Deal Sharing Aunt: Hand of Chaos by J. Hamlet Giveaway & Interview

Title: Hand of Chaos

Series: The Chaos Theology #1

Author: J. Hamlet

Publication Date: September 4, 2013

Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy

Synopsis

Exhausted, cynical, and confused, Anna is always there to report for duty. She's part of a clandestine government team that defends the nation against supernatural terrorism—a job that understandably leaves her life in shambles and drives her to drink a little more than she should. Toss in a fear of intimacy with a desire to have friends and lovers like a normal person and, well, Anna is a troubled soul wrapped in a special agent with arcane, magical powers. Waking up hungover at five–thirty in the morning with a zombie–infested apartment building in the heart of DC to deal with, she knows she's got the makings of the worst morning possible.

Her team is its own challenge. A battle–scarred Nigerian shaman, a bookish shapeshifter, an inept summoner, and a brilliant but cantankerous wizard round it all out. Her partner, an immortal and cursed Paladin, is the only person she knows more jaded than herself. Getting them all to work together is never easy, with Anna often caught in the cross fire.

Their target, Ethan Morgan, is one pissed off necromancer. His brother was KIA by his own government, the victim of an experimental magical weapon they decided to test on the battlefield. Now bent on revenge and sponsored by one of hell's most powerful demons, Ethan has a plan of his own to make us all pay. Anna and her team are fighting against the wake of destruction, but Ethan is always one step ahead. With the number of bodies he leaves and reanimates growing exponentially, Anna's wondering if they'll stop him before he engulfs everyone in an undead horde.

Buy Links

Amazon | Goodreads

Author Bio

Everyone needs a hobby. And, like most people, I hope one day that my hobby will liberate me from my mind–numbing day job. I chose writing. Not one of the easier ones. I chose it at the tender age of 14, churning out terrible science fiction novels that heaped on the cliches and barely hidden tropes of all space operas. Thankfully, those creations reside in the prison of an old Commodore 64 hard drive and several 3.5" disks (kids, ask your parents) in a landfill somewhere. And, let me be clear, the world is better for it.

Along the way, I kept writing. Through college. Through grad school. Through the beginning of my career, such as it is. I like to believe I picked up skills. I wanted to write novels that had things I wanted to see. Hand of Chaos, my debut novel, brings together elements of a spy thriller and a police procedural with dark and urban fantasy. I followed that with Scarred Earth, a serial alien invasion novel I'm releasing entirely through tumblr. I'm probably going about this all wrong, but I don't know any other way.

Interview

Where are you from?

I'm from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. When I was young there wasn't much other than military bases and Virginia Beach; however things are very different now. There are actual bars! And not just in strip malls! Don't worry though; there are still plenty of bars in strip malls if that's your thing. There are nice restaurants that aren't chain restaurants and more than one art house theater. I hardly recognize the place.

Tell us your latest news?

Hand of Chaos, my debut novel, has been published for one year now. That's obviously a big deal to me and one of the main things I'm celebrating as part of this tour. I'm also working on my tumblr novel project called Scarred Earth. I'm also about to get married sometime in the near future, so that's a lot going on.

When and why did you begin writing?

It happened very suddenly. When I was 14 I decided I wanted to try writing a novel. I even finished it before I turned 15. It was garbage, of course. Unreadable and derivative of all the worst sci-fi I'd been reading at the time. I knew that on some level, but I also knew that I wanted to do it again.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I don't know that I do even now because of my day job, but I think I started to take myself seriously when I did my first NaNoWriMo back in 2007. Hand of Chaos actually emerged from that experience and I felt really confident about what I'd done and thought maybe I needed to take it more seriously and make it more than a hobby.

What inspired you to write your first book?

As I said, my first book was total garbage. I mostly was really into Star Wars and Star Trek and lots of classic science fiction by Arthur C. Clarke and the like and then not-so-classic sci-fi by less reputable authors. I wanted to write an epic space opera, but I was 14 and socially inept so it didn't turn out too well.

Do you have a specific writing style?

Yes and no. I went through an unfortunate Lovecraftian phase that I'm still battling. Mostly I try to reduce the number of adjectives in my writing. Genre writers tend to show off their vocabularies and so did I, but I've realized the folly of my ways. The objective is to have a more sparse writing style , but I can still be overwrought. Someone once described what I wrote as “philosophical horror.” I don't know precisely what that means, but it sounds neat.

How did you come up with the title?

For Hand of Chaos, I changed it to that after finishing it. The original title was A Hell of a Protest which was more of a joke title. I obviously don't want to get too much into the title as explaining the meaning behind it could be a spoiler, but I considered a lot of other titles before I went with one that ultimately

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Mostly Hand of Chaos is about the dangers of fundamentalism and rigid thinking. The main villain and other antagonists of the story view the world in very black and white terms. The heroes succeed because they're flexible, willing to adapt even if it makes them uncomfortable.

How much of the book is realistic?

Since it involves an undead horde and magic, much of it is surreal. I did try to hold to realism in dealing with some of the workplace elements though, and in describing the culture and uniqueness of the DC area. People take a very reductive view of DC, like everyone who lives there is a politician or works for one, and since I've lived there for 11 years and I belong in neither category I wanted it to be a better portrayal.

Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

Some of it is based on my own life and my friends' experiences living and working in the government world, whether it's as a fed or as a contractor. Obviously not the part about fighting off zombies in an apartment building with magic or traveling to different planes of existence, though. No one I know has done that.

What books have most influenced your life most?

I think the works of Salman Rushdie, probably. Obviously he has led a very different life from mine, but so many of the themes of his novels really resonate with me. I think there's a lot of material in there about love and disappointment and dreams unfulfilled that really moves me and has helped me think about life in general.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Some amalgamation of Charles Stross and Cherie Priest, I think. Both have a strong grasp of character and really find the soul and depth in genre writing. They both also blend genres with ease, and that makes me supremely jealous.

What book are you reading now?

I'm currently reading A Gazillion Little Bits by Claudia Brevis. It's an offbeat take on the post-apocalyptic genre with depth. It also has a well-realized portrayal of NYC that I find fascinating. I'm drawn to work that uses the city itself as a character.

Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?

Claudia Brevis obviously has my attention with A Gazillion Little Bits, but I also really enjoyed the Through a Tangled Wood anthology, which introduced me to Jamie Campbell, Katie French, Ariele Sieling, Sarah Dalton, Marijon Braden, H.S. Stone, and Zoe Cannon. Really looking forward to exploring more of their work.

What are your current projects?

I'm taking a lot of time working on Scarred Earth, as I mentioned before. I post each installment weekly(ish) and try to keep each micro-chapter under 2K words. Hoping that really develops into something, but we'll see. Otherwise, still toiling away at the next volume in the Chaos Theology series.

Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.

My friends have always been very supportive. I dedicated Hand of Chaos to two of them, who have been always great sounding board and beta readers for a lot of my stuff.

What would you like my readers to know?

I'm really thankful for any of them that give indie authors a chance by buying an reading their books. It's tough to stand out from the crowd and it can be a frustrating experience, so I for one am thankful for anyone willing to try out books by new and obscure authors.

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