Lisa Haselton's Reviews and Interviews: Interview with dark fantasy author Chad Hunter

My special guest today is author Chad Hunter. He’s sharing a bit with me about his new dark fantasy pirate novel, Windsong & Requiem – Of a Great Deep.

During his virtual book tour, Chad will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:

Chad Hunter was born in East Chicago, Indiana. Raised by a single mother in the city's Harbor section, he is the youngest of four. Growing up in the Midwest and a proudly self-proclaimed "Region Rat," Hunter has written and published several books and novels. He has written for magazines and newspapers throughout North America and has been published in several languages. His writings have been called sophisticated yet humorous, sharp witted and unrelenting.

Most often, Hunter's writings have been considered so wide and diverse that they span a scale that would include multiple writers with multiple forms. In addition to being a published author and journalist, Hunter is also a professional speaker. Having presented to high schools, colleges and various other audiences, his talks and discussions center around the positive impact of literary and creative presences in one’s life. A large portion of Hunter’s focus is on the uncanny strength of human connectedness which is emphasized via the lens of writing and creativity.

Working in genres including dark fantasy, memoirs, science-fiction and anecdotal collections, Hunter weaves tales of monsters, heroes, zombies, wedding planning, technology, pirates and even black parakeets. With over ten books under his belt, If anything binds his varied styles, it is Hunter's theme of the human condition, humor and family closeness - all to the backdrop of romantic love, vibrant remembrance and even monsters themselves.

Please share a little bit about your current release.

Of a Great Deep is the first in a series of pirate fiction featuring the captain and crew of the Requiem. The ship is led by the bold, brash, noble and somewhat trustworthy Captain Nabopollassar “Bo” Travis. The book description is as follows -

The year is 1716. The world is in the Golden Age of Piracy and fabled ships sail the seven seas. One such vessel is the Requiem, captained by the young but wise, brave but dubious Nabopolassar “Bo” Travis. Alongside his first mate Ghassan, quartermaster Winter Burke and navigator Glover, Travis seeks treasure, female company and good drink. The Requiem’s legendary adventures are filled with tales of monsters and myths - all of which are true. Now, someone or something is sailing the seas in search for a treasure chest – a chest that holds unknown riches which only promise to change the world forever. Captain Travis, his crew and a beautiful young map reader must brave the dark and the deep to find the treasure. Will the Requiem find the X on the spot before the infamous Captain George “Bloody-Face” Fiddick does? Will Travis uncover the secret behind the cursed black ship which changed his young life forever? And will the treasure chest truly be full of riches or does something far more insidious lie in wait? Ready your flintlock. Sharpen your sword. The Requiem awaits.

What inspired you to write this book?

I realize that seven-year-old Chad is controlling adult Chad! All the things that I liked as a child, I still enjoy as an adult. Only now I get to add to these worlds myself. As for pirates, they represent such a feeling of freedom and self-reliance that I find it refreshing in today’s world of meetings, emails and offices. The open seas, to this day, still contain so much mystery that there is an endless amount of wonder and adventure just waiting to be written.

Excerpt from Windsong & Requiem – Of a Great Deep

"CAPTAIN!" the navigator called out. "THERE'S WOOD! WOOD IN THE WATER!"

Bo cursed repeatedly. "Damn, damn, damn, no, no--!" Ghassan moved quickly alongside

the man.

"You do not think --!" the older man began, matching Travis' sprint.

"ALL HANDS, LOOK TOWARDS THE WOOD! ANY SIGN OF OTHER SHIPS???"

"Captain," puffed Glover, out of breath after checking multiple angles of the sea from the

ship's deck and masts, "There's no ship out there! Just more wood, more debris! Some

vessel crashed out there!"

"Pray, Mr. Glover that a crash is what did it --!"

"CAPTAIN!" came a scream from the crow's nest. "IN THE WATER!" Travis looked

over to the deck. In one smooth motion, he grabbed, extended and searched feverishly

through the eyeglass previously swinging at his side.

The ship's captain looked out at the water by the debris. There were countless white orbs,

small, very small, bobbing in the water.

"--dear God..." Travis whispered. His crew all turned to him. They hung on his words as

only the first mate seemed to know what was transpiring. Few things rattled Bo and when

something shook him, it boded ill for all involved. Especially his crew.

His attention fell to the water and the white orbs bobbing with the waves. "--eyes---"

And with that, the crew of the Requiem could see the bloodied and veined composition of

the surface of disembodied optical organs and their swirling nerve endings and loose tendon

and muscle.

"ALL HANDS! PREPARE TO FIGHT!" Captain Travis commanded.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I’m working two novels at the same time – a sequel to my dark fantasy “The Monster Man – King of Fools.” The sequel will be titled “The Monster Man – A Ghost Who Bleeds.” Additionally, I’m writing a horror weird west tale. On the side, in my free-time (LOL!) I’m working on a series of children adventures geared at teaching through exciting characters.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

The ripe old age of six. I just didn’t phrase it that way. I wrote and drew a comic book (that was fairly terrible!) For the longest time, I focused on learning art but I also pursued writing and journalism. Eventually, in school, I had to write a short story and I realized that writing had a greater pull than art. Not long after that, I continued to write short stories and eventually a novel. And then another and another and so on…

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I’m a full-time computer guy and a college instructor! Go figure! I wake up earlier than my family and I write. I go to bed later than my family and I write. I schedule times to write on lunch also. I make sure I plan what I’m writing so that I don’t end up sitting in front of a keyboard with a blank screen. That’s the fine line between being creative and being disciplined – scheduling strict time to mentally run wild. If it sounds easy, it’s not.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I love muses when I write – things that inspire the thoughts and the mood around whatever I’m writing. So, for example, as I’m currently writing this western, I am surrounded by items that put me in a mode of western atmosphere. There’s some plastic cowboy action figures, an old pop gun six shooter and a deck of cowboy playing cards. When I was writing Of a Great Deep, my writing desk was covered with fake pirate treasure, some pirate action figures and there may have been some rum. Just for show of course…

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Full grown. LOL! I wanted to be all the standard little boy stuff – firefighter, astronaut and super-hero. As I got older, I realized I was too short for basketball and too small for football so sports was out. I realized that writing was something that spoke to my very essence and it was from then on that I knew I wanted to be a writer when I grew up.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers? Gratitude – because it is a very special relationship between a writer and readers. They’re sharing a world with me and it’s my job to make sure that the world is represented correctly and that they have a good time visiting it.

Links: