 Andy Gavin studied for his Ph.D. at M.I.T. and founded video game company Naughty Dog, Inc. at the age of fifteen, serving as co-president for two decades. There he created, produced, and directed over a dozen video games, including the award winning and best-selling Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter franchises, selling over 40 million units worldwide. He sleeps little, reads novels and history books, watches media obsessively, travels, and of course, writes. BRIAN: Andy, welcome to the Underground. It’s a pleasure to have you here. I must admit, you’re one of the most fascinating guests we’ve had here at the Underground. You’re a very successful software developer, but what went through your mind that made you take up writing? ANDY: From at least high school on I always intended to write a bunch of novels. Work just got in the way. And the thing about making games is that you can no longer do it mostly by yourself. These days, most games are big teams of over a hundred people, with budgets over 50 million dollars. All that means that it’s not about your creative expression (most of the time), but about getting it done, well, on time, and on budget. And the roll of team lead is largely about firefighting and resource (achem...people) wrangling. So, I really wanted to focus directly on the creative aspects. Dozens of story ideas have been bouncing around in my head for years, and I felt it was time to let a couple of them out. BRIAN: These days readers often roll their eyes at the thought of yet another vampire novel. Yet, in Darkening you made vampires fresh again by returning to their mystical roots. What led you to write a vampire novel for your first book? ANDY: There are two answers to that, the visceral and the cerebral. With The Darkening Dream, the visceral part was this image I had – and some might consider me disturbed – of a dead tree silhouetted against an orange sky, a naked body bound to it, disemboweled, and bleeding out. The sound of a colossal horn or gong blares. The blood glistens black in the sunset light. Bats circle the sky and wolves bay in the distance. But sacrifice isn’t just about killing. It’s a contract. Someone is bargaining with the gods. And on the cerebral side, I've always been a huge vampire fan and I've read and watched a large percentage of the oeuvre. But also as a history buff I wanted to write a supernatural story that was more grounded in real history and legend. I'm always thinking, "that could have been so much better if they didn't make up the historical backstory" so I started with the villains. What kind of ancient evil creatures might still be around? What do they want? And what legitimate human reason would they have to destroy the world (Buffy-style)? I don't exactly answer the question in TDD, because the motives of 5,000 year old baddies should be mysterious. But trust me, they have a plan, and the sheer audacity of it will literally shake the foundations of the heavens. BRIAN: The occult, magic, mystical and religious references abound in Darkening. While I was reading I kept wondering how much of this was research-based and how much was coming from your imagination. ANDY: In constructing The Darkening Dream I wanted the meta-story to play off conventional tropes. Broadly, a cabal of ancient supernatural beings has sent one of their number to recover an artifact needed to destroy the world. And surprise, it turns out a group of teens are all that stands between them and Armageddon. How much more Buffy can you get? But that’s just the high level. I also wanted to ground this preposterous scenario in real history and legend. So as a methodology, in designing my array of supernatural beings and occult practitioners I turned to historic sources. Before our modern science and technology rendered magic quaint, it was the domain of religion and superstition. Of belief. And each spiritual and magical system has its own framework. Proponents wrote out of certainty, out of faith. I merely dig up their writings and take them at their word. So in essence, it’s all researched, but I adapt it from real belief systems into those that work in a story framework.
 If someone offered me a choice between having my eyeballs gouged out by a feral cat or reading a vampire novel I’d have to think hard about it. When I got into the book review business I promised myself I would stay clear of anything that sucked, especially anything that sucked blood. Therefore, I only grudgingly picked up Andy Gavin’s indie vampire novel The Darkening Dream after someone I trusted talked me into it. After the first ten pages I couldn’t put it down. I still hate vampire books, but I love The Darkening Dream. Perhaps the best way to describe The Darkening Dream is a Dusk Till Dawn meets Yentle with just a dash of Buffy and The Mummy thrown in to spice it up. While you’re trying to wrap your mind around that, I’ll just say this book is the most original novel I’ve read in years and has made me an instant Andy Gavin fan. The Darkening Dream tells the story of two teenagers in pre-World War I Salem, Massachusetts. Sarah is the daughter of a rabbi, who she comes to learn is a powerful wizard. Alex is a young Greek immigrant with a wizened grandfather harboring dark secrets of his own. Over the course of the book Sarah and Alex fall in love and stumble on a plot run by an evil sorcerer in league with an ancient vampire. We also meet a kinky blue demon, a painting with an attitude, and an Egyptian beetle-god. They’re all looking for a mystical artifact that holds the power of the universe and Sarah is the key to finding it. Unlike most horror novels, Darkening is character driven. Gavin’s characters draw you in because of the seamless way he changes point of view from character to character. This simultaneously gives Darkening depth and speed. The villains make this novel especially delicious. Gavin paints Nasir as a classic vampire while giving him a very human, yet twisted, practicality. But the vampire is not the best villain in this book. That honor belongs to the evil sorcerer and his sexually insatiable succubus girlfriend, who’s so bad she’s good. They steal the show and deserve their own sequel. Even though the protagonists are young, this book is clearly not YA (Gavin classifies Darkening as “dark historical fantasy.”) It’s chocked full with violence, gore, and wizard-on-blue-demon sex. It is suitable for ages 18 and up. My only minor critique of Darkening is Gavin didn’t fully develop the town of Salem itself. The period setting of early 1900’s Massachusetts never came alive and felt like a missed opportunity in what I otherwise found was a flawless story. I’m astonished The Darkening Dream could have been passed up by any agent or mainstream publisher. Andy Gavin unearths a tired genre I thought was long past its prime, injects it with a spurt of fresh blood and sends it into the night to with a blood-curdling 95 out of 99 cents. 99 cents of Andy Gavin links:
All things Andy Gavin The Darkening Dream, free sample chapters, Find it on Amazon. Andy's next novel, Untimed. Find Andy Gavin on Facebook and Twitter. If you enjoyed this review follow Underground Book Reviews on Facebook, Twitter and subscribe to our newsletter.
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 Your child is missing, whisked away to the other side of the globe by a former spouse. The most precious thing in your life has been reduced to a helpless pawn by someone who can’t see beyond the rage they feel toward you. The government will not help you. The courts cannot help you. You’re alone, running out of money and hope. Now you learn your child is in a country rife with child slavery and prostitution and could forever vanish without a trace. In his fictional novel Chasing the Cyclone Peter Thomas Senese details a frightening odyssey closely inspired by his own personal story. Paul Francesco’s ex-wife goes rogue, violates the law, and abducts their young child. The drama begins with a series of court sessions where all the ugliness of a child custody case is laid bare. Soon, Francesco’s ex is permitted by an indifferent judicial system to take the child to New Zealand. Once there, her and the child vanish in the company of an international human trafficker. The story repeatedly lifts the reader with hope Francisco will recover his boy, only to deliver crushing disappointment with another false lead, another missed opportunity, another legal roadblock. Senese takes us to the brink of hopelessness as Francesco plunges into the sordid underbelly of Macau desperately searching for his boy. Chasing the Cyclone is well-written, but starts slowly in a series of snap-shot moments strung together into a stiff narrative. Initially, it feels like the author rushed to get critical elements on paper. Some of the characters surrounding Francesco are a little hard to follow as the author only paints them with cursory strokes before moving on. What kept me reading was the sense I was only a page turn away from the storm. Senese did not disappoint. About a quarter of the way into the book the prose and narrative warm up and Cyclone becomes an emotional rollercoaster. Even though it was inspired by true events Senese makes it clear this novel is a work of fiction. However, it reads so much like a personal account I had a very difficult time keeping this in mind. I was somewhat uncomfortable by the vivid detail of the court scenes and was concerned the novel might devolve into a loosely veiled personal vendetta. Thankfully, it didn’t. Senese doesn’t name the fictional female antagonist and never makes her the center of this story. She is described frankly, but never maliciously and I couldn’t help but pity her at the end. In the epilogue, the author discusses the importance of reconciliation and the role of both parents in a child’s life following the trauma of parental abduction. For me, this enhanced the novel’s credibility. It’s clear Peter Thomas Senese is a crusader, a man on a mission to never let this happen to another child. Chasing is more than a fictional drama, it’s part textbook and part compilation of personal lessons learned. Every so often a character monologues important facts regarding parental child abduction. The final section is a compilation of resources for what Senese calls ‘Chasing Parents.’ Cyclone reaches out to Chasing Parents with critical information to guide them through the coming maelstrom. More than anything else, Chasing the Cyclone is about one father’s relentless love for his child. While slow to build speed, it is a powerful story and earns 85 out of 99 cents. 99 Cents Worth of Peter Thomas Senese Links: www.peterthomassenese.com
www.chasingthecyclone.com
www.thedenoftheassassin.info
www.peterthomassenese.blog.com
www.chasingthecyclonebook.blogspot.comIf you enjoyed this review follow Underground Book Reviews on Facebook, Twitter and subscribe to our newsletter.
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 If you want to read a sample of Luke's writing, vote in the 'comments' section of this blog post. In order for your vote to count, you must have an email subscription to the Underground. If Luke gets ten votes by next Friday (April 6th) we will post his first chapter on Underground Book Reviews.A few months ago I met Lucas Rosen at the Algonkian Pitch Conference in New York City and immediately we hit it off. We were two of a handful of epic, non-YA fantasy writers present at the conference. I was immediately impressed with his ideas, dedication, and serious approach to his craft. I’m glad he took me up on my offer to appear here in the Underground. Lucas, who goes by Luke, is a twenty-two year old graduate from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst who works in pre-elementary education and coaches basketball on Saturdays. His breakout novel is called Soul of a God, which he is presently marketing. If you are an agent or publisher you can view his profile and query at Author Salon. BRIAN: Luke, tell our readers a little about your book, Soul of a God. LUKE: Soul of a God is the first book in the God Soul Trilogy. The basic plot of Soul of a God revolves around the search for the soul of Dios, the god of creation, which has been lost since the creation of the universe. Our hero is Kaj, a young monk who has spent the first twenty years of his life focused solely on his training and studies. What makes Kaj different from ordinary monks are the mystical tattoos that adorn his body and grant him great magical power. It’s during the final stages of training to master this power that Kaj’s world is ripped apart by tragedy. At the start of the book, he knows nothing about the Soul of Dios, save for the legends and stories that speak of its existence. But as he leaves his home and journeys for answers, the forces of evil begin to present themselves and he realizes that it may not be just a legend. Companions gather about him as peril increases and soon Kaj is forced to face a problem that has been plaguing him since the start of their journey: can he overcome his fear of failure and inadequacy, or will he let the greatest loss in his life come to define who he is? BRIAN: What was you inspiration for this story idea?
 Nicolas Kublicki (Koo-Blitz-Key) was born in Los Angeles. He graduated from the Lycée Français de Los Angeles and obtained his BA in International Relations from UCLA. He worked on defense and national security affairs on Capitol Hill before obtaining his JD from Pepperdine University School of Law, then his LLM in Environmental Law from George Washington University Law School. He is admitted to the Bars of California, the District of Columbia, and the United States Supreme Court. Nick served at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. and practiced law in Los Angeles. He currently splits his time between writing, the real estate business, charitable and community boards, and as an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University School of Law.
Married with two young daughters, he enjoys walking, scuba diving, vintage cars, history, reading, and movies.
BRIAN: I’m pleased to welcome Nicolas Kublicki, author of The Telsa Formula, to the Underground. Nick, this is the second novel in your Patrick Carlton adventure series. I read the inspiration for the first novel, The Diamond Conspiracy, was a PBS documentary on the diamond trade. What was your inspiration for The Telsa Formula?
NICK: Thank you for inviting me, Brian. 9-11 was the motivation for The Telsa Formula. I was editing The Diamond Conspiracy on the island of Capri in Italy when the slaughter of 9-11 occurred. My girlfriend at the time (who is now my wife) was a flight attendant who often worked one of the hijacked flights. I didn’t know that she was safe for a couple of days. I flew home under intense security, amid military guards with machine guns and attack dogs. America was under attack. Both as an American and as a thriller writer, I knew that no matter the specific topic of my next book, it would deal with a global plot against the United States. That led to oil and Saudi Arabia as plot elements, then alternative energy, then Nikola Tesla.
BRIAN: More than most techno-thriller authors, you weave legal and economic twists into your plotline. Is this something you intentionally set out to do or is it a natural by-product of being a lawyer?
NICK: Both, I think. My books involve global conspiracies. As an avid thriller reader, thrillers are more enjoyable for me if they are believable. To me, it is unrealistic that a global conspiracy could focus only on a single element, such as technology. There are many facets to every conflict. Politics, military affairs, and economics must form part of a global plot for it to be credible. With that said, my focus on lawyers, law firms, DOJ, and my use of law in the plot are definitely results of my legal background.
BRIAN: Without giving too much away, your book had a fascinating, and I thought very original, twist regarding the government using eminent domain as a weapon of national security. Is this something you made up or has the US government ever seized private property as an anti-terrorism method?
NICK: Thank you. I made it up, but as The Telsa Formula attempts to show, it could happen. My legal background is in real estate, where most eminent domain actions occur (the government’s Constitutional right to pay for and take private property for a public purpose). I am not aware of the U.S. government ever using eminent domain as an anti-terror weapon, yet it seems a logical legal addition to the government’s ongoing seizure of assets from criminals and terrorists, such as drug dealers’ homes and terrorists’ bank accounts. The United States is based on the Rule of Law. People sometimes believe that this hampers the government’s ability to wage war on terrorists. In fact, it can present fertile opportunities to prosecute that war.
BRIAN: Telsa covers a broad range of topics and settings. One minute your plot revolves around the golden age of movie stars in Hollywood, the next the reader is at a high-energy research facility in Alaska, and then in an F-16 rocketing over the Adriatic Sea. How long did it take you to research such a broad range of topics for this book?
NICK: It took me a year to do the basic research, yet many of the topics in the book evolve constantly, so I continued researching different topics throughout the writing and editing of the book, all the way up to publication. I love to read, learn and teach, so for me the difficulty lies not in performing the research but in deciding when to stop researching and explaining. For example, the original manuscript had something like 20 to 30 pages on Saudi Arabia and Nikola Tesla each. I had to wield my pen like a machete and slash those pages down to size. Research presents a quandary. On one hand, readers’ time is so precious that I believe it is insufficient for an author merely to entertain. Readers also want to learn. On the other hand, information delivery often acts like a speed bump, slowing down the pace of the action at the heart of every thriller. So I attempt to deliver information in ways that readers want to read.
 The Tesla Formula is the second book in the Patrick Carlton adventure series. In this installment, Department of Justice prosecutor Carlton stumbles on a seventy-year old murder mystery while on vacation in Hollywood. In quick order, he becomes enmeshed with Islamic terrorists, global intelligence agencies, law enforcement, and, perhaps most dangerous of all, lawyers. He discovers radical Islamasists and European bureaucrats are conspiring to bring America to its knees by destroying its economy and cornering the world oil market. Only one thing stands in their way: a secret formula to produce limitless electricity, invented over half a century ago by famous inventor Nikola Tesla. Not far into The Tesla Formula I found myself humming the Warren Zevon tune Lawyers, Guns and Money. Tesla’s unique blend of lawyers, guns and money are what supercharge this novel and set it apart from other action thrillers. First, let’s talk about the guns. Bullets fly from beginning to end, but action is the least-powerful element of this otherwise strong book. Kublicki is faithful to the action genre, almost too faithful. While the action keeps readers on their toes, in several places it feels slightly overdone. The good news is this book has a lot more going for it besides action. Tesla’s hero, Patrick Carlton, is a former Navy combat veteran, wears cowboy boots and is deadly with a Glock, but is a lawyer at his core. However, his underlying respect for the law makes him a different kind of action hero and gives this novel a depth lacking in most thrillers. Carlton is repeatedly frustrated by the barriers the law throws at him, but he always finds a way to get the job done legally. For example, in one of the book’s best scenes Carleton convinces a reluctant federal judge to issue a search warrant using an ingenious twist on eminent domain. Carlton is the thinking man’s action hero. But Carleton isn’t the only lawyer making Tesla hum along. The most terrifying weapon in this thriller is a contract wielded by a very nasty law firm employed by the terrorists. While this book starts with a race to find Tesla’s formula, the climax is Carlton’s race to keep this contract, the legal equivalent to an atomic bomb, from being signed. Tesla is like Law and Order meets Sum of all Fears. Where there are lawyers, there is money. While Carlton combats the bad guys with military and law enforcement, his allies do battle behind the scenes with computers, phones and dollars. Kublicki vaults the reader on a journey through international banking and finance behind the world’s turbulent energy markets. With his masterful blend of lawyers, guns and money Kublicki reminds us the War on Terror is fought not only on the battlefield, but by dedicated law enforcement, legal and financial experts working with little fanfare. This thoughtful balance gives The Tesla Formula its element of realism. I also like that Tesla paints these professionals as they should be – as heroes. Nicolas Kublicki convincingly weaves law and economics into the modern action thriller and makes it work. For that, The Tesla Formula earns an electrifying 90 out of 99 cents. You can find The Tesla Formula here. If you enjoyed this post, you can follow Brian on Facebook or Twitter. You can also subscribe to the Underground.
 You’ve finished your first novel. Good for you. Now, pull your hand away from the send button on your first query, because you’re not ready. You aren’t even close. Let me save you months, or even years, of painful heartache and frustration. I want to introduce you to a place that will prepare you and your manuscript for the realities of the publishing industry. A few months ago we at Underground Book Reviews were invited to participate in a new concept called Author Salon. Author Salon is a website with four goals: 1) Be the preferred source of discovery for literary agents, producers, and publishers 2) Serve as an online writers conference 3) Provide a work space for the writing community 4) Become a source for myth-free news and facts on the publishing industry. Let me put it another way: If writing were like baseball, Author Salon takes you from the farm clubs to your first tryout with the Yankees. It doesn’t guarantee you a spot on the team, but it will show you how to hit, field, spit and wear the uniform like a big leaguer. This is how it works. Joining Author Salon is intentionally detailed and time-consuming. This process forces you to delve deep into your manuscript and ask yourself serious question about your project. The profile is broken into four major sections: Project Notes and Query, Writer Bio and Goals, Plot and Story Matters, and Prose and Narrative Elements. A step-by-step guide, employing a disciplined methodology, leads authors through the rigorous process of building their profile. Ultimately, a well-honed profile is a standing query that clearly describes your book in a way that gets the right attention. If Author Salon does anything, it teaches you how to pitch your novel and craft a solid query. The profile is about selling your book and selling yourself. Once you complete your draft profile the real work begins; now it’s time to tear it all down and start over in Author Connect. After your initial profile is complete you’ll enter the world of Author Connect, Author Salon’s companion online workspace. Here you’ll collaborate with other writers in your genre to improve your profile and, by extension, your manuscript. This process begins with a “call for peers” where you invite other writers to critique your profile using a rigid methodology. You will also critique their work. These are NOT critiques of the novels, but of the profiles. How well do you understand and describe your novel? If done correctly, a feedback loop will emerge between your profile and your manuscript. This improvement loop helps elevate your profile and manuscript to clearly defined standards. These standards are available to Author Salon members via guides, tutorials and templates. These critiques are painstaking, detailed, and often brutal in their honesty. Not only are your peers reviewing your profile, but so is Author Salon staff. Critiques are always professional and never personal. This is where the real learning occurs. You’ll probably discover you may have to rewrite your profile...and maybe even your whole novel. As your profile and manuscript improves, you’ll eventually move up the Author Salon four-tiered system. These tiers indicate the quality of your profile and its readiness for both agents and publishers. You’ll enter Author Salon at “In Production I” and eventually progress up the ladder to “Marquee.” By Marquee-level, your profile has been through at least four rounds of peer critiques, peer votes, and an Author Salon advisor review. This process is neither quick nor easy. Patience is a must. Here’s the pay-off and what makes Author Salon truly different. Agents and editors roam the virtual halls of Author Salon. While they likely concentrate on the projects at Marquee-level, they can tap anyone at any level at any time. It’s not a given, but you may just get your big break here. Even if you don’t, upon reaching Marquee-level, you can feel confident in your ability to pitch your manuscript. Now that I told you what Author Salon is, I can tell you what it is not. It’s not a writing circle or review site for people who are tinkering with the idea of becoming writers. This is for serious work-to-publish authors. It’s for professionals; those who don’t follow the rules are shown the door. It is also not for the faint-of-heart or thin-skinned. Your peers and the site facilitators will be blunt. If you do not heed their advice, you don’t move up the tiers. For those considering self-publication, I think Author Salon is a must. In Author Salon, you’ll learn how to write a hook line, a synopsis, define your conflict, and put your best samples on display. Author Salon is an excellent tool for any writer, regardless of desired publishing source. Author Salon is still in early beta-testing with a small, but growing stable of writers. Like any emergent website, it’s still evolving. However, while it’s in beta-testing joining is free. After this widow closes it will cost $9.99 a month, or $79.00 a year, to join. Only time will time will tell if Author Salon lives up to its potential, but so far it looks promising. We at the Underground will keep you posted as our journey continues. You can find Author Salon here.If you enjoyed this post, you can follow Brian on Facebook or Twitter. You can also subscribe to the Underground.
 Michelle Isenhoff was born and raised in a not-so-busy corner of Michigan. After graduating from college she worked in elementary education. Michelle has published four children's novels, a couple short stories and has two more novels in the works. When not writing, she can still be found with book-in-hand.
BRIAN: I’m pleased to welcome Michelle Isenhoff, author of The Quill Pen, to the Underground.
Okay, Michelle, your website says you write children’s novels. After reading The Quill Pen I have to ask... why just for kids?
MICHELLE: Lol, it’s not! I’m one of the many, many adults who still enjoy the children’s genre. In fact, I think more adults have read The Quill Pen than kids so far.
BRIAN: What was your inspiration for The Quill Pen?
MICHELLE: Believe it or not, it was a dream. But the story evolved and changed so much during its many rewrites that very little of my original idea remains. Once I latched onto the idea of the feather (at first the story contained a magic vial), the rest followed naturally.
Many people have compared The Quill Pen to Tuck Everlasting, because of their similar treatment of life and death, and asked if that book was the inspiration for my own. While I’m a huge fan of Natalie Babbitt, The Quill Pen had a starting point entirely separate from her outstanding novel. Life and death make up Tuck’s central theme, but the idea of consequences is more important in mine.
BRIAN: I read and review a lot of self-published novels. More often than not, I find they are riddled with grammatical mistakes. Your book was very clean and well edited. Did you do this yourself? If not, did you hire a professional editor?
 Like most of the books I review here on the Underground, I found Michelle Isenhoff’s The Quill Pen in Amazon’s discount slush pile. I didn’t look at the cover and I skipped the description. I just dove right into the sample and was immediately hooked. The Quill Pen is the story of Micah, a boy on the cusp of manhood living in an east coast harbor village in the early 1800s. He dreams of life on the western frontier but cannot escape the shadow of his stern merchant father. Life is a series of mundane drudgeries for Micah until he discovers a mysterious quill pen while cleaning an old widow’s attic. Not only can it write without ink, whatever one writes with it comes true. Micah eventually discovers the pen’s dark secret, but not before it exacts a terrible price. As I flew through the book, I kept thinking to myself how much my kids would love this. Then it dawned on me - this must be a middle grade or young adult novel. I usually don’t read MG, or even YA, but I didn’t care. I had to find out what happened next. The young protagonist and supporting characters clearly put this novel in the MG/YA category. However, The Quill Pen is one of those rare books that defy being pigeon-holed because it is so well written. Isenhoff’s quality prose, well-crafted dialogue, and richness of the historical setting make The Quill Pen entertaining for adults as well. She paints the characters with masterful strokes. Micah’s post-colonial village comes alive with detail older readers will appreciate while keeping the plot clipping forward for kids. Isenhoff’s prose is smooth, effortless, and sucks readers in immediately. Combined, these strengths give The Quill Pen a classic, almost Twain-like feel. This book is so well edited it could have come out of any major publishing house, a worthy feat for any indie author. Quill’s only fault is it slows slightly in the middle, which might lose some MG readers. For older readers, this won’t be an issue. It could also use a snappier cover worthy of the content inside. The Quill Pen is suitable for any age capable of understanding the subject matter. Nothing here should concern parents. The Quill Pen is delightful on every level. Isenhoff is an indie author worth keeping an eye on. This entertaining story of adventure, magic, and history is one of those gems of self-publishing that make this job so enjoyable. This magical pen writes itself into my Top Picks with a score of 94 out of 99 cents. Links: Michelle's websiteMichelle's blog
The Quill Pen on Amazon.com If you enjoyed this review, you can subscribe to the Underground or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
 James Conway was born on the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas and moved thirteen times before he was nine years old. As a Navy brat he didn’t have a lot of friends, so he read voraciously. He was influenced by The Lord of The Rings to eventually become a writer. James spent his formative years in the Chicago area where he was profoundly influenced by Blues music. He attended Ripon College where he studied English Literature, history, and made the decision to dedicate his life to writing. He is married with one son.
BRIAN: I’m pleased to welcome James Conway, author of The Vagabond King, to the Underground. James, in our correspondence you mentioned you originally got the idea for this book in college. Can you tell us a little about how Vagabond came to be?
JC: Sure Brian. I had always been toying with the idea of a coming of age novel and I had collected some notes but it was nothing really profound. Then I had something of an epiphany in history class. I was asked to write a paper on Napoleon. I was asked to pick a side: did Napoleon represent the “Great Man” theory of history or the “Wave” theory. In other words, if Napoleon had never existed would history be profoundly different or would someone else have taken his place and history would be the same as with Napoleon. I couldn’t write the paper because I saw both things as being true at the same time. It might not seem like a big deal but it was a profound moment for me. If something can be two things at the same time the implications are Earth shattering, it means that there can be no right or no wrong, no this or that etc. I started questioning everything I once believed and my psychological world evaporated around me. So, as the main character Chris is questioning the world around him, so was I.
BRIAN: I was intrigued by the strong vein of mythological references running throughout this book. Can you elaborate on why you underpinned the book, especially Magda’s character, so heavily with mythology?
JC: Because so much of the novel is internal, it exists in Chris’s head, I needed to portray a setting that would describe and illuminate the thoughts in his head. While the book certainly has a physical setting it is the psychological setting that is more important. I don’t think I could have pulled off what I needed to do had I not made reference to mythology.
One of the fundamental themes of the book is the dualistic nature of reality. This is why I have paired so many opposites together. This is why Chris (the young man) falls in love with Magda (an older woman).
After college I became familiar with the work of the great scholar Joseph Campbell. He said something to the effect that, in the 1st age of man the religious symbols came from the animal world. In the 2nd age of man they were from the agrarian world. But, in this age of man the human race itself must become the symbol. I tried to portray this in Magda’s character through the use of mythology to make her more mysterious and even divine.
As I am answering this question it occurs to me that one of my goals with the book was to portray human beings for their often overlooked greatness. This may sound over the top but we are each the physical embodiment of universal power. We truly are. Let’s face it, every parent considers their child the golden child that was born to save the world. That’s because it is true. We are each infinitely greater than we realize. But everyone seems to get worn down with the humdrum of life and ignore that aspect of themselves. I used mythology and archetype in my attempt to portray this.
BRIAN: Tell me about your love of The Blues and how it influenced your writing.
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