The Road to Redemption
I spent some time this past week talking to various English literature and creative writing classes at the Christian high school just down the street from where I live. The kids were very enthusiastic and I really enjoyed the time we spent together talking about the writing process and how one goes about becoming a writer.
As part of my introduction to each class, I noted that most of my work falls into a genre commonly known as urban or contemporary fantasy and defined that genre as fantasy set in a modern setting, often with supernatural elements. Inevitably, at some point in the discussion with each class, one of the students asked why I wrote the kind of fiction that I did.
I explained that the vast majority of my work deals with the issue of redemption, that journey from personal darkness back into the light. Sometimes that journey is almost literal, such as Jake Caruso’s journey beneath the foundations of the Blake family mansion and into the tomb of the Na’Karat in RIVERWATCH or Cade Williams repeated journeys into the Beyond searching for the lost soul of his wife Gabrielle in the Templar Chronicles series. My most recent book, King of the Dead, is no exception. In fact, the entire Jeremiah Hunt Chronicle is set up around this very process.
When we first meet Jeremiah in the opening scenes of EYES TO SEE, he is a less-than-likeable character. Okay, I’ll admit it – he’s pretty much a total jerk. For years he has been focused on discovering what has happened to his daughter, Elizabeth, to the detriment of all else. He has lost his job and his wife as a result of his obsession and somewhere along the way he began to lose his humanity as well. He withdraws from associating with others and begins his slide into darkness, culminating in his Faustian bargain with the Preacher to give up his sight.
EYES deals with the search for his daughter and his need to rely on the help of others to get him where he wants to go. For a man who has been alone and walking in darkness (literally) for several years, this is no easy task. In KING OF THE DEAD, Jeremiah continues walking the path he has set for himself, though not without a few detours along the way.
As I explained to the kids the other day, I write about redemption and restoration because I think that is part of our human condition. It is a path that all of us – man, woman, child – must take at some point in our lives and therefore one that touches every reader in one way or another.
King of the Dead (Jeremiah Hunt #2) by Joseph Nassise
Joseph Nassise shook up the urban fantasy genre with Eyes to See, a novel New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry called “heartbreaking, deeply insightful, powerful and genuinely thrilling.” In a devil’s deal, Jeremiah Hunt sacrificed his human sight in exchange for the power to see the hidden world of ghosts and all of the darker spirits that prowl the streets. Hunt uncovered a world of murder and magic that took his daughter from him and nearly cost him his life, but that was only the beginning....
Now Hunt is on the run from the FBI, who have pegged him as a mass-murdering dark sorcerer. His flight from the law is diverted to New Orleans when his companion, a potent witch, has a horrific vision of the city under magical siege. When they arrive, they realize that the situation is more dire than they could have imagined: the world of the living faces a terrifying attack by forces from beyond the grave. King of the Dead, the second book in this groundbreaking series, promises more of Nassise’s electrifying writing that will enthrall readers looking for a supercharged, supernatural thrill.
Release Date: November 27, 2012 Tor Books
Genre: Urban Fantasy
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Thank you Joseph for joining us here today at From the Shadows!
To learn more about Joseph Nassise and his books, please visit his website. Also, don't miss our interview with Joseph here.
