These Unquiet Bones

Kicking off 2013 Inside the Pod I have dear friend and respected fellow writer, Dean Harrison, here to talk a little bit about his debut novel. I asked him to answer a few basic questions to introduce all of you, our imaginary readers, to him and  THESE UNQUIET BONES. 

Make him feel at home.
(Horror and Southern Gothic fans, on the dark side, this is just up your alley.)

Release Date: January 28, 2013

M: You have your debut novel book coming out January 28th, 2013. THESE UNQUIET BONES. Tell readers a little about it.

Dean: It is about a teenage girl named Amy Snow. Trying to get behind the truth of her mother's death, she unleashes the skeletons lurking in the dark of her father's closet and learns a terrible and twisted truth about her family tree. Meanwhile, a man named Adam is on a mission to restore Paradise to its former glory. To accomplish this, he must find "The Lost One," a girl he calls Eve, and sacrifice her to the god she betrayed the day a talking serpent slithered into the Garden of Eden.

I like to think of it as a Southern Gothic and not just horror. It contains all sorts of elements: supernatural and psychological horror, suspense, mystery, romance, and drama.

M: What inspired this project and how did it come to fruition?

Dean: Inspiration came from a constant nagging desire to write a novel that I wanted to read. The themes and characters have been with me since I started writing fiction in high school but I never reached a stable storyline or plot until three years ago, which was when I decided it was time to finally get serious about my dreams.

However, the story and plot went through many changes before I made to the final draft. Minor characters became major characters and vise versa. Plot points were taken out and replaced by new and better ones. Some settings were different, some scenes were taken out and I went through three different titles.

The first title was THE CAPTURED GODDESS but I decided that sounded too much like dark fantasy. The second title was SUFFERING OVERDUE but I quickly decided it wouldn’t fit the story because it sounded too much like splatter-punk, which wasn’t what I was writing. THESE UNQUIET BONES was the third and final title, and the one that fit the story best. I hope others agree.

M: What kinds of readers will respond to this story?

Dean: Adults—and even young adults, since the protagonist and other key characters are teenagers—who enjoy drama, suspense, and supernatural horror in fiction; and who don’t mind being a little disturbed because there is dark and disturbing subject matter within THESE UNQUIET BONES.

Dean Harrison

M: Who are some of the writers that inspire you and what do you like to read when you aren't writing?

Dean: Douglas Clegg, Robert R. McCammon and Dean Koontz were my earliest influences. This was followed by Peter Straub, Thomas Harris and Thomas Hardy—I mostly read horror, suspense thrillers, and classic literature.

John Farris, Tom Piccirilli, Stephen King and William Faulkner were major influences for me while I was working on THESE UNQUIET BONES. T.M. Wright and H.P. Lovecraft also have a big influence on my writing, especially my current work.

Right now I'm reading a novel by Charles L. Grant, one of the masters of quiet horror. I’ve also been delving into the work of Graham Masterton and Arthur Machen, and plan to introduce myself to the writings of Dan Simmons, Richard Matheson, F. Paul Wilson and others.

M: Who is publishing the book?  Where can we find it?

Dean: Odium Media is publishing THESE UNQUIET BONES. You will be able to find it on the publisher’s website, odiumedia.com, or on such sites as Amazon.com.

M: What is next for you?

Dean: I'm currently working on a new novella inspired by Celtic mythology and the writings of horror masters T.M. Wright and Arthur Machen. I also have another novella, inspired by Lovecraft and alternative rock band Smashing Pumpkins, on the backburner. And though I am not a big fan of short stories, I have a ton of short story ideas set aside for a rainy day.

M: For the writers out here, what's the best writing advice you've ever been given?

Dean: Just write and don’t worry about getting it perfect in the first sitting. As Hemingway once said, the first draft of anything is always shit.

Dean Harrison is a longtime fan of horror fiction. Though he has spent some time out in the “real world”   working as a shoe salesman, a security guard, an investigator, a loss prevention detective, and a journalist, he has consistently returned to what he loves doing most–writing horror stories. His published work can be found in the horror anthologies FEM-FANGS, FELL BEASTS, TWISTED TALES FROM THE TORCHLIGHT INN, RELICS & REMAINS, and CHRISTMAS IN HELL. More is to come. Dean lives with his family in his hometown of Mobile, AL; a city rich in ghost stories.

You can learn more about Dean Harrison and THESE UNQUIET BONES, which drops January 28th, by visiting his website: deanmharrison.wordpress.com
Like him on Facebook and drop him a line.

What's In Store?

Hello, lovely imaginary readers. It's 2013! Did you notice a whole new year is upon us? I can't believe it's been a month since we saw each other last. Santa came. The ball dropped. It's been a whirlwind of a 2012 wrap-up, which barreled right into 2013. Where did the time go? It's already mid-month. Somewhere during all that, we lost touch. Apologies. We'll try not to lose you again. No fear... we're back! And we're going to get back on track. Pinky promise. For reals this time.

In the midst of all the New Year planning, there'll be an Instagram revamping.

As is the nature of the pod, we've got a lot of random planned. But I want to fill you in on what's up with the Peas since we last chatted.

A is book blogging at Witty Title Here and you must check out her typography, photos, and graphic design forays on Pinterest and Instagram. She's pretty easy to find everywhere, doodling quotes and creating art to her hearts content. She's easily distracted (ooh, shiny) but she'll never neglect the pod.

J shared sad news about her Alex Sabian books. Since she has been playing with new creative ideas and vegetables. It's quite exciting -- the creative vegetable things. There's other super secret stuff she's doing (cause J is sneaky that way) and some not so super secret stuff. So... really... not much has changed. Yay for normalcy!

Me? Dr. Buttons has a big year ahead of her. A new rewrite of the same manuscript. And a new draft of a new project. Plus... I have 7,930 Days of books to read and the pile is growing. Lots of conferences--six total (Sha! I know! What am I thinking?) A few trips (Vegas, a Cruise, a super secret spring something). But I endeavor not to lose track of you, even when I'm out of town. I will learn to use the laptop effectively. This is part of my New Year's resolution... so... yeah, I gotta. It's in writing.

Heads up! This week I have writer pal, Dean Harrison, dropping by the pod to talk about his debut horror novel, These Unquiet Bones. After that, I have some mad ramblings planned until J and A ease back into the pod as their schedules settle. Hope you are ready for 2013! The Peas certainly are.

Much love and peas, always.