Everything You Need to Know About "The Coming Evil"!

In just a few short weeks, on February 7th, the second book in The Coming Evil Trilogy--Enemies of the Cross--will be invading bookstores across the nation. Can you believe it? For some of you, you've waited a whole year for this book. For those of you who bought the original self-published version of The Strange Man, you've been waiting since 2007! For me, I've been waiting since 1999!! I'm extremely excited that the trilogy is finally moving along, at long last.

To better equip you for February 7th, I've prepared a helpful guide to give you a crash course in the world of The Coming Evil. Whether you've read The Strange Man and need a refresher, or whether you've never heard of this story and you're ready to jump into Enemies of the Cross blind, here's everything you need to know about Book One to get ready for Book Two.

Obviously, this thing is full of spoilers, so if you've yet to read The Strange Man, you still have plenty of time to order your copy and get it read before Enemies of the Cross is unveiled. The book is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, CBD, and for you e-readers, it's also on the Nook and Kindle!

Ah, enough plugging. On with the guide:



In The Strange Man, we are introduced to the small country town of Greensboro, a once-thriving community that served as the last stop on the way to the City, but has now fallen on hard times since the highway was moved. Shops have closed up, jobs have been lost, and families are struggling. At a time when the collective mood of Greensboro is one of apathy and bitterness, it is the perfect striking point for the demon known only as "the Strange Man".

For over a hundred years, the people of Greensboro have told stories of a cadre of monsters lurking in the North Woods. But now those stories take on a whole new meaning as the Strange Man and his horde of flesh-eating gremlins descend upon the brittle town during the night of the terrible storm. The Strange Man was banished to the North Woods long ago by the faith of the town's forefathers and, now that that faith has diminished, he is ready to exact his revenge from the shadows.


His first victim is Eldon Granger, a homeless man living in the North Woods, who tells half-true ghost stories to the local children. Next is Lindsey McCormick, a pretty young woman whose car is found at the bottom of Greensboro Park Lake. Her body is never recovered. The demon also visits the bedroom window of five-year-old Millie Walker, though no one will believe her chilling tale.

As the rain pours, the Strange Man encounters The Rave Scene, a hangout for young twenty-somethings looking to escape their dreary small town life. It is here that the demon fixates on Rosalyn Myers--an outsider in Greensboro, haunted by the memory of her father who committed suicide years ago. The bogeyman is attracted to Rosalyn and seeks to corrupt her. However, there is someone standing in his way: Dras Weldon.

Dras is a foolish young man who's refused to grow up. His is a life of monster movies and comic books. He lives life only for himself, drinking away his nights and sleeping away his days--much to the disapproval of his older brother, Reverend Jeff Weldon. Jeff and his wife Isabella have tried to get Dras to commit to the faith he once claimed as a child and return to the Good Church of the Faithful, where Jack Weldon--the boys' dying father--served as pastor for years. Dras is content to live in eternal adolescence, but is forced to face reality when the Strange Man approaches him. What Dras doesn't know is that he is marked by God and the Strange Man cannot destroy him. Instead, the demon hopes to remove the boy from Rosalyn's life by threatening him. Terrified by a head-on confrontation with a creature he believed was only a story, Dras briefly considers the Strange Man's offer to leave town and save his life.

But, with Rosalyn's soul hanging in the balance, Dras rises to the challenge of standing up to the monster who would harm his best friend.

Sobering up, he puts aside his immaturity and attempts to share his faith with Rosalyn, an effort that is an utter failure thanks to Dras' lifelong hypocrisy. Time is running out as night falls, and Dras tries to convince his brother to help him in his battle. But after a lifetime of being disappointed by Dras' actions and attitudes, Jeff refuses aid. Hurt by the dismissal, Dras strikes out on his own, facing down the Strange Man's demonic brood of gremlins. The monsters chase after Dras, tearing through Main Street, but by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Scriptures, Dras manages to survive in time to reach Rosalyn's side at The Rave Scene, where she's gone to blow off some steam.

However, in retaliation for Dras' defiance, the Strange Man orchestrates a plot to frame Dras for the mysterious disappearance of Lindsey McCormick and the murders of Deputy Dane Adams and little Millie's older brother TJ Walker--all victims of the demon's cruelty. The bogeyman petrifies Millie into corroborating his story to Sheriff Hank Berkley, a tired man who's just barely keeping the town together in the midst of this bizarre onslaught. While the town comes alive with talk of "gremlins", Hank struggles to make sense of it all. Dras pleads with him via radio that the bogeyman from the old stories is real and has returned, but refuses to turn himself in for the crimes he knows he didn't commit.

Dras confronts Rosalyn one last time in The Rave Scene, pleading with her to listen to him--to turn herself over to God in order to be saved from the monster's plans. Before Dras is able to finish, however, Deputy Ryan Stevenson and a band of angry lawmen arrive to arrest Dras for the murders they believe he's committed. Dras decides that he can't run forever. The Strange Man has him trapped, but Dras believes God can bring some good out of it. Praying that he's told Rosalyn enough that she can carry on the battle without him, Dras surrenders himself to the police--who viciously beat him. Even when Jeff, having come to his senses and deciding to help his brother, arrives with his wife Isabella, they can do little more but watch helplessly as Dras is beaten. Sheriff Berkley arrives and breaks up the carnage, and, as Dras' friends gather around his broken and still body, the Strange Man calls out to Rosalyn's spirit, tempting her to join him in the darkness.

But Rosalyn's eyes are only on Dras.

Defeated for now, the demon retreats to the North Woods and the lake where he murdered Lindsey McCormick. Her death has served as a catalyst, polluting the waters of Greensboro Park Lake and turning them thick and black. The Strange Man is angered by his personal setback, but knows that the real battle for the soul of Greensboro has only just begun...

To be continued in Enemies of the Cross, in stores February 7th!

The Dusty Duck Flies Again!

Now this is a great way to start off the new year.



In stores now (finally) is Ryder Windham's latest Star Wars book--The Wrath of Darth Maul! Maul has long been one of my favorite characters in the series and this book takes you through his life: from the very beginning, through the events of The Phantom Menace where he met his supposed end, and beyond! With Darth Maul making a dramatic and most unexpected return to Star Wars later this year in The Clone Wars, this is a must-read for young fans of the cartoon who want to get the skinny on who this red-skinned devil is.

As excited as I am to see Darth Maul's story told in full, the reason behind this exuberant blog post resides on Page 174. You see, it is on this page that my very own contribution to the Star Wars saga--the Dusty Duck--gets a mention!! Why? Darth Maul plays an integral role in my Dusty Duck story, which you can read by accessing the Wayback Machine and clicking here.

Seeing "my creation" get a mention in a major Star Wars release is really fulfilling. Like any kid from the '80s, I grew up with Star Wars. When I was in high school, I first discovered the Expanded Universe (or EU for short).


It was two things that did it: I glimpsed a hardcover edition of the much-maligned The Crystal Star on the new releases display at Hastings, and then I found the first issue of Dark Horse Comics' Crimson Empire. Crystal Star enlightened me that the adventures of Luke, Leia, and Han extended past the movies (and they had kids!). Crimson Empire showed me that there was a whole galaxy of potential stories--that every minor background character could be the star of his, her, or its own epic space opera. I was spellbound--even more so when I discovered that all of these books, games, comics, cartoons, etc worked together into a single (mostly) cohesive continuity.

Ever since that moment, I was fascinated by this rich lore written over these decades by many talented storytellers. And, perhaps, most importantly--I wanted to write my own story.


Many years later, in 2006, I got that chance, thanks to a limited running contest on the official site. The feature was called "What's the Story?" and gave fanboy writers like me the opportunity to take a minor background character, ship, or creature and develop a backstory that, if selected, would be officially adopted into Star Wars canon forevermore. I worked hard, wanting desperately to leave some small mark on this series that had captivated me. I know it sounds silly, but it was a rigorous time and taught me a lot about perseverance and rejection in the writing biz.

At last, after several rounds and multiple tries, the heavens parted and I won an entry of my very own: The Dusty Duck. My tale of a doomed spacecraft and the star-crossed lovers who flew it was an entry I, initially, hadn't thought long and hard about. It was just one of many submissions, but, looking at it again, I realized how proud I was of the concept. My excitement was renewed when, a couple years later, it received a place in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia. After that, I feared my little ship that could would settle in the dusts of obscurity, never to be mentioned again.

But today, that's changed thanks to author Ryder Windham and The Wrath of Darth Maul. Folks, the Duck is in there. Yes, it's only a passing mention--not enough to warrant such a long and gushing blog post, but it's there. My contribution to the Star Wars saga lives on in other writers and there are few things, creatively speaking, that are cooler than that.

I am forever grateful to you, Mr. Windham, for resurrecting my baby :) My hope is that it'll help inspire some other kid to take notice that the stories of Star Wars extend further and deeper than what they've seen in the movies. Maybe one day, they'll make their own contribution to that galaxy far, far away.

Finally here's the deleted scene that started it all, featuring the Dusty Duck....

Trailer Debut for "Enemies of the Cross"!

And a Merry Christmas to you.

I had hoped to put together another exclusive The Coming Evil short story for your holiday entertainment, but alas, I've been super busy with a number of writing projects. However, my excitement for the upcoming Enemies of the Cross cannot be contained, so we've got a complete web redesign to reflect the February release. I had planned on changing things over to this Enemies theme after the start of the New Year, but I couldn't hold out any longer!

But wait--there's more!

I also got special permission from Realms to premiere the feature trailer for Enemies of the Cross a few weeks early. You all are the first to see it! Watch it below and behold me and my acting prowess. Why am I in this trailer, you ask? Well, I played a bit part as the character of "Jeff" in the trailer for The Strange Man, having nearly forgotten that Jeff is the central character in Enemies. So, for the sake of visual consistency, I drafted myself into the role once more. I shall attempt to overcome my embarrassment and show you the trailer anyway.

Pre-order your copy of Enemies of the Cross today and look for it on shelves nationwide February 7, 2012!

Enjoy the trailer and have a great holiday!

New Book Announcement--"Rift Jump"!

I received a bit of an early Christmas present a couple days ago. I have signed with Grace Bridges and Splashdown Books to see my new novel Rift Jump published in 2012! Rift Jump will be part of Splashdown's Darkwater imprint, where they send all the dark, twisted things (and authors).



I've known Grace for awhile and have wanted to work with her on something. I admire her dedication, her friendliness, and her desire to put out quality work that really puts Christian Speculative Fiction on the map. She's doing great things at Splashdown, and I'm excited to be a part of it.

Splashdown is also a smaller publisher, a departure from what I'm used to with my The Coming Evil series. The reason for the switch is that, well, Rift Jump is weird. It's not easily categorized or marketed and refuses to stay in a box. It's simply just not mainstream in any way, so rather than watch it languish on a shelf trying to find its "genre", we're going to be treating this a little more "grassroots"--getting it straight to the people who want it.

So, what is Rift Jump and why should you want it?

Rift Jump is a sci-fi multi-dimensional love story with monsters, loads of action, teen romance, and a dash of metaphysical philosophizing to boot. It's a single novel split into five episodes or "parts". We meet 12-year-old Michael Morrison, an orphan living on the streets, surviving in a life of crime with his brothers. He dies in a hail of bullets and then his journey begins as he discovers the multiverse and will learn of a hungry evil that lurks in the dark space In Between the worlds that is seeking to sow Chaos. Michael is chosen by the Light--represented as a mysterious man in a duster and Stetson--to combat this evil. What Michael will discover, however, is that the Dark wants to use him as an instrument of evil. Michael feels the Dark's call on his life and worries he'll never be able to escape, no matter how long he serves the Light. His burdens are shared by Sara Theresea, a timid girl who thinks little of herself. In Michael she finds boldness--in Sara he finds the key to his redemption. Together the two fall almost instantly in love, desperate to cling to something in their lives. While they're convinced that their love is everlasting--as most 17-year-olds are--the reality of their life as "rift jumpers" and the ever increasing threat of the Dark claiming Michael's soul once and for all, will put their love to the ultimate test.

I first had the idea for Rift Jump in high school and turned in a much rougher version for a Creative Writing assignment. I remember it as the first "real" story that I was ever passionate about. While it's a story about teenagers--and all their angst-ridden love affairs--this is not a YA book.

Over the years, I wrote many Rift Jump stories--never with the intention of actually sharing them with anyone. They were a sort of training ground where I experimented with style and tried to get a feel for this whole "writing thing". In fact, here's a photo I took of all my old Rift Jump stories (with covers done up by me :p).



The stories were mostly cheesy and awkward, really, but after many years, as I grew into my own as a writer, I started to realize that there was actually a really neat idea piled underneath all those layers of amateurish scribbling. After The Strange Man was published, I decided to dust off those old Rift Jump stories and started to rewrite them extensively. I'm very pleased with the results, but still feeling a little vertigo about it all. It's very odd to me that I'm actually talking about Rift Jump in public and that people will actually be reading it :p

There's a more personal story behind Rift Jump's creation, which I'll share at another time. For now, I just wanted to introduce you all to the story that's been lurking in my desk drawer since I was 15 years old.

Look for Rift Jump in Summer 2012 from Darkwater!

Interview with Dras Weldon: Star of "The Strange Man"

It's not every day that a fictional character gets asked to sit down and talk about their book, but that's exactly what happened when Dras Weldon--unlikely hero of my fright tale The Strange Man--was invited over to POV Boot Camp for an exclusive interview. You've read his exploits, now hear the story straight from the man-child himself!

Special thanks to Andrea Graham for the opportunity to indulge my split personality(ies).

Follow the link to read this eye-opening expose!

"Amazing Love"--That's a Wrap!

Hey, everybody, just a little update:

Amazing Love: The Story of Hosea, the movie I wrote with Rich & Dave Christiano, finished filming the flashback portions in Israel last week! And, before you ask, no, I didn't get to go to Israel. In fact, I haven't seen any of the footage yet, so I'm just as eager to watch it as everyone else is :)

Here's a shot from the film, directed by Kevin Downes (and ripped off his facebook wall :p). If you're familiar with the Biblical story of Hosea, perhaps you can guess the significance of the image below! I'll update as we get closer to premiering the movie (though it should be towards the beginning of next year).

Enjoy!

UPDATE 10/12/12: The movie is now available on DVD!

"Underground Rising" Multi-Author Chat!

Halloween is over for another year :( Allow me a moment to lament its passing...

Now, on to new things! As previously announced here, I had the opportunity to contribute a short story to Underground Rising: Tales from the Underground, the new anthology set in the world of Frank Creed's Underground series. November kicks off our promotional blog tour, so today I bring to you a transcript of a chat roundtable discussion I recently hosted with Frank, himself, and a few of my fellow contributors to this groundbreaking anthology. Enjoy!

* * *

Greg Mitchell: First off, let’s just go around the room and introduce ourselves.

Frank Creed: I’m Frank Creed. I wrote and co-wrote several contributions to Underground Rising: Tales from the Underground.

Steve Rice: I’m Steve Rice, proudly pseudonym-free for ages. I also wrote “Bear Feat” for the anthology.

Timothy Hicks: I’m Tim Hicks from western Kentucky. I co-wrote “The Sandman Cometh”, a prequel story from the Flashpoint timeline.

Greg: And Grace Bridges! Representing our ladies tonight.

Grace Bridges: Hello from New Zealand where it is currently tomorrow afternoon! “Underground Undersea” is my contribution.

Greg: And I’m, of course, Greg Mitchell, author of “Ex-Communicator”, the first story up in the anthology. Frank, how did the idea for the anthology come about? Correct me if I’m wrong, but is this the first Christian Fiction anthology where other authors have come in and added stories to an author’s pre-existing series?

Frank: It’s the first of which I know, but surely it’s been done before. The idea came from the Underground’s origin, back in a cyberpunk series called Shadowrun.

Greg: Yes, Shadowrun! Many a fond memory.

Frank: Many authors wrote that series of books and I wanted to see what it would be like for other Christian artists to share in the Underground setting. The Underground is like Shadowrun but without magic or fantasy races.

Greg: Street samurais and deckers all around! Was it hard assembling so many different authors with their own voices under the Underground umbrella?

Frank: Not really, the contributions really stood on their own merits. Nothing felt forced from the creative standpoint.

Greg: What’s it like to see the finished product? I know, just on my end, I felt an enormous sense of pride from the end results. ...Good Godly pride, naturally :p

Frank: It’s the end of years’ worth of effort, so there’s a sense of relief! But from a qualitative perspective, these really are some great stories that I’m sure will entertain readers of Christian cyberpunk.

Greg: Here’s a question for everyone: Do you think it’s possible to jump into this anthology with little to no background knowledge of the Underground novels?

Steve: Not if you use established characters.

Grace: As a reader? Sure. As a writer, nope. Either way, it’s very immersive.

Steve: The major problem is the voice. It’s very distinctive, like noir.

Tim: Not too easy. Knowing the storyline helped work out how the story tied back to the books.

Frank: I think it is possible. There’re plenty of examples of showing the technology with a brief explanation of what it is.

Grace: I return to the Underground when I need my imagination provoked for whatever. Some of you know that Flashpoint caused me to write a novel.

[Frank adds a smile here]

Greg: Wow, I didn’t know that Grace. What’s the story behind that?

Grace: The night I read Flashpoint, it fired up my imagination so bad. I had this dream... Cyberpunky, but that was all it had in common. I had to write it down. It became Legendary Space Pilgrims.



Greg: Frank, you corrupted...er, inspired young minds! That’s got to make you feel good, sir.

Frank: It really does. There have been many events that have come from writing Flashpoint, and inspiring Grace was one of those.

Grace: Actually [my novel] Faith Awakened came out at the same time as Flashpoint, almost to the day.

Greg: Okay, so now we know Grace was familiar with Flashpoint going in--I have to admit, Frank had to give me a crash course before I wrote my story (though now I’ve read both books and am all caught up :)). How familiar were the rest of you with this series before coming on board?



Tim: I enjoyed Flashpoint and wondered about how the world got into that predicament. I asked Frank about a nickname after Flashpoint and why it wasn’t recognized by the One World Order. Frank told me that was answered in his next book. Both books made me think, “What if?” Grace’s Faith Awakened and Flashpoint. That’s where my story idea came from. I wondered about the history before the story. Kind of like Paul Harvey’s, “The Rest of The Story.”

Grace: You’ve read Faith? Oooh :)


Tim: Yes, I read an ebook version. It was a pretty neat idea.

Steve: I had read Flashpoint (and Faith Awakened, for that matter), as well as writing a few virtual reality stories (“The Story Machine” and “Virtual Messiah”). And I had discussed things with Frank. He still hasn’t gone to the cops, so that’s a good sign.

Greg: Steve, your story “Bear Feat” actually stars Calamity Kid and e-girl, the heroes from the main books--was that awkward coming into those characters that were already pretty well-defined in their voices?

Steve: Not really. I’m a mimic anyway. The fact they were well-defined simplified matters. It was integrating them with my type of story and character that was tricky.

Greg: Well I thought you did great. Two continuity questions that are bugging me. Frank, how many sisters does Tinker have?

Frank: For now, Tinker only has two sisters. We'll have to leave that one open to creativity, though!

Greg: And, Grace, when does your story take place on the Underground timeline? You’ve got Calamity Kid and Legacy, right? (For those who don’t know, Legacy is captured somewhere in Book One...)

Grace: Yes. This actually occurs way down the track in what could be Book 4.

Greg: Wow!

Grace: So it’s after a bunch of drastic stuff has gone on. I have another story set then, too.

Greg: Not in the anthology, though.

Grace: No.

Greg: Ah, you tease us then.

Grace: All in good time, eh, Frank? :P

Frank: Indeed! I’m still writing Devil’s Hit List: Book Three of the Underground. Book Four will be co-written by Grace.

Greg: Whoa, big announcement!

Grace: Old news? It’s been settled for 3 years that I know of ;)

Tim: Cool! :D When can we pre-order?

Greg: More importantly, is Big Hoss Dupree [from “Ex-Communicator”] in it... oh wait, that’s not very important at all :)

Frank: You heard it here first! Pre-orders in a couple years. I write slowly. : )

Grace: So do I, and I got some other stuff on the fire at the moment.

Tim: Quality takes longer than quantity :)

Frank: Everyone will like Hoss, by the way, Greg.

Greg: I hope so! Tim, we talked about your story “The Sandman Cometh” being a prequel to the main series--was that tough to talk Frank into?

Tim: I hoped Frank would take a chance on my story. I wondered how the equipment in Flashpoint came about. What about the Sandmen before they had all the spiffy gadgets?

Greg: I’m glad he did. It was a neat peak into the past. Frank, in the “About the Author” in the back of Book Two: War of Attrition, it talks about “The Last Newspaper”. Now that’s the same story in the anthology correct? You wrote that thing back in 1983? How long have you had all of this in your head, man?!

Frank: The original version of “The Last Newspaper” was written back in about 1982, but that story was lost through time--I no longer have a copy of it. The version of “The Last Newspaper” that appears in Underground Rising was rewritten last year to fit into the Underground setting. It was not originally an Underground story. This stuff has only been in my head for about twenty years. : )

Greg: Oh, is that all? Well, I guess it’s a start :) I have to say, I read through the anthology for the first time the other day and was really impressed with it. Even though there are all of these different authors, working in their own little corners of the globe, the stories fit together quite naturally to tell a story of the Church in persecution. It was actually really inspiring, I thought.

Frank: I’m so pleased with the end result. I guess you could say “proud”.

Greg: I’ll hit Grace with this one first, since she’s our resident small press (she’s the woman behind Splashdown Books)--Do you see Christian Fiction making a turn, getting away from the predictable and exploring more fertile imaginative ground?

Grace: I certainly hope so! I have a number of very interesting submissions in my pile right now. Especially of a sort that mashes up the genres. I love that stuff!

Greg: Steve, do you think something like the “Biblical Cyberpunk” genre will be able to spill over into the “mainstream” Christian Fiction market, or do you think it, in a sense, belongs underground? The wild untamed, and all of that?

Steve: Spills are always possible. All these clumsy people, you know. I suspect that the mainstream will only do unusual and genre-bending work to copy the secular media. So the “underground” will likely remain so unless/until there’s a breakout story that becomes a major movie.

Greg: And perhaps that’s a larger problem that many within the “Christian Fiction” market see—a tendency to follow the trends, rather than set them. But I think Underground Rising is trendsetting stuff, no doubt, and I hope people catch on to it. I see a lot of naysayers of mainstream Christian fiction--and I wonder, if the anthology did go “mainstream” in popularity, would that somehow take away from its coolness factor in the eyes of the naysayers? You know there’s always that garage band that gets a Billboard Top 100 hit and everyone accuses them of “selling out” :p

Frank: I do hope the Underground gets the chance to “sell out”! It would mean a great deal to me if our work reached that kind of exposure.

Greg: Grace, what are your thoughts? Do some things belong on the fringe--not for lack of quality, mind you, but just because some people won’t touch “mainstream”, no matter how pure-grade awesome it is?

Grace: I don’t subscribe to that at all. Yes, some things are weird, but weird is becoming ever more mainstream. The weirder the better, even. And those who won’t touch it for whatever reason--they’re missing out.

Greg: I agree. I think that anyone--whether they “get” cyberpunk or not--can be really encouraged by this book. A) It’s refreshing to see the level of talent and B) it’s talking about things people can relate to—the loss of freedom and how we fight to hold on—it just happens to be set in the future.

Tim: The Underground world makes the point that everything matters to The Boss (as God is known in the Underground books), and He is in control. That’s why I liked the series. It made me think.

Greg: Frank, fans get a special treat at the end of the anthology--You’ve got a sneak peak at Book 3! What’s in store for the next installment, Devil’s Hit List?


Frank: In War of Attrition: Book Two of the Underground, the heroes lose their HQ because the Ash Megacorp is turning it into a Rehab Ward, to produce something called “Virtual-e”, which is a virtual plague. In Devil’s Hit List, the saints battle production of virtual-e.

Greg: And how far are you into the writing process on that one, O Slow Writer?

Frank: It’s about halfway done. I hope to have a release date around August 2012.

Greg: So, what’s next for everyone? What projects are you guys working on?

Steve: I’m working on a few projects, but I’ve become increasingly skeptical of “Christian” fiction. It’s usually no such thing. That’s why I largely stopped doing reviews. But I’ll probably publish online now and then. Evolutionists excuse the lack of transitional forms by “punctuated equilibrium,” which posits occasional change at the margins of genetic society. I think that’s how Christian writing will have to work for the foreseeable future.

Grace: I’m barreling towards the end of Godspeed, the sequel to Faith Awakened. It stands at 47,000 words out of a projected 60k, and I’m deep into the tangle of virtual reality once again. All going well, it should be out late next year. I’m also very excited about the Avenir Eclectia project, where Frank and Greg are participants. There will be an anthology for that next year, too.

Frank: Good news.

Greg: Tim, what are you cooking up?

Tim: Thanks, I’m working on a supernatural story about a medieval piece of stained glass that shows a person’s true spirit. Forces don’t want things known. But the killer needs to be found.

Frank: How about you, Greg?

Greg: Lots of different stuff, but most immediately, the second book in my The Coming Evil Trilogy comes out in February. It’s entitled Enemies of the Cross and is chock full of drooling monsters. Frank, what say you? Might there be an Underground Rising 2 in the future?

Frank: Perhaps. It depends on how Underground Rising sells. If there’s a demand, there must be a sequel!

[To this, Tim gives a thumbs-up]

Greg: So, I open this up to you guys, here at the last. Anything you want to ask each other?

Frank: Greg, do you have any other Dupree stories in mind?

Greg: Ha ha, not at present. But give me about fifteen minutes and I bet I could come up with something ;) That was a pretty easy character to write! He wrote himself, practically.

Tim: What about a cross-over story between story worlds? Underground meets Faith Awakened?

Frank: Grace’s time setting is ahead of mine.

Grace: Mine is in 2079.

Frank: We would need a Tardis, no?

Grace: Well, in fact I have a very enhanced character in Godspeed... Frank, we should talk.

Frank: Oh, Grace is already on this!

Greg: Closing thoughts?

Frank: Underground Rising has taken at least three years to compile--I want to thank everyone for their patience as this has come together.

Greg: Thanks for the opportunity!

Tim: Yes, thanks Frank. It was nice meeting everyone here tonight.

Grace: Yup. Awesome!!

Steve: It was good to be around Frank and Grace again, and to meet the rest.

Greg: Thanks for participating everybody.

Frank: Cool--thanks for moderating this thing!

Greg: Well, folks, that’s all we got. We hope you were entertained, enlightened, and inspired to go out and buy this book! Go! Go now! Quick!

Thanks to everyone who hung out in the chat and thank you all for reading :) Check out the trailer for the anthology below that Tim put together!