I previously reviewed one of the Jason Dark books, The Blood Witch, by Guido Henkel and today the next installment has been released! It’s called Terrorlord. And today only, it’s 99 cents! Go check it out!!

Conjured from the bowels of the abyss by ancient magic, the Terrorlord has one desire — to open the Seven Gates of Hell and unleash the horrors of the undead upon mankind.

Reliving the nightmares of his youth where an encounter with the Terrorlord left him scarred for life, Jason Dark must once again confront the powerful gatekeeper from Hell before his reach and power spiral out of control. With the help of Siu Lin, the ghost hunter will have to put an end to the Terrorlord’s dark reign before he can devour our world in his evil blackness.

This is the ninth volume in a series of gothic horror adventures where Jason Dark, a fearless and resourceful ghost hunter, follows in the mold of a Sherlock Holmes combined with Randall Garrett’s Lord D’Arcy. Written by Guido Henkel, the designer who brought Germany’s famed “Das Schwarze Auge” series to computer screens, this series is filled with enough mystery, drama and suspenseful action to transport you to the sinister, fogshrouded streets of Victorian England. Your encounter with the extraordinary awaits.

And if you want to find the other books in the series, they’re on Guido Henkel’s Amazon Page.

For the next 5 days I’m giving away one copy per day of the ebooks Scourge and The Second Coming!

These are the “personalized” versions where I substitute in the name of the winner with one of the minor characters!

Just leave a comment below that you want to be entered. Winners will be announced at the end of each day at 9:00pm Eastern.

Good luck!

This is not only a video worth watching, but one worth spreading.

Today is the official launch of my new children’s novel, Scourge: A Grim Doyle Adventure.

I’m giving away 5 personalized copies of the ebook (it will have a signed dedication page and I’ll replace one character in the book with your name). All you have to do is post the book info anywhere between November 29th and Dec 1st on Facebook. Once you’ve posted come to the Facebook event and write on the wall that you’ve posted – then your name will be entered in the draw. (event location: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=171123342906340)

Here’s what you’ll need to post to enter:

———–
Scourge: A Grim Doyle Adventure – a new children’s steampunk fantasy

Check out the book trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qbj7qqwBr0

Amazon ebook link:http://www.amazon.com/Scourge-Grim-Doyle-Adventure-ebook/dp/B004AHKCVQ

Print version coming in 2 Weeks!!

For more information, visit http://davidhburton.com
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Here’s some information about the book:

Scourge: A Grim Doyle Adventure – a new children’s steampunk fantasy

Two dads, five siblings, and goggles! Grim Doyle has always known his life was not exactly “normal”, and things get even more curious when he discovers a set of stones that sweep him and his family to the fantasy, steampunk world of Verne – a place they had escaped from years ago. Now that they’ve returned, Grim and his siblings hide from the evil Lord Victor and his minions. And while learning about Jinns, Mystics, and the power of absinth they try to discover who is trying to kill them with the deadly Scourge.

Coming November 29th!!

For indie authors looking to get broader distribution of your ebooks, check out Smashwords. They’re easy to deal with, responsive, and for international authors, this is your best bet to get your ebook in the hands of retailers that you otherwise can’t.

An ancient curse resurfaces. From deep within the English forests, a hideous creature threatens to re-emerge, stronger than ever. Meanwhile, young girls are disappearing from the streets of London, and rumors of heinous rituals abound.

Fearing for her very life, a young actress working at the famed Lyceum Theatre calls desperately on Jason Dark for help. On the eve of Walpurgis Night, the Geisterjäger meets another formidable enemy as he comes face to face with the Blood Witch. Who will prevail?

———————–

Guido Henkel is another talented writer I met in one of my earlier interviews. I also interviewd him for Blood Witch – the latest in his Jason Dark series.

The Jason Dark series are dime novels. And if you don’t know what those are, they’re shorter pieces of fiction with their history originating in the 19th and early 20th century. To quote Wikipedia:

Dime novels are, at least in spirit, the antecedent of today's mass market paperbacks, comic books, and even television shows and movies based on the dime novel genres. In the modern age, “dime novel” has become a term to describe any quickly written, lurid potboiler and as such is generally used as a pejorative to describe a sensationalized yet superficial piece of written work.

Although I’d heard the term “dime novel” previously, I had never actually read one. And I would hardly call them “superficial”.

Henkel’s series harkens back to Victorian England. It is peppered with supernatural elements and fun historical references. (Bram Stoker makes a cameo in this book!). The Blood Witch, Vol 8 in this series, centers on Jason Dark’s adventures against a character based on Elizabeth Báthory – the Blood Countess. She was one of the worst serial killers in history, with some references setting her count at over six hundred victims. Some writings even say she bathed in the blood of her victims in order to conserve her youth and beauty. This is the legend that Henkel does a wonderful job of weaving into his tale. And he adds his own supernatural spin on the story that gives a whole new, and hauntingly sad, dimension to it.

Naturally, Dark is not alone in his battle. He has with him a female counterpart – Siu Lin. She’s a martial arts expert that almost acts like his bodyguard. I thought it was a brilliant element that added yet another interesting dimension to this book. And along with this are tantalizing hints at Dark’s past. It’s enough to whet the appetite and make you want to not only read the earlier books to gather more but also to keep reading the subsequent volumes.

The writing for this book is fast paced with enough detail to get the point across without all the fluff. The Blood Witch was an intriguing read and I now look forward to reading the earlier books in the series. Yes, I read this out of order, and that’s fine. From what I can tell, each story stands on its own. Henkel has now converted one more person to appreciating the dime novel, and in particular the Jason Dark series. The next volume I want to read is called Dead by Dawn. I can’t wait! Purchasing info:

Amazon: Kindle
Paperback
Barnes & Noble: Nookbook

On an Appalachian Mountain ridge, young Vernon Ray Davis hears the rattling of a snare drum deep inside a cave known as "The Jangling Hole", and the wind carries a whispered name. According to legend, the Hole is home to a group of Civil War soldiers buried by a long-ago avalanche. Everyone, especially Vernon Ray’s dad, laughs at him…because he’s different.

On the eve of an annual Civil War re-enactment, the town of Titusville prepares for a mock battle. But inside the Hole, disturbed spirits are rising from their dark slumber, and one of them is heading home.

And Vernon Ray stands between the battle lines of the living and the dead, caught between a world where he doesn’t a belong and a world from which he can never return…

———————–

Scott Nicholson is an author I learned about this year when I interviewed him for The Skull Ring. I’m not exactly sure why I chose Drummer Boy as my first Scott Nicholson novel – he has quite a repertoire to choose from – but it was an excellent place to start.

I haven’t read much in the horror/supernatural realm in a long time. I used to read a LOT of Stephen King when I was younger. When King lost his edge, I more or less moved on to other genres – mostly fantasy and scifi. And after that I never really returned.

That has just changed.

Drummer Boy is one of those novels that creeps back into your thoughts long after reading it – in particular, the “Jangling Hole” and the darkness that lies within it. There’s a realism to this story that’s reminiscent of some of King’s earlier work that I once loved. Not the graphic scenes of violence which I don’t have much of a stomach for, but rather supernatural elements that have just enough reality in them to make you turn the lights on at night when you’re alone. It’s the kind of horror that reaches into the deep places where nightmares lurk and make them surface. This is my kind of fright.

With Nicholson, you are in the hands of a master – a brilliant writer that portrays a gritty reality to his characters. They’re flawed in one manner or another, but you can’t help but empathize with their predicaments, especially Vernon Ray. I had quite a personal connection with this particular character – a reluctant hero who shows great resilience considering the harsh environment he’s grown up in.

I think one of the greatest strengths of this writer is the complexities so well weaved into these characters. They live a life you would want to very quickly remove yourself from, yet at the same time you can’t help but be fascinated with them.

Nicholson also references, what I suspect, are some events from The Red Church. This will likely be the next book of Nicholson’s that I pick up. I’m also very tempted by The Skull Ring. Tough call!

All in all, I have to say I’m so pleased to have rediscovered my love of horror through Nicholson. This is a name you should be adding to your TBR list. He’s on mine!!

Purchasing info:

Amazon: Kindle
Amazon: Paperback
Smashwords
Barnes & Noble: Paperback

Little Wonders by Rob Thomas
Click here to listen

let it go,
let it roll right off your shoulder
don’t you know
the hardest part is over
let it in,
let your clarity define you
in the end
we will only just remember how it feels

our lives are made
in these small hours
these little wonders,
these twists & turns of fate
time falls away,
but these small hours,
these small hours still remain

let it slide,
let your troubles fall behind you
let it shine
until you feel it all around you
and i don’t mind
if it’s me you need to turn to
we’ll get by,
it’s the heart that really matters in the end

our lives are made
in these small hours
these little wonders,
these twists & turns of fate
time falls away,
but these small hours,
these small hours still remain

all of my regret
will wash away some how
but i can not forget
the way i feel right now

in these small hours
these little wonders
these twists & turns of fate
these twists & turns of fate
time falls away but these small hours
these small hours, still remain,
still remain
these little wonders
these twists & turns of fate
time falls away
but these small hours
these little wonders still remain

I’ve been running a series of interviews with authors that are releasing new books. I hope you’ll take the time to check out their work. Today, please welcome back author, Guido Henkel.

————

I interviewed you a few months ago for Dr. Prometheus, Volume 5 of the Jason Dark series. Tell me about this new work in the series.

The Jason Dark series is now up to Volume 8, titled "The Blood Witch," which was released in October. It is a story that is heavily rooted in actual history as the titular character, the so-called Blood Witch, is in fact loosely based on Erzsébet Báthory, who has gone down in history as one of the most notorious serial killers with 600 victims attributed to her – depending on who you ask. Bathory used to bath in the blood of her victims to retain her youth.

That historic fact created an image in my mind which became pivotal in the development of the story, and I began thinking in terms of alternate history and asked myself, "What if?" From there I began to spin a completely new tale with these historic legends as the backdrop.

Which of your characters in this book was the most difficult to write about? Why?

The young actress who calls on Jason Dark's help in the beginning of the story was the most difficult for me. To find the proper naïvety in the character while making sure she always comes across as very intelligent and worldly was what threw me off a few times and I ended up rewriting parts of her dialogue on a number of occasions, just to try and pinpoint the proper way she would communicate with the people around her.

The Jason Dark series is just that – dark. What are some of the darker elements in Blood Witch?

The Blood Witch herself is a remarkably dark character – both in history and in my fictional story here. I wanted to write her as a character who has lost touch with reality, who exists solely to support herself, yet at the same time is very vulnerable and has to depend on others for sustenance and help. It was an interesting walk to show the stone-cold side of her where she has not a hint of mercy or remorse for those she chose as victims, yet at the same time almost falls to pieces when things affect her directly.

I never wanted to make her come across as completely despicable but with a truly human side that everyone can relate to. In my mind that helped make her ruthlessness and blood thirstiness so much more meaningful and dark. To balance that, particularly within the confines of a dime novel, was pretty tricky. I loved that challenge, however, and loved every moment I got to spend writing her parts in the book.

Do you ever get the feeling that dime novels are too short for their own good?

Yes, and no. On the one hand the compact format gives me the chance to hone in on what's important to the story, what propels it forward, without having to deal with a lot of extraneous fluff. I do like to get to the point – in all things I do. Beating around the bush is not for me and I am honestly not sure how I would conjure up all the filler material that is needed for a full-length novel. I just started reading a book and the first quarter of the book was nothing but peripheral information – no real plot development or highlights. It was just a description of the environment, how this creek leads to that stream which then turns into another stream a couple of hundred miles south… that kind of stuff. I often have to ask myself in those moments, "Who cares?"

On the other hand, given the format of a dime novel, it is hard for me sometimes to isolate the really important things because there are certain vignettes, you might call them, that come to my mind that would help to illustrate personality traits better at times or that would simply help the reader understand a character's deeper motivations better. Occasionally, it is a mood thing that I'd simply like to linger a bit longer than necessary, or that I'd like to insert an element that has nothing to do with the immediate story but is rather part of the overarching world of Jason Dark.

I have to balance these things very carefully and occasionally I have to cut them out simply because there is no space for it, or because the structure of the story wouldn't allow it without destroying the dramatic arc and suspense that I've been building.

So in that respect, dime novels are very different beasts than novels. Readers often tell me that they wished the story would have been longer or that it would have been fluffed out some more, lengthened with more events etc. I understand where these readers come from, but I honestly believe there can be too much of a good thing. If you read one of my stories and you get to the last page feeling like you could have read on for another 100 pages, I think I've done my job, because I have created an immediate bridge to the next story, giving readers the chance to continue reading by simply picking up the next adventure in the series.

So, is it important for readers to read the series in sequence?

Not at all. The series is laid out in such a fashion that you can jump in and out anywhere . You can begin with any volume, read them out of order, whichever you want. There is a certain beauty in reading them sequentially, however, I will admit, as it allows the reader to see how the world around Jason Dark changes over time and how people change, how their actions affect their world and how these effects sometimes carry over into subsequent stories. It is a little literary sleight of hand, so to say, that I love to engage in, to add a level of information to these stories that only those familiar with the series are able to pick up on. Nothing essential, but a nice little tidbit of recognition as you read that might make you smile.

You are the founder of G3 Studios (a video game developer and publisher) as well as an author. Tell me about your experiences in the RPG world.

I sort of stumbled into the role-playing world through text adventures. These are best described as interactive books on the computer where the player directly interacts with the story and changes the course of it. I wrote a number of those games but found them too limiting because they were really all text, without any graphics.

The next logical step up were RPGs, because the key to a good role-playing game is a good story(teller). The better the storyteller, the more thought out the story itself, the better the experience. When we developed games like the "Realms of Arkania" series we tried to create some of the most intricately detailed game worlds and game mechanics that were available at the time. We wanted to make sure that every action the player took had some kind of effect on the game itself. The result were incredibly complex games that took a long time to develop but immediately found audiences who were looking for exactly that.

When we created "Planescape: Torment" we wanted to take it one step farther, but on a different direction. In Planescape the key to the development of the story was how the player interacted with the other computer-controlled characters in the game. We took a very mature, adult approach to the story and made sure that players will literally lose themselves in the experience. It seemed to have worked because Planescape is to this day – over 10 years after its release – still regularly showing up in polls and magazine lists as one of the best games ever made.

Do you find the RPG/gaming world intertwining more with the fiction world these days? How has your work in the gaming world helped you in the writing world?

The key difference is that in games you write non-linear fiction. The player can change everything. The plot constantly evolves, depending on what the player does. Therefore you can never build a dramatic arch, or a suspenseful storyline the way you do in a book where you firmly control what the reader gets to see, and when. In games it is a usual occurrence for the player to stumble across information prematurely or out of sequence. You never have the same kind of build-up as in linear fiction and you always have to have 10 different answers – and plot lines – for everything the player might do. It is extremely challenging work. You have to keep track of everything, detangle everything properly at the right time, create segues to move the plot forward smoothly even if the storyline has not been fully uncovered, and so forth. It really takes it out of you.

In linear fiction, things are much easier in that respect. You have a beginning and an end and you simply fill in everything in-between, always being in the driver's seat. While this is generally easier, I noticed that in linear fiction my focus shifted and I now pay much more attention to how I write certain passages. I write for maximum effect and not so much for versatility or even ambiguity. I use entirely different vocabulary in my books and watch more for my style. I track things like suspense and the proper mix between characters and plot points, etc. It is equally interesting and demanding, but on a very different level.

This blog is called Random Musings, so give me a random quote from the book – something you’re particularly fond of.

Here is a passage that might be a little odd, but I like it a lot for the human quality it has. Jason Dark and Siu Lin are in the middle of fighting off the Blood Witch and her henchman. Siu Lin gets the upper hand with her kung fu and beats the henchman to the ground. This is the line that follows.

"Please stay down, she silently prayed of Radu. I don't want to hurt you any more than I have to."

To me this line is pinpointing precisely who Siu Lin is. She is this incredible kung fu master who is a match for anyone – man or beast – but despite this warrior that she is, deep within her she is a gentle and loving soul, using her skills only if she has to, in the true spirit of kung fu.

What can we expect from you next?

The next Jason Dark adventure is currently being prepared for release, diving into very dark waters, as a creature called a Terrorlord is being summoned in an attempt to open the Seven Gates of Hell. I'm sure fans of the series will enjoy this one, too, as it has a very gothic Lovecraftian feel to it in my opinion.

Where can we find you on the internet?

People can find the Jason Dark series at http://www.jasondarkseries.com or join the Jason Dark Facebook Page.

Additionally, you can find me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

Any final comments or thoughts?

If you haven't checked out the Jason Dark series yet, you better hop to it. These dime novels are a fun, fast-paced read that are just waiting to pull you along for the ride. What could be more fun than mystery thrillers set in Victorian England, featuring some supernatural nasties and a bunch of truly resourceful sleuths to hunt them down? Give it a try! I promise you won't be disappointed.

————

Thanks so much for coming back, Guido. This series is totally worth checking out. I’ve been reading Blood Witch and I love it! Purchasing information:

Amazon – Kindle

Barnes & Noble

I’ve been running a series of interviews with authors that are releasing new books. I hope you’ll take the time to check out their work. Today, please welcome author, Sidney Williams.

————

To start, can you tell me a little about yourself.

I'm a native of Louisiana, and I recently earned an MFA from Goddard College. In my early years, in the Pleistocene, I worked as a newspaper reporter and covered everything from local crime to entertainment and religion, including Pope John Paul II's visit to New Orleans.

I'm generally harmless. I'm married, my wife, Christine, and I have cats, and we enjoy travel, reading, British mystery programs and gardening.

How long have you been writing and how did you get to this point in your career?

I really became interested in writing early in life. I re-wrote the captions in my coloring books with my mother spelling words for me. It was probably junior high that I became enamored with writing stories, when teachers really encouraged reading and imagination. We had the opportunity to order paperbacks really inexpensively at school, and that introduced me to many authors through short story collections.

I'm an only child, so I also had the indulgence of parents who would buy me books. I read Ray Bradbury and H.P. Lovecraft early on and sampled a lot of different genres, even some Cheever. I became a Raymond Chandler and Ross MacDonald fan around that time as well, discovering their books because of movie tie-ins to Farewell, My Lovely and The Drowning Pool. I discovered a free issue of Writer's Digest through 1,001 Free Things, also a school book purchase, and used the magazine to figure things out.

I started submitting little things in high school including instructive quatrains for a textbook company, but everything was rejected. While I was an undergraduate, I tailored my educational experience as much as possible toward writing and produced three detective novels while I was in school.

I learned from those, but I didn't feel I had something new to offer the private eye story. I recalled my junior high influences, and in the early days of reporting, began to write stories that blended mystery and horror. That led to my first novel, which led to others including YA titles under the name Michael August. I've written comics and short stories and audio drama. I've always kept busy, though I dropped out of the novel scene for a while.

My books are coming out in e-book editions now, and I'm working on new material as well. I consider the e-books my B-movie-in-print period. They're horror thrillers, as fast paced as I could make them with action, visceral chills and high energy conclusions. I think it was fantasy writer Steven Brust who said once, we're all trying to put as much cool stuff as we can in each book, and that's what I hope is true of these novels. Monsters, chills, ancient secrets and excitement.

Tell me what inspired you to write this particular novel?

Gnelfs, with a silent G, is just out in an e-book edition from Crossroad Press, with a fabulous new cover from Neil Jackson. It's similar to some of the urban fantasy and paranormal suspense that has come along since its original publication. I kind of pushed my original publisher's limits on the constraints of the horror genre. Gnelfs is probably the book in which I rebelled the most against the boundaries, and I got in a lot of dark fantasy elements.

The core idea developed when I saw someone on a talk show claiming that cartoons included elements from real magical rituals. I started to think about what might happen if that were true and someone set out to exploit gateway symbols in children's book illustrations and on TV.

The story focuses on a young mother whose daughter is the target of attacks channeled through magical symbols. She's assisted in her struggles by an occult investigator known only as Danube; he's a holy man with a mysterious past.

Danube started life in my notebooks as a spy, when I was in high school. Danube was his code name, but he grew into the central character he is now, much more mystical and mysterious, though clues about who he really is are laced throughout the narrative. The Gnelfs of the title are cartoon characters, half-gnomes and half-elves, but the spirits behind their attacks are mischievous demons who are hard to control.

I have a keen interest in dark fiction. Tell me how you would classify this book and what’s dark about it?

I'd say in this case, it's dark fantasy or paranormal fantasy. It's filled with dark forces that the forces of light must battle. It's good vs. evil, purity vs. corruption. Without giving too much away, the heroes have to face Hell itself before it's all over. I drew on mythic elements for the plot, the Kabbalah, the Old Testament, Judaeo-Christian tradition, all boiled into sort of the novel's own mythology.

Are you a dark person?

I think I'm generally warm spirited and fun.

Sometimes we have to be ruthless in writing/editing. We cut scenes, eliminate characters or even kill them off. Tell me what was the hardest of these in this book.

I've actually been criticized about this book for the death toll. I read an interview with Stephen King once in which he discussed Ed McBain's brilliant 87th Precinct books about a squad of detectives. King said something to the effect of once in awhile McBain kills a main character just so you know you're still playing hard ball.

In horror, I think it's important that anybody can die. It hurts to kill off a character, but when anyone can go it means everything's unpredictable and everyone's at risk. I hated to see one particular character go in Gnelfs, but it had to happen.

The book was entered in a contest once, judged by a children's book author, who I don't think understood horror. The author in a critique railed against a particular death and the book's overall horrific tone, but Tom Skerritt's character dies in Alien, and Ripley winds up on her own, and it makes for a tremendous ending. Marion Crane and Detective Arbogast go in Psycho. Ditto Gage in King's Pet Sematary. It's a tough world. Live with it. Oh, by the way, spoiler warning on those titles I mentioned.

This blog is called Random Musings, so give me a random quote from the book – something you’re particularly fond of.

Here's a little passage of dialog:

“These blasted things of yours are out of control."
"No,” said Simon. “They are merely gaining strength. All is well.”
"The hell it is.”

What can we expect from you next?

More of my early thrillers are coming as e-books including my Louisiana-set vampire thriller Night Brothers, and I'm working on short story collections for Crossroad, which will bring together a lot of magazine and online pieces in one place for the first time. There will be a mixture of old and new. Beyond that, it's hard not to sound pretentious, but I'm working on what I hope are a couple of literary thrillers, true to what I've done before but reflecting where I am more as a reader and a writer. I sought an MFA to expand my ideas and perspective, and I want to work to incorporate that new insight into my work.

Where can we find you on the internet? Blog? Twitter? Web site? Book trailer?

I like Twitter, and what my profile says is true. I like having a community of writerly and readerly types. If there's a good flow of conversation going, you certainly can't be bored. I can be followed on Twitter as @Sidney_Williams. If you're not a Web 2.0 entrepreneur, I'll follow you back. My website is sidisalive.com. It needs to be refitted, I think, but it's a gateway to my social media presences including my blog, and my books can be ordered from there or from the usual places, Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords or from the publisher, Crossroad Press, which has a host of great horror and thriller titles.

Any final comments or thoughts?

I'm excited to see what comes next.

————

Thanks for the interview Sidney!! And good luck with Gnelfs! I love the cover!!!

Purchasing information:

Amazon US – Kindle
Amazon UK – Kindle
Smashwords

I’ve been running a series of interviews with authors that are releasing new books. I hope you’ll take the time to check out their work. Today, please welcome back author, Dawn McCullough-White.

————

I interviewed you for Cameo a few months ago. Tell me about this new book. The new book is a sequel to Cameo. It’s called Cameo and the Highwayman. There are two plot-lines in this novel, one focuses on the highwayman- Black Opal, and deals with his back-story. The second plot deals with Cameo, the mission her master has sent her on, and the vampire Edel. Edel, who has no more than a walk-on role in the first novel becomes a major character in the sequel and seems to hold a lot of the answers to questions Cameo never believed she could have answered for her. As always in my novels there is a decent share of action and dark themes.

What inspired you to write this particular novel?

I was doing a lot of reading about the French Revolution, and toyed around with the "what if" possibilities. What if, it hadn’t turned out exactly the way it did, what would the royal family look like? And what if some of those who were a major part of the revolution had lived?

Which of your characters in this book was the most difficult to write about? Why?

I don’t know if it’s one single character, but the interactions between Cameo and Opal can be very difficult to write because they are both main characters each a powerful personality, it can sometimes be hard to have them interact without one over-powering the other. One of the scenes in the novel had something like fourteen rewrites because it just never seemed to be going where I wanted it to. Their personalities were changing in ways I did not want them to. But when left to their own devices each of them is the most dominate character in a scene and I don’t have to worry. When one walks in the other characters orient themselves around either Cameo or Opal… when they’re together I have to make a decision about who would be more dominate in that moment.

I have a keen interest in dark fiction. Tell me how you would classify this book and what’s dark about it?

It’s a dark fantasy… urban fantasy… paranormal fantasy… historical fantasy; it falls into all of those categories. If I were to compare the Cameo series with something, I guess I’d say it’s similar to the movie "Brotherhood of the Wolf". It’s darkly beautiful and gritty. It’s set in approximately the 18th century, although in another universe… a fantasy world. I love the whole underbelly of life at that time, the taverns, the poor, the drug use, hygiene, disease, etc, etc… and it all comes out in the world I’m creating.

Would you say that your work is more plot driven or character driven?

Character driven, completely. Yes, there is a plot (several plots) but my writing is driven by interesting characters. It’s what I love most about writing, the breathing life into a new character and discovering who this new person is and then throwing them in with other characters to watch how they interact.

This blog is called Random Musings, so give me a random quote from the book – something you’re particularly fond of.

“Hey! You two!” the guard called after them.

Black Opal stopped.

“Are you part of this mob?” He took a couple steps closer.

A small unit of military men came trickling around the corner to see what all the commotion was about.

Opal half turned, “No.”

Kyrian turned around to look right at the guard, innocent, nearly smiling then looked back at the dandy who seemed rooted to the cobblestone. “What’s wrong?”

Opal shoved the purse into his hands. “You don’t know me.”

What can we expect from you next?

My next project is a YA horror novella that I’m writing for a small press anthology and will probably be out in 2012. I’m also halfway through the third installment of the Cameo series, and it may be released in the winter of 2011.

Where can we find you on the internet?

My website.

My Facebook page.

Cameo and the Highwayman is available on Kindle.

Any final comments or thoughts?

I’d like to mention and thank Kurt Hanss who is the talented artist who does my covers and created my website. I’d also want to thank David Burton for giving me the opportunity to talk about my new release on his blog.

————

Glad you could come back, Dawn!! Thank you very much for the interview and best of luck with Cameo and the Highwayman as well as Cameo!!

Purchasing information:

Amazon – Kindle
Smashwords

I’ve been running a series of interviews with authors that are releasing new books. I hope you’ll take the time to check out their work. Today, please welcome back author, Daniel Arenson.

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I interviewed you for Firefly Island a couple of months ago. Tell me about this new book.

Flaming Dove is a dark, paranormal fantasy novel. The battle of Armageddon was finally fought… and ended with no clear victor. Upon the mountain, the armies of Hell and Heaven beat each other into a bloody, uneasy standstill, leaving the Earth in ruins. Armageddon should have ended with Heaven winning, ushering in an era of peace. That’s what the prophecies said. Instead, the two armies–one of angels, one of demons–hunker down in the scorched planet, lick their wounds, and gear up for a prolonged war with no end in sight.

In this chaos of warring armies and ruined landscapes, Laila doesn’t want to take sides. Her mother was an angel, her father a demon; she is outcast from both camps. And yet both armies need her, for with her mixed blood, Laila can become the ultimate spy… or ultimate soldier. As the armies of Heaven and Hell pursue her, Laila’s only war is within her heart–a struggle between her demonic and heavenly blood.

What inspired you to write this particular novel?

Fairytales inspired my first novel, Firefly Island. Biblical mythology — stories of demons and angels and Armageddon — inspired this novel.

I recently visited Israel and saw biblical ruins, Roman ruins, crumbling Crusader forts. I thought about how for thousands of years — from Old Testament times, to Roman times, to the Crusades, to modern conflicts — men fought over the Holy Land. Prophecies even speak of Heaven and Hell fighting for this place.

I knew this would be my next novel. But I wouldn’t write a simple Heaven vs. Hell story. I wanted to explore new ideas about Armageddon. I wanted to write a Good vs. Evil story, but not in the form of Good Angels vs. Evil Demons. Instead, I wanted to explore themes of Good and Evil struggling within the soul, to examine the moral conflict war places within its belligerents. This isn’t a straightforward Light vs. Darkness story, but a story about how war brings out both sides within us. My main character is a half-demon, half-angel, allowing me to explore these ideas.

Which of your characters in this book was the most difficult to write about? Why?

At first I had difficulties writing Beelzebub, the main antagonist. I originally portrayed him as a towering, fiery demon of scales and horns — pitchfork, hooves, the works. It didn’t work. It felt too clichéd, almost a parody of demons. To make him more original, I made him world-weary; he sighed a lot and reflected upon the meaning of life. It still didn’t work; he just reminded me of the devil in the South Park movie.

I scrapped that character and recreated Beelzebub as a fallen angel. He was now dark, mysterious, and haunted — an angel who rebelled against God thousands of years ago, who was outcast and cursed. I also gave him a romantic past with Laila, the main heroine in the book, which enhanced the drama. This character clicked right into the story, and I think Beelzebub is now one of my best characters.

I have a keen interest in dark fiction. Tell me how you would classify this book and what’s dark about it?

On a basic level, Flaming Dove is dark fantasy because it deals with demons, fallen angels, and a post-apocalyptic future.

On a thematic level, Flaming Dove is also dark. This novel is a tragedy. This is not a book where Good defeats Evil. This is not even a book that offers a clear vision of Good and Evil. I explore a dark side within angels, as well as humanity buried within demons.

This isn’t a feel good book. I don’t hesitate to kill some characters, and I don’t feel like the “good guys” always have to win. Flaming Dove does not offer an easy, happy ending. I’m hoping, though, that the ending leaves you reflective, maybe even stays with you long after you place the book back on the shelf.

You were once published by a small publisher. Tell me about your experiences of being a traditionally published author vs an indie author.

The main difference is who you market to. With a traditional publisher, you’re marketing to booksellers. When you’re indie, you’re marketing directly to readers.

With a traditional publisher, you get an initial boost of marketing. In 2007, Five Star Publishing released my novel Firefly Island in hardcover. Right out the gates, Firefly Island sold 600 hardcovers, this thanks to my publisher promoting it. After this initial effort ended, I was left to market the book myself. This was difficult since the hardcover cost $26, more than most people want to pay for a book.

I released Flaming Dove, my new novel, independently. When you’re indie, you usually don’t focus on selling to bookstores and libraries (the way publishers do). Instead, you hit the blogs, the boards, the social networks. You interact directly with readers. You build up word-of-mouth slowly. Instead of starting with a bang and then seeing sales drop off, as happens with most traditionally published novels, you can gradually see your sales increase.

This blog is called Random Musings, so give me a random quote from the book – something you’re particularly fond of.

Here is the opening paragraph from Flaming Dove. I feel like it captures the mood of entire novel.

I am Laila, of the night. I have walked through godlight and through darkness. I have fought demons and I have slain angels. I am Laila, of the shadows. I have hidden and run, and I have stood up and striven. I am Laila, of tears and blood, of sins and of piety. I am Laila, outcast from Hell, banished from Heaven. I am alone, in darkness. I am Laila, of light and of fire. I am fallen. I rise again.

What can we expect from you next?

I’m working on a new fantasy novel. This one is about entering the world of dreams and nightmares. I hope to release it next spring.

Where can we find you on the internet?

• My website
• My personal facebook
• My facebook fan page
• My twitter

Any final comments or thoughts?

I’d like to mention Timothy Lantz, the artist who created Flaming Dove’s cover. His artwork truly brings Laila, the main character, to life. You can learn more about the artwork, and see a high res image, here. Thank you for this interview, David. It was a pleasure.

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Always a pleasure, Daniel! Glad to have you back!

Best of luck with Firefly Island, Flaming Dove, and I look forward to hearing about your next release!

Purchasing information:

Amazon – Trade Paperback
Amazon – Kindle
Smashwords

When Liz learned that our rooms had been broken into and that the Necronomicon for each of us had been stolen, I swear her hair looked like she was touching one of those magnetic spheres at the science fair – it got even more frizzy. It even smoked.

Jeeves seemed to be shaking under her gaze.

“How in the Afterlife did you let that happen, Jeeves? Were you poking around in the Arcane Room all day instead of keeping watch?”

Jeeves lowered his head. The guilt on his face was enough of an answer that he didn’t even have to speak the words.

“Jeeves! You know Gertrude can’t keep an eye on all the rooms at once.”

She stuck out her hand that had the blackened finger. Smoke was rising from her outstretched palm. “Give me the key to the Arcane Room now. You are forbidden from entering until further notice!”

Jeeves dropped to his knees, sobbing hysterically. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I couldn’t help me’self.” His fingers fumbled with the ring of skeleton keys until he found one that was slightly different from the others. It had a five pointed star on the end of it instead of a skull. Jeeves’ lower lip curled downwards in a sulky pout as he looked at Liz. He cradled the key to his chest.

“Now, Jeeves!”

“It won’t happen again, ma’am, I swears it!” His body shook with his sobbing.

“You said that the last time, remember? Consequences, Jeeves, consequences.”

At that point he stopped sobbing and his pout turned angry. He thrust the key out at her. Liz took it and then Jeeves got up and stomped off like a scolded child.

“My apologies,” Liz said. She tucked the key somewhere in the folds of her dress. “He’s been slacking off lately. We’re going to have to have a long talk with him.”

None of us really knew what to say so we all stood there rather awkwardly until Kenji broke the silence. “Excuse me,” he said. “But what is this Arcane Room?”

Liz headed for the stairs. “You’re about to find out. But first, let’s check out your rooms. I want to see what we can find out.”

We followed her up and came first to Miesha’s room. Liz and Miesha struggled to be the first to examine the room, but after a single look from Liz, Miesha resorted to following.

The space was similar to my own with the exception that the drapes and bedding were a little more feminine. The dresser was dusty, but there was a clean space in the shape of a book. The room was otherwise in pristine condition.

Goliath sniffed at the dresser. He looked at me, but didn’t seem to indicate what he was thinking.

We moved on Kenji’s room after that. It was the same situation there, with the book having gone missing from the nightstand. His room looked identical to mine.

Then we moved on to my room. Goliath was growling the moment we walked in the door. Liz pulled one of the vials from her bag and motioned for us to wait for her. She looked like she was ready to throw it on a moment’s notice. Goliath joined her as she entered the room.

I hovered at the door, the other two breathing down my neck. Kenji’s breath smelled like berries.

From what I could see from the doorway, the room had been torn apart. The dresser drawers were all opened or lying about the room. The curtains were shredded, the bed had been turned upside down, and the nightstand was in pieces all over the room.

Liz motioned for us to enter.

“Where did you leave the book?” she asked.

I had to think about that. After Liz’s visit, I had crawled into bed to sleep. I hadn’t felt like reading and I think I had shoved the book to the floor. And from the depths of my recollection I think I might have knocked the book under the bed while I was scrambling to shut the curtains.

I immediately looked under what was left of the bed and mattress. There was nothing there.

“I think it was under the bed,” I said.

Liz shook her head. “Looks like it’s gone now.”

Miesha fingered the curtains. “And it looks like someone went to a lot of trouble to find it.”

Liz nodded. “Come with me,” she said. “We need to talk to Gertrude. Necronomicons don’t just go missing.”

We followed her out the door and into the elongated corridor. Liz kept a furious pace. We all practically ran to keep up.

The hand in my pocket kept bumping around. I held it while I jogged down the hallway, wondering when I would get chance to remove it. The woman in the market had given me a suggestion that I was itching to try out, but I hadn’t had a moment alone – not even to use the washroom.

And now that I thought about it, I hadn’t noticed any bathrooms. Nor did I even feel like I had to go since I arrived in the Afterlife. I hadn’t eaten either, and I wasn’t feeling hungry. I figured neither of those mattered here and kept on running.

We seemed to travel for an eternity through the corridor. It was almost like we were in one of those dreams where you run, but you don’t really get anywhere. We kept passing the same light fixtures and paintings on the wall. It must have been around the fifth time we passed a painting of some stodgy old man holding three keys that Liz came to a sudden halt. She faced the painting and pulled out the one Jeeves had given her. She held it up to the painting and it was then that I noticed that he wasn’t really holding three keys. There were two painted-on keys and a slot to place the third key in.

Liz put it in its proper place and the key became part of the painting. Then it slid back, revealing an entrance to a darkened corridor.

“Cool,” I muttered. Miesha and Kenji seemed to be thinking the same thing. They had the same look of wonder on their faces that I was feeling.

Liz reached inside and turned the knob on a wall-mounted light. The corridor lit up. It was long, but not like the one we had just left. There were mirrors along the walls, but we couldn’t see our reflection in them. They were just black glass that seemed to show nothing.

There was only one door, at the very end. It had a large gargoyle hanging on it. His arms were crossed in front of him.

“Gertrude’s waiting for you,” he said.

“I figure,” Liz said. “Any idea what it was?”

The gargoyle shook his head. “How should I know? No one talks to me since I was placed on this door. I just as well be hanging on a log.”

Liz pushed the door open, muffling the gargoyle’s complaining.

The room that awaited us was enormous, almost the size of a school gymnasium, except it was domed. Every wall was loaded with books and there were a few round tables scattered about – some with large astrolabes on them, others with cauldrons. The floor was filled with various circles and symbols. There were locked wardrobes against some of the walls and the room had five doors, spaced evenly apart. The dome was made of glass and open to the sky above. It was then that I noticed that it was almost dawn.

Kenji noticed it too and pointed.

“Daylight is coming,” he whispered.

“Don’t worry,” Liz said. “That glass is tinted. Nothing will happen in here.”

A huge sigh escaped Kenji’s and my lips.

Miesha didn’t even look up. She marched right in and looked about. “Where is this Gertrude?” she asked. “I want to know who took my book?”

There didn’t seem to be anyone in the room with the exception of the four of us and Goliath.

“You’re standing in her. Gertrude is the collective essence of all who live in this building.”

Miesha didn’t look impressed. “That is ridiculous,” she said.

Liz walked to one of the cauldrons. She grabbed a handful of powder from the table and tossed it in. There was a flash and smoke rose from the cauldron as it bubbled.

The smoke continued to rise and thicken. Eventually it started to take a form, that of a woman with long hair.

Liz pointed to it. “If it makes it any easier, you can call this Gertrude.”

The smoke woman nodded to Liz, but said nothing.

“Who took the books, Gertrude?” Liz asked. She had her hands on her hips.

The smoky woman raised her arm and pointed.

Her finger was aimed directly at me.

I’ve decided to try a little experiment. I’ve started a new children’s novel. It’s middle-grade – ages 9-12, so bear that in mind when reading. I’m going to post each chapter as I write it. It will be unedited at the moment and I’m not entirely sure where it will take me. I will gladly take comments on this and if I use your suggestion (not spelling or grammar suggestions though) then I’ll gladly acknowledge you in the book when it’s finished. (Maybe I’ll even name a character after you ) Naturally, I reserve the right to post when I want (I’ll try to keep this up weekly) and I reserve the right to change anything I want in the book, at any time. And of course, everything written here is copyrighted. For those that want to read on an electronic reader, I’ll try to come up with various files you can download so you can read at your leisure. If you want to read this to children you know in that age category, that’s fine too. Sometimes they have great suggestions. So, without further ado, here is Billy Bones: Beyond the Grave (it’s just a working title for now – I might change it later). Earlier chapters : Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Warning: It’s rather morbid, so be warned. ——————— Billy Bones: Beyond the Grave Chapter Four It was difficult to focus on Dead Lessons while somebody else’s hand was in my pocket. It wasn’t like it was moving around or anything – it actually sat quite still. But the fact that it was there, balled up in a fist, was unnerving, to say the least. The small group of us sat in a huge old room with slate boards along the walls. An old woman stood up at the front – Mrs Shivers was her name. She was older than Stella and moved like a slug. I sat at the very back, by myself. And when no one was looking I kept trying to fish the hand out of my pocket. It was really hard because when the hand was balled up in a fist, it didn’t have enough room to come out. I kept bending and twisting, this way and that, in an effort to get the blasted thing out of there. In fact, I was so focused on it, I failed to notice Mrs Shivers staring at me. I think she’d asked me a question, but darned if I knew what it was. There was a hand in my pocket! The rest of the group were all turned around in their seats, staring at me. I straightened up in the chair and shrugged. “Sorry,” I said. “I have an itch.” Liz guffawed. “Glad it’s not in your nose!” The rest of them laughed. That was fine. I didn’t really mind. I had more important things to concern myself with. Mrs Shivers seemed to move on from there. I tried to pay attention. I really did, but it just wasn’t working. It’s not like she was teaching us how to do something interesting. It was all about what not to do. Don’t scare the living. Don’t stay in cemetaries. Don’t haunt old mansions. Don’t, don’t, don’t…. She kept yammering for hours and my mind drifted off. I couldn’t help but wonder about the strange man with the decayed face. What was so important about his hand? Unless he had something in it, which just made me want to get it out all the more. I sighed, looking up, and noticed that the rest of the group was just staring at me again, except they were all standing this time. Mrs Shivers was now asleep at her desk and it looked like they were all waiting on me. Liz shook her head. “Did you not get any sleep?” I shrugged. “Sort of. I opened the curtains once.” The rest of them groaned. “What did you do that for?” Miesha asked. “You must not be very smart.” “I dunno,” I responded. “I wanted to see what it looked like outside.” Liz didn’t look impressed and Kenji was holding his head like he knew exactly what I was talking about. I noticed he didn’t say anything. We left the building and I was relieved to learn that Dead Lessons were over. It was only one day of blah blah blah. What a relief that was. Liz went on to explain that we all had jobs in the Afterlife. It all depended on what we used to do before. “Before?” I asked. She gave me that look that said were you not listening at all to what Mrs Shivers said? I shrugged. “It’s in the Necronomicon. You know, the book you didn’t read.” I had to shrug again. “What’s in it?” “Our past lives,” Kenji said. “The book is unique for each person, detailing your history both in the Afterlife and the Livingworld.” That was a bit of a surprise. I would have very much like to have known who I was in my past lives. Liz continued to lead us into what appeared to be a central point in the city. The buildings here were even closer together and much older. The streetlamps were barely functioning, making it rather dark. And she kept leading us through some really dark alleys with very little room to manouver. “I suggest,” she said, “that you read the book as soon as you get back. You need to know what your purpose is here. And once you start reading, your memories will start to return. Just like in the Livingworld, we each have a purpose here.” “Aren’t I kind of young to be working?” I asked. “You’ll understand when you read the book,” she said. “Just because you died as a child in the Livingworld, it doesn’t mean you’re one in the Afterlife. Almost none of us are children here.” She then approached an old market square. There were all kinds of things for sale here, but nothing I would have expected, except on Hallowe’en. The merchants were kind of a shady lot – crooked and bent, warty noses, more hair than I thought would be considered normal, and some were more dead than they probably should have been. They were selling cauldrons, bones, black cats – some of which weren’t alive, and jars of substances that didn’t look proper. “Wait here,” she said, and walked over to chat with one of the merchants – an old crone selling some herbs and potions. Kenji and Miesha waited on the spot while Goliath chased off a couple of feral cats that were slinking in our direction. I took a moment to examine the place a little. I didn’t even get past two old, and I mean old, men selling creepy looking clowns, when a woman called me over. “You,” she said, motioning me over with a heavily ringed finger. “Over here.” I looked back to the others. Liz was bartering with the old woman and the other two were patiently waiting for her. I walked over. “That hand in your pocket,” the woman said. “I can help you.” My eyes opened pretty wide when she said it. “How did you know?” I asked. I probably should have played dumb, but the words were already out of my mouth. She didn’t answer my question. Instead she pointed to her own fist and tickled the lower part of her palm. Then she opened her fist. I reached into my pocket to try it, but she grabbed my hand. Her touch was cold. “Not here,” she said. “Too many eyes. Remember, it’s to be kept secret.” “What is it?” I asked. All this secret stuff was a little cryptic and getting kind of annoying. I wanted to know what the heck was in my pocket. She leaned over to whisper with breath that was as cold as her touch, but Goliath came around the corner. Upon seeing the size of him, the woman twirled on her heel. “I hate dogs,” she muttered and slipped into the market. Goliath sauntered over and sniffed my pants. “Thanks, dog. I was about to find out something useful and you scared her off.” He looked to where she had disappeared and then nudged me back to where Miesha and Kenji still waited like statues. I joined them, but said nothing. Not long after, Liz emerged from the small shop. “What did you get?” I asked. From a drawstring bag she pulled out a couple of vials and some herbs. They stunk. “Protection,” she said. “Protection from what?” Miesha asked. “We’re already dead.” Liz shook her frizzy head. “Read your book,” was all she said and then started to make her way back through the market. We followed her, and pretty close on her heels at one point as there was wailing and screaming behind us. “Banshees,” Liz said. “We should hurry. We don’t want to run into those.” Her already speedy pace quickened. It was all we could do to keep up. Even Goliath was moving along at a steady trot beside me. When we finally got back to Wayward Place, we all dropped onto the couches that waited in the front room. Jeeves was there, fidgeting and mumbling to himself. He looked at Liz apologetically. “We seem to have had some problems while you were away,” he said. Liz put her hands on her hips. “What problems, Jeeves?” He stuttered, trying to get the words out. “T-T-There was a break-in. Some things were stolen.” Liz didn’t look impressed. Her lips were pressed together pretty tight. “What was stolen, Jeeves?” “The Necronomicon,” he said. “Whose?” she asked. He pointed at Miesha, then Kenji, and finally me. “All three of them.”

I’ve decided to try a little experiment. I’ve started a new children’s novel. It’s middle-grade – ages 9-12, so bear that in mind when reading. I’m going to post each chapter as I write it. It will be unedited at the moment and I’m not entirely sure where it will take me. I will gladly take comments on this and if I use your suggestion (not spelling or grammar suggestions though) then I’ll gladly acknowledge you in the book when it’s finished. (Maybe I’ll even name a character after you ) Naturally, I reserve the right to post when I want (I’ll try to keep this up weekly) and I reserve the right to change anything I want in the book, at any time. And of course, everything written here is copyrighted. For those that want to read on an electronic reader, I’ll try to come up with various files you can download so you can read at your leisure. If you want to read this to children you know in that age category, that’s fine too. Sometimes they have great suggestions. So, without further ado, here is Billy Bones: Beyond the Grave (it’s just a working title for now – I might change it later). Earlier chapters : Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Warning: It’s rather morbid, so be warned. ——————— Billy Bones: Beyond the Grave Chapter Three The next night I awoke, somewhat tired. I wasn’t really accustomed to sleeping during the daylight. I even got up at one point during the afternoon and peeked through the curtains to see what the daytime looked like. I should have known what was coming when Goliath whined and hid under the bed as I approached the window. He’s a smart dog. I pulled back the drapes. Blinding light stabbed me in the eyes. The pain hit me so hard I fell over from the impact. I crawled across the floor and reached for the curtains. I strained to close them, and finally had to close my eyes, stand up and yank them shut. With the awful light gone, I plopped on the bed, moaning with what was probably the worst headache I’ve ever had. Goliath got back up on the bed and licked my face. I wrapped my hands around his neck. “Guess that wasn’t such a good idea,” I said. Fortunately, his presence helped to lessen the throbbing behind my eyeballs. I eventually fell back asleep, but woke often to scraping sounds from the hallway. Once it even scratched outside my room. I decided, after the encounter with the sun, that I should probably not open the door. Instead, I hid under the blankets with Goliath and tried to sleep. So by the next night, I was not only tired, but a little shaky. I wasn’t sure what other surprises I was in for, but I thought it might be best to be a little more cautious. I checked myself in the mirror. For a brief moment, I thought I saw an old man there. I shook my head, thinking that I had to be seeing things and studied my nose. I wiggled it and tried to look at it from different angles. I don’t know how Liz figured that one nostril was bigger than the other. It was hardly noticeable. Then, with Goliath on my heels, I inched open the door. He pushed past me and walked out into the corridor. I looked both ways. Again, the rug stretched out forever in each direction with endless doors. I wasn’t sure what to do at that point. Standing around waiting for something to happen didn’t seem to be the best of ideas. I suppose I could have wandered around a little to see just how far the hallways went, but Goliath starting heading for the grand staircase. I shrugged and followed. At the bottom of the staircase were four others – Jeeves and Liz among them. The other two were around my age. One wore a gold and silver kimono. His eyes were almond shaped and he had red stains on his robes. Strangely his lips were the same color. The girl had one nostril that was a little larger than the other. She was as short as the boy, but her shoulders were really wide. Her blonde pigtails bobbed as she looked at me. She touched her larger nostril for a second and then turned around. Goliath and I descended the stairs. “Hello,” I said. The other two nodded, but said nothing. “I’m Billy,” I said, offering my hand. The boy bowed. “Kenji,” he said. The girl took my hand. Her callused grip was really strong. “Miesha. Pleased to meet you.” She looked at Goliath. “I don’t like dogs.” I wasn’t sure what to say about that, so I kept my mouth closed. Goliath didn’t seem offended. He just kept wagging his tail. Liz was still in her blue dress and her hair was still as frizzy as when I met her. “Ready?” she asked. “You three are the late sleepers. The rest have already gone.” “Where?” I asked. “Dead Lessons.” “Oh right. So where do we go?” “I’ll take you,” Liz said. She turned to Jeeves who seemed to be admiring Kenji’s robes. “We’ll probably be late getting back. I have to stop downtown for something and they’ll be coming with me.” Jeeves just blinked and then walked away. He turned only once to look at Kenji’s robes again. “What’s with the robes?” I asked. “Traditional Japanese wear,” Kenji said as we made our way out the door. It was dark out and strangely it helped to dull the mild aching that was still in my head. “I didn’t mean that,” I said. “Why did Jeeves keep looking at your robes?” “They’re silk,” he said, fingering them. I touched them myself. He was right. Silk. “How’d you die?” I asked. We quickened our pace to keep up with Liz. She was marching along the cobblestone sidewalks like she was late for something. He pointed to the stains on his robes. “Poisonous berries. They were in a garden, but I couldn’t read the sign. I only speak Japanese.” I was about to respond that he seemed to speak my language quite nicely, but Miesha interrupted me. “Well that’s ridiculous,” she said. “Your Russian is perfect.” “I don’t speak Russian,” Kenji said. “Sure you do. You all do,” she said. Her lips pursed like she was a little irritated. Liz slowed her pace so that she walked in the midst of us. “No one speaks Russian,” she said. Miesha’s pout got more pronounced. “Nor any other language from the Livingworld. We all speak the same language here in the Afterlife. It’s all in the book.” She looked at the three of us. “None of you have read it, have you?” she asked. All of us hung our heads. Liz said nothing and marched ahead once more. We followed on her heels past faint streetlamps and old, decrepit buildings until we started to get closer to the center of Necropolis. Everything here was tall and cramped together with a smattering of narrow alleys that descended into blackness. There were eyes shining from within some of those alleys and even Goliath seemed a little uncomfortable walking too close to them. Finally Liz brought us up to a blackened stone structure with massive wooden doors. On each door hung a knocker with a gargoyle. The two gargoyles were already waiting, arms crossed. “What took ya so long?” they asked in unison. Liz nodded her head in our direction. “Sleepy heads.” The gargoyle on the left looked at us. “My turn to guess!” “No, it’s not,” said the other. “It’s mine!” “You got the last one,” said the first. “That didn’t count! She was holding her head in her hands. Any idiot could have guessed that one.” “Fine,” said the first. “Your turn then.” The second gargoyle then took a good long look at us. “Easy,” he said. “Two nose pickers, a berry-eater, and a drowned dog.” “Watch out!” screamed the other one, pointing, but it was too late for me. Something barreled into me, knocking me to the ground. It was a man in a bowler hat and a jacket that was far too big for him. His face was half decayed. Three men were chasing after him. He slipped something into my pocket and whispered to me. “Keep this for me. Don’t let them get their hands on it!” The other men seized him, dragging the man away. He didn’t struggle, but watched me with his half gaze. I put my hand in my pocket wondering what seemed so important to the strange man. I nearly gasped as I discretely probed at what felt like four fingers and a thumb. He’d left his hand in there.