Interviews

Author Jon S. Lewis kindly agreed to an interview with SciFiChick.com to discuss his recent release Invasion: A CHAOS Novel ! Lewis has written several books for children in the Grey Griffins series, co-authored with Derek Benz, as well as a comic series called Free Realms for Wildstorm/DC Comics.

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Can you tell us a bit about the CHAOS series and Invasion in your own words?

The series was inspired by the story of David & Goliath, but David has a jet pack and Goliath is a giant robot. It boils down to a land battle, where a race of aliens has destroyed their world and now they want ours. It’s part Fringe, part X-Files, part Star Wars, and part Rocketeer, all wrapped up in a unique twist.

During Colt’s training, he sees that CHAOS is using Trident technology. Yet they seem to be enemies. Will that connection be explored?

Great eye! Yes, it will. Trident is a lot like GE, where they have their hands in just about everything. So no matter what, you probably have something in your house from GE. Like that, the odds of the government or military not having something built by Trident is pretty slim.

Do you have a certain number of books that you’re contracted for in the series?

This will be a trilogy, but we’ve talked about expanding it. It’s hard to predict that future, because I have a short attention span and there are a lot of stories I want to write. You never can tell. But I love working with Amanda Bostic (my editor), and look forward to a long career together with her.

Thomas Nelson is a Christian imprint, yet the spiritual references in the book are fairly subtle. Is the hope that this series will be more mainstream than others?

Yes. What I like about Thomas Nelson is that they produce amazing books from a Christian worldview instead of books just because Christians wrote them. That is an important distinction. I loved The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe because you can read it as two different stories, and that’s my goal with these books. I want to be true to my beliefs while still writing fun stories that entertain.

What are some of the major differences between writing novels versus comics? Do you prefer one over the other?

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Author JK Beck granted SciFiChick.com with an exclusive interview to talk about her current series – the Shadow Keepers!

Can you tell us a bit about the Shadow Keepers series?

Sure! The series is set in and around a paranormal judicial system that’s been in existence since pretty much the beginning of time. Nowadays, the system is hidden within our own judicial system. In the United States, for example, it’s a secret arm of Homeland Security, but the only humans who know its true purpose are those at the highest level of our government and the few select humans who work for the PEC (Paranormal Enforcement Coalition).

What is different about the Shadow Keepers series that sets it apart from the other urban fantasy/paranormal romance novels?

Well, obviously all books take the spin of their author, and that’s a uniqueness right there. As for these books, they’re very dark and gritty, and are peppered with paranormal characters with their own moral compass that may or may not be in alignment with how humans would perceive the world. The stories are also told from multiple points of view, which isn’t that unusual, but it’s a something I enjoy both as a reader and a writer!

How did your idea for the paranormal judicial system come about?

I don’t remember the exact aha! moment, but the fact that I love, love, love writing about paranormal stuff meshed fabulously with my background as a litigator. Once I had the idea, it was totally an “oh! Duh!” moment.

Your vampire/daemon idea is different from others as well. Do you feel like you need to break from that traditional vampire mythology when writing your stories?

No. I just write the story that I want to tell and to read. The daemon concept came about because I wanted more accountability, for lack of a better word. I’m a huge Buffy fan, but one thing that struck me early on (episode 2, I believe) was Giles telling Xander that his friend (Jesse?) was no longer Jesse. There was an external force—a demon—coming into the bodies and doing the vamp thing. I wanted to explore the concept of the darkness coming from within, not from the outside. Vamping flipping a switch, if you will, and turning up the evil.

Are there just the 3 planned for the series?

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