Q&A WITH ERIC LELAND: AUTHOR OF Inhuman MILITARY THRILLER DEBUT

 

A Gripping Military Horror with Shocking Supernatural Twists

Q&A WITH ERIC LELAND:

AUTHOR OF Inhuman MILITARY THRILLER DEBUT

 

Question: What inspired you to write Inhuman?

Eric Leland: During a class for my MA I wrote a 25-page short story titled Recon Team: Mercury. That story was shortened to five pages and is now the prologue to Inhuman. For a NaNoWriMo idea I thought it would be interesting to see what happened when the rescuers came looking for the team that disappeared in my original short story. Inhuman is the result.

 

Q: What sets Inhuman apart from other military and horror books?

EL: The bravado one comes to expect when reading military fiction is quickly ripped away to expose and pick at the delicate flesh of fear and self-doubt we are ashamed to admit exists.

 

Q: What do you hope readers will take away from the book?

EL: It was never my intent for Inhuman to be didactic. Primarily I hope readers are entertained. I hope readers will remember the experience of Inhuman rather than any particular lesson.

 

Q: Inhuman features a diverse cast of characters. How did your military friendships, and experiences with “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” inform this inclusivity?

EL: A diverse cast adds verisimilitude to military fiction simply because any U.S. military unit features a diverse roster. In my first combat experience I found myself fighting shoulder to shoulder with Mexican Americans, an African American, and a gay woman. Unfortunately, DADT was still a thing for most of my military career and I would only find out after DADT was repealed that some of my greatest friends were gay. I think truth in fiction is important, and if I did not write a diverse cast I would by lying. Readers can spot a lie from a mile out.

 

Q: How did you develop your characters? And which of them do you have the strongest connection to?

EL: The character Jaran is heavily based on my wife’s experiences who was born in Vietnam. At an early age, she and her family fled to a refugee camp after the war. The chaos of displacement during war time seemed terrifying. I can’t really say which character I have the strongest connection to—John’s sense of duty; Chris’s refusal to take anything seriously; and Brandon’s severe depression and self-doubt—they’re all variations of me.

 

ERIC LELAND grew up in Massena, NY and entered Army basic training upon high school graduation. He was an MP in the Army for six years and reclassified to a Special Agent with the Army Criminal Investigation Division. Eric deployed to Honduras in 2002, and Iraq in 2003 and 2009 where he was awarded an Army Commendation Medal with “V” device for valor. He completed his MA in Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University and has happily traded in his gun for a pen. Eric lives in Seattle with his wife. Connect with Eric Leland on Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads.

 

Inhuman is available on Amazon in both print and digital.

Audiobook forthcoming in Summer 2021.

 

REVIEW COPIES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

Farallon Island by Russell James

 

Nate Thalmann wants to escape his life as a Prohibition Era bootlegger. He moves with his pregnant wife Alice to the Farallon Island lighthouse, situated on a rocky islet twenty-seven miles off the California coast. Joining three other keepers and their families, he hopes for peace and a deep reconnection with his wife. But one of the keeper’s children finds a secret cave, and releases a malicious entity imprisoned within. It possesses a former keeper and soon the islanders are being stalked and slaughtered. The demon within the keeper plans to only leave Alice alive, at least until she’s given birth to her child, who will become the demon’s permanent vessel. With no radio, no resupply, and no weapons, it is up to Nate to keep his wife and unborn child safe. But the body-hopping fiend seems to always be one step, and one corpse, ahead of him. Will anyone survive wrath of the demon of Farallon Island?

No phones no lights no motor cars as primitive as can be. Wait that's the wrong island There is no goofy humor here but Farallon does offer an ancient demon imprisoned in a cave, and now that it's been accidentally freed it's wasting no time in executing it's plan to get off the island and back to civilization where it can wreak havoc on the world.

This is high octane horror that moves along at top speed. Even though it is a short, quick read I don't feel like it skimped on character details. It gave me a good grasp of the relationship between Nate and Alice,  the state of their marriage and what brought them to pick up their lives and move to this remote island where there would not even be a doctor to deliver their soon to be first born. There are very few characters aside from the family that will be their new next door neighbors,  so there was no trouble getting to know them in the brief 158 pages. Even without a long list of characters the author manages to provide maximum carnage.

The scariest part for me was the simple fact of being cut off from outside help. To me, that is more terrifying than demons wanting to possess a baby. There's no phone and the radio works when it wants to. There is nowhere to run nowhere to hide, no way to get off the island or summon help.

This is my first time reading anything by Russell James. I'll be on the look out for more.

I would definitely recommend this one for all horror fans.

I received an advance copy for review.

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Sweetheart, Sweetheart by Bernard Taylor

 

David Warwick, an Englishman living in New York, has a sudden premonition that his twin brother, Colin, is in danger. He returns to England and learns the shocking truth: both Colin and his young bride Helen have died ghastly deaths - deaths that no one in the village wants to talk about.

Now David has inherited his brother's home, Gerrard's Hill Cottage, a lovely house with a lush garden that seems to promise peace and comfort to all who dwell there. But as David tries to unearth the facts of what really happened to his brother and his wife, he has no idea of the horror and evil that surround him or the terrible fate that may be in store 
A chilling story that builds slowly and inexorably towards its shocking climax, Bernard Taylor's Sweetheart, Sweetheart (1977) has been recognized as one of the finest horror novels ever written. This edition features a new introduction by Michael Rowe.

I love that Valancourt Books have reprinted so many of the old classic horror novels, making what was once difficult to find in used condition brand new again for a new generation of horror readers. 

Previously, the only book I had read by this author was Godsend, so many years ago that I can only remember that I enjoyed it, I will need to reread someday. I had no idea he was such a prolific horror and true crime writer. After reading this one I have made it a point to get hold of several of his other titles and a collection of his short stories.

Sweetheart Sweetheart begins innocently enough, with an underlying tension and a slowly building feeling of unease. David has not heard back from his twin brother recently and begins to feel uncomfortable with the silence. True that David is busy with his new life, and new wife but odd that he has not written in some time. David feels compelled to fly off to England to check on him. His girlfriend thinks he is overreacting but he can not ignore the feeling of dread that compels him to go.

Upon his arrival he is told very coldly and bluntly that his brother is dead and that his father could not be bothered to call him in time for the funeral. Between his father and the locals he is given bits and pieces of the story, laden with rumor and innuendo but little in the way of facts and details. As David settles in to the cottage that has been left to him, he considers making it his permanent home, but the more he learns, the more he wants to know, and the more he finds out the clearer it becomes that there is a danger to staying in the lovely cottage where so much death has occurred. The gradual build up of creeping fear makes the ending that much more shocking. This story was brilliant. It is expertly crafted and perfectly executed.

5 out of 5 stars

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About the author
Bernard Taylor was born in Swindon, Wiltshire, and now lives in London. Following active service in Egypt in the Royal Air Force, he studied Fine Arts in Swindon, then at Chelsea School of Art and Birmingham University. On graduation he worked as a teacher, painter and book illustrator before going as a teacher to the United States. While there, he took up acting and writing and continued with both after his return to England. He has published ten novels under his own name, including The Godsend (1976), which was adapted for a major film, and Sweetheart, Sweetheart (1977), which Charles L. Grant has hailed as one of the finest ghost stories ever written. He has also written novels under the pseudonym Jess Foley, as well as several works of nonfiction.

The Devil's Mistress by David Barclay

 

Virginia 1705
Isabella Ashford is young, wealthy, and engaged to Thomas Huxley, who owns the most profitable sawmill in the American colonies. She appears to have the perfect life. Unfortunately for her, Thomas is a sadistic tyrant, and she has unwittingly fallen in love with Jacob, her father’s handsome young carriage driver.

The local apothecary, the Lady of the Hill, offers an elixir to make Thomas fall out of love with her. Isabella is skeptical at first, but to her surprise, is soon free of her engagement.

Then her father turns up dead. A watchman discovers Isabella's potion and accuses her of witchcraft. She’s dragged to the town gaol, where Thomas and his family delight in her torture. Isabella soon meets the Lady again. This time, the crone offers a new choice: continue to suffer at the hands of her tormentors, or become the very thing they fear.

As a horror lover and frequent reader of historical fiction nothing could pique my interest quicker than a story of witchcraft in the 1700s. It brought to mind the Witch movie by Robert Eggers in that Isabella was not a witch when she was accused and tortured. What she was, was desperate. What wouldn't we do to keep a loved one healthy for a little bit longer? Isabella was desperate to keep her father among the living. She was desperate to be free of an unwanted marriage to a vile and foul excuse for a man. It seems the good and godly people of Blackfriar see nothing wrong in bearing false witness against her, as long as it serves their purpose. When her friends and neighbors turned their backs on her, she found acceptance elsewhere. Together with the Lady of the Hill she will seek her revenge on those who have tormented her, and I can still hear their screams!

I received an advance copy for review.

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About the author
David Barclay is the author of The Devil's Mistress and the forthcoming novella, The Maker's Box.
After growing up in Maryland and attending Washington College, David believed he was going to use his English degree for good and become a teacher. Instead, he used it for evil and became a game developer. He's worked as a designer and writer in the industry for over fifteen years, providing blood sports for the masses and corrupting today's youth. When he's not busy in games, he's writing novels, and is already hard at work on his next project. He enjoys expensive wine, cheap paperbacks, Dark Souls, and all manner of combat sports.
He currently lives in Napa with his two black cats and his wife, novelist Merry Ravenell.