Horror Aficionados discussion
Group Reads: Guest Author Invite
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May 2019 Group Read with Guest Author, Glen R. Krisch
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Kenneth
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Apr 24, 2019 07:44PM
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This one is a must-read!
Welcome, Glen!
The book sounds really cool, and it takes place in my neck of the woods. I'm definitely checking this one out!
Hi everyone,Thanks for such a warm welcome!
I hope you enjoy Echoes of Violence. I had a blast writing it. As with most of my stuff, it's not much like anything else I've written. And it's a quick read at just 190 pages. I've fallen in love with reading short novels and novellas the last few years, so I find myself writing shorter works as a result.
If you have any questions, fire away!
Grant wrote: "The book sounds really cool, and it takes place in my neck of the woods. I'm definitely checking this one out!"So you're from the St. Louis area? I'm originally from the Chicago suburbs, and I lived in the Starved Rock area of Illinois for about 15 years. I find myself writing a lot of stories set in central Illinois and stretching west to St. Louis.
Glen wrote: "Grant wrote: "The book sounds really cool, and it takes place in my neck of the woods. I'm definitely checking this one out!"So you're from the St. Louis area? I'm originally from the Chicago sub..."
I live about 70 miles straight east of St. Louis. So I guess you would call it South Central Illinois.
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WendyB wrote: "I wasn't going to try to take on another book for the month of May but this sounds too good to pass up. Oh well, books are a bit like Jello, you can always make room for them."Thanks, Wendy!
I just started watching Black Summer, the new zombie show on Netflix, and I think Echoes of Violence is closer to that show than The Walking Dead. Anyone else watching Black Summer?
Kimberly wrote: "Just ordered mine!!"Thanks, Kimberly!
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First off, I'd like to thank you for inviting me to chat a bit with the readers of Horror Aficionados!Second of all, I'm an unapologetic KPB fan-boy. I first read Kealan's fiction in 2002 in Wicked Hollow, a small, saddle-stapled magazine that fit inside my back pocket. This format was perfect for sneaking in some reading time while I worked on an assembly line building tractors. His story stood out among the other fine stories.
Since he was on my radar, I jumped at the chance to buy The Turtle Boy when Necessary Evil Press published his novella a couple years later. Since then, each time he's sent a story out into the world, it's stood out. He became a must-read.
When ebooks came into vogue, his covers stood out as much as his fiction. I sought him out when I wanted to self-publish my first novel, The Nightmare Within, in 2010. At the time, I didn't realize he was doing his own covers! As far as I know, I was Kealan's first cover art client. Since then, he's done the cover art for many of my releases (as well as dozens of other fine books by other authors). If he hasn't been as prolific as a writer in the last decade, I guess I'm partially to blame. Sorry!
As far as the process for coming up with my cover art? I basically ramble to Kealan for a bit about what the story is about, then sometime later he sends me an image and it invariably blows my hair back.
I love pre-ordering. The book just shows up on my Kindle like magic!I'm not sure I'm going to be able to squeeze this one in this month, but I'm gonna try like hell!
Char wrote: "I love pre-ordering. The book just shows up on my Kindle like magic!Same, woke up this morning and "Poof" there is was
I know it's weird, but I kind of like forgetting that I placed a pre-order. It's like a surprise gift when I check my email!
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Enjoying the story. It's a bit like a 'choose your own adventure' story but the choices are made for you. Interesting how the characters have some vague memories of what happened before and use those feelings to make other choices.
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Latasha wrote: "I agree with Wendy. The synopsis intrigued me. I had no idea how you were gonna do it(repeating days) but you did it! Zombies aren’t my usual go to but this was a fun adventure."Zombies aren't usually my thing, either. The idea of the resets popped into my head and I had to figure out how to make it happen. Zombies seemed like a natural fit. Hopefully, I did okay playing in that subgenre!
WendyB wrote: "I wasn't going to try to take on another book for the month of May but this sounds too good to pass up."Same here! I'm no zombie aficionado, but this story seems to have a nice twist.
Welcome Glen!
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Jon Recluse wrote: "Glen, I've always admired the fact that you write what you want, rather than jump on whatever bandwagon is popular at the moment...something that adds depth to the stories you write that deal with ..."Thanks, Jon. I try for originality, even if I use a familiar trope, like zombies. I don't know if I always succeed, but it's a goal I have when I sit down to write. Who wants to spend all those hours it takes to write a novel to just copy some else's story?
I'm guessing about 1/3 of my reading is horror fiction. I also really like thriller/mystery novels, history books, essay collections, the occasional sci-fi/fantasy story, and books on writing.
As far as horror is concerned, I find myself reading a lot of contemporary writers. Some of these writers that I've read and would read again... let's see... James Newman, Jonathan Janz, Mary SanGiovanni, Joe Hart, Blake Crouch, Caroline Kepnes (she's marketed as thriller, but her writing is horror at its core), Michael Patrick Hicks, Ania Ahlborn, Edward Lorn…
I could go on for an hour, I'm sure. There are so many excellent writers plying their trade these days. It's the golden era for readers if you consider the ease of access to affordable books in all formats, as well as the accumulation of 200+ years of material.
WendyB wrote: "I just need to say poor Billy.... is it wrong to say it's a little bit of dark humor to want to see [spoilers removed]"My original plan was to make this a 300+ page novel, but as I went through my notes, I thought it would get a little monotonous for readers. Each decision in the book would have had a whole series of branches of different "outcomes." I like how the shorter version turned out. Hopefully, I made the right decision!
Just downloaded this onto my kindle! So eager to dig into it!!! Thank you Glen!
Taylor wrote: "Just downloaded this onto my kindle! So eager to dig into it!!! Thank you Glen!"Thanks, Taylor. Hope you enjoy it!
It was such a page Turner!! I just finished it, the ending is so satisfying! I want to say so much more but I don't want to spoil it for anyone else!
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Just finished the book. Really enjoyed that, Glen.I'm not a zombie fan, but the fact that you went with the Groundhog's Day bit was a great change-up. I also like the additional monster, or creeper. As a kid, watching too much 20/20 with my mom and seeing these kidnappings and stories of perverts out there, this was one of my big fears. It definitely added a wicked and scary piece to the story.
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Glad everyone seems to be enjoying Echoes of Violence. I'm hoping readers treat it as a jumping off point into some of my other work.
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Glen, how did you come up with this approach? I can't say that I've ever read a book that used this idea. Very original and novel idea.
The idea of repetition came to me because I had a beginning to the story, but I couldn't narrow down what would happen next. I knew the story would open with the boys going out for one last bike ride before the end of summer. But then my mind came up with all of these possibilities for what would happen once they left their house. While I let the ideas marinate, no clear line through the story established itself. No one idea took over. If anything, all the possibilities became stronger in my mind. So, I decided I needed to figure out how to incorporate ALL of the possible storylines into one story. That's what led me to using science to try to explain what happens.
Once I went down that path, I did consider making it a Choose Your Own Adventure-type story, but I thought that needlessly complicated things.
Just started (4 chapters in) and still getting a hang of it. Also, this is the first English book I'm trying to listen to with VoiceOver in addition to reading it... Works mostly fine, but I switched it off when Dr. Soto was back, because I couldn't understand all of the scientific stuff - I'll have to read that to get the details.While it seems Dr. Soto already experienced that day a couple times, I had the impression it was the first time for Billy and his family, but maybe they just don't realize they are on repeat yet?! I wonder whether they will become aware of the time loop or if it will be just one of them (Billy?)...I will find out soon!
Really liking this novel so far!Glen, a couple early questions for you:
1. What kind of research did you do to write the scientific aspects of the novel?
2. As for the location, is that an area of Illinois you visit often? What made you want to set the novel there?
Grant wrote: "Really liking this novel so far!Glen, a couple early questions for you:
1. What kind of research did you do to write the scientific aspects of the novel?
2. As for the location, is that an area..."
Hey Grant,
Glad you're enjoying it so far!
I've had the idea of using a particle accelerator experiment going horribly wrong in the back of my mind for... 20+ years? I used to manage a science and surplus store. We carried anything from glass beakers and flasks, to robotics and motor parts, to telescopes and Tesla coils. Two of my employees, who only worked at my store because they thought it was so cool, also worked at Fermilab. Tons of info on that laboratory at this link: http://www.fnal.gov/.
The concept of déjà vu has also fascinated me to no end. These two distinct concepts have always been on my radar, and I've occasionally dipped into researching the topics over the years.
That said, in the story Dr. Hellickson mentions two of his own theories that are, in truth, my own theories: null time theory, and multiverse differential theory. I could go into detail here, but I'd probably clear the room and I'd find myself talking to myself!
As far as the location is concerned, I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. Over the years, I moved west to DeKalb, and then south to the Illinois Valley, which is basically central Illinois. I've set many of my stories in a fictional setting that stretches from central Illinois toward St. Louis. I have many recurring locations in my work: Silas Falls, Sanctuary Island, the Black Hawk River, etc. In a way, I'm building a fictional universe, but it's probably one that only amuses me to see the connections.
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