Tag Archives: Darkstroke Books

6Ws, Author Interview

6Ws with Gary Kruse

The next author in this 6Ws series is Gary Kruse from the UK. I so enjoy getting to know my fellow authors and what they are willing to share about their writing. How’s this? Gary wrote the majority of Badlands on his phone during his lengthy work commute. Up next? Bleak Waters, a supernatural mystery. But I will let Gary take over this post.

Who is author Gary Kruse?

I’m a writer of novels, short stories and flash fiction from Hornchurch in Essex. I’m married with two sons, and in my day job, I work in the educational/charity section as an Administration Manager. I like rock and alternative music and play guitar, enjoy football and tennis and love reading, cinema and theatre. 

What is your latest book?

My latest published book is my dark thriller Badlands, a story of deception, betrayal and conspiracy inspired by and set on the wild rugged coastline of North Cornwall. 

Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Jane Harper, James Herbert and Robert Goddard, it’s the story of Willow, a runaway who’s dragged back into the life she fled when she gets a call for help from her estranged sister. 

When she returns to the Cornish coastal village of St. Agnes where she grew up, Willow finds that her sister was involved in a local scandal, but has since gone missing. 

To dig into the secrets of her sister’s life, Willow must confront her own mistakes and with every revelation Willow finds herself dragged deeper and deeper into a murderous conspiracy who’s roots lie a lot closer to home than she realises. 

It’s a story of sisterhood, broken families, smuggling and hidden identities with a hint of social commentary and even a dash of the paranormal. 

My current WIP is called Bleak Waters. It’s a supernatural mystery set in Hickling on the Norfolk Broads. 

Twenty-five-years after a young woman went missing in broad daylight, a stranger turns up asking questions about the disappearance. 

Lost in her own grief, the stranger’s arrival is a welcome distraction for twenty-three-year old local girl, Lily West, but when she starts uncovering the web of secrets and lies surrounding the disappearance, Lily realises that she’ll have to choose between protecting the people she loves, and uncovering the truth.

When did you begin writing?

I began writing in 1996. I went to see the Craft in the cinema, and I’d recently seen the Lost Boys, and in the days that followed I started thinking what would happen if the girls from the Craft met the Lost Boys? From there, I began writing a series of short tales about the conflict between a gang of witches and a vampire crew, and this eventually became my first (and gratefully unpublished) novel, Blessed Be. 

How do you write?

These days it’s mainly on laptop, but I wrote the majority of Badlands on my phone on my commute to and from work. I used to commute from my home in Hornchurch, to my job in Hampstead, North London, which was an hour and forty minutes each way, which meant I had around 3 hours a day of solid writing time. 

Where do you write?

We did a loft conversion a couple of years back, and now I have a writing space in the corner of the loft. But at the minute most of my writing is done in the local library on my lunch break from the day job. Occasionally I’ll write in coffee shops too. 

Why do you write?

To tell the stories that I want to read about the places I love, but that I can’t find in bookshops. 

More about Gary Kruse: parting words; links to your books; social media

Thank you, Joan for hosting me! Readers can find links to all my social media, my mailing list, website and published works through this link: www.linktr.ee/garykruseauthor

Badlands is available from Amazon on kindle, kindle unlimited and in paperback: http://mybook.to/badlandsdarkstroke

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Following the Lead

And Now the Junkyard Dogs

No, they are not real dogs guarding a junkyard but the name of a band I made up for Following the Lead, the next in Isabel Long Mystery Series. As I write this series, I have a great deal of fun coming up with names for the local bands who play at the Rooster Bar and Grille. That happens on Fridays, the nights Isabel tends bar because as Jack, its owner and her love interest, knows a band tends to draw a big crowd of thirsty music lovers.

The musicians are all local guys who have no serious aspirations. And as the author, I have had a great deal of fun coming up with names for their bands. Here goes: Cowlicks, Lone Sums, Potholes, Slim Jims, Hunters and Gatherers, Back Door Men, Country Bumpkins, Plowboys, Truck Stoppers, and Wild Fire.

And now we have the Junkyard Dogs, but more about that band in a bit.

Some bands that Jack hires are regulars. A few are one and done if their playing doesn’t pan out. Other times a band dissolves, one time because one band member made off with another’s girlfriend and I believe there was a chainsaw accident for one player in another.

Because this is a bar stuck practically in the middle of nowhere in the hilltowns of Western Massachusetts, the playlist tends to be country, rock, maybe a little blues, but frankly, most country. And the emphasis is on danceable tunes. Covers are the rule.

So, count on hearing “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Rambling Man” and “Mustang Sally.” When a band plays “Brown-Eyed Girl” or something by Patsy Cline, Jack will shut down the bar and get Isabel onto the dance floor.

And now for the Junkyard Dogs. Well, the name make sense since it’s lead singer, Annette Waters owns a junkyard. Her son, on drums, works there, and the two guitarists have their own garage. The Junkyard Dogs make their debut at the Rooster. Here, I will let Isabel tell you about them. This is a scene from Following the Lead.

“Who’s playing tonight?”

“New band. Called the Junkyard Dogs,” he says with a chuckle. “You might recognize a couple of those dogs.”

But before I can quiz Jack further, he’s striding across the room and shouting at the guy with the keyboard. 

The Rooster has a band playing Friday nights, with the one exception being during the Titus Country Fair when Jack wisely figured nobody is going to pass that up to listen to music. The musicians are all local guys and gals with varying degrees of talent but an unbridled enthusiasm for playing that familiar mix of country, rock, and blues. I remember when the Plowboys attempted semi-successfully James Brown’s “Papa’s Gotta Brand New Bag.” It took a while for the dancers to catch on, but they finally did to my amusement. Anyway, Jack pays the bands what he can afford and throws in a couple of beers. One of my jobs is to keep tabs on how much more they drink, so he can deduct it from their pay. I believe one night a hard-drinking band barely got enough for gas money.

I’m on my toes and leaning forward to see what’s what or rather who’s who I will recognize coming inside. A couple of Rooster Regulars who just came through the front door are blocking my view. I raise my finger as I scoot around the bar’s corner.

“Be right back, fellas,” I say.

Jack leaves the building, and then a very recognizable person does come inside. A grinning Annette Waters carries a guitar case and gives me a wave with the hand that’s free. Now I get it. Annette owns a junkyard. Her son Abe is behind her with a drum. He’s got to be one of the Dogs, as are the two other guys who are hauling speakers. I wasn’t aware the Tough Cookie, my secret nickname for her, plays music although earlier this summer when my mother and I were at Rough Waters Garage and Junkyard to have my car serviced, we heard Annette belt out that Tammy Wynette number “Stand by Your Man” inside her garage. She had a great voice although Ma and I joked whether the Tough Cookie had a new guy or she would actually do what the song’s lyrics say. 

Annette, who has dressed for the occasion with a sequined halter top, tight jeans, and a black Stetson walks toward me.

“You one of the band’s groupies?” I joke.

Annette slaps my arm, a form of endearment from the Tough Cookie, and laughs.

“Nah, this is my band. I’m the lead singer.” She tips her head toward the other side of the room.

 “Abe plays the drums. Those other guys work at that garage in Rossville. Rick and Rob.

Brothers. Don’t think you know ’em.”

“No, I don’t. What kind of music do you play?”

She rolls her eyes as if I really need to ask, but she plays along.

“What kind do you think?”

“Jazz?”

She sticks out her tongue and makes a gagging noise.

“Try again.”

“The usual?”

She grins.

“You got that right.”

I glance back at the bar. A line of thirsty customers has formed. Duty calls.

“Hey, I gotta go.”

“Any requests?”

I smile.

“How about something from Patsy Cline.”

Annette winks.

“You got it. I know just the song.”

LINK: If you pre-ordered Following the Lead, you don’t have too long to wait for its release on Amazon. That’s Kindle. Paperback will follow. Here’s the link: https://mybook.to/followingthelead

PHOTO ABOVE: A few CDs from our collection. Yes, I’m a big country fan. These are left over from pre-Spotify days.

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6Ws, Author Interview

6Ws with Author PJ McIlvaine

PJ McIlvaine is this week’s author featured in my 6Ws series. She and I share a keen interest in the Titanic, a storied shipwreck that happened for real. But her character, Violet Yorke, a feisty survivor of that tragedy, has a lot more she’s dealing with like her ability to see ghosts and the demands of her rich family. I will let PJ take over and tell you about her writing, including Violet Yorke, Gilded Girl: Ghosts in the Closet.

Who is author PJ McIlvaine?

I’m a prolific Jill of all Trades in several genres: picture books, middle-grade, young adult, and adult. About the only genre I haven’t tried is porn, but there’s still time.

What is your latest book?

My latest book is Violet Yorke, Gilded Girl: Ghosts in the Closet (darkstroke books, 2022), a middle-grade supernatural historical mash-up about a poor little rich girl who sees ghosts and gets into all kinds of mischief and mayhem in 1912 Manhattan. It’s a high-spirited mystery adventure for all ages. 

When did you begin writing?

Since I was extremely young. The first thing I wrote was a neighborhood newsletter with my brother. I’d do the articles and he’d draw the cartoons. Later, I wrote poems, short stories, song lyrics, essays, books, etc. Maybe it’s in my genes as I was always told I’m distantly related on my maternal grandmother’s side to the French writer/feminist/philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. 

How do you write?

Well, with two hands…lol, I write by instinct and the seat of my pants. I don’t outline. I have it all in my head. I write every day, even if it’s only a sentence. Writing is like everything else, the more you do it, the better you get at it. 

Where do you write?

Mentally, I’m always writing. Physically, I write in my office (when my hubby isn’t occupying it) and at the dining room table. 

Why do you write?

Keeps me out of the wine bottle. No, I write because I have to. It’s like breathing to me, as much a part of me as my arms and legs. And at this stage of my life, I’m too old to join the circus. 

More about PJ McIlvaine: parting words; links to your books; social media

Writing is 75% waiting. This is not a quick-get-rich scheme. You need the patience of Job and the hide of a rhino. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. 

PJ lives on Eastern Long Island with her family and furbaby Luna.

PJ’s social media links:

PJ’s website: https://pjmacwriter.com

Twitter: @pjmcilvaine

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pj.mcilvaine

Instagram: @pjmcilvaine 

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6Ws, Author Interview

6Ws with Author Stacey L. Pierson

This week’s featured author for my 6Ws series is Stacey L. Pierson, whose genre is horror. (With a nod to my years as a journalist, I opted for the 6Ws of the business: who, what, when, where, why and how, which counts as it ends in W.) Stacey, a fellow darkstroke books author, says she loves to scare readers and take them on a “wild ride.” Her debut novel, Vale was published in July. Here, I will let her take over this post.

Who is Stacey L. Pierson?

Stacey L. Pierson is a Young Adult and Horror Writer, living in Louisiana. She collects horror memorabilia, which sits right next to her as she writes. From reading to watching, there’s nothing like a good scare or mystery to keep her on the edge of her seat. And spice, she loves spicy anything. She loves taking Louisiana traditions and incorporating them into breathtaking new worlds full of mystery, conflict, and the taste of revenge, taking readers on a dangerous ride alongside my characters and leaving them walking the line between reality and the unknown.

What is your latest book?

Her latest and debut Young Adult novel, Vale, is a bayou murder mystery centering around a missing girl and someone walking the dark tree lines of the bayou sending letters to the girl’s closest friends. As they rush to hide their secrets, they keep them buried as they sink further into the bayou.

When did you begin writing?

At age nine and traveling the states as a military brat, Stacey used her imagination and escaped into the worlds where anything was and still is possible. She started writing poems and won the Editor’s Choice Award along with being published for, ‘When I was Ten’ and then published for the second time for ‘My Little Dragonfly’ in Collected Whispers, The International Library of Poetry in 2008. Also, she writes horror and dark comedy screenplays. The more sarcastic the better, Stacey says.

How do you write?

During the day she takes tons of notes from post-its to filling notebooks, which she has in every room, acts out possible scenes in chapters, and then “I come alive at night,” Stacey tells people. Panster? Plotter? She can be either. It depends on the type of story she wants or is writing. Vale is a plotted-out YA series, while a few of her horror stories she is writing are ‘open the laptop and see where the character wants to say kind of day.’

Where do you write?

She has a small desk in her bedroom with a coffin sitting on it. As Stacey says, it’s the perfect spot next to her horror collection. If there is a time she is stumped or blocked on anything, she looks over, smiles, and knows that each one of the writers could have had the same thing before writing the amazing characters that she loves. Many writers have been an inspiration to her from the beginning as a child to now. And they are on her horror shelf as well.

Why do you write?

“Writing has always been an escape, but more than anything I love to scare and take readers – or anyone who reads my words on a wild ride. Secretly, I hope readers have racing hearts, chilly spines, feel uncomfortable and become so sucked into my stories, they are the characters. 

“It’s all about the vibe. Sometimes you have to get out of your own head and let your characters take you on their journey. They know what they want to say, so let them. There are times I’m shocked at what is happening. But it’s the best of being a writer. You can be all these different personalities and get away with it.”

More on Stacey L. Pierson

VALE is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

https://staceylpierson.godaddysites.com/

Twitter: @SuperStacey318 

Instagram: @superstacey318

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6Ws, Author Series

6Ws with Author Helen Matthews

After a reprieve, I am relaunching my 6Ws series to give some well-deserved attention to my fellow authors. With a nod to my former years as a journalist, I opted for the 6Ws of the business: who, what, when, where, why and how, which counts as it ends in W. And Helen Matthews, whose book Girl Out of Sight has an Oct. 4 release, is the first. Helen is a fellow darkstroke books author. You might have read her novel, The Girl in the Van, which was released earlier this year. I did and I highly recommend it. Anyway I will let Helen take over.

Who is author Helen Matthews?

Thanks for inviting me, Joan. I’m a British author, originally from Wales but I now live with my husband in a village in Hampshire, about an hour away from London. My son is a journalist and my daughter’s a police officer – handy when I need some detection and crime scene details checked. 

My novels sit within the crime genre but are page-turning psychological suspense and domestic thrillers rather than police procedurals. Although people die or face life-threatening danger in my books, investigating a crime isn’t the main plot driver. The books are more whydunnit than whodunnit. I’m fascinated by the darker side of human nature, flawed characters, unreliable narrators and how a life can change in an instant.

What is your latest book?

My latest book Girl Out of Sight is being published Oct. 4 by darkstroke books. It’s a suspense thriller with a theme of human trafficking and tells the story of seventeen-year-old Odeta, who leaves her remote village in Albania with a man she believes is her boyfriend. She thinks she’s going to begin an exciting new life and career in London, never imagining that her dream is about to descend into a nightmare. Odeta’s life isn’t especially grim but it’s colourless and lacks opportunity. Since leaving school, she’s been working in her father’s shop and thinks nothing interesting will ever happen to her again. Girl Out of Sight is a human-scale story not a vast-canvas international organised crime thriller. I wanted readers to relate to Odeta and walk in her footsteps, sharing her hopes and dreams as she travels to the UK and discovers what awaits her behind the doors of an ordinary London street.

Odeta is the central character but there’s a second storyline about Kate, a London journalist, whose  seemingly perfect life is filled with anxiety for her son, Ben. He’s obsessed with online gaming but struggles to make friends. Kate, who comes from a village in Wales, wants her son to experience the simpler childhood she enjoyed. In desperation, she disconnects her family from the internet and tries to build a community on her London street. But danger lurks behind closed doors. Perhaps her neighbours are not the friendly community they seem …

This book was first published five years ago by another press, under the title After Leaving the Village, and won first prize in the opening pages of a novel category at Winchester Festival. Because I’m passionate about raising awareness of the hideous crimes of human trafficking and modern slavery, I’m delighted darkstroke is publishing this new edition to bring the book to more readers.  

When did you begin writing?

I might seem like a late starter but I think of myself as someone who has served a long apprenticeship to get my novels published. From early childhood, throughout my teenage years and into adulthood I was always writing. I won a few competitions and had pieces published in teen magazines. A first degree in English was a setback due to years spent reading great literature but the urge to write didn’t go away. After long days in a busy corporate career, I wrote late at night after my children were in bed with a glass of wine by my side. My job conditioned me to business-speak, empty of emotion and I found it harder to write fiction. I didn’t give up. I switched to non-fiction and had some success with articles accepted by family and lifestyle magazines, a couple in national newspapers and even on BBC Radio.

Finally when my children were almost grown up I quit my job with no redundancy package, too young for my pension and went to Oxford Brookes University to do an MA in Creative Writing. I was lucky to get freelance consultancy work for several years alongside developing my writing.

How do you write?

Probably due to my corporate background, I’m instinctively a planner. I’d say I’m 70 percent planner: 20 percent free flowing ‘pantser’ and the remainder is just generally confused. I don’t always stick to my plans. Once my characters take on a life of their own, the book can go in an unexpected direction.

I keep a notebook with me and jot down ideas as they occur. Sometimes, if I’m out walking the dog I’ll record thoughts on my phone. When I have an idea for a new novel I do some mind mapping, assemble my notes and start initial research. Then I’ll do character sketches and a rough plan before  starting writing to see if the idea has legs and will sustain 90,000 words. Not all stories can. I don’t use any tools like Scrivener just Word on my laptop and lots of notebooks and post-it notes. 

Where do you write?

I’ve tried writing in cafes and on the move but I’m distracted by noise and other people’s conversations so I write better at home where I can close the door. I tend to move around rooms so I might write in the kitchen for a while or move upstairs to my daughter’s old bedroom. In summer, I  write outside in the garden if I can keep the glare of sunlight off my screen.

My ideal working environment is alone in my house so I can go deep into the world of my characters and live with them while figuring out their lives, plot and conflict. Having an empty house is rare unless my husband goes to France without me. The minute the door closes behind him I whizz around and tidy up so I’m not distracted by dirty dishes or piles of ironing. Then it’s head down and on with the writing all day and late into the night.

Why do you write?

No one holds a gun to our heads and forces us to write but, for me, the writing habit is impossible to kick. It’s even harder than ignoring the bottle of wine in my fridge that will be empty before bedtime. On a bad day, the urge to write feels like a disease: a virus that inhabits my body and steals my soul.  When writing is going badly, feelings of rejection can be crippling. It’s tempting to despair, press delete or stick an unfinished novel in a drawer. But do we give up? Of course not.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that writing can be both an addiction and a source of joy. The writing life, even when it’s not lucrative, is a total privilege. As well as the creative side of the work, I’ve met some amazing writers on my MA course, locally and in the online world  and built a new network of author friends.

 More about Helen: parting words

My previous novel The Girl in the Van came out with Darkstroke Books in March and made the Finalist list in the 2022 international Pageturner Book Awards. It also has a theme of modern slavery around the grooming of young people by gangs to deliver drugs out of cities into small towns and rural areas. In the UK, this is called ‘county lines’ exploitation, named after the mobile phone lines gangs use to control their young victims.

As well as novels I occasionally write short stories and flash fiction and these have been shortlisted and published by Flash 500, 1000K Story, Reflex Press, Artificium and Love Sunday magazine.

My rescue puppy, Homer, originally a street dog from Romania, arrived during lockdown and keeps me fit as he needs to walk at least three miles every day. I also cycle long distances with my girlfriends, sing in a choir and once appeared on stage at Carnegie Hall, New York in a multi-choir performance. In the year 2000, my husband and I impulse bought a tumbledown cowshed in France to renovate into a holiday home. It took years! We’re still tinkering with it now and spend several weeks there each year.

When I was researching the original version of Girl Out of Sight, I became a supporter of the charity Unseen UK which supports trafficking survivors and works towards a world without slavery. I’m now an Ambassador for the charity and donate my author talk fees, and a percentage of royalties, to them.

Link to Girl Out of Sight

You can download Girl Out of Sight at: Mybook.to/girloutofsight

Check out my other novels by clicking through to my Amazon page.

Helen Matthews on social media

https://www.helenmatthewswriter.com

Twitter: @HelenMK7

https://www.Instagram.com/helen.matthews7

https://Facebook.com/HelenMK7Writer

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