Interview with fantasy author J.D. Horn

Author J. D. Horn is here with me today and we’re chatting about his new sci-fi fantasy, The King of Bones and Ashes (Witches of New Orleans).

Bio:

J.D. Horn, the highly praised and bestselling author of the Witching Savannah series, now debuts a new contemporary fantasy series, Witches of New Orleans. A world traveler and student of French and Russian literature, Horn also has an MBA in international business and formerly held a career as a financial analyst before turning his talent to crafting chilling stories and unforgettable characters. His novels have received global attention and have been translated in more than half a dozen languages. Originally from Tennessee, he currently splits his time between Central Oregon, San Francisco and Palm Springs with his spouse, Rich.

Welcome, J.D. Please tell us about your current release.

My favorite tagline sums up the story to a T: “Desperate witches, old sins, decadence, and murder.”

The King of Bones and Ashes walks the line between dark fantasy and horror. Not quite urban fantasy, even though it features paranormal events taking place in a real setting. Where most urban fantasy would rely on romance, The King of Bones and Ashes turns to examining familial relationships—what builds a strong family, and betrayals which break down the sense of family. This isn’t to say that I have anything against the use of romance—quite the opposite. It’s only that for whatever reason, I tend return to the theme of family. (And, truth be told, I’m not very good at writing romance.)

The King of Bones and Ashes is an ensemble piece, with three main POV characters, written in close third person. I don’t think it’s an “easy” read, but I hope most readers enjoy it. (You’re never going to please everyone.)

What inspired you to write this book?

I’d been contemplating expanding my Witching Savannah series, by focusing on the down-at-the-heel Duvall family of New Orleans—the Taylors’ cousins introduced in The Line—but that didn’t feel like the right story to tell. I strive to ground my fantasy in the real world, and New Orleans bears too many scars, many of them recent. The question rose in my mind that if the magic of fantasy existed in our world, why wouldn’t witches have prevented the devastation of Hurricane Katrina?  The answer that came to me was that they would have, if they were strong enough to do so. From that I arrived at the premise that magic itself could be dying, and magic’s impending demise might drive witches desperate to maintain their status to commit atrocities. And then I had the image of a young girl watching from an upper floor window as the only world she’d known was washed away. That girl became Alice Marin.

Excerpt from The King of Bones and Ashes:

Despite never having breached this space, Alice knew this forlorn corner was where her father had hidden away everything belonging to their mother—at least everything he hadn’t burned. She’d heard Luc and her father fight over the rightful ownership of what was left of their mother’s possessions.

“Behind here,” Luc said, and Hugo helped him push aside a stack of unlabeled cardboard boxes, a whiff of perfume rising from them. Their mother had left before Alice could walk, and memory, that fickle thing, had betrayed her—she wouldn’t even know what her mother had looked like if not for that single image of the Marin family. And yet, this ghost of the once heady fragrance of sweet olive and gardenia came close to conjuring her mother’s face.

Luc paused, seeming to have caught their mother’s scent as well. But then his face hardened, and he whipped away a sheet that lay over a dozen or so canvases, exposing paintings Alice somehow knew to be her mother’s work.

She would have liked to look more closely at each, but Luc flipped through them, slapping one against the other, taking no care to protect their mother’s art. Alice caught a flash of what looked like an unfinished portrait of her grandfather, then Luc discovered the painting he’d been searching for, pulling it out from the others and turning it so she could have a better look. It was of Daniel, all right. The same cap. The same ginger hair poking out from beneath it. The same sweet but sad look in his eyes.

“Our Daniel believes himself to be a ghost, the unsettled spirit of a young Irishman who died during the construction of the New Basin Canal. But Daniel isn’t a ghost. There never was a Daniel.” Luc paused, maybe to give his revelation time to sink in, or maybe just to see if she’d flinch. She didn’t. Luc seemed satisfied with her reaction. “He’s a magic trick,” he carried on, “a servitor spirit our parents conjured up to look after Hugo and me—so they didn’t have to. Nicholas thought they had more important business to attend to, and mother, well, she did whatever he told her to do, like it or not. Until the day she stopped . . .” Luc’s voice trailed off.

They stood for a few moments in total silence. “Mother,” Hugo said, nodding to confirm Luc’s story, “painted this to help Father visualize Daniel. She didn’t want to. Father made her do it.”

Luc looked up from the painting. “That’s the first step, you see.” His voice sounded scratchy now. “You give a servitor form, one that suggests the traits you’d like it to have, and then you imbue—you know what I mean by ‘imbue’?” She shook her head, so he offered a different word. “You fill it with a sense of self. That’s the glue that helps keep the entity intact. It works best if you give the servitor a tragic past, an injustice it can fixate on. Saddling your creation with a dark secret or two, something it’s ashamed of, something it’s afraid you’ll learn, doesn’t hurt either.” Luc’s light brightened, and he held the painting up, offering her a final look at it.

Alice studied the portrait, her mouth open, her heart pounding. Though she wanted to deny it, it all made sense. Whenever she asked Daniel what his childhood had been like, he couldn’t remember the simplest things. Nothing. Not even if he’d gone to school. If he’d liked candy. If he’d had friends. He could rattle off some memories, mostly historical events, but the stories he told were always the same. Word for word. It was like he’d been given a list of facts to memorize. Facts that would fit what he believed to be true about himself, but nothing to show he’d actually had a life before joining their family.

Alice could feel that the Chanticleer Coven’s magic was, at least for now, nearly exhausted, probably only enough left to ensure them safe passage out of the city. That Daniel still held together at all was testament to how deeply he believed the lie of his own existence.

“Nicholas would’ve probably let him fade away by now,” Luc said, “but then you came along. And mother left . . .” He slid the painting back in with the others and then flung the sheet back over them. He was rough when handling the paintings, acting as if they meant nothing to him. But if he didn’t care about them at all, Alice realized, he wouldn’t have bothered to offer even this flimsy protection.

He turned back toward her and Hugo, fixing her with his gaze. “You see, that’s who our father is. This is what he does. He builds people up. Programs them to his liking, and when they stop being of use, he tosses them away without giving them another thought. Eventually you’ll be one of the ones he throws away.” His eyes shifted to Hugo. 
“You both will.”

What exciting story are you working on next?

Right now, I’m writing The Final Days of Magic, the follow-up to The King of Bones and Ashes and The Book of the Unwinding (out June 2018).

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Honestly, six, going on seven published novels later, I still struggle with this. For some reason the word “writer” carries an emotional charge for me, and brings up all types of issues around self-worth. I like to consider myself a storyteller. “Storyteller” takes off some of the pressure, and shuts my inner critic up long enough that I can 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?

Yes, I do. My schedule shifts as I go along. When I first start a project, I’m working mostly during the day—just like if I were still in an office job. As I get closer to a deadline, then I may end up working all hours. Hmmm—just like if I were still in an office job.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I talk, sometimes aloud, to my characters, asking them of input.

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

I wanted to be a writer/storyteller.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

I think I’m breaking some interesting new ground with this new series. I hope readers will find something fresh, challenging, and entertaining in it.

Links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon

Thanks for joining me today, J.D.!

Interview with dark fantasy author Mandy Jackson-Beverly

Novelist Mandy Jackson-Beverly is here today and we’re chatting about her new dark fantasy, supernatural suspense thriller with a touch of the paranormal and occult, The Devil And The Muse.

Bio:

Mandy Jackson-Beverly was born in the bustling town of Pyramid Hill, Victoria, Australia ... Population: 419. This remote childhood kick-started Mandy’s imagination, as did the rugged coastline and rolling hills of Tasmania, where her family relocated when she was four years old.

In 1982, Mandy moved to London, where she discovered the importance of the creative collective: The 1980’s fashion scene. A year later, in Los Angeles, she found her own creative freedom among the thriving, no-holds-barred visionaries of the music video world. As a costume designer and stylist Mandy worked for photographer Herb Ritts, and directors Joel and Ethan Coen, David Fincher, and Julien Temple, and music icons David Bowie, Madonna, and Tina Turner, to name a few.

Mandy has taught Advanced Placement Art, written and directed high school theater productions, is a contributor to The Huffington Post and a book reviewer for The New York Journal of Books. She resides in Ojai, California, with her husband, Brian Beverly, a crossed-eyed cat, Luna, a dog named Cash and, sometimes, her sons, Angus and Jack.

Welcome, Mandy. Please tell us about your current release.

Hi Lisa, thank you for inviting me here to chat with you!

The Devil And The Muse is the second installment of The Creatives Series. This is a fast-paced, cross-genre series, about an ancient organization called The Allegiance. This group protects art and Creatives (mystic artists), and gives sanctuary to those threatened by religious zealots. Book two ventures into dark themes, and as one reviewer pointed out: “Be advised that there is some disturbing dark material.”

The story opens with my lead protagonist - newest member of The Allegiance and Creative - Coco Rhodes, viewing a horrific vision beneath her most recent painting: the violent attack upon a fragile young girl. This leads to the discovery of a link between an education-finance fraud, girls disappearing from Washington D.C. schools, and a corrupt congressman. Concurrently, the dark and twisted past of Kenan, the Allegiance's sworn enemy, is revealed. With Kenan's whereabouts unknown, members of the Allegiance begin to unravel his sadistic plan.

From New York and D.C., to Tuscany and the Dolomite Mountains of Northern Italy, the supernatural guardians of the Allegiance are guided by both the lessons of history and the shocks of present-day life. Through magical twists and otherworldly subplots, this supernatural thriller weaves a web of intrigue, love, and conflict.

What inspired you to write this book?

There are definite themes covered in The Devil And The Muse that I felt compelled to write about, specifically women’s rights. My research of the Inquisition and witch-hunts during the Middle Ages, and the horrific treatment of thousands of innocent victims who were tortured and often burned at the stake, seemed at such odds with the way women were treated in similar geographical areas centuries earlier. A good example is perhaps, Trotula of Salerno, a recognized female physician at the Scuola Medica Salernitana around the eleventh century. Trotula taught at the school and cared for female patients. She also wrote works on the diseases of women, conception and childbirth. And yet here we are centuries later, fighting against men for our rights as women to make decisions about our own health care.

This concept of the decline of respect that so many women faced in Europe during the Middle Ages, is the subject I consider to be the backbone of The Creatives Series. I can’t help but wonder if the suppressing of women during that time was the catalyst for the decline of growth in so many areas. While many men wanted to dominate and repress women, often through the strict confines of the Catholic Church, there were also men who honored the feminine – strong men who understood the need for equality among the sexes, and put their love for others before the words of fear spewed out by religious extremists. Sadly, these men with balanced egos seemed to be less of the populace.         

What exciting story are you working on next?

Currently, my main body of work comprises of researching material and writing book three of The Creatives Series. I also continue to write essays and short blog posts for various platforms including the Huffington Post, and book reviews for the New York Journal of Books. There’s a play I’m putting the finishing touches to and another waiting to be written. I’m also dusting off my costume designer hat to work on my youngest son, Jack Beverly’s film, Far West And Fried.   

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

When my third-grade teacher told me I was an awful writer.

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?

At the end of the 2014 school year I stopped teaching full-time high school art and theater to focus on writing The Creatives Series. When I’m in the early phase of research and jotting down notes on legal pads, I take the time to write everyday, if not on my current book then an essay, blog post, or a piece of poetry. Writing is no different from exercise; if I go a day without using my creative muscles then it hurts like hell when I get back to it! I think my creative essence goes into mourning when I don’t reach out to her and put her to good use. Sometimes I paint instead of writing, but in reality, for me, this is an essential part of my creative process. I paint my nightly dreams, and have found this action pushes ideas past the clutter in my brain and storylines become clearer.

When I’m in full-blown hurricane-force writing mode, I find it difficult to stop writing. I think eighteen hours straight, stopping only to feed my much-loved dog, Cash, and cat, Luna, is my record for a full day of writing. That same evening I fell into bed, slept for four hours, and then repeated the same pattern for five consecutive days. From other creative people I’ve spoken with, this kind of schedule is fairly normal. When I’m on a roll and the characters are talking to me, time flies by without me knowing and I’m like a mad woman possessed! Those days are magical. 

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

My desk and office are kind of out-of-bounds to anyone; this isn’t much of a problem due to the utter chaos of the entire area! Luna sits in a basket on my desk, like a kind of writing guardian – she is my Thalia (read A Secret Muse and you’ll understand what I mean). I need absolute quiet to write, and with a husband who writes and records music at the other end of the house, I’ve found that earplugs are essential. Because writing means I sit on my backside for hours on end, I tend to walk Cash early in the morning and either swim, or attend dance classes five times a week. Obviously when I’m in the middle of a full-on writing binge my exercise schedule suffers – and so do I. When I hit a brick wall it’s normally an indicator that I need to step away from my desk and exercise. Some of the most important plots of my stories have come to me while either swimming or hiking.  

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

Robin Hood. (See photo on my website)

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Read whatever you can get your hands on – fiction and non-fiction, and read out of your literary comfort zone. Reading makes you smarter, and a more interesting person. Being unable to attend a community college or a four-year university doesn’t mean you need be any less educated than someone who has had that opportunity. The secret is that you have to want and love to learn. Go to your local library, find a subject that interests you, and read all you can about it. Read a varied assortment of newspapers and magazines – also available at your local library. Go online (hopefully available at your library) and listen to free classes and lectures given by professors and specialists in areas that interest you. And for those of us lucky enough to have a home library, please share and give books to others less fortunate, especially to under-funded public schools; trust me, they need and want them. Buy books whenever you’re able to support authors, and spread the word when you find a book and author you love.  

Links:

Website | Amazon | Huffington Post | New York Journal of Books | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | LinkedIn

Thanks for being here, Mandy!

Interview with occult crime thriller author Joseph Spencer

Today I’m happy to host occult crime thriller author Joseph Spencer as kicks off his virtual book tour for his novel Wrage, published by Damnation Books. This is the second book in his Sons of Darkness series.

Joseph will be awarding a $25 Starbucks gift certificate to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. So, to be entered to win, leave a comment below. And if you'd like to increase your chances of winning, visit other tour sites and leave comments there too.

Bio:

As a boy, Joseph Spencer immersed himself in the deductive logic of Sherlock Holmes, the heroic crime fighting of Batman and Spider-Man, and a taste for the tragic with dramas from poets like Shakespeare and Homer.

Before Joseph took to spinning his own tales, he pursued a career in print sports journalism, graduating with honors from Clinton (IL) High School in 1996 and summa cum laude from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in 2000. He covered such events as NASCAR’s Subway 500 race in Martinsville, the NBA Draft Camp in Chicago, the Junior College World Series, and Minor League Baseball’s Midwest League All-Star Game during a ten-year career throughout the Midwest. Now, he works as an emergency telecommunications specialist with an Illinois police department. The combination of years of writing experience with a background working with law enforcement professionals gave rise to his writing aspirations.

Joseph married Dr. Amy (Waggoner) Spencer, an accomplished veterinary doctor, on March 14, 2012. He received word his debut novel was accepted by his publisher, Damnation Books, the next day. Murphy, a 15-year-old orange tabby, is perhaps the most vocal member of the family. The Spencer family enjoys reading Charlaine Harris, George R.R. Martin, Mary Janice Davidson, and most paranormal stories. The Spencers also enjoy quoting movie lines from The Princess Bride, Rain Man, Bridesmaids, and Office Space.

Welcome, Joseph. Please tell us about your current release.

Wrage is the second novel in my Sons of Darkness series. It continues where my professional debut – Grim – left off.

As more dark secrets come to light, the battle for souls pushes Prairieville to the brink of war in the living and supernatural realms.

Jeff Wrage swears a blood oath to Abaddon, the supernatural avenger of murder victims, to hunt the crooked cop who butchered his wife. Jeff wonders whether he can be the executioner Abaddon requires. Their pact throws the supernatural realm in chaos and threatens to trigger an apocalyptic fight for control of the afterlife between the Sons of Darkness and Sons of Light foretold in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Orlando Marino sees the death of Cyrus Black as his opportunity to restore the Marino family's stronghold in Prairieville’s organized crime scene and become a mob kingpin. He unleashes a plague, turning its victims into mindless followers. Cyrus' heir is busy rooting out a traitor and is unable to stop the coming turf war in the realm of man.

The fate of all rests with Homicide Detective Anna Duke, who steps into the shoes of her mentor while coming to terms with unrequited love. As she tries to clear the fallen hero's name, she takes on a case where corpses go missing. Her new partner is reported dead. She learns the truth about her true identity and uncovers a trail of secrets questioning her tragic past. She journeys to avert the destruction of all creation.

What inspired you to write this book?

Wrage explores the Faustian theme of wanting something different for your life. Several characters strike deals they may end up regretting to see their schemes and obsessions realized. This novel also expands its universe of supernatural characters which were inspired in part by mythology and one of my favorite TV shows, Supernatural. Critics of my first novel in The Sons of Darkness series, Grim, expressed some dissatisfaction that there wasn’t more redemption for the characters involved, and I think they will find this story a little more to their liking.

Excerpt from Wrage:

“Dad! Is that you?” Anna recoiled with her hands rushing up to her mouth as if to snatch up each word of her inexplicable outburst and bury them deep inside of her. Her whole body tensed and hunched backward like a frightened cat waiting to dart away to safety. The frigid bite of the air gnashing against her skin transformed her caramel complexion into a cherry shade of irritated skin.

“Seek The Way, The Truth and The Life. The Way leads to death. Death stalks you now. You can’t escape Death. You must face death to find The Life.”

The sea of officers scrubbed prim and proper in their dress blue uniforms, the tartan-clad bagpipe players, the somber clergy, and the black-suited politicians all washed away into an indistinguishable herd being driven somewhere in the distance. The wind swept Anna to a whole other world, one where it was just her and the smoke man.

“Keep your head, Rube.”

“What?” Anna heard herself cry out her question. She’d heard the smoke man’s words echo inside her head. They were familiar words from long ago, but she couldn’t believe she heard them from whatever this thing was.

What exciting story are you working on next?

Malice is my third book of the Sons of Darkness series and readers will learn more about Anna Duke while also following a bad boy rocker, Malice Madsen, loosely based off Marilyn Manson.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I worked for ten years as a print journalist in large regional daily newspapers in Peoria, Il., Decatur, Il., Burlington, Iowa, and Grand Junction, Colo. I covered such events as NASCAR’s Subway 500 race in Martinsville, Va., the NBA Draft Camp in Chicago, the Junior College World Series, and Minor League Baseball’s Midwest League All-Star Game. I also won an award for outstanding writer of the year by the Colorado Tennis Association.

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 I were a full-time writer, but I haven’t made it there yet. I work as the supervisor of an emergency 9-1-1 call center in Peoria, Ill. I try to infuse some of the personalities of officers I work with on a daily basis into characters into my novels. I basically have to chip away at my writing because I have a demanding work schedule. I try to set a daily writing goal of 3-5 pages per day.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I’m kind of a pantser. I go into a chapter with one idea of how it will go, but then sometimes the characters take me to different places than what I initially intended. My characters talk to me. The scenes kind of play out visually in my mind like a movie only I can see. I would rather stay true to the direction my characters are tugging me towards than some preconceived notion of getting from one part of the plot to another. Obviously, I still get to roughly the same places as I initially intended, but some of the details maybe different than what I thought I would write when I started.

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

I wanted to be the star slugger who helped the Chicago Cubs snap their World Series title drought.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

My publisher Damnation Books is offering 28 percent of all ebook orders with promo code 289snake. Wrage on Damnation Books’ site. 

I also created video trailers on YouTube for both of my books: Grim | Wrage

And my other links are: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Thanks, Joseph. I’m a fan of Damnation Books, as they’ve published a short story and poem of mine in The Zombie Cookbook a few years back. Love meeting other DB authors and learning what they’re up to. Happy touring!

Readers, don't forget about the gift card giveaway - leave a comment to be entered to win! (or just to say 'hi' to Joseph).