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Horror and Mystery! A Look Into Nicholas Paschall's Thoughts on Modern Horror!
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A.F. wrote: "Nice to see you here."Great to be here! I'll be adding my interviews and novel excerpts directly to the original post with dates and times when it was changed!
Mod
Great to be here! I'll be adding my interviews and novel excerpts directly to the original post with dates and times when it was changed!"
Sounds great.
With my excerpt up I should be posting an interview later tonight, so stay tuned!
Interview with Clarissa Johal1) How did you become an author? What motivated you and what made you decide that this was the life for you?
When I was growing up, we moved yearly, sometimes several times in the same year. I spent a lot of my time alone. It was so hard to make friends, there just didn’t seem any point. Making up stories (and ultimately writing them down) was a way to cope. One year, I was asked to read one of my stories aloud in class. After I was finished, I realized I had everyone’s attention! Finding my voice through story-telling made me realize how powerful writing could be. I studied acting and dance in high school and won a scholarship for a play I wrote, directed and acted in. With that scholarship, I pursued a degree in English Literature with no plans how to utilize it. I took so many classes in anthropology "for fun" I ended up with a minor in anthropology! With the anthropology minor, I took a job working in the kennels of a veterinary hospital. That turned into a veterinary assistant job, and eventually, into a career as a veterinary technician and volunteer zookeeper assistant. Once my daughter was born, I quit the veterinary industry and started writing full-time. I guess you could say everything came full-circle.
2) What inspires you to write. I notice you have multiple novels so, if you could, give me a little bit of history on what you did to get the ink flowing for some of them.
Pradee was a short story I wrote in college which turned into a full-length young adult novel. I was working on expanding it into a trilogy when I was hit with two characters from Between (Cronan and Lucas, a Death Spirit and Guardian). I would wake with their back-stories in my head, get flashes of their homeland and people they knew—it was weird. They wouldn’t leave me alone and didn’t belong in the story I was working on, nor did they belong in a young adult novel. In a sense, I was pulled into the Otherworld with Between because I’ve been writing paranormal novels ever since.
Struck came to me while running in a thunderstorm. I wondered what it would be like to be hit by lightning. It’s such a huge burst of energy. That night, I dreamt I was standing in a field and lightning was striking the ground around me. I could feel the electricity crawling over my bare skin. And the lightning wasn’t just releasing electrical energy, it was releasing negative entities from the Otherworld. I woke from the nightmare in a panic, thinking those entities had somehow attached themselves to me. And so a story is born.
The idea of Voices came to me while visiting a paranormal chat forum. Members were discussing the topic of hearing ghosts. Not just the occasional bump in the night, but actual voices of the departed. The general feeling was a reluctance to tell others of their experiences because they didn’t want to be called “crazy” or “schizophrenic.” On a lark, I decided to look up a support forum for those struggling with schizophrenia; specifically, those who reported voices. The two forums had some interesting similarities. I watched the chat boards for about a week while my writer's brain percolated a story idea. What would happen if a person confessed to hearing voices and was committed to a mental hospital when, in fact, they were the true voices of ghosts? I found the idea interesting and ran with it.
The Island was based on a childhood incident at camp. The camp was located on a small island and kept solely for campers only. In addition to standard camp activities, the kids were allowed to explore as long as they stayed together in groups of three. Unfortunately, because I was the new kid, my group of three was just me. Free time came, and off I went to explore on my own. There were designated paths on the island, but you know how that goes—kids explore. I decided to forge a path through the woods. While waist-high in foliage, I literally fell into a small cave. The cave was empty…but not empty. Have you ever had that feeling? It felt like whatever resided inside, suddenly fixated on me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood, I felt icy cold, and the prick of tears was close though I didn’t know why. I felt like I’d stumbled into someplace sacred. After several attempts, I climbed out but felt like I was being watched. The next day, I returned to the area—wanting to make peace with an unsettled feeling. I looked and looked, but the cave was nowhere to be found. That cave (and the feeling associated with it) stuck with me, and so The Island was born.
3) Do you have a project underway? If so, could we possibly get a sneak peek as to what we'll be seeing when it comes out (if yes, include excerpt that is exciting, hopefully with a cliffhanger)
I have two projects. Poppy will be released later in the year by Booktrope, and Whispers in the Wood should be finished by the end of the year. Poppy is currently in edits, so you’ll have to wait for an excerpt! Whispers in the Wood is a dark fantasy. That’s all I’m going to say because my characters don’t like me talking about them until the book is finished.
4) How do you come up with your characters? I know many authors struggle to come up with names. Where do yours originate from?
I’ve never had a problem with characters. They come to me completely formed with definite ideas about what they will and won’t do. I’m just the messenger.
5) Do you have any underlying themes in The Island that we should be aware of? This was one of your more rousing successes, and we would love to hear what the author intended to show us!
As I mentioned, The Island was born from a childhood experience. As far as themes, those were mythology-based. I didn’t borrow from any of the tribes in Canada, though that’s where I grew up, but created my own mythology for the antagonists. I have a minor in anthropology and have studied mythology extensively. I’m quite familiar how cultures use mythologies to make sense of their world. With that I mind, the back story of Thim and Itu became very clear while writing The Island. The tribe they were associated with had experienced so much grief and fear, their emotions became physical beings who fed off the tribe.
6) What is your most recent addition to the literary world? Tell us about it?
Poppy, which will be released later in the year by Booktrope. I’ll leave you with the blurb!
A red-headed, pink-loving mortician who speaks to the dead.
A moody, unsociable funeral director.
Poppy and Dante from Struck are back.
Something is lingering around Skyview Funeral Home—and it's stealing souls of the departed.
With Dante in tow, Poppy is determined to put a stop to it.
Will she be able to protect those who are trying to cross over, or will her soul be next?
7) I've seen you on Twitter; do you have any other ways we can follow you so that we can keep up to date on your publishing.
Look over your shoulder…I am everywhere. Mua-ha-ha….
Or you can stalk me here!
Author Website: http://clarissajohal.com/
Blog: http://clarissajohal.blogspot.com/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Clarissa-Joh...
Twitter @ClarissaJohal
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/faeriemo...
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Clarissa-Johal/...
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/clarissajohal/
8) Out of all your novels, which was the hardest to write and why?
Poppy, hands down. The novel isn’t depressing (scary, but not a depressing!) but there were several times I put the book aside because the research was depressing. Poppy is a mortician and I wanted to know what her life/career was like. I even went so far as to interview a mortician, who was quite upbeat about her job. Once I finished my research, I thought I could breathe a sigh of relief and focus on finishing the story. However, a dear friend of mine unexpectedly passed away, and I ended up setting the novel aside again. Poppy’s job just hit too close to home. In spite of the struggle, it’s turned out to be my best novel.
9) Out of all your novels, which one do you like the most? Which one brings a smile to Clarissa's face?
I’ll always have a soft spot for Between. I feel the most connected to the characters of Cronan and Lucas. Those are my boys. They’re responsible for dragging me into the Otherworld and oddly, I owe them a huge thank you.
10) Finally, what can we expect in the future from you? We've seen horror, both supernatural and psychological; what aspect will you venture into next?
My next book Whispers in the Wood is a dark fantasy. I’ll always write in the paranormal genre, so you can expect it to be tinged with a bit of that too.
1) How did you become an author? What motivated you and what made you decide that this was the life for you?The stories of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table were very much a part of my childhood, growing up near Glastonbury, England, I guess it isn’t really surprising. However, I always felt a little deflated by how the story of Arthur ends. There was a big battle at Camlann, Arthur dies – as does most of his knights. The knights that survive tend to end their days as hermits! I never bought into that ending. I wanted to explore the possibility of an alternative world where the knights don’t all die and they definitely do not become hermits! I had an idea for a novel just over 12 years ago. One of my friends was, at the time, studying English at university and one of her modules was in creative writing. We got talking and I explained my story idea and she told
me to stop talking about it and write it. Which I did. The first draft was,
looking back, truly diabolical, and I rewrote it, over and over, but it wasn’t until last year that I really began to think about publishing it. Back in February this year, I finally pressed that button on Amazon and now I am a published author. It has been a long journey for me, but a thoroughly enjoyable one!
2) What inspires you to write?
The stories of Arthur and his knights definitely inspire me, as does the era that I write about. I love anything to do with The Dark Ages; it is such a fascinating period of British history. However, it is very difficult to research, because written records were not kept and all we have left to rely on is secondary sources and primary artifacts. I compare it to trying to make a jigsaw with no picture and instructions that you cannot rely on. It is, without a doubt, a time of legends. I love it. And I hope that comes across in my writing.
3) Do you have a project underway? If so, could we possibly get a
sneak peek as to what we'll be seeing when it comes out
I have recently completed a novella called ‘The Pitchfork Rebellion’, which is free when you sign up to the mailing list on my website. This book tells the story between Book 1 and Book 2 and I really enjoyed writing it.I am currently writing Book 2 of The Du Lac Chronicles. This book is set 5 years after the first, and follows the youngest son of Lancelot du Lac. Merton du Lac, has brought shame on the family name by becoming a mercenary, but he has his reasons for becoming what he is. Life has certainly not dealt him an easy hand. The book currently has a working title of ‘The Du Lac Devil.’
4) How do you come up with your characters? I know many authors
struggle to come up with names. Where do yours originate from? few of the characters in The Du Lac Chronicles are based on actual historical figures, such as Cerdic of Wessex – which made life a little easier. As for the other characters in my book, I researched names from the era. I have read many books set in the Dark Ages and I always found it a little disconcerting when I couldn’t pronounce the characters names - I didn’t want to do this with my book. So I chose names that were within keeping with the era, easy to say, and that fit the personalities of my
characters.
5) Do you have any underlying themes in your novels that we should be
aware of? We would love to hear what the author intended to show us!There are many themes and twists in the plot of my novels. I wanted to explore as much of the ‘human’ emotions as I could…so there is love,
hate, anger, betrayal, loyalty. I also didn’t want to create ‘supermen’ or
‘superwomen,’ if something bad happens to one of my characters they
don’t just drink a glass of ale and move on…they have to deal with what
happened to them –just like we do in real life. I guess, I wanted to say to
my readers, through my characters, that sometimes, bad things happen to good people, and it is okay to not always be the strong one. On the flip
side, who knows what is going to happen in the future, you may be in a
desperate situation now, but next week, next month, next year, anything
can happen. And the good times may just be around the corner, so hang
on in there.
5) What is your most recent addition to the literary world? Tell us about
it?
My most recent addition to the literary world is my Young Adult historical romance, The Du Lac Chronicles. The Du Lac Chronicles is set a generation after the fall of King Arthur –
"AD 495
Briton lies fragmented into warring kingdoms and principalities. Alden du Lac, once king of Cerniw, and son of the late Lancelot du Lac, has nothing. Betrayed by Cedric, Alden’s kingdom lies in rubble, his fort razed to the ground and his brother Merton missing, presumably dead. He has only one possession left worth saving: his heart. And to the horror of his few remaining allies, he gives that to the daughter of his enemy. They see Annis, at best, as a bargaining chip to avoid war with her powerful father. At worst, they see a Saxon witch with her claws in a broken, wounded king. Alden has one hope: When you war with one du Lac, you war with them all. His brother Budic, King of Brittany, could offer the deposed young king sanctuary—but whether he will offer the same courtesy to Annis is far less certain."
7) I've seen you on Twitter; do you have any other ways we can follow you so that we can keep up to date on your publishing.
Absolutely!
You can find me on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/maryanneyarde/
My blog
http://maryanneyarde.blogspot.co.uk/
My website
https://www.maryanneyarde.com/
8) Out of all your novels, which was the hardest to write and why?
I think the hardest novel to write was possibly the first one, because I was really learning the writing craft with this book – which is why it took me so long to publish it!!
9) Out of all your novels, which one do you like the most?
I am really enjoying writing Book 2 at the moment, but I think my first
published work will always be my favorite.
10) Finally, what can we expect in the future from you? What
aspect/genre will you venture into next?
I am hoping to publish The Du Lac Devil this year and the final installment of the trilogy, next year. I have not really thought as to what I am going to do once I am done with the Du Lac boys, but I will definitely still write in the YA genre…I am just not too sure what about, yet!!
Interview with Sarah England, Author of Father of Lies1. How did you become an author? What motivated you and what made you decide that this was the life for you?
Well I had always loved fiction. My mother was an English teacher and I was reading her cast off novels from the age of eight, mostly historical fiction and the wonderful Hardy and Bronte classics. After that life got in the way and I trained as a nurse before going on to work as a medical rep specialising in psychiatry; but none of that was really me and a lot of the time I felt ill and as if there was something missing in my life. I continued being an avid reader until I got the chance to do a correspondence course in creative writing and start learning the craft around aged forty. For 12 years or so I worked on short stories and serials for magazines, with nearly 200 published in total, plus quite a few included in various anthologies. I then faffed around with comedy/chicklit but my heart wasn't in it. Then I had one of those life-changing events, after which everything changed: basically I met a lady whose story shocked me to the core. The result, after a lot of further (and terrifying) research, was 'Father of Lies', my first supernatural horror novel, and I have never looked back.
2. What inspires you to write?
Now I have real direction, I am inspired by all that I learned in psychiatry and through reading about the occult. Also the lady I met who has what used to be called multiple personality disorder but is now called DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) inspired me to write about the consequences of evil. There is so much that society either refuses to believe or discuss, but which has such a massive impact on the lives of individuals; and I want to show where dabbling in the black arts can lead to. Before that I'd say that life experience and a kind of compulsion to write is what drives me. Without, I hope, sounding too pretentious - this is me now and what I do. I don't want to do anything else even if I'm as poor as a church mouse for the rest of my life!
3. Do you have any underlying themes in your novels that we should be aware of? We would love to hear what the author intended to show us!
Yes the sequel to 'Father of Lies' is called 'Tanners Dell' and I hope to have it ready for release in May. I have attached the kindle cover as a sneak preview. Father of Lies is available in bookstores to order as well as in paperback and for download via amazon. Tanners Dell will also be available in the same way. 6-8 weeks and a lot more work away yet though!
4. How do you come up with your characters? I know many authors struggle to come up with names. Where do yours originate from?
My characters often just pop into my head. Often they are amalgamations of people I have known or even just met or seen in the past. Mostly though, they take form all on their own complete with personality, looks and a name! It's very odd: I get movies in my head and I play all the parts...
5. What is your most recent addition to the literary world? Tell us about it?
Oh yes the underlying themes are usually medical. I suppose it's inevitable after over 20 years spent in either nursing or pharmaceuticals! In the anthology '3am and Wide Awake' the medical conditions range from schizophrenia to neurofibroma. And of course, in Father of Lies, my protagonist Ruby, has DID and is in a high security forensic unit. There will usually be something supernatural in my stories too; although FOL and Tanners Dell are actually serious occult horrors complete with exorcisms .
6. What is your most recent addition to the literary world? Tell us about it?
'Father of Lies' was released just 8 months ago:
'Ruby is the most violently disturbed patient ever admitted to Drummersgate Asylum, high on the bleak moors of northern England. With no improvement after two years, psychiatrist Jack McGowan finally decides to take a risk and hypnotises her. With terrifying consequences.
A horrific dark force is now unleashed on every member of the medical team as each in turn tries to unlock her shocking and sinister past. Who is this girl and how did she manage to survive such unimaginable evil?
Set in a desolate ex-mining village where secrets are tightly kept and incomers hounded out, their questions soon lead to a haunted old mill, the heart of darkness... and the father of lies....
Sleep tight!
7. I've seen you on Twitter; do you have any other ways we can follow you so that we can keep up to date on your publishing.
Yes - I am on all social media!
http://www.sarahenglandauthor.blogspo...
http://www.sarahengland.yolasite.com
https://www.facebook.com/sarahengland...
http://www.authorsreach.co.uk
8. Out of all your novels, which was the hardest to write and why?
The hardest novel to write was Father of Lies because the research was so harrowing. The books I used had to be read only in daylight and then I didn't want them on my shelves so I gave them away to a friend. She wouldn't have them in her house and subsequently burnt them! Yup - that scary! I had some unnerving experiences during the writing of it too, which only served to make me feel the true terror of what we don't know...I'm getting that again while writing Tanners Dell...gulp...
9. Out of all your novels, which one do you like the most?
Well the first comedy I wrote (off the market at the moment) was pretty funny to write - kind of at the expense of various people in my medical repping past. I will re-visit comedy again one day because it is brilliant to write.
10. Finally, what can we expect in the future from you? What
aspect/genre will you venture into next?
My genre is definitely supernatural horror. After 'Tanners Dell' has been released I'm going to be doing a third one in the Woodsend horror series....I do absolutely love it and feel driven to get up each morning and tell the story!
The links to amazon are http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B015NCZYKU and http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015NCZYKU
All those who seek fortune shall bleed,
For this zone is for the brave,
Those who seek mystery must listen to the call of the grave,
For during these hours,
You'll seek stories of ours,
And see the terror
That lurks beneath the veneer of mine eyes"
-Nicholas Paschall
Welcome to my booth and know that I am here to help you be unnerved and frightened. This will be a weekend to remember as I'll be interviewing fellow authors on my blog and be giving passages of one of my newest manuscripts, "The Father of Flesh."
The first interview should be coming up soon and I'll post up the particulars as the weekend progresses! Meanwhile here is a link to my newest book, Ghost of O'Leary House!
Ghost of O'Leary House
4/8/16 An excerpt from my manuscript "The Father of Flesh"
Setting the satchel down on his bed, he breathed a sigh of relief. Between his firearms and the spear, he felt more at ease about going to this dangerous locale. Shedding his robes, he walked over to his drawers and pulled out a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt and vest from his closet. Once dressed, he poured himself a cup of coffee, putting the Inca spear where he’d left it for the night, and walked over to the double doors leading out to the balcony, the highest one in the Manor. Smiling at the breeze, he sniffed the air, taking in the scents of flowers, fresh air…
… and rot?
Opening his eyes, he looked around down below to see where the scent of rot could be coming from. Walking by his front gate were your standard Austin residents going about their day, while below his flower beds bloomed despite the gradual weather change to a colder season. Confused, he sniffed again and looked out over his garden and across the street.
A homeless man in a yellow rain slicker, face unshaven and eyes shrouded by a ball cap, stood motionless on the far sidewalk. He wore jeans that were threadbare and a shirt with holes in it. When Davis looked at him, his stomach turned as if he smelled sour milk. The man wasn’t moving and, in fact, looked like he was staring up at Davis.
How long had this man been waiting for Davis to walk out onto his balcony? And how did he know this was going to happen?
“Who are you?” Davis muttered, sipping his coffee. He stared at the man for several moments, daring him to move.
He didn’t budge an inch, even when someone bumped into him. They apologized and he said some words, which apparently were frightening enough as the young man that bumped him ran off.
Slowly, one arm raised up and pointed towards the rising sun. People walking around him looked at him oddly, but he didn’t seem to care, or notice, that they were there. He pointed east for several moments before simply vanishing when a passing truck obscured Davis’s view of him. Davis hummed into his coffee, turning to go back into his room.
The coffee mug was slapped from his hands, the yellow slicker squeaked as the bum stepped forward, fists clenched as smoke rolled off his body, his brief jump through space leaving him standing on the balcony with Davis. The man was breathing ragged breaths, his eyes violet with the same haunting eyes as the creatures he’d seen in his vision. He smelled horrible, like week old fish left out on a hot summer day and looked even worse up close. Beneath his skin muscles seemed to slither about, creating lumps and bumps that stretched the sweaty skin about. One of his eyes seemed to inflate, leaking yellow ooze out from behind it as one of the muscles passed under it.
“You… are the one… Chosen by Fa’theli?” The bum asked in a choked voice as if the very action caused it pain.
Davis’s eyes widened at that and he quickly decided his next action, kicking out into the creature’s knee, he crowed in victory when the knee bent and split within the jeans, yellow fat draining out of the torn holes and spattering the smooth marble balcony. Racing around the bum as he fell to the ground, Davis was able to grab the shaft of the spear just as his leg was snagged by something with a terrible grip.
Looking down, his Davis panicked. The yellow slicker had paled considerably, taking on the appearance of a bat wing save for the part that stretched out to grab his ankle in a vice grip. The hood had melted over the face, leaving a toothless hole and two boneless arms, fingers rapidly elongating and twisting together to form fleshy tentacles. It dragged Davis closer, to where it could loom over him.
“Nowhere… to hide… Chosen… the gate must… be opened… cannot allow you to… stop…” The creature said in a wet, sucking voice.
Davis chose not to let the monster continue, instead swinging the spear up and into the left bicep of the monster, severing the arm, which fell to the ground below and began to dissolve into a pool of congealed fat and grease. The beast seemed shocked, so Davis pulled back the spear and swung again, aiming for the head.
He sunk the sharpened obsidian halfway into the head, cutting into the mouth hole with a savage thrust. Grappling with the pole, the creature howled in agony as fat dribbled from the wound in runny rivers, the spearhead obviously growing hotter by the second. It brought up its remaining arm and used the two tentacles to grasp the exposed shaft, ignoring the sizzling noise that erupted when it laid its tentacles on the polished wood. Tiny pink tentacles waved from the gullet, beckoning him to come into the horrid tunnel.
Davis sawed the blade back and forth in the creature’s head, causing the wailing to increase and a foul odor of burning fat to fill the air. The tentacles released the shaft, black burns on their pale flesh showing the muscles moving beneath the thin membrane of skin translucent skin slowly knitting and stretching over the exposed tissue. Davis shouted out. the membrane of skin twisted, stabbing down into his shoulder with the force of a charging bear. He didn’t hear any cracks and thanked the gods for that, and yanked the blade clear of the head before slapping it away from the body in order to prevent reattachment. The creature howled in agony, smoldering skin smoking from the top of its former head.
Bringing the spear down in a slashing arc, Davis tore through the thin membrane, severing tendons and slithering muscles while cauterizing the wound with the fiery edges of the spear, which was now glowing a hazy red from the prolonged contact with the creature. The “cloak” of flesh was now cut diagonally, both sides twisting and writing as they slowly morphed into new shapes to be useful.
Davis backed up and regained his footing before hacking into the creature’s wounded left shoulder, twisting the spear at the right moment to cut out a chunk of flesh like you would with an ice-cream scoop on your frozen treat. The wounds weren’t closing nor changing and the creature obviously didn’t have many defenses to speak of other than preternatural strength and regenerative qualities that made it probably impossible to kill otherwise.
Standing on two thick legs, jeans torn and hanging in shreds from the taut skin, the creature was now missing the top of its head and an entire arm, as well as a good section of membrane hanging from it’s shoulder like a cloak of rancid ham. It stepped forward, a slushing sound filling its mouth. Davis ducked as the creature spewed a nasty mix of molten fat and bile over him, staining his carpet. The smell was horrible and it was all he could do not to vomit on the spot. Instead, he rushed forward and slashed the knee he’d kicked earlier, sending the creature toppling to its side in a dramatic flailing. Davis stood over it and stabbed it numerous times in the abdomen, searching for a heart of sorts, leaving ragged holes of burnt tissue and bubbling fat dribbling down it’s chest and sides. The cloak slithered out from underneath it, having formed a thick twisted tendril that cracked like a whip.
Davis gulped as he watched the creature right itself beneath him, the gaping maw opening wide enough to view the insides of the creature, a darkened stomach full of writhing pink tentacles. He brought his spear up once more but found himself tripping up from the creature's tail, and falling into the horrible maw...
-The Father of Flesh, excerpts from Chapter Eight