With Enter the Nightmare, author Jayne Ann Krentz, writing as Jayne Castle, returns to Harmony with a blend of paranormal suspense, Gothic atmosphere and unforgettable romance. The latest installment in her beloved futuristic series follows Alice North, a woman haunted by a dangerous psychic gift and determined to reclaim her life after being branded insane. In this exclusive interview, Castle discusses the inspiration behind Alice’s darker abilities, the eerie Hotel of Dreams, the enduring appeal of the Harmony universe and why themes of trust, reinvention and the occasional scene-stealing dust bunny continue to captivate both her and her readers.
Alice’s talent is one of the darker psychic gifts in the Harmony universe. What drew you to making your heroine’s power something she’s genuinely afraid of and reluctant to use?
I’m drawn to the idea that we all have power. Intuitively we understand that it can be used in either positive or negative ways, but power is power, and it is inherently dangerous. We take a risk every time we use our power because outcomes are often unpredictable. In the case of Alice and her talent, I scaled up that idea by giving her a psychic ability that, like a strong medicine, can heal or destroy.
Alice spends much of the novel having to prove her sanity after being institutionalized and labeled “the Deranged Bride.” How did you approach writing a heroine whose grip on reality is constantly being questioned, both by others and by her own psychic nature?
I lean Gothic. I consider it the foundational genre of the romantic suspense story. The three elements that define Gothic for me are isolation, the risk of trust and the question of whether the protagonist is being gaslighted. Can she believe her own senses and her own memories? Those things resonate with most of us. They tap into primal fears.
Harmony has such a rich history and mythology. What inspired the original concept of a lost colony world where paranormal abilities became a central part of everyday life?
I wanted to create a relatable world, one that was not so very different from our own but one where the rules were a little different. A planet with strong paranormal forces gave me the twist I needed. Harmony holds many dangers, but as usual, the real problems are caused by humans.
The Hotel of Dreams is both eerie and unforgettable. What inspired this setting, and did you always know it would play such a central role in Alice’s story?
I was excited by the idea of an escape room plot, but figuring out how to work it into my Harmony world took some fussing. When I came up with the Hotel of Dreams, I knew I had what I needed. The Hotel California on Harmony? You can check in, but you might not be able to check out? Perfect!
The relationship between Alice and Owen begins under extraordinary circumstances. What do you enjoy most about creating romantic tension between characters who are forced to trust each other before they fully understand one another?
It’s the ultimate shotgun wedding story—two strangers who have no choice but to find out the hard way if they can trust each other. Their survival depends on the answer. That conflict works well with my kind of suspense.
The dust bunny Sebastian steals every scene he appears in. Do you have a favorite dust bunny moment from this book?
Ack! The dust bunnies have taken over my Jayne Castle world. Resistance is futile. As for Sebastian, I had a lot of fun with him in the casino scenes. I mean, seriously, could there be a more ideal playground for a dust bunny?
Themes of memory, identity and manipulation run throughout the novel. Were there particular questions about trust or self-perception that you wanted to explore through Alice’s journey?
Those things are fundamental to reinvention, and my protagonists are always in the process of having to reinvent themselves. I find the subject compelling because we each do that every day, whether or not we are aware of it. It pays to be aware of the process because that is the only way we can exert some control over it. When we take charge of our own personal reinvention, we are using our superpower.
