Good morning, all. There's a special treat for you today. Author William Blackwell is in the house to talk about his new horror release, FREAKY FRANKY! We had a chance to ask him a few questions:
SC: Tell me a little bit about your main character of this book.
WB: In
my new horror release Freaky Franky, Franklin Reiger is one of the main
characters. I think he’s interesting because his motivations are not black and
white. Shades of gray help readers identify and perhaps even sympathize with
him. As a child, he witnesses the deaths of many close family members, and
eventually believes he’s cursed. Everyone around him seems to be dying. He
flees to the Dominican Republic and starts to change, praying for the deaths of
his enemies. But he becomes wracked by guilt and remorse and embarks down a
landmine-laced path of redemption and rebirth. Although Freaky Franky is a work
of fiction, it is a fact-based, well-researched novel examining the terrifying
consequences of worshiping the cult of Santa Muerte with evil intentions.
SC:
Sounds like there's some soul redemption going on there of one sort or another.
Redemption is good. A lot of deaths, not so much. Curious, do you believe in
the paranormal and if so, do you have an experience you can share?
WB; I
think there is overwhelming evidence to support the existence of ghosts. In
paranormal novel Phantom Rage, as part of my research, I joined a team of
paranormal investigators on some investigations. On one such investigation we
got set up in an old house in Strathmore, Alberta, where a frightened woman had
told us a story of seeing an apparition of a little girl playing a violin in
one of the basement bedrooms. As we began to set up our equipment, we noticed
that one of the bedroom doors had locks on the outside of the door, suggesting
someone had been locked inside against their will. We wondered if perhaps it
had been the little girl. Although we did experience highly suggestive levels
of electro-magnetic activity in the bedroom in question, we never saw the
little girl apparition. However, late that night, we heard and recorded spooky
voices coming from the basement laundry room and, strangely, the batteries went
dead on one of the flashlights as well as the video recorder. We also heard
strange rustling noises coming from a basement laundry room, and one of the
lights mysteriously flickered on and off a few times. I wouldn’t call the
experience frightening, but certainly highly suggestive and interesting.
However, in Phantom Rage, I took some liberties. I embellished and molded some
of those facts into what I believe is a horrifying paranormal novel.
SC: I
too, am a member of a paranormal team,
so your story is very intriguing to me.
Plus, it sounds like you might be Canadian, just like moi. What titles are you
working on now that you can tell us about?
WB:
Lately I’ve been doing a lot of research on dreams and the amazing subconscious
landscapes they produce. I’ve also researched and written blog posts on a
number of sleep disorders including night terrors, sleep paralysis,
sleepwalking, even sexsomnia—a condition in which people actually initiate and
have sex in their sleep and wake up with no recollection of it. The working
title for my work in progress is Deadly Parasomnia. In it, lead protagonist Noah Janzen is afflicted
with multiple sleep disorders. He becomes convinced the infamous Hat Man, a
dark and spooky character he sees repeatedly during sleep paralysis, has dark
and deadly intentions. A series of terrifying encounters with the “Hat Man”
soon convince Noah he’s losing his mind and his life begins to unravel.
Struggling with internal and external demons, he battles to save his life and
his sanity.
SC: Thanks so much for joining us today. Come back anytime!
Freaky Franky
William Blackwell
Genre: Horror
Publisher: Telemachus Press
Date of Publication: December 3, 2017
ISBN: ISBN-10: 1945330945
ISBN-13: 978-1945330940
ASIN: B077X41V9J
Number of pages: 326
Word Count: 66323
Cover Artist: Johnny Breeze
Tagline: Santa Muerte followers discover the horrifying consequences of worshipping with evil intentions.
Book Description:
When an enigmatic town doctor saves the life of Anisa Worthington’s dying son, she abandons Christianity in favor of devotion to the cult of Santa Muerte or Saint Death. Some believe the mysterious skeleton saint will protect your loved ones; help in matters of the heart; provide abundant happiness, health, wealth and justice. But others, including the Catholic Church, call it blasphemous, evil and satanic.
Anisa introduces Saint Death to troubled Catholic friend Helen Randon and strange things begin happening. One of Helen’s enemies is brutally murdered and residents of Montague, a peaceful little town in Prince Edward Island, begin plotting to rid the Bible belt of apostates.
Anisa suspects Helen is perverting the good tenets of Santa Muerte but, before she can act, a terrible nightmare propels her to the Dominican Republic in search of Freaky Franky, her long-lost and unstable brother, who mysteriously disappeared without a trace twenty years ago.
To her horror, Anisa learns Freaky Franky is also worshiping Santa Muerte with evil intentions. As a fanatical and hell-bent lynch mob tightens the noose, mysterious murders begin occurring all around Anisa. Unsure about who’s an enemy and who’s an ally, she’s thrust into a violent battle to save her life as well as the lives of her unpredictable friends and brother.
About the Author:
William Blackwell studied journalism at Calgary’s Mount Royal University and English literature at Vancouver’s University of British Columbia. He worked as a print journalist for many years before becoming an author. He has written over seventeen novels, mainly in the horror genre. Currently living on an acreage in Prince Edward Island, Blackwell loves to travel and write dark fiction.
Author Website http://www.wblackwell.com/
Twitter: @wblackwell333
