Sidney
Stone
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Suspense/
Date of Publication: December
2013
ASIN: B00HFYK99Q
Number of pages: 308
Word Count: 102,400
Cover Artist: Pencilbox Studios
Book Description:
“Do
not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to
bring peace, but a sword” - Matthew 10:34
Demons are preparing to launch
the Final War to destroy humanity.
Can one young woman wielding the
Sword of Jesus ensure our survival and redemption?
Will she lose both her love and
her soul in the process?
--
Read on for the interview! A big thanks to Sidney for dropping by :D
Stop. Who would cross the Bridge of Death must answer me these questions three, ere the other side he see.
Ha! Ha! Ha! Thank you for featuring my book. Great start and let me answer the questions so that I can get across the Bridge of Death :)
- What is your name? Sidney Stone
- What is your quest? Let’s see, right now to promote my cool little demon and the woman who may be our savior tale. Oh, and by day when I’m not a superhero writer I help finance affordable housing in Silicon Valley and try and be a good father to my whip-smart and funny 12 year old son.
- What is your favorite color? Purple totally which probably also explains why I’m a huge Prince fan
Just kidding, there are more than 3 questions.
Really? You mean there is more to this please buy my book begging, er, promoting process? ;)
Which orifice did you pull this story from (from whence did the inspiration come)?
A lot of friends of course would initially say I pulled it out of my ass until they read it and found out how good it is. It was a scary campfire story that I fleshed out with romance and deeper emotion. The tale was a story that stayed with me a long time and needed to be brought to life. Not only did the story come to life, but, it brought my love of writing back to life too.
I grew up very poor and ended up dropping out of High School. To escape I read a lot of early Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Tolkien. Eventually I got myself together, worked myself through college twice and eventually ended up with a Masters Degree in Urban and Regional Planning. The humble upbringings, the strength to persevere and those early writers all influence my writing to some degree. I hope I was able to combine the darkness with the light, while adding in deep characters, that will enable readers to become fully invested in my stories.
What was the most difficult thing about writing Jennifer Ainsley: The Final Demon War?
The constant editing and rewriting. I hired two editors, and took two years to make this the most professionally written book possible. I understand the frustration when readers take a chance on an independent writer and the formatting, grammar, cover, etc. is amateurish. And as an author, when you want the project completed, it is doubly frustrating that it takes so long to do it right. But, I wanted to do it right. And yet, even with all of this editing, a couple of typos still got through Arghh!!!
What was something you learned while writing Jennifer Ainsley: The Final Demon War?
It rekindled my love of writing. It also taught me that no matter how much you painstakingly outline the story ahead of time, once you breathe life into these characters they have a mind of their own. So much changed between the outline and finished product yet the overriding themes of love and loss still permeate the story.
What do you love the most about Jennifer Ainsley: The Final Demon War?
That I accomplished what I set out to do. Create a rich character driven story with deep emotion that still entertains and makes the reader think. Plus it has a lot of cool imagery, violence and a really hot sex scene!
What do you hate the most about Jennifer Ainsley: The Final Demon War?
That the sequel, which takes off immediately where the first one leaves off and does not let up with its more ambitious and epic scale; takes so long to write. I want everyone to read the entire tale yet again it takes time to do it right.
Give us your favorite blurb (paragraph/scene)from the story.
This sets up the importance of the only weapon that can fully kill off the demons. And only Jennifer Ainsley can wield this weapon:
Jonathon spoke with more urgency. “Ever read Matthew, chapter ten, verse thirty-four? In it Jesus states, ‘Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.’ Some people misinterpret that as allegory. Some people reject his message and react violently. He was really saying that he indeed brought a motherfucking sword—the Sword of Jesus. His forty days and forty nights in the desert weren't just about his wrestling with the Devil metaphorically but taking the battle physically to and against the demons. The Sword is the only thing that will kill them easily and completely. Bombs and machine guns sometimes do the trick—you know that—but not always. Demons usually can regenerate even after you hit them with automatic fire and multiple rounds. Also, what will mankind do if limited ammunition is available? What if the world ends and we have to fight the demons without technology?”
What are your future plans as an author?
Complete the second book and then look at all avenues to increase awareness of the books including selling through the traditional channels (i.e obtaining an agent and having books released through a publisher). I have many more ideas too so expect even more stories!
Thanks again for taking the time to feature my book! I hope your readers take a chance on an unknown writer. I promise they will not be disappointed!
Please
see following for Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest 284 word pitch and
1100 word opening chapter.
"Do
not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to
bring peace, but a sword."
-
Matthew 10:34
Jonathon Tait,
whose demon-enhanced 170-year-old life has helped make him the richest man in
the world, secretly renounces his alliance with demons in order to save his
twins and redeem himself in the eyes of the two women he loved and lost.
Jonathon has visions that his beautiful college-aged adopted daughter, Jennifer
Ainsley, may be the key to humanity's survival and works with an underground
movement to fight back against both the demons and the human leadership that is
guiding our civilization towards total annihilation.
Can Jennifer
wield the Sword of Jesus to fulfill her destiny even as the planet hurtles
towards its destruction? Is she mankind's only hope and can Jennifer save
everyone that she loves; including her destined soul mate Andrew Walker, or are
we all doomed?
Jennifer
Ainsley: The Final Demon War is a gripping, fast-paced fantasy/horror novel
grounded in the contemporary world. The characters are extremely likable and
engaging, and a great deal of humor is successfully incorporated into the book,
despite its often grim and macabre themes.
There are several action packed tour-de-force chapters including “Scenes
from the End” and “Kasey and Tracey’s Amazing Adventure”.
The book deftly
tackles issues of greed, humanity's neglect for its weakest members, the race
for power among individuals and nations, and the ability of love and courage to
transcend personal weaknesses. It is a tale that combines horror and fantasy to
tell a story of love, loss, sacrifice and redemption. It is the first chapter
of an exciting new trilogy that deserves to find a wider audience.
Chapter One
Heather
Heather couldn’t
believe she was going to die in front of her peacefully sleeping twins, who
were oblivious to the unspeakable acts occurring in their nursery. These
infants, this life, were all she had wanted, and in those lonely nights before
sleep overtook her, she admitted to herself that she had been groomed for this
since birth. She had been groomed to be a beautiful, nurturing wife to a wealthy
and powerful man and she had been groomed to care for his children and teach
them to take their rightful place in the world while she also maintained this
lovely home—with a slew of maids, servants, and other staff of course. She
threw the best dinner parties and had a special banquet hall included in the
new Napa Valley estate just for that purpose. She knew all the right people to
invite, and they raised all the right money for all the right charities.
Yet here she was
in midair, swaying back and forth, seeing herself reflected in the rectangular
Craftsman-style floor mirror she personally had picked out for the nursery. The
demon Palvakia held Heather by her strawberry-blonde hair, a mane her husband
Jonathon Tait called “gorgeously luxurious,” while her lithe and toned, almost
split-in-two body, spilled her blood and guts onto the new Berber carpet (a
lovely light blue she also had personally picked out for the nursery). How
important Heather had thought every design detail of this room was. She had
placed so much importance on the mundane materials that now meant nothing. She
was escaping into the blackness now, the dark abyss whose passage she hoped
ended with a consummating light. Was there light beyond death and beyond this
horror?
It was insane,
Heather thought, that her husband, the man she loved and admired, was watching
this scene unfold with an expressionless face as Mordock, a repulsive and
despised demon, stood next to him. Mordock was in human form right now, unlike
the demon who had torn her in half, but Heather still felt the evil lurking
underneath. She had tried to banish Mordock from their lives and had pleaded
with her husband to stand up to him. Yet Jonathon had done nothing to remove
him from their lives or to stop Mordock from carrying out her murder. If there
was a light at the end, how could the Keeper of Light cause this to happen or
not prevent it in the first place?
And what of the
twins? Alexander and Sophia were so beautiful and full of life, with old-soul
eyes, even as infants. My lovely babies, Heather thought with her last bit of
consciousness. Who will keep you from harm? Can your father somehow be your
guardian angel? Will he succeed with you where he failed with me? The darkness
with the light behind it is approaching. Will I see you in heaven? How long
will I have to wait? Hopefully a long, long time…
Heather took her
last breaths just as Palvakia began to devour her. To her horror, though, death
did not come instantaneously. A morbid trick of the demons is to keep their
victims on the cusp of dying so they can witness themselves being eaten.
Heather couldn’t even scream as the pain ripped through the ever-decreasing
parts of her body.
When Palvakia
was finished, not one ounce of the physical being that once had been Heather
Tait was left in the room. Even the carpet was clean…and the twins continued to
sleep peacefully.
About
the Author:
Sidney Stone is a hiker, deer
whisperer and non-pretentious wine connoisseur. An addicted reviewer on Yelp,
he is also creator of affordable housing (although technically he is homeless
part-time), thinks The Replacements are the best band of the Eighties and loves
to boost his LinkedIn count with people he doesn't know.
He lives in both Northern and
Southern California while constantly traveling to Orange County to visit his
son, who can now beat his father at ping pong and chess rather easily (and is
charmingly arrogant while doing it). A graduate of UC Irvine and Pepperdine
University, Sidney wishes he chose at least one university to attend that had a
college football team to root for.
The first scene Sidney thought of
for Jennifer Ainsley: The Final Demon War included a rather large massacre
(take that for what it is worth). However, inspired by the works of Stephen
King, Dean Koontz and Clive Barker; the book's violence is offset by dark humor
and deep human emotion just like in real life where Sidney's darkness is offset
by creatively placed sarcasm and an overwrought romanticism. For example, while
Jennifer Ainsley: The Final Demon War is a Fantasy-Horror novel, Sidney also
still tears up at the end of both Field of Dreams and An Officer and a
Gentleman.
