‘The Instruments of Death’ is a gripping tale of a grief-stricken man’s struggle for justice and redemption, his potential descent into darkness, and his supernatural alliance with the mysterious lord of death. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

‘I’ve always been intrigued by what comes next. It’s the eternal question asked by every race on this planet; is there life after our physical death?. David’s journey in this first part deals with the mistakes we make and how sometimes, you can never take them back or make up for them and if that’s true? How do you live with yourself? Is this a guilt your soul carries for an eternity?

The idea of an afterlife (or some form of it) has always been something I wanted to explore and it’s not something I’ve seen touched upon much in modern fandoms. The idea that we don’t know, that we actually have no idea what’s next made me realise I had stumbled upon a way to really be creative, to really let my imagination go wild.

I started my creative life as an artist. I would draw and paint everything from landscapes to portraits but in my head, there was always a picture, and no matter how hard I tried I could never get it out of my brain and onto paper. My skill was never good enough to properly convey what was in my head. As you can imagine this is the sort of thing that can drive a person crazy and eventually I needed an outlet. One day, I was sitting on a bus, much like David is in the opening few chapters and I came to a realisation: what if I can describe what I’m thinking? Maybe that way I can finally bring this world that I’ve been thinking about forever to life. So I got out my phone, opened a very popular writing app and just, well, began…’

David is an intriguing and well-developed character. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?

‘I wanted David’s motivation to be clear, as it reverberates throughout the rest of the series and subsequently affects almost every other character he meets. David’s motivation is redemption. He’s messed up bad in possibly the worst way you could ever mess up, but at his heart is also a good man. He understands that his grief, his depression, desperation and frustration with the legal system in Radio City leads him to the most horrible (but in his mind just) solution. David’s cross to bare is the result of what happens when a good man is torn down. How long can you keep a hold of your humanity before you become something else entirely? And it’s that, that ultimately costs him an eternity of seeking redemption. There were many inspirational moments that contributed to The Instruments of Death, from my time as a Security officer to the year I spent homeless and living in an abandoned warehouse. I like to think of my characters as different shades of my personality. There are many little things throughout all of this series that mirror me. Some are very obvious but some are there just for me. As a human we feel so much and I wanted David’s approach to this odyssey to be as normal as possible. It would freak you out. Meeting these people that have these abilities and are genuinely the tools of Death himself would definitely make you question a lot of stuff about yourself. Who you are, why you are here and ultimately what is your place in the universe? Does what you do even matter in the grand scale of things?’

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

‘As you have read, I get into a lot with this book. I explore many themes from grief and rage, loneliness and depression to love, what it means to be loved and how much it hurts when you have to go on living your life without that love. I wanted to absolutely explore what’s next. I wanted to look at Death, what he is and what it would be like if he were an actual person with a job to do just like anyone else. Even though Amara is probably the most feared general manager of all time! The main theme in this first book, is definitely love. What it pushes us to do. How far we’ll go to get it and in the end can we ever live with ourselves once we know the truth?’

What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?

‘The Instruments of Death and the City of Ghosts’ is a direct sequel and the second part of an epic five part story. The sequel not only continues David’s redemption arc but expands his world meeting some new and some very very old characters. The sequel looks at the spectral side of what’s next and takes the reader on a very unexpected ride into the unknown. In the first book, David got the job. In the second part, it’s all about what it takes to do the job. It’s definitely a significantly bigger book than the first part and I’m excited to open up my world a little more to our readers. I’m currently just over half way there and I would like to think we’ll be on the market at some point next year.’

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