Geoff North's Blog

This week I had the pleasure to meet Neil Bursnoll, author of the Augustus Baltazar paranormal series.  


Geoff:  Who is Baltazar and what kind of story is this?

Neil: Augustus Baltazar (Stu for short) has the cover of Paranormal Investigator as his trade, but has been tasked with dispatching all manner of beasts and demons from our world by a mysterious leader. He learned to control his emotions by sticking to his true job, but the emergence of potential love interest Jenny throws it all into turmoil. The stories have shades of urban fantasy, horror and mystery.

Geoff:  How many Baltazar books will there be?

Neil:  I don't have a figure in mind. I'll keep going until I run out of ideas. I already have the majority of book 3 plotted, and an end point for some of the characters and themes that are already in place. The second book, The Scar That Bleeds, was released in June.

Geoff:  What can you tell us about the Murkwood Tales?

Neil: The Murkwood Tales are short stories released between each novel. They will feature characters that aren't main ones from the novels, but who may crop up in future. The first one (A Frightful Encounter) is permafree.

Geoff:  How long have you been writing and what else do you have in store for your readers?

Neil: I've been writing since childhood. I struggled with confidence for a very long time and didn't publish my debut until 2013 - nearly 30 years after I first started writing. I've already finished a novel about another protagonist in the 'Murkwood' world that will have her own series, and hopefully that'll be out in the coming months. After that, I'm not sure yet. I have too many ideas to work on!

Geoff:  You can only provide ONE for each of the following: Favorite author/favorite book/favorite movie/favorite TV show?

Neil: I've only recently started to read again after many years of inactivity. I'm currently enjoying the Charlie Parker series by John Connolly. My favourite movie is usually split three ways, and right now I'll say The Empire Strikes Back. My current favourite TV show is The Walking Dead.

Geoff:  Tell us something about yourself readers might be surprised or interested to know.

Neil: I have two! I only have one canine tooth, and I was once on TV on a kids debate show in the late 1990s as an expert on ghosts.
A big thanks to Neil for dropping in and telling us about his work! If you would like to know more about Neil and the stories he's working on, click on one or all of the links below.


Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Neil-Bursnoll/e/B00CLFW8LG/
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Neil-Bursnoll/e/B00CLFW8LG/
Website: http://www.bourbonicafro.co.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NeilBursnoll
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNeilBursnoll

I've tidied up my website and given this page a more fitting name. Welcome to The Crypt.  Okay, I admit that may not be the most original title, but this is a horror-writing site, and 'The Crypt' sounds a lot better than 'the blog'. 

I want this to become a place where authors can drop in for a visit and tell readers a little something about themselves - what they're writing, where folks can buy their books, their favorite color... you get the idea. I hope to be able to give back to the generous writing community I'm a part of. I want writers to feel welcome, and if we can all learn some more tricks of the trade along the way, well that's alright, too!

I'm pleased to introduce you all to K.J. Bryen, author of the upcoming supernatural thriller LOKTE. I met K.J. through the Writer's Cafe on KBoards, a fantastic resource for writers and readers alike. So let's get this first interview started and see what's on K.J.'s mind.

Geoff - The cover for your first novel, Lokte, is brilliant! What is this story about, and when will we be able to read it?

K.J. - Thanks, Geoff! The story follows the aspiring actress Marianne Garcia, who struggles to make her way in New York City. That is, until Logan Lokte shows up. He promises to make all her dreams come true; all she has to do is sign a contract. Marianne doesn't believe in magic or miracles. But one thing is certain, beyond a doubt . . . Logan Lokte is not a normal man.
Her decision sends them both in a plunging spiral where choices are crucial, and evil comes from within.
The novel is set to come out on September 12 of this year.

Geoff - How long have you been writing and were there any other novel-length stories before Lokte you never published?

K.J. -  I've been writing since I first learned to write. It all started with a little picture book I wrote when I was about four or five; after that, I was hooked. Yes, my first novel was an old, old version of Lokte that I wrote and finished my second semester of college. It was absolutely dreadful. After that I wrote the first book in a paranormal young adult series, which I will be releasing in a few years. When I realized I was actually proud of that work, I decided I could try rewriting Lokte.

Geoff - Have you developed any good/bad writing habits? Do you write every day with a set word count in mind, or do you just let the words flow on their own?

K.J. -  I suppose everyone has their own writing habits. I think my good one is consistency. I wake up two hours early every morning to write. I'm currently aiming at 1,000 words a day. If I had a bad writing habit, I would say it's letting myself get distracted. If I have writers block, I tend to want to take a break to clear my head, and that break always ends up lasting way longer than I want it too. I'm trying to learn how to push past writers block when it happens and just get words down on paper, even if I have to go change it later.

Geoff - You are an author of supernatural thrillers and YA stories. Where does Lokte fall within these two, and are you planning to make this a series?

K.J. - Lokte is a supernatural thriller. It is planned to be a stand alone book, but I do have a sequel in mind if fans request it. After this I will be publishing a YA Horror series.

Geoff - You can only provide ONE for each of the following: Favorite author? Favorite book? Favorite movie? Favorite TV show?

K.J. - Favorite author: Depends on the genre. For supernatural thrillers, it's Ted Dekker.
Favorite book: Also depends on the genre . . . Best book I've read this year has been The Diviners, by Libba Bray.
Favorite Movie: You're killing me with these questions! I have a lot of favorite movies, but I think the one that has always drawn me back the most is Phantom of the Opera. That movie is what got me loving opera and musicals.
Favorite T.V. Show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Haven't found a show yet that beats it :)

Geoff - Is there anything you would like your future readers to know about you and your work before Lokte is released this September?

K.J. -  I'm not sure. I guess just that I have poured my heart and soul into this book, and I hope readers enjoy it! It is also a bit dark compared to most Christian novels, so don't expect too much fluff . . . There's a great deal of both horror and romance in it.

Geoff - Thanks for taking the time to do this, K.J., I wish you all the best with your September release! K.J. Bryen lives in Oklahoma City with her loving husband, Adam. By day, she works at a news station. By night, she is a writer of young adult novels and supernatural thrillers. She loves any book that immerses her into a world she doesn't want to leave, and she hopes to be able to do that for her readers. She's also a coffee addict and a Joss Whedon fanatic. She loves to meet new people, so hit her up on Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads. You can also visit her website or blog to find out more about her books.


kjbryen.moonfruit.com
plungingintothenovel.blogspot.com
facebook.com/kjbryen
@KJBryen on Twitter

Children of Extinction officially launches on Amazon today for .99! Also - CRYERS is available for .99, and Live it Again is free today and tomorrow! 


What’s first contact really like? In 2009 four teenagers discover something wounded in the wooded farmlands of western Canada. Forget extra-terrestrial invasion and conquest by a superior force—our ultimate demise lies eighty-thousand years in the past. All it will take to wipe out the last few thousand humans left on prehistoric Earth is a virus—a disease the alien intended to deliver—now unknowingly carried by two of the teenagers. 

Abraham Feerce and Becky Turnbull are sent back in time to fulfill the alien’s mission, their bodies enhanced to survive the harshest of conditions. And to make matters worse, a super volcano is set to erupt in the South Pacific, plunging an already cooling world into an even darker Ice Age. 

Sheila Feerce and Allan Bagara remain in the present, forced to guard over the injured being. They’re given extraordinary mental abilities—the power to manipulate and command everyone around them. A reign of psychological terror begins in their hometown as the teenagers take control—teachers and bullies go missing, abusive parents take their own lives... and the thing in the woods watches. 

Okay, it's two days later than I had promised, but CRYERS - Part Five: Return to Big Hole is now available for download on Amazon.  Parts 1-5 (one volume) will be there in about twelve hours for a limited time deal of $1.99.

Part Five will be available for download on June 18! It's been a hard and deadly journey for the runaways from Burn, and could you imagine a more fitting place for this first CRYERS story to end other than Big Hole?  And if you haven't been reading CRYERS in parts, you can pick up the complete story in one volume! CRYERS (parts 1-5) will also be available on June 18! It will be regularly priced at $3.99, but will be $1.99 for the first three days of publication, June 18-20!                                          From Part Five: Return to Big Hole

Gertie grunted and looked over the town where she’d been born, raised for a short time, and raped repeatedly. It had taught her plenty. She’d learned how to screw in Rudd. It was where she had schooled in hating and killing. She loathed it, but deep down inside her rotted soul was a part looking forward to returning one last time.

Her remaining children were clustered around her like ticks clinging to a host. They were watching the town, feeding off Gertie’s need for revenge and the cold taste of her hate. Most were waiting, some were sleeping. A few were eating the remains of a pack of howlers they’d come across halfway between the forested hills of home and Rudd. Others were ****ing quietly in the dirt, doing their part to repopulate old Dirty’s family.

Gertie regarded those she could see in the moonlight, scraping that one green tooth of hers against the wet scab of upper lip. There were less than fifty of them left, but those that remained were young and fast. They were the ones equipped with spears, and bows and arrows.

“We’ll give ‘em a fight they won’t soon forget,” she mumbled. “”Or we’ll die tryin’.”

Boy showed her his toothless smile. “I love you, Ma.”

Live it Again will be FREE all day tomorrow! This will be the last time this book will be free for quite some time so keep an eye out for it. CRYERS - Part One: Thawed is always free on Amazon! Check out this first installment of the five part post-apocalyptic horror story.

The Last Playground is a brand new release looking for some new homes to be read and loved in. This YA/sci-fi/horror story is available for $3.99.

Here it is, the cover for Part 5: Return to Big Hole. This final installment for CRYERS will be available some time in June. It's bigger than other parts because it's an awfully big hole they're returning to, and there's a lot of ground to cover between the way!

Although it's the final part in this story, rest assured - there's plenty more coming. CRYERS 2 is already in the works. I plan on releasing subsequent stories in novel form - no more smaller parts. The novella/serialized thing was a lot of fun, creating multiple covers and offering material every month or so, but it's time to get serious...The cryers aren't going anywhere all that soon and I want to concentrate on writing bigger, and more deadly tales of their reintegration into human society. Reintegration? Maybe not the best way to describe it. More like the total annihilation of mankind in 3066.

I will also be releasing CRYERS: The Complete First Season in June. It will be available in eBook and paperback formats. So until next month, take care - and don't go opening any cryogenic cylinders!

The Last Playground is now available on Amazon for $3.99.

 I made the promise yesterday it would launch as a KDP Countdown Deal for 99 cents on day one. I didn't read the small print, however. Books must be selling on Amazon for a minimum of 30 days before the deal can go into effect. Sorry about that. It will be .99 on June 19th.

The Last Playground is ready to go! I'll be publishing it as an eBook on Amazon in the next few days, the paperback edition will follow soon. The regular Kindle price will be $3.99, but I plan on introducing it as a KDP Countdown deal. Day 1 for .99, day 2 for $1.99, and day 3 for $2.99. Make sure to get yours on day 1 and save a few bucks! 

So what is The Last Playground all about, and who should read it? Take a peek at the description below to find out. This is a tale for just about every kind of reader - young, old, everyone. I hope you enjoy it!


When Brinn Adamm’s mother passed away from cancer, the fifteen-year old girl said goodbye to her imaginary friends. Two years later her best friend begins receiving messages from Brinn’s mother. The imaginary friends return—and they aren’t pleased.

Brinn has always possessed the ability to bring make-believe characters to life. So did her uncle, Neal Stauch. The little boy died accidently three and a half decades before, but the world he created carried on. It’s a dying land populated with troubled characters desperately searching for a new creator—a modern-day keeper with the same incredible genes capable to start their world over again.

From Neal’s forgotten world comes a rag-tag bunch of washed up figures a generation out of time—rusted robots consumed with guilt, disillusioned super-heroes too far gone and far too fat to fit their spandex costumes, a bitter, homicidal lawman out of the Old West, and a Bible-quoting scientist abandoned in a distant galaxy. Brinn begrudgingly sets out to help, aided by her own band of imaginary twenty-first century friends—a sword-wielding barbarian woman, a sex-starved wizard boy, and his pregnant, vampire girlfriend. But Neal’s imaginary world is populated with other survivors. They have changed even more drastically. And they want what the little boy had—what his present-day niece still has—and they’ll kill to get it.

Hello, everybody! Sorry I haven't updated the website much lately. I got back from a vacation down south a week ago with my wife and received sad news when we landed in Toronto. My mom suffered a serious stroke while we were away, and chances are she has less than a week left. My mom lives in British Columbia, she's 92 years old, and she was living on her own right up until now. She's had a wonderful life, raised seven children, and put up with us for far too long. She deserves the rest. 

It's been a tough few days, but at the same time it's been some of the best moments I've ever experienced. I had the chance to travel west with my daughter, Autumn, through the Rocky Mountains, and we shared a lot of precious memories and had a ton of laughs throughout the trip. I met up with all of my brothers and sisters again, and at one time we all actually sat together in one place. We raised our beer mugs and wine glasses to Mom and toasted her grand life, remembering all the good things she taught us. That was the first time we were all together in one spot in almost forty years! Too bad it takes something like this to bring a scattered family back together.

We've all agreed to keep in touch. We plan on meeting more often - as Mom always wanted us to. We love her, and we will miss her dearly.

I'm back home now and writing this letter to let you know I'm still writing! CRYERS Part 5 will be out a little later than expected (late May/early June), but I hope you can understand. The Last Playground is edited and almost ready to go. It should be available next week in eBook format, and in paperback a week or two later. 

If any of you read and enjoyed Live it Again, you should be pleased to know I've started a new story entitled West. It's a novel about a guy travelling out to be with his dying mother. He recalls his life along the way and experiences a near death experience of his own. Yeah, there's nothing better than real life to tell a good fiction story.

So that's it for now. I'll keep in touch more often. Thank you for reading my stories - I promise to deliver a lot more of them in the near future.

Geoff