Interview with horror writer John C Adams

Dark fiction author John C Adams is chatting with me about Blackacre Rising.

Bio:

John C Adams is a nonbinary writer of fantasy and horror fiction. They are also a reviewer with the British Fantasy Society, the Horror Tree and Schlock! Webzine.

John has had short fiction published in Swords and Sorcery Magazine, Sirens Call Magazine, the Horror Zine, Devolution Z Magazine, Lovecraftiana Magazine and many other small publications. You can also read their short fiction in anthologies from Lycan Valley Press, Horrified Press, Fantasia Divinity and Jersey Pines Ink.

Longlisted twice for the Aeon Award, John has also been runner up for the Enrico Charles Literary Award. They have a Postgraduate Certificate in Creative Writing from Newcastle University.

They are an Oxford graduate and non-practising solicitor, living in Northumberland UK but conducting the ultimate long-distance relationship with their boyfriend in Pennsylvania.

Please tell us about your current release.

Blackacre Rising is the sequel to my debut novel Souls for the Master. It starts off exactly where the prequel ended, with the resistance betrayed by one of their own and the three key characters forced to flee the Metropolis. Gerald takes Don and Ivy north to his cousin Brett Flint's farmhouse at Blackacre, but they soon discover that unique perils await them under its ancient roof. Gerald heads back south, hoping to confront Janus and persuade him to rejoin the resistance, but en route he's captured by members of the old regime, the authorities whose power crumbled when the resistance rose up and challenged the Master. As they wait for help from Gerald that may never arrive, Don and Ivy explore the farmhouse and build an uneasy alliance with the powers that reside within its walls. It isn't long before they both set off on missions of their own, each one fraught with danger.

What inspired you to write this book?

Souls for the Master ended on a note of betrayal, threatening everything that the resistance had just achieved. I've been itching to explore the consequences of Janus's weakness ever since finishing Souls for the Master. I wanted to really get into the tensions it would engender within the remaining resistance membership over how to counter his abandoning everything they had fought so hard to build. I also wanted to see how the heroes of the first book would respond to their plans spinning out of control. Would they be resilient, or would losing everything they'd worked for bring them to an irreversible point of cynicism where they accepted that their hope of building a better world without the overweening power of the Master was a futile dream?

Excerpt from Blackacre Rising:

Twenty-three-year-old trainee surgeon Gerald Flint pressed his foot on the accelerator as soon as they were clear of the Metropolis. Angry at the betrayal that had seen his group flee the capital, he slammed the pedal to the floor. Now that he was through the capital’s suburbs, his black car would devour the miles as they sped north.

Dusk softened the May evening, and he revelled in a blast of warmth as he wound down his window. Exhaustion sank down into his body in a dull ache deep in his muscles, but joy at being away from the Master's Thought Control thrilled his soul. Not even his terror of being rounded up and shot could obliterate his relief at being free at last.

The three of them were out of the city, Gerald reminded himself, but he, Don and Ivy were far from safe. Janus Fidens would be celebrating back in the Metropolis along with the rest of the resistance, and Gerald had intended to be there until he overheard Janus's plans for his closest allies. It was shocking that someone who fought tirelessly to overthrow the authorities could be so easily corrupted by power, but Janus wasn't the first. Others had fallen prey to this very temptation.

Ivy Spires stared out of the passenger window, mesmerised by the bushes and trees flashing past. She'd grown up in the urban wasteland of West Metropolis. The eighteen-year-old twisted the ends of her long black hair around her slender fingers. Her dark-purple nail polish was chipped, and there was dirt under her fingernails. Her high-boned face was inscrutable as she internalised her response to Janus's behaviour. The aroma of the perfume she'd worn to the celebration party after the resistance took control of government lingered, and its allure penetrated Gerald's mind as he drove.

Even as he longed to know her inner thoughts, he didn’t push her to talk. She’d come with him despite her wariness in trusting him, but they barely knew each other. Working for a common goal had brought them closer in the past few days, but he was asking her to believe someone she’d known for years was a traitor to the very cause they fought for. He decided to give her whatever space she needed to work through that she could trust him. Survival instinct saved her when she was growing up in the Metropolis, and it hadn't let her down now. She'd agreed to come with him and convinced Don to join them. Let that be enough for now, he thought.

Don Allwood was asleep in the back seat. The lad’s head lolled onto his skinny chest, and his straw-blond hair fell across his pasty face. He snuffled into a snore, mumbling in a strange, unrecognisable language.

The poor kid was drained by the combat of the past forty-eight hours. The fifteen-year-old took far greater risks than anyone else in the resistance until his loyalty was rewarded with betrayal. He was the key to everything, and, wherever the trio ended up, his safety must be paramount. If anything happened to him, they were finished.

END OF EXCERPT

What exciting story are you working on next?

I write both horror and fantasy, and I am generally pretty inclined to alternate between the two. After launching Blackacre Rising I'll get back to the first draft of my next fantasy novel. It's about halfway through at present, but of course fantasy novels are never short in length and even after the first draft means there's still a lot of work left to do. I haven't worked on it in some time, and I'm starting to really miss the characters, so it'll be good to be back in a fantasy universe instead.

The novel is the third in a fantasy series I first published back in 2016 with Aspatria. The sequel Dagmar of the Northlands came out in 2019. This third novel is inspired by a Russian-themed Medieval universe.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

At fourteen I won twenty pounds in a writing competition for a diary I wrote during our school cruise to the Mediterranean. I found out then I could get paid for doing something I loved so much I'd have done it for free. I wish I'd continued with it, but real life intervenes and for me that meant university and then working. It was only when I was a full-time parent and carer that I began writing again just to carve out some space for myself. When my daughter was old enough to start nursery I dug out some of the writing I'd done as a teenager, read it, winced at how bad it was and then rewrote one of my favourite stories into a novel. Since then I've done a Postgraduate Certificate in Creative Writing, which I found really helpful, and learned the practical side of writing through submissions reading and reviewing. In some ways that sort of hands on experience is more useful than a writing course, in my opinion.

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 wish! Like most budding writers I have a day job as well. Mine is to be a full-time carer for a severely brain damaged relative who lives with our family. It's exhausting work but very rewarding. Finding time to write isn't easy under the circumstances, but you just have to be resilient and determined to carve out the hours required. Most writers struggle to do that after a long day at work so I'm not alone. Just now, my boyfriend is over from Pennsylvania for six months while he works on his own novel, so I do have someone to give me a hand and, perhaps most importantly of all, nag me into sitting down and getting some writing done. And of course stand over my shoulder and point out that I'm putting the commas in all the wrong places.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Most of my preparation for a novel is done through lucid dreaming. Most writers flinch at the idea of letting the characters, plot, description and dialogue roll around your head often for months without writing any of it down. You just have to trust that it'll sink down into your memory and the subconscious will find it again at the appropriate time. It works for me, though I understand this writing technique is not for everyone.

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

I'm still working on the growing up part, which is interesting given that I turn fifty in a few months. I actually wanted to be a vet. Not sure what happened to that ambition, given that I ended up becoming a lawyer instead. And of course now I'm a writer. Life's a journey. One day I'll learn to take it more seriously, I promise.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

I'd be delighted to give away twenty copies of Blackacre Rising via Smashwords code to download ebook or Mobi for Kindle versions.

Links:

Website | Amazon | Twitter | Facebook

Thanks for being here today!

Interview with dark fiction author Matt Carter

Dark fiction author Matt Carter joins me to chat about Bennytown.

During his virtual book tour, Matt will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card. 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!

The book will be only sale for $0.99 during the tour

Bio:

Matt Carter has used his lifelong love for writing, history and the bizarre to bring to life novels like Almost Infamous: A Supervillain Novel, Pinnacle City: A Superhero Noir, and the Prospero Chronicles young adult horror series (all co-authored with Fiona J.R. Titchenell). Bennytown,is his first solo horror novel.

He is represented by Fran Black of Literary Counsel and lives in the usually sunny town of San Gabriel, CA with his wife, their pet king snake Mica, and the myriad of strange fictional characters and worlds that live in his head.

Please share a little bit about your current release.
Bennytown is a horror novel for adult audiences, centered around a major American theme park with a dark history.

For 60 years now, Bennytown has been America’s favorite and most exciting theme park experience, bringing to life iconic cartoon characters, including the world-famous Benny the Bunny. Featuring rides, shows and other themed attractions at the cutting edge of technology, Bennytown is a place of innocence and joy for the whole family. On the surface, anyway. Behind its family-friendly façade, Bennytown is a place of darkness ruled by eldritch magic, where ghosts, masked cultists and monstrous scientific experiments roam freely, and nothing is as it seems.

The story follows Noel, a 16-year-old new hire who believes he owes a lot to Bennytown. Though initially excited for his new job, he soon begins to discover that the dark forces that live within Bennytown might have designs for him…

What inspired you to write this book?

Bennytown is kind of a book I always knew I was going to write in one way, shape or form. I have always been something of a horror writer at heart, and living in Southern California and having reasonable access to a number of the greatest theme parks in the world, I’ve always been a bit of a fan. Growing up, I was fascinated and enthralled by a number of the morbid true stories and urban legends that surrounded a lot of the more popular parks, and that information never thoroughly left my mind. Then, when I was 16, I got my first ever summer job at Universal Studios Hollywood. Between my fascinations and the two years I spent working there, it feels like this story was an inevitability.

Excerpt from Bennytown:

Darkness is all I can see in any direction. I see shadowy, moving shapes I know to be buckets around me and maybe an outline of the escalators but nothing in complete detail.

I am abandoned.

No, no, no. I can NOT be abandoned. Somebody has to know I’m here. Somebody will look for me. Any second now. Any second…

I grip the railing and scream, “HEEEEEEEEEEEY! HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!”

My cries are pitiful against the wind and the rain. I doubt anyone can hear me from thirty feet away, let alone from the distance of the station. Despite that, I’m too scared to stop screaming.

Someone has to hear.

I scream again.

This time there’s a scream back.

Not a person. Not an animal.

I don’t know what.

It’s low, mechanical and almost organic. Only something large can make a sound like that.

Briefly, I hope that it’s the motors starting up, ready to pull me to safety.

I’m not that lucky.

And maybe it’s a good thing I’m stuck here. There’s something about that scream I don’t like, something that reaches into the furthest, most primitive recesses of my brain and tells me that whatever made that noise is hungry.

The wind picks up, and the steel cables above me creak and groan in protest.

A bolt of lightning flashes close enough to light up the sky. It’s so bright it burns my eyes, and the thunder sounds like the whole world is exploding around me. With spots and stars in my eyes, I wonder if I’m going blind, as the electricity in my bucket turns on again. The light is dull and yellow, flickering, and the speaker briefly comes to life. The voice whispers right into my ear.

What exciting story are you working on next?
I’ve got a few horror projects in the pipeline at any given moment, but my current next one is a gothic haunted house tale that my wife and I are co-writing. While I can’t give a lot of details about it, we’re having a lot of fun with it.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I have always been a writer in some capacity, but it wasn’t until the later end of college that I realized it was something I wanted to focus my life on. For so long it was something I considered to be a fun hobby, one that I could dream of making a life out of someday but one that would never actually get that far. However, once I got my degree and spent a good long while soul-searching, I realized that it was my path all along. And so, I write!

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?
Short answer: I try to. Life circumstances have allowed me to write full time, but with my attention span very easily distracted by anything remotely shiny, some days take more effort than others. All the same, I do love to write. Most days are a combination of a few rounds of coffee and hours spent staring at a screen trying to make words happen. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t, but I shall always try.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I am incredibly long-winded when writing fiction, and it’s only editing that makes what I say remotely readable. Anything I write is more than likely to be cut by 30-40% from first to final draft, without losing too much of the story in the process.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
For the longest time, I wanted to be a paleontologist, and yes, it was because I was obsessed with Jurassic Park. When I was a teenager, I wanted to be a teacher, and this was close to happening, actually, but as noted, after college I was in one of those soul-searching meets epiphany moments, and this is where it took me.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?Nothing that I can think of off the top of my head, but I hope you check out Bennytown for a good, fun scare. Thank you for having me on your blog today!

Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | IndieBound

The book will be only sale for $0.99 during the tour

Thank you for being a guest on my blog!

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Interview with novelist L.T. Getty

Today’s special guest is author L.T. Getty. She’s chatting with me about her new steampunk-horror novel, Dreams of Mariposa.

During her virtual book tour, L.T. will be awarding a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:

L.T. Getty is a science fiction and fantasy writer who hails from the Canadian Prairies. When she’s not writing, you can likely find her driving an ambulance and dreaming about travel.

Wecome, L.T. Please share a little bit about your current release.

Dreams of Mariposa is a standalone Steampunk-Horror novel that follows Marie, a vampire daywalker who is sent to a village to learn about the goings on of a reclusive necromancer who has stumbled across an ancient temple with power the leaders of the masquerade desire for their own. Infiltrating society, she starts to fall in love with a human, something she is torn about because she’s spent the last few decades mourning the loss of her true love. This is not a romance novel, Marie is a villain-protagonist.

What inspired you to write this book?

When I signed Tower of Obsidian, my first novel with Champagne Books, the publisher mentioned she wanted more steampunk titles. I’m not terribly well versed in Victorian Literature, but I did study classics like Shelly’s Frankenstein, Broker’s Dracula, and Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. The paranormal elements came easily to me. I was working on other projects, but I slowly started to think about the gothic elements that I knew.

Excerpt from Dreams of Mariposa:I spooked my horse while we travelled alongside a creek, but I managed to keep the gelding under control. It was Theo who was nearly thrown from his horse. Since Rosa and I preferred to keep no staff, the maintenance of the creatures was often something we did not do of our own volition.

“Steady! Steady,” he said. He quickly dismounted and petted her nose. “What is wrong?”

“Does she have a nervous temperament?” I asked. He shook his head.

“She is my uncle’s horse, and is all the more calm in her maturity.” He made clicking noises to soothe the mare, turning his attention to the started beast. Involuntarily, I reached out toward him, I wanted to feel his hair between my fingertips. At once the mare’s eyes widened, and she reared. Theo let go of her bridle and fell backward. I almost leapt at the horse to force her back, but she didn’t come down on him. Instead she galloped the way we came.

“Are you injured?” I asked.

“One who is afraid of horses shouldn’t be riding them,” he told me, rolling up almost effortlessly. He dusted himself off before he caught my eyes “A twelve-year old animal, and she still rides like the wind.”

“I shall fetch her for you.” It would be easy enough, once we were out of sight, to leap from my horse and run until I found the mare.

“Lend me your horse. I can recover my own mare,” he said. “You would leave a lady on the road, defenseless?”

“You and I both know you are far from defenseless. I shan’t be more than a minute, but each minute we delay only adds to the duration of this situation. She’s likely calmed down and eating berries. She knows my voice.”

“Help me down,” I said.

My horse was too slender a beast to pick up any real speed with two passengers, though my weight was negligible. Theo was no small fellow. I needed no help, but I knew how to play my part in my society and his. He put his hands about my narrow hips, and I put my arms around his neck, and slowly he boosted and then lowered me, ever in control. He had beautiful eyes, and I knew he could not deny mine as his gaze lingered.

“Is this yours?” a familiar voice broke the trance, and I glanced at Hilda, who had caught the mare.

What exciting story are you working on next?
I have submitted Book 2 in my proposed Rogue Healer Series, and am working on Book 3, a high seas swashbuckling adventure. They’re a return to fantasy for me, in sword and sorcery.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I’ve been doing this so long I don’t remember really ‘starting’. I tried writing stories in elementary school; I think by grade 7 I started a novel. I know I finished a really bad draft of one before starting Grade 9. I never really thought about the title ‘writer’ more like ‘artist’.

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 write about a book a year – my schedule has been all over the place. I’ve never worked a traditional 9-5, as even when I was a service writer my schedule was not regular business hours. And by ‘book a year’ it’s not like I start in January and finish by Christmas. Typically, it’s more like I think about a project and write a little bit at a time. I might see an anthology I’m interested in submitting to, and take time away from the WIP to write a short. I might get another idea and hash out a scene, make notes. Typically once I commit to a novel, I try to commit to a timeline, and finish it based on the outline and what I propose the length ought to be, but when I write a draft I give myself leeway. There are exceptions; like I say I typically try to finish it even if I feel like it’s a failure, because I can always revisit it later.

My day job is a paramedic. I’m able to write when we have down time, so like I said, it’s irregular. I try to set myself goals, whether it’s writing or editing or whatever, and base it on time. If I know a project is going to be longer or more involved, I allot time for it.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I can rewrite something forever. That’s probably more common than not. I like to revisit novels via short stories, if only to flesh out a character or a place for myself with no intention of letting them be read by readers.

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

I thought we were more advanced in space than we were, so I wanted to be an astronaut. When I realized how limited in space we were and what all that entailed, I wanted to be a writer, a police officer, and a firefighter. I’m a first responder as a paramedic, as well as I keep on writing.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Only that if they want to write, don’t get bogged down if you feel your work doesn’t belong or you don’t belong. Keep writing, make your art. I think if you chase the market and what’s popular you’ll always be behind on trends.

For the readers, let’s say that I will never promise you a happy ending, but I will try to write a satisfying story.

Links:

Website | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Publisher site | Kobo |

Thank you for being a guest on my blog!

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Interview with mystery author Edgar Swamp

Mystery author Edgar Swamp is here to help me wrap up the week by chatting about his new novel that has elements of horror and fantasy, Amber Hollow.

During his virtual book tour, Edgar will be awarding a $10 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!

**This book is only $0.99 on Kindle.**

Bio:

Edgar Swamp is the author of the Gyre Mission, Glitch in the Machine, and Blackout. His short stories have appeared in Alienskin, Macabre Cadaver, and Urban Reinventors. When he isn’t holed up in his office playing online poker, he likes to dig up the recently deceased and make furniture out of their skin. He lives and works in San Diego, California.

Welcome, Edgar. Please share a little bit about your current release.

This is my fourth self-published novel, one that I intended to write for a wider audience than my previous three books, which means it is for “all-audiences” (I’d say it’s roughly PG-13). This novel is a mystery but not in the traditional sense, although it does follow a whodunit format stylistically. The elements of horror and fantasy, however, keep it from being conventional, and it was my intention to write a page-turner because the reader simply must know how it ends.

What inspired you to write this book?

I am from a small town in Wisconsin (DePere, a city next to Green Bay) and to my overactive imagination it was a creepy place, full of bullies, town drunks, weirdos…you name it. I swear there was a guy like Norman Bates on my paper route, this strange older man who lived with his elderly mother in a ramshackle house next to an abandoned barn at the edge of town. Every time I went to collect and he invited me in, I figured it was going to be the last thing I’d ever do! The place was straight out of a Hitchcock film. That said, I wanted to write a story about a creepy little village where an event of mass hysteria occurs and kills everyone except for five people practically overnight. The story would be the mystery of finding out what happened the night of the tragedy, and what was behind the horrific events.


Excerpt from Amber Hollow:

    “Ms. Albright?” Sadie asked from the threshold, and the woman jumped as if jolted with a stun gun. When she looked from Sadie to Jeremy her eyes grew wide and her nostrils flared.

    “Yes?” she asked in a meek voice, the spoon frozen halfway to her mouth, the Jell-O precariously perched there, looking in danger of spilling on her hospital gown.

    Sadie took a step forward. “I’m Detective Conrad, and this is my partner Detective LeFevre. We’d like to ask you some questions about what happened on Sunday night.”

    The woman sat very still, her eyes a startling shade of green. They darted back and forth from Sadie to Jeremy, the spoon forgotten in her hand. Gravity finally won out and the Jell-O fell off and onto her hospital gown, however she didn’t appear to notice.

    “May we come in?” Sadie asked, pitching her voice low, trying not to startle the poor woman any further, but she surprised them by uttering a deep, guttural laugh.

   “You guys are detectives and you have to ask? Does that mean I can say no?”

    “Afraid not,” Jeremy said, walking into the room and taking a small recording device from his pocket. He’d had the presence of mind to preload a fresh cassette beforehand. “We are both very sorry for what happened to you, to your entire town. Please accept our most sincere condolences. However, we need to ask you some questions. We’re hoping that you can help us.”

    Sylvia Albright of Amber Hollow, Wisconsin, eyed the two of them thoughtfully before noticing she was still holding the spoon. She set it down on the nightstand next to her, then the cup of Jell-O. She still didn’t notice (or didn’t care) about the gelatin on her gown.

    “What do you want to know?”

    Sadie and Jeremy exchanged a quick glance. What did they want to know? The entire town was gone, burned to the ground, her family and friend’s dead, and she asked them what they wanted to know? It was becoming apparent why she was in the psychiatric ward and not the burn center. Sadie wondered if the woman’s answers could be considered relevant, given the nature of the circumstances.

    “What we want,” Sadie said softly, “is to figure out what happened that night. Are you aware that you survived a massive tragedy?”

    The brief smile that had played across the woman’s face was gone, exchanged by an expression of fear that was seemingly boundless. She again looked from one face to the other, licking her lips nervously. She began to mutter, but it was too low for either of them to hear.

    “What was that Sylvia?” Sadie prompted. “What are you saying?”

    She broke off her muttering and stared at Sadie for so long the detective began to feel uncomfortable. It was something in the woman’s eyes, some secret she wasn’t sure she should share. She took a deep breath, exhaled, and then eyed them with something akin to wonder.

    “You have no idea what happened.” A statement, not a question. “Am I the only survivor?”

    Sadie opened her mouth to say ‘no’ but a quick glance from her partner stopped her from even forming the word with her lips.

    “Tell us what happened,” Jeremy said instead of answering her question, and their silence seemed to calm her even more. She closed her eyes, leaned back into her pillow, and exhaled again even more sharply, this time with an air of resignation.

What exciting story are you working on next?

Every day I wonder what the follow-up to Amber Hollow will be because every day I feel like doing something different. I have a sequel in mind for Amber Hollow, but I’d only write it if people enjoyed the first one enough to merit it. I literally have half a dozen ideas at any given time. Here’s one, inspired by The Stepford Wives: In a small town in Anywhere, America, the men have been replaced by perfect replica robots. They make the money, they clean the house, and they give their lovely wives everything they need…without requiring a single thing in return. The women there are very happy, until they find that they can’t properly reproduce; scientists are unable to make serviceable synthetic semen, so real men are cultivated in large Superfarms on the outskirts of town to collect their manhood for breeding purposes. The hook is, mutants were created from the synthetic sperm, and at one point, the robots all run amok and the women need the men from the “semen farms” to help control the problem of the both the mutants and the robots. Please tell me, seriously, does that sound like something you would read? I’m really on the fence about this one!

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I first considered myself a writer when I received payment for an article I wrote in 1997. It was for a website called Foamation, the designer of those funky cheese wedges Green Bay Packer fans wear on their heads during the games (I think you know what I’m talking about if you watch football). I met one of their sales reps at a guitar store where I worked, and I told him how many aspects of my life were connected to the Green Bay Packers organization through various channels, and what it was like to grow up with them being considered such a great team, when during the course of my life all they’d done was lose. It would be like being a Patriots fan in the ’80s! The reason for the interest in the story was because Green Bay was finally going to the Super Bowl after a 29- year drought, and the sales rep thought fans of the website would like it because of all the names I referenced (star quarterbacks, coaches, other players, etc.) whom I had known or worked for. My payment? Had I known at the time I would have met him at the restaurant with a bigger appetite because my remuneration was my meal and parking, and all I ordered was French fries!

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?

My lifelong goal is to be a full-time writer. In fact, I’ve given some of the best years of my life chasing that dream. Honestly, I’ve catered my working life completely around being able to have time to write. I worked in dozens of industries, then literally chanced into the veterinary industry when I was 30, and trained to be a vet tech in Austin, Texas. I later moved to Carlsbad, California (near San Diego) and at a clinic I worked at, I began taking pet sitting jobs for extra income and soon enough it became my occupation, the demand for pet care is that great out here. So, what I mean is: I became a full-time pet sitter so that I didn’t have to work a “real” nine-to-five job so that I would have more time to write. It worked great at first, until my business became so busy that I was working more than 40 hours a week. Fifteen years later and I am still a pet sitter, and what I do is budget my time, make myself write when I don’t want to, and take advantage of creativity whenever it strikes. I bring my laptop with me everywhere so that if a moment arises and I can get something done, I can.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I am sarcastic to an almost ludicrous point. In fact, with “Amber Hollow,” I had to dial it out because all of my previous books were considered to be very snarky. I can’t help it; for some reason, I have a very skewed perception of the world, and the way it comes out in my writing is simply overwhelming. I’m still somewhat cynical, but I try to sparingly dole out the sarcasm and only use it when necessary.

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

Three things, and this is the reason I am still a pet sitter:

1)     An actor, movies mostly, but I’d consider doing TV

2)     A rock star; I sing, play multiple instruments and write songs. Kurt Cobain and David Gilmour are my heroes.

3)     A writer, books, short stories, lyrics, poems, and essays. I seriously didn’t want to be anything else but those three things, NOTHING else. And it’s a shame, really, because I dropped out of college because I didn’t know what I was doing there, I didn’t have any kind of traditional trade in mind. Zero. I figured I was wasting the loan money so I tried touring with rock/grunge/metal bands and when that didn’t pan out, I turned my attention to trying out for plays at local theatres, and when that was a bust, I redirected all of my energy into writing. I do not advise anyone to take this career path; stay in school and at least get a bachelor’s degree in something. You’ll thank yourself when you are 50 and you are alone with four cats on Christmas and your latest book is brilliant but being all but ignored because of the glut of books available thanks to self-publishing. I should have gone into marketing — that would have been a smart move!

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Firstly, I know how difficult it is to pick up a book by a writer you’ve never heard of. Without great reviews from reputable sources adorning the back cover plus a few celebrity endorsements, it’s hard for me to even check one out from the library. Not kidding! To the readers of your blog, I’d say this: Take advantage of all the free content that you are being given via book giveaways and promotional campaigns by indie writers because you just might find a diamond in the rough! Here are a few popular writers who began by self-publishing: Edgar Allen Poe (seriously, he didn’t receive any commercial interest until he wrote “The Raven”), Matt Groening (the creator of “The Simpsons”) and Edgar Swamp…whoops, I said “popular”…my bad!

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New interview with novelist Alistair Cross

Writer extraordinaire Alistair Cross is back! Today we’re chatting about his new urban fantasy horror, The Silver Dagger (Book Two in The Vampires of Crimson Cove Series).

Bio:

Alistair Cross' debut novel, The Crimson Corset, a vampiric tale of terror and seduction, was an immediate bestseller earning praise from veteran vampire-lit author, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, and New York Times bestseller, Jay Bonansinga, author of The Walking Dead series. In 2012, Alistair joined forces with international bestseller, Tamara Thorne, and as Thorne & Cross, they write – among other things – the successful Gothic series, The Ravencrest Saga. Their debut collaboration, The Cliffhouse Haunting, was a bestseller. They are currently at work on their next solo novels and a new collaborative project.

In 2014, Alistair and Tamara began the radio show, Thorne & Cross: Haunted Nights LIVE!, which has featured such guests as Anne Rice of The Vampire Chronicles, Charlaine Harris of the Southern Vampire Mysteries and basis of the HBO series True Blood, Jeff Lindsay, author of the Dexter novels, Jay Bonansinga of The Walking Dead series, Laurell K. Hamilton of the Anita Blake novels, Peter Atkins, screenwriter of HELLRAISER 2, 3, and 4, worldwide bestseller V.C. Andrews, and New York Times best sellers Preston & Child, Christopher Rice, and Christopher Moore.

Welcome back to Reviews and Interviews, Alistair. Please tell us about your newest release.

The Silver Dagger, is Book 2 in The Vampires of Crimson Cove series and picks up where the first book, The Crimson Corset, leaves off.

Life in Crimson Cove has been good to the Colter Brothers since Gretchen VanTreese was staked and her horde of vampires scattered. But when she rises from the grave, the brothers are torn apart, their lives - and the peace between them - shattered. Meanwhile, a serial killer is stalking the little mountain town, leaving a trail of blood that leads to a truth Sheriff Ethan Hunter doesn’t want to face. The streets are no longer safe, nor are the forested paths, for a new and unknowable evil has come to Crimson Cove and everyone - vampire and human alike - must come together in order to survive.

What inspired you to write this book?

When I finished The Crimson Corset, I knew I’d return to Crimson Cove one day, but I had a few other stories that were demanding to be written first - I believe very firmly in writing the story that’s calling to you. I finished two other books (The Angel Alejandro and Sleep Savannah Sleep) and then began The Silver Dagger. So, it wasn’t so much about inspiration as much as it was simply time to go back and see what happened next. 

Excerpt from The Silver Dagger:

Crimson Cove’s sheriff, Ethan Hunter, is relaxing waiting for his fiancée, who happens to be a mortician, to get home, when his nosy neighbor, Gladiola Gelding hammers on the door with needs of her own.

He opened the door. Mrs. Gelding didn’t wait to be invited in. She barged into Ethan’s living room, a tray of cookies in hand, her one-sided conversation trailing her like a loyal hound. “Can you believe this heat? And the humidity!” Mrs. Gelding dropped the tray on the coffee table then inflicted her bulk upon Ethan’s favorite chair. “I almost had a heat stroke in the kitchen baking those cookies for you!” Her beady eyes followed him. 

“Uh, thanks.” For a moment, he stood there - sitting seemed an act of surrender - but finally, defeated, Ethan eased himself onto the sofa. Mrs. Gelding was a steamroller, flattening folks into whatever shape most suited her, and after the day he’d had, Ethan didn’t have the energy to fight it. He asked, “How are you, Mrs. Gelding?” 

She wasted no time getting to the point. “Well, I can tell you I’d be a lot better if it weren’t for all these bear attacks!”

A greasy sliding feeling roiled through Ethan’s gut. 

“It’s all anyone is talking about at the Senior Hall, you know.” Mrs. Gelding’s piggy eyes sparkled with excitement. “I’ve never even heard of a bear attacking innocent people for no good reason. Never! I do hope you’ve figured something out.”

“We’re working on it.”

She sighed. “I suppose it’s not my place to tell you how to do your job, but you might consider letting the public know what you’re doing about this. We don’t feel safe!”

Ethan frowned. “I can’t talk about it at this point, but rest assured, we’re doing everything we can-”

“Well, I just don’t know if that’s going to be enough. The public deserves to know more.”

And what she meant, Ethan knew, was that she deserved to know more. There was nothing Gladiola Gelding loved so much as being the star of the Crimson Cove Senior Citizen Center on Bingo night, the woman to whom all gossipers flocked. 

Just then, Sheila’s headlights cut through the living room window. Mrs. Gelding prattled on, taking no notice even when Ethan’s fiancee entered the living room. 

As Mrs. Gelding blathered, Ethan and Sheila exchanged glances. His said, Help! And after a whimsical smile, Sheila’s said, I’ve got this. 

“Hello, Mrs. Gelding!” Sheila spoke a little too loudly, cutting the woman off as she perched on the sofa arm beside Ethan. 

“Oh, hello, dear.” It was but a small speed bump in Mrs. Gelding’s sermon and as she opened her mouth to continue, Sheila sighed loudly and looked at Ethan. 

“Boy, am I glad to be home.” She shook her head. “We had another groaner in the morgue tonight.”

Ethan suppressed a snort.

Mrs. Gelding blinked. “A … groaner?”

Sheila nodded. “Yep. A lot of people don’t know this, Mrs. Gelding, but sometimes, dead people make noises. It’s just air escaping the lungs, of course, but when you’re in that dark room alone with the corpses, it’s pretty alarming.” Her gaze settled on the tray of cookies. She took one, bit into it, and groaned, long and low. “Mmmm. These are excellent, Mrs. Gelding. Nothing gets the stench of formaldehyde out of my nose like your cookies. Thank you.” She pushed the tray toward the other woman. “You shouldn’t have made so many, though. Please, have one.” 

All color had retreated from Mrs. Gelding’s chubby cheeks. Scandalized, she shook her head. “No, thank you, dear. I have plenty at home.”

Ethan was barely able to suppress laughter when Sheila barreled on.

“And twitching, too. Usually in the smaller muscles.” She popped the rest of the cookie in her mouth. “I’ll never forget the first time I saw a twitcher.” Sheila grinned at Mrs. Gelding. “I thought for sure there’d been some mistake and the guy was still alive.” 

“Yes, well … ” said Mrs. Gelding. “It’s a dreadful business, I’m sure.”

“You get used to it,” said Sheila. Her gaze cut to Mrs. Gelding, going grave. “Well, some of it, anyway. Not only do they groan and twitch, but, sometimes-”

“Well.” Mrs. Gelding cleared her throat and hefted herself from the chair. “I suppose I’d better be off.”

Ethan got to his feet and walked her out. “Goodbye, Mrs. Gelding.” After closing the door, he broke into laughter. “We need to do that more often.”

“Works every time.” Sheila held an uneaten part of cookie to his lips and he bit into it.

“She does make damned good cookies, though.”

What’s the next writing project?

There are always several things going on at once. As far as my solo work, I jumped right into the next Crimson Cove book after finishing The Silver Dagger and am madly, deeply in love with it thus far.

Then there are the Thorne & Cross novels, which I write with my friend, collaborator, and Haunted Nights LIVE! co-host, Tamara Thorne. Our serialized gothic/horror, THE RAVENCREST SAGA, is ongoing and we’re closing in on the third full-length novel in that series – which we’re calling Exorcism. The other collaborative effort we’re working on is a psycho-thriller called Spite House, which takes place in the fictional town of Snapdragon, where our #1 bestseller, MOTHER, was set.

All three projects are running very smoothly – which of course, makes me very suspicious! But so far, so good!

What is your biggest challenge when writing a new book? (or the biggest challenge with this book)

The greatest challenge with this book was keeping my facts straight regarding what happened in the book before it. Also, it’s a balancing act. You have to give enough information for new readers, but not too much for those who read the first book. That’s always a challenge.

If your novels require research – please talk about the process. Do you do the research first and then write, while you’re writing, after the novel is complete and you need to fill in the gaps?

Research starts before the book is written and continues throughout on an as-needed basis - which is ongoing. I try to do physical research as often as possible because reading something or watching a video online rarely gives you all the little details you need to make the writing come to life.

For The Silver Dagger, I took a trip to Santa Cruz, California, where a part of the story is set. We traveled through the mountains where Crimson Cove is (if it were a real place, that is) and went to the ocean to absorb the sights, sounds, and feel of the locations.

What’s your writing space like? Do you have a particular spot to write where the muse is more active? Please tell us about it.

I write wherever I can, which is usually at my computer in the corner of my writing room. As for my muse, I’m sad to say that he is a fall-down, black-out, pee-your-pants drunk who can only very rarely be depended upon. 

I just write. If my muse shows up for work that day, great. If not, oh, well. I still write. It’s my job.

What authors do you enjoy reading within or outside of your genre?

I’ll read everything from horror to historical romance to the back of an aspirin bottle to profane poetry scribbled on the walls of a public bathroom stall with a magic marker - and I love it all. I’m a word person. Words turn me on. They just do - and if something is well-written, I’ll read it. Usually twice. 

Anything additional you want to share with the readers today?

Yes – thank you for reading. Keep up the great job!

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