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He Is Intensely Complex
Keep Close follows a group of survivors navigating life after meteorites crash to Earth, unleashing creatures that hunt humans. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The story was actually inspired by COVID and the toll it took on mental health. The 6 foot tether law in this devastated world is an inverse to the 6 foot distance rules during COVID. I’ve always been a fan of post-apocalyptic stories. Originally a screenplay, ‘Keep Close’ was also inspired by movies such as ‘A Quiet Place’ and ‘Signs’.
Which character surprised you the most during the writing process?
Fitz for sure. He is intensely complex villain. With each of his scenes I tried to reveal glimpses of the good in him. All of my characters have good and bad qualities to them, which is what makes them so realistic and easy to identify with.
What were the biggest challenges in designing the creatures without revealing too much too soon?
My goal was to keep the threat a mystery to the reader until Ren witnesses it herself. Since that’s not until well into the book, I had to fill the beginning with a lot of ominous signs and one chaotic attack even Lee can’t fully witness. After this, the focus is back at sea with Ren while society adapts to this terrifying reality. When she finally comes ashore, civilization has completely changed and the predator danger is everywhere. This allows the reader to feel the same confusion and alarm that our protagonist does.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
‘Keep Close’ is the first of a three-part series, and I’m currently working on book 2. I also have a true-crime murder mystery researched and outlined, and 5 children’s book manuscripts that need illustrating. It’s a busy time!
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website
You stay close. You stay alive.
In this breakthrough thriller, Ren, a haunted but brilliant 17-year-old, is thrust into a fight for her life when a catastrophic meteor shower leaves her family stranded at sea.
Rescued after months adrift, they return to shore far from home, only to confront the terrifying presence of banshees— phantom creatures that prey on anyone caught alone. With survival hinging on safety in numbers, Ren must use her wits as she embarks on a twisty and suspenseful journey to get to the key to her family’s survival. Along the way, deep feelings ignite between Ren and a courageous Australian ally, further complicating her mission.
As Ren’s path is threatened by a desperate gang, she must navigate a treacherous wilderness where trust is fragile and loyalties are tested. In this unpredictable new world, can Ren overcome her emotional scars, the weight of leadership, and a tumultuous first love to lead her family safely back home?
Keep Close
Kristen Wade’s Keep Close is a tense, family-centered survival novel set after red meteorites strike Earth and unleash creatures that hunt people who are isolated. The book follows Ren Haley and her siblings after a sailing trip goes terribly wrong, while also tracking Lee, a young man in Oregon, trying to keep his own family alive as society breaks down around him. From the opening idea that “The yearning to protect those we love is the most noble virtue we all have in common,” the story makes its priorities clear: this is an apocalypse novel built around loyalty, grief, fear, and the stubborn pull of family.
Ren is the emotional center of the book, and her journey gives the danger real weight. She’s carrying guilt over her father’s death, distance from her siblings, and a sharp sense that she’s failed the people she loves. Being stranded at sea, rescued under suspicious circumstances, and then forced across a devastated Pacific Northwest doesn’t magically fix her, but it does push her into action. Her relationship with Peter and Lizzie is especially strong because it’s messy in a believable way. They snap, retreat, protect each other, and keep going.
The novel’s creature concept is simple but effective: survival depends on staying physically close. That idea turns the title into both a rule and an emotional demand. When Hank tells Ren, “I’ll keep close to both of you,” it lands as more than a promise to follow the rules of this new world. It’s also a promise of care, and the book keeps returning to that kind of protection in different forms. Parents, siblings, strangers, and even flawed people like Lee are all measured by what they’re willing to do for those they love.
Wade keeps the story moving with short chapters, shifting points of view, and plenty of immediate danger. The sea survival scenes feel harsh and claustrophobic, while the overland journey brings in new threats from both the creatures and desperate people. Lee’s storyline adds a strong moral pressure to the book because his choices are often wrong, but they come from a recognizable place: fear for a sick little sister and the old burden of family obligation. That makes the conflict feel less like good people versus bad people and more like people being squeezed until their worst and best instincts come out.
Keep Close is a fast-paced and emotional survival story about how people hold on to each other when the world stops being safe. It has action, creature horror, family drama, and a touch of romance, but its strongest moments come from the smaller acts of care: sharing food, tying ropes, carrying children, forgiving old wounds, and choosing not to let fear decide everything. By the end, the book feels like the first part of a larger story, but it also gives Ren and her family a satisfying emotional arc. It’s the kind of apocalypse novel that’s most interested in what people reach for when everything else falls away.
Pages: 395 | ASIN : B0DV9G8JXG
