What would you like to tell readers about yourself?
* I graduated summa cum laude from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale with a Mass Communications degree. I worked for ten years as a print journalist for regional daily newspapers before switching careers to work in public safety at a 9-1-1 emergency call center. I find my new job challenging, but I missed writing and storytelling. I’ve only been writing fiction the past three years.
What book are you going to tell us about today? Is it part of a series? If so, what's the order the books should be read in?
* Wrage is the second book of my Sons of Darkness Series of occult thrillers centering on police investigations into brutal killings in the organized crime-corrupted Midwestern city of Prairieville. Grim, my professional debut, is the first book in the series. You can read the books out of order, but Wrage picks up where Grim left off and readers would understand all of what’s happening better if they read them in order.
How'd you/your muse come up with this story?
* I had a few different inspirations. I became fascinated with Heath Ledger’s Joker character in Dark Knight and also Dexter Morgan in Jeff Lindsay’s Dexter series. I wanted to create antihero characters which created chaos in their environments like the Joker and Dexter. I’m also a huge fan of the TV show Supernatural, so I strived to mix an occult thriller with the traditional crime novel to come up with a unique story.
Describe the main character in five words.
* Jeff Wrage is 1) lost 2) desperate 3)conflicted 4)powerful 5) redeemed
Describe another character in five words.
* Anna Duke is 1)heartbroken 2)alone 3)motivated 4)mysterious 5) resilient
Describe a third character in five words.
* Christopher Sinks is 1) depressed 2)desperate 3) sadistic 4) trapped 5) deadly
Who's your favorite character in the book & why?
* My favorite character is Abaddon. He is a demon who strikes a deal with Jeff Wrage to help him avenge his murdered wife. Abaddon seeks justice for souls of violent crimes who are unable to move on in the afterlife because their affairs were left unsettled in life. Abaddon’s bargain is that Jeff must kill murderers to receive help in hunting down his wife’s killer.
What's your favorite line in the story?
* “That’s the irony. The greatest detective in the world was totally clueless.” – Detective Ryan Winkle on hero cop Adam White being unaware that his protégé Anna Duke had a crush on him.
A look into the story
* As more dark secrets come to light, the battle for souls pushes Prairieville to the brink of war in the living and supernatural realms.
* Jeff Wrage swears a blood oath to Abaddon, the supernatural avenger of murder victims, to hunt the crooked cop who butchered his wife. Jeff wonders whether he can be the executioner Abaddon requires. Their pact throws the supernatural realm in chaos and threatens to trigger an apocalyptic fight for control of the afterlife between the Sons of Darkness and Sons of Light foretold in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
* Orlando Marino sees the death of Cyrus Black as his opportunity to restore the Marino family's stronghold in Prairieville’s organized crime scene and become a mob kingpin. He unleashes a plague, turning its victims into mindless followers. Cyrus' heir is busy rooting out a traitor and is unable to stop the coming turf war in the realm of man.
* The fate of all rests with Homicide Detective Anna Duke, who steps into the shoes of her mentor while coming to terms with unrequited love. As she tries to clear the fallen hero's name, she takes on a case where corpses go missing. Her new partner is reported dead. She learns the truth about her true identity and uncovers a trail of secrets questioning her tragic past. She journeys to avert the destruction of all creation.
* Something hard and cold with jagged edges pressed into his back.
* When he tried to move, iron shackles strained against the skin of his arms and legs. Chained to a rock in a dry stream bed, he knew he’d become a helpless prisoner who could do nothing more than wait for his captor. Stormy skies threatened from directly above him with bright flares of lightning snaking among sooty clouds and disappearing. Out of the corner of his eye, he could detect that the sun was shining brightly on the other side of the rock.
* Scant rays of brilliant sunshine peeked over the rock, reflecting bright light off a magnificent golden shrine on a bank not far from where he was chained.
* This can’t be real. He’d never seen a place like this in his life.
* Large wet drops crashed against his skin. The coolness of the rain streaking down his body caused steam to rise from his skin, which he noticed had turned a dark shade of crimson. The only being this red was….
* “Lucifer,” a calm voice echoed from above Jeff on the shoreline.
* A giant, dressed in white armor sparkling like diamonds in the spare sunlight, stepped into view. He wielded a golden-hilted silver sword in one hand and a silver shield with the Latin inscription “Quis ut Deus” (I am like God) on the front in the other hand. He loomed above Jeff. A large gold cross ran down the center of the giant’s breastplate. A second inlaid golden cross glinted at the center of his white helmet. The helmet obscured his face, save for flawless ivory skin which radiated a blinding light. There was something across his back casting a large shadow, but Jeff couldn’t see what it was.
* “You were thinking of Lucifer, whose skin is often portrayed as red,” the giant said. The ivory giant stepped into full view. From his back a pair of massive wings spanned over ten feet wide and five feet long majestically fluttering in the breeze, yet didn’t cast a shadow. The rain pelting Jeff in the eyes didn’t touch this giant. He certainly was no man. The only thing Jeff could compare it to would be—
* “An angel,” the giant completed Jeff’s sentence again. “You are correct.”
Buy Wrage here...
Damnation Books | Amazon | OmniLit | Barnes & Noble
Find Joseph Spencer here...
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Thank you for joining us here today, Joseph Spencer! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.
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