Hello and welcome to the Grim (Sons of Darkness Series, Book 1) by Joseph Spencer Blog Tour presented by FMB Author Promotions. Please join me in welcoming Joseph to The Avid Reader today. Thanks for stopping by Joseph. Please be sure and check out Joseph's novel Grim book #1 in the Sons of Darkness Series. Please check out my interview with Joseph. I am also hosting a giveaway that is tour wide for 10 eBook copies of Grim and ends on 02/18/2013.
Book Title: Grim
Series: Sons of Darkness Series, Book 1
Author: Joseph Spencer
Genre: Crime, Dark, Horror, Mystery, Paranormal, Thriller,
Publisher: Damnation Books
Ebook/Paperback:
Words: 93,000
PURCHASE
Grim
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Grim
When everything is taken from him, Detective Adam White must choose what's most important. Does he stick to the heroic ideals which made him a famed paragon of justice and take down a murderous madman? Or does he give in to his vigilante impulses, avenge his wife's murder, and become the type of killer he's hunted for so many years?
EXCERPT
Grim
Adam heard a few sounds of Velcro peeling from its straps. Suddenly, Black Mask shed the mystery and ambiguity of his head gear. He became another mystery altogether. What happened to this guy? He looked like he'd seen hell, escaped, and doctored his face to give everyone else on Earth a preview.
Black Mask obviously suffered from rosacea because his skin was inflamed, swollen, and the angriest shade of red Adam had ever seen. A jagged circular scar similar to a clock face ran from Black Mask's forehead down his cheeks to his chin. A vertical scar ran straight down the middle of his forehead and along the bridge of his nose. Two horizontal scars extended from the side of his nose and curved upward toward the temples. Two additional scars extended outward at angles from just under his nose, across his lips and ended on either side of his chin. All of the scars connected to the outer circular one like spokes to resemble a starfish shape. Adam struggled not to have any reaction, but failed to keep the corner of his mouth from inching up into a grimace.
Black Mask smirked and put his right hand up to his face. He pretended to be admiring himself in the mirror. "It's okay, Detective. Your reaction is fairly common and a lot more subdued than most. Of course, I bet you've seen a lot of horrors in your line of work.
"So, you want to know the tale of Heath Grim, do you?"
INTERVIEW
With
Joseph Spencer
The Avid Reader: What inspired you to write Grim?
Joseph Spencer: I've always enjoyed crime novels. I've read every Sherlock Holmes story which Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote, and I'm also a fan of Patricia Cornwell's Dr. Kay Scarpetta books. However, I wanted to add a different spin with the paranormal aspect I put into my book. I enjoy TV series like Dexter and Supernatural and stories about possession. I'm also a fan of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, and I named my title character Heath for Heath Ledger because I was blown away by his performance as the Joker in Dark Knight. There's a bit of inspiration in there from all of those books and shows.
The Avid Reader: When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
Joseph Spencer: I found out after I graduated from Southern Illinois-Carbondale that I like writing in print media more than being an on-air personality in radio or TV. Over a decade, I worked as a sports staff writer in papers at Peoria, Ill., Decatur, Ill., Burlington, Iowa, and Grand Junction, Colo. When the Web started forcing print outlets to consolidate newsrooms, I decided to switch careers. I'm a supervisor of the Emergency Communications Center in Peoria now. We take all the 9-1-1 emergency calls for police, fire and ambulance in our county. I love my job, but I missed writing so that's when I started working on Grim.
The Avid Reader: What is the earliest age you remember reading your first book?
Joseph Spencer: My mother believed reading was very important, and I can remember her reading Dr. Seuss books and fairy tales to me. I loved reading Greek mythology, Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories and the Chronicles of Narnia when I was growing up in school.
The Avid Reader: What genre of books do you enjoy reading?
Joseph Spencer: I read a variety all of the time. I love Charlaine Harris' Harper Connelly and Sookie Stackhouse books. I enjoy YA novels like the Beautiful Creatures, Hunger Games and Mortal Instruments series. When the show hit HBO, I discovered the genius of George R.R. Martin's Song of Fire and Ice fantasy series. I think Jeff Lindsay is absolutely brilliant with his Dexter crime series. He made a serial killer an iconic hero. I also like the disturbing stuff from Chuck Palahniuk like Fight Club.
The Avid Reader: What is your favorite book?
Joseph Spencer: I've always fallen for revenge tales, so when I read Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo as a teenager I can remember being blown away. Edmond Dantes shouldn't be a hero for what he's doing. He's been wronged, sure. But societal rules tell us that you can't go around ruining the lives of every enemy you've ever made. He's the first anti-hero I can remember reading, and that story arc fascinated me. I've always loved characters which are gritty and morally gray.
The Avid Reader: Who is your favorite author and why?
Joseph Spencer: It's probably not a unique answer, but I'm amazed by the works of William Shakespeare. Everyone else is hard pressed to write stories as compelling as he wrote in the 1500s in one genre. He not only wrote classic works in different genres, but he wrote it as poetry. The type of talent you need to pull something like that off is immense, and I think that's reflected in that we still read and learn from his work today.
The Avid Reader: If you could travel back in time here on Earth to any place in time, where would you travel and why?
Joseph Spencer: I'd travel back in my life to the 1980s so that I could see my Grandfather Charles McLaughlin and Grandmother Cleo McLaughlin one more time. I didn't have a traditional family life, and my grandparents were like parents to me. My grandfather died two days before my 10th birthday suddenly and tragically. It was my first brush with death. Though I carry the memory of my grandparents with me every day, there will always be a hole in my life because of their absence.
The Avid Reader: When writing a book, do you find the writing comes easy to you or is it difficult?
Joseph Spencer: For me, there are ebbs and flows. I've got a full-time job in which I routinely work 50-60 hours per week, so my writing time is limited at times. When I'm hard at work on a project, I set a goal of 3-4 pages per day. I try my hardest to accomplish it, but it doesn't always happen. With that sort of delay in the process, it's hard to just jump right back to where I left off and get rolling. Some scenes come pouring out of me, and some fight me to the last word. I just try to be patient and let the scenes come to me.
The Avid Reader: Do you have any fuzzy little friends?
Joseph Spencer: My wife, Amy, brought with her to our family a 15-year-old orange tabby cat named Murphy. They are inseparable, but there are times when Murphy avoids me. He's just not as used to me as my wife. He's a great cat, though. He's pretty lively for an older cat. My wife thinks of him as her child, and I tease her that he's just like one because he tends to cry loudly at night and wake us up.
The Avid Reader: What is your "to die for" foods to eat?
Joseph Spencer: I've got several foods which I crave. In central Illinois, there's a locally-owned Italian restaurant named Avantis which makes sweet bread and sub sandwiches called Gondolas which everyone around here loves. There's a popcorn place in Galena, Illinois, (www.greatpopcorn.com) , which makes any type of flavor popcorn imaginable from sweet to spicy. My wife and I love a pizza place called Poppa Dell's in Champaign, Illinois, where she attended vet school at the University of Illinois. I'm a fan of about any flavor of ice cream, too.
The Avid Reader: Do you have any advice for anyone who would like to become an author?
Joseph Spencer: Just don't give up. Give yourself a chance. No matter how many times you want to quit, or how many times you get rejected, don't give up. If you work hard enough and want it bad enough, you'll get published. It's like anything else. Some roads are longer and harder for some people, but it doesn't mean you lack the talent or drive to get there. I can tell you, though, that it's rewarding to see your work enjoyed by other people.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
INTRO
Joseph Spencer is the author of the Sons of Darkness series launched by his debut novel, Grim, on September 1, 2012. Work on his second book of the series, Wrage, is already underway and is expected to be released some time in 2013.
THE ROAD HERE
The Sons of Darkness is a series of paranormal crime thrillers following investigations into mysterious deaths in the central Illinois city of Prairieville. Home of the notorious serial killer, The Reaper, Prairieville has had a history of violence centered on an ongoing feud between the Marino and Black organized crime families. When bodies start showing up again at the abandoned Marino State Hospital, many fear the Reaper has returned. The people of Prairieville are about to find out their problems stem from a supernatural source which has lurked in secret for decades.
THE STORYTELLER'S STORY
As a boy, Joseph Spencer immersed himself in the deductive logic of Sherlock Holmes, the heroic crime fighting of Batman and Spider-Man, and a taste for the tragic with dramas from poets like Shakespeare and Homer.
Before Joseph took to spinning his own tales, he pursued a career in print sports journalism, graduating with honors from Clinton (IL) High School in 1996 and summa cum laude from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in 2000. He covered such events as NASCAR's Subway 500 race in Martinsville, the NBA Draft Camp in Chicago, the Junior College World Series, and Minor League Baseball's Midwest League All-Star Game during a ten-year career throughout the Midwest. Now, he works as an emergency telecommunications specialist with an Illinois police department. The combination of years of writing experience with a background working with law enforcement professionals gave rise to his writing aspirations.
Joseph was married Dr. Amy (Waggoner) Spencer, an accomplished veterinary doctor, on March 14, 2012. He received word his debut novel was accepted by his publisher, Damnation Books, the next day. Joseph and Amy look forward to their honeymoon in Paris in September 2012. Murphy, a 15-year-old orange tabby, is perhaps the most vocal member of the family. The Spencer family enjoys reading Charlaine Harris, George R.R. Martin, Mary Janice Davidson, and most paranormal stories. The Spencers also enjoy quoting movie lines from The Princess Bride, Rain Man, Bridesmaids, and Office Space.
ONLINE LINKS
GIVEAWAY
The giveaway it is tour wide for 10 eBook copies of Grim and ends 02/18/2013.
This tour was put together by FMB Blog Tours
2 comments:
I wanted to thank you for having me. I hope readers of your blog enjoyed the interview. If anyone has any questions, write me at heathgrim2012@gmail.com
Thanks for stopping by.
Post a Comment