This is Kevin Richardson, zoologist and animal behaviorist. Also known as The Lion Man. Enjoy.

Well, I’m not exactly sure what made them change their minds about my profile, but Barnes & Noble reinstated it. Yay! If you’re unaware of what happened, see my previous post. After posting about it, I had amazing support from so many people, and some fabulous letter writers over at Goodreads came to my aid. You’re my knights in shining armor! Thank you all for you amazing support! I can’t tell you how much it means to me!!

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

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

I'm a British author currently living in California. I've written a disturbing number of horror-film novelisations, including the smash-hit movie blockbuster 'Blade: Trinity,' 'Final Destination: The Movie' 1 and 2, plus several original movie-based tie-in novels such as 'A Nightmare On Elm Street: Perchance To Dream' and 'Final Destination: Dead Reckoning.'

My latest series is the Kayla Steele Vampire Hunter series, the first two books of which ‘Dante’s Girl’ and ‘The Last Angel’ have been published internationally to occasional critical acclaim. The latest book is called ‘Circus Of Sins’ and it came out on May 25th 2010. I currently live in Los Angeles and work at a rock club on Sunset Strip, filming Metal bands and trying to write in between dodging flying bottles, topless stagedivers and excitable club managers. I like coconut Mojitos with an extra cherry if you’re buying.

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

I started writing when I was 12 years old. My mother had an old-fashioned manual typewriter, and I used to type out all my favorite movies word-for-word to make them into a book, which I hoped I could sell for millions of dollars. One summer I typed up my favorite movie 'Short Circuit 2' and re-wrote it as a novel. I bound my 100 hand-typed pages together with kiddy-glue and string, drew a cover in colored pencil, and mailed it to the movie company. I got my first rejection letter at age 13. I had a lot to learn about the movie and publishing industry.

When I was 24 I got my 'big break' when I heard through an author friend that a new SF publisher called Solaris were looking to take on new writers. As an audition piece, I was told to watch my favorite movie and type up the first chapter as though it was a novel. Oddly enough, I had experience at doing that! I picked my favorite film 'Blade 2', sent in my chapter, and never expected to hear from them again.

A month later, I got an email – they wanted to hire me. My first project? Turning the as-yet-unfilmed movie 'Blade 3' into a novel, even though it hadn't been made yet, a process which they called a novelization. I'd been a huge Blade fan since I first read the comic series in my teens, so writing the book was a dream come true for me. I worked from the shooting script (which the director David. S. Goyer kept changing as the film was shot), and my book hit the shelves at the exact same time that the movie came out in cinemas, 6 months later. It was quite an experience to see my name on the front cover next to Wesley Snipes and Jessica Biel!

Your new novel is called Circus of Sins. What's it about?

'Circus of Sins' is Book 3 of an ongoing book series starring supernatural crime-fighter Kayla Steele, whose world is turned upside down when she finds out that her recently-murdered true-love Karrel Dante was none other than a werewolf hunter…. and that she's next on his killer's hit list. She's a super-hero with no super-powers, which I thought was a great twist until I discovered that it'd already been done by Neil Gaimon. If you're a writer in SF/ Fantasy, by the way, just forget it – everything's already been done by Neil Gaimon. He steals all my great ideas several years before I even think of them, the meanie.

What inspired or drove you to write this book series?

This series was inspired almost entirely by my move to LA, as a way of capturing on paper the outlandish people and situations I come across almost every day living in the City of Angels. If most major cities can be described as cultural melting pots, LA could be described as a mental melting pot. Everyone who lives here is startlingly, alarmingly, bug-shaggingly crazy… in their own sweet, unique way, of course. The city has a very unique culture – you see things here that you could never see anywhere else in the world. I've been here almost 5 years now and the after-dark goings-on in Hollywood never cease to amaze me. I love it here.

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

I'd say this book series is a Dark Fantasy series, with some sprinklings of romance, black comedy and action-thriller thrown in. The hero gets killed on Page 1 of the first book of the series ('Dante's Girl'), and the rest of the series is about his girlfriend Kayla struggling to make herself into the heroine… only she's not very good at it. After finding out that her dead boyfriend was actually a trained hit man for an underground werewolf-hunting organization called the Hunters, she must piece her life back together, whilst fighting off the advances of her true-love's best friend, a werewolf named Mutt, and trying to resist a growing attraction to a rogue vampire named Niki, who may or may not be trying to kill her. And all this whilst trying to deal with the fact that she's been bitten by a werewolf, and is now turning into one herself… the story continues.

The vampire movie 'Twilight' is very popular right now. Are there any similarities between Stephanie Mayer's books and your series? I put off reading the Twilight books until almost a year ago, just because everyone was reading them and telling me to read them and so of course I ignored them for as long as possible. When I finally caved (I was on a 13-hour flight from London to LA, in my defense, and I needed something to read) I was pleasantly surprised at how readable and addictive they were. I pretty much stayed up the whole night reading the first one in one sitting, then straight away went out and bought the rest of the series.

My novel series is similar to 'Twilight' in the fact that the heroine is torn between a werewolf and a vampire lover, but there I think all similarities end. Aside from the romance my books have a strong action-horror element, thanks to my background in writing the 'Blade,' 'Nightmare On Elm Street' and 'Final Destination' books. I think my heroine Kayla is much more proactive than Bella, and doesn't sit around moping and waiting to be rescued every time something goes wrong. After seeing the Twilight movies I've made a definite attempt to make my werewolves and vampires more vicious and unpredictable, as I think the vampires in Twilight are all wimps. My vampires don't sparkle, you'll be pleased to know.

Often there are characters in a book that we just love, but what character of yours would you completely despise if you were to meet them in real life? Why? Probably Niki. He's a loose cannon, a vampire who our heroine just can't bring herself to kill, although he deserves it many times over. I based him on Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue (one of my favorite LA bands) and he's the classic Bad Boy. Women go crazy over men like Nikki Sixx, but as anyone who's ever dated a real Bad Boy can testify, once the novelty of the unpredictability wears off, you just want to slap them every other minute. In the book he's a seductive figure, but I'd probably want to knee him in the nuts if I met him in real life.

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.

(SPOLIER ALERT) I'm a huge fan of the bad guys. I always far prefer writing about bad guys than good guys. In 'Circus Of Sins', one of my favorite bad guys finally meets his maker, a serial-killing, chain-smoking, poetry quoting werewolf named Harlem. He's what the Terminator would've been like if Frank Miller (of 'Sin City' fame) had written the screenplay. He's always been my favorite character to write and he's had some really great lines, most of which were cut before publication by my previous editor (usually accompanied by big red notes in the margin along the lines of "NO, NO, NO!!" and "This will get BIG complaints!!" etc). I miss him already.

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

This quote's not mine, but it's one of my favorites:

'Well-behaved women rarely make history.'

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich said that. I liked it so much I put it in the front of my book, in the hopes that my readers will like it too.

What can we expect from you next?

This is the third book in the Kayla Steele Werewolf Hunter series. I'm currently halfway through writing Book 4, which (with any luck) should be published in Fall 2011. I've also just finished a short horror story for the upcoming Solaris/ Rebellion anthology, 'End Of The Line,' a compilation of short horror stories set on subway systems around the world. My story is called 'Crazy Train' and is set on a fictional LA metro line, and features a newly-dead rock musician who gets the chance to play one final show… with some very unusual guests. The official release date for the anthology is November 15th 2010 in the US and UK.

Where can we find you on the internet?

My official website is www.natasharhodes.com, or you can write to me on my Myspace page. You can buy my books through my website and on Amazon, here's the link to my latest book.

Any final comments or thoughts?

Just a huge thank you to David Burton for doing this interview, and thanks to all my friends and fans who bought my last few books and who've waited so patiently for the follow-up. If you recognize yourself as a character in 'Circus Of Sins,' I just have three things to say:

a) It wasn't me,
b) I didn't do it, and
c) You can't prove anything.

I'm also currently accepting monetary bribes to turn your ex into a character and kill them in an unspeakable way in Book 4. Just putting that out there. I hope you like my book!

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Natasha, thanks for coming by and answering these questions! I certainly hope you can come back for Book 4! I look forward to picking these up!!

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

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

There's not a whole lot to tell. I live at home with my parents and sisters. I spend most of my time surfing the internet, writing, playing video games, or listening to music. I read occasionally, when I can find a good book.

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

I've been writing in some shape or form almost my entire life. When I was younger, this mostly consisted of playing "action figures" with my two sisters.

You have a new book just out, Warped and Wired. Tell me what inspired you to write this?

A lot of things. I derived the plot and characters from many sources: movies, video games, books, science & technology. Portia's "portal" ability was actually inspired by the game "Portal", I always thought being able to "tear space" and warp instantaneously between two places was really cool. Mlina's neural computer matrix was a little more original in that I thought up most of it myself.(though nothing's really original nowadays) As far as what drove me to write in general: the need to tell a good story. There are so many books out there, but very few are actually worth reading. Opinions may differ on this, obviously, but I've had a hard time finding books nowadays that can even come close to matching the likes of Conan Doyle, Verne, Tolkien, and Lewis(and even some of their works bore me:)

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

I've always had a hard time with genres, they can be so subjective and redundant. I would definitely classify "Warped & Wired" as a modern, sci-fi, fantasy novel, though. As far as what makes it dark? The series chronicles the changing times in the world and its affect on humans. Few know the real history of the earth and the beings that originally inhabited it and the evil one that created them. Now, those beings are seeking to reclaim their place as the dominate and ruling race of the world. The modified versions of traditional witches and vampires also lend a little "darkness" to the story.

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.

Getting the characters and plot to all mesh together. I generally pick two characters to star in a novel and it's a real trick to write them in unique ways and get them to cooperate the way I want:) I've had to eliminate scenes, characters, even rewrite the entire first half of the book to get everything to work together. Even then, the characters will sometimes take a turn that I wasn't expecting and I have to try and figure out a way to make it work. I think the characters can be the hardest part of writing, they are after all, people in a sense and people can be very unpredictable.

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

"Knowledge is a Bed of Roses; for Each Beautiful Flower, there a dozen Thorns to Match"

Most stories have a moral or lesson in them, what would you say yours is?

The biggest one? "Accept who you are, faults and all, to discover your true power and potential."

What can we expect from you next?

The sequel to "Warped & Wired" of course. While it won't star Portia and Mlina, they will play major supporting roles to the new main characters. I plan to write a whole series of books called the "Wryter Chronicles" each starring different characters from within the world(don't worry, there will be plenty of cameo appearances). The series should be quite exciting, covering everything from mythology, urban legend, cutting-edge science & technology, conspiracy theories, supernatural beings, to extraterrestrial life!

Where can we find you on the internet?

All of the above. I'm really trying to get the hang of this whole social networking thing. So, I am on Twitter, I have a blog, I have a website, and I have three book trailers.

Any final comments or thoughts?

Support good stories. Authors have a tendency to let their writing slip after they've made their name. So keep us in line, let us know that you demand quality fiction. This goes for movies and TV shows as well as books. Vote with your dollars and reviews!

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Joshua, thanks for coming by and answering these questions. And best of luck with the sequel to Warped & Wired!

Purchasing information:

Amazon
Smashwords
Kobo

I have an author profile up at Barnes & Noble to help sell my book, The Second Coming. Take a close look at this picture and tell me what’s wrong with my profile that Barnes & Noble decided that it shouldn’t be viewed by the public.

The text for my profile reads as follows: Indie author, adoptive father of 3 boys, manager of chaos, science and technology geek, person of the queer persuasion, and purveyor of sacrilege. I can be found online at: http://davidhburton.com I use this profile pretty much everywhere: Goodreads, Twitter, Smashwords, etc.

Which of the following do you think they have an issue with:
1. I’m an independent author (doubt that since they’ve just announced their new PubIt service)
2. I adopted 3 boys – doubt it
3. I manage my children’s chaos – doubt it and doubt they can do better
4. I’m a geek – highly dubious
5. my web site – doubt it
6. my book is sacrilegious – I figure they would pull the book, not my profile
7. I used the word ‘queer’ – DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! (or they don’t like that I’m openly gay)
I’m going to remove my link to Barnes & Noble and encourage readers with the Nook to purchase it at Smashwords instead until this is corrected.

In Canada, the Victoria Day long weekend is coming. I have my plans. What are yours?

Feeling a little nostalgic for my clubbing days in the early 90’s. Enjoy!!

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

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

Originally hailing from Germany, for the past 25+ years I have been working in the computer games industry where I developed and published games for PC, video game consoles as well as cell phones.

Among the many award-winning games that I've worked on are the “Realms of Arkania” series which was the official adaptation of the highly successful German pen&paper role-playing game series “Das Schwarze Auge.” However, I have also worked on titles such as “Fallout 2″ and “Planescape: Torment,” a game based in one of the more extreme and mature AD&D universes. All of those games were very plot-driven and are to some degree my storytelling roots.

I am also the owner and editor of "DVD Review & high definition," one of the Internet's longest-standing websites covering the digital home video formats and movies. It is there that I kind of honed my writing chops, writing movie reviews for almost 13 years.

Eventually I felt the urge to write fiction, and began putting together the "Jason Dark: Ghost Hunter" series. Since I've always been an entrepreneur and auteur, I've also decided to publish the series through my own company.

I've moved to the United States about 13 years ago and have since made a home in Southern California with my lovely wife and my son.

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

I've had the wish to write linear fiction – as opposed to non-linear fiction used in computer games – for many, many years, but somehow never had the time for it. About 2 years ago I felt this urge inside of me getting much stronger, and I thought about a project I could write. I was a little timid at the time to start a full-size novel for a number of reasons, foremost of them being that I had my doubts I would really be able to ever complete it. So I was looking for something that was a little smaller in scale. I remembered the dime novels I used to read when I grew up. Germany has long had a tremendous dime novel culture. During the 70s you could find them in every grocery and convenience store. They were 64-page booklets, filled with action packed adventures of all sorts. The series featured Horror, Fantasy, Detective Stories, Westerns, War Stories, Romances, Hospital Stories — you name it. As I was looking for a writing project it occurred to me that something like that might just be the thing for me.

So I started writing "Demon's Night," just to see if I have it in me to create a cohesive story that may actually be worth reading in the end. Once it was finished I felt great about it and continued on.

You have a new book just out, Dr. Prometheus. Tell me what inspired you to write this?

I'm always on the look-out for interesting stories with a bit of a twist. I like to take readers on a ride and throw them a good curveball once in a while. "Dr. Prometheus" is definitely such a story where nothing is what it seems at first.

At the same time I love to make historical and literary references in my stories. This whole business of grave robbing for science's purpose, and the Anatomy Act that was designed to put an end to it, always intrigued me. Real-life characters like Burke & Hare always fascinated me, who took grave robbing to new extremes at the time, murdering people to sell their corpses so they wouldn't have to actually dig them up. Talk about some lazy guys…

Every once in a while I look over the Jason Dark volumes I've written and ask myself, "Is this really horror?" I mean, one could argue that some of the stories are really just supernatural detective stories — and I would not necessarily disagree with that. It makes me rethink my approach sometimes, as I try to redefine horror for myself. In this case I felt that it was time to kick up the gore factor a little for a change. I simply wanted to write something that had a few Fulci zombie moments in it, while never losing the classic gothic horror touch.

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

Well, the name of the series is Jason Dark, does that count?

Seriously, though, part of this story in particular that makes it dark in my opinion is the fact that it is an example how good intentions can turn bad. Originally Dr. Prometheus wasn't a bad guy. He tried to perpetuate life in order to save people's lives. He's a doctor and I guess he's had enough of seeing his patients die – yes, maybe he should have become a better doctor, but that's beside the point.

He becomes so completely obsessed with the idea that the lines between right and wrong begin to blur for him; his supposedly good cause justifying the means, essentially. That, I think is a universally dark theme, because we all get to ask ourselves sometimes, how far would I go?

In more visual terms however, the story also has an inherent gothic darkness. Filled with graveyard scenes and body snatchers going about their business in the middle of the night, the fog-shrouded streets of London with horseshoes clattering on cobblestones, to me all that is dark material. It may be romanticized, yes, but at the same time there is always something unsettling about it.

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.

For the most part, the editing and revision process here was limited to clearing things up; shuffling a few passages, just to get better flow. The revisioning and editing stage is a very important part of how I write. It is not uncommon for me to have something like eight revisions of a story before I look at it as finalized and ready for publication. That creates a big stress on the timely delivery of my volumes, but that's another story.

However, "Dr. Prometheus" story was a clear candidate of the "Start with chapter 2" rule. I had written an opening scene that, in the end, I felt was not as powerful as I had hoped, and it was not really doing much for the opening of the story. Therefore, I completely removed it and began the book with what was originally designed to be the second chapter. It created a much denser atmosphere and immediately set the tone for the story. Playing in a graveyard under the moonlight, it is simply a primordial gothic horror scene that immediately put you in the middle of things without having a lot of the furious action I typically use to start my stories. Instead, here it is all about the mood, and I liked that for a change of pace. However, it took some time for me to get to the realization that this might be the better opening for the story as opposed to the action scene I had originally written.

I have to admit that I am not one of those writers who are completely enamored with their words. I know of authors who literally sweat blood and wrest with themselves endlessly when they have to make a change or when someone points out a weakness or flaw to them. I love those things. It is a way for me to craft a better story. When my editor tells me "I think you should front load this story a little," or when my wife says "Jason Dark would never do this!" I am usually the first one to say" Heck yeah, why didn't I think of that?"

So, when I took my original first chapter and threw it out, it was an ad hoc decision that I spent no time pondering over. It actually felt good to delete it physically, because I felt something was finally gone that was holding down the entire story.

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

I have a knack for inserting historic and literary references in my stories. It is one of the key ingredients of the series, actually, and every volume is brimming with various little tidbits that you can actually look up in your history books or the Internet for that matter.

In "Dr. Prometheus" one of the references is a little more contemporary, but I found it very befitting. A body is delivered to Dr. Prometheus in the story, by the name of "Vincent Furnier." Now, that is the birth name of Alice Cooper, the shock rock icon, of whom I'm a big fan. Remember, the whole story is playing in Victorian England, and as the body is uncovered, someone says

"He was an artist… a musician with a knack for theatrics, bordering on the Grand Guignol."

For some reason that line always makes me chuckle, maybe because it is so timeless. I am not sure, but with subtle suggestions like these, I always wonder how many of my readers will actually get the inside joke, and how many will simply read over this one but catch a different one instead that other readers may miss completely.

This seems to be part of a series. What can you tell me about it and what can we expect from you next?

"Jason Dark" is a series yes, and one of the beauties of running a series like this is that it allows me to cover all kinds of subjects in very short order. I don't have to labor for a year or more over one story that covers a small fraction of the spectrum of things I love and might like to write about. What is so incredibly exciting about the dime novel format, for me as a writer, is the fact that every month I'm dealing with an entirely different subject. One month it's vampires, the next month it's demons, then I take a stab at Templar Knight legends and follow it up with a gory zombie story. "Heavens on Fire" on the other hand took a little bit of a religious approach whereas the upcoming "From a Watery Grave" is a ghost story about greed.

I can dabble in subject matters to my heart's delight, really, dishing out something new every month. To me that is somehow much more intriguing and fascinating that writing a full-length novel that forces you to stick to one subject matter for a rather long time. Not that I would never want to write a novel, just not at the moment.

The downside on the other hand is, of course, that I have to come up with something new every month. While I have tons of ideas that fascinate and intrigue me, it is not at all easy to create a cohesive story that makes sense around it, and sometimes that part is harder than the actual writing process.

Where can we find you on the internet?

The official Jason Dark website can be found at

http://www.jasondarkseries.com On the website we have trailers, wallpapers and things, but more importantly you can find all the stories there. For people who want to give them a quick try, there are free versions of the stories on the site that can be read in your web browser, but for a more convenient experience, we also offer print dime novels and eBook versions in a variety of formats for purchase.

There is also a Jason Dark group on Facebook as well as a fan page for myself.

Any final comments or thoughts?

Before jumping in and reading any "Jason Dark" story, I think it is important to get the expectations right. It is a dime novel. That means it is comparatively short with only 64 pages in the print version. As a result these stories can be read rather quickly when compared to a full novel. I find that appealing because it gives a new sort of audience a chance to experience these stories. I think the length goes will with our fast-paced lifestyle. It takes some serious commitment to crack open a 1000 page novel and decide to read it from beginning to end. Not to avid readers, but to many regular people. As such I am trying to tap into a "Casual Reader" market, one could say, which barely exists in this country.

At the same time, the limited length and the fact that it is a series also means that information is cumulative. I am fleshing out the characters as the series progresses. Every volume reveals a little more about their motivations, ideals, traits and backgrounds. This is important to keep the series lively and exciting. However, I can see that readers who are used to novels, will be surprised that there is no immediate backstory. If you open volume 1 of the series, you're in the thick of things right away. Jason Dark is being introduced of course, but there is not single chapter talking about where he grew up, how he became a ghost hunter, or exactly how his brother died. It is touched upon, but no more. The same is true for peripheral characters and certain events. The dime novel format simply doesn't allow for that kind of depth and that kind of information is revealed over time, one episode at a time.

On the upside, however, dime novels are a furious read because of it. They jump right into the action, grab you by the collar and pull you along for the ride. There's barely a breather, and the action dominates the stories, almost like a roller coaster ride, or as one reviewer put it: "Not a single unnecessary word."

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Guido, thanks for coming by and answering these questions – great interview!!

For those interested, Guido will be appearing at the LA Weekend of Horrors on Friday May 21 at a dedicated “Jason Dark: Ghost Hunter” panel. There will be a live discussion of the series as well as a signing following the discussion and Q&A.

Purchasing information:

Visit the Jason Dark web site for info on purchasing the books in the series

So after much waiting, Smashwords has sent my book off to Barnes & Noble.

That makes it available at Amazon, B&N, iBookstore, iTunes, and Smashwords. But here’s the catch, when it was sent off to B&N the price at the time was $1.99 so until they catch up, my book is now cheaper at B&N until the error is corrected. Sadly, there is no synopsis there. So no one knows what my book is about.

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

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

I finished high school and kind of fell into a job doing nightclub security, otherwise known as bouncing. It was one of those things which was really easy to get into, but hard to get out of. The worst thing about it was it was something I was very good at; not just the violent aspects of it, but simply talking to people and resolving situations before they even became aggressive. The problem with being good at something is that despite not really liking it sometimes, it's always easy to slip back into it – especially when people keep offering you more money.

And so I kept doing security for about fifteen years in various shapes and forms. I ended up doing what I classed as contract security, which basically meant doing jobs from film and TV sets to bodyguard work, static protection, pretty much whatever people were willing to pay for within reason. I worked in places like Fiji, New Caledonia, Tahiti, New Zealand and all around Australia. But my writing has always taken first place, and now security work is pretty much a thing of the past… pretty much.

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

I've been seriously writing for around eight or nine years now, but it was always something I enjoyed. I wrote a few small pieces and then one day just sat down and began writing THE DARK PATH. It really wasn't much more complicated than that. I'm not the sort of person who talks about doing something and that's as far as it goes; when I set out to do something, I do it. I didn't sit down and do a step by step plan for how I was going to write each and every page, I started writing and just made it all up as I went along, researching as I went. And now, on my fourth book, my method is pretty much the same. I don't do a lot of research prior to starting a book because I honestly don't know in which direction the story is going to go.

But the writing, as any author will tell you, is the easy part. The hard part is getting published, and then if by some miracle you land a contract you have to sing into the maelstrom to try to be heard among the thousands of other great writers out there, all vying for the readers' attention. Stab yourself in the eye first, it might be less painful.

You have a new book just out, The Dark Path. Tell me what inspired you to write this?

I was playing around with a character and wondered how far I could go with him, how evil I could make his actions, and still make him likeable. The result was Vain, and there was something so appealing about him that I just needed to keep going, and the story kind of unfolded around his actions. It rapidly became so much more than I could have predicted or planned and at the close I just had to sit back and catch my breath.

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

Like I said, the main character, Vain, is intensely dark, as are his actions, but there are many underlying themes within this novel which I can't reveal without giving too much away. What I can say is that Vain is challenged by his very nature every step on his journey to protect a young boy named Sebastian. In the end it is this very nature which might prove to be the biggest threat to them both.

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 was very lucky in that my editor for THE DARK PATH was brilliant and a fantastic guy to work with. My biggest fear leading up to the editing process was that they'd want me to tone the violence right down, even though it was all very important to the back-story of what had created Vain as well as establishing the darkness of his nature. Therefore I was surprised when my editor turned around and asked me to make a scene slightly more graphic in order to get this point across to the reader.

My editing was a joy, and I looked forward to each and every copy that we sent back and forth because I knew that rather than removing things I loved from the story, my editor was on the same page as me in regards to where I wanted the novel to go.

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

There are a lot, but here goes. This one always makes me chuckle:

The body quickly dissolved into a thick sludge, sliding to the side of the road and joining the bloodied mess that already lay there. The Dark Man examined the head, its lidless eyes glaring balefully up at him, its mouth moving voicelessly, still trying to speak. "Don't get up," chuckled Vain, "I'll get the door."

Vain is a very dark character in this. Tell me about him, and did you draw on anything from your real life experiences to create him?

Everyone asks me this question, and I'd be lying if I said Vain wasn't part of my own life. There's a lot of unanswered rage dwelling within Vain and he uses violence in order to deal with it, even though he doesn't really know why. For him life is simple: if people get in his way, he takes them out of his way. In this I think he appeals to many people who would often wish for the confidence or even the ability to stand up to those who make life hard for them.

But within this shell of confidence, Vain is conflicted after meeting Sebastian. The boy invades his world of simplistic values and challenges Vain on a very deep level, causing him to question himself and his way of life.

What can we expect from you next?

My agents at Tribe Literary are currently selling my second novel called BLACKLISTED as well as putting together a proposal for my third novel, which I can't disclose the name of just yet. I should finish off the first draft of my fourth book in a few weeks and then get to edit it before starting on my next project. The novels I'm doing are very different to anything people have seen before, and I think they are really going to impact hard when they come out. I have a lot of fans already clamoring for my work and it's just a matter of getting the books out there. There has been talk of selling the film rights for THE DARK PATH, but there aren't any definite plans just yet. The most important thing is getting my fans what they want, and that's more books!

Where can we find you on the internet?

People can find all my social networking links on my website, along with more information about my writing including a few of my early short stories at www.lukeromyn.host56.com

Any final comments or thoughts?

I just want to thank everyone who has helped me along this incredible path. The support I have received from people even before THE DARK PATH was released has been nothing short of fantastic, and it means more to me than anyone will ever know. When I get contacted by someone I don't know who has read my book and can give it nothing but praise is the most wonderful thing I have ever experienced, and I'm determined not to let people down. Thank you all.

————

Luke, thanks for coming by and answering these questions. I understand that The Dark Path was a Top 10 Finalist in the Preditors and Editors Readers’ Poll for best Horror Novel of 2009. Congratulations!!

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I’ve been running a series of interviews with authors that are releasing new books, particularly dark fiction. I hope you’ll take the time to check out their work. Today, please welcome author, David McAfee. ———— To start, can you tell me a little about yourself.

Sure, although I never really know what to say to that. Something wise and writerly, one would hope. I live in Tennessee with my wife, daughter, and a small army of loyal but dysfunctional pets. I've loved reading for as long as I can remember, even cracking open King books at ten years old. My dad was proud of me for that, if a bit worried. 33 A.D. is my first published novel, though I've sold some short stories to the horror magazine Necrotic Tissue. I hope to be able to write full time someday. Oh, and a movie deal wouldn't hurt my feelings.

How long have you been writing and how did you get to this point in your career? Well, I wrote a kids book when I was six years old. Does that count? Throughout my childhood and young adult years I wrote short stories and essays, but I never actually tried to get anything published until about 2005. I got to this point in my career by being too stubborn to give up in the face of overwhelming rejection. I'm still at the beginning of this journey, to be honest. I haven't left the front stoop yet, but I'm walking out the door, and that's something.

You have a new book just out, 33 A.D. Tell me what inspired you to write this?

33 A.D. which is about a vampire in Biblical Jerusalem who attempts to assassinate Jesus of Nazareth, was inspired by the book VIOLENT SANDS, by Sean Young. In it, Sean Young tells the story of Barabbas, who, according to the Bible, is the man Pilate set free in Jesus's place. Young's book was so vivid, and so…good…that I kept finding myself wandering through the streets of ancient Israel with the characters. I kept wondering what the vampires of the era would have been doing at the time, and what they would have thought of all the hooplah surrounding the strange young rabbi from Galilee. Voila! The concept for 33 A.D. was born.

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

That's a tough one. One of the reasons I had such a hard time selling 33 A.D. is because it doesn't fit squarely into any genre. It revolves around the Crucifixion, but it's not Christian Fiction. It has vampires, but it's not Urban Fantasy. It's set in historical Jerusalem, but it's not purely historical, either. I confused a lot of agents. I call it a historical paranormal thriller, but readers can call it anything they like.

What makes it dark? Well, for starters, you won't find any sparkling or angsty vampires in it. I went old school and made my vampires the way I like 'em: evil. The whole story centers on one vampire's mission to kill a man, and he's not shy about adding to the body count if it suits him. Or if it amuses him. It's also bloody and violent, but what else would you expect from a vampire novel set in Biblical times? This is no YA bedtime vampire story.

Then there are the Lost Ones. These are vampires who have displeased the Council. I won't tell you about them, but talk about dark! They give me the creeps, and I dreamed them up.

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.

Oh, boy. Was that rough! The book was originally divided into three sections, which were preceded by three individual prologues. Each prologue showed a part of Theron's history. From his inception as a vampire to his sentencing as a Lost One to his rebirth as a vampire again. I added those to illustrate the character's strong determination not to fail in his mission, but in the end it really didn't add much and distracted more than it needed to. So even though I loved that part, I cut it out, and now readers would never know Theron was once sentenced to life as a Lost One. It'll probably come out in a later book, though.

Another note: Theron's name was originally Pritchard. It just fit, somehow. But when I landed my former publisher, he said he didn't think the name sounded authentic to the period, and he was right. Every other name in the book is taken from ancient Roman, Greek, or Jewish names, but Pritchard didn't match up. I looked up ancient Greek (Theron is from Greece) names and found that the name Theron meant "Hunter" in ancient Greek. I thought it fitting, so I changed it. I still prefer the original, though.

There are other examples, but those were the two hardest.

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

Theron whirled to face him, fully expecting to be bowled over in a mass of teeth and claws. But Ephraim stood in the same spot as before. He hadn't moved at all during Malachi's death, and had not plucked his infamous khopesh from the wall. Theron thought he knew the reason. He knows it won't help. He already knows how this must end. He stepped closer. Malachi's blood dripped from his blade, leaving a thin trail of small red puddles on the floorboards.

"Theron," Ephraim said. "They sent you?"

"I'm the best. Of course they sent me." Theron gave a mocking bow.

"Are you the Lead Enforcer now, my old friend?"

"Someone had to take your place. Who better than me? But you are no friend of mine, traitor." He spat at the other's feet, barely missing Ephraim's dusty leather boot.

"Don't be so quick to choose, Theron. You should hear what he has to say."

"I don't need to hear what he has to say. I still serve our people. The rambling words of a deranged rabbi will not show me my path. The Council’s laws have protected our people for over four thousand years. You," he pointed an accusing finger, "have violated them."

"His words would save you, my friend," Ephraim said, so softly Theron almost didn't hear him.

Theron laughed. "Save me? As they saved you? You are a handful of seconds away from Hell, and you would presume to save me?" In that instant, Theron determined he would make Ephraim's death as unpleasant as he could manage. He threw his sword to the floor and willed his claws to grow. In a few moments his fingernails grew long and thick. The brief but intense pain in his fingertips was worth it. He would rip the traitor's head from his shoulders. "You should worry about saving yourself, old friend."

"I did," Ephraim replied, just before Theron leapt at him.

The idea of mixing vampires and Jesus of Nazareth is really unique. What has the reaction been to this so far?

Overwhelmingly positive, actually. I expected to get more flack for it. Maybe that'll happen when the book gets more notice. There are a handful of people who have refused to read it due to the subject matter; they felt it was blasphemous. But far more people think it's a very interesting and unique idea, and the feedback I have received from readers has been very good so far. I'm still waiting for that first negative review, though. I know it's coming.

What can we expect from you next?

I have another vampire novel that I wrote back in 2004. I am cleaning it up and getting it ready to release on Kindle. Unlike 33 A.D., it's more of a paranormal romance. That's just the way that story worked out.

I just finished a rough draft for a novel called THE GALLOWS TREE. It's a horror novel about a small town in East Tennessee that is haunted by the spirit of a young black boy who was lynched there in 1959. I'll dip into that and start revisions once I'm finished with the vampire book.

I also have a pulp horror novel called GRUBS, which I plan to release as a Kindle book in June. Since GRUBS is short, I'll be including all my short stories at the back.

I'm halfway through the rough draft of another vampire novel called BAIT, about a man who hunts vampires in a very unusual way. I expect to finish the first draft of that by October.

My next new novel project will be a prequel to 33 A.D. I plan to explore the character Ephraim more. His origins, how he became a vampire, how he rose up the ranks to be Lead Enforcer, and what eventually turned him from his people to follow Jesus of Nazareth. There's a story there, and I want to know it.

Where can we find you on the internet?

I just contacted a web designer, and as long as we can get everything transferred over from GoDaddy, my website will be www.mcafeeland.com. I also have a blog, and I can be found on Twitter and Facebook. I'm also a member of Goodreads.com, KindleBoards.com, and AbsoluteWrite.com.

Any final comments or thoughts?

Yes, I want to note that I live in Knoxville, TN, just a few hours east of Nashville. As many people know, Nashville is experiencing floods due to heavy rainfall, leaving thousands of people without homes and costing over a billion dollars in damage. This hits especially close to home for me, and I want to try and help, even if only a little. For that reason, a portion of the profits for 33 A.D. will be donated to help the city of Nashville. $1 per print copy (which equals 1/3 of my total profit per book) and 50% of all Kindle profits will be sent to Music City, USA. So if any of your readers would like to get a great book and help a hurting city, this is a great opportunity to do both. Last but not least, I'd like to thank you, David, for having me here. I know you recently purchased a Kindle copy of 33 A.D., and I hope you enjoy it.

———— David, you’re very welcome. And thank YOU for dropping in! I hope you’ll come back for GRUBS! Folks, if you want to help support a good cause, you can purchase 33 A.D. at Amazon in both print and Kindle formats, Smashwords and Barnes & Noble.

For those that didn’t catch SNL with host Betty White, here’s a sample of what you missed. She gave the show a breath of much-needed fresh air.

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

————

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

I was born in Philadelphia PA. Lived here all my life (love this city). I am 27 years old, I was born May 10, 1983. (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!) I am the youngest son in a family of eight children. I am the proud uncle to 15 children, godfather of two. I went to school at both Philadelphia Community College and Temple University. I attained my associates degree in communication and a Bachelors degree in Journalism. I have always wanted a career in writing but the goals I wanted didn’t pan out until Dawn was signed. I am a major fan of all things Philadelphia, mostly sports though. Most sundays you’ll find me watching either the world champ phillies or eagles. I am currently a movie theater manager. I have been working in movie theaters for the last 9yrs. I am a huge fan of sci-fi, I truly believe the best writers can be found in this genre.

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

It would be easy to say I’ve been writing for a certain period of time but it wouldn’t be the truth. The honest answer is I’ve been writing in one form or another since I was a kid. It was only when I decided to try and become a journalist that I attempted to become a career writer. I loved reading Star Qars books and comics because the imagination to create these worlds was so impressive to me. However early on I saw something in sports writing. There seemed to be a honor in it that attracted me, plus in good stories like ones about teams that everyone wrote off I saw storytelling that was first rate. I tried to become this when I went to Temple University for my journalism degree. However in the end the plan didn’t pan out. It was during this time I had been writing my first book. I always wanted something I wrote to live forever. Something that those that knew me could say that’s Pete book. I had been for over a year looking for a publisher to give me a shot but as any new author will tell you is hard nearly impossible. I was so down on the whole thing (getting published) that is until I came across this small publishing house called Dreambooks. They showed an interest but wanted to clean up the work a bit. So I started the process of editing the book to make it ready for publication. Six months later and Dreambooks signed me, it was a very good day.

You have a new book just out, Dawn of the Shadow. Tell me what inspired you to write this?

Dawn of the Shadow for me was the culmination of a childhood dream. Since I was a kid comic books and supeheroes were a fantasy that always fueled my imagination. When I decided to write this story it sort of dawned on me I knew what kind of story a hero should have. I grew up on stories of Batman, Superman, Spiderman and I loved each of them. However in each of these tales the path each of the men take just seemed so more unbelieveable after the next. I then did what I always try to do in my writing and that was add myself into the tale. Not literally but I tried to answer the question how would I react to having such incredible powers. It then snowballed from there, adding in representations of friends whom I was very close with making them main characters in this world. It all felt into place like a puzzle a story of a goofy, funny kid whom deep down wanted something more but never touched on this desire until he had the power to change. The story allowed me to tell how by not allowing himself to be himself it created a jealousy for those he considered family. This story became very personal for me and it was a joy to write.

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

Dawn of the shadow is easily a science fiction tale but it doesn’t rest on it. It’s a story about jealousy, anger, greed, and rage. It’s a story surrounding a guy named Peter Farrell. A typical 21 yr old kid whom has no direction and follows his more popular friends around. It all changes after he finds a machine underground that had been lost for centuries. It changes him from the average guy he was to something extraordinary. Little by little Pete under the tutelage from an enemy from the past a being that was awakened when Pete was changed gaining his super powers. Pete having the power to do more then he ever had before brings out a new confidence and arrogance which fuels an anger that when pushed makes Pete a dangerous violent person. Taking his rage out he nearly kills attacker who threaten him and his friends. Each push he takes under Bocchio’s (the enemy he awakened) the deeper and more violent a man Pete becomes. It all culiminates in a fight with his long time enemy Tony Cap, a setup by Bocchio as a test. Blood pours, bones break as the two fight tooth and nail for superiority. It ends with Pete trying to walk away before Tony forces his hand. What I always thought made this a dark story was the changes that Pete goes through. I categorized this story when i wrote it into three sets. The first being childhood, the path before he becomes extraordinary and after during which time he didnt have any idea how to use the power. The second Adolescence where he learns the power but doesn’t have the compass to use it correctly. It also is the time where the recklessness and anger are raised where he becomes a danger to himself and others. The final is the adulthood path where he finally accepts his destiny and understands who he is and what he has to do to lead a normal life. Each stage is filled with dark challenges that test him and re-test him in ways that would break most men.

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.

The hardest part of these books was making these characters believeable. In any story about a superhero its not just about finding a way to believe how one man can take on the role of protector for so many. For me it was what kind of friends did this guy have. I felt it was neccessary as important as Pete himself to get the roles of Tim Davis and Mark Markinson correct. It also became difficult with the villian. Bocchio needed to be a badguy that was so unique, so charming, so brillant, yet in the end dangerous beyond belief. A badguy is a dime a dozen for Bocchio he needed to be a guy who could see the dark parts of Pete psyche and be able to bring them out.

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

At the end a cop named Detective John Kane who joins in an alliance with Shadow reads a statement praising the officers he fought with to help end Bocchio’s run. The following is a statement where he describes what a hero truly is to him.

“I am no hero, a hero is someone who everyday goes out and protects all of you because they have a desire to serve something higher.”

Also Shadow takes on a saying that speaks to what his mission as protector of the city means to him.

“Darkness rises…The Shadow falls…Light remains.”

What can we expect from you next?

Currently I am in the process of having another book edited by an extremly talented writer named Rob Starr. The story tentatively titled It’s Just A Family Thing is a leap away from the science fiction genre. It is a cop story that surrounds a conspiracy that is so massive and wide everyone is caught in it. The main characters are two cops, partners and brothers who are cowboy like in their style. These brothers lead Captain is their older brother Dave who has melt downs due to their roque behavior but secretly is proud. The brothers discover that through a CI a company using the city to transport everything from weapons to men through the world. The company in question has for decades run this deal having complete control over the government. The brothers become the first to break their security. They respond by putting the brothers through the ringer. The company decides to end the brothers by making them what they have spent a lifetime fighting, criminals. In response to being put on the run the brothers push the limit of their training in their effort to unmask the conspiracy. It all leads to a final confrontation where no one is safe. The question throughout the book is answered at the end; What would make a family risk everything…It’s just a family thing.

I am now writing the sequel to Dawn of the Shadow in the book I have titled Shadow of the Night. In the sequel we learn the price this life has had on Pete and his friends. The changes that occur while also looking at the changing world due to the new technology Dawn released onto the world.

Where can we find you on the internet?

The following sites I am very active.

http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php?action=profile;u=10206
http://dawnoftheshadow.webs.com/
http://twitter.com/Shadow2683
http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/3174605
http://bookblogs.ning.com/profile/PeterKelly
Book Trailer:

Any final comments or thoughts?

Writing is an artform a gift that everyone has but only a few are able to fully put to use. I have always wanted to be a writer and to say something from my imagination is available for everyone to read is a real treat. I love stories that shows a writers talent and imagination and not just their gift for dialogue. Book readers are smart they’re not pompish or arrogant they want to be entertained in a way that is so engrossing that takes them out of their world and into the one created by the author. I can only hope that my work will be read this way. Dawn of the Shadow is available now on Kindle. It will be available soon as a print so stay tuned and enjoy the work and thank you for reading.

————

Peter, thank you for taking the time to answer these questions and best of luck both with all of our writing endeavors. Looks like you’re going to be a busy guy!!

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

————

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

I'm twenty-six, married to a wonderful wife and have an equally wonderful daughter. I graduated several years ago with a Mathematics degree. I'm currently working as a para-professional for Special Education, and plan on pursuing a Spec Ed. degree over the next couple years.

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

The earliest I can remember writing was far back in Elementary School. I wrote a hundred hand-written pages about a character named Magus assaulting a castle with his undead horde. I blatantly stole the character from a Super Nintendo game. By 5th grade I was reading Tom Clancy and Michael Crichton, so writing felt like a natural extension of my reading.

In High School I had a phenomenal English teacher who gave us time every day to write. I wrote a story titled The Guardian which focused on a group of men entering a mine filled with gold which was haunted by a creature made of pure darkness and teeth. I wrote a continuation, followed by another, until it bloomed into a 120,000 word novel. Several characters of that long ago novel have remade their appearances in my current series, especially within The Death of Promises.

As for where I am now, that evolved from a constant desire to tell stories. When I researched the evolving e-book market, I decided it was my best opportunity to reach readers. I contacted a man named Peter Ortiz to do the covers, hammered my first couple books into publishable form, and then released my first book, The Weight of Blood, onto the Amazon Kindle.

You have a new book out, The Death of Promises. Tell me what inspired you to write this?

At the end of The Cost of Betrayal, I was left with a deep schism between the two main characters. One of them, Qurrah Tun, had made many promises to his lover, and I felt like I had to know what would become of them. The title should give a hint as to how that turned out.

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

The Death of Promises is like my Empire Strikes Back from Star Wars. What was once a clash between two brothers has grown and grown until even gods have begun to interfere. Under no circumstances do I feel obligated to make the ending happy. I have a story to tell, and by god, I'm going to tell it.

I never thought to make this series 'dark fantasy', but I've encountered more and more that insist on that label. Perhaps it is because I am willing to kill off main characters. I've read too many books where the hero is like some 80's hero movie, dodging a million bullets, slaughtering a thousand bad guys, and finishing without his hair even mussed. I'm not like that. When magic flows and swords clash, blood is going to be spilled, and it'd be a bit predictable if it was always the bad guys who bled.

The other thing I've noticed from reviews is that readers seem surprised that actions have consequences. Perhaps I'm naïve, but is this really such a problem in fantasy? My characters make mistakes. They make bad decisions. I am adamant that those decisions mean something. For good or ill, all we are is our decisions, and to belittle those by magical or deific intervention insults me. If you're used to reading fantasy where the boy hero is worshipped everywhere he goes, is never contradicted, and his every plan is successful in thwarting the bad man, then my stories might be a bit of a shock.

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 care for my characters, some more than others. One in particular, a goofy wizard named Tarlak, has always had a soft spot in my heart. In a rather crucial scene, I killed someone close to him. The tragedy of death is not to the one dying but to those that live on, and having to convey Tarlak's sorrow was rough. There's this moment when he first sees the body, and even as I write the scene I know that he will never be the same again. I miss who Tarlak once was, but I won't change it. I won't wash it away or have an angel return the dead back to life. Death, life, decisions: these things have to carry weight otherwise my entire story is nothing but fluff and mindless action.

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

Qurrah to his lover, Tessanna: "I will burn this whole world to ash. I will keep my promises."

This appears to be part of a series. Tell us about the series, and what can we expect from you next?

When I first started the Half-Orc Series, my goal was to create a villain that would rival my personal favorites, such as Artemis Entreri, Raistlin Majere, and Grand Admiral Thrawn. I've since deviated from that plan, but to say how would give away too much.

The series follows two brothers, Harruq and Qurrah Tun, as they go from being homeless thieves to mercenaries to paragons of their deities. The Weight of Blood introduced the gods and gave a taste of the war they want to unleash. The Cost of Betrayal focuses on results of the brothers' decision to turn away from their dark god, Karak, as well as developing their relationships with the women they love.

Both brothers hurt the other deeply, and the Death of Promises then shifts to how each try to live without the other. To fulfill his promise, one brother swears allegiance to Karak once more and then leads a massive siege that was one of the most exhausting but enjoyable parts to write in my entire series.

As to where it's going…The Shadows of Grace is the fourth book, which I hope to finish editing by the end of summer. I'm also writing a single one-shot novel about a character of mine named Haern the Watcher. It is called A Dance of Cloaks. I'm only a third of the way in, but I hope to have it for sale before the end of the year.

Any final comments or thoughts?

I'm glad to be given the chance to ramble about my work, so thank you for that, David Burton. I crave interaction with readers, and I could talk about my characters for hours. Hopefully there's a few people out that there enjoyed my ramblings, and even more so that have enjoyed my story of Harruq and Qurrah Tun.

————

David, these sound great and I love the covers! Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions and best of luck. I hope you’ll be back for The Shadows of Grace!!

Over at The Cajun Book Lady, I’m giving away 5 free ebooks.

I also did a guest post on what dark fantasy means to me and what made me decide to go that direction with The Second Coming.

Go check out the post for more info on how to win!!

It’s important to have queer role models, not only for queer youth, but also for children of queer parents. In our house, we often point out to our boys when someone in popular culture is queer. Although they have friends with same-sex parents, it’s important they see it in role models and entertainers. It normalizes their experience. That’s why I’m so glad Adam Lambert didn’t win American Idol. His career will do much better without the burden of that crown on his head. And I have one more person that I can tell my kids is like their two dads.

This is just plain nice.

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

————

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

I'm just your typical lazy hack, trading words for magic beans. I simultaneously believe my stories have a deeper meaning that will save the world and that they are self-indulgent fantasies designed to amuse myself and nothing more. All in all, I'd rather be gardening.

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

I had the typical author trajectory–crayons and comic doodlings, weird stories to amuse my classmates, obscure high school poetry, the serious literary phase involving lots of suicide and cigarettes, a rock career, college degree, journalism, and then writing a bunch of novels. And here I am, wherever that is. It looks suspiciously like the set of "Deliverance."

You have a new book just out, The Skull Ring. Tell me what inspired you to write this?

I'd been reading about Satanic Ritual Abuse and False Recovered Memory Syndrome, and though the Satanic Panic was largely a phenomenon of the 1980s, I figured the devil never goes out of fashion. I've always been wary of shrinks or anyone who both has the desire to "help" you and a belief that they know how to do so. From there, I wanted the character of Julia Stone to take a journey of self-discovery and faith while fending off dimly understood evils.

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 it's a dark psychological thriller with a romantic element. While there are strains of mystery and crime fiction, it's dark in the utter manipulation of Julia's mind and the motives of the antagonists. Though Satan is largely off-stage, there are points where Julia wonders if some evil entity is twisting and shaping events on a grander scale.

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.

Julia is a bit annoying early on, simply because she is so vulnerable and damaged that she may come off as weak. She discovers inner strength but also becomes open to faith, simply because she has so little else she can trust. Balancing Julia's weakness with a believable character capable of taking on the bad guys was a delicate process. I've read too many books where the women are "men with curves," so I wanted to make her believable.

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

After Julia researches a few Satanic Web sites, she muses, "Someone who was filled with the power of the Master of the World should at least know how to run their text through a spell check."

What other works do you have out and what can we expect from you next?

Though THE SKULL RING just came out, I am launching the supernatural thriller DRUMMER BOY on May 11. In traditional publishing, you want a big launch and a buzz because you only have a limited time on the store shelves, and your publisher drives you into a fearful froth in order to keep "good numbers." In the modern environment, though, you may as well make everything available and then seek your audience in a slow and persistent manner. Coming this summer is the psychological thriller DISINTEGRATION, a modern retelling of Jacob and Esau from the Old Testament, featuring a cast of duplicitous, unreliable characters probably modeled after the author.

Where can we find you on the internet?

If you want timely industry and writing links, tweet me up at twitter.com/hauntedcomputer. If you want my wry brand of self-indulgent humor, then Facebook is where to get that side of the Scott Nicholson experience. For more in-depth writer and industry observations, try hauntedcomputer.blogspot.com, and if you want to flex your craft muscles, then writegoodordie.blogspot.com is an interactive manual. Obviously I have far too many interests and far too few skills to address them all.

Any final comments or thoughts?

I'm an acquired taste and I have become less interested in a populist appeal as I stack up more novels. And as I've learned more about the industry, I understand why it works the way it does, and where it's broken. I also know where I'm broken. It's somewhere between my ears, and if I keep jabbing a pencil in there, maybe one day I'll root out the disease. Probably will take 40 more novels, though. Oh. And buy all my books, so I can sit at home in dirty sweat pants. People who say "Don't quit your day job" are people with lousy day jobs who don't want anyone else to have fun. I say "Quit your day job, and the sooner the better."

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Scott, these books are right up my alley!! Congratulations on the new releases and thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. You have lots to keep you busy over the coming months! Best of luck!