
I should be dead. Shot twice through the chest. But the Embassy saved me because I’m a one-of-a-kind freak who blips to worlds they can’t reach. Now I’m their personal mule, raiding collapsing planets to fatten their coffers. Lucky me.
And things have gone from bad to worse. My old team is being held hostage, my family’s in danger, and the darkness hunts me across realities. My one shot to end this living hell? Take down the Embassy, save Charlie, and torch the whole rotten system. Simple, right? One misstep though, and we’re toast. Alien breach. Apocalypse. End scene.
If I fail, the darkness won’t stop until it swallows us whole.
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David had a big family. Wanted to join the army. Always got stuck cleaning out the soft serve machine at his after-school job because everyone else despised the chore. But now he’s gone and I’m all that’s left. A dead animal under glass, gutted and hastily stitched together—you know the kind where the taxidermist didn’t get the eyes quite right? That’s me. Sad display in an Embassy trophy case.
But I’m not just for show. My captors use me well.

Pros and Cons of Writing in my Genre(s):
Hello and thanks so much for having me on
the blog! Before I start talking pros and cons, I do have to caution that I
have a hard time choosing which genres to write in. I didn’t initially consider
myself a horror writer—although all my stories tend to run a bit dark. When
querying Gulf book 1 of the Dark Walker series, I wasn’t sure
which type of publisher would be a good fit for the series. Let’s just say, I’m
a bit of a wanderer and one of the cons of writing in my genre is I just can’t
seem to pick one genre! I predominantly write speculative fiction with a darker
tone. The Dark Walker series would be best classified as horror/sci-fi.
Let’s start with the pros. The majority of
horror authors I’ve had the pleasure of meeting are just the nicest, most
down-to-earth folks ever. Perhaps because writing horror is cathartic. When
darkness brushes up against us, we just pour it back out onto the page. It’s
really therapeutic. So, the people I get to call colleagues are some of the kindest,
most empathetic and accepting human beings I’ve ever met. 😊
It’s also fun to write in a genre that
isn’t tied to real life rules. I can play in other worlds. Make new rules. I
can plunk realistic characters into unrealistic situations. That’s my favourite
part about writing whether I’m tackling fantasy, sci-fi or horror.
Also, I get to attend lots of cons (which
isn’t a con at all.) The people I meet at these events are diverse, unafraid of
expressing themselves, and they come from all walks of life. Some of the most
interesting and inspiring folks I’ve met have been at comic cons.
As far as the cons of writing in my
genre(s). Well, I do have a very small readership compared to other genres. Sure,
fantasy, sci-fi and horror are seeing a resurgence in books, T.V. and films,
but sometimes I’ve had people quite blatantly insinuate that I’m not a ‘real’
writer because of the genres I like to play in. Outside of my writing circle,
I’ve had several people ask me excitedly what I write only to raise their eyebrows
and politely change the subject when they hear my answer. One acquaintance, upon
hearing that I write horror, actually sighed and said ‘Oh, that’s too bad.’
You know what? That’s okay. I’m certainly
not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, and neither are my books, but luckily
readers always need more books, and though my pool may be a smaller one—I love my
readers to bits and feel very lucky that there are folks out there who enjoy
the words and worlds that come out of my head 😊
The second big con of writing in my genre(s) is writing in them as a woman. For some reason, my work is often shelved as YA. This isn’t uncommon for female authors. And while I do have one series that is intended for young adult readers, even my really dark stuff that tackles subjects some adults have a hard time grappling with, I’ll often find shelved in the young adult section of bookstores. I’ve had parents tell me their kid is reading my grimdark fantasy series and when I express cautiously that those particular books deal with some heavy adult themes sometimes the response is ‘Oh, but my child reads far beyond their grade level! They’ve been reading adult books for awhile now.’ Wonderful. Honestly. Great for them. But it’s not their reading comprehension I’m concerned about. My books can be disturbing. Most of them I wrote intending them for adult audiences.
That said, when I was young, I read plenty
of books with adult content well aware that they weren’t written with my age
group in mind. And, if the content was boring, or I felt it was too disturbing
or graphic, I just skipped those parts. No big deal. I believe young readers
are adept at choosing content that resonates with them and that censorship of
books is getting to a ridiculous point. I’m not saying I’m upset if a young
reader picks up my not YA books and finds something in them that resonates for
them. I’m saying it’s a bit odd that somewhere along the line, the assumption
keeps getting made that because I’m a woman, every single story I write is YA.
Obviously, the pros of writing in my genre(s) far outweigh the cons because it’s still the playground I’m happiest playing in. And there’s such a broad spectrum in horror, fantasy and sci-fi that I don’t suspect I’ll be bored of it any time soon. Keep feeding your imaginations, folks!
Cheers and thanks again for having me on
the blog,
Shelly
Thank you so much for featuring SEED today.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a very good book and I look forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteThanks again, Sherry!
DeleteHow do you connect your emotions to your story?
ReplyDeleteSohamolina! Hello again. I rely a lot on showing physical sensations characters feel while they are experiencing emotions. Shaking hands. Dry throat. All the things our body feels when we’re feeling things. I find that helps me connect my emotions to the character’s a bit better! Thanks.
DeleteCheers,
Shelly
The book sounds fantastic. I love the genre. Great cover, too. Sets the tone.
ReplyDeleteThanks again, Pippirose! Appreciate you following the tour.
DeleteCheers,
Shelly
This looks really good. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteThanks again, Michael!
DeleteCheers,
Shelly
Thank you so very much for hosting me on the blog. Much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Shelly