Konn Lavery's Blog: Posts from konnlavery.com, page 19

Adapt, Overhaul, and Launch

My presence online has been a bit lacking as of late, not to worry, though. After my two weeks off from contract design and web work, I thought a bit about what’s next with the writing career. 2020 was experimentation. Now it’s time to adapt, overhaul, and launch. A lot of stuff has been behind the scenes that I’ll be rolling out over the first half of 2021, with the first coming February 4th. Here in Alberta, we’re still on a pretty strict lock-down, meaning there’s plenty of indoor time and a lot of reflecting.

Welcome to Another Edition of Unprocessed Thoughts

The title Adapt, Overhaul, and Launch is basically a summary of what I’ve been working on since December. Into the Macrocosm is fully completed and currently on preorder. The ebook comes out on February 18th, and I am thrilled to get it out to you all! It ties a lot of the hints suggesting the interconnected world seen in my previous writing.

Why the Soft Launch?

It’ll be soft for my social media presence, as most of you have read the various short stories in the collection, minus the new overarching story and a few new shorts. Rave, currently with the editor, will be a loud launch. You can overstay your welcome in the media – people get tired of hearing about you. Both Rave and Into the Macrocosm are launching reasonably close to one another, and Rave is new to everyone. Thus, it will be given more attention.

Into the Macrocosm is being leveraged in different ways. I’m using it as further experimentation with marketing online. 2020 I used the completed Mental Damnation series as a chance to dip my toes into the ebook promo world. Following that, Seed Me was a secondary trial run. I learned from these marketing experiments and am applying modified strategies with Into the Macrocosm. Plus, it is a new book, so marketing it through ads, promos, and media-buyout is slightly different.

Oh, it’s also being used as part of an exciting announcement I look forward to sharing with you next month.

Why Launch Two Books So Close Together?

Books being long-term assets is an idea that was reinforced to me from the Mental Damnation series promo last year. Mortal launched in the summer of 2020, and I was able to market the entire series, with Reality being the first in the storyline that initially came out in 2012. Yet, with the complete series, I was able to advertise all four books instead of just Mortal.

The same goes with Seed Me launching as a serialized audiobook. The book is from 2016, but it has been given new life through the audio version, which has resulted in sales. So, the lesson goes, you can revive old work and introduce them to a new audience.

With Into the Macrocosm soft launching, I can focus more on Rave from the public standpoint while still getting the short story collection out early, into book awards and reviewers’ hands, and advertise it to new demographics. Plus, it’s a key component to an announcement coming mid-February. My fall and winter seasons tend to be hectic anyways, as the pattern has gone over the past 7 years of freelancing. If one of the two new books launched then, it wouldn’t get the attention it deserves.

Adapt, Overhaul, and Launch Keeps the Writing Fresh – Stay Lean

Launching two books so closely together is new to me. As with every year, I can write faster and conceptualize ideas better. Every new book, I get better at the craft, and therefore I can adapt to work smarter and not harder.

I’ve done marketing and book promotion the same way for at least 3 years, some of the methods dating back 5 or more. They worked great pre-pandemic with conventions. Now, with everyone surfing the web, it’s a great time to overhaul the business side of writing. If we don’t, well, doing the same thing over and over again is the definition of insanity.

Beer Note: Cannery Brewing Muse Extra Pale Ale

I tried the Cannery Brewing Muse Extra Pale Ale which sits at a 6.5% alcohol level for this month. This is a great beer, with just the right amount of hops and malt. It’s labelled as a strong beer, but it’s at the level that I enjoy. I could easily have a second.

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Archean II

Three pioneers of the EX-7006 remain from their catastrophic travel through space. The crew landed on a new planet that they now call home. Alain McLeod’s hand-written letter serves as a historical document of their settlement, letting future generations learn where their founders came from.

Archean II is January’s short story, a stand-alone sequel to the Transmit event and Natural Cosmos, in the expanding Harvesters / Scrappers universe. Enjoy the story in the written word, audio, artwork, and in audio through the podcast with improv synths.

All Harvesters Short Stories

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Dear child,

Humanity’s stubbornness has allowed us to thrive beyond our primal counterparts. Colonizing a new world is by no means an easy task. Especially when we consider the harvesters – gene freaks – that prey on Earthlings. They were once us. At the time of this letter, those monsters pick us off like cattle to understand their own lost lineage. It’s disgusting. We can only wonder what the old world must have been like before the gene editing and the split of humanity. Time has a funny way of erasing history – with war. Understanding the details of how our people were divided seems more unlikely than ever now that we are so far from home on this new exoplanet.

My fellow crew members and I were on the seventh expedition to leave Earth. We captured a number of the harvesters’ superior technology, bypassing their self-destruct systems. Humans are crafty. We’ve adjusted their ships to obey our command, letting us fly far beyond the solar system. I often think about home, where the remainder of humanity is struggling to survive from the harvesters, one by one. It’s impossible to know how the previous six expeditions went, as we cannot communicate with Earth anymore. Our crew operates as if we’re the last of humanity, for the better of our people.

The exoplanet is named Archean II, as this planet is so young. There’s much to explore, despite being smaller than Earth. We’ve seen fungus and other bacterial life growing around the waters. The rest of the environment is rocky, volcanic, or cold, depending on which part of the planet you are on.

Life has a cruel way of throwing a wrench into something good. Just look at what is being described on this paper. Our crew encountered some hostile . . . radiation or . . . creature . . . during our travel to Archean II. This thing clung onto our ship, like some kind of spider web, as we entered hibernation. Now, Captain Ross, Lydia – who serves second in command – and I are left.

That damn green hue . . . I swear it was alive. A part of it attempted to follow our escape pods as we descended onto the planet. Something about the atmosphere caused it to dissolve as we entered the new world. We had never been so relieved in our lives as we opened the pods’ hatch to see such vibrant colours in the sky and inhale the rich air.

Earth is shrouded in ash, radiation, and violent storm clouds that block out the sun. Apparently, centuries ago, the war of humanity destroyed the planet, altering the weather drastically. I’ve seen pictures of the old-world Earth from our digital archives. The planet was a beautiful blue and green. Still, it is nothing like Archean II’s two atmospheric purple moons and the orbiting twin sister planet.

Archean II certainly is foreign to us. We believe it takes about sixteen Earth hours to complete a day and something around two-hundred Earth days to finish its yearly rotation. None of us are astronomers, but we have some measuring tools from the supplies we brought down with us. Our estimation is a safe bet.

We’d like to visit Archean II’s sister planet. Realistically we cannot as the spaceship was manually set to self-destruct during our descent, preventing any chance of the harvesters tracking us. Just because we knew how to reverse engineer their ships doesn’t mean that there are more layers to the harvester tech we don’t understand. Harvesters are smarter than us, faster, and more robust. They always have one more trick up their sleeve, and we aren’t taking any chances. I wouldn’t put it past them to have some tracking system in as a fallback. Yet, time continues to go by, and we have never seen any sighting of a harvester. There’s plenty of people back on Earth still, and our new planet is far, far away. Who knows? Perhaps they will come for us one day.

We’ve been here for over two Archean II years. A life of agriculture has a way of humbling you. Let’s not forget humanity’s future resting on your shoulders makes you reflect on everything you’ve ever done. I’ve never had so much physical labour in my life. The tools we have help, but we can’t rely on them forever. There are no backups, no repair supplies, and how long can the energy sources last? We barely understand how the harvesters made these self-sustaining batteries work.

The four computers are protected in the main hall, archiving as much as we can. Personally, I’m uncertain about the lifespan of these machines – hence writing this message on paper. Paper! Our settlement is made of military tents – clearly not a long-lasting solution. We’re learning to build with rock, but it is no easy task to carve bricks.

At the time of this message, Captain Ross and Lydia expect a baby in our new colony. I reflect on what my role is going to be. Our population will be small for many generations. The three of us have discussed expanding our people’s chances of survival by conceiving more children with Lydia and me. This strategy will strengthen the human gene pool with two family trees. We’ll focus on the second family lineage after Lydia births her first child with Ross.

Truthfully, I cannot believe we are having these types of conversations. Life on the run, back home, from the harvesters, is all we knew. War, anger, fear, hate, violence, aggression, and primeval are everything we understand. Archean II gives us new hope.

Unfortunately, on Earth, we never discussed strategic procreation to save our species. The topic had come up once during our mission briefing before we left the planet. It was then okay, as I was fond of my crewmate Zoe before that damn green hue took her life. Zoe is certainly someone I would have liked to have as a permanent partner at any settlement – another wrench thrown by life. I still think about her . . .

In the back of my mind, I know we are humans. We dare the unknown; we are versatile; we adapt to our environment; the human spirit will live. We are the founding parents of Archean II. Hope is alive and well in all three of us. Very few of our supplies were damaged during our landing. We continue to plant crops – preparing for the third season – and have a safe home. Humanity will live on. My only sorrow for Archean II is that I will not live to see it thrive due to inevitable old age.

Writing with charcoal on what little paper we have is not ideal, but this personal letter will serve as the first physical, historical document of our time here on Archean II. Again, who knows how long those computers will last. May you preserve these words and cherish these words as humanity enters its new era.

I will show the newborn the location of this document when they are old enough. It resides here, higher from the ocean shores, just before the snow begins on the mountain. Here, in this cave, where I had first found those two chrome marbles almost two years ago.

There’s a pattern of twos on Archean II . . . and I wish we had answers, but neither I, nor Ross, nor Lydia have any conclusion to what these two chrome marbles are. They appear harmless as nothing has occurred when we brought them back to camp for inspection. There was nothing else in the cave either. Ultimately, we returned the marbles to the cave beside this letter, respecting their origins.

Whether it is life on this planet, or simply a visitor, we know these chrome spheres are no natural formation and we are not alone in the universe. When the newborn is old enough, they will pass down this message to all of you for future generations.

From your loving founding parents:

Alan McLeod, Ross Nesheim, and Lydia Ocano

All Harvesters Short Stories

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Horror Author Jennifer Anne Gordon’s The Hotel series finale, When the Sleeping Dead Still Talk

For January’s guest, we welcome horror author Jennifer Anne Gordon to discuss her The Hotel series with the new finale, When the Sleeping Dead Still Talk, the sequel to From Daylight to Madness.

She has been a contributor to Ladies of Horror Fiction, as well as Horror Tree. Jennifer Anne Gordon is the Winner of the Kindle Award for Best Horror for 2020, as well as the Winner of the Authors on The Air Award for Best Horror for 2020, and a Finalist for American Book Fest’s Best Book Award for the Horror Category. She is the creator and a host of Vox Vomitus, a video podcast on Global Authors on the Air Network. She also guest hosts the YouTube channel “Talk Horror to Me”. Jennifer is a member of the Horror Writers Association.

Let’s welcome Jennifer to the blog!

Jennifer Anne Gordon, thank you for joining us. Can you introduce yourself?

Hello! Thank you for having me. My name is Jennifer Anne Gordon, and I am a horror and speculative fiction author living in New Hampshire. I am also a professional ballroom dancer and choreographer.

The Hotel is a two-part series with the finale being When the Sleeping Dead Still Talk. Can you tell us about the series?

The Hotel is a dark Victorian Gothic Horror series. The series centers around two very lost and damaged souls, Isabelle and Francis. They both have found themselves at a summer “Hotel” which is actually an asylum of sorts. Isabelle has been sent there after the death of her infant son, and Francis…well I can’t say too much about why Francis is there, as that is the basis for the book When the Sleeping Dead Still Talk.

Even though the story is done, any plans for spinoffs, prequels, or related stories? If not, what’s next?

Isabelle and Francis’ story is done, but I have thought about a couple of novellas that would be paired together. A prequel, centering around the deeply disturbing antagonist Dr. Hughes, as well as another story that would center around one of my side characters Agnes, which would tell the story of what happened to her in her “post hotel” years. I am on a break from the Hotel world right now though.

I have been working on a new novel, which is literary speculative fiction, sort of a combination of Contagion and Lost in Translation.

You write Gothic Fiction, and your visual work follows similar themes. What pulls you into the darker side of art?

I have always been fascinated by darker things; I am not really sure why. I could blame reading Pet Sematary when I was 10, but I think the fascination started before that. Maybe it was because I used to play in a cemetery when I was young.  I love the ephemeral nature of time, and how fragile our lives really are. All of that plays into the writing…and I have always loved the past, and memory, so gothic fiction is the perfect vehicle for that. It also allows me to write in a more lyrical way, so sometimes the language borders on poetry.

Tell us more about your career in the entertainment industry, you’ve had quite the background.

I studied acting at the New Hampshire Institute of Art and worked in regional professional theatre for years. I stopped doing theatre when I moved to the Midwest, while living there I started to take ballroom dance lessons. I had danced for 10 years growing up but I had never danced like that before. Within the year I had been hired at the dance studio I was taking lessons at. I have a wonderful dance partner (he’s my husband now) and together we really developed a unique way of dancing, and we were lucky enough to be able to travel and perform in some incredible places. I was also the choreographer and creative director for the cabaret and burlesque troupe Absinthe and Opium for five years.

What got you into writing, and did your previous professions help shape it?

I’ve always been a writer in my heart, and have written my entire life, mainly poetry, and for a short time I wrote an indie comic book. I think the thing that has helped my writing the most is my background in theatre, and my skills at character development. I do the same work on the characters in my book that I used to do to make a character believable on stage.

You’ve been in many creative industries, any advice you’d like to offer new writers?

I would tell them just to write. Put words on paper, even if you think they are terrible, or that it’s all just “word vomit”. You can always edit or rewrite, but you can’t so anything with a blank page.

Let’s thank Jennifer Anne Gordon for joining us to talk about her new novel, When the Sleeping Dead Still Talk!Jennifer Anne Gordon’s Novels

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Jennifer on Social Media

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/JenniferAnne...

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jennifergen...

Twitter -https://twitter.com/JenniferAnneGo5

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Before Planting – The Making of the Seed Me Horror Novel.

Learn how the Seed Me novel sprouted. We’ll cover the origins of the premise, how it evolved, and the research that went into it. We’ll also look at some of the inspiration such as the novel score collaboration and the artwork inspiration for both the album and the novel.

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What Worked and What Didn’t – A Year of Learning

2020 has come to an end, and like everybody, it was not a pleasant year. Yet, the severe isolation we have experienced offers perks to dive deep into our craft. 2021 will hopefully be promising, but we certainly aren’t out of the woods yet. Now, in the nature of the Unprocessed Thoughts blog posts, I’ll share a reflection on the month. I’ll also elaborate on what worked and what didn’t in 2020 with the writing career.

Welcome to Another Edition of Unprocessed Thoughts

Before the pandemic, we all expected 2020 to be like previous years. I was prepared for more conventions and promoting a couple of new releases – Fire, Pain, & Ruin and Mortal: Part 4 of Mental Damnation. Instead, we were thrown into lockdown, and everyone started the surf the web aggressively. Despite a fallback, there are opportunities with the writing craft and marketing.

What Worked

Thankfully, some things I’ve done turned out okay this year. Other things didn’t work out. We’ll look at that shortly. First, let’s dive into what did pan out and maybe they can be applied to your own creative endeavours.

Adapting to The Moment

Don’t get stuck in your ways. I certainly did with conventions for the past eight years. Now, they’re gone.

E-books! Digital books are a given in this industry, and we saw the boom about a decade ago with Kindle. I have been exceptionally late to the game and have finally got on board with distributing and promoting e-books. Previously, I focused entirely on print and local conventions. It built personal connections, networking, and gained a loyal following, which I am super grateful for all of you. You rock, and are an inspiration to keep sharing new stories.

On a global market, e-books are an entirely different ballgame.

So, I learned effective ways to format e-books, build reader magnets, and promote these works to people worldwide. Slowly but surely, the reader base is growing. Promotional sites like Book Cave and Fussy Librarian work quite well, and I plan to explore them further. Personally, I’ve had little luck with Facebook ads.

Isolation – The Perfect Writing Environment

I like to write in pubs, but too bad. The time in lockdown has forged the perfect opportunity for us to focus on our crafts. We’re all at home and can lock ourselves away in a room – forcing us to face the art. No one is knocking on our door, and we don’t have any events to go to. The pandemic is the perfect playing ground to dive deep into your craft.

With this time, I was able to finish up two manuscripts that were previously semi-complete. I have a short story collection titled Into the Macrocosm and a horror/thriller titled Rave set for release in 2021.

Who wants to go dancing in the woods?#raveNovel #horror pic.twitter.com/klmnqyemzf

— Konn Lavery (@konnl) December 30, 2020

Audio Exploration

The time inside also provided me with the chance to learn how to engineer audiobooks. I’ve done plenty of readings with the monthly short stories and book launches, yet I wasn’t aware of properly EQing and mixing. In 2021 I will continue to convert more of my previous works into episodic versions until the full audiobook versions are complete. Again, there is lots of time in isolation. Especially here in Alberta.

The EQing and Mixing I learned from the YouTube channel of Ken Marshall. He gives excellent tutorials and in-depth case studies of his previous work with Skinny Puppy and Front Line Assembly. His teachings have given me the chance to amp up my audio quality with the podcast and music I make. Expect to see that with the Rave and Into the Macrocosm scores.

What Didn’t Work

We’ve reviewed all the dandy stuff that happened this year about pivoting, learning new things, and having all sorts of success. Now, let’s get to the dirty juicy stuff about what didn’t work!

A Healthy Balance

Just because we are in isolation doesn’t mean we aren’t busy. Some of you have kids and have had to do homeschooling, others have demanding jobs like the booming IT world, and others are struggling to make ends meet. I’m in the graphic design and web development industries. There has certainly been a high demand now that everyone surfing on the tides of the web.

Throughout the year, there have been several occasions where I’ve taken on more work than I can handle. This resulted in tight deadlines, mutating scopes, and long workdays bleeding into each other. I’ve mentioned the struggle of balance in previous Unprocessed Thoughts – it leads to project burnout and a mental breakdown. 2020 brought a new spin on the old ramblings because we are working from home. The desk is there, and every client is staring at their screen. The task list is long – making the temptation to work that much more intense.

The isolation isn’t healthy for social creatures. We’re meant to interact and connect with one another. When you’re stuck at home, working all the time without interaction from friends and co-workers, it wears down the mind. I am no exception and have felt the effects of social isolation.

Stop Saying Yes

Okay, this is contrary to what you commonly hear from entrepreneurs. You’re supposed to say yes to get more work, build strong personal foundations and blah, blah, blah. You can’t say yes to everything. As I mentioned about the healthy balance, you can bite off more than you can chew. You’ll keep saying yes until there’s so much on your plate you’re going to pay one way or another. You might slip up, and your work quality goes down, or you have a panic attack. Maybe a mix of both! Saying no is a bold statement when you’re thirsty for work – especially if you’re contract-based. Contractors must take the food while it’s hot; otherwise, they are going to starve. Knowing the balance is difficult, and I certainly struggle with it from time to time.

We are in a damn pandemic. If we’re not essential, we can pump the breaks a bit.

Onwards and Upwards

There’s a summary of 2020 for you. Looking back and reflecting on your life, year, week, or day is a healthy mechanism of improving yourself. Nobody is perfect, and there are always new things to learn that will make us smarter and wiser. Take the time to get familiar with yourself and build long-term healthy habits. Some of the examples above are useful pointers for that.

Take time to slow downAlways learn something newDon’t get stuck in your waysUnderstand when to say yes and don’t be afraid to say no

That’s all I have to share. I’m excited for 2021 as I have many new things in the works for you. Into the Macrocosm and Rave aren’t the only things . . .

Keep pursuing your writing career by learning and growing. Always work smarter –  onwards and upwards! If you get stuck in the past, it’ll make you jaded, and that’s a one-way ticket to a short writing career. Have a wonderful New Year’s, stay safe, and catch you all in 2021.

A new Unprocessed Thoughts is up! It sums up 2020 about what worked and what didn't for writing.
Also here's my face. Happy New Year's and see you in 2021.https://t.co/8mR6skvBzQ#authorLife #yegWrites #author #GoodBye2020 pic.twitter.com/24T1VvUBKR

— Konn Lavery (@konnl) December 31, 2020

Beer note: Fahr Pils

The beer describes itself as a traditional German beer strictly brewed in Alberta. It’s exactly as advertised: Clean. Balanced. Golden. The flavour is light, as you expect, and makes for easy sipping. I’d recommend having it if you aren’t looking for any crazy flavours commonly seen in microbreweries. Of course, I enjoy pale ales the most, but it is good to change things up a bit, just not like what 2020 did to us.

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Podcast: Seed Me – Episode 15

Chapter 15 of Konn Lavery’s horror novel Seed Me. The final episode of the novel which includes a bonus deleted chapter.

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The final chapter in the Seed Me novel. We learn what happens after Logan reaches the centre of the pentagram ritual. In addition, we get a a bonus deled chapter of Emily’s road trip with Dwayne prior to the events of Seed Me.

What’s Next?

Next week there will be a behind the making of the Seed Me novel. Following that episode, keep watch for the next episodic audiobook coming in February 2021!

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Podcast: Seed Me – Episode 14

Chapter 14 of Konn Lavery’s horror novel Seed Me. Enjoy the podcast below and share it around:

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Logan arrives at the man-eating flower ritual site. The finale that decides Logan’s fate. He must make it to the centre of the pentagram, surrounded by these damn flowers to cleanse the evil seeds from within, if he doesn’t, well . . . he’s seen what happens before.

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Podcast: Seed Me – Episode 13

Chapter 13 of Konn Lavery’s horror novel Seed Me. As with previous weeks, a new chapter will be shared on Thursdays. Enjoy the podcast below and share it around:

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After the investigation in the blue house, Logan and his friends know what must be done. They need to act fast before the seeds sprout. The ritual site is near, their time is short, will they make it?

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Craig DiLouie explores cult psychology in his new horror novel The Children of Red Peak

To finish 2020, we welcome back Bram Stroker Award-nominated author Craig DiLouie to discuss his latest novel, The Children of Red Peak, which is a horror novel following the life of three kids who are reunited years later after surviving a cult.

Last year Craig DiLouie joined us to chat about his dystopian thriller, Our War, and his dark fantasy, One of Us. Let’s welcome Craig back to the blog and learn about this creepy new story!

Welcome Back Craig Dilouie. For those who don’t know, mind giving a brief introduction of you and your writing?

It’s great to be a guest at your blog again, Konn! I’m an American-Canadian author of speculative fiction living in Calgary, Alberta. I’ve written more than 20 published novels in multiple genres. I’m probably best noted for my horror fiction, published by big publishers like Hachette and Simon & Schuster, and my WW2 fiction, which I self-publish. The road my writing career has traveled was long and hard but also filled with joy, a journey that has been both gratifying and humbling. I’m a very lucky man.

Congratulations on the launch of The Children of Red Peak. Tell us about the new novel.

Thank you! The Children of Red Peak is a psychological thriller with elements of cosmic horror, which thematically tackles topics like faith, family, memory, and trauma. One might snapshot it as a novel that plumbs psychological and cosmic horror in the human search for meaning. Author Peter Clines called it Heaven’s Gate by way of Stephen King’s IT, which I think is fairly apt.

This dark novel tells the story of a group of people who grew up in an isolated religious community—one that evolved into a dangerous cult—and survived its horrific last days. Years later, when one of the survivors commits suicide, the others come together to confront the past and the entity that appeared on the final night, which may or may not be God.

The story is told in two timelines, one in the past in which we see them as children growing up in the community and seeing it all go bad, and the other in the present where they are adults coping with the trauma of what they experienced. Gaining closure on this trauma and solving the mystery of how their parents died will bring them back to Red Peak and a startling discovery.

Why Cults?

Well, they’re obviously fascinating, and they’re fertile ground for horror because you have this group of seemingly happy people who are in lockstep obedience to a leader and doctrine and willing to do anything for them. But taking another step back, what I really wanted to write about was the human search for meaning, and how belief is a survival trait that can produce faith and moral achievement but also delusion and great evil. I wanted to tell a story about these themes through the lens of a religious group that is insular but relatively content, and how it logically slides into horror after its leader comes back from a trip and basically says, “I talked to God, he’s waiting for us at a mountain, we’re going to Heaven, and we’ll be tested when we get there.” They’re of course going to go, and if the tests are horrifying, they can’t be bad if they are from God.

The core idea for the story came from a reading of Genesis, in which God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt offering. God stays Abraham’s knife at the last second. Many people view this story as a wonderful testament about faith and obedience. Me, I wondered: What would the story sound like if it was told from Isaac’s point of view?

In the end, a cult was the perfect vehicle to capture these ideas and tell a story I hope readers will find emotional and captivating.

At the virtual book launch for The Children of Red Peak, you described wanting to dive into the minds of cultists and avoid the cliches. How did you approach this perspective and the research?

I absolutely wanted to avoid the cliches, as I think they’re overdone and don’t do justice to the rich, available themes.

I wanted to show the horror isn’t just in what happens in say the horrible tests at Red Peak, it’s even more so in how eagerly these otherwise good people undertake these tests based on the logic of their belief system.

I also wanted to avoid critiquing any specific religious beliefs. The group in the novel is a very evangelical, very strict apocalyptic Christian group, and their beliefs are presented with courtesy and taken at their word by the characters, who in the childhood held these beliefs. For me, the specific beliefs didn’t matter. Instead, I wanted to examine belief itself.

I also wanted to show how there are many what you might call “off brand” religious groups, but they are not cults. What makes a cult a cult is in the level of harm they do to their members and communities. I was really fascinated in how that level of harm might be justified. Also why people join groups like this, why they don’t leave if the group is in fact harming them, and how they cope if they do escape. The horror that happens in the heart and mind can be so much more powerful than other types of horror.

Did you use any reference material for the creation of the religious group, or is it purely fiction?

I did a lot of research about specific cults to learn about their manipulation techniques and what led them to self-destruct. Most of my research, however, dealt with the psychology of belief, trauma, and the appeal of being able to share a strong belief with a group.

The cover is subtle and disturbing with the hint of red and choice of photography. Does the upside-down forest have relevance to the story?

Lisa Marie Pompilio did the cover. She’d produced the trade paperback cover for my novel One of Us and the hardcover and paperback covers for Our War, both published by Orbit, an imprint of Hachette Book Group. When I found out I’d be working with her again, I was ecstatic, as she’s fantastic.

The cover she produced for The Children of Red Peak is perfectly creepy and enticing. The forest represents wilderness, the upside-down world conveys everything is out of kilter and broken, and the blood trail suggests a grisly event. Overall, it evokes mystery and invites readers to explore that mystery. I think she nailed it.

2020 is almost over – whew – what’s next for you?

Well, since it’s 2020, I’m going to say I’m going to go on surviving! Writing wise, I’m working up some new concepts to pitch to Hachette while producing another WW2 series for publication next year. I also started a shorter military fiction series set in the near future, which is in talks with several audio publishers. So 2020 put a stumble in my step, but overall I’m not letting it get me down. I’ll soldier on and keep writing as long as people keep reading.

Let’s thank Craig DiLouie for joining us to talk about his new novel, The Children of Red Peak!



Craig DiLouie’s Novels

http://craigdilouie.com

http://craigdilouie.com/book/the-children-of-red-peak/

Craig DiLouie on Social Media

https://www.facebook.com/craig.dilouie

https://twitter.com/CraigDiLouie

Craig DiLouie’s Biography

Craig DiLouie is an acclaimed American-Canadian author of literary dark fantasy and other fiction. Formerly a magazine editor and advertising executive, he also works as a journalist and educator covering the North American lighting industry. His fiction has been nominated for major awards, optioned for screen, and published in multiple languages. He is a member of the Imaginative Fiction Writers Association, International Thriller Writers, and the Horror Writers Association. He lives in Calgary, Canada with his two wonderful children.

The post Craig DiLouie explores cult psychology in his new horror novel The Children of Red Peak appeared first on Konn Lavery.

Aureate Rise

The Aureate Rise, led by High Priestess Valeryctus, has taken her sect deep into Mount Kuzuchi where her faithful attempt to unlock the holy unity of the mind, body, and spirit. Greth, a troubled priest, stays loyal to the light, which sends him through trials of fire, uncovering the dark history of the human faith.

Aureate Rise is December’s short story taking you into the dark fantasy world of Mental Damnation where secrets are unravelled. Enjoy the story in written form, the artwork, and in audio through the podcast with improv synths.

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Aureate Rise

My faith has never steered me dishonest as I obey the inner light that leads me. We all face trials of fire, testing our true nature. With guidance from above, we can walk-through unscathed. Decades of focus are needed to harness the powers of the light. The Heavenly Kingdoms no longer bless mere mortals with their holy powers. Centuries ago, they once did, creating the Paladins of Zeal. A grave error as man is incapable of handling such gifts while being bound by sin.

For humans to obtain a fraction of a paladin’s strength, we must earn it through vigorous determination and discipline. Of course, the words of power will never reach the feats of the former. Paladins matched the angels. A mortal corrupted by sin with tainted powers of light is deadly. Thus, it be, their eradication. After the Drac Lord Karazickle slaughtered almost all of their followers, we burned their false teachings and brought the focus on the worship of the true God. A single paladin remains alive and has proven themselves in the new Kingdom of Zingalg. They do not fight our faith in God nor enforce their old ways. This paladin simply serves. Our new religious hierarchy controls the ability a priest can have, preventing another rise of the Paladins of Zeal. We vow silence with our words of power unless granted by a higher priest.

Not all remains perfect in our faith in God. I pray. My brothers of faith believe in the true God. I . . . Our sect did not stray from the truth. Others have, altering the words written of the Son, foolishly forming unholy cults. No . . . we stayed faithful to the Scriptures, never bending to the temptations of evil. I pray . . .

High Priestess Valeryctus feeds our holy crusades not in the form of travel on steed but in the uncharted realms of our own psyches. Our mind, body, and spirit are intertwined into a unified harmony forming the holy triangle – naturally nearing the holism of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit reflected in his mighty creations. Perfectionism is all we can expect from our Lord. I pray. . .

The High Priestess had never strayed us afar. The creation of the Aureate Rise was forged from her vision granted to her by God himself. Need I reflect upon it again? She witnessed extraordinary heights for our spiritual intelligence if we learned to unify our three elements. Her blessed sight witnessed blackness all around . . . with a dim golden light guiding her closer to the truth, growing the more reinforced her faith was, until a glowing golden cross appeared with a hand in the centre with a thumb on each side – totalling six fingers – and an eye consuming the palm.

Her vision has led us to forge the Aureate Rise taking refuge in Mount Kuzuchi, below its snowy peaks, where we have locked ourselves inside an old forgotten chapel. Deep isolation is required to venture into one’s psyche and bridge the gap between the three elements. High Priestess Valeryctus has ordered us to descend to the basement, locking us in. In dark solitude, we can champion our unity without the distraction of sin. Our determination is enforced by the Aureate Rise Shield, guarding the locked door to the surface.

The High Priestess remains above, focusing on ancient literature and codices that the Aureate Rise Shield crusade for, hoping to gain more insight into the chasms of our souls. The Shield are no priests, clerics, but not disciplined in the light. My brothers and I report the discoveries we make about the connection of the mind, body, and spirit, speaking through the cracks of the locked stone door to the Shield, then they report to High Priestess Valeryctus.

The mind is a terrible place. I pray. These thoughts – or trials – are purely my own. I once wished that it was evil entering my mind, tempting me . . . now, I am not so sure. I pray . . . Perhaps the last letter I received from my old colleague, Dr. Alsroc, have fractured the barriers I have built around my fortitude. His message describes attempting to solve a brain disease known as Mental Damnation. This . . . disease . . . Pierces the mind and sends them to hell, where the unfortunate is ultimately consumed by the fallen souls, burning for eternity.

I wish to dismiss Dr. Alsroc’s letter! Yet, the words have raised concern that I cannot shun. The disease victims are depicted as crossing from our world and into the afterlife during their dreams, returning the next day with tainted visions of the unholy. Eerily enough, the Aureate Rise and our High Priestess are guiding us through the depths of our own mental states. We eat next to nothing, we sleep little, and pray for days on end. I felt weak – so hungry . . . thirsty. The trials . . . how many years had gone by? We have no muscles, and our skin is so pale. Our hair has grown far past churchly formality.

I ponder for hours, prayer after prayer, attempting to unravel what lies deep within myself. These heights that the High Priestess described seem to be a fool’s dream. Are these visions from God? Or has she turned mad, bending to darkness, and enslaving us – and for what? This I do not know, and so I ponder. Are these more temptations of evil? Is this my own sin, jealousy of what the High Priestess has created? There’s reason to feel such ways. She’s the higher rank, commanding us, and capable of far greater words of power than I.

Dr. Alsroc’s note has infected my mind, leaving me with uncertainty. I have my doubts about it merely being a brain disease. He described his last patient, Frenan Soulstone, as having similarities hauntingly foretold in an ancient book in High Priestess Valeryctus’s study. Yes, I confess my actions of witnessing the surface, proving me disloyal to the Aureate Rise’s mission. I pray . . . I ponder.

I believed the holy light unlocked the basement door, as at the time I could not fathom any other reasoning for why it opened. None of my brethren noticed whom were entranced in deep meditation. Atop of the stone stairwell, I could hear my name being called . . . Greth . . . Greth, come to the light. Perhaps it was a trial of fire that I ignored. Regardless, I believed it to be the holy light and crept up to the surface of the chapel. Fresh air filled my lungs, and the torch lights nearly blinded me . . .

The light led me straight to High Priestess Valeryctus’s study, where she was not present – possibly another miracle. My hand ran across the long black marble table. Papers scattered its surface. The first I noted were historical documents, stained of blood – whose I am uncertain – that accused the church of shifting to false prophets, straying humanity from the truth of the Creator – renamed to the true God. The author claimed that the Paladins of Zeal held knew the way before the Holy Book was rewritten.

These archived documents accurately describe what all holy men fear in the back of their minds as their mouths remained silent. I am victim of this. The truth is not worth the loss of life, and God will guide his loyal followers to salvation. Seeing these archive notes with the naked eye changes this perspective. All I could think about was exposing High Priestess Valeryctus to the church.

Further on the table were more papers that eventually took me to the far end where a large codex rested. It was the size of a small child. This massive tomb was open, letting me see the black pages and golden ink. These pages were so black that all light ceases to reflect on them. It was impossible to tell where a page ended, and another began. I could touch it and move the page, feeling an unholy power channel into my veins.

The book itself is bound by a stone exterior, and I can only imagine the codex’s weight. If it weren’t for the papers around this monolith, I would not know its name nor be able to read the contents inside. They were the High Priestess’s notes, attempting to transcribe the ancient language. On top of her papers wrote the words: The Book of Consulo.

The words in this codex are most unsettling. Its language is of unknown origin. With the transcription notes, I read some of the texts found within the pages. The Book of Consulo claims to have the power to undo all creationism – a great reset, one might say. In the wrong hands, and a small sliver of this book’s knowledge, it can be used for necromancy. If a mortal dies, it can revert it – an unholy monstrosity.

The Book of Consulo and Dr. Alsroc’s letter have crossover phrases that troubled me to my core. This Mental Damnation speaks of an afterlife, a place known as Dreadweave pass, where the dead have been reanimated to serve a fallen god. Not the holy God, some other evil god known as the Weaver, who is locked in a prison within this realm. I believed it once nonsense until this book . . .

Both the codex and the letter use phrases such as the Creator, Dega’Mostikas’s Triangle, and the Truce of Passing. The transcriptions from the Book of Consulo never mention the Son of God or the Holy Spirit, nor God himself. Where could have the Aureate Rise Shield found such a book? The High Priestess must know of dark deeds at play. . . the Paladins of Zeal spoke truths of the old faith.

My view into this codex was brief, as the Shield had returned with more loot, and I could not be caught for such treason. I hastily escaped from the study and hurried to the basement. Unfortunately, the lack of food and muscles in my legs caused me to clumsily collapse.

The Aureate Rise Shield seized me. I began to pray for strength, knowing that torture and punishment were soon to follow for such disobedience. The Shield took me to High Priestess Valeryctus, beyond the study and into her private chamber made of black stone and marble. She knelt at the end of the chamber where a gold statue stood, shimmering in the torch light. The sculpture was the same cross seen in her vision – with a two-thumbed hand and an eye in the centre.

The High Priestess approached me, with her long black-and-gold gown draping against the marble floor. Her stride was calm and expression unfazed by the fact that I have deliberately disobeyed our sect’s purpose. I did not lose my gaze into her purple eyes. Beyond their surface, I could clearly see the drunkenness of power. At that moment, I lost faith, not in the holy light, but in humanity. The documented truths expose centuries of deceitful spitting, claiming to lead humanity out of the paladins’ tyranny, have shown me that we were all fools.

High Priestess Valeryctus asked if I believed God guided me to the study so I could feast my eyes upon the historical documents and the Book of Consulo. I told her I believed the holy light did. She laughed at me; I was puzzled until she said she personally unlocked the door, wanting one whose faith was troubled to come forth and seek the truth behind the Aureate Rise. Through her mighty power, she transcribed words into my mind that tempted me to leave the basement.

The High Priestess ordered the Aureate Rise Shield to murder me. In a flood of clarity, I finally understood what she was attempting to do. She wanted a body – and I fell into her plan. The church would not question a disloyal priest’s death. Yes, then she would be free to do what she wished. The Book of Consulo. Necromancy. Power.

The Aureate Rise Shield drew their swords. I prayed to the light, calling upon holy powers that we deemed not speak. I broke my vow of silence and summoned a prayer of protection. The light effortlessly absorbed the failed strikes from the Shield’s swords.

I spoke more words of power – of truth – smiting the minds of the Aureate Rise Shield. They fell to the ground, dropping their weapons, locked in repent for their immoral actions. With one word, I could release them. I did not. Their minds ran around and around, reliving the sins they committed until their psyches collapsed under their own weight. Their limbs fell limp as blood seeped from the mouths, nostrils, and ears.

The High Priestess’s words of power have been bent to her will through the Book of Consulo. Her enslaved words affected my protection prayer. The fortitude shields I built crumpled, and her false smite smeared my thoughts. I attempted to speak a word of power! High Priestess Valeryctus finished hers first and the unholy speech scorched my face, melting half of it away. My mind gave in and blood oozed out of my remaining facial orifices. I, too, fell as the Aureate Rise Shield did. I wish that it ended there, and I was brought to the golden gates of the Heavenly Kingdoms. The Book of Consulo is more real than I could have ever dreamed . . .

High Priestess Valeryctus leaned over my dying body as the last breath of air left my lungs. My soul began to rise; I could see my body. She spoke words in an ancient tongue . . . Pronunciations that I could not attempt to mimic myself. The power to undo creationism flowed through her vowels as energy channelled out of her black-and-gold glowing fingertips and onto my corpse. The black-and-gold stream of . . . liquid defeated all worldly rules, by hovering over my body like a snake about to feast. It seeped into my mouth, eyes, and ears, fueling the body with new blood.

My soul was pulled back down, locking me into the dead flesh. I was alive again! My hands pushed me up from the cold marble – which I could barely feel – until I rose to look at the High Priestess directly in her eyes. I have never seen such a malevolent grin of joy spread across someone’s face. I . . . I was living, yet, I wasn’t. My heart failed to pump, and my skin was stiff. The blood is new. It’s thick and made of the black-and-gold energy. She repeated this process for the men I had killed, and they rose from the ground.

High Priestess Valeryctus deemed us the first of her new order. I wish to resist. My soul is bound to hers, and her will is my action. The Book of Consulo has granted her powers meant for gods, not mortals. Her first command for us was to strangle the remaining priests. I was not in control of my hands as I squeezed the life out of each of my brethren, watching their helpless eyes beg for mercy. Those that fought back with words of power were eradicated with my own tainted words – infused with might from the Book of Consulo. Then, the High Priestess converted my brethren into the living dead, growing her army.

I do not know what her end goal is, as she does not share it with anyone. She obsessively studies The Book of Consulo as we await her command at the gate of the church, under the pouring rain. We do not eat, we do not sleep, and we do not tire. The words she’d learned from that unholy codex has converted us into a horror that only a warrior of light can destroy. Hope is never lost, as light always guides us, and we simple priests may have fallen victim to treachery, but there is truth. The light led me to witness the Book of Consulo. In time, no secrets stay buried forever – that, is what I pray . . .

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