Monday, August 31, 2015

Revelations: Cast In Blood by Christine Sutton, Lisa Lane, Jaime Johnesee Interview


Revelations: Cast In Blood
Christine Sutton, Lisa Lane, Jaime Johnesee 

Publisher: DevilDog Press LLC

Publication Date: September 1, 2015

ASIN: B0117VK5JQ

Book Description:

An unknown force threatens Heaven and Hell, along with every soul on Earth. Three unlikely heroes join together to restore universal balance.

Will their shared adversary initiate an Apocalypse before they're able to uncover the truth, or will they rise to a calling that has, from the beginning of time, been Cast in Blood?

Available at Amazon


Interview
Where are you from?
LL: I’m originally from California, but I moved too frequently growing up to claim a home town. I’ve lived in the Las Vegas area for the better part of the last fifteen years, so I guess these days I’d say I’m from Vegas.
JJ: I’m from Michigan but have lived in Alabama (twice) and Indiana as well.
CS: Sunny Central California!
Tell us your latest news?
LL: The Revelations novel releases are currently my biggest news, although I do also have another novella in my Jane the Hippie Vampire series coming out soon.
JJ: Along with Revelations I have a new novella in my Bob the Zombie series coming out soon as well as the expanded novel from my novella Shifters.
CS: Of course, Revelations, but I also have my very successful Burkheart Witch Saga series.
When and why did you begin writing?
LL: I wrote my first short story when I could still count my age in single digits. I wrote it because I was enamored with the written word and wasn’t content merely reading my favorite stories—I needed to write them too. It came innately.
JJ: I was eight and my teacher had us write a story in these cloth covered books. I knew at that point I loved writing and it would be something I would always do.
CS: I can’t remember a time when I didn’t write. I think I was born with a pen and paper in my hand.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
LL: I’ve always considered myself a writer. No matter what profession I’ve had to pay the bills, I’ve still always been a writer. You might as well ask me when I first considered myself a human being.
JJ: I, too, have always considered myself a writer. It wasn’t until I retired from zookeeping (due to illness) that I realized I could do it for a living.
CS: Same here. I have always considered myself a writer.

What inspired you to write your first book?
LL: Funny story. When I was in my early teens, my twin sister and I felt we had a great idea for a sequel to one of our favorite movies at the time, The Lost Boys. We studied screenplay format and wrote a script then, fully believing Richard Donner would be all over it, submitted the treatment to Warner Bros. Of course, it was rejected and we were crushed, although his then assistant—I still remember the man’s name was Scott Nimerfro—must have identified that the query had been written by children because he really did his best to let us down easy (and finally sent us a Lethal Weapon 3 poster to bribe us to stop writing him back begging for reconsideration). Anyway, when we finally got the hint and gave up on the sale, we decided to change the characters and mix up the storyline a little to make it an original story and turn it into a novel. That was the best summer of my entire childhood.
JJ: I wrote my first book as a first anniversary gift to my husband. They say the first anniversary is paper so I figured it would be the best way I could show him how much I appreciated his helping me through my illness.
CS:I wrote my first novel at around fourteen. I don’t remember a specific inspiration. T was just like breathing or walking. I just needed to do it.

Do you have a specific writing style?
LL: I prefer more literary prose, which has made writing in a more mainstream style a bit of a challenge for me. Every once in a while, Jaime and Christine will get on me to revisit a chapter I’ve written that they feel needs to be simplified. Writing this series has been a learning experience for all of us, I think.
JJ: I tend toward mainstream. I like to write fast paced and emotionally charged work. This project has been fantastic as it’s really helped me hone my detail work.
CS: I am definitely mainstream, fast-paced, emotional. I love to write characters that are real and natural, warts and all.

How did you come up with the title?
LL: We knew we wanted to play off the biblical Revelations story, and we’d agreed our characters were all going to be strong and rebellious women, so I’d initially suggested Rebelations—a play on rebel and Revelations. Tracy, our publisher suggested we simply go with Revelations. As for the book titles, “Cast in Stone” just popped into my head, and I liked the cadence “Cast in” offered. I suggested it to the group, and we brainstormed until we came up with the agreed upon “Cast in” titles.
JJ: Well said, Lisa.
CS: What she said. J

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
LL: Appearances can be deceiving….
JJ: Be open to the people you meet, they might just become your best friends.
CS: Nothing in the world is black and white. There are shades of gray in everything. There is no absolute good or bad. Everyone and everything has a story.

How much of the book is realistic?
LL: It’s a pretty tight weave of magical realism, just about as realistic as any other urban fantasy out there. We’ve got believable characters dealing with a mesh of realistic and not-so-realistic issues in a covertly fantastical world.
JJ: While we do weave in some mythology, I can’t say any of it is realistic but we do our best to make it feel that way.
CS: I think it is real enough. Although we do have demons, angels and all sorts of magic and creatures, once the readers begin the story, it will be absolutely real to them. We also tried to stay within a set of rules and not get overly fantastical.

Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
LL: None on my end.
JJ: I actually based my character, Polly, on my big sister Sondra. She’s kind of a badass.
CS: Actually, no.

What books have influenced your life most?
LL: Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf, The Shining by Stephen King, The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdritch, The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, and the Autobiography of Malcolm X.
JJ: Watchers by Dean Koontz was the first horror book I read. I was eight and I fell completely in love with the genre at that time. Of course Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are two of my favorite authors for their sweet twists.
CS: Carrie by King, The Color Purple by Alice Walker, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, and so many others!

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
LL: Fellow horror author Lisa Mannetti has been my mentor for a few years now, and she’s taught me so much about the craft from our shared literary perspective. I’ve also recently begun working with mainstream horror author Hank Schwaeble through HWA’s mentor program, and he’s helped me to identify some of my lingering bad habits. I’m grateful for both of them.
JJ: Armand Rosamilia. He has been like a big brother to me and has not only helped me grow in my writing but he’s also encouraged me to keep writing and publishing when things seemed bleak. He does this for so many authors. Mark Tufo is another author I consider a mentor and big brother. Without these guys I might have stopped publishing completely. They’re my heroes.
CS: I can’t actually say I’ve ever had a mentor. I’m pretty solitary. Jaime has been an amazing friend, springboard and brutally honest critic.

What book are you reading now?
LL: I’m reading a handful of unpublished works in progress.
JJ: I’m reading The Dangerous Type by Loren Rhodes and The Box Jumper by Lisa Manetti.
CS: I just finished Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King.

Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
LL: I’ve recently discovered a few authors new to me, but no one new to the publishing world.
JJ: I think we are going to see some big things from Ricky Cooper and Tania Cooper. Also Aliyah Thornbrugh will be writing some amazing works in the coming years. She has a little ways to go but a wonderful grip on storytelling, which is something that can’t be taught.
CS: I’m a fan of Ian Woodhead, Jaime Johnesee, and Paula D. Ashe. William Cook has some serious talent, too.

What are your current projects?
LL: I’m getting ready to co-author the third Revelations novel while continuing work on my Jane the Hippie Vampire series. I also have a couple of dark speculative fiction novels wandering around in submissions limbo.
JJ: Revelations, Shifters (I’m working on books one and two right now), and my Bob the Zombie series.
CS: Revelations, the fourth book in the Burkheart witch Saga - Just Right, and a new novel that is yet untitled.


What would you like my readers to know?
LL: If you enjoy gritty and dramatic horror, the first novella in my Jane the Hippie Vampire series, Love Beads, is available for free through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo, and Smashwords. If you’re interested in books more in the vein of dystopian or Gothic, I’ve got a few books you might be interested in reading as well. For more information, go to http://www.cerebralwriter.com. Thanks for reading!
JJ: First, I’d like to thank them for taking the time to read this and get to know a bit more about us. I’d also like to let them know that the first novella in my Bob the Zombie series is free right now. Bob’s a normal guy (a bit like Clark Griswold from the National Lampoon’s Vacation movies) except for the fact that he died and was raised by a necromancer. Enjoy his hijinks for free at:  http://www.amazon.com/Bob-Zombie-Jaime-Johnesee-ebook/dp/B00D0VPURO/
CS: Thank you for reading and allowing us to invade your space for a while! You can always check out my other titles at Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Christine-Sutton/e/B005NNAKAE/ .
You’ll find everything from zombies and witches to serial killers and killer bugs. Enjoy!


About Christine Sutton

Christine Sutton is the author of more than fifteen short stories, novellas and novels. While she tends to cross genres within horror, she is always passionate about scaring the hell out of you.

Her passion would have to be serial killer fiction, but she also loves ghosts, ghouls, demons and monsters of all types. Christine's work ranges from modern day fairy tales to demonic soul eaters to ghostly children that just want to play. Her writing has been called passionate, realistic, gritty, fun, enthralling and tons of other cool adjectives.

You, too can pick up some of Christine's work and come up with some cool adjectives of your own. It won't be hard. I promise.





About Leigh M. Lane/Lisa Lane

Leigh M. Lane has been writing for over twenty years. She has ten published novels and dozens of published short stories--penning the majority of her speculative and literary works under Leigh M. Lane and her mainstream and urban fantasy stories under Lisa Lane. She is married to editor Thomas B. Lane, Jr. and currently resides in the hot and dusty outskirts of Sin City.

For more information, visit her website at http://www.cerebralwriter.com




About Jaime Johnesee

Jaime Johnesee lives in Michigan with her husband and two sons. She spent fourteen years as a zookeeper before shifting her focus to writing full time. Known for her bestselling horror comedy series, Bob the Zombie, she is also currently coauthoring the paranormal horror series, Revelations, for Devil Dog Press as well as working on her Shifters series.





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