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Horror And Paranormal Stories
Twisted Tales from the Darkside – The Devil’s Playground is a collection of short stories that involve characters who have encounters with the devil or demons. Where did the idea for this collection come from?
I have always loved horror anthology TV shows, I had roughly six chapters of a novel written which had mixed ideas in it that did not make sense together, and I was having trouble with having enough material for a full novel at the time so I decided to pull two of the ideas out from those chapters and write short stories from them instead and add more into a published collection. All six of the stories in the collection followed the same theme, so that is why this one is subtitled.
What intrigues you about the horror and paranormal genres that led you to write this book?
Horror and paranormal hold a place in my heart and mind and have since I was very young. What intrigues me about these genres is the way one can make the unknown familiar and then rip us out of our comfort zone and creep us out or scare us enough to resonate with the memories of horror and paranormal stories told well whether on paper or onscreen.
What were some books or movies that you think were your main sources of inspiration for this novel?
My inspiration for this collection came from the quirky horror anthologies on TV: Creepshow (Shudder series and movies of the 80s), Tales from the Darkside, Tales from the Crypt, Twilight Zone, and Outer Limits.
Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out, and what can your fans expect in the next collection?
Yes, this is the first book in a series of 3 that I have planned. The second book is scheduled to be completed and published in October 2024.
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All six of the shorts in this collection installment involve characters who in some way, shape, or form brush elbows with the devil or demons.
Titles include:
Evil Rises
You Better Watch Out
The Devil’s Playground
In Evil Rises, the sole beneficiary of a funeral home uncovers a strange key in the office of his recently deceased father and learns a deadly lesson.
In You Better Watch Out, a spiteful twelve-year-old is kidnapped by a horrific Christmas Demon who puts Krampus to shame!
In The Devil’s Playground, a petty burglar happens upon an unlocked house in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen district and finds himself fighting for his life against a three-headed beast.
If You Kill Off A Character
The Veil Between Worlds follows a successful rock star who made a deal with a Voodoo Loa to turn over a soul every five years on All Hallows Eve. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Darrin is a bad boy, but he’s not a killer. He made the deal in haste with no time to think about it without considering the time would come when he would have to carry it out. I think the inspiration for it is sometimes we think we want something, as in Darrin’s case, to be a successful rock star with the fame and fortune that goes with it. But sometimes, when we get it, it doesn’t turn out as we expected. We thought it would make us happy, but it doesn’t, and we might have been better off without it.
What was your inspiration for the interactions and backstories of their characters?
The Veil Between Worlds is a spinoff of my Vampyr series. We know from page one Rose is a reincarnation of her aunt, Pam. Pam was a character in one of my other books that I killed off. Oops! Once I did that, I regretted it. The nice thing about writing paranormal is if you kill off a character and regret it later, you can always bring them back. So, without telling too much about the book, because a lot isn’t revealed until the end, everything and everyone is connected.
What scene in the book did you have the most fun writing?
This one right here:
Delphine looked at him with a creased brow. “Reverend Quinn, I just want to know one thing. How the Hell did you ever get ordained as a minister?”
Quinn laughed. “The wonderful world of the internet. I passed the test. It’s so easy even a vampire can do it.”
“And this is legal?” asked Delphine.
“One hundred percent. I’m certified. If you ever want to get married, be sure to call me. I would be happy to perform the ceremony.”
What is the next book that you’re working on and when can your fans expect it out?
Right now, I’m working on a story revolving around the famous New Orleans vampire urban legend of the Ursuline Convent and the casket girls. Sometimes stories turn into novels, so we’ll see. Follow my social media for more information.
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~A rock star with a debt to settle with a Voodoo Loa.
~A tale of Voodoo, reincarnation, love, and destiny.
Rose Brighton has been seeing and communicating with the dead all her life. None of her experiences could prepare her for what she encounters when a mysterious invitation summons her to a Halloween party at the Chevalier House, one of New Orleans’ most active haunted houses. But the Chevalier house is not just any house. It sits on a portal to the Voodoo Underworld, one of the seven gates to Guinee.
The evening takes a turn when Rose spots a man staring out of an upstairs window. Rose becomes suspicious when she can see him, but her friend, Brooke, cannot. They rush up to help.
Darrin Cross, a successful rock star, ponders his fate after making a terrible mistake, leading him to accept a deal with a Voodoo Loa five years earlier. The spirit gave him fame and fortune, but in return, he must hand him a soul every five years on All Hallows Eve. Now it’s time to pay the price. Will Darrin select Rose or Brooke as the victim, or will he choose to come face-to-face with the fate he sealed five years ago?
Inner Monsters
ASCENT follows Ellie, Josh, and Sam into a realm of otherworldly dangers, as they grapple with external threats and inner demons. What were some things you wanted to explore in this book that were different from book one?
I wanted a closer look at the world they were trapped by. I wanted to extend the lore and continue to develop the characters. How would Josh adapt to life after the Circle? How would Ellie’s life be affected now she actually had people she cared about? How far was Sam prepared to go to learn more about this phenomena? Darker characters also came into play, those who had adapted in their own way to live with this curse. There was a lot to do.
Were there any challenges you faced in ensuring ASCENT stood out from the first book?
I wanted ASCENT to have that same driving force as the LIT. That becomes challenging when the story needs exposition to grow, so you need to plant seeds of information as the story progresses. Some explained, some implied and others, shown. LIT was a lot more linear than ASCENT. Keeping the three main protagonists front and centre felt more of a challenge, but I am happy that they all were able to hold their own as major characters.
How do the otherworldly creatures in ASCENT reflect or contrast with the themes you wanted to address in the story?
Some people deal with darkness by embracing it. By allowing themselves to become part of it instead of fighting against it. It’s a survival technique and we all have our reasons for adapting the way we do. As the Leviathans Ascend to a higher level of being, so do their Conduits. Another concept I thought was intriguing was how do Ellie, Josh, and Sam react to camaraderie for the first time in their lives. Now they have had a taste of friendship, how does that affect the life of misery that their inner monsters need to keep them in. Does it breed hope? Trust? Resilience? All these things need to be stripped from the Conduit to make it truly a vessel the Leviathan can use. Friendship and support are dangerous.
Can you share a hint about what readers might expect in the trilogy’s conclusion?
Although the end of the trilogy, it is not necessarily the end of the LIT universe. Remember, this has happened for centuries so the possibilities are endless in regards to place, time, and person. A hint? It is a War. Bad things happen in Wars. People are lost, people are betrayed and bitter. The Conduits can’t hide in the shadows any longer, they are being steered towards a battle where death is the nicest thing that can happen to them.
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Ellie, Josh, and Sam’s world is growing, expanding with people who suffer the same bane as themselves.
The cloistered Ellie must emerge from the shadows. The young Josh must learn to live with the beast that walks beside him. And Sam plays a duplicitous game to learn about the demonic phenomena that have destroyed all their lives.
The enigmatic Mika, with his Pantheon of Conduits each with their own curse, is searching for a legend of evil – the ancient blight and the one who restrains it.
But something has changed…another evil is emerging and the Leviathans are moving closer into our world. A vile, unthinkable truce might be needed between Conduit and monster as both become the hunted.
ASCENT, the 2nd book in the LIT trilogy.
A Circle Of Fate And Coincidence
The Peruvian Book of the Dead follows four people as they seek to understand what has happened to a missing museum curator. I think this original idea is intriguing. How did you come up with this idea and develop it into a story?
I think it was Agatha Christie who marvelled that her ideas came from her deep subconscious. Like Brisdon, the protagonist in my book, I studied art at college and also travelled to Peru in the early 80s. At the beginning of the trip, the airline lost my luggage so all I carried with me was my blank journal. I wrote my journal as a long letter-diary of my adventures in Peru to my dear friend Karen who, a few years later, gave me back a copy saying, “You may need this one day.”
Decades later, I thought I recognized the real César from Lima pass by outside my bus window on my way to work. A story, long buried, began bubbling to the surface. That night I dug out my Peruvian journal, re-read it, and wondered: What if César suddenly returned? What would happen…? From it, the fictitious, but very personal The Peruvian Book of the Dead was born.
Were you able to achieve everything you wanted with the characters in the novel?
Yes, I believe the four characters have come alive to tell their own unique stories so that they would lattice into one greater story of love and redemption. I read once that different characters can represent different parts of the author — so I am partly Brisdon, César, Margaret, and Imogen. There may be truth in that but mostly, I am Brisdon.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
I was interested in exploring the effects of guilt and regret. The theme of a circle of fate and coincidence permeates my story. As my characters say, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” The world seems to be becoming less and less tolerant and accepting with respect to queer culture and many other cultures, races, and identities, so I hope my novel can be of some value.
What is the next novel you are working on, and when will that be available?
Actually, I have been busy promoting my debut book as an Indie publisher has no budget for promotion. As for future projects, I am looking to expand on a screenplay I wrote years ago but was never picked up for production; it takes place during the fall of the Berlin Wall where the Stasi police try to tear an East/West love apart. I grew up spending time in both East and West Germany, exposed to the Stasi and that horrible Wall, so I would like to explore this story further as a novel. It has a long way to go yet.
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So begins a story that will take you from post-war Scotland to the art world of London and New York, across the Peruvian countryside during the rise of Shining Path, and to a secluded Ontario summer resort during its darkest hours.
The Peruvian Book of the Dead weaves four separate narratives into a single tale of mystery, love, and horror as it examines the effects of guilt and regret, secrets and lies, and shows us how the enigma of the heart will ultimately reveal its mysteries.
Misguided Quest For Redemption
Armageddon: An Apache Story follows a demon who possesses humans and starts a reign of terror and destruction. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Bal’am, the demon, wants to redeem himself through a process by which he takes over the well of the soul of an innocent. I found the idea intriguing that a physical space in the human body houses the soul. Some believe the soul rests in the subject’s pole, the source of consciousness; others feel the soul is held in the interior body; while others place it in the heart chakra. The presence of the soul makes man a unique being. This is why man is a privileged creature who can seek forgiveness; all others of God’s creation cannot. Angels and demons cannot ask or seek forgiveness for actions that they have committed. Therefore, Armageddon is about a soulless creature’s misguided quest for redemption. It is a false quest because Bal’am does not regret his offenses. He wants revenge and not forgiveness.
The other part of my journey with this book is the cast of characters – Native American and not. The cultures of the Hopi and their religious beliefs and the reality of their Kachina spirits become true for our other protagonist Luis, a half-breed, the most dangerous of all creatures because his feet are in both worlds. That is why the Catholic faith and Southwestern Indian traditions collide. This collision of faiths, the dedication of the members of the Apache Medicine Society, and their Catholic counterparts helped me see that we can all work together to fight evil in whatever form it may take. True evil maintains a presence in our world, and we must constantly do battle with it.
Was it important for you to deliver a moral to readers, or was it circumstantial to delivering an effective novel?
Yes, one faith, one perspective does not monopolize the truth. We all hold truth in the way we look at the world. When we first meet Luis, he is a boy who has lived on a farm or really a plantation. When his stepfather dies, he has no reason to stay there. His arc from orphan to possessed televangelist to priest, and to warrior is much like the arcs of many of us. We start in one place, and by the end of our story, we are somewhere else, with many stops along the way. The same goes for Cecilia, a rough street-wise woman searching for her people, becoming a mother, serving as a slave to Bal’am, and escaping those chains to fight for her daughter and grandson. It was important for me to develop each character fully and to show how they manage under harsh, unforgiving circumstances. I wanted them to be real people, and that is why I projected each character through different life experiences.
With the rich history surrounding Apache and Hopi traditions, did you find anything in your research of this story that surprised you?
Yes, the diversity in the Hopi pantheon and how it mirrored the pantheon of angels and saints of the Catholic Church surprised me. Another one was how we place the label Apache on a people who are diverse in their makeup: Apache of Oklahoma, Fort Sill Apache, Oklahoma Jicarilla Apache, New Mexico Mescalero, New Mexico San Carlos Apache, Arizona Tonto Apache, Arizona White Mountain Apache of the Fort Apache Reservation, Arizona Yavapai-Apache, with each group have different traditions stories and beliefs. All of the different sects have similar yet different oral traditions. I wanted to paint the canvas not with just one tradition but with all of the oral traditions of this diverse group.
Where do you see your characters after the book ends?
The struggle against evil is never-ending. Not only the evil that men do but the invisible hand that pushes us to do things that otherwise we’d never consider doing. I believe Luis, Cecilia, Ed Crow, and Marian will encounter pure evil again because Bal’am isn’t dead but waiting for his opportunity to lash out against the world. I believe that Bal’am will find allies in the underworld to help him break his chains and seek vengeance against Luis, his family, and his friends. Return to Armageddon has been written but is still in the pre-publishing stage, a work in progress, so I do not want to scoop the continuing story.
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Apache and Hopi traditions are woven artfully throughout this novel. Bal’am finally enters Luis and begins his reign of terror and destruction. Luis is incarcerated, and through Bal’am’s deceptions and brutality, he takes over the HAND (La Mano Negra), the Mexican Mafia. He also becomes Rev. Bronco, a televangelist who uses his position to give demons the opportunity to possess the innocent. Luis’s young daughter, Raven, becomes the object of Bal’am’s design. By impregnating her, he can dwell in the well of the soul. The possessed Luis thwarts that plan, however. The demon takes over Raven, finds a mate, conceives, and incarnates as Emmanuel, who leads a life of destruction as a child and young adult. With unwavering determination, a small band of believers use Apache and Christian traditions to hunt for the incarnation of evil. Time is running out. Will they defeat the Prince of Hell?
Doubt, Desperation, Loneliness
LIT follows the journey of a group of individuals, led by the anxious Ellie, as they confront their deepest fears and traumas through therapy, mysterious realms, and the pursuit of resilience, all while shadowed by an uncanny creature. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Firstly, it came at a very fundamental level, during an unsettling dream I had many years ago. Secondly, it is inspired by experience with very real emotions and situations. Doubt, desperation, loneliness, and fear can produce very strong negative emotions in a person. As a response, we will often cause damage as a response. LIT asks the question, if your anger could inflict a tangible, undeniable suffering to others, would you still be so keen to use it against them? The consequences of your anger are vile. Would you fight against or embrace that? We all know people who have done both and there are consequences for both actions. I tried to create three main protagonists and follow their story and then…slam them together.
I wish I could say I carry the archetypal angst of a horror writer but the truth is, I am actually a very happy person! However, we have all had our challenges, and I am no stranger to negative emotions.
What inspired you to create the character of Ellie, and how did you approach depicting her complex emotions and anxieties so vividly?
Ellie, the character is inspired by my daughter during her teenage-angst years. Internally there are a few similarities but overall, Ellie quickly became her own person in the story. It’s one of the greatest joys of writing. Create a person and they actually grow so knowable to you. Whether it be Ellie, Josh, or Sam, I think my passion for creating characters that people can really relate to shows through in my writing. I enjoy it and it’s hard to explain but after a time, they actually start writing themselves. You know them so well. I know these characters, I know how they think, how they act, and what they say. I guide them towards being fully realised, uncontrived, and as organic as they can be.
The creature that tails Ellie is an intriguing element in the plot. Can you elaborate on the symbolism of this creature and its connection to the overarching themes of the book?
It is uniquely nefarious (no plot spoilers!) In creating the main protagonists, I also had to consider which form their particular antagonist would take. Within LIT, in a strange and twisted way, the monster has to complement their human. These creatures plot and play with their minds in the most subjectively effective form they can. Ellie in particular lives life as if holding the gate closed on the most depraved of the affliction. An obligation she reluctantly embraces but wholeheartedly meets, but she knows and has seen what it can do.
What is the next book you are working on and when will it be available?
I completed the sequel to LIT, ASCENT and it was released March of 2023 whilst I was in Rome. I had a short time off before I started the third book which is still in progress now, hopefully to be released at the end of the year. Instagram features multiple updates and some fun vids on me doing my thing.
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“You do want me to go Niles, believe me you really do want me to go. Staying here would be so bad, so bad for you. You don’t understand the danger, you can’t understand and I can’t stay here. . . I’m sorry.”
Evil and merciless, Leviathans attach to souls of the damaged among us. They feed off the emotions of these “Conduits” but are always waiting. Anger can identify a target, light one for an eternity of pain. Once LIT, there is no way out.
Three Conduits face their ever present monster that inflicts their life with terror and loss. Friendships can be forged and alliances can be made. The event of the Circle is approaching when Conduit becomes the hunted by their own grotesque nightmare. Now something else is uprising. There are others in the world who hunt their own.
Literary Titan Gold Book Award Sept 2023
The Literary Titan Book Awards are awarded to books that have amazed us with unique writing styles, vivid worlds, complex characters, and original ideas. These books deserve extraordinary praise, and we are proud to acknowledge these brilliant authors’ hard work, dedication, and writing talent.
Award Recipients
The Mole Vol VII by Ron Raye
Visit the Literary Titan Book Awards page to see award information.
Literary Titan Gold Book Award Sept 2023
The Literary Titan Book Awards are granted to children’s books that have enchanted and delighted us with their distinctive storytelling, vibrant illustrations, engaging characters, or innovative concepts. These books merit extraordinary recognition, and we are thrilled to applaud these exceptional authors’ tireless efforts, commitment, and creative talent.
Award Recipients
Visit the Literary Titan Book Awards page to see award information.
LITERARY TITAN 