The Bookonaut reviews Torment

So the first review of Torment has arrived.

http://bookonaut.com/2011/03/ebook-review-torment-by-greg-chapman/

As well as his in-depth analysis of the work, he gave Torment 3 out of 5 stars on my Goodreads page!

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10871196-torment

I hope to share more reviews of Torment here soon.

Character studies can be fun!

So Naomi Clark, author of Demonized and Afterlife were trying to find a new way to promote ourselves on our respective blogs and we came up with something that was a lot of fun to do!



We decided to do interviews of our main characters, but then realised that it just wouldn't work. Instead we got fictional reporters to do the interviews for us (where I play the part of the reporter). So here's The Sun's interview with Naomi's possessed private investigator Ethan Banning. Let's just say things get a little ... awkward...

And stay tuned for the interview with my character Jessica Newman from Torment on Naomi's blog very soon!

So Roy Elliott, reporter with The Sun, March 21, 2011. I’m talking to Ethan Banning, private investigator. Thanks for agreeing to this interview…that’s if you’re still okay with it?

EB: Yeah, it's cool. I had a free morning. And afternoon. And evening. Hell, we can make a night of it. Go hit some bars, pick up some chicks. Well, we can try to pick up some chicks. My pick-up skills are pretty rusty. I guess you can pick up some chicks and I'll watch ... No, that didn't sound so good out loud as it did in my head. Let's just get started, okay?

OK, so not many people truly know what a private investigator does – people see a lot of stuff in movies, read stuff in books….but what’s it really like?

EB: I gotta tell you, the movies have it all wrong. You know what I spend most of my time doing? Sitting on my ass watching motels and strip clubs, waiting for cheating husbands to show up. It's boring a lot of the time. And when it's not boring, it's life-threatening. You know how many times I've been shot at this year? It's a lot.

Apparently you investigate the paranormal…you watch too much X-Files did you? (sniggers)

EB: Yeah, well ... that's not ... Look, okay, there have been some ... issues lately, yeah? I mean, I don't like to talk about it too much, it's not conversation for polite company. But this whole paranormal thing, it's really not funny, okay?

Ok then explain it to me…what’s the case you’re working on now…haunted house or something? (sniggers)

EB: You want the truth? Seriously? You want to know what it's like messing with the paranormal? Man, I wish it was just haunted houses. We're talking demons. Scary shit. Can I say shit? Is this a family paper? You ever seen a demon? You ever seen an exorcism go wrong? No? Well then don't laugh at me, alright?


That’s um intresting….so how do you go about investigating these strange occurrences – what um expertise do you have?

EB: Expertise? Are you serious? I'm just shouting in the dark, man, hoping for the best. One thing they don't give you with your PI license is a field guide to the occult. You gotta work it all out for yourself, and hope you don't get killed or eaten or your organs stolen ... Hey, can I smoke in here? I really need a smoke right about now.

Sure you can have a cigarette…you okay? You look a bit distracted.

EB: Yeah, yeah, it's a bad habit, you know? Smoking, I mean, not being distracted. Gotta have a few vices to satisfy the demon ...

Sorry? What’s that supposed to mean?....you’re talking crazy about demons and stuff!

EB: You think it's crazy? I'll tell you what's crazy, man. I've got an actual, factual demon living inside me, telling me to do seriously unpleasant stuff. All. The. Time. Stuff like, why not smash a bottle over this dumb reporter's head and see what happens? Or shove your cigarette in your own eye? You try living with something like that in your head twenty-four-seven and see how sane you sound.

Ok then prove it! Give me some proof that you say demonic possession is real or I’m outta here.

EB: Proof? Are you batshit? Did you hear anything I just said. Look, man. You know what the demon is telling me to do right now? Really? It's telling me to take your fucking tape recorder and ram it down your fucking throat and watch you choke on your own vomit. Would that count as proof, if I did that? What do you reckon?

Shit man calm down!

EB: You calm down! You started it. Listen, you want calm, you need to interview someone not possessed with a demon, okay? Anything bad happens to you because you pushed me too far, it's your fault. You get that? It's all your fucking fault.

You’re insane...Jesus! I’ve gotta go - best of luck psycho!

End of transcript.

Pick up a print copy of  Naomi Clark's Demonized HERE

Torment on tour

Torment is now available in paperback and e-book editions from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Some encouraging peer reviews are coming in which is great, but there's still more promotion to do which is why I've been doing the rounds on other authors blogs.

Mostly I discuss Torment, but I also reveal how I got into writing and even dissect one of the scenes in the book. I'm very grateful to those authors who leased some space on their blogs! Below are links to my guest blogs and/or interviews:

The Dark Fantastic

Vivid Sentiments

Dreams of the Damned

Guest Blog: Author Su Halfwerk

The blog tours continue...this time with fellow Damnation Books scribe Su Halfwerk who released her collection Intricate Entanglement on March 1.

Take it away Su:

Why Write About Them?

I’m talking about people with mental disorders, the ones who crossed over to the other side with their minds while their bodies remained trapped on our plane. The seven (or eight) stories that make up Intricate Entanglement are their stories, told by them as they lived them.

People ask me how I came up with the idea for the book, and they inquire about the research I struggled with; only one person asked, “Why write about the crazies?”

My answer to that question was, “why not write about them?” Like Gene, in Intricate Entanglement, the word “crazies” offended me. I might not have reacted this way before writing the book, but now I sympathize with them. They are people trapped in a land where no one speaks their language and no one sees what they see. Picture yourself in that situation…did you do it? Do you feel their dilemma?

It’s a given that they have psychological and mental illnesses, some are even dangerous, but that doesn’t make their problems any less important. If anything, that actually makes them interesting. We don’t know what goes on in their heads, or how they view things. As one character in Intricate Entanglement indicated, do we know what a color blind person sees when he looks at the color red? He calls it red, but what does he see? Will he be able to describe it to us?

The stories in Intricate Entanglement explore the fact that people with mental disorders have different views of every day’s events, actions, and tasks. Even our appearances are distorted, perhaps even replaced by some other looks, or appendages! They see, feel, and react differently.

What if it was, in reality, the other way around? Maybe we are the ones trapped in a mundane materialistic world, and they are the ones roaming free, mentally, in it. I guess it depends on which side of the mirror we stand.

We meet different people everyday, some strike us as odd, while others okay. And then one day one of us, the sane ones, wakes up to find her husband having a serious conversation with the power socket. Freaky, huh!

Of course, there are signs that a person is about to cross over to the other side, these signs are not always read right, sometimes even ignored all together.

I’m not trying to justify or explain insanity, that word is too general to even mention. However, I do attempt to understand people and their motivation, failing that, I let them be.

The stories in Intricate Entanglement are fictitious, except sometimes reality is more outlandish than fiction. The research I did and the stories I wrote made me look at people with mental disorders from another perspective. Each is living his or her story the way he or she sees it. Some of them are telling their versions in Intricate Entanglement.

You can watch the book’s trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7j9YWnLhMA

And you can get a glimpse of these character’s worlds here: http://www.damnationbooks.com/book.php?isbn=9781615723393

Greg, thanks for the opportunity to guest blog on Darkscrybe.

Author Bio:

Su Halfwerk writes in the horror and paranormal romance genres. From a tender age, the written word left a strong impression on her, later on terrifying, blood-chilling books became the object of her interest. Su’s style in horror combines shuddery terror with elements of surprise; some would even call it an enigmatic twist. In the world of paranormal romance, she transforms the desire to scare into a quest to seduce and tantalize.

When not writing, Su is designing book trailers for herself and other authors.

Intricate Entanglement is Su’s latest release from Damnation Books, a mix of a thriller with an overlay of maddening darkness.

You can find Su online in any of these places:

www.su-halfwerk.com
http://www.suhalfwerk.blogspot.com/
www.facebook.com/Su.Halfwerk
http://twitter.com/SuHalfwerk

Author Interview: Lincoln Crisler

Lincoln Crisler, fellow Damnation Books author, released his debut novella Wild on March 1.

Wild is a western tale involving zombies, mysterious lawmen and crooks and the perfect dose of black magic. You can literally smell the dust, gunsmoke and blood within its pages. Crisler's characters come off the page quite easily and its hard not to get caught up in the terror they are experiencing and the mystery they are trying to solve.

But that's all I'm going to say about Wild....I'll let Lincoln tell you all about his book and his other publishing credentials:

Give us your publishing credentials...I've been writing speculative fiction for publication since 2006; my work has appeared in such print and online venues as The Horror Library, Down in the Cellar, The Late Late Show and Shroud Publishing's ABOMINATIONS anthology. I served as a Contributing Writer at Horrorlibrary.Net from 2007 until it shut down and as editor of The Lightning Journal ezine (after founder Mark Deloy stepped down) and the anthology OUR SHADOWS SPEAK. My short fiction has been collected in two books: DESPAIRS & DELIGHTS (2008, Arctic Wolf) and MAGICK & MISERY (2009, Black Bed Sheet). I review books on my website and for Shroud Publishing's digital, web and print publications.

You're an avid reader and reviewer...what constitutes a great story for you?I like stories that combine themes, that take two or three ideas that could each carry its own weight and blend them together to make something even better. I like a good struggle and a well-thought out (by the author, even if the character does it by the seat of his or her pants!) way of conquering it. I like cross-genre stories and works that take old ideas in new directions.

Given your obsession with reading do you find you are influenced or inspired by other writers when you come to create your own work?Not only am I influenced and inspired by the other authors I read, I wouldn't have it any other way! I wouldn't want to be exactly like any other author, but some writers are better at making you care about their characters, or at knowing when to crank up the brutality, or at writing conversations. I think a creator always needs to be in school, so-to-speak. The trick is to learn from what you read while still taking the time to enjoy the story!

Tell me about WILD! and how did this idea come about?While I was deployed to Qatar last year I got bored and gave my readers and friends on Facebook a choice between whether I should write a zombie-western or something else, and the overwhelming response was for the zombie western. Now that WILD's been picked up by Damnation Books, I really wish I could remember what that other option was!

What's next for you?
A graphic novel scheduled tentatively for next summer, a novelette that'll probably go straight to digital and a collaborative novella with a fellow author. I also have this novel that I've been putting off; maybe this'll be the year for that, too!
And finally, where do you see the small press and e-book age. As a contributor to magazines like Shroud, are small presses like DB becoming more accepted?I believe that the small press is a necessity, especially with the publishing game changing so radically, and that forward-thinking small press publishers can be just as viable as the big dogs with a bit of effort. I don't think that e-books will ever completely kill off print, but technology always has been and always will be a game-changer. The important things are that stories are being told and that the cream will rise to the top. Things aren't quite as risky as they were ten or even five years ago, and I think that's better for small presses, authors and especially readers.

Lincoln Crisler's debut novella, WILD, is out now from Damnation Books. He has also authored a pair of short story collections, Magick & Misery (2009, Black Bed Sheet) and Despairs & Delights (2008, Arctic Wolf). A United States Army combat veteran and non-commissioned officer, Lincoln lives in Augusta, Georgia with his wife and two of his three children. You can visit his website at http://www.lincolncrisler.info/.

Torment unleashed!

My novella "Torment" is now available as an ebook on sale either from the publisher Damnation Books or Amazon.com for $4.50.

Congratulations to those who purchased a copy during the special variable rate period from the DB site -- I hope you enjoy it!

The paperback version should be available in about a week, but if you can't wait

You can find my book here:

Damnation Books - http://damnationbooks.com/book.php?isbn=9781615723416

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004PYDI3I and my author page http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004Q7PCRE

And if you own a copy, why not join Shelfari and add it to your bookshelf - http://www.shelfari.com/books/21919338/Torment

Here are what some fellow authors had to say about "Torment"

“There are points in Torment when this novella is truly a torment to read, but in all the right ways. Chapman inexorably draws the reader into Jessica Mackinnon's terrifying world to the point where there are two choices - put the story down to still your beating heart, or read on into the complex mystery, rightly fearing what lies on the next page. This is at once a tale of demonic and ghostly terror, as well as a compelling nod to the core imagery of classic horror. I don't expect I'll forget this tale any time soon, and that may not be a good thing!”

Rocky Wood, author of Stephen King: The Non-Fiction and Horrors! Great Tales of Fear and Their Creators

"Torment echoes The Exorcist with its tale of tortured souls and questions about faith. A chilling, tightly written story from a new voice in horror."

Brett McBean, author of The Mother, Tales of Sin and Madness, and Concrete Jungle

"Torment is a slow-burning supernatural thriller that fuses the darkness of Blatty's The Exorcist with the visceral thrills of ghost stories from masters such as Peter Straub and Robert Hood. With authorial sleight of hand, Chapman turns the exorcism sub-genre on its head with Torment. Greg Chapman is an author to watch.”

Shane Jiraiya Cummings, author of Shards and The Apocrypha Sequence

“Well-placed dark fiction doused in history, ritual and intrigue.”

Mark Farrugia, editor, Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine: Best of Horror #2

And if you'd like to read some more of my work for FREE head over to Smashwords to pick up a copy of my collection "Midnight Theatre: Tales of Terror" - http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/41734

Guest Blogger: Author Fiona Dodwell

Fiona Dodwell is the author of The Banishing, a novel which has just been released by Damnation Books.

From the UK, Fiona has crafted her story around the premise - how far would you go to save the one you love?

Anyway, I'll let Fiona give you some more detail on the book and why she loves writing horror:

Fear as a friend
 
I've always been fascinated with darkness. Ever since I was a child, I enjoyed curling up in my bedroom with a good ghost story. I loved to enter that dark realm - a realm where demons, spirits and hauntings took hold of my imagination. The seed of fear was planted in my mind when, as a child, I found a battered copy of Stephen King's Pet Semetary in my brother's bedroom. I devoured it in days, savouring that sinister and evil world that the author had so fantastically created- and then I was hooked.

Fear was a friend, then, and still is today.

I began exploring more of Stephen King's novels, works that were probably far too disturbing for the mind of a child, but it changed something inside of me, and I started to hunger for more slices of darkness in literature. I poured over Edgar Allen Poe. I obsessed over Susan Hill's ghost stories. They became something more than stories to me - they became a part of my everyday life. 

As I grew, I knew instinctively I wanted to create worlds like that myself: the fear I enjoyed reading was now something I wanted to create. So began my life-long passion of writing.... I engaged in all manners of writing at a young age: poetry, short stories, novels. I found myself winning writing competitions, and, after a time, I knew that this was what I wanted to do with my life: write. 

 


My novel, The Banishing, (which is available now), is my first full length novel to be published.

It is full of darkness - exploring domestic abuse, demonic possession and one woman's fight for survival. In The Banishing, I hope to take the reader on a journey, from dispair and anguish to hope and survival. I started writing The Banishing with one question in mind: How far would you go to save the one you love?  From there, my character came to life and gave me that answer.

The reader may find the answers that lie in the pages disturbing, but I hope they will enjoy it, and find hope in it. 
 
You can find out more about me and my work at:
 
www.fionasfiction.wordpress.com