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A World Much Darker
T.L. Bailey Author Interview
The Dark Age Chronicles is a genre-crossing novel with elements of a fantasy, horror, and adventure as well. Did you start writing with this in mind, or did this happen organically as you were writing?
Well, I knew that I wanted to have the book set in the time of pirates. I saw “Treasure Island” when I was twelve years old and after that I was in love with pirate movies. I watched every Earl Flynn movie I could, or anything pirate related. It wasn’t until I was older that I wanted to take that aspect of the dark ages, of how we treat one another, and introduce a world much darker, more sinister. Growing up I watched sci-fi, fantasy, and horror movies and I think I always knew I would combine them if I could. My love for shows like, “Charmed”, “Walking Dead”, “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”, and “Supernatural” helped me want to combine the genre as I got older.
What was the initial idea behind this story and how did that transform as you were writing the novel?
I know this is going to sound so lame but I had a dream when I was twelve about this girl standing on a dock at night in a storm overlooking three tall ships. In the dream she was so sad and she seemed distressed. I woke up and have never got that image out of my mind. That was the day the story started to develop in my head…the day Eve was born. It wasn’t easy because as I grew up so did my character and I found ideas along my life that I wanted Eve to experience. I also had to develop a writing technique that I didn’t have at twelve. I actually had a file that I would place ideas in until the day came to actually start writing it. When it did, well, the book was transformed to new ideas as I wrote.
Eve is an interesting character that I thought was well developed. What were some driving ideals behind her character development?
I wanted a character that was in the world but felt alienated as well. Giving her pale skin, unusual red hair, and a mark on her hand in the dark ages was like signing her death warrant. To have to be born with that stigmata helped set up the story line for Eve’s fears, and her long for social acceptance. Because of the lack of love she has been shown from Randall Cambridge, her grandfather, she feels like she is evil. Children often always blame themselves when adults do things, and Eve is no different. She even still tries to believe if she does what he wants she will win his love someday. Even though she is beaten down, she has an inner strength that won’t let her give up. I wanted a character that had to struggle with should I help these people even though they watched me get abused and didn’t help me? It would be hard for anyone to do that. I wanted to take her down that path and find out the answers.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be published?
The Dark Age Chronicles has four books total in the series and are all out on Amazon.com paper back or Kindle and I am currently writing a new novel called Portals.
The Dark Age Chronicles books in order: Eve of Darkness, Eve of the Hunters, Eve of Destruction and Eve of Battle.
Author Links: Facebook | GoodReads | Pinterest
In 1717 it was a time of darkness,where stations kept to their own and people struggled to survive. A time where pirates still roamed the seas, slavery was suffered and ignorance reigned supreme. But there is coming a greater darkness that man can’t hope to fight A darkness that will consume every soul on earth. One young girl named Eve, born with a mark on her hand, outcast and abused, learns that she is the chosen one that must stop the rising evil. The last of a known race who protected the world, she must fight a horde of demonic hell hounds, demons, and her worst fears. Together with six others, she must learn to use powers she never knew she had if she ever hopes to defeat Nyx…. the most powerful Necromancer ever born.
The Dark Age Chronicles
This is such an easy book to get lost in! I had so much fun reading this, I cannot wait to read the next book in this series. I have found a new love for these fantasy type books that create an incredible world that you can’t help but feel like you are a part of. The fact that this book had so many mythical components as well as incredible characters and a fantastic story line just makes it even more intriguing.
If you are looking for a book that speaks to you, one that makes you feel like you are a part of something, then this book is definitely one you are going to want to pick up. When Eve realizes that she is the light in the dark days, after being abused and treated like a servant all of her life, it’s incredible. It was like watching an abused dog be taken in by a loving family, the way that the author describes the things that happen in this world, especially to Eve, it’s unbelievable, but you don’t want to put the book down because you are rooting for Eve to defeat evil.
There are two other books in this series that I cannot wait to get my hands on, there are just so many elements of this series that I wish it were a movie, or television show. You watch this story unfold in front of your eyes, and it’s like you’re no longer reading, you’re actually there, taking part in the action yourself. That’s how you know you found an incredible book, when you no longer feel as if you’re sitting on your couch but rather in the throes of action.
I definitely recommend this book to people who want some adventure, mystery and thrill in their stories. Eve is an incredible character, who doesn’t take any backtalk from anyone and is willing to put her life on the line for the good of mankind. Even though she is beaten down, and has been her entire life, she rises again and again to defeat the evil that has come to try and steal the life out of everyone around her. I cannot wait for you to read this book and love it as much as I did.
Pages: 349 | ASIN: 1980483159
The Darkness Within Him
Michael A. Greco Author Interview
Project Purple follows volunteers on a broadcasted experience to recreate American colonization that turns deadly. What was the inspiration behind this unique idea?
“Project Purple” Is about thirteen Americans who recreate the lives of the early colonials for a worldwide on-line audience. They don’t know their ordeal has been gradually, brutally altered by their organizers, and a struggle for food, shelter, and survival turn deadly as an Arctic winter approaches.
The seed of this idea emerged from a conjoining of two mediums—the first being a PBS TV series called Colonial House back in 2003, and the second being an extraordinary novel about the harrowing saga of the Donner party called “The Indifferent Stars Above.” Somehow, the ordeals of these people from different centuries fused.
I think “Project Purple” seeks to understand what it takes to draw on one’s inner survivor. I just started thinking: What could a writer do to give this story more adversity and more propulsion?
Rigor is a detective from Las Vegas who sets out to help the volunteers. What were some driving ideals behind his character?
I wove Rigor into the story to give it another layer of depth. On the surface he’s an upstanding guy. He’s initially driven by noble ideals, but as his story unfolds, we see the darkness within him, too, and that’s why he’s been selected for new “projects”. The Rhizome, the shadowy multi-national underground faction, knows his history.
This novel is able to capture the history of American colonialism and modern dystopian ideals. What were some ideals you wanted to explore in this book?
I guess I wanted to capture the idea that civilization is a thin veneer we lay across the bubbling magma of nature, including human nature. Occasionally, like a volcano, the magma erupts, and we fall through the crust, scratching and gouging for our lives. Then a new world order begins, with an entirely new language, and with an entirely new taxonomy: a new way of ordering and naming things in life—the Rhizome.
The thirteen Americans are under the impression they’re showcasing the early seventeenth century colonial way of life for a worldwide audience; that they can teach others by reenacting “a simpler, purer time in their national experience, to the roots of the nation they are today, to the infant of America.” Of course, the Rhizome isn’t impressed by any of that. What it wants to learn from the Americans is all together different.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
The project I’m on now, “Assunta” is a three-part trilogy about a man who comes to believe in the divine. It’s a physical and spiritual journey from the gates of Hell to the highest portion of Heaven. The story is built on a framework of references to the great poem “The Divine Comedy” by Dante Alighieri. There are three books: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. I’ve just finished Book 3, and will publish them in one month intervals, starting in early March with the first Book, Assunta: Inferno.
After I finish the Assunta trilogy, I’m returning to sequels of The Cuckoo Colloquium —about six teens lost in the rain forest of Borneo, because the characters have so much depth and the story so much fuel remaining. I hope to have book #2 of what I’m calling the Cuckoo series out by autumn, 2019.
I believe that memorable characters make memorable tales. One of my favorite writers, Samuel Becket, for example, shows us lunatics in trashcans, or characters who set themselves on fire. He had great insights into what is true, and he makes it funny. I think that’s my job, my goal—to write characters and stories that are absurd, violent, childish, but that resonate with truth.
Author Links: Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Website
Thirteen Americans volunteer for a unique three-month project to recreate America’s early colonial experience for a worldwide on-line audience. The colonists have been deceived. They don’t know their ordeal has been gradually, brutally, altered by their organizers, and a genuine struggle for food, shelter and survival turns deadly as an Arctic winter approaches. Is there some point to this insanity? The besieged Americans (including a police detective who throws his world away to rescue a colonist he knows only as the Goatwench) must find the primal survivor within themselves to counter the ever-increasing violence they face—all to the attentive schooling of their multi-national audience.
The Emotion of Fear
Peter Hodgson Author Interview
All Your Fears follows Kim, a seemingly normal person, but something sinister returns from her past. What was the inspiration for the setup to this thrilling novel?
The inspiration for All Your Fears comes from different sources. The plot is loosely based on a crime that occurred in the UK some year ago. In order to create a compelling novel I needed to look at alternative ways to drive the narrative, make it interesting and keep the reader guessing. Hours of research furnished me with material gleaned from paranormal events and case studies centered around psychological disorders, particularly with reference to the emotion of fear and what causes it.
Kim is an intriguing character that continued to develop as the story progressed. What were some driving ideals behind her character?
The novel portrays the main character, Kim Robins, as a deeply troubled young woman with a huge emotional burden. She is basically a ‘good’ person: forgiving, compassionate and trustworthy. Most of all, though, she is vulnerable and therefore wary of people and their intentions. Kim’s mental state quickly deteriorates as the novel progresses, and reaches a point of no return. She does, however, possess an inner strength that enables her to fight on, as it were, in the search for spiritual release.
This novel expertly delivers mystery and suspense. Was the story planned or did it develop organically while writing?
Before I began writing the novel I planned the beginning and the end. I formulated several chapters, wrote them, and decided where to go from there. I found that ideas came to me during the writing. The characters, once fully formed, started to ‘speak’ to me; they take on a life of their own. As an author, you have to make sure you don’t deviate away from the plot otherwise it loses focus. The novel has a moral side to it and hopefully will ask the reader to make their own judgements on various aspects of the characters’ motivations.
What is the next book that you are writing and when will it be available?
I am taking a break from writing and pursuing my other interests. I do, though, have an idea for another novel entitled, Chapter 13.
Author Links: Twitter | GoodReads
![All Your Fears by [Hodgson, Peter]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51BnVhSbjpL.jpg)
Kim Robins lives a contented life in a peaceful market town. One evening, she encounters a maniac driver who narrowly misses running her over. History teacher Jay Yeldon drives by moments later, takes her home and examines her sprained ankle. A romantic relationship soon develops, but as the weeks progress Kim is plagued by disturbing, bizarre incidents and mounting fear. Trusting nobody, she seeks spiritual help, only to be cruelly deceived.
Fearful that Kim will come to harm, Jay turns detective and discovers the shattering truth about the woman who loves him.
Someone is out to destroy her and will stop at nothing.
Jay faces a moral dilemma and becomes isolated. Undeterred, he conceives a daring plan to expose her enemy, but nothing prepares him for the unexpected, horrifying climax that changes his outlook on life forever.
Project Purple
![Project Purple by [Greco, Michael]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51-OL3HSfNL.jpg)
Project Purple by Michael Greco is a fictional story about thirteen Americans who agree to take part in a social experience (called Project Purple), with their every action filmed and viewed live for the entertainment of the world. The thirteen people will relive an authentic colonial life of American pilgrims (in the year 1613) for four months, with the viewers as the ‘fourteenth colonist.’ The thirteen colonists must build a colony with twelve other strangers, figuring out how to work together. One of the colonists is Henrietta Dobie, known in the colony as Goatwench. But the colonists were lied to and none of them know the truth about the real purpose of the Project. When Rigor, a detective in Las Vegas, is sent a video of the horrific circumstances Goatwench is forced to endure, he’s determined to put a stop to the Project. But the organizers of the Project will stop at nothing to reach their own ends.
The premise of the book was intriguing, and the story kept my interest. I wanted to know what would happen next for the colonists–would any of them survive? It was interesting to see how human nature played out as the different characters reacted to the difficult–and then deadly–situation they found themselves in. I liked that the author told the story from the point of view of several different colonists, which gave much more insight into the individual characters.
I liked the historical aspect of the story. I enjoyed reading details about the clothing, daily tasks, and customs of American colonial life.
The sadistic actions of the people who created Project Purple were detestable; putting thirteen wholly unprepared people into that situation without their full knowledge and consent for the sole purpose of so-called entertainment for the viewing audience and to further the organization’s own agenda.
The story started out slow, with a lot of set up about the detective’s life in Las Vegas and leading into the beginning of Project Purple. The book felt a bit disjointed, jumping back and forth in time, and jumping between the detective and the colonists. It might have improved the flow of the story if the author had started out with the colonists embarking on Project Purple, and once things started to go wrong, then the detective could have been introduced when he received the first video. In the end this is an intriguing exploration of human motivations that plumbs the depths of humanity.
Pages: 351 | ASIN: B07K7N5M2D
Explore the Choice Between Good and Evil
Kathryn Hollingworth Author Interview
You Owe Me One spans hundreds of years and follows several characters that are trying to save their souls. What was the inspiration for the setup to this intriguing novel?
Initially I wrote You Owe Me One as a short story, which focuses upon Joe Durrant. Then I began to ask myself how Joe had first encountered the Devil. I thought of the idea of having an antique mirror as a portal and then the character of Charles came into my head. Charles became very real to me and I enjoyed writing about him and his struggles. He was a very modern man, living in an outdated and prejudiced society. I have been to Paris on many occasions, so my inspiration for his travels was inspired by my visits there.
There were several well developed characters in this story. Who was your favorite to write for?
My favorite character is Joe. Although he is impulsive, reckless and quick-tempered, he is strong, brave and immensely kind. He gains maturity in the novel and is always concerned about the welfare of others. These qualities enable him to stand up to Satan.
This is a thought provoking novel that questions Christian ideals. What were some themes that were important for you to explore?
The intention of the novel was to explore the choice between good and evil, rather than to question Christian ideals. Some of the characters are Christians and the tragic events they experience lead them to question their faith. Others, like Desire and Chantelle, have high moral values, but are logical and have no spiritual beliefs. I wanted to represent people with different opinions on religion in my novel.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I am working on a fantasy series. I hope that the first book will be available by the end of 2019. It is called Starlight and Sorcery.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook
![You Owe Me One by [Hollingworth, Kathryn]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51V35eGmanL.jpg)
Two young men, living separate lives more than a century apart, are hounded by the same dark entity. Against the backdrops of nineteenth century Louisiana and Paris, through to modern day Florida, they each struggle to save their souls and to find love and happiness. This is a story about the battle between good and evil.
“How does it feel to meet your old buddy, head-on near the fires of home?”
I can barely speak. I manage to say something, between bursts of coughing. “So, that’s where I’m going? You’re sending me to Hell?”
“Well, Joe, you do owe me one,” says my old buddy and smiles warmly. Blackness.
“Some people say that the closer you are to God the more the Devil comes after you. Well, that sure is true in my case. Maybe that’s why I’m crouched down at the back of a Baptist church, where there’s a service in full swing, clutching a powerful crossbow I bought at a store with fake ID, because I’m only sixteen. I fully intend to use it; the crossbow I mean.
The Devil must be chuckling with glee if he’s watching me now, for as a child I was as close to God as anyone could be. Two church services on Sunday and Bible Study twice a week was part of my regular routine. Now I can taste bile rising in my mouth, as I hear the cries of hallelujah. In a nearby window I can see a lone vulture swooping down from the sky. As I slowly rise up onto my feet, the outline of the wedding guests comes into view. The floral dresses, fancy hats and corsages, all blend into a garish kaleidoscope of horror. My vision is blurred and I pause for a moment as my lungs seem to constrict, so that it’s getting hard to breathe. My hands shake as I load a bolt into the crossbow and walk up the aisle, and all the while I’m wondering if I am truly Satan’s collaborator.”
I began to ascend the flight of steps which led to Montmartre, eager to disassociate myself from the body lying in the road below. I watched the scene from the top of the steps, afraid that I may have been spotted, although I could see no one nearby. At first the street was quiet and still, as in a time of prayer or of mourning. Then the people came running from all directions. They seemed to descend on him like vultures, their black cloaks flapping like wings, their raucous cries of alarm raking the still air. Many of them had dark eyes, I was sure of that, even at a distance, as they came running towards him through the Parisian streets. They had dark eyes that were shrewd and sharp and keen. Their crow-colored heads glistened in the sunlight. Were they here to help him or to pick his pockets for silver, like the magpies I had seen in the woods around the chateau? But it was too late to help this man. He was already on his way to Hell. They seemed surreal, like visitors from the underworld who had come to claim his soul.
Hoodie Black
![HOODIE BLACK: Some doors should never be opened by [Caspar, C. S.]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41J3WM1XDwL._SY346_.jpg)
Detective Alex Hunter stumbles into darkness after a drunk driver careens into his wife and daughter, killing them instantly. Off the force, two years pass and he lands in private investigations and the edge of the underworld. When Arthur Garland offers him just the kind of job he can’t turn down, all hell breaks loose. Not only is Garland’s past unsettling, he is also the owner of a new property Alex is buying on Crystal Creek. He’d been turned on to the sale by a mysterious figure so now with every nerve firing and red flags flying, the wiry detective has a mystery to solve – one that he is already in too deep. Discovering how this all started with a detective not unlike himself over a century ago does little to soothe his soul. Then, and now, the answer to the mystery of Crystal Creek may lay with a phantom man wearing an old black hood.
CS Caspar’s novel, Hoodie Black, starts out with a tone not unlike an autobiography told in first person. The supernatural, however, has already come knocking within the first page. Deft descriptions of street trash mingle with demons from the start, I was taken with this dark view of the world. With a distinctive noire flair, the tale unfurls smooth as a red carpet making it easy to stroll on in to this tale and take a seat.
Harkening back to the best Twilight Zone or Creepshow stories, there are ghastly legacies, surreal paintings, tales regaled and of course much of that creeping darkness to be found. And not to say that lightly, Hoodie Black starts out with so many of the genres fairest delights like this so it easily hooks any fan of mystery and horror. On top of all the modern notes this story hits, there is an ancient foundation like something from the Brothers Grimm or older fables, the storytelling quickly becomes deeply layered, making any reader curious how it is all going to converge and when. Truly one of the more remarkable tricks is creating tension simply with that idea – how will this converge and when – CS Caspar has accomplished this tension in the first fifth of the novel.
For some, the tiptoe between a hard-boiled thriller and fairy tale or religious elements may be off putting. The tone may take a little to get used to once the book is at full speed since we are so accustomed to being in one state or genre instead of three at once. For those that enjoy genre-bending dark fiction, Hoodie Black is a very fun read. Culminating in battles between the very ideas of good and evil we are taken between first person narration and a more comfortable third-person point of view. The landscapes and surreal time-bending lend themselves to being wrenched from one mode of storytelling to the other and this should keep the most finicky of readers rapt with attention.
Pages: 219 | ASIN: B07M74MVB9
All Your Fears
![All Your Fears by [Hodgson, Peter]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51BnVhSbjpL._SY346_.jpg)
All Your Fears, a novel by Peter Hodgson is a riveting story of a troubled woman. Kim lives in a small town in England. She works in a hotel cleaning rooms and lives on her own with her Labrador, Smarty. From the outside, she lives a regular life by anyone’s measure. Underneath the surface, though, there is unrest. Kim hears voices and has hallucinations. Only small clues are given about her past and personal life. Is Kim struggling with a past that is haunting her? Is she, herself being haunted by a ghost or some other sinister force? Is she strung out? Is she suffering from a mental illness? The answer to these questions unfold as the story progresses.
Hodgson has spun together a masterful work laced with mystery. I love a good mystery, and Hodgson kept me guessing until the very last chapter. Nothing can be taken at face value and no one can be trusted. I suspected everything and everyone. Is something really happening or is it a nightmare or hallucination? At times, the reader won’t know until Hodgson decides to reveal the answer. Protagonist, Kim, often doesn’t know the answers herself. She doesn’t know up from down or real from imaginary.
I got invested in the characters from the start. I got wrapped up in Kim’s story and her relationships with the people around her, especially Jay. The characters were well-developed as layers were peeled back a bit at a time. Hodgson keeps his cards close to his chest in some areas to build the mystery and drama. Anyone who has been shocked to find out something about an acquaintance will sympathize with the story. I think that fits us all. We have all known someone who turned out to be someone far removed from who we thought they were.
I like Hodgson’s style. Even without giving the book a first person voice, the reader will be able to get a feel for the characters’ thoughts and feelings. Dialogue and the exposure of personal thoughts lets you delve into the characters’ minds. I also enjoyed how Hodgson set the scenes of the book through his meticulous descriptions. He makes the reader “see” the old streets crawling between weathered buildings. He describes old cottages in a way that makes you smell the damp air. His use of language makes you feel like you’re there in the town with them.
Hodgson’s well-crafted sentences kept me interested from the start. It is an edge-of-your-seat kind of read. I’d love to read more of his work.
Pages: 344 | ASIN: B07L4SXNFL
LITERARY TITAN 