E. Chris Garrison

I am proud to have with me today, my good friend and fellow Seventh Star Press author, John F. Allen! John, as I write this, you’ve gotten your first shipment of print copies of THE GOD KILLERS, your debut novel. I know what a thrill it is to see ideas take solid form, but tell my readers, how do YOU feel?

— I’m ecstatic right now! I have to routinely pinch myself to affirm that I’m not dreaming or in an episode of The Twilight Zone. I’m very happy, proud and blessed to be in the position that I find myself in right now. I have to thank God, my family and friend for this and I’m very appreciative for all of those who have supported and believed in me. THANKS EVERYONE & REMEMBER TBIYTC (The Best Is Yet To Come)!!!

I know a little about THE GOD KILLERS, Ivory Blaque, and your urban fantasy world. To me, it has a super-heroic feeling to it. Would you agree to that? What inspires you to write high-powered, action-packed modern-day fantasy?

— Yes, there is a very real “Super-Heroic” feel to Ivory Blaque and it’s intentional. My background in writing stories comes from a love of comic books, action-adventure/swashbuckler stories, mysteries, fantasy, science fiction, mythology and action films. I suppose when you combine all of those things and put them into prose, you get something like The God Killers!  I have quite a few writing inspirations from various sources of media (far too many to name individually).

This is going to be a crazy busy summer for us, appearing all around. What event do you look forward to the most?

— From a familiarity standpoint, I’d say Fandom Fest. I have plenty of very positive experiences from last year and hope that this year is a repeat of them. From a standpoint of anticipation, I’d say Context! This will be my first time attending and I’m very much looking forward to it. I also may get to visit with some relatives I haven’t seen in a long time while I’m there as well.

I did a Fourth Wall Friday on the Cabin Goddess site recently. In it, I had a conversation with one of my characters, though it wasn’t a situation I’d relish in real life. If you could pick a character from THE GOD KILLERS to hang out with for a day, who would it be? What would you do?

— I think I’d most like to hang out with Ivory Blaque. I think that she’d be fun to laugh and joke with, not to mention nice to look at!

At InConJunction, I liked hearing you talk about your passion for writing that goes back to childhood, how you’ve always had stories to tell. This seems to be your moment to step into the spotlight. What do you bring to the table, what makes your voice fresh and new? What do you hope readers take away from THE GOD KILLERS?

— Wow! No pressure here…(smile)! I think that I bring a strong, direct and independent character to the forefront and put her into impossible and precarious situations which require her to use both her brains and brawn to overcome. I think that if my readers take anything away from The God Killers is that the protagonist Ivory Blaque is an interesting and dynamic character with plenty of flaws and plenty of action packed stories to be told about her.

You’re not just a writer, you’re an artist too. How does your art influence your writing, and vice versa?

— I think that because of my background in visual arts, I tend to see the images of the scenes I write more vividly than most other writers do. This is a blessing in that I am usually able to draw more details into my writing and paint an even clearer picture for the reader. It’s also a curse in that when I have to work with other artists (cover artwork, interior artwork, promo artwork, etc…) I tend to have a distinct vision and due to artistic license, I might come off as a bit of a taskmaster.

Thanks for dropping by, John. Before you go, please answer one more question for me:

I’ve been jokingly dubbed the Seventh Star Brewmaster by our own Stephen Zimmer. What unofficial title would you say fits you in our group? (and by the way, what’s your adult beverage of choice?)

— My title according to Stephen is: Seventh Star Karaoke Master! As for adult beverages, it’s a triple answer: Cognac, Beer and Wine…I drink all three with the same passion!!!