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A World Where Magic Is A Natural Force
Ryan Grimbly Author Interview
Call of the Conjurer is a story about a group of diverse soldiers brought together to be initiated into magical combat. What was your inspiration for blending military fiction with magic and the paranormal?
Call of the Conjurer was actually written as a prequel to a homemade, stop-motion film some friends and I made when we were kids, way back around 1996. It was called Bloodfest, and it was mainly about a squad of modelling clay soldiers tearing through a Lego city full of demons and zombies. It would have been on youtube, if that had existed back then. Ultimately Bloodfest was just a weird little black comedy with minimal plot, although the whole setting and the characters stayed with me for years afterwards. It was when I started toying about with programming and began work on a Bloodfest video game that I started to give it more thought. The original story was a bare concept, and we had made the Bloodfest team far from professional – quite “Monty Pythonesque” in their quirkiness, so I had to ask myself: ‘Why was it up to this squad of soldiers to save the whole world from monsters? What made them capable to do such a thing?’ That was when I had the idea of giving them all super powers and magic spells. I wanted to make an RPG game, and to let players customise the characters with a selection of spells and abilities. I also thought more about the backstory, how the team were in service to a shadowy “Hidden Government” who deployed them to fight off extreme threats. Working on the world building to explain how and why the soldiers had magic; why their abilities were so rare and why there were monsters in existence, eventually led me to write Call of the Conjurer when I wanted to try self-publishing books. I decided to start from the beginning, and work my way up to writing Bloodfest as a novel. I never quite finished that RPG game, but maybe I’ll get back to it sometime!
I felt that the military jargon and tactics used was well displayed. What research did you do for this novel to get it right?
The main thing I had to research was what happens during military training, and then work that around the setting I wanted to write about. The military is something that has always intrigued me. In England we celebrate the heroism of those who fought in wars, and conflict is a big part of our history, so it is the kind of thing I’ve read about a lot over the years. I’ve also known a few people who have served in the British Army and United States Army, and one thing I wanted to get across in Call of the Conjurer was how these soldiers are just ordinary people with the same flaws and ambitions we all have. Bearing in mind the rarity of the recruits in the story – their magical abilities which are desperately sought after – the characters in Call of the Conjurer are granted more privilege than most soldiers would be given in reality. This allowed me to occasionally put the cast in relaxed situations where they could be themselves, which was important for building them up as a team who trusted each other, and letting them grow as individuals.
There is magic used throughout the story. How do you keep magic believable in your story?
For most of the characters in the book, magic is a startling experience to begin with but it eventually becomes second nature. Some of them had prior experience with it, and I wanted a world where magic is a natural force but being able to utilise it is a rarity. It is a mysterious power tied to genetics and human history, and the Hidden Government has an entire Magical Science department dedicated to studying the phenomena. Over the years these scientists have tried to quantify, categorise and explain magic; successfully turning it into a weaponised asset for battle, but like all fields of science their understanding changes with new developments. In this way I can make magic a standard tool for the soldiers who use it every day, but leave many mysteries and revelations to be explored throughout the Bloodfest series in upcoming books.
There are a lot of diverse and interesting characters in this novel. What was your favorite character to write for and why?
I wanted a diverse but small cast, and as Call of the Conjurer was written as a prequel, there were a few key characters that had to be included. I liked having this chance to re-establish characters like Ace and Shimon, writing about them several years younger where they were different people to how I knew them. Captain Mason was instantly a good character to write about. My aim for him was not to be a typical drill-instructor people might expect. He’s much kinder to the recruits (sometimes chastised for being so), but still has to be tough at times. He’s a warrior, and a powerful spell caster. He’s fatherly and considerate, though in private he is a very solemn individual with a huge burden on his conscience. His inner turmoil is a big undercurrent throughout the story, and becomes more impactful to the whole plot towards the end. I enjoyed writing Gretel as well. I wasn’t sure where she was supposed to go at first; how she would develop, but I wanted to write a character who is initially perceived as a snarky, aloof ‘Goth’ but actually has a lot of personality and depth. She’s full of surprises, and I’ve had a lot of feedback from people saying she was their favourite part of the book.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will that be published?
The next book is Typhoon of Fire, which is finished and in the proof editing stage right now. The story follows the surviving recruits from Call of the Conjurer several years later as fully fledged soldiers now on active duty. They’re on a mission in an arid setting, living rough and facing greater threats in hostile conditions. “Hell on Earth” is a big theme of the story, and the whole book is a strange mix of Vietnam War films and Dante’s Inferno. It is definitely grimier and darker than Call of the Conjurer was, taking away the safety nets and really pushing the characters into some difficult situations while expanding on the whole Bloodfest universe even more.
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In the shadows, Just out of sight, A hidden army fights a secret war. In the autumn of 2003, a few remarkable soldiers from across the world are brought together. Each hasa a special gift, and they are to be initiated nto a world of magical modern combat. Captain Calbert Mason is their instructor. He is a Conjurer; one who can summon and control ethereal monsters. As the recruits confront their new powers and the monstrous enemies they will encounter, Mason must ensure their safety throughout the training programme, confront a vengeful ghost from his past, and see that the recruits survive their first mission against a rival, deadly Conjurer.
Dominion of the Star
Dominion of the Star by Angelica Clyman is a winding, fast paced story featuring Kayla Steelyrn, a girl who lives in a world that knows a lot more about her than she knows about it. The story opens with Kayla not knowing much outside of the little pottery village, except that her father and Asher are gone and have been for some time. What she comes to discover after running away is that the world around her is falling apart. She meets Jeremy and Kittie, two members of a powerful organization who seem to have her best interests in mind.
However, Sebastian, the leader of the organization, does not think that Kayla’s time is best spent with them. Magic of all kinds seems to possess this land, and how is it that Kayla has ended up with a bone shaped blade that seemed to appear from inside of her? What kind of magic is she hiding, and how does her past play into this magic? Will she reunite with Asher, and what has he been doing for so long?
This story takes place in quite an interesting setting. The social structure around the world has fallen apart, and now there is a power vacuum. Those with powers are pushing to be the leader of this new world, and for now, Sebastian finds himself near the top of the heap, thanks in part to his Angelic structured system. However, I found it a bit odd that the world has gone downhill so fast, yet Kayla is unaware of any of this at the beginning of the story. I know small towns sometimes don’t get the news, but the world going through such a drastic change seems like something that would be discussed by anyone and everyone.
One problem the book seems to struggle with is the description of action scenes. While the narrative is supposed to reflect quick movements and decision making, the results are often confusing. More than once, I had to track back to the beginning of paragraphs to check and see what really happened in a fight. It is very close to being a great description, often times, but it ends up being just a tad rushed, causing confusion on the first read.
This issue with action sequences is more than forgiven, though, thanks to the great plot pacing that Clyman employs. Although the text is close to 500 pages, I never had a problem turning the next page to see what happens. The mysteries of the world are revealed to Kayla, and the reader, in satisfying fashion.
Overall, if you are a fan of the fantasy genre and don’t mind a bit of romance, mystery, and action, then Dominion of the Star is a story you should read. Kayla is a character worth caring about, and this reader wants more from the wonderful setting that Clyman has created.
Pages: 480 | ISBN: 0692476342
The Hobbymen
Fun. That’s what Tim Owens brings to the table with his 2014 novel, The Hobbymen. It’s just fun. Ghouls, goblins, monsters. Banter. Sarcasm. Interesting settings and a fast pace. While you read, you can tell that Owens had a great time writing the novel and that excitement is transferred to us as we flip each page.
The book starts with Liliana, a down-on-her-luck young nun who’s caught stealing an old loaf of bread in a little town in Mexico and then thrown in a dusty, dark jail. As she sits in the dark basement, wondering if this dilapidated prison is even legitimate and awaiting her outcome, she hears the running of two young men being chased by something she’s never seen before – a scaly monster with fangs and a vicious demeanor. She watches as a fight ensues. After the two boys knock out the strange beast, they take pity on her and let her out of her cell.
We find that the two men, Geoff and ‘Book’, are monster hunters, tracking down the true origins of mythical creatures from legends, stories, and myths. Geoff and Book are friends, though very different in personality and are constantly barraging each other with good-natured sarcasm and other scathing remarks. While originally the boys were simply going to return Liliana to her convent, they quickly become a team. Working out of their shabby van, they go on all sorts of adventures – following leads for any gruesome, dangerous, or fascinating creature. Unfortunately for them, other more nefarious characters have caught wind of these adventures and they have their own vested interests in the creatures that they search for. This all leads to an exciting conclusion involving a huge rock-like monster, severed hands, and incantations.
With The Hobbymen Tim Owens has created a fun read. The dialogue is entertaining. It flies with sarcasm, humor, and references to other fantasy stories like Lord of the Rings and the classic 90s flick Tremors. The storyline is somewhat simple, but the characters and creatures continually pull you in to read more. We watch as Liliana changes from a young runaway with no real plan, to a strong, determined woman who can fight just as well as the boys. And as we flip through each page, we find that like Liliana, Geoff and Book have their own secrets and past hardships which drive them on their quests. And surely there’s chupacabras and voodoo, but it’s really a book about a girl who felt alone due to the mistakes she’d made and then finds a home, a place where she belongs, in an unexpected place and with very unexpected people.
I give The Hobbymen 4 out of 5 stars simply because it’s just good old fashioned fun. For the monster-lovers and supernatural-junkies, I would recommend this quick and light book. Because of the easy writing style and the young characters, the book lends itself well to a young adult audience, though parts might be a little intense for the younger end of that demographic (I mentioned a severed hand right?), but in the end really anyone would enjoy this. Friendship. Adventure. Voodoo. What more could you want in a book?
Pages: 358 | ISBN: 1505283590
A Lot of Pain in their Humor
Marguerite Valentine Author Interview
Echo is a coming-of-age story that explores many different things a young girl could encounter on her journey through life. What were some themes that you felt were important to highlight in this story to convey the innocence and growth of Echo?
I think the main issue for me is the daughter’s need for a father. A good father enables a young girl to define who she is, her attitudes to men, and how to protect herself. Echo was confused which meant her feelings and responses to men could be misinterpreted, which Gareth recognized but JF didn’t. These two men represented the good and the bad. Secondly, she has to separate from the mother and this always involves anger and to some extent a rejection of the mother until she feels secure in her own skin and can accept her mother for who she is, including her failings. I made Echo very feisty and I hope, funny. Her sharp observations of the adult world are, to some extent, based on my work as a therapist with young women. There’s a lot of pain in their humor and vice versa. It’s also about the loss of childhood and taking on the responsibilities of growing up. Thirdly, the importance of a female friend. Maddy gave Echo a good role model of how supportive a good family can be as she works through the trials and tribulations of growing up.
Echo tells the story of her life as an adult looking back. Are there any emotions or memories from your own life that you put into Echo’s life?
It was based mainly on my therapeutic work with young women at university. A therapist is told so much! We’re safe and they can tell us stuff, they wouldn’t tell anyone else. Her sharp humor is a little like me. I sill have that in me…
The story takes place on a farm in Wales and in London, England. How familiar are you with those areas? Why choose those spots as the setting for your novel?
I’m half Welsh and I live in Bristol, near Wales. To cross from Bristol in England to Wales, one goes via the Severn Bridge which goes right over the River Severn. The bridge is massive, a magnificent piece of engineering. The Severn is awesome, its flow, power and danger is as described. It fascinates me. [Check out my Pinterest for the settings of Echo] I did used to go to Wales every summer and the description of the farmhouse is based on a real one. After I’d written Echo it occurred to me that the river was like a metaphor for the difference within me of being Welsh and being English. One wild, the other fairly sophisticated and urban. I also lived in London for twenty five years and I know it well. It’s as described.
What is the next book that you’re working on and when can your fans expect it out?
I’m in the process of finishing my third novel. It’s called History Repeats Itself or Big lies: Small truths. It’s a sequel to my debut novel, Between the Shadow and the Soul. which is about a young woman snatching a baby. History is about an undercover agent and is set against the crash of 2008. It’s both psychological and political and explores the nature of lying and self-deception! I’m looking to finish it by Xmas.
Author Links: Twitter | Website | Pinterest
Echo is growing up. She’s sharp, quirky, funny, with a snippy relationship with her mother. She finds life, especially men, a challenge. From meeting her first and only love, finding out about her missing father, her obsession with a Welsh poet, and a disastrous experience with a therapist, life is a problem. But problems require solutions and Echo is determined to find her own. Using imagination and humor she finds a way to get her own back. Written in her own words, this is a magical tale of desire, fantasy, and revenge, which reveals how one woman played one man at his own game and got away with it.
Plain Dealing
Plain Dealing (the Ryder Quartet Book 3) by Ian Patrick is a mystery, thriller and suspense novel. It’s the third book in the series and follows the activities of six cops after they execute four criminals for committing a crime. What they didn’t know was that there was someone watching them as they executed the thugs. The witness, Thabethe, decides to go the media with what he saw and thought he would include Detective Jeremy Ryder in with the group, as a sort of payback for Ryder coming down on him. Now the cops who committed the execution style murder are out to shut Thabethe up while Ryder tries to piece together the puzzle.
Plain Dealing is a novel that addresses the emotional, ethical and even criminal choices that law enforcement officials handle on a daily basis. It plays on the moral struggles officers go through to maintain their control over crime. Ian Patrick creates a thrilling tale filled with action, suspense and drama. He brings his story to life through minor details such as Sugar-Bear growling at a shady journalist and well developed dialogue. He builds up the suspense and draws out the reader’s anticipation for what will happen next. Details are so rich that readers can see the story unfold as if they’re watching a movie or seeing it firsthand. Patrick’s words are vivid and realistic. They bring out the reality of the tough choices police officers need to make as they confront brutal and heinous crimes.
It’s evident that Patrick did extensive research before writing Plain Dealing. I got the feeling that the descriptions and character actions were accurate. The setting of Durban, South Africa is an interesting one as most books of this kind take place in urban cities. It is refreshing to see the fictional war on crime taking place in a unique and almost exotic setting. It brings to light the reality of crimes in other places, not just in the United State, something we tend to forget or try not to think about. There were moments that seemed dull and stifled, but those are few and far between. Once readers read this book, the will want to read the other books within the series. This novel truly is a page turner; one that will burn itself into the reader’s memory and stay there for a long time. Readers will read this within a day as they will not want to put it down for one second.
Plain Dealing is a riveting tale that keeps the readers guessing only to be surprised at the next turn. This is the perfect addition to the library of any mystery, thriller, and suspense fan. There are elements of this novel that puts it into the caliber of best sellers like James Patterson and John Grisham, they should watch out for Ian Patrick as he is a compelling contender in the mystery genre.
Pages: 271 | ASIN: B01263D7VC
The Seed That Plants Itself Into His Heart
Paradise City begins with Arlo and his best friend peeping into a stripper’s window trying and see what any young boy hopes to see. But what they see instead changes them forever. Do you think there’s a single moment in everyone’s life, maybe not as traumatic, that is life changing?
I hate to think of myself as believing in anything absolute, as if the same sort of scenario happens to everyone in some way or form. However, I do believe that everyone at some point in their life experiences a moment that separates how they were before that moment, and how they live the rest of their lives as a consequence. For me, as I’m sure most people can relate to, it was the day my father passed away. I remember the day itself starting out like any other in the summer. I was with my friends and everything was perfect. Then it happened and I remember the feeling, like everything that I was was switched off like a light switch. And even as it was happening, I knew that everything would be different from then on. With Arlo, in the beginning of Paradise City, he experiences a similar event, but deep down doesn’t know what to make of it. Instead, it sort of numbs him and sets the stage for the climax. At the end of Paradise City, the confrontation with his best friend, that moment is the moment that is the defining “light switch”. At that moment, even Arlo can’t ignore the fact that everything after that day will be different. It’s the seed that plants itself into his heart which spreads its roots deeper into his body and soul throughout the rest of his life. So yeah, I do think that everyone in some way can relate to that sort of change in their life.
In a lot of contemporary coming of age fiction novels authors often add their own life experiences to the story. Are there any bits of you in this story?
Absolutely. Many of the party scenes were directly translated from memory to page, some of the adult characters were based off of some of my friends’ parents, and on a very subtle level, some of the parts involving Arlo’s mother were taken from my own experiences, though not quite in a literal sense. One thing that stands out the most though, is the feeling I think most kids grow up with, the feeling of wanting someone but never being able to have them. And also, I’ll never forget my first experience drinking whiskey. The feeling Arlo gets in the book when he drinks it for the first time… is pretty much exactly how I felt about it, if it could even be put into words.
Lot’s of bad things happen through Paradise City, but it makes you think about what one would do if in that same situation. What do you hope readers take away from the story?
The main theme of The Mire Man Trilogy, at least from my point of view, is being able to live with yourself after having done something excruciatingly horrible; so.. self-forgiveness in a way, and not letting whatever that thing is completely destroy you. In Book 2, being that it is an origin story, the main focus of the story was to give readers the notion that it’s actually okay to remember where you came from, whether it was a good place or bad place. Really, the only way to fill in the blanks of the future is to remember the past, remember how we got to where we are. We’ve all done horrible things, maybe not quite as bad as Arlo, but then again maybe Arlo didn’t really “do” anything. Maybe that something happened TO him. It’s that combination of question and consequence that drives Arlo forward. By the end of Paradise City, Arlo is left with that consequence, and he has no one and nothing to tell him or explain to him why he’s feeling the way he’s feeling. This is what really starts him on his path that leads to how we see him in Book 1- Bar Nights.
When is the third book in the trilogy due out and what will that be about?
Book 3 is titled Return to the Madlands, and the main theme of this final volume, besides the overall arc of self-forgiveness, will be something along the lines of “self-preservation”. Arlo will be confronted with the idea of death, and what happens after this event. Not necessarily to him, but to his memory. He’s lived mostly his entire life not really caring about what other people think of him, and to some extent that’s actually a healthy way to live, but he takes it to unhealthy and dangerous extremes. In Return to the Madlands, he’ll finally sit down with himself and do a little thinking on that matter. The story itself picks up about fifteen or so years after the present day events of Paradise City, and involves a recently deceased loved one imploring Arlo to hit the road one last time and experience life before he gets too old or dying to get that chance again. The twist here, which won’t ruin the reader’s experience, is that this loved one has been hiding something pretty major from Arlo, and only confesses to it after their death via handwritten letter. This leads Arlo to believe that Constance, the main woman from Bar Nights, (whom Arlo in his own way, fell in love with) is still alive and out there in the world waiting for him to come find her. The first big chunk of the story is all about this road trip, this journey to find Constance, and involves Arlo getting stuck or hindered by several bouts of misadventure. The road eventually leads to Nevada, where he runs into his still-alive, and very old and aging father, which sets in motion one hell of a torrential downpour of emotions for Arlo. Obviously I won’t say much more about what happens from there, but there will be a very, very bittersweet flavor of closure by the end. I’m about a hundred-ish pages written into the first draft, and am shooting for a much larger scale page-count with this final volume, not that the size of a book matters, that’s just how much is going to be going on. If my current work schedule is anything to go by, I’ll probably have the first draft finished by Christmas… maybe. I wrote Bar Nights in four months, and Paradise City in six; I may or may not have rushed through them, so I’d like to really take my time with this one.
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Book 2 in “The Mire Man Trilogy”, “Paradise City”, tells the origin of Arlo Smith, and illustrates the first steps on his journey toward becoming the seemingly soulless nothing he is in “Bar Nights”. It is a story that narrates what it’s like to grow up against the grit and torment of youth while under the vengeful weight of inevitability masquerading beneath the guise of well-intentioned promises… and the price of what true friendship can sometimes require.
Joseph Khalid Massenburg
The Diary of Hakim Jones is a fascinating character story about the obstacles a person faces when growing up in the inner city. What was your inspiration for the character and stories in the novel?
The Diary of Hakim Jones is basically my life story with some fiction added. Most of these experiences I write about in this book are based upon similar experiences I have been through in my life. I hope to inspire the young men and women in our urban areas to never give up on their goals no matter how hard the road ahead may seem and I also hope to make those who are not familiar with the inner cities aware of the many hardships and struggles that go on in communities where the educational system has failed, along with a depleted economic system, and the loss of just basic family and community values.
This story is about a boy growing up in Newark, NJ. The background for the story I felt was well done. How are you familiar with Newark and New Jersey?
I grew up in Newark NJ and still live their today. I am also an employee for the city of Newark. I believe readers who have grown up in the inner cities around the country can relate to my book.
This story is told in a diary format. Why did you choose to tell the story in this format? How did that play into your development of the character?
The story is written in diary form because at first I was just writing down random events that had taken place in my life. But then I thought to myself, why not write the book in a diary (format) so that I could make it possible for readers (to feel like) they are watching a movie while reading my book.
What is the next book that your fans can expect to see from you and when is that coming out?
I want to try something a little different for my next novel. I was thinking about a possible inner city horror story. As a writer I want to be able to diversify my books so I can appeal to a wide range of readers. I have already started working on it so hopefully it will be done within the next year
Life in the hood is tough; violence and drugs are everyday realities, and motivation to change can be hard to come by. The Diary of Hakim
Interview – Hugh Sterbakov
The Hungry Monster gobbled up City Under the Moon so fast he bit his little monster fingers off. Well, the Monster got the chance to interview Hugh Sterbakov, author of City Under the Moon, and ask him if he would pay for the medical bills to reattach the Monsters little fingers.
City Under the Moon takes a zombie outbreak approach to the werewolf genre. How did that idea come together for you?
I had a traumatic obsession with werewolves as a child, and I wanted to put that on the page, maybe as a catharsis. I was inspired by the firm grounding Michael Crichton brought to Jurassic Park and The Andromeda Strain, and that blend of fiction and science thematically contextualizes my childhood fears that werewolves were real and my parents’ promises that they weren’t. So City has more in common with Crichton epidemic thrillers, or Richard Preston’s The Hot Zone and Robin Cook’s Outbreak than it does with zombie films. You’re in the moment with the exponential werewolf outbreak and the immediate response from law enforcement, the military, the White House, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
You’ve worked on Robot Chicken, sold TV and movie scripts, co-created a comic book and now you’re writing a book. Is book writing just another step on your path to world domination or is this something that you’ve just been wanting to do?
It came out of frustration with Hollywood development. I wanted to do something for myself, and for an audience beyond studio conference rooms. I sat down one day just to see if I could do it, and I realized… yeah, I couldn’t.
So I kept at it, studied narrative prose, rewrote countless times, hired an editor, struggled to overcome fear and perfectionism, and one day my wife told me it was finished. It ain’t perfect, but it’s me.
You have obviously done a lot of research for this book. But I wonder how much research did you do for Lon’s character? Lon is an interesting character and in the novel he’s a ‘nerd’ that loves to play Magic the Gathering, blog, and plays video games. Did you spend a lot of time at Magic the Gathering tournaments researching character traits for Lon?
I’m a lifelong comic book collector, an avid gamer and I’ve spent time at Magic the Gathering tournaments playing Magic the Gathering. Lon is me–or at least he’s the self-destructive misanthropic narcissist I (try to) keep locked away.
What was the one book, movie, song, or Rorschach test that most influenced your work for City Under the Moon?
Probably Michael Jackson’s Thriller–not just the video, but the theme and sensation of the song. It has a nostalgic texture reminiscent of the classic Universal horror films–that tone is important to me, and it’s prevalent in the novel– and it captures both the torture of undergoing the transformation and the helpless terror of watching it happen.
What was your favorite scene in City Under the Moon?
In the middle of the book, as the government, military and scientists are attacking the situation with cutting-edge tactics and technology, our heroes discover that the werewolf curse is rooted in old world superstitions. They travel to Romania–to Transylvania–and it’s like a time warp from Michael Crichton to Bram Stoker. I love that juxtaposition.
Random question: What next generation video game console are you going to get. XBOX One, Playstation 4, Wii U, or decline to comment because it would be too controversial?
Ha! I love that you’ve asked this question. I’m an old-school, hardcore gamer, so there are only a few consoles I never had–relatively obscure ones, like the Amiga and the Atari 7800. I mean, I had an Odyssey 2. So I’m sure that by the end of the life cycle, I’ll have both. I was predominantly an Xbox 360 player in this generation, so I’m used to that ecosystem and I’m dedicated to that gamerscore. But the PlayStation 4 has such compelling advantages over the Xbox One, particularly that $100 price difference, that I’m leaning toward jumping. I have both on pre-order, but I’ll probably cancel one and wait for it to drop in price. It’s only mid-July, and there are still details to be revealed before November. So we’ll see. Ask me again at the end of October.
Available at Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com
Pages: 464
ISBN: 0985245611
Also, be on the lookout for the followup to City Under the Moon called Moonrise Duet that will be available December 2013.
LITERARY TITAN 