Q: How did the idea of a Young Adult series for the HALLOWEEN franchise come about?
KO: It came about through an association I had with Joe Wolf, the producer of the original HALLOWEEN movie.

Q: What were the challenges that you faced as a writer to develop a young adult novel representation of the HALLOWEEN franchise?
KO: When writing the series, I had to stop every once in a while and tone it down so that it was suitable for a young audience. There was originally a lot more carnage in the second book, The Old Myers Place. My editor at Berkeley called me after reading the manuscript and said, ‘This is great stuff Kelly, but don’t you think the ending is a little dark for a YA novel?” In my version of the ending, all of the kids die, Mary went catatonic insane and Jeff is arrested and carted off to prison. So I changed it explaining that Mary would be okay after time (yeah, right!) and Jeff was let go. It was very challenging as a writer to take a franchise as terrifying as HALLOWEEN and somehow find a workable balance between serious horror and young adult literature.

Q: How hard was it to write a book with a character that never speaks? Did this make it harder for you to build a plot without losing the mystique of Michael Myers?
KO: No, it was great. Michael Myers is so terrifying that just a mention of something like, ‘the dark figure emerged from the woods’, and man, you’re in Haddonfield and you know who that is! The most terrifying characters never say a word. You build the tension by the reactions of the other characters who are being stalked.

Q: How much creative control were you given with the HALLOWEEN novels? Did you have to stay within set guidelines? Were there certain things you could and could not do in terms of plotting the story's action and were you allowed to tap into and use characters and alternate locations already established in the film series if you so wished?
KO: I was given total freedom to do whatever I wanted, so the stories take place after the first film. All of the characters had to be teenagers as and the events had to fit into the typical YA guidelines. My only guideline as far as story content was the original HALLOWEEN movie. I used Haddonfield as the location for the novels and the stories are all original and set in present day. I also used the psychiatrist in the third book, The Mad House, after all, it was all his fault. Also, in the YA market, the sex was toned way down although if a couple of kids started going for it, you know what happened to them! The carnage was pretty descriptive and disgusting in all the books though and I was surprised that the publisher let me get away with that.

Q: Do the novels follow any continuity of the films, or are they brand new stories involving the Michael Myers character?
KO: No, all were original stories that I created.

Q: Are any of the characters in your novels based on real people in real life?
KO: Absolutely. As a writer, I’m always jotting down things that people say and do in real life. I often use my friend as characters. I even named one of the characters after my niece, Shannon Geary. She got killed by Michael Myers (sorry Shannon!), but she was pretty popular at school after showing herself off in the novels that her aunt wrote.

Q: Why were there only 3 novels? And will you writing new ones?
KO: The book deal was for three only. I would love to continue the HALLOWEEN book series if the opportunity arose. I’ve got another series of YA horror in the works and am continuing with my screenwriting.

Q: Which of the 3 novels is your personal favorite, and why?
KO: It’s a tie between The Old Myers Place and The Mad House. In The Old Myers Place, I liked the idea of a new girl moving into the old Myers house and not having a clue about what had happened in the house or in the town. The Mad House was the one set in the abandoned mental hospital where Myers had been locked up.

Q: Where can a fan buy copies of the books? I see them on ebay for $50 or more at times, but is there anywhere else they can be purchased?
KO: I don’t think so. I recently went onto Amazon and ebay to buy a few copies for my personal collection and was floored to see them going from $50 to $200 per copy! I wish I’d gotten more author copies when I had the chance. I have a few around my house, but only one copy of The Mad House, which happens to be the most difficult to locate and most expensive of the three books.

Q: Growing up a HALLOWEEN fan since I was 5 years old, I missed out on purchasing these novels, which sure would have been dear to my heart. Are they still in print? If not, are you aware of any plans to re-print these novels so that die-hard fans like myself my buy and cherish them?
KO: They are not in print and considered collectibles now. I had no idea until recently that there was such a huge demand for the books, and am going to look into a reprint deal.

Q: If you could turn one of your novels into a movie, which one would it be?
KO: The Mad House for sure. This is the scariest novel of the three with the potential to go much, much darker. It’s about a teenager named Eddy who’s spent the summer making a documentary film about haunted houses and ghosts. He lives in Haddonfield and has saved the most haunted location for last, The Smith Grove Mental Hospital where Myers was locked up for fifteen years. Eddy and his volunteer film crew sneak into the abandoned hospital seeking to capture footage of the ghost of Myers’ psychiatrist (who is said to haunt the place), but find themselves being stalked by Myers himself. It’s a great setup, a bunch of hormone-raged kids holed up in an abandoned mental hospital for the weekend with Myers picking them off one at a time.

Q: Have you written books, other than these 3 HALLOWEEN novels?
KO: Yes. I’ve written in many genres and have nine other books published. I usually write under the name Kelly Reno. My latest adult fiction novel came out last year titled, Misadventures & Merfolk. It’s a dark comedy/fantasy about an American travel writer stranded in the British Isles during a mermaid festival. I just optioned the screenplay version of the book and hope to see it out in theaters in 2007.

Q: How can a fan obtain your autograph on the actual novels? Is there an address where us fans can send you novels to sign and send back to us?
KO: Yes. They can be mailed to Kelly O’Rourke, PO Box 701, Montrose, CA 91021. Please remember to include the proper return postage and I’d be happy to sign stuff!