A Glimpse Into the Future
Write what you know; write what you love- chances are that if you're a poet, blogger or novelist, you've heard this all too often. That's not to say that it isn't true. In fact, just look at your favorite author's latest titles and I'm sure you'll note a repeating theme. It's what works for them, and to be honest, I’m no different. After Consumed hit shelves, it was time for me to decide what I wanted to write about next. It was obvious that if I wanted to really enjoy myself through the creation process, the book(s) would have to be playful, supernatural and dripping in weirdness. Cue The Plenty Dreadful series.
The Plenty Dreadful collection didn't initially start off as a series as much as a single story. It began with the absurdist fictional piece, The Devil in the Wide City, but quickly grew into something that was out of my control. I felt like an arsonist with a leaky gas can. Once the world I'd been creating lit up, ideas spilled all over, and I quickly realized that things were out of my control. Concepts like supernatural factions, magical principles and legendary characters came to life all on their own, giving birth to an amalgamation of demons, fairy folk and undead that I couldn't peel myself away from. I had fallen in love with the setting, and halfway through writing The Devil in the Wide City, I decided that there needed to be more books. So began the series.
Book one, The Devil in the Wide City, takes place in the perfect place for an Urban Fiction piece, Chicago. The metropolis's history, blend of folklore and massive cityscape makes for the perfect home for a fallen angel who just can't get things right. The city had all of the requirements I was looking for, including a hilarious detail that can be discerned from the title alone- Chicago's weight problem. But Ned, the lonely devil, couldn't just exist by himself. Soon, there was a need to create witches, fairies and undead. This gave birth to the second novel in the series (currently in the editing phase), putting a new twist on fairy lore, society and rules within the modern era, while blending a plot with the existing world introduced in book one. Finally, with both a bumbling devil and a new-age fairy in the works, there was need for a third musketeer. This was a great chance to bring in an antihero I'd been brewing up for sometime- Death's personal hitman.
Now, with a trio of unusual central characters at my disposal, there was only one thing left to do- give them conflict. Readers following the series will enjoy a rising conflict that initially rears its ugly head in The Devil in the Wide City. This engagement will clearly take center stage in book two, when our ill guided fairy friend finds himself trapped in a scheme that he can't seem to dig his way out of. Circumstances will only worsen in book three when Death takes his first vacation in centuries, and by book four, the reality of what is at hand will force all three leading heroes to reluctantly join forces in order to put a stop to their enemies in what will become the final novel.
Readers can look forward to plenty of strange plot devices through the books from Cthulhu monsters with sex toy appendages to Jon Dillinger the bloodthirsty vampire. There'll be transvestite elves and bear breasted trolls. Main characters will burn down cities, befriend museum exhibits and fall for women with a thing for witchcraft. There'll be historical celebrities, corporate warlocks and gallons of nerdy references. It's good fun for the entire family.
So stay tuned if you are a fan of oddities, eccentricity and bizarreness. Book one of the series, The Devil in the Wide City, is due October 2015, while book two is scheduled for late 2016. And remember Consumed is available on bookshelves through Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Finally, for those of you who've sent kindly emails, rated my work on Amazon/B&N, and/or follow me on Goodreads, Wordpress and Twitter, thank you. I love connecting with readers, like myself, who understand that books aren't just for reading. They're for connecting.
