Reich Character Interview With Donald Allen Kirch

Please welcome today's guest author Donald Allen Kirch.  Donald is the author of Manchester House, Still Waters, The Silent Pulpit, and Reich.

(From "STARS & BARS" Vol. 6, Issue 14 - March 8, 1949)

Editor's Note: With thanks due to the official News Agency of Norway and the British Broadcasting System for help in research.

LILYHAMMER, NORWAY - The nation and people of Norway, recovering from the invasion and takeover by the Axis Powers, has within its dark caverns serious rumors and secrets that have only recently come to light.  From the land of Norsemen, daring voyagers, and mythology, there are whispers of a more recent monster - Adolf Hitler.

The "Stars & Bars" is dedicated to the truth, but when it came to seeking the facts on this one, our reporters had a difficult time trying to accept what was being sold to them.

The town's name is not known.  If it were, the people would not relate it to this reporter.

All that is known, and had been felt, was an abject horror.  The kind of feeling one tries to ignore, telling them that it never happened, or worse, that it couldn't happen here.

The rumor?  That Adolf Hitler did not die within the depths of his bunker, as the Soviet Army has testified.  The leader of Germany's Third Reich perished within the cold waters of Norway.

On any other given week, this information would have been laughed out of an editor's office.  However, not too long ago, a wine bottle had washed up upon the Danish coast, containing inside of it, a torn-out page from a German u-boat's captain's log.  A fantastic tale had been written on this page - Hitler died within the hull of a submarine called "NAUCELIUS."

Facts...seemed to point to Berlin.

Testimony...pointed to six people killed in Norway, including the mysterious and bloodied death of that nation's greatest traitor - Quisling!

At first, no one would talk about the rumors.

Some pointed our attention to a retired priest named Father Francis Donavon.

Father Donavon looks, by all accounts, to be a passive follower of the Catholic Church.  He is a native of Ireland, and has seen his fair share of blood and death before being assigned by his faith to these foreign shores.  After careful diplomacy with the Holy See, in Rome, this paper was allowed a visit with the priest in question.

Note: Father Donavon did not agree to this interview, but was ordered by his offices to oblige.  We thank him for his efforts and wish him well in his retiring years.

STARS & BARS: Father Donavon...I understand that you had taken part in a fantastic adventure during the closing days of the last war.

DONAVON: I agreed to this interview, Mister Reporter, to put aside all this nonsense I have been hearing since last week.  If that is what you want to know.

STARS & BARS: Father, is there any facts to the rumor that the Nazis had secretly sent Adolf Hitler to this nation before his final demise, and that he truly died within a u-boat off Norway's coast?

The priest sat silent, almost in shock.  It was this reporter's opinion that Father Donavon was taken by surprise.

DONAVON: I have no idea what you are talking about, son.  As far as I know, he was killed by the Russians in his bunker, in Berlin.

STARS & BARS: He committed suicide, sir.

DONAVON: What was that?

STARS & BARS: According to the Russians, Hitler committed suicide before he could be taken prisoner.

DONAVON: Well, couldn't have happened to a nicer man!

Looking around the priest's humble quarters, one got the impression that he lived alone. Books lined his walls of ancient texts on religion, and family pictures of his niece, Kate, standing next to a young man the priest claimed to be her husband.  He would not give the man's name, nor would he say anything about them, except that they had both "moved to the States."

STARS & BARS: Father Donavon, have you ever heard of a German u-boat called the "Nauecilus?"

DONAVON: Never.

STARS & BARS: Never?  There are records from the military bases, that a priest named Donavon had been questioned by the Norwegian Home Guard, after both he and two men had been discovered coming ashore right after the alleged theft of such a submarine.

DONAVON: I was out fishing with a few lads, and we tipped over.  If it had not been for the fast thinking of my friend, we would have all drowned.  Now, if you knew about that, you certainly read our statements from the event.  The government believed the story.

STARS & BARS: Was it that, father?  A story?

DONAVON: I am not in the habit of being called a liar in my home, son.  One more remark such as that and Christian or no, I'll show you both the door and the back of me hand!

STARS & BARS: I am just looking for the facts here, sir.

DONAVON: Oh, sir, is it, now?

A child roared down the hallway of the housing complex we were in, flapping a homemade kite behind her.  This reporter had noticed a certain amount of fear raise within the old priest's eyes upon hearing the noise.  This was not the look of a common man's fear, but that of a man who had seen and survived pure evil.  A certain "distance" was observed within his stare, only associated with those in combat.

STARS & BARS: Father, there were listed, within the official records of the Norwegian Gestapo, six associated deaths, connected with the rumor of Hitler's visit.

DONAVON: The man never came here!  Have you not been listening to me?

STARS & BARS: (We produced a copy of a secret order, signed by Himmler) I have an executive order, here, signed by Himmler, ordering a submarine, named "Nauecilus" to Norway, carrying within "an important diplomat."  Or course, this u-boat is registered as destroyed in the North Atlantic, but others claim it did arrive, and it carried Adolf Hitler.  Question: did you make contact with this crew?

Donavon refused to answer.  However, he remained remarkably calm, considering his actions from before.  This reporter was well prepared for the "back of his hand," upon asking such an inquiry.

Nothing.

DONAVON: Why are you here?

STARS & BARS: To seek the truth on our story, sir.

DONAVON: No. WHY are YOU here?  I have done my duty for both king and church.  I need not listen to silly stories about monsters.

STARS & BARS: Monsters, Father?  We claimed nothing about monsters.  Since you brought it up, we have heard stories from the locals about...vampires.  Are there such things as vampires, Father Donavon?

At this time, the priest shouted and threw this reporter out of the small apartment.  A week later, while preparing to fly back to London, and then to Europe, Father Donavon called to apologize.  This reporter was sent back to the old warrior's home.

Father Donavon should not be looked upon as an Old Catholic Priest who has gone mad, but as a hero.  He worked closely with the Norwegian underground, and played a part in the general freedom of her people.  One of his closest friends, a fisherman by the name of "John" called him "a guiding influence in his life."

And, so, the interview concluded with these exchanges...

DONAVON: I would like to begin by apologizing for my behavior last.  The war was hard on most of us here, in Norway.  The Nazis were a cruel landlord.

STARS & BARS: Think nothing of it.  Perhaps it was an awkward moment best left alone.

DONAVON: You made reference to the claim of vampires.

STARS & BARS: Yes.

DONAVON: Well, they do exist.  There is evil in this world.

STARS & BARS: And...Hitler?  Was he ever here in Norway?

DONAVON: As I have stated from before, I have never met, seen, nor heard from Adolf Hitler.  I am just thankful that he is gone.  Hidden in the deep and cold where all good secrets should be.

STARS & BARS: Hidden?

DONAVON: Hidden.  And that's the end of the questioning.  God be with you, my son.

One curious note: About a week after this interview, both Father Donavon and his fisherman friend "John" left for London.  It was explained by the offices of the Holy See, that Donavon had been asked to return home to Ireland.  As a matter of record "John" took up the job of assistant, helping the priest with his next mission.

We wish him the best in his future endeavors.

The rumors of a visit by Adolf Hitler still persists.  Records show medical doctors trying to save several attacked German soldiers, who all suffered from a massive loss of blood; some had broken necks, and even evidence of having been eaten upon.  There were stories of young couples being killed in barns and of family dogs lost - never to be seen again.

Is there evil left in this "atomic" world we have inherited after the Japanese surrender?

Yes...there is.

Could Hitler have been this "monster?"  This "vampire?"

Highly unlikely.

Adolf Hitler killed himself in the dark confines of his bunker in Berlin.  The Soviets took over the remnants of his broken empire shortly after the coward pulled the trigger.

End of story.

For more, read the horror novel "REICH" by Donald Allen Kirch.

Reich by Donald Allen Kirch

“Once he stretched out his hand and Europe trembled.”

Adolf Hitler, the “Supreme Warlord” of Germany’s Third Reich ruled Europe with an iron fist. With his political promises to a desperate people, he spoke of a reign that would last a thousand years. Under his command humanity had entered a new dark age. Tales were told of horrors taking place in the East – of railroad cars, of ovens, and death. Still, there was one little secret he had kept to himself.

When Hitler survived an assassination attempt upon his life his secret was discovered by those in command. Something had to be done!

A German U-boat Captain is ordered to transport Adolf Hitler to a secret military base in Norway, during the closing days of the Second World War. While on this mission, he discovers that there is more to Germany’s “Supreme Warlord” than meets the eye. To his horror, the Captain discovers the Third Reich’s darkest secret: Hitler was a vampire! 


Thank you Donald for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about Donald Allen Kirch and his books, please visit his website.  Also, don't miss our author interview with Donald here at From the Shadows.

Guest Author Interview: Peter Labrow + Giveaway!

Please welcome today's guest author Peter Labrow!  Peter is the author of The Well.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Peter:  I’ve been writing non-fiction for over twenty years. Much of my work has been copywriting for brochures, websites and so on. I’ve also written literally countless articles for publications, often in the training industry – and I published a non-fiction book about training, over a decade ago. The last time I saw it on Amazon, it was selling second-hand for less than 50 cents. Sobering. I started writing fiction about ten years ago – but bailed after writing a novel that was projected to be 160,000 words when I hit 120,000 words. I’d just set up my own website development business and I couldn’t focus on both goals. And, truth be told, the novel had become unwieldy – I’d literally written myself out of my depths. But, writing fiction is something I’ve wanted to do since I was a child and the dream persisted. I started to develop some different ideas for a book – and one of these was The Well. I started writing that on 1 January 2010 with the goal of releasing it on Kindle by the end of the year. I think I made it with a week to spare.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Peter:  Good question. A few things. The first is natural gravity. I’ve thought about writing lots of different genres, but once I sit down and write, that’s where my mind takes me. I recall a friend suggested I write some ‘guy-in-touch-with-his-inner-feelings chick lit’ – I drafted and plotted an idea, but it soon turned from the story of a man looking for love into that of a haunted serial killer. I also find that the paranormal gives me more scope to explore ‘the normal’. I want to write intimate and affecting stories right now, not global catastrophes. Terrifying tales about real people and supernatural events, but with more emotional depth than you typically find in horror stories. I’m interested in the duality of people; in how many people have contradictory character traits; how even nice people can have a dark side. The paranormal provides a better vehicle for this – there’s more scope, more latitude. People are faced with greater extremes so can become more interesting to write. I also want to write in such a way that the paranormal isn’t taken for granted, or lacks jeopardy – I want my characters to really feel the fear, that what’s happening to them is extreme. Then, just for good measure, I want to keep a lot of what’s going on really normal. Buddha said something like, “first the laundry, then enlightenment”. That’s the way life is – terrible, unimaginable things happen – and then people still need to eat, drink coffee, go to the toilet, comb their hair. Normal/paranormal – it’s an interesting place. I especially don’t like the way that (ahem!) some modern fiction has made the paranormal a cuddly, misunderstood phenomenon. Falling in love with vampires and werewolves, it’s not for me – I want to reclaim that territory.

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal power or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?

Peter:  You really expect me to answer that?! No woman would look me in the eye again. Actually, I’d like to be able to manipulate time. There’s never enough time and there’s always buckets of pointless stuff to do. I feel I have hundreds of stories in me, but I don’t have time to tell them. I’d like to pause time, write a novel on a desert island somewhere, then unpause time to get it printed. I’m not sure I can be trusted to use my power for good, though. If you feel a slight hiccup in time and the Mona Lisa is missing, that might be me.

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.

Peter:  I think I can tell you only what readers have told me. I set out to create interwoven stories of normal and paranormal terrors. The kind of thing you sadly see on the news every night twisted around something much darker, older and more evil. I wanted to see these come together. Readers tell me that they like that. The book is also a very fast read, despite being a pretty decent length – I remember Dickens used to write in the newspapers, so every chapter had to have a cliffhanger. That’s The Well. Although there is some let-up, it’s mostly a rollercoaster with quite a few “oh my God did that just happen” moments. I also like the way that in Greek tragedies the Gods throw thunderbolts just for sport, shaking the plot up for no reason. Life is like that – everything hangs by a thread. The Well is like that too – it will keep you guessing. And it will wrong-foot you. It’s also emotional, although that’s in the heart of the reader. One of the great things about writing today is that you can get feedback directly from readers – I’m a very accessible writer and I always respond. It was wonderful to get a message from someone saying she’d cried in the office at one point; and from someone else who had nightmares three nights on the run. That’s me, bringing misery to the world, one paragraph at a time. So, The Well is fast-paced, unpredictable, populated by characters with complex motivations that we won’t always agree with – people who aren’t given a choice between good and evil, but between evil and slightly less evil; then they have to make the best of it.

EJ:  If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?

Peter:  Well, The Well is set in a small town in Northern England. That’s important; I’d not like to lose that feel. I’d cast predominantly, if not totally, English. So Tom Cruise is out. (Actually, Tom, if you read this and want to fund it, I’ll write you in.) I’d like to choose actors not because they are showy, but because they are real. I want the people to feel normal, small-town people. And I’d also choose actors who are ‘less obvious’ choices. What this means to American readers of this website is that they may not recognize the names I propose. Google them – they’re good. Another thing is that The Well is an ensemble piece – I keep you guessing as to who’s good and bad, who lives and dies. Leading roles are less clear-cut. For Randle, I’d choose Brian Cox – despite not being the right build, he has real depth and presence and can move from charming to darkly evil in a second. For Helen, I’d choose Clare-Hope Ashitey (Children of Men) and for Helen’s partner, Abby, I’d like say Imogen Poots (28 Weeks Later) – but she’s too darned pretty for Abby, so the make-up people may have to rough her up a bit. Key lead roles in The Well are teenagers. I’m not so sure I can choose those, but for the girl who’s actually trapped in The Well, I’d say perhaps Chloe Moretz, though I’ve clearly just broken my ‘all-English cast’ rule – and she’ll have to dye her hair dark. If I were casting an English actress, I’d probably go for Dani Harmer, though she’s possibly a little too old for the part now. Danny Boyle should direct it, definitely. I’d like a walk-on cameo – man in bar, drinking beer. I’ve been rehearsing it.

The Well by Peter Labrow.

Trapped. Missing. Cursed. Fourteen-year-old Becca Richards and her stepbrother have fallen to the bottom of an ancient well. Their parents are away; they won't be missed for days. The predatory man who had been stalking Becca now switches his attentions to her best friend. Two women who know where Becca is trapped are desperate that she should never escape. Over the course of a week, family, friends and strangers are drawn together by a terrible shared fate - from which not all will escape. 'The Well' is a darkly gripping tale about how we respond to the hand fate has dealt us - and the consequences of our choices. The Well deftly intertwines a story of supernatural horror with a tale of one of the greatest fears of modern life. As the book progresses, the two stories become one - driving relentlessly towards a single, thrilling finale. The Well is a fast-paced, riveting story that will grip you - and keep you guessing - until the very end.

Don't miss E.J.'s review of The Well by Peter Labrow here or the new trailer for The Well on YouTube here.

Thank you Peter for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about Peter Labrow and his books, please visit his website.

**The Well Giveaway**

We are giving away a signed paperback copy of The Well by Peter Labrow to one lucky winner!

To enter, please leave a comment on this post including your email address (so we may contact you if you win).  You do not have to be a follower to enter (though I always appreciate a follow!).  This giveaway is to US mailing addresses only.  Giveaway ends May 31st midnight EST.

(Original end date was May 28th, however due to Blogger being down, I have extended this giveaway).

Book Review: The Well

The Well by Peter Labrow.

Trapped. Missing. Cursed. Fourteen-year-old Becca Richards and her stepbrother have fallen to the bottom of an ancient well. Their parents are away; they won't be missed for days. The predatory man who had been stalking Becca now switches his attentions to her best friend. Two women who know where Becca is trapped are desperate that she should never escape. Over the course of a week, family, friends and strangers are drawn together by a terrible shared fate - from which not all will escape. 'The Well' is a darkly gripping tale about how we respond to the hand fate has dealt us - and the consequences of our choices. The Well deftly intertwines a story of supernatural horror with a tale of one of the greatest fears of modern life. As the book progresses, the two stories become one - driving relentlessly towards a single, thrilling finale. The Well is a fast-paced, riveting story that will grip you - and keep you guessing - until the very end.

Review:

Contemporary horror with a supernatural twist.  The Well is a horrifying blend of supernatural evil and the darker side of human nature.  Peter Labrow weaves a tortured tale of horrors, past and present, that entangle and ensnare both victim and malefactor.  The lives of multiple characters are entwined in this realistic, emotional story.  Labrow presents flawed characters that are at once identifiable and believable.  These are characters that readers can have strong feeling for.  I found myself tensely rooting for the survival of some characters and vehemently wishing for the demise of others.  If you are looking for a haunting tale of horror that delves deep into human motivations (sex/pleasure, survival/self preservation...), then this is the book for you.  A dark work that will appeal to fans of psychological and supernatural horror.

I recommend The Well to readers of contemporary, psychological, and supernatural horror. 

Sensitive reader warning: sexual situations, sexual predation of minors, language, death and violence.

Source: This book was provided by the author or publisher for honest review.

Don't miss our Q+A with author Peter Labrow May 12th!  We will be giving away one signed paperback copy of The Well by Peter Labrow.

The Well on Amazon.
The Well on Goodreads.

Book Giveaway: The Silent Land by Graham Joyce

We are giving away one hardcover copy of The Silent Land by Graham Joyce to one lucky winner!

The Silent Land by Graham Joyce

Award-winning novelist and cult favorite Graham Joyce transports readers to a mysterious world of isolation and fear with a hypnotically dark story about a young couple trapped by an avalanche in the remote French Alps . . . a daring and powerful novel about love, loss, and rebirth. In the French Alps around Chamonix, a young married couple is buried under a flash avalanche while skiing. Miraculously, Jake and Zoe dig their way out from under the snow—only to discover the world they knew has been overtaken by an eerie and absolute silence. Their hotel is devoid of another living soul. Cell phones and land lines are cut off. An evacuation as sudden and thorough as this leaves Jake and Zoe to face a terrifying situation alone. They are trapped by the storm, completely isolated, with another catastrophic avalanche threatening to bury them alive . . . again. And as the couple begin to witness unset­tling events neither one can ignore, they are forced to con­front a frightening truth about the silent land they now inhabit. 

To enter, please leave a comment on this post including your email address (so we may contact you if you win).  You do not have to be a follower to enter (though I always appreciate a follow!).  This giveaway is to US mailing addresses only (sorry!).  Giveaway ends April 20th midnight EST.

Guest Author Interview: Gretchen McNeil

 Please welcome today's guest author Gretchen McNeil!  Gretchen is the author of Possess.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Gretchen:  2007.  I'd never written anything before that.  It was a difficult period in my life and I felt like I needed to do SOMETHING to occupy my mind.  Little did I know that I'd actually like it.  No, love it.  Well, become addicted to it.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Gretchen:  My first novel was chick lit and when I started my second, I only had this image in my head of a girl walking down a road toward an isolated coastal Irish town in the middle of a hellacious storm.  The storm is actually trying to keep her from reaching the town.  The paranormal elements just sort of grew from there.

I love the idea of mixing the fantastical with the mundane, of being able to stretch my imagination but still kept things in the "real world."

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?

Gretchen:  Invisibility.  This is going to sound super weird, but I'm a spy fiction fan at heart.  I love early 20th century spy fiction like John Buchan and the modern stuff like Clancy and Cussler.  And I've maybe been tinkering around with an historical YA spy adventure manuscript for awhile.  Maybe, just maybe, I've always fantasized about being a spy.  So somehow the idea of controling your visibility is so seductive to me.  I'd be the best spy ever!  ;)

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.

Gretchen:  POSSESS is much closer to the horror genre than a lot of YA out there right now.  I wanted it to be scary.  Really scary.  There's a doll shop scene about halfway through that really freaked out most of my readers (and made me so proud).  I feel like the "scary" has gone out of traditional horror elements like vampires, werewolves, ghosts and demons, replaced with a more romantic approach.  Which is great, but I love a good scare, and I'm hoping readers do, too!

EJ:  If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?

Gretchen:  Tough one.  I didn't write most of the characters with any specific actor or actress in mind, though Matt Quinn the love interest is kind of modeled after a young Matt Bomer from WHITE COLLAR.  And Bridget's exorcism mentor Monsignor Renault would be even more awesome if played by Tom Wilkinson.

Possess by Gretchen McNeil.

Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her overprotective mom, by the hunky son of the police officer who got her father killed, and by the eerie voices which she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Turns out the voices are demons--the Biblical kind, not the Buffy kind--and Bridget possesses the rare ability to banish them.

San Francisco's senior exorcist and his newly assigned partner from the Vatican enlist Bridget's help with increasingly bizarre and dangerous cases of demonic possession. But when one of Bridget's oldest friends turns up dead in a ritualistic sacrifice that mirrors her father's murder, Bridget realizes she can't trust anyone. An interview with her father's murderer reveals a link between Bridget and the Emim: a race of part-demons intent on raising their forefathers to the earth in human form. Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the Emim's plan before someone else close to her winds up dead, or worse--the human vessel for a Demon King.


Thank you Gretchen for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about Gretchen and her books, please visit her website.

Guest Author Interview: Stephen M. Irwin + Giveaway

Please welcome today's guest author Stephen M. Irwin!  Stephen is the author of The Dead Path aka The Darkening.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Stephen:  I think the hints that my writing had a bit of promise began in high school (which feels around the late 1850s it was so long ago …).  My English teacher used to ask me to read my fanciful essays to the class (my stories were, in retrospect, a fairly awful blend of the absurd and the bloodthirsty – kind of Monty Python meets Kill Bill – but maybe to my classmates they were preferable to reading Ring of Bright Water). For a shy kid, being asked to read my own work to my peers was both terrifying and exhilarating, and no doubt planted strange seeds.  I went on to study film and tv production, and learned my chops writing documentaries.  About five years ago I reinvested myself in short stories, and was fortunate enough to win a few national and international competitions.  These wins encouraged me to try something longer form.  The Dead Path was hatched in an intense but pleasant three-month gap between consultancy jobs.  It’s been amazing to see a novel I wrote really just ‘to see if I could’ now being read and enjoyed around the world.  I’m currently writing my next book, entitled The Broken Ones. 

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Stephen:  I owe my father a debt of gratitude – it was he who took me as a boy to the council library and patiently waited while I scoured the shelves for anthologies of ghost stories.  I wasn’t the bravest kid in the world, but when it came to reading there was nothing too scary for me.  I started by enjoying the ghostly explorations of Robert Arthur’s The Three Investigators (whispering mummies, haunted castles, you know the drill) and quickly moved onto heavier stuff by Lovecraft and Wyndham and Bradbury.  I think it is Ray Bradbury who was (and probably remains) my great hero – a master of the short story, the novella, and the novel, able to create achingly beautiful prose in one paragraph, and disturb you to the core in the next (his mechanical hound in Fahrenheit 451 troubled me greatly as a teenager, and having seen clips of Boston Dynamics BigDog, it worries me even more today). There is a pile of ‘to read’ books on my bedside table, but somehow stories of the ghostly always creep their way to the top.  I’ve experienced a few events in my life that are most easily explained by a belief in spirits, so I guess I am just writing out my own fears and fascinations.

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?

Stephen:   Oh, tough question.  I think it’s a toss-up between invisibility and the power to freeze time.  (I think I’ll go the latter because the first could make me sound like a closet voyeur – but really, I would only use it for good, not evil, I swear.)  I became fascinated by the idea of freezing time (or at least slowing it) when I read somewhere that we humans see a flickering fluorescent bulb as ‘stable’ at around twenty Hz, but a fly can perceive visual information ten times faster (around 200 cycles per second) so buzzing under a fluorescent bulb for a fly would be a strange, strobe-like alternating of light and dark.  How cool to be able to see the world so differently!  But I agree with Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben, that with great power comes great responsibility, so instead of spending my ‘frozen’ time racing around setting people into awkward and embarrassing poses, I’d feel obliged to save baby prams from rolling under subway trains and rescuing kittens from Rottweilers.  Drag.  So maybe I’ll opt for the ability to walk through walls; for a guy who is always losing his keys, this would be a great time-saver.   

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.

Stephen:  You know, I was quietly amazed when publishers first started calling The Dead Path a horror novel.  I was thinking, ‘But it’s a supernatural thriller!  It’s a crime story with ghosts!’.  Maybe that’s why so many new fans are writing and saying either they are long-term fans of horror and The Dead Path gave them the chills of classic King or Straub; or they write and say they aren’t usually fans of horror, but this book drew them in because of the characters and the detective-like crime story.  What’s also wonderful is when readers who are well versed in esoteric knowledge of wicca think that I’ve treated magic and the mythology of The Green Man with respect (I certainly tried to).  In short, I guess the book appeals to anyone who likes a good mystery thriller, anyone who likes to enjoy a good fright, and anyone who enjoys seeing ancient mythology and magic brought into the present.  But I wouldn’t recommend The Dead Path to anyone genuinely scared of spiders … this book would be the stuff of nightmares for them!

EJ:  If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?

Stephen:  This is exactly the kind of question I ask myself on those rare days when I’m feeling right at the top of my game and that the world is in love with everything I’m writing!  (These are inevitably followed by 364 days of terse self-criticism and pragmatic perspective-taking.)  If The Dead Path was cast in Australia, I think Brendan Cowell (Beneath Hill 60) would make a fabulous Nicholas.  If the film were cast in the U.S., a friend of mine suggested the amazing Edward Norton, who brings truckloads of truth to every role he takes on.  I also think Sam Rockwell would make a superb Nick – he’s smart and funny, and can play self-deprecating or egotistical as needs dictate.  I think the ethereal January Jones would make a dangerously attractive Rowena Quill.

The Dead Path by Stephen M. Irwin.

Do you remember the last time a book gave you the chills? The Dead Path is the ghost story we’ve been waiting for.

A haunting vision in the woods sets off a series of tragic events, leaving Nicholas Close lost amid visions of ghosts trapped in their harrowing, final moments. These uniquely ter­rifying apparitions lead him on a thrilling and suspenseful ride to confront a wicked soul, and will leave an indelible mark on lovers of high-quality suspense and horror alike.  Nicholas Close has always had an uncanny intuition, but after the death of his wife he becomes haunted, literally, by ghosts doomed to repeat their final violent moments in a chilling and endless loop. Torn by guilt and fearing for his sanity, Nicholas returns to his childhood home and is soon entangled in a dis­turbing series of disappearances and  murders—both as a sus­pect and as the next victim of the malignant evil lurking in the heart of the woods. 


Check out my review of The Dead Path here.

Thank you Stephen for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about Stephen M. Irwin and his books, please visit his website.

** The Dead Path International Giveaway **

We are giving away a glow in the dark hardcover of The Dead Path by Stephen M. Irwin!

To enter, please leave a comment on this post including your email address (so we may contact you if you win).  You do not have to be a follower to enter (though I always appreciate a follow!).  This giveaway is International!  Giveaway ends November 18th midnight EST.