#MMBBR Triple Showcase: Dane Cobain, J. G. Clay and Michael-Israel Jarvis

Dane Cobain:

No Rest for the Wicked (Supernatural Thriller):                                                      

When the Angels attack, there’s NO REST FOR THE WICKED. Father Montgomery, an elderly priest with a secret past, begins to investigate after his parishioners come under attack, and with the help of Jones, a young businessman with an estranged child, Montgomery begins to track down the origin of the Angels. The Angels are naked and androgynous. They speak in a dreadful harmony with no clear leader. These aren’t biblical cherubs tasked with the protection of the righteous – these are deadly creatures of light that have the power to completely eradicate. When Jones himself is attacked, Father Montgomery knows he has to act fast. He speaks to the Angels and organises a final showdown where he’s asked to make the ultimate sacrifice. 

Dane Cobain (High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, UK) is an independent poet, musician and storyteller with a passion for language and learning. When he's not in front of a screen writing stories and poetry, he can be found working on his book review blog or developing his website, www.danecobain.com. His debut novella, No Rest for the Wicked, will be released by Booktrope in the Summer of 2015.

Q.  What inspires your writing?

A. I take inspiration from all over the place – I’m the sort of person who’s just compelled to write. Some writers wait for a great idea and then follow up with it – I write all sorts of stuff, and then pick and choose the best of it and try not to publish the rest, although it’s always tempting. For me, inspiration is just a mixture of a quick idea that you jot down and a lot of hard work, developing that idea.

Q.  What is your favorite thing about being a writer?

A. That’s a tough question! But it’s probably the rewarding feeling that you get when you write something that you’re really happy with. Putting on launch parties also gives you a feeling that you don’t find anywhere else.

Q.  What is the toughest part of being a writer?

A. Probably the fact that you never really stop working – there’s always something that needs doing. It gets hard to relax, which can be difficult for the people that you’re close to.

Q.  If you could not be writer, what would you do/be?

A. I work in social media marketing, and so I suppose I’d be putting all of my effort into that, instead. Whatever I was doing, I’d be trying to be the best at it.

Q.  What would the story of your life be entitled?

A. I think it could use the same title as my novella – No Rest for the Wicked.

Q.  What is your favorite book of all time?

A. This is another tricky one – I guess I’d have to say Northern Lights by Philip Pullman. I loved that entire series, and Northern Lights was the best book of the whole trilogy.

Q.  Which character from ANY book are you most like?

A. Hmmm. I think if you ask me what I think and ask my friends what they think, we’d come up with different answers. It’s hard to think of anyone off the top off my head – I guess I’ll have to go with Robert Jones from No Rest for the Wicked. It’s easier to narrow down the choices if I only think about my own stuff!

Q.  What character from all of your book are you most like?

A. The only problem is, then I read the next question and realise that I just answered it. Whoops!

Q.  Which book would you love to take a weekend vacation inside of?

A. I’d want to go somewhere that was quite peaceful, but also quite different, with a lot of history to it, to explore. Perhaps The Hobbit, if I can stay in The Shire whilst bad things aren’t happening.

Q.  What is your favorite season?

A. I always used to say that it was winter, but now I think I’d say spring – it’s not too hot, and it has some hope to it.

Q.  What inspired your book cover(s)?  Or what is your favorite book cover and why?

A. Because I worked with a designer for them both, I got to brief them with roughly what I wanted and then to sit back and to be amazed with what they came back to me with. For No Rest for the Wicked, I said that I wanted something ambiguous, that captured the essence of the book without showing the faces of any characters – I wanted that to be up to the imagination of my readers. For Eyes Like Lighthouses When the Boats Come Home, my book of poetry, I wanted it to show a lighthouse and for it to be of a sort of old-school, simplistic style. I think my cover designers – Ashley Ruggirello and Michael Fairbanks – both did a fantastic job.

Q.  Tell me something funny that happened while on a book tour or while promoting your book.

A. Something funny? To be honest, it was mostly just hard work! One thing that’s a lot of fun, if not necessarily funny, is hosting a launch party for your books – I’ve been lucky enough to host two of them so far, and both of them were incredible!

Q.  Are you working on something new?

A. I’m always working on something new! I have a literary thriller called Former.ly that’s just going through editing, as well as a non-fiction book, called Social Paranoia: How consumers and brands can stay safe in a connected world, which will be going through editing after that. Meanwhile, I’m writing a novelisation of a movie script that I wrote, which will both be published together as Come On Up to the House. Then, I’m planning on starting a series of detective novels – I’ve almost finished planning the first one out.

Q.  Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that are just stopping by?

A. Nothing specific – just a cheeky little ‘buy my book!’  

J. G. Clay

Tales of Blood and Sulphur (Short Stories):

Eleven Tales steeped in Blood and reeking of Sulphur J.G Clay takes you on a journey through the voids of Reality and into dark places where demons, mutants and inter-dimensional creatures taunt, taint and corrupt Humanity. Survival is not guaranteed, sanity is not assured and death lurks in every corner. These are the Tales of Blood and Sulphur: Apocalypse Minor; eleven twisted tales of terror and mayhem..... There are cracks in the skin of Reality. Some are microscopic, others are as wide as a four-lane motorway. As the fault lines increase and widen, the door to our world shines like a beacon in the darkness, a warm and inviting sight to others beyond our understanding. When They cross over into our realm, The Tales begin...... A gambler taking one last desperate throw of the dice. A struggling writer making an unholy alliance. An eternal being fighting to stay alive in the financial capital of India. A man burdened with a terrible town secret. The Law Enforcers who must never cry. The End of Days live and direct from the rural heartland of England. The blood is warm, the sulphur is burning, the tales will be told, the Apocalypse Minor is imminent! 

Born in the leafy peaceful surroundings of Leamington Spa, J.G Clay is the Midlands Master of The Macabre. Now in his early forties and residing in the leafier English county of Northamptonshire, Clay's boyhood dream of bringing his unique combination of cosmic horror, dark fiction and science fiction to the masses is being realised. With the first volume of 'The Tales of Blood And Sulphur' under his belt, he is poised to unleash Gods, Monsters and weird events upon the world. Under Clay's guidance, the Dark will become a little darker and Horror will go One Step Beyond.
When he is not destroying worlds, J.G likes to spend time with his family and friends, exploring the world of bass guitar, adding to his eclectic collection of music and watching as much geek TV and film as his eyes and brain will allow. He is an avid reader and a long suffering but ultimately optimistic fan of Birmingham City FC.
He hates cucumber, extremists of all stripes and colours and reality TV shows.

Q.  What inspires your writing?

A. Anything and everything from books I’ve read to songs I’ve heard. It only takes a little thing to spark off the ‘what if this happens’ question.

Q.  What is your favourite thing about being a writer?

A. Immersing myself in a world that I’ve created. I love the idea of having this playground in my head where I make the rules/ I also love creating characters, creatures and others from scratch.

Q.  What is the toughest part of being a writer?

A. If I’m honest, it’s the marketing. I know that, in this day of the Internet, self - marketing is essential for an author. That doesn’t make it enjoyable however. I love engaging with the readers. I just don’t like the fact that it takes me away from the writing.

Q.  If you could not be writer, what would you do/be?

A. Doctor Who. The time’s right for an ethnic minority Time Lord and I’m the man for the job.

Q.  What would the story of your life be entitled?

A. The Laziest Man in Entertainment

Q.  What is your favourite book of all time?

A. Difficult one to call. IF I had a gun to my head, I’d have to say Salem’s Lot by Stephen King. That’s my ‘go-to’ book when I’m stuck with the writing. King’s best, in my humble opinion.

Q.  Which character from ANY book are you most like?

A. George Stark from ‘The Dark Half’ by Stephen King.

Q.  What character from all of your book are you most like?

A. Most of them haha. The central characters and even some of the villains have aspects of my character. If I was to pick one, I’d go for Fortuna Devoratum, the gambling demon from the Tales of Blood and Sulphur. He has my snarky side.

Q.  Which book would you love to take a weekend vacation inside of?

A. Weaveworld by Clive Barker, Who wouldn’t want to spend a weekend in an alternate dimension hidden in the weave of a carpet?

Q.  What is your favourite season?

A. Autumn. My birthday is on Halloween so I have many happy memories attached to the season. Also, I live the colours and the slightly eerie feeling of early dark and mist.

Q.  What inspired your book cover(s)? 

A. James Herbert’s early covers for The Rats, The Fog and The Dark. He wanted to achieve a certain look with a black background and gold and white lettering. I’ve gone down the same route. I want people to be able to spot a J.G Clay book just by the cover.

Q.  Tell me something funny that happened while on a book tour or while promoting your book.

A. I can’t think of anything overly funny. I think the best memory I have so far was my first signing in July of last year. I was part of a multi-author event in Birmingham, England. It was a great introduction to the world of book signings. I met a lot of fantastic people, both authors and readers and it was held at Birmingham City Football Club’s home ground. I just happen to be a Birmingham City fan. IT doesn’t get better than that.

Q.  Are you working on something new?

A. Several new things as a matter of fact. I’ve just wrapped up a novella called Peace and Quiet. Time and Space’. It’s about a bad day in Hell. I’m also working on two novels which should see the light of the day at some point this year. And there will be another Tales of Blood and Sulphur this year too. I like to stay busy.

Q.  Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that are just stopping by?

A..I’d just like to say hello and if you feel like checking out some cosmic horror, give me a look. Thank you for having me.

Michael-Israel Jarvis:

Gravedigger (YA/Fantasy)

Dead or alive. Good or evil. Hero or fugitive. Valo needs a specific solution to a grave problem. The human Claimfold and prigon Torzsi draw apart. War is promised in the West. Worst of all, the magi of Nagyevo are meddling with the dead. Perin is an apprentice Gravedigger: uneducated, unwanted, unsure. He may be the answer Valo needs, if he doesn't get killed before he works out what's going on. But of course there's the chance that fate hasn't called him after all. The gods are nameless and silent and the best laid plans have a way of going badly wrong. Enter the spade and sorcery world of Valo. Gravedigger subverts the expectations of that oldest of foes in fantasy, the dead that walk, in a fast-paced adventure through a world of culture, intrigue, magic and blood. 

Q.  What inspires your writing?
A. My reading, shows I watch, Wikipedia articles, dreams, conversations with friends...

Q.  What is your favorite thing about being a writer?
A. Never being alone. There are always people in my head.

Q.  What is the toughest part of being a writer?
A. Never being alone. There are always people in my head.

Q.  If you could not be writer, what would you do/be?
A. Probably I'd be a professional actor.

Q.  What would the story of your life be entitled?
A. Phenomenologic

Q.  What is your favorite book of all time?
A. Watership Down, I think. A very much underestimated epic.

Q.  Which character from ANY book are you most like?
A. Difficult one, that. Neville Longbottom from Harry Potter, maybe?

Q.  What character from all of your books are you most like?
A. From Gravedigger I'm most like a blending together of Perin's Borderer group.

Q.  Which book would you love to take a weekend vacation inside of?
A. My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell

Q.  What is your favorite season?
A. Early Autumn. Or late Spring...

Q.  What inspired your book cover(s)?  Or what is your favorite book cover and why?
A. My favourite book covers are quite vivid and graphic novel style... Or else very old fashioned. C.S. Lewis's sci-fi novels had great cover art. Dani Smith's Black Dog and Rebel Rose is really cool for that graphic novel sizzle.

Q.  Are you working on something new?
A. Always. Currently playing with a YA urban fantasy starring an Anglo-Punjabi punk magician and a Scottish teen genius, hopping in and out of the otherworld.

Q.  Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that are just stopping by?
A. Hi there. Please consider buying my book and I will love you forever, darlings.