Hexcommunicated
Rafael Chandler
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Neoplastic Press
Date of Publication: July 7, 2012
ISBN: 978-1478196662
ASIN: B008IVFRCE
Number of pages: 302
Word Count: 94,400
Cover Artist: Lou Harper
Cover Model: Rose Ballentine
Tagline: When the sun comes up, the girl of his dreams will murder him.
Book Description:
The name is Tepes. NicolaeTepes. I'm a federal agent with Hex Division.
When the sun comes up, the girl of my dreams is going to kill me.
My partner's a werewolf, but we get along okay. We were investigating this murder when we stumbled across a conspiracy unlike anything we've ever dealt with before. Ghostmortems, Scarevoyants, all kinds of freaks.
It started bad and got worse quick: a psychic on our team had a vision of the future. At sunrise, I'll die at the hands of the woman I love, and then a psychotic death cult will deploy a supernatural weapon of mass destruction.
We've got eight hours to prevent this prophecy from coming true, but the psychics of Hex Division are never wrong...
Excerpt
Two:
I holstered my
gun. "Right. Let's toss the place."
Zheng
flipped the mattress over.
I
pulled dresser drawers. I froze. Stainless steel shuriken rattled against each
other. I hauled open a few more drawers; in each one, more throwing stars.
Maybe a hundred total.
"Whiskey
tango foxtrot," Zheng said. She leaned the mattress against the wall. A
half-dozen circular saw blades gleamed on the boxspring.
"Ambush,"
I said. I drew my gun. I snapped my fangs.
Zheng
went feral: full werewolf. Teeth bared, she hunched over and glared around the
room, waiting for something to twitch so that she could eviscerate it. I held
still.
After
a minute, I relaxed.
"Okay,"
I said. "Nobody here. Let's keep searching."
With
a high-pitched scraping sound, the bed's metal frame buckled once, then lurched
across the room. With a heavy thud, it slammed end-first into the door,
scattering saw blades all over the carpet.
About the Author:
Rafael Chandler writes novels (Mask Beneath Her Face, The Astounding Antagonists), video games (SOCOM 4, Rainbow Six: Lockdown), and tabletop role-playing games (Teratic Tome, LususNaturae). He's a metalhead, kaijuphile, and gorehound.
1. What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
Years ago, I visited the Edgar Allan Poe museum in Richmond, Virginia. I had devoured a collection of his short stories and poetry, and was eager to learn more about the man. It was a terrific experience, though I suppose that deep down, a part of me was hoping that it would be decorated with skulls and one-eyed cats and so forth.
Interview
1. What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
Years ago, I visited the Edgar Allan Poe museum in Richmond, Virginia. I had devoured a collection of his short stories and poetry, and was eager to learn more about the man. It was a terrific experience, though I suppose that deep down, a part of me was hoping that it would be decorated with skulls and one-eyed cats and so forth.
2. What is the first book that made you cry?
I don't think it's ever happened to me. Can't remember crying while reading a book.
I don't think it's ever happened to me. Can't remember crying while reading a book.
3. Does writing energize or exhaust you?
It energizes me! Creation is exhilarating, and my writing process (a standing desk, quarts of coffee, lots of pacing around the room) tends to keep me revved up.
It energizes me! Creation is exhilarating, and my writing process (a standing desk, quarts of coffee, lots of pacing around the room) tends to keep me revved up.
4. What is your writing Kryptonite?
Silence. I function best when I'm blasting death metal at ear-splitting volume. Right now, I'm listening to Ulcerate's "Burning Skies."
Silence. I function best when I'm blasting death metal at ear-splitting volume. Right now, I'm listening to Ulcerate's "Burning Skies."
5. Did you ever consider writing under a
pseudonym?
No, I can't think of a scenario where I'd use a name other than my own.
No, I can't think of a scenario where I'd use a name other than my own.
6. What other authors are you friends with,
and how do they help you become a better writer?
My wife, Heather Maxwell Chandler, is my best friend, and she's also the author of several books, including The Game Production Handbook (which was based on her 20 years of experience as a video game producer).
My wife, Heather Maxwell Chandler, is my best friend, and she's also the author of several books, including The Game Production Handbook (which was based on her 20 years of experience as a video game producer).
She and I worked together on a number of video
games: for example, we both worked on Ghost Recon 2 (I did a bit of writing on
the game, and she was the producer) and Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia
(she produced the game, and I wrote the tie-in comic book, which was published
by Dark Horse Comics. In addition, we co-wrote a book about creating video
games: Fundamentals of Game Development. Her approach to project management
definitely shaped the way that I write books. While I used to be a
seat-of-the-pants writer, my collaboration with her has taught me to create in
a methodical and organized fashion, tackling specific tasks during distinct
production phases. Sounds very corporate, but what the hell, if it works, it
works.
7. Do you want each book to stand on its own,
or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
Thus far, all of my novels have been stand-alone, though I suppose a bit of crossover could be fun, somewhere down the line.
Thus far, all of my novels have been stand-alone, though I suppose a bit of crossover could be fun, somewhere down the line.
8. What authors did you dislike at first but
grew into?
Can't think of any, alas.
Can't think of any, alas.
9. What’s your favorite under-appreciated
novel?
I think George V. Higgins' The Friends of Eddie Coyle is magnificent, but when I mention it to people, I get blank stares. Read it! It's a sharp, tough crime novel.
I think George V. Higgins' The Friends of Eddie Coyle is magnificent, but when I mention it to people, I get blank stares. Read it! It's a sharp, tough crime novel.
10. As a writer, what would you choose as your
mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
The hermit crab. I work in solitude, like a hermit. The crab is nocturnal, as am I. And the genus Coenobita includes the land-dwelling hermit crabs -- and Coenobita looks an awful lot like Cenobites, the hideous entities from Clive Barker's The Hellbound Heart.
The hermit crab. I work in solitude, like a hermit. The crab is nocturnal, as am I. And the genus Coenobita includes the land-dwelling hermit crabs -- and Coenobita looks an awful lot like Cenobites, the hideous entities from Clive Barker's The Hellbound Heart.
11. How many unpublished and half-finished
books do you have?
A half-dozen. I'm working a couple of them right now.
A half-dozen. I'm working a couple of them right now.
12. What did you edit out of this book?
At one point, there was a scene where Agent Tepes was attacked by an enemy agent in W.I.T.C.H. (Weapon-Integrated Tactical Combat Harness) gear. The witch, Abigail Williams, was cut from Hexcommunicated, but maybe she'll turn up in another novel someday.
At one point, there was a scene where Agent Tepes was attacked by an enemy agent in W.I.T.C.H. (Weapon-Integrated Tactical Combat Harness) gear. The witch, Abigail Williams, was cut from Hexcommunicated, but maybe she'll turn up in another novel someday.
13. If you didn’t write, what would you do for
work?
Video game development. I've been working in video games since 2000, but mostly, I've done scriptwriting or narrative design. If I didn't write, I'd find a job designing horror games. Big fan of the Resident Evil and Silent Hill series.
Video game development. I've been working in video games since 2000, but mostly, I've done scriptwriting or narrative design. If I didn't write, I'd find a job designing horror games. Big fan of the Resident Evil and Silent Hill series.
14. Do you hide any secrets in your books that
only a few people will find?
A few tidbits here and there. For example, in Hexcommunicated, the characters investigate strange occurrences at the abandoned Felicia Fox State Psychiatric Hospital. My friends and family know that I used to live across the street from Dorothea Dix Hospital. Also, when the characters are exploring, one of them reads a sign aloud: "Quarters for the Criminally Insane." That's a line from a song by Slayer (one of my favorite bands).
A few tidbits here and there. For example, in Hexcommunicated, the characters investigate strange occurrences at the abandoned Felicia Fox State Psychiatric Hospital. My friends and family know that I used to live across the street from Dorothea Dix Hospital. Also, when the characters are exploring, one of them reads a sign aloud: "Quarters for the Criminally Insane." That's a line from a song by Slayer (one of my favorite bands).
15. What is your favorite childhood book?
When I was a kid, I read Stephen King's The
Stand -- a glorious novel!
Web site: http://www.rafaelchandler.com
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Thanks for the interview! Great chatting with you.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the last novel you read that you would recommend?
ReplyDeleteMoriarty, by Anthony Horowitz, is a terrific novel set in the world of Sherlock Holmes (and taking place after "The Final Problem." I don't want to say anything else about the novel -- if you dig Sherlock, you'll enjoy the book.
ReplyDelete