Richard Long kindly answered some interrogation questions and others he told me to mind my own damn business. Authors!
I made Richard wait far too long for the questions so I totally deserved it. In fact I like that he’s the only author to say no to that question. Richard’s book The Book of Paul is an occult thriller that is a must read. Here is the man behind that book and be sure to check out my review of The Book Of Paul
Richard Long writes to exorcize the demons of his past and manifest the dreams of his future.
His debut novel, The Book of Paul, is a dark, thrilling, and psychologically rich supernatural horror/thriller that blends mythology, science and mystery into a page-turning addiction.
Richard is also writing a YA novel, The Dream Palace, primarily so that his children can read his books.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife, two amazing children and their wicked black cat, Merlin.
Richard can be found on his Site / Facebook / twitter / G+ / You Tube / Goodreads
Jessica Interview:
Can you tell me something about you that no one knows?
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No.
What is your writing space and routine like?
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I sit in a very comfortable rocking chair with my Macbook Air. No music. I start early and drink a lot of ice coffee and Diet-Snapples. I’ll go for eight hours or until the kids come home, whichever comes first.
Is there a genre that you haven’t written but would like to try?
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I sometimes think about writing literary fiction with characters and situations that would be considered somewhat “normal.” Then I talk myself out of it and go back to writing the weird stuff I obsess about all the time.
Some favorite books and authors:
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Bonfire of the Vanities, Crime and Punishment, The Stand, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol, Silence of the Lambs, anything by Poe.
What are you reading now?
- Tales of Gaslight New York. These are true stories culled from magazines at the turn of the twentieth century that describe life in New York City during that period. It’s research for the sequel to The Dream Palace, the YA fantasy novel I just finished.
The Book of Paul is very dark, sinister; full of evil and torture. Are you very imaginative, a serial killer, venting some repressed rage? What in the world made your brain go there?
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When I write about sadism and cruelty I’m writing about what frightens and horrifies me, not acting out suppressed evil desires. I was abused as a child and so, yes, that accounts for some of my most ingrained fears. It’s very easy for me to go any of these dark places because I lived in dark places for long periods of time.
What’s interesting to me is that I get asked this kind of question all the time regarding the villains I’ve created, yet no one ever asks “how” I was able to project myself into the minds of the protagonists. It’s all the same thing really. I crawl into an evil mind and that’s what I see and feel. When I inhabit someone nice, courageous, compassionate, I feel all those things with equal intensity. Most of the characters in The Book of Paul are deeply flawed in some way. In the Dream Palace, there’s a horrible villain, but the good guys are really good.
Did you do research for The Book of Paul?
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You can say that it was exhaustive research, though not exhausting, because I enjoyed it so much. The mythology in The Book of Paul begins with a genesis story and progresses toward an apocalyptic climax. That’s a lot of ground to cover. The Irish/Celtic, Hermetic and Gnostic elements and their historical settings were all extensively researched. There’s also a science-fiction component with a factual basis.
Do you have plans for sequels?
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There will be six sequels/prequels to The Book of Paul. They are well under way.
You recently had a Kickstarter campaign. How did that go?
The Kickstarter project was created to fund filming for a movie trailer for The Book of Paul. The concept is to shoot scenes from the book with great actors and top grade production values, then edit it into a trailer as if the full movie had already been made. The goal is to generate interest for a film or HBO/SHO deal. We were successful in raising our goal of $3000, but the actual budget is $6000, so we took the project to IndieGoGo to raise the rest of the funds. We have great rewards for donors, so if anyone is interested in helping out with donations or in spreading the word, you can check it our here:
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-book-of-paul-movie-trailer/x/2467573
We also have a fun virtual party going on for it on Facebook that’s open to the public with some special giveaways and fun surprises: https://www.facebook.com/events/385708701541905/
What do you have planned in the future for readers to look forward to or be terrified of?
I’m very excited about The Dream Palace, that I just completed. It’s a YA fantasy with a sci-fi component and a steampunk element in the sequel. It will be a three volume series. I’m not sure when that will be released, so stay tuned. I’m currently working on the next book in that series as well as the next volume in The Book of Paul series, called The Book of Druids. I’m hoping to finish that and release that by the end of the year. The Book of Druids will have plenty of chills and thrills. So will The Dream Palace, though it’s suitable for kids. Like my own.
You know how creepy some books can be. You read it and feel like the author just had a very entertaining time mind fucking you. The Book of Paul is that book. Richard wrote it just so he could say yeah I hit that in the eye with a damn harpoon. It’s so seriously out there and yet so smart, brilliant and disturbing.
I wondered while reading it if he was a serial killer or something because I couldn’t imagine how one could come up with such horrors and not have body parts in the freezer. Having said that there is tenderness within. Questioning what it means to be a person good, bad, nature, nurture, religion the occult and so much more.
The Book of Paul is written in a very readable style. It has characters easily related to and even those who freak you out such as Paul you’re curious about and want to know more. Want to know everything in fact.
Rose and Martin are character who sucked me in, their pain made me sad. I wanted them to be happy and have a good life, to go back and undo the horrors done to them. Made up characters that you care so much about, that is when I know I love a book; when it does that to me.
I’m profoundly disturbed by Richard and worry about his brain. What goes on in there that just … whoa!
Whatever issues he needs to lay on a couch and talk to a shrink about his talent is bloody insane. Brilliant and total genius. This is a must read.
“Everything you’ve ever believed about yourself…about the description of reality you’ve clung to so stubbornly all your life…all of it…every bit of it…is an illusion.”
In the rubble-strewn wasteland of Alphabet City, a squalid tenement conceals a treasure “beyond all imagining”– an immaculately preserved, fifth century codex. The sole repository of ancient Hermetic lore, it contains the alchemical rituals for transforming thought into substance, transmuting matter at will…and attaining eternal life.
When Rose, a sex and pain addicted East Village tattoo artist has a torrid encounter with Martin, a battle-hardened loner, they discover they are unwitting pawns on opposing sides of a battle that has shaped the course of human history. At the center of the conflict is Paul, the villainous overlord of an underground feudal society, who guards the book’s occult secrets in preparation for the fulfillment of an apocalyptic prophecy.
The action is relentless as Rose and Martin fight to escape Paul’s clutches and Martin’s destiny as the chosen recipient of Paul’s sinister legacy. Science and magic, mythology and technology converge in a monumental battle where the stakes couldn’t be higher: control of the ultimate power in the universe–the Maelstrom.N
A best-selling novel, The Book of Paul is the first of seven volumes in a sweeping mythological narrative tracing the mystical connections between Hermes Trismegistus in ancient Egypt, Sophia, the female counterpart of Christ, and the Celtic druids of Clan Kelly.
Title: First Kiss (Heavy Influence Trilogy, #1)
Author: Ann Marie Frohoff
Release Date: June 11, 2013
Pages: 483
Find it: Amazon & Goodreads
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
It was all about the band, until the girl next door.
Her innocence is tempting.
A sexually charged coming of age story set in the throes of
stardom.
About an up and coming teenage rocker on the verge of
stardom, when the girl next door becomes something more; they’re forced to face
the harsh realities on his road to fame and the expectations of their friends
and family.
Sacrifices are made as everything changes as they know it.
I know I’ve been doing a horrible job blogging ever since I moved back to Australia. I don’t know why I’ve been in such a funk but I’m excited about todays post as I just had to share. I have a new job that I start Monday which I hope will allow me more time to blog. Please feel free to send me emails telling me off, it may get me off my butt and posting.
Jay Swanson is an author who I contacted because I simply adored his book covers not to mention that his books sounded super appealing. Jay was nice and let me pimp him out here so I’m very pleased to do so again with the third book in his series The Vitalis Chronicles. On top of this outstanding looking cover which seriously rocks the first two book in the series will be free on amazon May 15th – 19th. Seriously you’d be crazy not to get these babies.
First check out the outstanding cover on the newest book Steps of Krakador
Be sure to get The Tomb of the Relequim and White Shores for free May 15th-19th and Steps of Krakador will go live on amazon for you to buy the 20th. Yes I know more on the TBR list but seriously can you resist? Yeah I didn’t think so.
