Today & for most of tomorrow I'm turning my blog over to
Trey Garrison, who I interviewed about his debut novel "
The Spear of Destiny: Part One – Black Sun Reich," which will be published in 3 e-parts!!
[Blog Tour will run from December 18, 2012 - January 1, 2013]
My Q&A with Trey Garrison :
Jess : Out of all the “job titles” or should I say the “hats” that you have (
mild-mannered journalist, editor, humorist, consultant, and author) which one do you enjoy the most and why?
Trey : Author, by far. I get to play God with the world and with characters, because muhuhahahaha! Seriously, when you write fiction, as scary as it can be to bare your soul to the judgment of others, it’s liberating and you get to own every bit of it. You take advice from your editor, but the story is yours.
Jess : Which of your characters would you most & least to invite to dinner, from which book and why?
Trey : I think it would be the Greek merchant Nicholas Filotoma. He’s a nod to
Poul Anderson’s great Nicholas van Rijn in his
Technic series. He’s 10 times smarter than he lets on, he resolves conflicts with his wits, and he’s just funny as hell.
Jess : Please describe "
The Spear of Destiny: Part One – Black Sun Reich" in 75 words or less.
Trey : It’s an alternate history, dieselpunkish, supernatural, action comedy adventure with Nazis, zombies, robots, and cowboys. Think
Raiders of the Lost Ark meets
Shaun of the Dead.
Jess : What sparked the idea for your
The Spear of Destiny Series?
Trey : I wanted to bring back a sense of fun to adventure stories that’s been missing as they increasingly try to get too gritty and dark. Granted, there are some dark and disturbing parts to my book, but in the end I want it to be a fun ride for the reader and a world they want to return to. (Hint sequel hint.)
Jess : Please describe Sean Fox Rucker & Jesus D’Anconia Lago, from "
The Spear of Destiny: Part One – Black Sun Reich," in one to two sentences each.
Trey :
Rucker is the man I strive to be – bold, fearless, committed to his principles, never taking things too seriously, and absolutely and charmingly arrogant.
Lago is the kind of stylish man I’d like to be, who peacocks without even trying.
The third character I’d mention is
Dr. Kurt von Deitel, who embodies a lot of my self-deprecation, foibles, insecurities and doubts.
Jess : If "
The Spear of Destiny: Part One – Black Sun Reich" were to be made into a film, who do you see playing the leading characters and why?
Trey : I always saw
Matt Passmore from
The Glades as Rucker. He’s got the look and the chops to pull off a larger than life and arrogant yet charming hero.
I pictured Dr. von Deitel as a young
Oskar Werner. He had that regal German bearing but a soulfulness and sensitivity in his eyes. But for an actor today, I’m not sure.
I’d love to see
Colin Farrell play Lt. Otto Skorzeny. He’s got the range and I think he would be great playing against his usual hero type, and while he’s a bad guy he is very charismatic. Or if he’d be willing,
Robert Downey Jr. He can do no wrong.
or 
Scarlett Johansson would be perfect for Terah Jane Spencer, if she can pull off a subtle, sultry Southern accent. She can be gorgeous and strong and still show a mean streak.
Hugo Weaving as Der Schadel, because every movie needs Hugo Weaving.
Chloë Grace Moretz as Amria because I’ve never seen her not perfect in any role.
Jess : Out of all of the secondary characters within your
The Spear of Destiny Series, do you have one or two favorites so far? If so, who are they and can you tell us why?
Trey : Nicholas Filotoma, for the reasons I mentioned. I also loved writing Otto Skorzeny, because it’s fun to be a bad guy. And he’s a bad guy with honor, and he’s based largely on the real
Otto Skorzeny, who was as much a badass as he was a bad guy.
Jess : What is the most scariest or weirdest/craziest thing one of your characters, from "
The Spear of Destiny: Part One – Black Sun Reich," said or did?
Trey : Oh God. Easily Der Schadel, the telepathic, telekinetic sadist as the scariest. Writing his scenes, I actually creeped myself out. He starts with making a group of altar boys eviscerate themselves, and it just gets worse after that. But I wanted to show that while this is, taken together, a fun adventure story, the stakes are dire and the bad guys were really evil. He’s the embodiment of the cold, dispassionate murderers you saw running the death camps and performing medical experiments.
Jess : In regards to "
The Spear of Destiny: Part One – Black Sun Reich," if you could write it all over again, would you change anything about it?
Trey : I think I’d make the Texas Freehold smaller. I wanted to emphasize how unique it was and how it was one of a few lights against the darkness, but I should have stressed more how it was an underdog in this world.
Jess : What appeals to you when writing a horror novel?
Trey : If you can creep yourself out, you’re doing a good job. I had to work to overcome my recalcitrance to write the horror scenes, because I was worried people would think those horrible, graphic ideas reside in me. I mean, I’m a girl’s softball coach for my daughter’s team – I didn’t want the parents thinking I was some kind of
Ed Gein wannabe. But you have to use it if you’re going to make your horror scenes really have the impact they need, and you have to accept that people aren’t going to think you’re a step away from being a serial killer just because you can write one.
Jess : How many books have you written? Which is your favorite and why?
Trey : This is my first novel. I’m working on the sequel, but this will always be my first love. I put everything I had into it and made it exactly the story I would want to read.
But the sequel will be even better.
Jess : Do you have any other projects in the works? If so, can you share a little of your current work with us?
Trey : Aside from the sequel, I’m toying with the idea of a Cold War thriller, but not like you may think. I like mashing up history as a setting for a story I want to tell. Story comes first, always, but the world you set it in determines how you tell it. I’m thinking for this world during the American civil war the Union asked Mexico for help in putting down the Confederacy, the cost of which was they had to cede much of Texas and the southwest to Mexico after the war. As a result, there’s a diaspora of southwesterners back to England, which fundamentally changes the culture and history there. Flash forward 80 years, and Great Britain stands as the beacon of democracy against the Soviets to the east and a fascist America to the west. I’m thinking James Bond with cowboy boots. Boots at Buckingham. I’m an Anglophile as much as a Texan, so mixing up their culture with ours would be a blast.
Jess : Do you get road rage? What pisses you off the most about other drivers?
Trey : I used to. I gave it up when I realized it didn’t do me any good. Of course, this is an easier achievement because I make a point never to drive at rush hour.
Jess : If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?
Trey : "
Still Rising." I’d like to think I still haven’t hit my peak yet.
Jess : List 3 books you just recently read and would recommend?
Trey : "
The Affinity Bridge" by
George Mann
"
The Buntline Special" by
Mike Resnick
"
Vampire Nation" by
Thomas M. Sipos
"The Spear of Destiny: Part One – Black Sun Reich" by Trey Garrison
Author's Book Description :
Black Sun Reich: Part One of three in "The Spear of Destiny," the first novel in a new steampunk, horror, alternate history, action-adventure series set in a 1920s where the Nazis have begun their subjugation of the world using the occult, advanced science, and a holy relic with awesome powers.
Trey Garrison recaptures the unapologetic adventure, wonder, and excitement of the classic pulp fiction of the 1930s and 1940s, blending elements of steampunk with deeply researched historical fiction and a good dose of humor. The novel also explores major philosophical and moral issues relevant to our contemporary world: the trade-off between security and liberty, the morality of preemptive war, and what fundamentally separates good from evil.
The North American continent is made up of several rival nations, and a Cold War is building among them. The Nazis rose to power a decade ago. People travel by airship, and powerful organizations calculate with Babbage’s Difference Engine. The Nazis have hatched a plot to raise a legion of undead soldiers.
Enter Sean Fox Rucker and Jesus D’Anconia Lago, two Great War veterans and freelance pilots who are pulled into the quest. They are joined by a brash Greek merchant, a brilliant Jewish cowboy, and the woman who once broke Rucker’s heart. This ragtag band of reluctant, bickering, swashbuckling heroes is soon locked in a globe-spanning race against Nazi occultists, clockwork assassins, and a darkly charismatic commando. In a world where science and the supernatural coexist, and the monsters of legend are as real as the necromancers who summon them from murky realms, our heroes alone stand before the rising shadows. But all their efforts may not be enough.
About the Author :
"I’m kind of a big deal. People know who I am."
Trey Garrison’s secret identity is working as a mild-mannered journalist, editor, humorist, consultant, and part-time sybarite. Maybe the best word to describe him is racontrepreneur
. Currently he is director of communications for a foundation based in Dallas that promotes free market solutions and free enterprise.
Trey’s work has appeared in a number of publications, often with his consent and sometimes with his knowledge. He’s been a contributor and editor for D Magazine — considered among the best city magazines in the United States — and for Reason magazine, the national magazine that promotes free minds and free markets. Trey has been a special contributor for The Dallas Morning News and a field reporter for The Land Report.
As a writer, he’s a better chef. And as a chef, he’s a better shooter. On the whole, he’d rather be on the beach in Jamaica. Wouldn’t you?
Find Trey Garrison :
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Merry Christmas from Pearl Girls™! We hope you enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom” from the authors who were so kind to donate their time and talents! If you miss a few posts, you’ll be able go back through and read them on this blog throughout the next few days.
Tracey Eyster is the happily-in-love wife of Bill and the fun-filled mom of two teens, and she is devoted to her family and is happiest when making memories with them. In 2008 she took her passion for speaking into the lives of moms and created the ministry of MomLife Today. She is passionate about momlife and is amazed at God’s blessing of allowing her first book "Be The Mom" to come to fruition. She enjoys connecting with moms through her personal blog at www.bethemom.com, and on Facebook or Twitter @MomBlog.
