For the blog tour, I’m featuring some of the questions I’ve been receiving from my readers:
Darlene Suber blogs at http://mouseybooks.com/
1) When did you realize that you wanted to write? Answer: I was born a writer. My first book (an illustrated six-page ‘book’ with big letters) was at 3 years old.
2) What made you decide to write thrillers? Answer: I have always like action, but the action doesn’t have to be physical. The action can also be the jousting of great dialogue between characters.
3) In writing Hollow Blood which I have to say is totally pure genius and I am so looking forward to your next one in the series, who did you draw your characters from? Or are they from the actual book itself? Answer: Brom Bones, Katrina, Old Man Van Tassel, Diedrich Knickerbocker, and Hans Van Ripper are characters from the original Washington Irving work. All the others are my own creation.
4) When can we expect the next book out in this series? Or is this a secret? Answer: The Devil’s Patch will be available on March 30th and I’ve been told it’s even better than Hollow Blood.
5) Do you have anything that gets you into the writing mood? Answer: As with any writer, some days are more prolific than others. My basic routine is to write every day until the first draft is done.
6) How can your reader contact you? Follow you? Answer: They can reach me through my website at www.austindragon.com and all my social media channels are there too.
7) Is there anything you would like to share with us today? Answer: My next wave of books will be available in the summer: a mystery/cyberpunk series, another hard science fiction series, and a young adult dystopian series. I’ll be revealing the names and covers in the next few months.
8) Where are your books located so that your readers may purchase them? Answer: https://www.austindragon.com/books-of-author-austin-dragon/
Sophie is making her way through the main After Eden novels, but her serious question applies to all the After Eden books.
Q: I’m past page 200 of Stars & Scorpions now and after reading all the section focusing heavily on the history of the Jewish people and fictional ‘fall’ of Israel you wrote of in such painstaking detail, do you or have you ever worried about extremists who may hear of your writing and take exception to what you’ve written? Especially in today’s politically correct society and in the aftermath of the attack on the offices of ‘Charlie Hebdo’ and with the evil rise of Islamic State/ISIS? I know that writing is all about expression but you have covered such heavy, controversial subjects in the ‘After Eden’ series that I just wondered if it has ever caused you to feel apprehensive at all?
Hi Sophie,
Thanks for the question and I’ll absolutely answer it for you. Firstly, even though it’s the second book of the After Eden Series, I actually wrote it first…back in 2011. I’ve been to Israel myself and have been a strong supporter of the State from since I was a child. The extremists don’t need me or anyone else as an excuse to do evil against Israel or any other nation or religion on the planet. ISIS is a new group but as one of my books pointed out, the first American President to have to deal with Islamic terrorist was Thomas Jefferson. Ironically, they were the catalyst for America’s Navy.
The After Eden series is in many ways a very painful work for me to write. It doesn’t represent what I want to happen. It represents much of what I feel will happen—and I couldn’t be more opposed to it.
As for the Fall of Israel, keep in mind that in the After Eden universe this is directly related to the Fall of Western Europe a few decades earlier. If Israel is in such peril now (and has for its entire existence), imagine what the case will be when the UK, France, and the rest of the EU become Islamic majorities—which happens in less than quarter of a century.
Chris Hooker blogs at http://readingwcats.blogspot.com/
“What type of research did you have to complete to write Hollow Blood since it’s understory is such a famous folk tale? ”
Excellent question because for many stories, the research an author does is so important to getting the “world” right and creating truly authentic characters. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is set during 1790, so there is the life of colonial America and at the center of the Legend itself is the newly fought and won American Revolution against the British. I love history and Hollow Blood (and the conclusion in The Devil’s Patch) allowed me to explore our early American history in way that I probably won’t get a chance to do again, since most of my novels will be set in the future. We see the beginnings of both the expansion of slavery and the growing abolitionist movement, the move of our nation’s capital from Philadelphia to Washington DC, George Washington isn’t in history books but he’s an “average” guy–albeit a revered soldier and our very first president–walking around (no Secret Service back then), and hand-held weapons are nothing more than single-shot muskets (sorry, no machine guns). More importantly, is that all of this and more is behind-the-scenes. It is, after all, a horror story and none of the facts or history gets in the way of this—but then nothing could get in the way of the main protagonist’s quest for the Foul Murderer of Ichabod Crane.
Austin Dragon is the author of over 30 books in science fiction, fantasy, and classic horror. His works include the sci-fi detective LIQUID COOL series, the epic fantasy FABLED QUEST CHRONICLES, the international futuristic epic AFTER EDEN Series, the classic SLEEPY HOLLOW HORRORS, and new military sci-fi PLANET TAMERS series. He is a native New Yorker but has called Los Angeles, California home for more than twenty years. Words to describe him, in no particular order: U.S. Army, English teacher, one-time resident of Paris, ex-political junkie, movie buff, Fortune 500 corporate recruiter, renaissance man, futurist, and dreamer.
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