Apologies to Patrick, but that headline writes itself!

Excited to welcome today’s guest to the 3Q realm. For many, Patrick is known for his dark fiction. For others, he’s known for keeping the peace over on the HWA Facebook page! Either way, Patrick has his hands deep in the horror world and I was excited that he agreed to do a 3Q’s!

Please welcome Patrick!

 

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?
PF: Neither. I write if/when I feel like it. A lot of my writing goes like this: “Think about a story for days or months, without really writing it down, just letting it tumble around in your idea space. Run to laptop and write the whole thing in an afternoon (if a short story) or a month (if a novel).”
I go weeks and sometimes months without actually putting anything on paper. As the coach of a FIRST Robotics team, during build season I don’t get anything writing-related done (and barely see my wife or pets, either). When “in the zone”, I might write from when I get home from work until ten or midnight several weeks in a row.

Steve: You’re riding an elevator and BAM! It gets stuck. What two authors (one living and one dead) would you happen to find yourself stuck with?
PF: I’d probably end up stuck with Nicholas Sparks and the rotting corpse of Leo Tolstoy because that’s my luck, but I’d rather get stuck with Stephen Graham Jones and the rotting-but-talkative corpse of Elmore Leonard. You’ll never find two authors so different and yet so incredibly gifted at making incredible stories and characters that populate them.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!
PF: My newest novel is actually a mid-grade story (billed as YA) that I wrote on spec to kick off the re-boot of David Brin’s OUT OF TIME series. THE ARCHIMEDES GAMBIT is about a trio of teenagers who have been ripped from the history books into the 24th century to deal with an artificial intelligence that has gone murderously rogue. Any kid and no few adults will fall in love with these kids and how they tackle a problem that only they can handle.

Steve: Bonus Question! If you were transported back in time, which Pop Band/Hit Band would you hope to find yourself a member of?
PF: I would prefer to stay in this time and be a member of Taylor Swift’s band, because she’s incredible, but if there must be time travel, there must be time travel, so in that case I’m going to have to go with The Barenaked Ladies, for fun music and funny, often darkly ironic lyrics. I’m not Canadian, but they’re not ladies and perform with their clothes on, so we’ll call it even; let’s do some gigs.

Great choice, classic Canadian band. 

Thank you so much for doing this, Patrick!

To find more of his work, check the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Patrick-Freivald/e/B006N2B4YK

Website: https://patrick.freivald.com/

Super fun one today and our guest offers a great insight into how they construct their stories!
John C. Foster continues to churn out riveting and tension-filled tomes. Add that to the fantastic photos he shares of his pup and I’m always excited to see what he has on the go! I was actually considering messaging him back to see if he could send a photo of him and his dog, but alas, I didn’t want to bother him again!

Please, do welcome John!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

John: My writing style includes getting up and down frequently, pacing and roaming the kitchen for snacks, taking a shower and walking the dog. During a first draft when I’m on a hot streak, I wander a lot, start doing other things while my subconscious is churning and then stop mid task to run back to my office and hammer the key board. I write like I exercise, in explosive bursts. It’s a ridiculous way to do things. Sometimes it takes me over an hour to finish a shower because as soon as I step into the spray an idea-bomb goes off. If it’s small, a firecracker, I can write it down on the waterproof pad I keep in the shower, but if it’s an entire dialogue exchange I jump out, grab a towel and dash to my desk.

Like I said, it’s a ridiculous process at times.

I never set a word count goal because it feels restrictive. I try to finish whatever scene I’m working on in a single day so as to maintain the kinetic flow. As for schedule, I loosely break up my day into three sessions. The first starts around nine or ten, although when I’m REALLY hot I’m at my desk before seven after walking my dog Coraline. The sessions last anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours, pulling the trigger until the hammer hits empty chambers. Then I take a break to let my brain catch up with the story. The first is typically the most intensely raw and creative. The second blends that with tightening and revision and fleshing out, making sure I’m telling the story through more than just the visual sense, etc. The third is often about going back and cleaning up the mess I’ve made. I work with great intensity but I’m a shite typist and routinely commit horrible crimes against the language.

An exception to the above is as I’m hitting the last chapter or so. If memory serves I finished one book with an all day single session of around 20,000 words. It was insane and my brain felt like it had been squeezed dry, but I felt as giddy as I did tired. (The clean up effort in following days was enormous – shite typist and all that)

During draft revisions the process is a bit less frenetic, more workmanlike, though I still follow the two or three session a day plan. If the creativity just isn’t happening, there’s still work to be done. Pitching. Querying. Researching story calls and reading books I feel I need to read as a writer…though this last bleeds straight over into fun.

Steve: You end up at an estate sale and discover an unpublished manuscript from an author you love. Do you keep it just for yourself or do you share it with the world?

John: I’d definitely bring it home, but I think the first thing I’d try to do is determine what the author wanted to happen with the work.
Did they think it was worthy of publishing or had they buried it in a trunk? I think back to Harper Lee’s unpublished follow-up to To Kill a Mockingbird and how it was published to benefit a seemingly duplicitous person after Lee’s death – I wanted no part of it, so I have not read it even though I think To Kill a Mockingbird may be the finest novel ever written by an American.

So there’s a good chance I would not share the manuscript widely in an abundance of caution to respect the wishes of an artist not present to represent themselves. That being said, I may be exposing some hypocrisy here, because I’d sure as hell read it myself.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

John: My latest novel LEECH, published by Ghoulish Books, debuted at the first annual Ghoulish Book Festival in San Antonio and has generated more personal/direct messages to me from readers than anything I’ve written to date. A mosaic novel, it tells the story of psychologically unbalanced secret agent, a southern gent who is part 007, part Fox Mulder, who can “see through the veil.” Told in a series of stand alone stories that tell a larger narrative when read in order, LEECH takes readers on a tour of crumbling realities, dark scientific experiments, prehistoric super beings and demonic forces locked in arctic installations. The binding current running through each story is his reliance on his wife Karen, also psychologically unbalanced…but as unstable as these two may be, they are each other’s rock and take turns pulling each other back from the brink. At the end of the book, Leech is quite willing to destroy the world for her.

The book came about because I wrote a couple stories about Archibald Leech in his white linen suit and my crit group wished there were more. Who knows, there may even be more stories about Archibald Leech down the road? (Hint, there are more Leech stories in the works).

Steve: Bonus Question! You wake up in a comic book. What is your comic book character and what is your superpower?

John: The Wolf. Strong, endless endurance, inescapable. Hovering in between hero and criminal. Definitely a killer. I’d much rather be a sorcerer or be able to throw lighting and fire—no flying though because I’m a afraid of heights—but if my inner self affected the mutation, I’d come out as some kind of canine predator for sure. Also wolves like to eat a lot and so do I, so I’m halfway there.

Excellent choice! Thank you so much, John!

To find more of his work, check the links!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/johnfosterfic

Website: https://www.johnfosterfiction.com/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/John-C-Foster/e/B0125PBYFC

What an honor it is to have today’s guest stop by! I’m a huge fan of John Hornor Jacobs’ writing and, as I’ve said before, sometimes I reach out and ask, not expecting an acceptance, but when John said yes, I was over the moon! Not only because I got to interview him, but because I know how many of his fans will be excited to check out his answers!

Please, welcome John!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

John: I’m all over the place honestly when it comes to writing time. I’ve recently transitioned from being a partner at an ad agency with a 60 hour a week job to going freelance, giving me a lot more freedom with my time, but my life has been upended in a variety of ways. And that’s gotten in the way of me having any constancy in my life. Multiple deaths of family, mother, aunts, uncles. I don’t really have a good schedule yet. I wrote a novel last summer and during that time I focused on writing around 1500 words a day. Any more than that and I feel like my prose suffers from lack of consideration which, in the end, leads to a blandness.

I tend to write in the morning when I first sit down at my desk (but not always) and do design work and linocuts in the afternoon and evening after my wife has gone to bed (but not always).

Steve: You end up at an estate sale and discover an unpublished manuscript from an author you love. Do you keep it just for yourself or do you share it with the world?

John: The story writer in me finds some problems with the setup. Would I get the rights? Who’d have the rights to the book? Would I just turn it over to the author’s literary estate? Is the book any good? Could I just slap my name on it and make a million dollars?

I guess the question for me really is, which deceased writer would I like another book from? And in that case, I’d probably say Hilary Mantel. I’d love another brutally wonderful historical novel from her like the Cromwell series. It was a shock when she died this year.

Maybe an unpublished Gene Wolfe novel? Something by Charles Beaumont?

But writers I’m always wanting new novels from include China Miéville, Christopher Buehlman, Sarah Hall, Richard Kadrey, Caitlin Kiernan, Brian Evenson.

In other news, I’d really love to read John Steinbeck’s unearthed werewolf novel that they’ve said they’re not going to release.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

John: My newest release was a little while back, in 2020. It came out during the height of the pandemic and was a bit overlooked – granted, there was a lot going on, tbh. It’s a collection of short stories and a novella which is a sequel to my Bram Stoker Award nominated first novel, Southern Gods. It’s called Murder Ballads and Other Horrific Tales.

Steve: Bonus Question! You wake up in a comic book. What is your comic book character and what is your superpower?

John: I read some comics – Barbaric (written by Michael Moreci) and anything by Cullen Bunn or Mike Mignola – but not a lot of DC and Marvel stuff and I definitely don’t have a lexiconic understanding of all the superheroes and the history of comics. I tend toward more horror comics. So, what I’m about to say might already exist and the name might be taken as well but I don’t care.

If I was a superhero, my name would be Godmaker and my superpower would be the ability to bestow upon others superpowers. That way I could deem who was worthy and hopefully make the world a better place without having to wear tights and a cape. Outsourcing and delegation!

Ha! That’s great and a truly great superpower!

Thank you so much, John!

To find more of his work, check the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/John-Hornor-Jacobs/author/B004UAC44G

Website: https://www.johnhornor.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/johnhornor

Awesome one today friends!

You may know him from his fantastic short fiction, or from his debut novel ‘Whitesands.’ Or – you may know him from his really cool photos around his home over in Iceland! Either way, Johann is a fantastic guy and a big supporter of so many!

Please, welcome Johann!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do
you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Johann: When I am actually productive my writing time is from 5:30 to about 7:20 in the morning. Then the world wakes up and my private writing sanctum is penetrated by my kids getting up and me realizing that I should get ready for work.
Even better is when I manage to put in a stretch, about three weeks or more. I have gone through a heap of productivity-maximizing attempts and the ideal scenario is as follows:
100-word goal pre day. Anything above that is a welcome bonus.
Reward when I sit down. In my case it is a cup of bulletproof coffee.
An accountability buddy or group.
Track daily progress.
This system eventually got Whitesands written, though a week’s residency in Exeter in the U.K. was the clincher.

Steve: You end up at an estate sale and discover an unpublished manuscript from an author you
love. Do you keep it just for yourself or do you share it with the world?

Johann: This is a ghost novel by Michael Ondaatje. I immediately share it with the world. I think every good book is an advertisement for every other book that exists. So a ghost/horror novel by Michael Ondaatje would be a worldwide bestseller and the world would be thirsty for more.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should
read it!
Johann: I have a story in PROFESSOR CHARLATAN BARDOT’S TRAVEL ANTHOLOGY TO THE MOST (FICTIONAL) HAUNTED BUILDINGS IN THE WEIRD, WILD WORLD.
It’s now a Shirley Jackson Award nominee, in addition to being a World Fantasy Award nominee. You should read it because it is full of great little stories by authors far more talented than me.
Seriously, it’s a fun book.

Steve: Bonus Question! You wake up in a comic book. What is your comic book character and what is your superpower?

Johann: Convincer-man! I am like the most likeable and immediately trustworthy politician ever. Anyone who listens to me speak is moved to agree with me permanently. Like, Obama with superpowers.
(I don’t know why this popped into my head, it’s early and I haven’t had coffee). Anyway, I would travel the world holding rallies and TV appearances and not just tell people about global warming and nuclear disarmament but actually convince those who hear me speak to change their ways with the goal of making the world a better place for all.
Of course, my arch-nemesis would be Donald Trump, the most self-serving of all hemorrhoidal polyps, and he is also traveling and convincing crowds of the opposite viewpoint. We eventually meet in a televised debate that the whole world watches.

Hahaha! Oh, that’s great and might actually make for a really fun comic!

Thank you again, Johann!

To find more of his work, check the links!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/johannthors

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Johann-Thorsson/e/B0946221DC

Website: https://jthorsson.wordpress.com/

Can you believe it, that after almost 200 3Q’s/Specials, today marks a first! A FIRST! Today’s guest is the phenomenally talented and super supportive K.P. Kulski. And while I’m super happy to have K.P. stop by – I never expected that her daughter would actually draw her fictional character for the Bonus Question!!??!! How friggin’ cool is that!

Please, do welcome K.P.!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

KP: I’ve been homeschooling my son for over a year and my daughter more recently, it’s wonderful to have them at home and to go on educational adventures together, but it’s been difficult to get writing time in. With that said, I’ve managed to implement a schedule that works for us all. The wonderful Donyae Coles gave me some good advice on balancing homeschooling and writing that’s helping me restructure my time. I’m only a couple weeks in and already it’s made a huge difference. (Thank you, Donyae!)

She told me to first identify what time was my optimal writing time, then structure our homeschool day around that time. I work best afternoon until evening, so 3-4 times a week, we start with interactive homeschool lessons around 9am, have lunch and a break, then I go to my office to start writing by 1pm. The kids work on independent projects then. If I’m having one of those coveted “on a roll” days where the words are flowing and the muses are singing, my husband takes the helm in the evening so I can continue to work. I’ve also been using Saturday as a full writing day lately.

I don’t usually try to hit word counts, instead I focus on goals… like get a scene written, or fix a plot inconsistency, etc. I’m also a pantser and find mood is an important part of my writing. If I’m having an off day I focus on brainstorming and indulging in things that inspire me… music, art, books, etc. I believe it’s an important part of writing, letting our minds marinate in things that fill our well.

Steve: You end up at an estate sale and discover an unpublished manuscript from an author you love. Do you keep it just for yourself or do you share it with the world?

KP: Can I do both? Hahaha. I think I’d read it first, just to have that feeling of amazingness, covet it a little and then share it with the world. But I would also see if I could get in contact with the family involved with the estate sale to be sure they didn’t accidently or unknowingly sell such a gem.

Sharing stories is so important. I mean, that’s what we’re doing, sharing our stories when we publish. It’s the ultimate mind-meld. I’d be horribly sad if a manuscript of a cherished author didn’t sink into the brains of others as well as my own.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

KP: House of Pungsu, released in September from Bizarro Pulp Press. I’m very proud of this little novella, it came from a lot of reflection on my own sense of identity as a woman, the changes in my life… from maiden, to mother, I often think about what cronehood will mean for me and what I want to make it. It’s a look at things that have trapped women in the past as well as today. How these things convince us there are walls.

As I wrote it, I realized how present my own mother was in my thoughts and reflected in the story. My hope is for readers to find the questions to ask about their own identities, to dare to open those doors we’ve been told are locked to us. Ultimately, I hope the journey will give readers perspective and maybe even learn more about themselves.

 

Steve: Bonus Question! You wake up in a comic book. What is your comic book character and what is your superpower?

KP: I’m a bit of a comic geek. Anyone who knows me knows I love Kelly Sue Deconnick’s Captain Marvel, so if I’m to be an already existing character it would be Carol Danvers.

A character that doesn’t exist though… well, I decided to consult my very creative daughter on this one and for the first time ever, I am unveiling her superhero design made with me in mind.

Meet, Bloodroot. I have the ability to control plants and darkness, move objects through shadows, and can harness the power of the moon.  She further states that Bloodroot is both witchy and super cool. I of course, love her design and I’m totally going to have to make myself a Bloodroot costume for next Halloween.

That is seriously awesome and big kudos to your daughter for bringing this vision to life!

Thank you so much, K.P.!

To find more of her work, check the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/K-P-Kulski/e/B077ZPZGQH

Twitter: https://twitter.com/garnetonwinter

Website: https://www.garnetonwinter.com/

Another fun one today and I think this one will be unique in that it’ll get some eyeballs on a very prolific author, but one that has released the majority of his work over on Godless. Godless seems to be a hit or miss for many out there. Either you know it or you don’t. For those who don’t – consider it an outlet for authors as an alternative to releasing through Amazon. It has become a haven for extreme authors, as they don’t have to worry about Amazon’s strict censorship models, but it can also give a fantastic platform for many authors. Case in point, Todd Love!

Please, do welcome Todd!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?
Todd: For my short stories, I try to sit down and write the entire story. Then I go back and edit and design a cover.
For my longer stories, I try to write 2k in one sitting, and edit, ending at the end of a chapter. The next day I will do the same and carry on until the story finds its ending.
I write on varied days. I have a full-time job and a family. My life is very busy. I write in my spare time as often as I can. Procrastination does take over from time to time. Bad habits are hard to break.

Steve: You decide to host a writer’s retreat. One weekend in a luxury house on an island. What three other authors do you invite to come along?
Todd: Indie Authors – Ronald Kelly, Carver Pike, Rowland Bercy Jr. Mainstream Authors – Stephen King, Clive Barker, Robert Kirkman.

Geek by Todd Love

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!
Todd: Very proud to be included in two new anthologies this year. Planet Bizarro Press – Extremely Bizarre Anthology. With this short story I really tried to push myself beyond anything Bizarre I had ever written before. Pussy Cock was that story. It’s dark and very odd. The story is about bullying and self mutilation, with a twist.
The second anthology is D & T Publishing’s ABC’s of Terror Volume 4. This collection of 26 short stories focusing on neighbours. My take is own two neighbours who turn out to be cut from the same evil clothe as the devil and join forces to take over the neighbourhood.
I have a short story with D.A. Latham coming out on September 29th. It is a continuation of our LOVE series. A Grandfather’s Love will be only available on Godless.
For Godless.com and the 31 Days of October 2 – I have a new short, The Nights Last Cigarette. It is a short story about a killers end of season ritual.
My first novella is almost ready for release. Thresholds of Suffering is a ghost story that spans from a world war to a small town. A solider is haunted by a promise he made 50 years ago to a young girl form a world far away from his own. This promise molds choices that takes a young man on a journey of self discovery, and as an old man that has to face his biggest fear, fulfilling that promise.

https://books2read.com/extremelybizarre

Steve: Bonus Question! You receive an invitation in the mail from one of these two people. The invitation invites you to have dinner and spend the night in their home. Do you accept the invitation from Victor Frankenstein or Dracula and why?
Todd: I would accept the invitation from Dracula in the hope I would be transformed into a vampire. The Lost Boys is one of my all-time favourite movies and I would love to have the chance the be a bad ass vampire like Kiefer Sutherland.

Great choice! Thank you so much Todd!

To find more of his work – check the links!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/author_toddlove

Godless: https://godless.com/search?q=Todd+Love

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

At least for many it is! And, as I’ve seen, many authors are doing some sales for the Christmas Season!

With this being a wonderful time to show people how much they love each other – many will do so in the form of an Amazon Gift Card! And those who get those cards LOVE getting ebooks!

So, instead of me bombarding you with a ton of links (I hate self-promo, really do), I decided to do a wrap-up so that you have all of my books in one spot with their pricing shown and easy to buy links! Organized by price (lowest to highest), I’ll include the elevator pitch synopsis, Amazon US link (with cover) and Universal Link to buy!

If you’d rather not scroll through this long post – you can always hop over to my author page and start browsing now at the Universal Link below!

author.to/stevestred

NINETY NINE CENT BOOKS! ($0.99)

So, let’s start with the next one, shall we?

Churn the Soil

Out Feb 17, 2023 – this one is about a pact with some creatures and the ramifications when that pact is broken!

Preorder is open for ebooks for only 99cents!

UNIVERSAL LINK:

mybook.to/churnthesoil

An Endless Darkness: The Novellas

Like Churn, this features artwork from Greg Chapman! Featuring four novellas and two novelettes, this has something for everyone!

UNIVERSAL LINK:

mybook.to/anendlessdarkness

Of Witches…

Oh boy! Who likes collections? This one features 8 short stories, 15 stunning illustrations/photographs from my friend Miranda Crites (who also provides a foreword) and all of it is based around WITCHES!

UNIVERSAL LINK

mybook.to/ofwitches

Ritual (Father of Lies Book #1)

This is the first book in my trilogy (the full series will arrive later on). But if you are looking for extreme, look no further. This novella is part one, based on my experience joining a real cult on the dark web for research. 

UNIVERSAL LINK:

mybook.to/ritual

Piece of Me (Sermons of Sorrow Book 1)

When her husband and son leave on a hunt, Kari remains. After ten years, she still remains, holding out hope that one day, they’ll return. Even as creatures infect the darkness. Then, one day, a stranger arrives and tells her they still live.

This is for fans of dark fantasy and cold, winter settings.

UNIVERSAL LINK:

mybook.to/pieceme

The Future in the Sky (The Empyrean Saga Book 1)

A sci-fi novella that begins the journey, teens are forced to jump from the ship in the hopes of finding their future in the orbs.

Fast-paced and for fans of The 100, The Hunger Games and Alice in Wonderland.

Books two and three are also out now and also only 99 cents!

UNIVERSAL LINK: 

mybook.to/futuresky

The Stranger

A horrible father, an annual camping trip, a creature waiting within the woods. This one tackles some tough topics, but also relates to my novel Mastodon.

UNIVERSAL LINK:

mybook.to/thestranger

 

ONE DOLLAR BOOKS! ($1.00)

Wagon Buddy

A bullied kid. An imaginary friend. But just how imaginary are they? So beings Scott’s story, one that still captures readers imaginations.

UNIVERSAL LINK:

mybook.to/wagonbuddy

The Window in the Ground

On the outskirts of town, a secret exists. One that the adults protect and the kids don’t know about. That is, until gramps spills the beans and the dominos fall.

UNIVERSAL LINK:

mybook.to/windowground

 

TWO DOLLARS AND NINETY NINE CENT BOOKS! ($2.99)

Mastodon

A plane crash. A son searching for his father. Things in the Rocky Mountains that shouldn’t be discovered. Easily my most popular book, this one still is captivating readers!

UNIVERSAL LINK:

mybook.to/mastodon

The Navajo Nightmare – Co-written with David Sodergren

A torn man. A curse bestowed. Vengeance awaits. This is a horror-western novel that was a ton of fun to write and an honor to create something with David!

UNIVERSAL LINK:

mybook.to/navajonightmare

The Girl Who Hid in the Trees

McConnell’s forest collects kids. It’s haunted and cursed and when it claims Jason’s brother, he needs to find out the truth for himself. Coming-of-age set in a haunted forest!

UNIVERSAL LINK:

mybook.to/girltrees

Incarnate

Late ’70s. A family decides to stay in a rental home. Their son wants to stay in a haunted house. Little do they know, evil awaits.

UNIVERSAL LINK:

mybook.to/Incarnate2

Frostbitten: 12 Hymns of Misery

I have a few collections out, but this one is the base, the place to start and has some of my all-time classic stories such as ‘For Balder Walks,’ ‘The Fence,’ ‘Time Out Noose,’ ‘Old Man,’ and Edge of the Woods.’

UNIVERSAL LINK:

mybook.to/frostbittencollection

FOUR DOLLARS AND NINETY NINE CENTS! ($4.99)

Father of Lies: The Complete Series

Yes, it’s my most expensive release, but it features all three novellas in the Father of Lies series, as well as a bonus fourth novelette, writing/researching the series, a great foreword from Sonora Taylor and input from Mason McDonald about creating the covers! Book three – Sacrament – was nominated for a Splatterpunk Award!

UNIVERSAL LINK:

mybook.to/fatheroflies

 

There we go! I hope if you’re interested in my work, you’ll find something here, and for a really nice price point!

All the best to you and yours!

 

Super fun one today fellow 3Q’s readers! Today’s guest is a prolific, fantastic, super-supportive writer who continues to deliver the dark fiction goods!

Please, do welcome Gaby Triana!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Gaby: I don’t write every day unless I’m actively working on a book, and when I am, I usually don’t start writing until well after 2-3 PM. Mornings don’t work for me. My brain and imagination haven’t woken up yet, but I will use mornings to edit or do some marketing for other books. If I do happen to be working on a book, I’ll write about 5 days a week and try to hit 2,500-2,800 minimum. That’s the average length of my chapters, so a chapter a day. If I’m on a tight schedule, I might go for 2 chapters a day.

 

Steve: You end up at an estate sale and discover an unpublished manuscript from an author you love. Do you keep it just for yourself or do you share it with the world?

Gaby: I share it with the world. That story wasn’t written with me in mind. The author undoubtedly wrote it with his/her readers in mind and fans deserve to read it.

 

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

Gaby: My newest release is the ghost anthology I edited, LITERALLY DEAD: Tales of Halloween Hauntings. From the moment I laid eyes on Lynne Hansen’s pre-made cover with the trick-or-treating pal ghostie, I knew I had to have it. The collection contains 19 short ghost stories written by masters of dark fiction: Jonathan Maberry, Tim Waggoner, Lisa Morton, Lee Murray, Jeff Strand, Catherine Cavendish, Steve Rasnic Tem, Gwendolyn Kiste, Sara Tantlinger, and more and is already being hailed as a must-add volume to any annual Halloween reading list. If you love ghost stories, vintage Halloween feels, and superb writing, this book is for you.

 

Steve: Bonus Question! You wake up in a comic book. What is your comic book character and what is your superpower?

Gaby: Enid from Ghost World. She doesn’t quite belong in the world she’s living, she’s too weird for the mainstream, too mainstream for the weird, and she’s lightyears ahead of her time. Her superpower is being witty, judgmental, and endearing all at once.

Oh wow, what a great answer! And I haven’t thought of that movie in forever!

Thank you for doing this, Gaby!

To find more of her work, check the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Gaby-Triana/e/B0045B9682

Website: https://www.gabytriana.com/

Huge excitement here today for this 3Q’s. Kenzie Jennings has continued to deliver some truly dark reads for us horror fans and it looks like the future will be bringing us even more darkness!

Please do welcome the talented Kenzie Jennings!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Any daily goals?

Kenzie: I’d like to be one of those writers who’s great at setting and sticking with word counts.  My ideal writing time would be in the evenings with word count goals probably set at 5000 words minimum for the week, which isn’t a lot. However, my brain is exhausted after work, and as a result, I’m lucky if I can get around 1500 per week, if any at all. I simply don’t have the mental energy to be creative after working at my “day” job (I teach English at a college).

Steve: If you started a series and for some reason was unable to finish it, who would you want to finish it for you?

Kenzie: If I started a series and needed another author to finish it, my choice in author would largely depend on the series and its subgenres and/or themes. Certain authors handle certain subgenres and themes so well. A few examples: If it were a humorous series, I’d definitely want Jeff Strand to continue it. A splatter western series, someone like Lucy Taylor or Christine Morgan could take the reins. Suburban horror, Somer Canon or Ania Ahlborn would handle it well. Body horror with a revenge theme, I’d trust Bridgett Nelson. ’80s throwback horror, most assuredly, Janine Pipe could take it on. And so on…  So many choices!

Steve: Tell us about the newest release or story you have out there and why should we snag it?

Kenzie: The newest piece I’ll have out later this month is a story in D&T’s upcoming charity anthology, The Avarice. The theme of the collection is the sin of greed. My story “Wreckers” is based on an idea I’ve been mulling over for quite some time that feels as if it could be much larger, like a novella or novel. It centers around a nationwide murder/suicide cult that’s intent on brutally punishing us all for our greed and what it’s done to the world as a result. If you enjoy stories about deadly cults—AND you enjoy violent, apocalyptic stuff—I think you’ll enjoy “Wreckers.” It’s definitely one of my favorites of all that I’ve written.

Steve: Bonus Question time! If they made a movie about your life, who should be cast to play you?

Kenzie: If anyone were to make a movie of my life for some strange reason, I’d want someone like Toni Colette to play me, if anything for the range. She’s fantastic. Who wouldn’t want her in their biopic?

Oh, excellent casting choice!

Thank you so much Kenzie!

To find more of her work – check the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Kenzie-Jennings/e/B07P686CGD

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kenzieblyjay

Website: https://thisonpurpose.wordpress.com/

Title: Melinda West: Monster Gunslinger

Author: K.C. Grifant 

Release date: February 2nd, 2023

Truthfully, when K.C. Grifant emailed me, I initially replied that I would love to review it – but – I wouldn’t get to it for a few weeks, as I was deep into reading four other books. Well, then I saw the cover. And read the synopsis. And much like my childhood excitement for cowboys and monsters, I knew that deep within my reading brain, I couldn’t put this off any longer.

What I liked: The reality of this book is that what you see is exactly what you get. This is a western book with monsters. If, you as a reader, are not intrigued by this one or excited by that premise, this isn’t a book for you. For the rest of us – those who love these wacky mashups of giant beasts battling gun-wielding, horse-back riding characters – this is EXACTLY the book for you.

The story follows Melinda West, back in town for only a short time, when they discover its become overrun with monsters and they offer their services to exterminate the creatures. We get a ton of action, a ton of many-legged splattered scenes and throughout, we root for Melinda and her partner, Lance.

Grifant writes with a deft hand, giving us compulsive prose and an easy feeling for her storytelling. I found I was utterly shocked at how much book I was devouring and how quickly – and if you know me, you know I read fast already – such is the way this book is laid out.

The other thing I’ll note – and it’s definitely not a negative – while this is a ‘serious’ book, it doesn’t take itself overly seriously, if that makes sense. We get a number of themes throughout, and a lot of tension and anxiety laid into the narrative, but this one never gets depressive or despondent, which sets it apart from a lot of the current crop of Splatter-Westerns we see on the market.

What I didn’t like: Truly minor, but at the very beginning, the reader is expected to just believe that Melinda is this fierce gunslinger. We learn more about her as we go on, but for a new-to-me character, I think some initial backstory peppered into the opening would’ve showcased her more to the reader and it would’ve been easier to accept how deft she is.

Why you should buy this: Well, as I said, if you get ramped up when you see cowboys and monsters, then there you go. Case closed. Preorder it now and thank me later. If you’re on the fence, a reader kind of intrigued by this subgenre, then just know that Grifant is a powerfully imaginative author who paints cinematic pictures easily with her descriptions and will make you feel the dust and smell the gunpowder time and time again.

Great stuff.

5/5