This weekend on Amberkatze's Book Blog I have two author interviews and contests to share with you! Both authors are new on the scene and have debut books out that I have already read and enjoyed. So here is your chance to get to know two new writers and maybe even win a copy of their books!

First up is author C. A. Milson! I read and reviewed his book The Chosen earlier this month and am glad to hear that he has a second book in the series coming out later this year.

I hope you all enjoy the interview and I look forward to reading your entries for the contest!

--------------------

Amber - Welcome to Amberkatze's Book Blog! I have had the pleasure of reading your debut book 'The Chosen' but I am sure many of my readers haven't. Could you start things off by telling us about the book?

Chris - Sure Amber. The Chosen is a supernatural horror story, set in modern times. It is the story of Alex Manning, who is an unwilling hero in a destiny he really wants nothing to do with. I think we have heard this scenario before. A person who has a high calling on their life, but do they really want to do it? Some do and some don't. This is a guy who would rather avoid this with a ten foot barge pole. But...He has no real choice in the matter. He has been "chosen" to stand against dark forces that otherwise want to make the world their own private hell...literally speaking. It is the story of good versus evil, and the demons he has to face, both in reality and in his own life.

Amber - Is The Chosen a stand alone book or will it become part of a series?

Chris - The Chosen is only the beginning. Basically with this book I wanted to set the stage for what is yet to come for the main character. I wanted to give the reader an insight into who Alex is, where he came from, and what brought him to this point in time. I definitely have two others in the series to complete. The second novel is titled Bloodline of Darkness, which is set ten years after the first book. In that story, Alex has forsaken all he was for a "normal" life. But, "normality" is not what he is going to get, as some of the excerpts I have posted show :-)

Amber - How did you come up with the idea for The Chosen? Was it a long process or something that just came to you?

Chris - Back in 1989 I wrote the original concept which was called Shack of Evil. It was the story of Jamiesonn, and the life he had. The concept came from a hobbytex picture my mother had on the wall. Basically the picture had an outline of a rustic shack and behind it was a yellow moon. As I sat at the table I formed the whole idea from that one picture. From that original story I redeveloped the book, changed characters, introduced more characters and continued to reshape the whole thing until I felt satisfied with the book. In 1994 I rewrote the draft for The Chosen, and at the same time penned some ideas for the second and third books.

Amber - Did you have to do alot of research for the book?

Chris - I have always been attracted to the dark and mysterious. I admit, the supernatural intrigues me. Now, we all know that there are so many hoaxes on the net about alleged ghost sightings, but I myself am the first to admit that I once lived in a house that was haunted. LONG before I even decided to write. Back in 1984, in Melbourne. The house I lived in was definitely haunted :-)

Amber - The book is horror and paranormal mixed together. Is this the kind of genre you like to read yourself?

Chris - I prefer to read a wide mix of genres including thriller, but I do have a love for horror and supernatural stories.

Amber - Why did you decide to become an author? What are the ups and downs you have experienced so far?

Chris - Why did I decide to become an author? Sometimes I wonder that myself. In the beginning it was a passion. When I wrote my original 26 short stories, I penned those out in three months, as it was all I wanted to do. I remember I would wake up in the morning, have coffee then start writing. That was my life at the time, and nothing else held an interest for me. I wasn't sociable person back then. Infact I tried to stay clear of everyone as best as I could so I could write. Then, I bought a typewriter. Not an ordinary one though, but a Remington Rand. I swear the thing must have been made of solid iron as it was so heavy! From that point I started to write on that old typewriter. Day and night. I think I must have driven my housemates insane with the constant tapping on the thing I otherwise called "Beast". I have seen a definate downside to the world of writing. To be honest there are times when I feel like stopping and living a normal life for the rest of my life. That thought has come to me several times of late, especially when one sees the horrendous turnover in copies that go out the door. But, I am thankful that I have had some wake up calls from fellow authors who have given me a virtual slap on the head and been a great support to me in my own dark times, and without them I really think I would have stopped. So yes, there are good points about being a writer, but there is also a downside. The downside is that sometimes it does not matter how much one promotes themselves, there can always be the real lack of interest. Especially on some social network sites. It does make me wonder sometimes just "why" some would join a group when they have no real interest "in the group", if you know what I mean.

Amber - What else are you working on? Do you have any aims for your future writing career?

Chris - I will say this. I am releasing The Chosen in Russian and intent to do a national tour of Russia. After that, it is our goal to move to New Zealand and I think I will do a tour there also, depending on how widely received bookstores agree to host me. Once Bloodline is completed, the final book titled Prophecys End will be released, sometime I think in 2010. Once the series is finished I will go back to my roots and re-write the original stories. Now although the original manuscripts are long gone, I do have the idea somewhere in the back of my mind. So I guess we will see what I will come up with.

Amber - How do you relax? Any hobbies?

Chris - Relaxing at the moment seems far from me. But, when I do relax I like to chill infront of my PS2. Other times I do like to get out and about and see the world. Travelling has always been a draw card for me, so I do quite alot of that. I still dont know how I managed to travel to 5 countries last year and travel some 70,000kms. I think with all the travelling I have done I would have enough frequent flyer points to go to Mars and back :-) ... There are things I like to do, which I have not done in a long time. I have flown a cessna on occasion which is really cool.

Amber - If you were stuck on a desert island what 5 things would you like to have with you?

Chris - 5 things. Hmmm... Well, that all depends on what is on the island. I mean, am I going to be stuck on some island with an oversized gorilla on the loose, or some flesh eating zombies? lol.. Okay, being a realist, I would need a laptop with a gel-cell battery that never looses power, complete with satellite internet. That's at the top of the list :-) Hey, I'm human and need to be online :-) Okay, next up I would need plenty of food & pepsi to last for some years. Third and equally important are tools. I think those three things covers the absolute necessities. The last two I would have to think about :-)

Amber - Thank you Chris for your time! I hope you will keep in touch!

-----------------------

Contest Time!

Chris has kindly said he will send an E-Book version of his book 'The Chosen' to the winner of this weeks contest!

So to enter the contest post here letting me know what kind of horror stories you like! It could be a book, author or film but remember - Don't tell me = No entry ;)

You can earn yourself a second entry by posting about this interview & contest somewhere on the internet. Make sure you leave me a link so I can confirm your extra entry!

The contest will stay open until Thursday 5th of February 8pm CET and entrants should check back in to see if they have won. I will draw a new winner if the prize isn't claimed within 7 days! I do not chase winners!

So enter away and hopefully you will win a copy of this new novel!

Labels: Author Interviews, Contests