Devil’s
Nightmare
Devil’s
Nightmare Series
Book
One
Robert
Pruneda
Genre: Horror
Publisher: Forsaken Imprint
Booktrope Publishing
Date of Publication: July 15,
2015
Cover Artist: Laura Hidalgo
Book Description:
Veteran homicide detective Aaron
Sanders thought he’d seen it all, but nothing could have prepared the seasoned
detective for the mutilated remains of a kid’s parents or the equally vicious
deaths of three boys at another crime scene.
As Aaron works to solve the cases
and protect his only witness, an orphaned child, he learns of an ancient curse
that leaves him questioning all he’s ever believed. Now, to save himself and
the child, Aaron must confront his own inner demons, and some he never knew
existed. But if he does, will he make it out alive?
Devil’s Nightmare is an occult
suspense horror novel by Robert Pruneda, who shakes readers with his visually
graphic scenes, supernatural twists, and disturbing settings in this first
installment of the Devil’s Nightmare series.
About
the Author:
Robert “Sharky” Pruneda is a
native Texan, video game “enthusiast” [addict], and fan of all things horror.
He left a career in the newspaper industry in 2011 to pursue the life of a
nocturnal author, brainstorming new and creative ways to creep out his readers.
He doesn’t only write horror though.
He also pens the occasional
family-oriented tale just to keep from going completely nuts with all those
creatures of the night whispering in his ears. When he’s not pulling ideas out
of his twisted brain, you’ll likely find him on social media or fighting
alongside his fellow gaming buddies where they all get shot up into Swiss
cheese (or turned into little bite-sized chunks because of “Sharky’s” obsession
with explosives). Medic!
Pursue your dreams . . . and
never look back.
Interview
Where are you from?
I grew up in
Austin, Texas, but I now live in the south Texas crossroads near the coast. I’m
not much of a beach-goer, though. I prefer the wilderness.
Tell us your latest
news?
I just
re-launched my Amazon best-selling supernatural occult horror novel Devil’s Nightmare through Booktrope’s
Forsaken horror imprint. This is an exciting time for me, because up until now,
I’ve been independently published. Moving from self-publishing to hybrid
publishing (which is a mix of traditional and independent publishing), has been
an amazing experience. I love my Forsaken Horror Hooligan family.
When and why did you
begin writing?
I wrote my
first novel Pursuit of a Dream while
seeking employment after a layoff in 2001. I had always wanted to write a
novel, but had never found the time. Being unemployed seemed like the perfect
time to tackle that task. Writing was more of a hobby at first, and publishing
a novel was just a personal goal of mine. I didn’t know anything about
publishing, so I basically put together a generic cover and paid a vanity press
to distribute and print my first novel. I highly discourage this if you are
just getting started in the industry. I’m still getting sales calls from that
“publisher.” While I regret using a vanity press to publish my first book, it does not diminish my feeling of
accomplishment when I held that first physical copy Pursuit of a Dream, which I proudly display on my bookshelf.
When did you first
consider yourself a writer?
I considered
myself a writer after publishing Pursuit
of a Dream in 2004, but it wasn’t
until after I published Devil’s Nightmare
in 2013 that I seriously considered writing novels as a profession. I had only
expected to sell a few books to friends, family, and other writers in my social
media network, but something magical happened later that year. For the first
six months, I was happy to sell twenty books in any given month, but after
running a special Independence Day promotion, sales spiked not in the United
States, but in the United Kingdom. I felt like a dream when my book rose
through the ranks and almost reached No. 5 in Horror Suspense. Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep was at the top of the list,
but Devil’s Nightmare was just a few
slots down. Over the next several months, it hit Amazon bestseller lists in
several paid categories in the United States. You can imagine how I felt after
that. That was a turning point for me as an author. I’m no Stephen King, though,
nor will I ever claim to write as well as he does, but it’s a great confidence
booster that people other than friends and family have enjoyed reading Devil’s Nightmare. Of course, there are
also those that absolutely hated it too. I won’t lie and say that those
comments didn’t bother me, because they did sting, but I don’t dwell on them.
Every reader has different tastes. What one person may like, another may
dislike. If we were all the same and had similar interests, the world would be
a boring place to live in.
What inspired you to
write your first book?
A personal
experience I had when I was around eleven or twelve years old inspired me to
write Devil’s Nightmare. Playing with
a Ouija board also had some influence. I played with the “spirit board” for
weeks (by myself; a big no-no), asking childish questions about fame, fortune,
girlfriends, etc. I didn’t know if I was actually summoning spirits or if I was
subconsciously moving the marker with my fingers. It didn’t matter; I was
having fun with it.
The fun and
games ended after I started having nightmares. Late one night, I woke up and felt
something pressing against my chest. I couldn’t breathe and I couldn’t move. Then
I saw a pair of demonic eyes floating above me within a transparent silhouette.
I’ll never forget those eyes. I wanted to scream and run away, but my body
froze, and the pressure in my chest continued to obstruct my breathing.
Suddenly, I
was able to take in a gasp of air and then screamed in hysteria . . . but I
still could not move. Moments later, my parents rushed through my door and
turned on the light; the eyes and silhouette disappeared. I shot up from my bed
and darted towards my mother for protection. My shirt was drenched in sweat, my
face flowing with tears, as I cried about the demon that I had just seen. It
was the most horrifying experience I have ever had in my life.
Was it a
dream? Was it my imagination, waking sleep paralysis, or was it truly a demon
oppressing me because I had broken some spiritual rule of the Ouija board? I
don’t know for certain, but I can tell you this . . . that Ouija board went in
the fireplace the very next day, and I have never messed with one ever since.
Do you have a specific
writing style?
One thing
that I find consistent in my writing is my character development and pace.
Whether I’m writing horror or a family-oriented tale, I try to write in such a
way that builds a relationship between the reader and my characters (and
relationships between the characters). I also use somewhat of a Hemingway style
of approach to writing that isn’t overly complex. In other words, you shouldn’t
need a thesaurus nearby when you read my work. It’s one of my own pet peeves
when I read novels that require a doctorate-level education in language arts to
understand the writing . . . or maybe I just need to go back to school and
improve my vocabulary. Until then, I’m taking advantage of that built-in
thesaurus in my Kindle. J
While I admit
there is room for improvement, I also try to let my reader’s imagination paint
the scenes by giving them just enough information without going over every
minute detail. For example, I usually don’t explain too much about clothing or
even physical appearance, which allows my readers to form a mental picture of
what they think the characters look like and maybe even sound like based on their
dialogue and personality. Some people prefer complex and poetic scenes with
lots of detail. I don’t, because I think it just slows down the story.
I find it interesting
to read reviews about my writing style because there’s a mixture of contrasting
opinions. That’s why I often encourage aspiring authors to not take negative
reviews personally. I used to get all bent out of shape and insecure when I
read reviews that compared my writing to that of a third-grader, insulted their
intelligence, or that ninety-nine cents (or even free) would be too much money
spent on my book. And those were the nice ones. What I’ve learned is that you
can’t change your style because of a few negative reviews, especially when the
vast majority of the readers enjoyed the novel. Authors must have thick skin
when reading negative reviews. Some people will love our work. Others will hate
it. We just need to keep doing what we love and sharing our stories with the
world.
How did you come up
with the title?
I originally
named the story Schizo, because one of the main characters (Cody Sumner) was a
mental patient at an institute in Dallas, Texas. Cody witnessed his parents’
murders when he was eleven years old and suffered from schizophrenia. He
rambles about a curse called the devil’s nightmare and claims that what killed
his parents wasn’t human. In the original outline, the story takes place when
he’s an adult and the main protagonist is a freelance journalist investigating
a series of murders that were similar to what had happened to the “schizo’s”
parents.
After
outlining a complete draft of Schizo,
I wrote a few chapters of the first draft, but I didn’t like where it was
going. I didn’t like the main character, I didn’t like the setting, and I hated
the title. So, scrapped the entire outline, changed the title to Devil’s
Nightmare, and started over. I moved the location from Dallas to Austin, and
instead focused on the events immediately after Cody’s parents died.
The only
thing similar to the original story is the prologue and the idea around the
devil’s nightmare curse. I also changed the protagonist from a journalist to a
homicide detective with the Austin Police Department. I grew up in Austin,
Texas, so it made researching locations a little easier too.
Is there a message in
your novel that you want readers to grasp?
I never
really thought about this, but if I had a specific message, it would be simple.
Don’t accidentally summon a demon. It won’t end well. J
How much of the book is
realistic?
It all
depends on how you look at it. Some of my readers have specifically said that
they forgot they were reading a work of fiction and felt Devil’s Nightmare was realistic, while others have said they found
it very unbelievable and disappointing. Again, I think it just depends on the
reader’s tastes or even their personal spiritual beliefs. Certain scenes in Devil’s Nightmare are, of course, pure
fiction (at least I hope so!), such as some of the supernatural and horror
elements. However, readers can decide for themselves if the occult elements in Devil’s Nightmare are believable. The
most important thing for me as the author was to provide an entertaining story
that leaves my readers wanting more. As long as my readers are entertained, and
want to read the next book, I’m happy.
Are experiences based
on someone you know, or events in your own life?
I didn’t base
any of my characters on anyone I know personally (and I’m sticking to that
story). However, one of my characters from Pursuit
of a Dream makes a cameo appearance in Devil’s
Nightmare. I very loosely based the story on the sleep paralysis experience
I mentioned earlier.
What books have most
influenced your life most?
Stephen
King’s On Writing has influenced me
as an author the most. Stephen King’s memoir gave me the confidence and
inspiration to pursue my dream as a novelist. I also love his no nonsense (his
choice of words is more colorful) approach to giving advice to aspiring
writers. I recommend that every author read his book.
If you had to choose,
which writer would you consider a mentor?
Stephen King
would be my first choice, but since I don’t actually know him, I’d have to say
science fiction/fantasy author Michael R. Hicks. I met Mike back in 2011 on
Twitter while I was launching my writing career and he was in the middle of
transitioning from part-time to full-time author. Over the years, Mike has
given me valuable advice regarding social media marketing, networking, and
publishing in general. Not only do I consider him a mentor, but also a close
friend. If you are an aspiring author, I recommend that you read Mike’s book The Path to Self-Publishing Success.
Some of the information may be a little outdated due to the constantly changing
industry, but most of it is invaluable and only a few bucks on Kindle.
What book are you
reading now?
I’m currently
reading Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King
and Gristle & Bone by fellow
Forsaken horror author Duncan Ralston.
Are there any new
authors that have grasped your interest?
Yes, several
new authors have grasped my interest. That’s one of the great things about the
writing community. I’ve met so many talented authors and have read some great
books (both traditional and self-published) because of these connections. A few
of my favorite independently published authors are Michael R. Hicks, Jack D.
Albrecht Jr., and Lorna Suzuki. The first book I read by Michael Hicks was Season of the Harvest. His writing style
in that book reminds me of Michael Crichton, because of how he creates a
fictional story based on science. Jack Albrecht and Lorna Suzuki both write
fantasy. Jack’s Osric’s Wand series
has talking animals, unicorns, magic wands, and dragons, so they are fun to
read and are suited well for all ages. Lorna’s Imago Chronicles novels are for teens and adults. She also landed a
major motion picture movie deal for the first three books in her series. I
highly recommend all three of the authors I mentioned.
What are your current
projects?
My editor and
I are currently working on polishing my previously self-published manuscript
for Devil’s Nightmare: Premonitions.
This is the second installment in the Devil’s
Nightmare series. The first edition is still available exclusively on
Amazon until Booktrope publishes the revised “Forsaken Edition” later this
year.
What would you like my
readers to know?
My motto is “Pursue
your dreams . . . and never look back.” I hold those words close to my heart
because of the personal and financial struggles I have faced over the years. No
matter how difficult or unreachable you may think your dream may be, you must pursue
it and never give up on it.
My adventure
started as a hobby fourteen years ago while I was unemployed. I then spent
seven years working at a newspaper with aspirations of a career in journalism.
I started at the very bottom running an insert machine in production for over a
year and then took a part-time job writing and editing obituaries, military,
and birth announcements. I did this just to get my foot in the door. A few
months later, management decided to move the obituaries desk to the classifieds
department. You read that correctly . . . Classifieds. They made this move so
they could start charging for obituaries while offering a free option (which no
longer exists). It wasn’t so bad at first, particularly because it turned into
a full-time job, which meant a raise in salary. They also hired me a part-timer.
Over the years,
I learned a lot about the newspaper and funeral home industry, which I enjoyed.
However, the newspaper slowly but surely turned my obituaries coordinator job into
a sales position . . . and then idiots happened. I won’t go into the painful details,
but it got to the point that I hated going to work. When I started having severe
chest pains from all of the stress, I quit my job at the newspaper and promised
myself that I would never work for someone else ever again.
That was four
years ago. Today, I’m self-employed, working longer hours for less income, and sometimes
wonder how I’m going to pay the bills. But I’m also the happiest I’ve ever been
in my life because I’m pursuing my dreams and I’m never looking back.
Newsletter sign up http://bit.ly/SharkyNewsletter
Tour
giveaway
2 paperback copies US Shipping
2 ebook copies
Grand Prize Pack a signed copy of
Devil’s Nightmare, swag, and $25 gift card
Thank you for the interview and joining the blog tour!
ReplyDeleteSharky
vV""Vv
Thanks for the interview, it was awesome.
ReplyDelete