Author Spotlight: West Falls Revisited by D. H. Schleicher

“…an amalgamation of my current hometown and towns around it, all suburbs of Philadelphia.”

The spotlight is on David or D. H. Schleicher, whom I met on Twitter/X. He asked if anyone read or wrote literary fiction or psychological thrillers and I replied that they are right up my street. Apart from those genres, we also share a love for movies and TV. I first read his short stories And Then We Vanish (2020) and When We Come Back (2023) and later his novel, Then Came Darkness. D.H. Schleicher’s latest novel, West Falls Revisited, just launched this summer. He lives in the South Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia with his wife and son.

IN: How have your experiences influenced you in writing small town or small city narratives?

DHS: I’ve always lived near a big city, on the outskirts or in the suburbs.

West Falls is an amalgamation of my current hometown and towns around it, all suburbs of Philadelphia.

IN: Your novel, “West Falls Revisited,” utilizes multiple timelines to tell its story. What challenges and rewards do you find in weaving together past and present narratives?

DHS: We all live in the context of what came before us and what’s to come in the future. It can be challenging weaving various timelines together as you could easily confuse the reader, but if you pull it off, you add layers of subtext, meaning, and emotion to the story and the arcs of the characters across the years.

IN: The characters in “West Falls Revisited” are richly developed and face numerous personal and societal challenges. How do you approach character development, particularly in a setting with such deep historical roots?

DHS: My characters typically appear to me at first as snapshots – a particular person in a particular situation or scene with a particular conflict to resolve. I then try to let them tell me where else they should appear in the larger story I have already outlined, how they will interact with other characters, and the overall arc of their story. Each character has their own story, and it’s my job to connect the pieces into a larger context, theme, and history.

IN: Themes of trauma and legacy play significant roles in your novel. What inspired you to explore these themes, and how do you think they resonate with contemporary readers?

DHS: I don’t know how not to explore these themes. For “West Falls Revisited” in particular, I wanted to capture the roller coaster of emotions, pain, grief, trauma, and sometimes hidden joy people felt during the global pandemic – a rare and life-changing experience shared by everyone. Though I began writing the novel pre-pandemic, most of it was conceived in real-time during the lockdown. It completely upended what I had planned for the novel, and I wanted to mirror that sense of everyday life upending, both in the flashbacks to the 1990s when Robbie is murdered, and in the contemporary episodes during the pandemic.

Isn’t trauma what fuels (or derails) everyone?

IN: “West Falls Revisited” includes elements of supernatural foresight and psychological tension. How do you balance these fantastical elements with the realism of the characters’ struggles and the town’s history?

DHS: It’s been interesting hearing that many readers have interpreted certain elements as supernatural. I didn’t write them as that. To me, a determined woman dreaming about the future, or a young girl sensing a strange presence during moments of extreme stress or sleep paralysis, are perfectly natural and realistic. But part of the joy of being a writer is discovering the different viewpoints and perspectives readers bring to your work. Could some characters “see” the future? Was there a ghost in the Elms house? Who knows? As the author, I’m not even sure about some things…like what ever happened to Freddie Elms?