DEN Character Interview: Gunther Grater
“Shouldn’t have done that, Amy.”
– Gunther Grater
Hello and welcome to our third character interview with the primary players of my new thriller, Den. The book officially launches this Tuesday October 25th with the Double Feature Book Launch Bash that also features The Dracula Journals Book 1: Dark Decades, by Thom Reese.
Den is about Amy Raven, a beautiful girl who gets expelled from college for using steroids. She ends up taking a job at Gameland, an amusement park that’s re-opening after being abandoned for years. Amy soon discovers she’s been set up as she’s forced to play a deadly game in which ten sexual predators hunt her down, to capture her for themselves. Tonight we’re getting to know the young Park Manager of Grater Gameland, Gunther Grater.
(Gunther enters from behind the thick curtain and stands, letting the curtain fall into place behind him. He’s college-age and wears a broad grin, almost smug, standing about six foot tall with an oversized belly pushing out an untucked shirt. His eyes are owlish slits behind octagonal spectacles. Satisfied with his entrance, he moves closer and takes his seat across from me.)
RAD: Mr. Grater, thank you for taking time to meet with me today.
Gunther: Call me Gunther.
RAD: Let me get two things out of the way quickly, because I know this is on everyone’s mind. First, people have concerns about the safety and viability of Gameland, after being out of commission for so long. Second, there are questions about your own personal history, so people may wonder if you’re the best person to be handling things at the park. How would you respond?
Gunther: (grins) What personal history are you referencing?
RAD: Specifically, when you were in high school, a few girls accused you of rape.
Gunther: People often misconstrue a person’s intentions and concoct a story, which gets more and more outlandish as it spreads. I’m sure you’re aware, Randall, that girls love to gossip.
RAD: So there’s no truth to those rumors?
Gunther: Of course not. How could I be in charge of the rides at Gameland if I was a convicted rapist?
RAD: Your father, Loren Grater, is the founder and CEO of Grater Gameland, but you’ve taken on a lot of management responsibility at the park, for someone who’s still in college.
Gunther: What the public doesn’t realize, Randall, is that I’m the one behind most of Grater Gameland. Sure, the park’s been around since before I was born – .
RAD: Except for the last seven years that it was shut down.
Gunther: (pause, narrowing his eyes) … Right. The fact is, I’ve been designing some of Gameland’s rides since I was a kid.
RAD: I never knew that.
Gunther: No one does. That’s my point. I’m responsible for several of the concepts, and for all of the upgrades that have been added. I was nine years old when I designed the Whirlwind, one of Gameland’s mainstays.
RAD: That’s the ride with the circular room that spins.
Gunther: Exactly. It rotates at such a high velocity that the centrifugal force pins people to the wall where they’re standing. They’re stuck like flies. Then the bottom floor opens up, showing they’re suspended over a pit, but they don’t drop.
RAD: A pit?
Gunther: (laughs) It’s a short drop, Randall, nothing dangerous. And it’s impossible for anyone to fall.
RAD: Unless you slowed the ride enough to lower the centrifugal force.
Gunther: True. (He smiles.) But why would we do something like that?
RAD: So how much of Gameland is under your control?
Gunther: Virtually all of it.
RAD: What about your father?
Gunther: My father founded the park and he funds it. He ran it for several years but it ultimately failed. This is a new park, Randall. My park. I’ve redesigned every ride to increase its speed and intensity.
RAD: That sounds like a dangerous direction to take, after what happened on
the Sky Hammer drop years ago. Which was the whole reason that Gameland shut down. And it doesn’t help that the girl who died was one of the girls who accused you of raping her.
Gunther: (stares quietly at me for a few seconds) … Jennifer Haslin’s death was a tragedy. Her unfounded accusation against me was an ironic coincidence. All of that is in the past. I’ve added safety measures to every ride, so that no such accidents can ever happen again. As I said, Randall, the old Gameland is gone. The new Gameland is mine.
RAD: What kind of safety measures?
Gunther: (holds up a small device that looks like a slim cell phone) This handheld remote allows me to control any ride throughout the park. I can shut them down or speed them up at will. If anything nasty happens, Randall, I’ll be right on top of it.
RAD: How many of those remotes are there? Just the one?
Gunther: We have a few.
RAD: So the new Gameland rides are the same ones people know and love from years past, but with a few upgrades. You also have a brand new ride, the Sky Drive, that’s supposed to rival any ride at any amusement park in the world. Tell us about that.
Gunther: Not “rival” any other ride, Randall. “Outlclass”. The Sky Drive will put people through paces they’ve never been put through before. It’s a unique, highly intense experience that people will never forget. I’ve spent the last few years funding its design.
RAD: Sounds expensive.
Gunther: My father set aside funds for the refurbishment of Gameland, and provided me access to it for the last several years. (smiles wryly) But it’s left up to me how to use it.
RAD: So what does the Sky Drive do?
Gunther: You’ll find out after we open, Randall, like everyone else.
RAD: You have a new employee, Amy Raven, that you attended classes with at the University of Illinois, where she played basketball for the Illini. I understand things have not been entirely comfortable between you two. Any concerns about working with her?
Gunther: Of course not. Why should there be? Amy’s a smart, talented girl. We expect her to do very well.
RAD: What’s her job?
Gunther: She manages the Hoops stand, where people shoot basketballs to win a prize.
RAD: Is that her only job? If she’s that smart and talented, it seems like she could be doing a lot more.
Gunther: Oh, we’ll find something more exciting for her to do, Randall, soon enough.
RAD: I’ve heard the tension between you two springs from the way you’ve approached Amy in the past. That you were romantically interested in her and she didn’t share your interest, but you persisted. Is that true?
Gunther: Amy and I will work everything out. Yes, Randall, I was interested in her. No, she didn’t feel the same. But that’s all between us. Amy Raven is brilliant, beautiful, and athletic. She’s got a lot of stamina, and should be able to handle anything we throw at her. If she does a good job, we’ll be satisfied.
RAD: So are you over your infatuation with her?
Gunther: I wouldn’t call it an infatuation, Randall. I was interested. I still am. If she responds at some point, we can proceed. If not, we’ll make other arrangements.
RAD: Other arrangements. What do you mean by that, exactly?
Gunther: (smiles) Nothing, Randall. I’m simply explaining that we’ll work things out, between us, out of the public eye. Everything will be fine between me and Amy in the end, Randall, one way or another.
RAD: That’s good to hear. Gunther, thank you so much for being with us and I hope everything goes well with the launch of the new Grater Gameland.
Gunther: Trust me, Randall, it will.
RAD: We have one final character interview coming up, so join us here again for more information about the surprises in store at Grater Gameland 
Meanwhile, you can register for the Double Feature Book Launch Bash here to join me, Thom Reese, and several guest authors on Tuesday Oct. 25th! See you there!
#DenThriller
