A Word Please

My guest today is the bestselling author Andrew Kaufman. He is also one of my absolute favorite writers. I’m character-driven in both my own writing and my reading preference, and Andrew has the ability to get inside his characters in a way many authors aren’t able to do. If you haven’t read his books, yet, you need to! But, first, hang out with us here and get to know a little about Andrew.

Andrew E. Kaufman is a freelance writer and author living in Southern California, along with his six Labrador Retrievers, three horses, and a very bossy Jack Russell Terrier (who, incidentally, thinks she owns the place).

After receiving his journalism and political science degrees at San Diego State University, Andrew began his writing career as an Emmy-nominated writer/producer, working at KFMB-TV, the CBS affiliate in San Diego, then at KCAL-TV in Los Angeles. For more than ten years, he produced special series and covered many nationally known cases, including the O.J. Simpson Trial.

Now for a look at Andrew’s new book The Lion, the Lamb, the Hunted, which we’ll be discussing today:

SHE ONLY STEPPED OUTSIDE FOR A MINUTE…

But a minute was all it took to turn Jean Kingsley’s world upside down–a minute she’d regret for the rest of her life.

STEPPING INTO HER WORST NIGHTMARE.

Because when she returned, she found an open bedroom window and her three-year-old son, Nathan, gone. The boy would never be seen again.

A NIGHTMARE THAT ONLY BECAME WORSE.

A tip leads detectives to the killer, a repeat sex offender, and inside his apartment, a gruesome discovery. A slam-dunk trial sends him off to death row, then several years later, to the electric chair.

CASE CLOSED. JUSTICE SERVED…OR WAS IT?

Now, more than thirty years later, Patrick Bannister unwittingly stumbles across evidence among his dead mother’s belongings. It paints his mother as the killer and her brother, a wealthy and powerful senator, as the one pulling the strings.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO NATHAN KINGSLEY?

There’s a hole in the case a mile wide, and Patrick is determined to close it. But what he doesn’t know is that the closer he moves toward the truth, the more he’s putting his life on the line, that he’s become the hunted. Someone’s hiding a dark secret and will stop at nothing to keep it that way.

The clock is ticking, the walls are closing, and the stakes are getting higher as he races to find a killer–one who’s hot on his trail. One who’s out for his blood.

Ready to learn more about Andrew and his books? On to our conversation:

Your debut novel, While the Savage Sleeps went straight to the bestseller list. Did that instant success affect your writing process and mindset when you set out to write The Lion, the Lamb, the Hunted?

It’s kind of funny. When I set out to write my first novel, the question I asked myself was whether I could write a novel. Period. I’d tried so many times before but failed. Once I finished it, I honestly didn’t know how readers would respond, if at all. As writers, we work in a vacuum and really don’t know what we have until we send it off into the world. After While the Savage Sleeps went to number one, I realized this was a whole new ball game. Suddenly, I had an audience of readers. I understood the accountability that went with that, so when I started writing The Lion, the Lamb, the Hunted, the question was no longer whether or not I could write a novel; it was whether I could write a better novel. It’s in my nature to want to stretch myself, to improve, but in this situation, the stakes seemed so much higher. I felt a responsibility not only to myself but also to my readers. I worked like I’ve never worked before to make this the absolute best I could. I was ridiculously hard on myself because I didn’t want to let my readers down.

I’ve read The Lion, the Lamb, the Hunted, and I think your writing talent shines. Do you feel you succeeded in stretching yourself?

On a personal level, I’d have to say, yes. I’m satisfied that I did everything I could to raise the bar. I love this book, and I’m proud of it. It’s been true labor of love for me. Of course, we’ll have to see what the readers think, but the response from the beta readers was overwhelmingly positive, and I was thrilled with that. The rest is up to fate, I guess, and is out of my control.

These two books do not fall in the same genre. While the Savage Sleeps is horror, while The Lion, the Lamb, the Hunted is a psychological thriller. What made you decide to switch genres, and were you worried about how your readers would respond?

This book is a complete departure from my first. We’re talking two sides of the globe. The thing is, I never intended to be a horror writer, per se. I write what I’m passionate about and don’t pay much attention to genre. While the Savage Sleeps was just a story I wanted to tell. The Lion, the Lamb, the Hunted is another. I think when you write from the heart, the readers can sense that, and then everything else falls into place. I’m not sure I’ll ever want to be boxed into one particular genre; it seems too confining. I’ve worked hard to brand myself rather than just my genre. But yes, it was a risk for me to hop genres on my second book, especially after developing a following. Am I nervous about it? You bet. But it all goes back to following your heart and knowing all else will follow right along. I’ve learned to trust my gut; it hasn’t let me down yet.

I loved Patrick, the lead character in The Lion, the Lamb, the Hunted. He’s a complex yet sympathetic character. Can you tell us a little about him?

Patrick is probably my favorite character to date. He’s had such a painful and tragic past and yet has still somehow managed to remain genuine, sincere, and quite likeable. Don’t get me wrong—he’s flawed, terribly so, but in a way, I think, that endears rather than repels. A few of my beta readers said all they wanted to do was throw their arms around him. I think that says it all.

Patrick struggles with a multitude of challenges. Can you share a little about them?

He suffered a horribly abusive childhood, has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and as if that weren’t enough, he’s a bleeder. You said it: a multitude of challenges.

I wanted to raise the stakes for him like I’ve never done before with any other character. It was important that the reader see him struggle and rise above his obstacles, both on a personal level and within the story itself. The blood disease is a metaphor; he’s been deeply injured, and as a result, is deeply vulnerable. On the physical level, he lives with the day-to-day fear of being injured, of bleeding to death. It’s the same thing with his emotional state; he’s scared of being vulnerable, of being wounded. It just felt like the right choice.

With the OCD, his particular compulsion is listing; he writes the same words over and over. To raise the stakes even more, he’s a journalist, a writer, trapped by his own words. The irony in that fascinated me, and I used it as a device to show his tension. As the situation becomes more dangerous, his disorder becomes more pervasive. As for his abuse, that’s directly tied to the plot, but it also makes him a more vulnerable character on so many different levels.

Are there bits of you in Patrick? Did you identify with him?

Not in terms of his circumstances, but on an emotional level, very much. It’s interesting how each time I write a new book, my characters become so real to me that at times it feels overwhelming. They’re almost like my children. I love them all and I feel their pain. I have to throw myself into their minds in order to portray them in a realistic and compelling way. In doing that, I tend to cross that emotional bridge and connect with them on a very personal level. I guess that’s a good sign.

You characters come alive on the page and become people readers can relate to. What is your secret to creating characters readers so easily connect with?

I think flaws are vital to a character, but like I mentioned before, ones that draw the reader to them. Flaws add dimension and make them more interesting, and since none of us is perfect, I think they help us relate to them better. We identify with their shortcomings. Another reason is that I do my best to make their struggles seam real, and when it’s all over, I want them to grow as a result, become changed in a significant way.

Your books lack sex, which absolutely works for you. Was it a conscious decision for you to avoid sexual relationships in your books?

The truth is that in real life, people aren’t automatically attracted to one another just because they find themselves thrown together. I see it happen in books a lot and it bothers me because it often feels too predictable. It’s so easy to take that path, so I choose not to. Besides that, I just don’t see a place for it when I’m writing suspense. If a crazed killer is chasing you, sex is probably going to be the last thing on your mind. For me, it slows down the action too much.

Tell us one thing you want readers to know about The Lion, the Lamb, the Hunted.

Oh, gosh. There’s more than one. I guess that this book has so many layers to it, and instead of starting with a bang like While the Savage Sleeps does, it builds toward one. Kind of a reversal of sorts, but I think—or I hope—it’s a satisfying one.

Your very connected to your readers. What do they mean to you?

They mean the world to me, and I say it every chance I get. Make no mistake about it: I’m fiercely loyal to them. Now more than ever, there are so many choices when it comes to reading. That they’ve managed to find me and then support me like they have is nothing short of awe-inspiring. I feel an intense responsibility to give them the best I can offer, and I never want to let them down. It’s the reason why I dedicated this book to them. They’re that important to me.

Thank you, Andrew, for taking the time to talk to us about your writing.

I hope you’ll take the time to read Andrew’s books. You can learn more about Andrew and his writing in the following places:

www.AndreweKaufman.com
www.AndreweKaufman.blogspot.com
www.CrimeFictionCollective.blogspot.com

Thanks for reading.

My guest today is author Mark Souza. I met Mark on Twitter about a year ago. Recently, I finally got around to reading some of his short stories and became an instant fan of his writing. If you like stories that make you flinch and cringe a little (or a lot), then you’ll love Mark’s work. He’s one of those few authors who can make me shudder without spilling a drop of blood. Mark agreed to hang out here and answer my questions. And I have to tell you that he was quite tolerant with my insanity, but that is a whole other topic! Here’s a brief introduction:

Mark Souza lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife, two children, and mongrel beast-dog, Tater. He writes primarily horror, though on occasion, other things that strike his fancy. When he’s not writing, he’s out among you trying to look and act normal (whatever that is), reminding himself that the monsters he’s created are all in his head, no more real than campaign promises.

His novel Robyn’s Egg will be released in the spring of 2012
A collection of his short stories, Try 2 Stop Me, will be released in September of 2012
FREE short stories available on Smashwords and most major ebook retail sites:

Connect With Mark Online:
My Website: www.marksouza.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/souzawrites

Now for our chat:

What is it about short fiction that appeals to you as a writer?

Writing short stories is the fastest way to get published, the best way to receive feedback, and the fastest way to learn the writing craft. A writer can spend a year writing a novel before submitting to agents and editors to get feedback. Good luck with that. Agents and editors are usually too busy to provide a critique. Feedback usually consists of “not for us.” And unless you just wrote The Hunger Games, they won’t read more than the first few paragraphs.

If a writer pens short stories, they can submit ten or more stories in that same time period, the stories will be read, and chances for honest feedback improve drastically. With short stories, you are dealing with anthology or magazine editors who get tens of thousands of words coming across their desks each week, versus an agent who receives millions of words a week.

The advantage short stories provide is more repetitions at working your craft. Every element of a good novel can be found in a good short story, so what a writer learns from writing short stories is directly applicable to writing novels. And because short stories usually have a word limit, they also teach the art of editing and tightening prose. The lower the word count, the more a writer learns about editing. Nothing tightens flaccid prose better and quicker than flash fiction, stories of 1000 words or less. Those 1000 words have to do double duty. Wordy phrases have to be reworked till they’re lean and precise.

It’s also much easier coming up with ideas for good short stories than it is ideas strong enough to support a full length novel. And who knows, short stories sometimes grow long legs and turn into novels – I’m working on one of those now. What started as 5,000 words is now 100,000.

As you can probably tell, I’m a big proponent of writers cutting their teeth on short stories.

When you first sit down to write, is your focus more on the plot or the characters?

I usually start with a premise and plot first. But occasionally I’ll come up with a character that cries out for a story. For stories that begin with plot, once I map out where I’m going, I look for my characters and make a fundamental shift toward a character driven story. I firmly believe that good fiction is all character driven.

I’m generally a plotter rather than a pantser. A lot of that has to do with time restrictions where my writing is concerned. I don’t have the luxury of letting my characters wander until they find a story. That often leads to dead ends, ideas that peter out before they reach conclusion.

If you equate writing with driving, and time with fuel, those with a full gas tank and a fat wallet (i.e., plenty of writing time) have the luxury of pantsing – driving around without a map to see what they find. In my case, my tank is much closer to E. I have to have a map and check my route before I start. I need to know I have enough gas to reach my destination. There has a viable story before I’ll even start down the path.

I get into arguments about this all the time, and always with those with plenty of writing time. I try to point out that just because I plot, doesn’t mean I’m closed to the wonderful twists and turns my characters discover. If my characters take a story in a new and better direction, I am very open to revising my plot. But again, the new route has to be able to get me to the end.

Describe your ideal writing environment.

My ideal writing environment would be on the deck of my 120 foot yacht, anchored in a quiet lagoon off Aruba, with my loyal manservant Geoffrey keeping me well stocked with icy Diet Pepsis. Alas, I have no yacht, and Geoffrey works for someone else (Stephen King I think).

I do most of my writing at work during lunch. My yacht is a desk wedged amid cubical wall, my little cell in the hive. It’s messy – two monitors, a phone, and piled high with paperwork. It could use either a good cleaning or a fire. There’s always a background din from the chatter of coworkers and the hiss of the ventilation system; which is fine by me. It’s my version of the Caribbean breaking over a white-sand beach. I grew up in a large family and feel more at home with a little noise in my ears, and ill at ease in total silence. The one good thing about having so little time to write is that you have to get down to it: no waiting on my muse. If she shows up, great. If not, I start without her.

At the end of your story Appliances Included, you give readers insight into a character that was inspired by an actual person you and your wife met one day. Do you often base your characters on real people?

I often build characters a bit like Doctor Frankenstein — a piece from this friend, a trait from that one. It’s easier to build a character if you actually see and experience the specific personality traits you want to use.

Sometimes I’ll build characters wholly from scratch, but they rarely have the depth of personality as Franken-characters. They feel a little less genuine, and they are harder for me to visualize and know.

Rarely do I use someone I’ve met as a character, whole and unaltered. Sadie (not her real name) is an exception. Sadie didn’t need anything added to her to stand out on the page and take over a story. She was bigger than life in person, and bigger than life on paper. I met her once, talked to her for about five minutes, and will never forget her.

Writers have to keep their eyes and ears open for that kind of found treasure. It’s too easy to roll up the windows and move on, all the while missing out on something truly exceptional, and truly human. It only seemed appropriate to view the end of the story through Sadie’s eyes. She’s the neighborhood busybody, the Gladys Kravitz of her block. She’s seen them come and seen them go, and always has an opinion she’s only too glad to share.

Franken-characters is the perfect description!

Your story Cupid’s Maze was inspired by a trip with your daughter to a corn maze. Tell us a bit about that experience and how the story idea was formed.

My experience with my daughter was mildly alarming in that I thought it would be an easy matter to negotiate the maze considering it was relatively small and had a number of tall landmarks we could use for orientation. The corn wasn’t all that high, yet we were lost for hours. In our maze, the biggest element of horror was dispelled when we discovered Porta-Potties installed at the center.

The experience did get the wheels turning in my head, though. What if the corn was tall enough to wall off the rest of the world, the maze much larger, with no landmarks to orient yourself? Add in frigid weather, the specter of impending nightfall, and the possibility having to spend the night exposed in the corn. Then last two elements; take away the laughter and reassuring sounds of others in the maze (safety in numbers), and put something menacing to stalk those trapped inside. Suddenly, the friendly little corn maze turns into a horrifying nightmare.

Jessy Marie Roberts, Chief Editor at Pill Hill Press, gave me a great piece of advice about writing horror; it isn’t horror if bad things happen to people who deserve it, horror is when horrible things happen to good people, to innocents. I put that advice to work in Cupid’s Maze.

These two stories share a paranormal-horror component. What draws you to this genre?

What drew me to horror is practicality. When I started writing short stories trying to get published, the large majority of calls for submissions were in the horror genre. Though I’m a big Stephen King fan, I started out a mystery and thriller writer. I’m no dummy. I learned what I needed to be able to write horror, found some success, and kept on writing it. There will be mysteries in my future, but I’m embracing horror.

The paranormal introduces the ultimate fear – the unknown; that which we don’t understand and have never dealt with. Horror is a fantastic foil to show both the best in people, and the worst. I have little interest in gore or body count, but instead, concentrate on how characters respond to fear and duress. This aligns with my belief that good fiction is character driven. That’s where Koontz and King succeed so brilliantly. If you can’t get the reader to identify with the characters, you’re only killing trees, no matter what the genre.

What scares you the most and why?

Being victimized and helpless. The only thing worse, having something horrible happen to loved ones and being powerless to stop it. I think that is the basis of horror; having your worst fears realized and not knowing what to do to prevent it or make things better.

In my worst nightmare ever, I had driven to the Grand Canyon with my wife and oldest daughter; she was about six in my dream. I pulled into a scenic overlook and parked right up against the short, stone, retaining wall at the edge of the canyon. I was distracted trying to find a camera lost inside the car. When I looked up, my daughter was balancing atop the wall and walking toward me. I lunged and tried to grab her before she fell. She startled and instinctively stepped back, and was gone.

What a horrible dream!

I am a dog-lover (that sounds far creepier than it is), so I have to ask about your “beast-dog, Tater”. Why do you call him a “beast-dog”? And how did he/she wind up with the name Tater?

My youngest daughter always wanted a dog, but we had a long list of reasons why that might not be a good idea. One day near Christmas, my sister-in-law asked our kids, “If you had a million dollars, what would you do with it?” My youngest responded she’d buy a dog, because from what her parents said, that’s about how much money it would take. A few weeks later, we picked out a rescue dog.

The website said she was a bloodhound/dachshund mix (MONGREL), and from the photo (floppy eared, long, black and tan body,) we thought that might be right. We were looking for a small, easy to manage dog. When we went to pick her up, it was clear the dachshund part was flat out wrong. The dog was much larger than we’d been led to believe. She is a shepherd/basset mix. Body of a basset, head and coloration of a shepherd (she weighs about 65 lbs now = BEAST DOG).

Comedian Ron White was very popular with my girls at the time we acquired our dog, so Tater – Ron White’s alias when arrested for drunk and disorderly – was tossed out as a possible name, and it stuck. Take a German Shepherd, saw it off at the knees, and you have Tater. She never fails to draw stares when we take her for a walk.

He’s cute! But, yes, he is a bit of a beast. I’ve learned you can’t always trust shelters and rescues to get the breed right.

Here’s a look at some of Mark’s stories on Amazon:

Thanks for reading.

My guest today is author and dragon-tamer J. Michael Radcliffe. I recently had the honor of reading an advanced copy of his new book Bloodstone – The Guardian’s Curse, which I highly recommend to all lovers of the fantasy genre and/or those who simply love a good story. Michael is hanging out with us today, answering my usual barrage of questions. First, allow me to introduce you:

An avid reader of fantasy and science fiction novels all of my life, I published my first novel The Guardian’s Apprentice in 2010. I live with my family in rural Kentucky along with our five cats. When not acquiring cats for my wife’s plan of world domination (cat armies are terribly hard to train), I enjoy spinning stories from the wisps of magic around me.

Before Michael and I talk about his new book, you should know a little about it:

An ancient evil has returned to threaten the world of magic and mortal alike. Keegan Whitestone has become the Guardian – protector of the magical barrier known as the Veil – but he cannot yet control his powers. He must find and destroy the legendary Bloodstone, a jewel used by the powerful necromancer, Sava, to ensnare and devour the souls of others. In a bid to save the soul of the woman he loves, Keegan faces a terrible choice. ‘Bloodstone – The Guardian’s Curse’ is a twenty chapter novella of 32,000 words, and is the sequel to ‘The Guardian’s Apprentice’. Also included are the short stories ‘Forsaken’ and ‘Scale of a Dragon’ as well as the never before published short story ‘Inner Daemon’.

Now on to some fantasy talk! Mind out of the gutter, people. I’m referring to the fantasy genre.

Oh, wait… Michael is nudging me out of the way. Apparently, he has something to say.

First, I would like to thank you so much for inviting me to do this interview. I would also like to encourage anyone reading this post to consider visiting us over at BestsellerBound.com. Our writing group was (and is) a great resource for someone new to writing like I was over a year ago. But more importantly I have formed many new friendships with fellow writers that I treasure!

I second that! Grab a chair, Michael, and put your feet up. Let’s chat:

What is it about the fantasy genre that intrigues you as an author?

I have always loved both fantasy and science fiction, ever since I read ‘Star Wars’ when I was in third grade. I love being able to create a world with a totally different environment than our own, with creatures that are only limited by ones imagination. Writing in the fantasy genre gives you a certain freedom to set the rules, to create your own world and populate it with the creatures (and monsters) from your imagination.

Bloodstone – The Guardian’s Curse is the sequel to The Guardian’s Apprentice. Do you have more planned for this series?

Maybe. I had originally planned a series of three books when I started writing TGA in 2002, but the storyline and plot have significantly changed over time. Book one was originally going to be called ‘Whitestone – The Guardian’s Apprentice’, and then of course ‘Bloodstone – The Guardian’s Curse’ and book three was going to be ‘Blackstone – The Guardian’s Salvation’. I may yet write book three…

I also have a couple of ideas unrelated to this series that I may explore first, if I can just find the time to write!

I can so relate to that!

Magic is a big part of Bloodstone’s plot. Are you a fan of modern magic or is it only the ancient magic like your character Keegan uses that fascinates you?

Although I enjoy the smoke and mirrors tricks performed by a good illusionist, I have to admit it is the ancient magic that fascinates me most. I think it must run in my family, as my sister, paranormal romance author Maeve Greyson, is just as fascinated with it – especially the old Celtic myths and legends.

How did you go about creating Keegan’s world? Did the idea come to you all at once or was it something you spent a lot of time developing?

Now that is a tough question to answer. When I started out and began sketching the storyline, I had certain ideas about how I wanted the world to appear and operate. I have to admit though, that a good deal of that evolved over time – especially the creatures that populate it.

What is your writing environment like? Neat or cluttered? Quiet or noisy?

I will openly admit to being a ‘neat freak’, so my desk is pretty tidy – though I do have my dragon statuette (Idris, my writing partner) and several reference books on magical creatures, mythology and dragons lying about. As for the writing environment, it is almost never quiet. We have two kids still at home so it is fairly busy around our house. I usually write either late at night or early in the morning, when everyone else is still asleep. Either that or I plug in my earphones!

Is there a time of day or night when you are most creative?

Usually either late at night, or very early in the morning. I have to admit though, I’ve had ideas while driving down the road or at other odd times. On a couple of occasions I have actually had a dream that made its way onto the pages – for example just before Christmas I had an unusual dream that turned into the short story ‘Inner Daemon.’

I hear you have an army of cats. Tell us about them.

Yes, our ever-growing cadre of cats seems to keep getting larger each year! We are now up to five, two outdoor and three indoor, to be specific. I’ll give you a brief bio on each of them – I’ve also included my writing partner Idris, the dragon, as he’d never let me hear the end of it if I didn’t…

Idris (a.k.a. Shimmerscale)
On a trip to Washington D.C. we visited a shop in Baltimore where my attention was drawn to a display case filled with various dragons. Now I have always loved dragons, but this one truly spoke to me – though I cannot explain why. I swear I heard his voice in my head saying “Finally! Have you ANY idea how long you’ve kept me waiting? Now pay the ransom and liberate me from this prison!”

Not being one to argue with a dragon, I paid the rather exorbitant price, er – “ransom” and brought him home. He now occupies a place next to my computer, where he supervises my writing – usually by providing frequent editorial comments about my dialogue.

After much prodding and cajoling, he has finally entrusted me with his name. His true dragon name is ‘Idris’ and his human given nickname is ‘Shimmerscale.’ I appreciate him sharing his true name with me, as most dragons are loathe to divulge such a thing to a member of one of the lesser races (humans, elves, etc.) Note: That last comment was from Idris, not me. I personally do not think we humans are a ‘lesser’ race, but who am I to argue with a dragon?

Mickey – the new recruit
The most recent addition to our army, Mickey was adopted when the janitor at my wife’s school found him locked in a storage shed in 96+ degree, humid Kentucky heat. Severely malnourished – you could see his ribs and backbone – she brought the poor little fellow home. The kids named him ‘Mickey’ due to his enormous ears and in honor of our trips to Disney (yes, I know, a cat named after a mouse…).

A very loving and affectionate cat, Mickey has fattened up and now weighs close to 10 pounds at just seven months; he also wants absolutely nothing to do with outside, preferring to sit on window perch and watch. Cocoa, Cookie and Jasmine have not accepted him yet and skulk about the back deck, plotting an assassination attempt. Maddie is more accepting, though dislikes it immensely when he pounces on her from underneath the bed skirt…

Maddie
Maddie was found on the side of the road in December 2009. Only about five or six weeks old (we think) at the time, someone had apparently thrown her from a moving vehicle, shattering her left hip and leaving her with a multitude of scrapes and bruises. When found, she had a soda cup stuck on her head and was starving. A happy and healthy cat now, Maddie has made a full recovery and doesn’t seem to realize she’s missing a leg. Her natural prey are Nerf darts, which she attacks with a vengeance whenever possible.

Jasmine
The “middle” cat, Jasmine has never quite grown up. Extremely loving and affectionate, she is also incredibly jealous. She despises Maddie and will go into a week-long sulk if around her. As a result, she is now the official upstairs cat, while Maddie and Cookie diligently patrol the lower levels.

Cookie
Convinced that humans exist for the sole purpose of feeding her, Cookie is fickle with her affections and dictates when the unworthy may approach. She also has an odd fondness for the refrigerator, and if unguarded will jump onto the bottom shelf. She will then hide behind the soda cans and refuses to come out for at least five minutes. If human, she would be the Queen of Hearts, shouting “OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!” at those who annoy her.

Cocoa
Evil incarnate, Cocoa is bipolar on her best days. When the mood strikes her and she wants your attention, she will sneak up behind you and lick your ankle, foot or leg. At this point you have two choices: (1) pet her and make her happy or (2) ignore her and suffer her wrath, which usually consists of latching onto you with her teeth (if you’re smart, you’ll go with option #1…). Once she tires of your attention she will usually sink her teeth into your hand, indicating that your usefulness has ended.

They are all adorable! And I love their stories. I’m a sucker for a rescue. (Which is obvious by my five 4-legged misfits. )

What are your 3 most treasured material items?

Yikes! That is truly a difficult question to answer – you see, I am a sentimental fool. I think I probably have every Father’s Day and Birthday card given to me by my wife and kids and I form an emotional attachment to things. If forced to choose, I would say the three items are:

Aww. That is such a great answer. Careful, Michael. You’re showing everyone what a sweet guy you are.

Thank you, Michael, for hanging out here with us today!

Readers are invited to connect with Michael in the following places:

Website: www.theguardiansapprentice.com
Blog: www.michaelradcliffe.wordpress.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Alderdrache

Here’s a look at Michael’s books on Amazon:

You can also find his books Barnes and Noble for Nook, and on Smashwords, in ebook format for all ereaders and computers.

I hope you’ll take the time to explore get to know more about Michael, his writing, and his pet dragon.

Thanks for reading.

My guest today is the prolific author Jason McIntyre. If you’ve been hanging out with me here, then you know Jason is one of my favorite authors. He has a gift for pulling us into the stories he creates. Jason recently published three new books – the two short story anthologies Black Light of Day and Nights Gone By, and the novella Walkout. I’ve read them and couldn’t name a favorite. My recommendation would be for you to read them all! Here’s a look:

In the tradition of Hitchcock, Rod Serling, Ray Bradbury and Shirley Jackson, “Black Light of Day” is an anthology of six horror, science fiction, drama and suspense stories.

Dangerous Intersection // At the same intersection over the course of the next year and a half, Janey Dietrich goes through the motions of her ever-changing life and might finally discover what’s truly important to her.

Remembering Train Car Six // 58-year old Mort can’t shake the feeling that he’s been doing things in the past to help himself in the present. He just can’t remember doing them.

Two in the Park // The man in the fedora is good with his video camera but recently-divorced Albert is too busy watching his own daughter boss her way through the playground to give him the notice he deserves.

One Hour’s Reprieve // Allie gets one hour for lunch with her mom, to laugh, to catch up, and to deliver some heart-breaking news.

Dark That Day, After All // As they peer into the heavens together, elderly Jarvis Schloss unburdens his soul to another park dweller as they sit on his favorite park bench. The two each reflect on the primes of their lives and uncover something even darker than the sky overhead.

Act of Contrition // Mark Foley has climbed his way to a prime V-P position with Gabriel-Garvin and Subsidiaries but today he’s getting more than a simple hand-slap over a deal that went south.

In the tradition of Hitchcock, Rod Serling, Ray Bradbury and Shirley Jackson, “Nights Gone By” is an anthology of six horror, science fiction, drama and suspense stories.

DDA // Ada Verhoeven has just graduated from a Berlin university. Now she’s following her father’s words of advice, getting things in order and making plans for her new life.

House Lights // Thinking he needs to get out of the house Abe is now face-to-face with the girl he pined for through high school…and he’s taking an acting class with her.

Man With an Addiction // The man in the pickup truck tells Katie that he’s just out to buy dog food for his newborn pups but surely there’s more to his offer of a ride home.

Down The Line // Otis Derry’s lead line inspector finds something on the early morning train bound for the mountain pass through Willis.

East Meets West // Duncan loves to work in the dirt and now that spring is here he can finally get that new flower bed planted before darkfall but the next-door neighbour has other plans.

Through the Transom Light // Henry can’t sleep and hasn’t for some years now–not since that night seven years ago when his and Anna’s lives were shattered with the scream of the baby monitor.

“Not rich. Comfortable.”

Walkout is the latest novella from the author of the #1 Kindle Suspense, The Night Walk Men

Gavin is a wealthy and demanding investment banker, the sort of power-hungry, driven man those in the professional world don’t question. When a beautiful young woman finds herself entangled with Gavin following his divorce of a year ago, things aren’t exactly as they first seemed. Now, nearing the end of an icy winter, she’s living in his luxurious home in a rich neighborhood just north of the sprawling city. She’s washing his sheets and tending to his every whim…but a mysterious boat house on the property calls to her and, in time, she may not be able to stop herself from answering.

After reading these three books, of course I had questions. I limited myself to ten. While I could have asked a couple dozen more, I didn’t want to take up all Jason’s time. After all, I want him to write more books. Before we get to the Q&A, here is a little about the man behind the words:

Jason McIntyre has lived and worked in varied places across the globe. His writing also meanders from the pastoral to the garish, from the fantastical to the morbid. Before his time as an editor, writer and communications professional, he spent several years as a graphic designer and commercial artist.

McIntyre’s writing has been called darkly noir and sophisticated, styled after the likes of Chuck Palahniuk but with the pacing and mass appeal of Stephen King. The books tackle the family life subject matter of Jonathan Franzen but also eerie discoveries one might find in a Ray Bradbury story or those of Rod Serling.

His books include the #1 Kindle Suspense, THE NIGHT WALK MEN, bestsellers ON THE GATHERING STORM and SHED, plus the multi-layered coming-of-age literary suspense THALO BLUE. McIntyre is the author of more than two dozen short stories, several novellas and full-length fiction. Currently, he is at work on the full-length follow-up novel about THE NIGHT WALK MEN.

Jason McIntyre’s Amazon catalogue
Jason McIntyre on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JasonCMcIntyre
Jason McIntyre’s website: www.thefarthestreaches.com

Now for some fun! Here’s my chat with Jason. I’ve divided my questions by book title, so you’ll know where to find the stories we’re discussing:

Black Light of Day

The first story – Dangerous Intersection – takes place entirely with Janey in her car. What prompted you to set an entire story inside a car?

I read a foreword (or maybe it was an afterword) by Stephen King some years ago when he tried to pre-empt questions about why he set his novel, From a Buick 8, in Pennsylvania rather than his more traditional location of Maine. He said something similar to, “I was driving in my car in Pennsylvania when the story occurred to me so, to be honest to the story, I kept it in Pennsylvania when I wrote it.”

To me, this answer seems almost too perfectly rational. In a similar way, the idea for Dangerous Intersection came to me in the car as I was driving home from work. Each day, week after week, I would inevitably be stopped in a particular left-hand turning lane with only the soft, rhythmic click of my signal flasher as witness. It struck me how this echoed the opening scene of my novel from last year called On The Gathering Storm and that made me tune into the idea of echoes in our lives. Do we even listen to such echoes? No matter how often they repeat? Pretty soon, I had the nuts and bolts of the narrative and the characters figured out. I decided to keep the narrative not just inside the car but at the exact same intersection for much the same reason as King did. I felt I could be more true to the story if it felt more true to me.

Act of Contrition has a futuristic, sci-fi feel. This one brought to mind the ‘group think’ mentality, and also had shades of the Stanford prison experiment conducted in 1971. Did either of these things factor into your writing on this one? What was the inspiration?

The idea of ‘group think’ is absolutely a valid notion for readers to take from this story. Here, an employee of a large conglomeration has moved even beyond the point of frustration with the constructs of his work-a-day world and is now forced into a trial by fire.

I vaguely remember learning about the Stanford prison experiment from 1971 when I was in high school but didn’t have it at the forefront of my thoughts while writing this. Like most things, it was probably in the ingredient list of the stew which eventually became the final story. It is certainly applicable and an off-shoot and I love when readers bring such things back to me from their reading.

I was inspired by stories like Lord of The Flies and The Lottery (two other things originally gleaned from high school which I learned to love long after those awkward teenage years). They embody the idea that we as a species can be hunky-dory and even as cordial to one another as saccharine until the chips are down. Then, whamo!, we are throwing stones at each other or spearing pigs’ heads and lighting forest fires. This thin piano wire between rationality and chaos has always intrigued me.

Your writing is always visual, but Act of Contrition in particular stood out for me. I could see the action playing out as if on a movie screen. Are you a visual writer? Do you see the scene in your mind, then write it? Or does it become visual for you as you create it?

Striking question and I need to pause and really understand how it occurs myself before answering.

Okay. I’m back. Hope no one left to go to the bathroom or get a cup of coffee. If you need to, go ahead. I’ll wait.

Wonderful. Feeling refreshed? Me too. Where were we?

Usually the premise or centerpiece scene of a story or book comes to me in a visual way, as if seeing it on a film reel in my mind’s eye. The nuts and bolts scenes needed to either lead up to that centerpiece or trail away from it and explain it, occur in a similar visual way – but these parts unfurl in the moments as I write them. I go back religiously to ensure that the reader will take what I want them to from each of the filmstrips. I guess you could say I strive to be a master manipulator. If only I had political aspirations.

You in politics could be fantastic – or dangerous!

Nights Gone By

Through the Transom Light was the standout for me in this collection. The subject matter struck me deep. With Henry, the main character, you tackle the depth of a father’s love. For this story, did you draw on your own feelings of being the father of two young children?

This one was absolutely inspired by being a father. Despite this being Henry and Anna’s first child, the inspiration for this story came not from being a pop the first time but instead the weariness of going through it all a second time. Ugh. The thinking and re-thinking about whether I would even want to bring a child into this mixed up, violent, harsh reality. And, oh, hey, lookie-here, didn’t I just have this mental tug-of-war last week when we had the first baby? Sheesh. Now I’m mixing that with all the things I experienced that first time, logistical realities like not knowing how to handle baby’s new teeth and her indigestive wailing, never sleeping myself, losing out on such things as career advancements simply because my priorities had changed from seeking prestige to simple nocturnal survival. Simple things too, like not knowing where the remote is even though I JUST. HAD. IT. IN MY HANDS.

Another facet of this story – which, to be fair, has been one of the hardest for me to write, EVER – was the idea that we have no real understanding of why things happen to us. We can call it faith, religion, fate, destiny, karma, but no one rightfully knows why certain things happen to certain people. Being responsible for human beings outside of my own physical body is a sobering notion. Something will happen. It’s inevitable. And I will not be able to control it. Nor will I necessarily be able to explain it. There are irrational realities. And as a father, that’s scary as hell.

As a mother of two grown sons and a grandma to a gorgeous baby girl, I can so relate to this.

The paranormal twist gave the story an eerie edge, and Henry’s ability to hold onto his belief despite everything had a poetic feel. This was a fascinating blend. What was the inspiration behind this?

Simply, the idea that upon the birth of my second child, I had this unshakeable feeling of, “We did this once. It’s killing us. But we got through it before. It will be okay again. Some day.”
I don’t know how I would react in a similar situation to Henry’s and I hope I never have to be tested in such a way. But I have certain truisms about humanity that I hold dear. One is that we are a hopeful lot. We hang onto beliefs that are engrained in us, even if they are completely irrational and unfounded in the reality we see every single day. It’s our main survival instinct.

The dichotomy of an almost religious-level of faith mixed thrown against the supernatural felt like an interesting two-step to explore. I believe that not knowing the answer to a big life question is almost always the main driver of effective suspense fiction. As a writer, if I can formulate a question in the mind of the reader without actually phrasing it, and then explore the character’s path through to some kind of answer, I stand an excellent chance of scaring the bejeezus out of that reader.

And that you do!

In Man With an Addiction, you step into the mind of the story’s antagonist. What is it like for you to write from the perspective of a ‘bad guy’? Do you need to be in a certain mood or prepare in any specific way?

For a rather short story, Man With an Addiction took a considerable amount of thought and research before I set pen to paper, so to speak. Even before the newspaper clippings were consumed and shivered over, I was inspired by a shoddily-written warning note that was tacked to a community bulletin board at a local library. It warned of a known offender who had recently bought a house in the neighbourhood. Some citizen felt the need to spread the word.

The story’s challenge was an interesting one. I was inspired – believe it or not – by the movie Jaws. You see only the shark’s fin until about 80% of the way through that incredibly effective movie. If you read Man With an Addiction closely, you’ll note that nothing offensive, suggestive or off-colour is ever mentioned outright. As readers we’re unsettled by only the implications being made by the narration. And those implications are of the most unsettling kind I can imagine.

It was a dark few days as I wrote the first draft of that story.

Walkout

This novella was full of your signature darkness and vivid imagery. What inspired this story?

In a nutshell, I’d moved in with my girlfriend (who would one day become my wife). We lived in a rather shambled, poorly-built house and I had trouble sleeping that first winter as I became accustomed to living with another person, sharing that space, the lifestyle and so on. I feared on one particular dark and snowy night that my identity might be swallowed whole by this new world I now inhabited, even despite the infatuation and love I had for the person I lived with. But in that night, as I lay staring at the ceiling I worried, I wouldn’t ever go to sleep again. I’d grow so weary, reality would blur with imagination, bringing me to a state where I could legally claim temporary insanity. Would I go into a fugue and find myself standing barefoot outside one of our drafty windows pounding to be let in and having no real understanding of how I got there?

The confusion you feel in the story is an earnest attempt on my part to recreate that feeling of moving from a solo figure on the landscape to suddenly being half of a couple. Does an individual’s identity survive? Can it? It does, I think, but depending on specific dynamics it can get a rather extreme face lift. Peach gets one of those, doesn’t she?

Wow. That’s really fascinating insight. And, yes, Peach does indeed get an extreme face lift, as you put it.

Peach, the main character, goes through a period of intense confusion. Because she is the viewpoint character, her confusion becomes the readers’ confusion. I felt like I’d fallen down the rabbit hole and could relate to Peach’s disorientation. The sense of imbalance in the story could easily have left readers stumbling and irritated, but you managed to walk that fine line with ease. Are you aware of this tightrope act as you write? Or do you immerse yourself in the character’s mindset and write what you see and feel?

How much ego is involved if I say that the tightrope walking is intentional? I will admit that I rarely start writing a story unless I’m reasonably confident I can succeed in whatever kind of medicine the story needs to heal – if that even makes a lick of sense. Writing is a bit like doctoring. You get a patient (in the form of a nagging idea) and then you set about administering drugs and therapy to the nag with the purpose of curing it (and yourself, vicariously). If you get some kind of response – the wiggle of a toe when you were certain that paralysis was imminent – you’re encouraged to keep at it. Maybe you’ll get an x-ray of clear lungs after a month of imbalanced, violent pneumonia-like hacking. That black sheet of film puts you a little at ease. You feel like you’re on the right track with this course of treatment. The patient may not on live, but walk again, and breathe without the help of an air tank. As I wrote Walkout I had that feeling of pending fatality avoided and kept at it. In the end, beta readers said I nailed it so I packaged it up and sent it out into the world.

In the end, after all the bandages, casts, pills and prescription slips, that’s all I can do.

General

Some readers are under the impression that a male writer cannot properly write from a female POV and a female writer can’t properly write from a male POV. What is your opinion on this?

My opinion? It’s laughable that anyone can tell another person they’ve failed in a creative pursuit, particularly one so subjective as gender-specific points of view.

I’ve had some success with stories like Walkout, On The Gathering Storm and Bled – all told from a woman’s perspective — and certainly wasn’t inspired to try writing this perspective until I saw other male writers achieve it in their work. It’s a broad stroke to say that any writer, man or woman, can truly inhabit another’s point of view. You can’t. But you can write it in a believable way. I’ve seen it done. I’ve also seen it faked. My hope is that when I write any character – man, woman, black, white, old, young – that I do it in a way which is nearly invisible to the reader. It should be a heartbeat from the reality they know for it to be effective.

If I’ve come that close for a reader, I consider the story partway to success. The next thing is to tell the story so it unfolds for them in a reasonable way – even if the dinosaurs in it are drinking cognac and talking about the Martian’s chances in November’s presidential race.

Your writing is generally in the dark and twisted zone, and you occasionally tap into people’s fears. What scares you the most and why?

The news. I don’t often sit down to write directly topical or issue books (at least, I haven’t yet) but I work in a field that is directly related to the media and so I’m touched on a daily basis by the kinds of news stories tugging on the heartstrings and fear factors of average people. These ideas sort of saturate me, my psyche, my behaviours, and they tend to stew in me until they coagulate in a way that makes a bit of sense and I set about writing them down, either to get over them or cure them out of the wheelchair and make them walk again.

Funny confessional? I don’t actually look at anything I’ve written as dark and twisted. Suspenseful? Yes, I hope so. But I think if I did try for the darkness, the tales might feel disingenuous. I’m honestly surprised that interviewers, readers and reviewers say that I write all this twisted stuff. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve embraced it and play it up with things like spooky book jackets and podcasts filmed in a dark room, but actually I’m just writing about the world I see around me. It must be a scary damn place for most people.

I think you’ve stated the reality of it all. The real world is often a dark and twisted place. Honest writing portrays that darkness. The reality of it is what makes that writing so scary.

Thank you, Jason, for hanging out with us here and for taking the time to answer all my questions!

Are you ready to run out and buy Jason’s books? Here’s a look at them on Amazon:

Thanks for reading.

A couple of months ago, I published a collection of short stories I’d written during 2011. The title is Quiet Fury: An Anthology of Suspense, and here’s a look at both the print and Kindle format:

Quiet Fury is a state of being that we’ve all experienced; calm on the surface, rage bubbling underneath. For most of us, that is a brief moment. Restraint takes over. We grumble and walk away. Some allow the rage to marinate until they are consumed. They cross the line, seek revenge, retribution. Or is it satisfaction?

These stories explore each individual’s breaking point. Which will win, the Quiet or the Fury?

This is sort of an accidental collection. Writing short stories was not something I routinely did. In fact, prior to this collection, the only short stories I’d ever written were for my kids, many years ago. But I’ve learned circumstances in my life often bring about the best kind of accidents.

2011 was a challenging year. The late-stage Lyme has been wreaking havoc, making concentration difficult. Treatments for the Lyme are pushing me further into the hazy, neurological nightmare of brain fog. The combination made it nearly impossible for me to work on a full-length novel. Yet, I am unable to not write. Characters dance around my head and won’t let me sleep. I had an endless, daisy chain of ideas I had to do something with. Without intending to, I sat down and wrote a short story. Then another. And I found I love creating the shorter form as much as I love creating a novel.

For me, the writing process for short stories is the same as that of a novel. A character pops into my head. One sentence. A quick ten-second clip of someone doing something. An idea begging to be explored. One of these things happens, then I sit down and write.

With my short story Tiny Dancer, these three lines popped into my head:

George limped up the steps and set the box by the door. No one noticed the blood on his hands. The city kept its eyes closed.

I couldn’t tell you where the words came from. I didn’t know who George was, what was in the box, or where the blood came from. I wrote the words down, thinking I’d use the paragraph as an opening to a future novel. Months later, I went back to that paragraph and wrote what wound up as Tiny Dancer. As I sat with George and typed his story, I still had no idea who he was. He gradually revealed himself to me, in much the same way he reveals himself to my readers.

I didn’t intend for this to be a short story. George’s journey fit into the less demanding world I’d stepped into. A product of a hazy mind that can only see so far into the fog. Sure, we could learn more about George. That’s true of all short stories. In fact, it’s also true of novels. No matter the length, all stories need a beginning and end. Nothing and no one exists in a vacuum. What we want when we read is the part that matters.

The first short story I wrote is called The First Kill. The main character is Sean Riley, who happens to be a minor character in my two Michael Sykora novels. In the first book, No Justice, Sean began his existence as a character of convenience. He wasn’t supposed to have a big role and I wasn’t concerned with his back story. By the second book, Beyond Salvation, Sean had stepped in and claimed a larger place. His character became something more for me. He revealed himself in ways I hadn’t expected. And I needed to share that with readers.

Since Sean is a minor character, without a viewpoint in those first two books, I decided he needed a story of his own. I wanted readers to know who he is on a different level. The beginning of his story, The First Kill, was born:

The first kill was the hardest. His father staring with those dark narrow eyes that had incited fear for so many years. Even as the life seeped out of him, those eyes were full of scorn.

“You killed my mother,” Sean had said.

In the process of writing that story, Sean told me how he wound up a hit man – and why he is so good at it. Sean became much more than a minor character for me then. When the idea for book three came to me, which I’m working on now, it only made sense that Sean would have a much larger role.

This collection of stories has some things in common. First, which is obvious by the title, they all fit into the suspense genre. The other thing is, to varying degrees, they explore the mind of the bad guy/girl. What does it feel like to kill someone? What drove him/her to murder? Is a killer inherently different than the person who has not killed? If we see abuse but do nothing, are we as bad as the person who murders? These questions fascinate me. I hope the answers you find in these stories will fascinate you, as well.

Thanks for reading.

My guest today is author Jason Jack Miller. As soon as I came across his book The Devil and Preston Black, I knew I had to read it. This is one of those rare books that combines my two addictions – reading and music. I loved the book and I’m impressed with the author. I think you will be, as well. Here’s a brief introduction:

Jason Jack Miller hails from Fayette County, Pennsylvania, as in, “Circus freaks, temptation and the Fayette County Fair,” made famous by The Clarks in the song, “Cigarette.” He is a writer, photographer and musician who has been hassled by cops in Canada, Mexico and the Czech Republic. An outdoor travel guide he co-authored with his wife in 2006 jumpstarted his freelancing career; his work has since appeared in newspapers, magazines, literary journals, online, and as part of a travel guide app for mobile phones. He wrote the novels Hellbender and All Saints during his graduate studies at Seton Hill University, where is now adjunct creative writing faculty. He’s been a whitewater raft guide, played guitar in a garage band and served as a concierge at a five star resort hotel in Florida. Now he’s an Authors Guild member. When he isn’t writing he’s on his mountain bike or looking for his next favorite guitar. He is currently writing and recording the soundtrack to his novel, The Devil and Preston Black. Find him at http://jasonjackmiller.blogspot.com. Tweet him at www.Twitter.com/jasonjackmiller, or @JasonJackMiller.

Here’s a glimpse at the book we’ll be discussing:

Preston Black has a nasty habit of falling in love with the wrong type of woman. But girls who don’t play nice are the least of his problems. This handsome bar band guitarist isn’t washed-up, but he’s about to be. He’s broke, he’s tired of playing covers and he’s obsessed with the Curse of 27.

He’s about to add ‘deal with the devil’ to his list.

Lucky for Preston, he has help. Like the angelic beauty who picks him up when he’s down. And the university professor who helps him sort through old Appalachian hexes and curses to find the song that may be his only shot at redemption. And when things get real bad, he has the ghost of John Lennon to remind him that “nothing is real.

Jason took on my questions and held nothing back. His answers give a little taste of the depth of his writing. Here’s our conversation:

This book has many layers, one of which is the connection to the ‘27 Club’, also known as ‘The Curse of 27’. Many great musicians have died at that age and Preston Black was afraid he’d become one of them. What inspired you to tackle this topic?

I think 27 is a crossroads. That’s about when you have to finally let go of childhood and accept being an adult. I know I did. Getting a job and a house became my main focus. I couldn’t see anything else. And when I finally got my ‘real’ job I found myself wondering, “Hmmm. What was the rush? And why did I buy so many neckties.”

But my job lets me pursue the things that I love, like writing and music. So in a way, I did the adult thing, realized it didn’t satisfy the emptiness I felt and said ‘screw it, I’m going back to the stuff I love.’ And that’s probably where a big part of Preston comes from—realizing if he doesn’t make it in music he’s going to have to give it up and get a ‘real’ job. That’s his motivation. He sees Pauly with his new job and knows he can lose music forever if he heads down that path.

True happiness comes when you follow the path in life that lets you be responsible without losing yourself. For too many people, being “grown-up” means letting go of the passion. And why did you buy so many neckties?

Preston is a complicated young man, not at all the stereotypical wannabe rock star. How did you go about developing his character?

Preston came about because I was a complicated young man myself. I just wrote what I knew. During my junior year of high school I spent a month in rehab (thanks for the memories, Saint Francis.) My parents got divorced when I was twelve and I spent three years trying to get them back together. I got kicked out of college after running (literally) from the law. Got my heart broken a few times (by the same girl.) The self-destruct timer had been set, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Later, I realized that these experiences made me who I was. It took a long time, but when I finally started to accept my flaws and failures, things got a lot less complicated for me. It helped that I’d met a wonderful woman who kept me out of trouble. Kind of like how Preston has Katy. He doesn’t mind that she does some of his thinking for him.

I was immediately struck by what you said about accepting your flaws and failures. We all have them and you’re so right that accepting them makes life a lot less complicated.

I loved Preston’s connection to the Appalachian region, where he explores the roots of rock music. The characters and scenes you created were so vivid, I felt like I was on the mountain with them. Why did you choose this setting?

Appalachia is an amazing area. Plants and animals have been mingling here for 65 million years. Maybe people don’t understand this, but central Appalachia is one of the most diverse mixed mesophytic forests on earth, making it the North American equivalent of the Amazon Rainforest. In a single location there can up to 30 different species of trees. When people started showing up about 14,000 years ago they became the most recent force to change Appalachia, but certainly not the last.

As a product of Appalachia I was always too aware of the negative stereotypes associated with the region. The things people hated about Appalachia are the things that made us strong. My mom’s grandparents emigrated from Croatia to work in the coal mines and my dad’s people were railroaders and steel workers. They worked their asses off for a pat on the back and black lung. The coal and steel define the region occupationally. Pittsburgh Steelers, anyone? But ‘mill hunk’ and ‘red neck’ are terms derived from labor that can be used as negatives.

The mountains shaped the people even further by isolating the different cultures that existed as close as over the next ridge. For example, the Monongahela Valley of southwestern Pennsylvania has a very Eastern European flavor that disappears as you go upstream into West Virginia, where Italian ethnicity dominates. But if you go east just thirty miles it’s all German, Irish and English. Immigration skipped over these regions because there wasn’t any coal, and the older German, Irish and English traditions and music remain because nothing moved in to replace them.

Appalachia isn’t homogenized—it’s a patchwork where anything can happen because of the physical and cultural barriers that keep the outside world out. When Preston leaves Morgantown to go into the mountains with Jamie, he’s not leaving home. He’s leaving his country. And going back in time.

I had no idea that life in Appalachia was so diverse. I find that fascinating!

You are a musician yourself. Do you share Preston’s yearning for success in the music industry?

Basically, any time Preston talks about the music industry you can imagine my disdain for Big Six-style publishing. My endless frustration with jumping through hoops manifested itself in Preston’s rants. The archaic system of submitting to agents is a small part of why publishing is in flux right now. Musicians don’t wait for approval to release their work to the public. The ability of a writer to get work directly to readers has been what the publishing industry has been missing until recently.

Making it big in the music business was never a thing for me. But selling books, on the other hand…

I read that you are working on a soundtrack for this novel. Awesome idea! Do you have an idea when it will be available? And where will readers find it?

I’m going to go back to recording after the holidays and see what happens. When I started last year I realized I had a horrible voice and have been taking lessons. So when I do finally get some songs down I’ll release them for free on my site and maybe put some up on iTunes. But that’s down the road a bit.

Who is your favorite musician or band?

I love music, so it’s hard to just pick one. Sometimes it depends on the season. Radiohead and Wilco are great for long winter nights because they create such great musical textures. When I’m writing I can really get wrapped up in the themes, I think, because when it’s cold I’m never in a hurry to quit what I’m doing. In the summer I like bands that write powerful, anthemic songs like The Clash or The Black Keys. You can get in the car, crank a song or two, and that’s it.

So, if I’m going to pick a favorite, I’m going to pick a band that does everything all the time. The Beatles are hard, soft, thoughtful, and superficial. “A Day in the Life” is a textured song that means something. “Tomorrow Never Knows” is one you want to turn up when the windows are down. And since so many bands can trace their ancestry directly back to The Beatles, they are an obvious choice for favorite band.

If your life had a theme song, what would it be? Please share a bit of the lyrics and what they mean to you.

Ask me tomorrow and it’ll be totally different. That’s why I saved this question and #8 for last. I don’t generally have songs I’d consider theme songs because I change like the wind. Right now though, let’s say it’s “Two Step” by Dave Matthews Band, because he’s a guy I took a lot of inspiration from back in the day.

And here’s why: “Celebrate we will, Because life is short but sweet for certain, We climb on two by two to be sure these days continue, These things we cannot change…” This whole self-publishing thing, for me, has been a leap of faith. But I seized the moment. Most writers (who are pursuing agents) don’t realize this, but self-publishing isn’t a coward’s way out. It takes cojones to say these agents and publishers are wrong. It scares me to think about what would’ve happened if I’d have been too afraid to put my book out on my own.

Besides, life is short but sweet. I know the number of tomorrows I have is limited, and that means something to me.

Great song!

Do you have a favorite author and/or book?

My favorite authors are the ones I know personally who have lent a hand, or more, over these last few months. Some let me use their name and their kind words, some read multiple drafts of both books. Some were just there to talk.

But I know that’s not what you’re asking. So, maybe Neil Gaiman, AMERICAN GODS. No, wait, it’s Jack Kerouac, DHARMA BUMS. Let me change that, it’s Gabriel Garcia Marquez, ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE. Okay, I’m going to change one more time…

You have one view for eternity. Mountains or ocean?

When we’re returning from Florida or the Outer Banks I feel like I’m ‘home’ as soon as I see the mountains. But if it’s for eternity, I’m going to break the rules and pick some place like Costa Rica or Cali, where I can see both forever.

I’m all for breaking the rules! And I have to agree. I’d want a view of both, as well.

Jason has a few books available in ebook format. Here they are on Amazon for your Kindle:

Thanks for reading.

My guest today is bestselling author Scott Nicholson. For many readers, Scott requires no further introduction. I’m embarrassed to say that I only recently discovered Scott’s work. I know, where have I been? Assuming I am not the only one who took forever to stumble upon Scott’s words, here is a quick summation of this prolific author and his writing:

Scott Nicholson is author of Creative Spirit and more than 20 other books, as well as children’s books, screenplays, and story collections. His thrillers Liquid Fear and Chronic Fear will be released by Amazon on Dec. 20. Connect with Scott on Facebook, Goodreads, LibraryThing, Twitter, blog, website or Amazon page.

I recently read Scott’s novel Creative Spirit, which is what we’ll be talking about today. First, here’s a look at the book:

“Scott Nicholson explores the dark legends of the southern end of the Appalachian mountain chain, a nightmare country that ends in Stephen King’s yard.”– Sharyn McCrumb, author of The Ballad novels

CREATIVE SPIRIT
A paranormal thriller by Scott Nicholson

After parapsychologist Anna Galloway is diagnosed with metastatic cancer, she has a recurring dream in which she sees her own ghost at Korban Manor. She’s compelled to visit the historic estate to face her destiny and the fate of her soul.

Sculptor Mason Jackson has come to Korban Manor to make a final, all-or-nothing attempt at success before giving up his dreams. When he becomes obsessed with carving Ephram Korban’s form out of wood, he is swept into a destructive frenzy that even Anna can’t pull him from.

The manor itself has secrets, with fires that blaze constantly in the hearths, portraits of Korban in every room, and deceptive mirrors on the walls. With an October blue moon looming, both the living and the dead learn the true power of their dreams.

View or sample it at Amazon US, Amazon UK, Kobo, Smashwords, BN.com, or Goodreads.

CREATIVE SPIRIT is Scott Nicholson’s revised edition of the 2004 U.S. paperback THE MANOR

After I read Creative Spirit, Scott generously agreed to spend some time answering my questions, and now I can share that conversation with all of you:

You were inspired to write Creative Spirit after visiting a place called Cone Manor. Can you tell us about that?

As a reporter, I always had to do the Halloween ghost stories and folk legends, so I started using them as inspiration for novels. The actual Cone Manor has ghost stories about its founder, who was an art collector, so I turned the place into a remote artist’s retreat and went from there. There’s an article about the real manor on my website.

You mentioned that you wanted to do a ghost hunt at Cone Manor but were unable to at the time. Have you ever seen or heard a ghost or unexplained paranormal activity?

I hosted a couple of paranormal conferences with ghost hunts, and aside from one perception of being “touched,” I have never really had any encounter I would consider supernatural. It’s a really complicated field because so much of it relies on our unreliable subjective perception.

Creative Spirit was optioned for a movie. Has that movie been made? If so, where can readers find and watch it?

It never got to formal option stage, but a producer chased my script for a year or two. I enjoy screenwriting as a way to develop my storytelling skills. I put the screenplay in a “bonus edition” if anyone wants to see the difference between the two formats.

Too bad they producer didn’t use it. The book would make a fantastic movie!

You have written an impressive amount of titles that draw on paranormal and horror. What is it about this genre that attracts you?

I grew up with the old mountain folk tales, many of which involve magic or the supernatural. I feel like I am telling modern folk tales, updating them in novel form.

Aside from your own work, what is your all-time favorite horror novel?

That’s a tough one, as I could give a dozen different answers. Stephen King has some great ones, but my favorite of his is Misery and it may be a suspense or thriller novel instead of horror. I also love religious horror like Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist, and The Sentinel. But I’d say Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House is my favorite paranormal novel.

I read The Haunting of Hill House for the first time a couple of years ago. Great book!

Thank you, Scott, for hanging out with us!

Now for a look at some of Scott’s books on Amazon, in both print and Kindle format: