Mental Damnation Series - Book Tour and Giveaway

Mental Damnation: Reality
Book 1
by Konn Lavery
Genre: Dark Fantasy 

Banished to the Underworld. A Ritual. The Disease.
Enter the rich mythical world of Konn Lavery's debut novel containing a military dictatorship, cults, and politically-driven gangs.

After Krista's people were banished from the surface by the humans, they were reduced to violence and hatred.
She and her only friend, Darkwing, survive as street kids as their people's leaders become crazed from an unknown disease - Mental Damnation. After their infection, the Guardians develop a bizarre interest in her, claiming they must reap her innocence for their newfound master, the Weaver.
Krista has limited options for survival: Does she fend for her life in the City of Renascence, or risk leaving everything behind and enter the uncharted realm of the underworld?

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"Konn Lavery has taken me into his mind and carried me on a richly woven tapestry of metaphors for the human condition."
​- Amber, Goodreads Reviewer

"Both well-written and well thought out, Mental Damnation is an instant classic and I can't wait to see what happens next!"
- Joshua Grant, Goodreads Reviewer

"When I finally got into the actual book, I found myself unable to put it down, even reading it on my break at work"
- Dawn Herbert, Goodreads Reviewer


**Only .99 cents!**


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Mental Damnation: Dream
Book 2 

A Fallen God. The Marking. Damnation Has Begun.
The ritual set everything in motion for Krista in the continuation of the Mental Damnation series hinting at the afterlife, and a lurkingevil.
Gatekeeper Danil found and used her in an unholy event which completes Krista's infection of Mental Damnation.
It is the very disease that collapsed her leaders and wreaked havocamong her people, how will she maintain her sanity through the visionsof hell?
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"Lavery writes an extremely good book: captivating, highly descriptive, emotional and hauntingly poignant."
- G.J. Griffiths, Goodreads Reviewer

"The world Mr. Lavery created is absolutely captivating and the illustrations beautiful!"
- Cassandra Larsen, Goodreads Reviewer
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"I'm invested now an will continue to follow this story in the next book."
- Jenae (Jeni), Goodreads Reviewer


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Mental Damnation: Purity
Book 3 

Krista allies with a fallen paladin as the Weaver sends his deadliest servant after her.
The Mental Damnation series continues in a high fantasy tale of forbidden love, banishment, and fallen warriors.
Krista's hope of escaping Dreadweave Pass lessens as the Weaver sends a fallen angel to capture her. Will her allegiance with a corrupt paladin be enough to triumph?
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"Book three in the Mental Damnation series picks up perfectly and continues with Krista's story. There is a lot of action, drama and suspense"
- Sheri, Goodreads Reviewer


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Mental Damnation: Mortal
Book 4 

Damnation ends. The Afterlife is at war. Krista must fend for herself.
Mortal is the concluding novel of the dark fantasy series Mental Damnation. Follow Krista as she descends further into Dreadweave Pass and fulfilling the path of a warrior set by her father, reinforced by her allies. Will Krista manage to escape the land of the damned? She fights to return to Darkwing in the mortal realm, as he struggles to rescue her. Home is no safe haven either, for her people and the humans are on the brink of an all-out-war.


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​The entrance to the Weaver’s prison closed behind Rahiie, eliminating the blinding light. Dievourse’s eyes adjusted to the dark, and he could see the angel’s features better. Her fine skin and toned body—truly sculpted by the gods. The confidence in her walk created a strange sense of arousal and fear. More emotions that were once long forgotten.
Her power, Dievourse thought. He was drawn to strength. The attraction was what had made him a successful warlord in the mortal realm and a general in the Weaver’s Army. Power was his fixation and freedom was his dream. Rahiie had both. Even though the angel was immoral, she managed to stand amongst those in heaven. Unlike Dievourse, down in hell, a slave to the Weaver.
“Weaver,” Rahiie said. Her strident voice boomed through the chamber, causing El Aguro and Dievourse to straighten their posture. “Your aggressive behaviour is beginning to raise awareness amongst the gods.”
The Weaver chuckled. “We will discuss this soon. Please, I would like you to meet my two most prized creations.” Tentacle-like arms moved out from the darkness past Dievourse and El Aguro. The arms ended in large long-fingered hands with an additional thumb on the opposite side. They extended toward Dievourse and El Aguro, gesturing the pair to speak. “Please introduce yourselves.”
Rahiie didn’t blink, waiting for Dievourse to speak. Her face was cold. A slight hint of anger was clear from the slant of the spikes that formed her eyebrows. No angel had horns and spikes. Her passion seeded from the poison. She didn’t need to say it for Dievourse to know. She oozed it.
Dievourse took a bow, sending his bone-thin white hair draping in front of his face. The green glowing circles directly below him and El Aguro cast a soft light over them. Dievourse stood, directing his voice toward the angel. “Rahiie, I am General Dievourse. I lead the Weaver’s Army. He has spoken many words of you, and yet never revealed your name. It is a great honour to meet you at last.”
Rahiie nodded at Dievourse and awaited the feathered beast’s introduction.
El Aguro bowed as well, extending both hands, palms facing Rahiie. His feathers ruffled against the bone breastplate he wore. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Rahiie. I am El Aguro.” His voice echoed from inside his helmet, projecting from his throat.
Disgusting, Dievourse thought, glaring at El Aguro. The gatekeeper’s long black kilt was a displeasure to be near, for it was fused from the feathers, bones, and flesh of countless crows.
El Aguro stood up. “The Weaver has assigned me to champion the gatekeepers, for I am the eldest of them.”
Rahiie folded her arms. “You’re the one responsible for the increased reaping of souls?”
El Aguro shrugged. “I suppose you could say such a thing. I am only as active as the will of the Weaver. My actions are not my own.”
“Right,” Rahiie said, staring into the darkness behind El Aguro and Dievourse. “Care to explain yourself, Weaver?”
The Weaver’s hands retracted back into the darkness behind Dievourse. “Now, now, Rahiie. You have always known what the endgame was.”
“Yes, but the aggressiveness of the reaping?”
One of the Weaver’s two-thumbed hands appeared again. “My children, as you can see, Rahiie is always on the conservative side. It is the base of her reasoning, and she stands by it. This gives her an edge. This is what made her so bold as to come face-to-face with Dega’Mostikas himself.”
“Brave girl,” El Aguro said.
Rahiie’s nostrils flared. “And foolish. Now the devil himself haunts my mind.”
The Weaver raised his index finger. “Perhaps, yes. But not as foolish as your brother Craeso . . . or is it Sporathun now?”
“Show him to me,” Rahiie said.
“You have no power to demand, Rahiie. You know of our deal.” The Weaver’s hand extended past Dievourse and gently caressed Rahiie’s cheek. “A poor, lost sister, tormented by Dega’Mostikas, who only wishes for the comfort of her dear brother.”
Rahiie remained silent as the Weaver’s second thumb brushed by her chin and returned to the darkness.
Dievourse pressed his lips together while taking a deep breath through his nose, gathering himself, because he knew that his master was lying. Rahiie thought the Weaver had her brother, Sporathun. It was half true. The other half was that Dievourse was responsible for Sporathun. He knew where the fallen angel was. The general had found himself in a unique position. His strategic mind began to work.
The entrance to the Weaver’s prison closed behind Rahiie, eliminating the blinding light. Dievourse’s eyes adjusted to the dark, and he could see the angel’s features better. Her fine skin and toned body—truly sculpted by the gods. The confidence in her walk created a strange sense of arousal and fear. More emotions that were once long forgotten.
Her power, Dievourse thought. He was drawn to strength. The attraction was what had made him a successful warlord in the mortal realm and a general in the Weaver’s Army. Power was his fixation and freedom was his dream. Rahiie had both. Even though the angel was immoral, she managed to stand amongst those in heaven. Unlike Dievourse, down in hell, a slave to the Weaver.
“Weaver,” Rahiie said. Her strident voice boomed through the chamber, causing El Aguro and Dievourse to straighten their posture. “Your aggressive behaviour is beginning to raise awareness amongst the gods.”
The Weaver chuckled. “We will discuss this soon. Please, I would like you to meet my two most prized creations.” Tentacle-like arms moved out from the darkness past Dievourse and El Aguro. The arms ended in large long-fingered hands with an additional thumb on the opposite side. They extended toward Dievourse and El Aguro, gesturing the pair to speak. “Please introduce yourselves.”
Rahiie didn’t blink, waiting for Dievourse to speak. Her face was cold. A slight hint of anger was clear from the slant of the spikes that formed her eyebrows. No angel had horns and spikes. Her passion seeded from the poison. She didn’t need to say it for Dievourse to know. She oozed it.
Dievourse took a bow, sending his bone-thin white hair draping in front of his face. The green glowing circles directly below him and El Aguro cast a soft light over them. Dievourse stood, directing his voice toward the angel. “Rahiie, I am General Dievourse. I lead the Weaver’s Army. He has spoken many words of you, and yet never revealed your name. It is a great honour to meet you at last.”
Rahiie nodded at Dievourse and awaited the feathered beast’s introduction.
El Aguro bowed as well, extending both hands, palms facing Rahiie. His feathers ruffled against the bone breastplate he wore. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Rahiie. I am El Aguro.” His voice echoed from inside his helmet, projecting from his throat.
Disgusting, Dievourse thought, glaring at El Aguro. The gatekeeper’s long black kilt was a displeasure to be near, for it was fused from the feathers, bones, and flesh of countless crows.
El Aguro stood up. “The Weaver has assigned me to champion the gatekeepers, for I am the eldest of them.”
Rahiie folded her arms. “You’re the one responsible for the increased reaping of souls?”
El Aguro shrugged. “I suppose you could say such a thing. I am only as active as the will of the Weaver. My actions are not my own.”
“Right,” Rahiie said, staring into the darkness behind El Aguro and Dievourse. “Care to explain yourself, Weaver?”
The Weaver’s hands retracted back into the darkness behind Dievourse. “Now, now, Rahiie. You have always known what the endgame was.”
“Yes, but the aggressiveness of the reaping?”
One of the Weaver’s two-thumbed hands appeared again. “My children, as you can see, Rahiie is always on the conservative side. It is the base of her reasoning, and she stands by it. This gives her an edge. This is what made her so bold as to come face-to-face with Dega’Mostikas himself.”
“Brave girl,” El Aguro said.
Rahiie’s nostrils flared. “And foolish. Now the devil himself haunts my mind.”
The Weaver raised his index finger. “Perhaps, yes. But not as foolish as your brother Craeso . . . or is it Sporathun now?”
“Show him to me,” Rahiie said.
“You have no power to demand, Rahiie. You know of our deal.” The Weaver’s hand extended past Dievourse and gently caressed Rahiie’s cheek. “A poor, lost sister, tormented by Dega’Mostikas, who only wishes for the comfort of her dear brother.”
Rahiie remained silent as the Weaver’s second thumb brushed by her chin and returned to the darkness.
Dievourse pressed his lips together while taking a deep breath through his nose, gathering himself, because he knew that his master was lying. Rahiie thought the Weaver had her brother, Sporathun. It was half true. The other half was that Dievourse was responsible for Sporathun. He knew where the fallen angel was. The general had found himself in a unique position. His strategic mind began to work.
The entrance to the Weaver’s prison closed behind Rahiie, eliminating the blinding light. Dievourse’s eyes adjusted to the dark, and he could see the angel’s features better. Her fine skin and toned body—truly sculpted by the gods. The confidence in her walk created a strange sense of arousal and fear. More emotions that were once long forgotten.
Her power, Dievourse thought. He was drawn to strength. The attraction was what had made him a successful warlord in the mortal realm and a general in the Weaver’s Army. Power was his fixation and freedom was his dream. Rahiie had both. Even though the angel was immoral, she managed to stand amongst those in heaven. Unlike Dievourse, down in hell, a slave to the Weaver.
“Weaver,” Rahiie said. Her strident voice boomed through the chamber, causing El Aguro and Dievourse to straighten their posture. “Your aggressive behaviour is beginning to raise awareness amongst the gods.”
The Weaver chuckled. “We will discuss this soon. Please, I would like you to meet my two most prized creations.” Tentacle-like arms moved out from the darkness past Dievourse and El Aguro. The arms ended in large long-fingered hands with an additional thumb on the opposite side. They extended toward Dievourse and El Aguro, gesturing the pair to speak. “Please introduce yourselves.”
Rahiie didn’t blink, waiting for Dievourse to speak. Her face was cold. A slight hint of anger was clear from the slant of the spikes that formed her eyebrows. No angel had horns and spikes. Her passion seeded from the poison. She didn’t need to say it for Dievourse to know. She oozed it.
Dievourse took a bow, sending his bone-thin white hair draping in front of his face. The green glowing circles directly below him and El Aguro cast a soft light over them. Dievourse stood, directing his voice toward the angel. “Rahiie, I am General Dievourse. I lead the Weaver’s Army. He has spoken many words of you, and yet never revealed your name. It is a great honour to meet you at last.”
Rahiie nodded at Dievourse and awaited the feathered beast’s introduction.
El Aguro bowed as well, extending both hands, palms facing Rahiie. His feathers ruffled against the bone breastplate he wore. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Rahiie. I am El Aguro.” His voice echoed from inside his helmet, projecting from his throat.
Disgusting, Dievourse thought, glaring at El Aguro. The gatekeeper’s long black kilt was a displeasure to be near, for it was fused from the feathers, bones, and flesh of countless crows.
El Aguro stood up. “The Weaver has assigned me to champion the gatekeepers, for I am the eldest of them.”
Rahiie folded her arms. “You’re the one responsible for the increased reaping of souls?”
El Aguro shrugged. “I suppose you could say such a thing. I am only as active as the will of the Weaver. My actions are not my own.”
“Right,” Rahiie said, staring into the darkness behind El Aguro and Dievourse. “Care to explain yourself, Weaver?”
The Weaver’s hands retracted back into the darkness behind Dievourse. “Now, now, Rahiie. You have always known what the endgame was.”
“Yes, but the aggressiveness of the reaping?”
One of the Weaver’s two-thumbed hands appeared again. “My children, as you can see, Rahiie is always on the conservative side. It is the base of her reasoning, and she stands by it. This gives her an edge. This is what made her so bold as to come face-to-face with Dega’Mostikas himself.”
“Brave girl,” El Aguro said.
Rahiie’s nostrils flared. “And foolish. Now the devil himself haunts my mind.”
The Weaver raised his index finger. “Perhaps, yes. But not as foolish as your brother Craeso . . . or is it Sporathun now?”
“Show him to me,” Rahiie said.
“You have no power to demand, Rahiie. You know of our deal.” The Weaver’s hand extended past Dievourse and gently caressed Rahiie’s cheek. “A poor, lost sister, tormented by Dega’Mostikas, who only wishes for the comfort of her dear brother.”
Rahiie remained silent as the Weaver’s second thumb brushed by her chin and returned to the darkness.
Dievourse pressed his lips together while taking a deep breath through his nose, gathering himself, because he knew that his master was lying. Rahiie thought the Weaver had her brother, Sporathun. It was half true. The other half was that Dievourse was responsible for Sporathun. He knew where the fallen angel was. The general had found himself in a unique position. His strategic mind began to work.

Konn Lavery is a Canadian author whose work has been recognized by Edmonton’s top five bestseller charts and by reviewers such as Readers’ Favorite, and Literary Titan.
He started writing stories at a young age while being homeschooled. After graduating from graphic design college, he began professionally pursuing his writing with his first release, Reality. He continues to write in the thriller, horror, and fantasy genres.
He balances his literary work along with his own graphic design and website development business, titled Reveal Design (www.revealdesign.ca). His visual communication skills have been transcribed into the formatting and artwork found within his publications supporting his fascination of transmedia storytelling.


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Can you, for those who don't know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?
I started writing since I was eight years old, so just over twenty years ago where I wrote backstories to boardgames I made up. These backstories were the seeds of what eventually became Mental Damnation. From there, the writing evolved in my teens and finally into my twenties, where I decided to give writing a real shot.
By day I am a graphic designer and work as a freelancer, which gives me a ton of flexibility to write and promote my books as an indie author. The artwork, covers, and design are all done by me, including the books by the boutique publishing houses.
On the side – if free time exists – I also have a kink for music. The musical interests do show up time to time with scores I write for the books or improv background music to the live readings I do for the short stories on my blog.

What is something unique/quirky about you?
Probably my interest in music is obscure to most. I've been a huge fan of industrial music since I heard my older brother play KMFDM. I was about nine or so. Industrial music includes bands such as Skinny Puppy, Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, etc. The industrial music, gothic fashion, and the punk-rock D.I.Y. attitude has been ingrained into me and has shaped my whole life by being a freelance designer and indie author. All D.I.Y.

Tell us something really interesting that's happened to you!
I got laser eye surgery a few years ago. It indeed was one of the best decisions I've ever made with my life. Probably next to fully committed to my writing back in 2011. My eyesight is better than when I had glasses, who would have known?

What are some of your pet peeves?
With writing, I'd say some of the fallback sentences I use. Always working on improving the craft and not falling victim to those tropes.

If you knew you'd die tomorrow, how would you spend your last day?
Death has been a common theme in all of my work across all artforms. Knowing my mortality is always in the back of my head. So this question I ask myself a lot. The answer continuously varies depending on my mood and where I am at in life.
At this exact moment in the 2020 pandemic world, I'd tell all my family, friends, and loved ones to gather and have a cheer. What else could you do for 24 hours?

What are you passionate about these days?
Now that Mortal, the final book in the Mental Damnation series, is wrapped up, there's been a mountain lifted off of my shoulders. The series was first conceived 14 years ago, back in 2006. So having it come to life as a completed storyline has my fired up to see where else my writing will go. What new stories will come in the new era? I can't wait, and I want to share it all with the exceptionally supportive and loyal fans.

What do you do to unwind and relax?
The answer depends on the days and my energy levels. The short stories I write on my blog are a fun sandbox for me to explore new narrative voices, genres, and literary styles. I find writing them quite relaxing. I also find playing music, drawing, or reading a good book a good time.

Describe yourself in 5 words or less!
A Writer and Graphic Designer.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Fun question. Even though I've been writing for about 20 years, professionally for 8, I haven't considered myself a real writer until late 2018. My crime thriller novel YEGman launched. I also started writing short stories on my blog. I signed a publishing contract for another book, The White Hand, was touring for YEGman with book signings and speaking at conventions, and had sold a couple of short stories.
That's when it hit me. Even though I was writing for many years, almost every day, I didn't realize I was living the writer's life. Now I am not shy about saying it and feel far more confident in my writing than before.

Do you have a favorite movie?
That's a tough one. It's a tie between Fight Club and The Thing.

Which of your novels can you imagine made into a movie?
All of them. The least complicated story in terms of the budget would probably be YEGman or The White Hand. Although, seeing the world of Mental Damnation brought to the big screen with a fusion of practical effects and digital, like with The Lord of the Rings, would be phenomenal.

What inspired you to write this book?
Mortal was long overdue. The Mental Damnation series has been the burning flame with my writing for 14 years since its conception as a single 190,000-word manuscript. Even then, the story wasn't complete and a second book was fully outlined, which was scrapped entirely. The book had a ton of revisions applied to it and grew in size. Eventually, the manuscript split into three books.
The first book Reality was the first professional release back in 2012. I've taken several detours since then and had also released two more novels in the Mental Damnation series, which concluded the original 190,000-word manuscript from 2006. Still, the ending wasn't defined.
Fans wanted to know the ending, and I wanted to too. So the inspiration was to give the fans and characters the ending they deserved. All of last year, I thoroughly reviewed the first three books, plotted, wrote, and spent many hours on the book to get it out.

What can we expect from you in the future?
More writing, of course! In the near future, I am compiling a wide range of short stories I have worked on into a transmedia anthology, which includes a musical score, artwork, and a multiverse world of multiple short stories ranging in genres.

Do you have any "side stories" about the characters?
The Mental Damnation tetralogy has a ton of subplots going on. I have over a decade's worth of backstory notes, a lot of it never made it into the series. There are also expanded universe short stories that will appear in the anthology.

Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Mortal?
Sure. The characters are a continuation of the Mental Damnation series. There are a few new characters and others that have been long foreshadowed since the first book. The protagonist is Krista, a reptilian who is struggling with being imprisoned by humans. They are racist to her people and are using her as a political tool while trying to study the brain disease she has – Mental Damnation. The disease makes her believe she crosses into hell during her dreams, where she is trying to escape. While all of this is occurring, she is dealing with her coming of age struggles. She has conflicts with friends, romance, learning self-defense, making choices on her own, and developing confidence.

How did you come up with the concept and characters for the book?
The concept came to me from an illustration I sketched out back in 2006. Krista was already a pre-established character to a story I had written. The Mental Damnation series was intended to be an origin story of how she came to be. The sketch was of a younger Krista clutching her head and split between the real world and hell. The hell side would explain who she became in that other story.
A few other characters had been defined as well, such as Darkwing and Malpherities. Other than that, the split reality illustration sprouted the storyline.

Where did you come up with the names in the story?
I'll add to the previous question; the name came to me from the initial sketch of the concept I did back in 2006. The sketch which had Krista and the split world also had a title banner, as I thought this sketch would become the book cover. It didn't. But seeing her head clutched, the ordinary world, and the hell world, the title Mental Damnation was self-explanatory and it stuck.
For the Kingdom of Zingalg and the fantasy aspects of the tetralogy, I pulled influences from naming conventions seen in Brian Jacques’s work such as Redwall and the videogame universe Warcraft by Blizzard. The theory is mashing two words together as a single word or with hyphens describing what it is.
For Dreadweave Pass (see the mashing of words there?), the hellish realm and the afterlife, I used some of the same techniques but also made reference to biblical mythology and Latin names.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
For Mortal, I enjoyed writing the conclusion to the Mental Damnation series. It brought a sense of completeness to me on a deeply personal level.

Who designed your book covers?
I am a graphic designer by trade and work as a freelancer. Naturally, I designed the cover and interior formatting. For Mental Damnation, the series uses a custom drawn typeface seen in the titles and chapters. There are also glyphs and illustrations within the books that I did too.
For my other novels, I too did the covers and interior formatting and most of the artwork that accompanies them.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Of course! Hindsight is 20/20. I almost did third editions of the Mental Damnation series so I could do more foreshadowing for Mortal. But perfection is the enemy of progress, and these minor details are only things that grew in recent years. Fans love the books as is, and I was more interested in giving them the next book in the series than going back and re-releasing the first three for the third time to make Mortal slightly different.

Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?
I did! I learned not to spend 14 years on a series, haha. In seriousness, Mortal was the first book where I wrote the first draft with speech to text software. Other authors I know have talked about how much fun it is to speak your story out, and how much faster it is. I finally tried it out and quite enjoyed the process.

Anything specific you want to tell your readers?
Thank you, sincerely, for all the years of support. Some of you have been a part of the journey since I first released Reality in 2012—others, even longer. Finishing Mortal is for you.

How did you come up with the name of this book?
Oh, well, that would be giving spoilers. Let's just say thematically from the first three, it was bound to be.

What is your favorite part of this book, and why?
Spoilers! Chapters 17 and 24 gave me a real strange hit in the chest with warmth going all the way through, like when you have a crush on someone, or your pet dies.

Convince us why you feel your book is a must-read.
Short pitch: Lord of the Rings meets twisted Alice in Wonderland.
Long pitch: The Mental Damnation tetralogy brings readers into a dark, surreal, twisted world of Dreadweave Pass and the Kingdom of Zingalg. Necromantic Rituals. Holy spells. Demons, ghouls, angels, and gods. The classic good vs evil is shrouded with uncertainty as moral lines blur from the vast unbiased void of realism.

Have you written any other books that are not published?
I have. Two will NEVER see the light of day. One might, it needs some T.L.C., but there's an excellent foundation to work with. I also have a couple of books fully outlined chapter by chapter, but they too are scrapped.


What book do you think everyone should read?
It depends on what you're wanting. As creative types, everyone should read Stephen King's On Writing.
On a broader level, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig.
There are more in-depth philosophical books out there, but this one is the most rooted in realism.

How long have you been writing?
Since I was eight, so just over 20 years, professionally, I started in 2011, and my first book Reality came out in 2012, so we'll say eight years.

Do the characters all come to you at the same time, or do some of them come to you as you write?
It ranges depending on the book. The common theme is I end up scrapping characters or merging two of them into one more complex character.

What kind of research do you do before you begin writing a book?
I do a ton of research for each book. Research is fun because it takes you down strange paths you wouldn't usually go down. I've been to my city's armoury. I've found online dating sites for prisoners. I've interviewed public service (police officers & RCMP) professionals. I've read religious scriptures and have been on academic-level biology forms to confirm details.
Research is fun because you are introduced to so many new things.

Do you see writing as a career?
I do and have turned a profit, a small one, but it is something that I put back into the next book and a good meal. My primary income is still freelancing as a graphic designer and web developer. Always, I keep looking at new methods of making writing my full-time job.

Do you read yourself and if so what is your favorite genre?
I do read a lot. Oddly enough, I read more non-fiction in the realm of social sciences and philosophy. For fiction, I do love horror, thriller, and sci-fi.

Do you prefer to write in silence or with noise? Why?
I write anywhere and everywhere. My best writing is done early in the morning, where I do put on strange instrumental music that suits the book. Lyrical music is distracting while writing.

Do you write one book at a time or do you have several going at a time?
Usually, I focus on one book. I have a number of them in various states at any given time, but they sit until I reach a milestone for a book. Those milestones can include finishing the first draft or sending it to beta readers or the editor, or while managing marketing for a new release.

What made you want to become an author, and do you feel it was the right decision?
Telling stories is my joy of writing. I've dabbled in all sorts of art forms to tell stories and still do. In my teens, I've made board games, videogames, cartoons, comics, and stop motion films – all of them were terrible, by the way. In the end, I kept gravitating to writing literary fiction because I could focus on the story and not worry about the medium's craft as much.

The advice they would give new authors?
Write a ton, and take your time. You can build your author platform without even having your first book out. Share a sample here, show something else there, but build up hype. The incubation period of not having a book out is powerful because it gives you the freedom to explore and find your voice.
If you have a book out, just keep writing and keep bringing work out. Building an audience is a long and slow process.

What makes a good story?
If the reader gets flashes of the story at obscure times after they've finished reading it. Then you know you've done your job. If they don't, the story is forgettable.

What is your writing process? For instance do you do an outline first? Do you do the chapters first?
I have dabbled in both pantsing and plotting. For a long time, I plotted, and now I am going back to pantsing. All of my short stories on my blog are pantsing, and they've felt like the most authentic work I've done. They're also the most fun.

Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?
I guess original. I've also worked on giving the reader what they want. For the Mental Damnation series, and the Rutherford Manor series, I knew there was an audience that the stories should match with. My other works and short stories, not so much.

What's the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?
Most of my protagonists have been female oddly enough. I have varying female beta readers to go through it because I am male. On occasion, they point something out, saying that's not really how most girls would behave.
In the end, it hasn't been difficult because I've paid attention to what people say. As writers, we should always listen keenly to what people say. Snoop in on conversations, on the bus, at a bar, or listen closer to the conversation you're having with friends/partners. Then you can adopt the voice of another sex, age, or profession.

How long, on average, does it take you to write a book?
My writing has gotten faster, I've gotten better, and have gained more confidence in the words I write. Mortal took me a year from the first outline to launch. I've done others like The White Hand or Fire, Pain, & Ruin in about eight months.


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