.
It's a brutal book, gruesome. I wrote it for me. I know it has some triggers. I'm sorry. If you've read it, thank you. If you haven't, I understand.
The main character took his place about halfway through the book. I had finished the book, when I went back and changed the ending. (Much to my other daughter's consternation.)
Some may be aware, others may not. For the writer, the characters sometimes take on a life of their own. It sometimes feels like they're standing over my shoulder telling me what to write next. This happened with Damon.