Christmas Horror
Date Published: November 2, 2023
Publisher: Deadbolt Books
How well do we really know the people sleeping next to us in bed at night?
After a tragedy strikes the Barnes family, Sarah's husband Tom begins acting strangely. It starts with wild mood-shifts and accusations at their thirteen-year-old daughter, but quickly escalates to the attempted murder of an off-season mall Santa. From what Sarah can tell, Tom's only motive seems to lie behind a mysterious hatred for Christmas that burns year-round. What's worse, Tom's only defense lies in a long-forgotten book he wrote detailing a traumatic event in his childhood that seems too far-fetched to be believed. His entire case revolves around the notion of talking Christmas trees, a living army of toys, and worst of all, a monster masquerading as Mrs. Claus.
Now, Sarah must go on a journey into her husband's past to learn if Tom is in the midst of a psychotic breakdown, if he's a danger to his family, or if he really is being hunted by the malevolent holiday horror that destroyed his childhood.
Interview with Jon Cohn
How many books have you written and which is your favorite?
I have 5 books currently written, 3 of which are now available. The idea for Everything Is Temporary has been rattling around in my brain for over 10 years now, so this has by far been the most cathartic experience for me as a writer. It’s also the most personal book I’ve written, I think there's more of me in some of these characters than in anything else I’ve written to date, so it holds a pretty special place for me.
If you’re planning a sequel, can you share a tiny bit about your
plans for it?
This story was written to be standalone, but that being said I can’t help but think about where some of these characters could go from here. This novel involves a court case in which a lawyer is dealing with a client accused of murder by arson, whose entire defense is built around a novel he wrote describing an impossible story. I’ve been thinking a lot about that lawyer character lately, and what his life might be like if he decided to start taking on more “weird” clients like this after this story ends.
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?
For the most part all my books are standalone, but I like to make sure to include hints that they all exist within the same universe. I am building toward something set up in Slashtag. We will learn a little more about this in the official prequel coming early next year in the form of a choose-your-adventure style novella called Try Not To Die On Slashtag.
How did you come up with the title for your book?
It’s hard to find a place to start! This story is about Family, trust, tradition, and Christmas. I try to explore all of these things, coupled with how quickly they can be lost. Whether it's a month, a year, or even decades, everything is temporary.
How long did it take you to write this book?
Long answer, ten years. Short answer, about eight months. This whole story is based on a real experience I had about ten years ago when I walked by a house that was fully Christmas themed year-round. There was this sign, pointing to an open side-door to the back yard. It just said “Christmas House: come on in!” I figured I was either about to be murdered, or walk away with one heck of a story. I’m really glad it was the latter.
What does the title mean?
The book opens in the wake of the loss of a terminally ill child named Maya. It follows the Barnes family, whose daughter was best friends with Maya. Throughout the story, each member of the family learns in their own way that everything is temporary, for better or for worse. By the way, I’m aware the premise makes this book sound like it's going to be a total downer, but it also has evil talking Christmas trees and killer candy canes, so there's quite a bit of humor in there too.
What did you learn when writing the book?
I had to learn a ton about the legal system to write this book. Did you know Judges aren't allowed to use gavels in California? The story centers around a case in which a man commits attempted murder by arson, and his only defense lies in a novel he wrote over a decade ago that reads like Home Alone meets Stephen King's IT. I really wanted to be accurate with my depiction of the court system, so I did some digging. I somehow managed to get an interview with a Los Angeles Assistant District Attorney, and then he made the mistake of giving me his number and telling me to call any time if I had any questions. If he had charged me for his time, I would probably owe tens of thousands of dollars by now.
What surprised you the most?
I know the idea of family grief paired with the notion of sentient Christmas hummels was going to be hard to pull off. I wanted to write a grounded thriller about a family going through a psychological event in which they can’t figure out if their husband is losing his mind. However, I also wanted to write a book about kids banding together to fight an ancient supernatural evil that possesses Christmas decorations that go on a rampage. In the end, I’m really glad that I went for it, as I’m immensely proud of both stories I’ve told within this book, and I think they really work together to tell a cohesive story.
Have you ever killed off a character your readers loved?
I sure have. I killed off what turned out to be everyone's favorite character in Slashtag (I swear I didn’t know as I was writing that they would turn out to be so popular). Everything Is Temporary has quite a few surprises in store, but I’ll think I'll leave those for readers to discover.
What do you do to get inside your character’s heads?
In my other life, I am a professional board game designer. I’ve been building Dungeons and Dragons campaigns since I was twelve years old. The process of creating characters for books is surprisingly similar to the methods I’ve developed for worldbuilding in my games. So much of my experience in the gaming world, whether professionally or for fun, is all about trying to get into the mind of the player in any given situation. When it comes to building the backstories for characters in books, I like to have them as fully developed as possible as early as possible, so that they can help me guide the direction of the story.
About the Author
JON COHN IS A WRITER and professional board game designer based out of San Diego, California. You can follow him on Instagram and Twitter @joncohnauthor.
He would also love to give you free stuff like stories, audiobooks, and games by signing up for his mailing list at www.joncohnauthor.com.
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