About the Author:
From Wikipedia: Mike Kearby (born 1952) is an
American novelist and inventor. Since 2005, Kearby has published ten novels,
one graphic novel, and written two screenplays: (2011) Boston Nightly, with fellow writer Paul
Bright and (2012) The Devouring. Boston
Nightly is scheduled for filming in the spring of 2013.
Kearby was
born in Mineral Wells, Texas,
and received a B.S. from North
Texas State
University (now the University of North Texas) in 1972. He taught high
school English and reading for 10 years and created ""The
Collaborative Novella Project"" The project allows future authors to
go through the novel writing process from idea to published work. Kearby began
novel writing in 2005 and has completed eight novels, one graphic novel, and
written the afterword to the TCU Press 2010 release of western novelist's,
Elmer Kelton, ""The Far Away Canyon"".
""Ambush
at Mustang Canyon"" was a finalist for the
2008 Spur Awards.
""A
Hundred Miles to Water"" was awarded the 2011 Will Rogers Medallion
Award for Best Adult Fiction.
“Texas Tales
Illustrated” was awarded the 2012 Will Rogers Medallion Award for Best YA
Non-Fiction.
Title: Kavachi's Rise
Series: The Devouring #1
Author: Mike Kearby
Genre: Damnation Books
Publisher: Horror, Thriller
Paperback/Ebook
Words: 56,000
Purchase:
TBA
Book Description:
A Dark
Secret. Thomas Morehart and his sister, Kara are vampyre, not the undead, but
creatures evolved over hundreds of thousands of years to mimic their prey, man.
Then - rescued from a Nazi Prison Camp, Thomas and Kara are brought to the U.S. and forced
to work inside government-owned mortuaries. Now -betrayed by the government
sixty-seven years later, Thomas and Kara are in a race against time to
transform back to their feral states or risk Exsanguination by government
sanctioned hit squads.
Excerpt:
The soldiers knew this
lieutenant. Knew of him, anyway. Nikolai Borisoff was his Russian name, but if
all the rumors were true, nobody knew his real name. Others of his kind
referred to him as, “Rom baro,” the big man. But in the stories he was
known simply as the necromancer hunter.
“Shall we put him in
with the others, sir?” one soldier asked.
Nikolai ignored the
question and squared himself off to stand face-to-face with the prisoner. He
stared into the darkness of the creature’s eyes. “How do you write yourself?”
he asked in Amria.
The creature stopped
rocking. He looked up and opened a dark pit of a mouth. A word tumbled out:
“Death.”
Nikolai frowned, “But
where are the others?”
Death tilted his head
right and left, like a confused animal trying to make sense of an unfamiliar
sound. After several seconds of the head movement, he parted leathery lips and
emitted a rattling laugh.
“Others?”
“Yes, the others, like
yourself.”
“Killed, dead. All
meat.”
“In the showers?”
“A death they would have
welcomed.”
Nikolai leaned back. He
stared across his left shoulder, down the rows of barracks where the camp’s
prisoners were being assembled. The 48thhad found only a handful
of them, yet intelligence had said there would be thousands. Reports had
indicated as many as twenty thousand. He turned back to Death.
“Where?” he asked.
Death lifted his chin
toward the camp entrance. “There,” he whispered. “Only a short way from the
death gate. Toward the sea.”
Nikolai looked past the
gathered prisoners and through the opened gates of the camp. Pine and aspen
lined the road for as far as he could see. He turned back, questioning, “In the
woods?”
“In the ground.”
Nikolai frowned. “Can
you show me?”
Death shook his head. “I
prefer here. It’s very bad luck to go to that place.”
“Why?”
Death began to rock
again. “It’s a madhouse filled with all kinds of madness.”
Nikolai studied Death’s
face. “Then you’ve been there?”
Death wagged a finger in
Nikolai’s direction. “Oh, I went there once. It might even have been twice or
maybe three times. I can’t be sure, for the madness takes away one’s
sensibility.”
“And your job there?”
“I helped push the carts
back to this camp.”
“Back? What had been on
the carts before?”
“Creatures.”
“And when you returned?”
“Shoes…and pyjamas…and
hair.”
“And what of those who
once wore the shoes and pyjamas and hair?”
Death rested his chin
against his knees once more and resumed his monotonous cantillate. Then, just
as quickly, stopped. It looked up at Nikolai. Its pupils contracted. “Porrajmos!”
Nikolai narrowed his
eyes and pinched his bottom lip between his thumb and forefinger. His gaze
darted back to the front gate and to the forests outside. “Are you saying
violate?”
Death’s face twisted. He
screamed again, “Porrajmos!”
Nikolai shook his head
and released his lip. “To open? To open one’s mouth?”
Death stopped rocking
and stared ahead, rigid. His pupils dilated back to their dead state. He
exhaled a short breath, then pushed his right index finger into a spot just
below his right ear and directly above his jawbone. He held his finger in the
spot for several breaths, as if to make sure Nikolai understood, then slowly
dragged the finger down his neck to his collarbone.
Nikolai watched,
fascinated at the visual. “Rip open?” he uttered.
Death shook his head,
exasperated, exhaled a rattling breath, and motioned with an outstretched finger
for Nikolai to lean close.
Nikolai stooped forward
and turned an ear toward Death’s mouth.
A gush of stagnant air
rushed from the man’s lips and flowed across Nikolai’s cheek and nose.
Nikolai jerked away from
the dead gas -- and from the two words that had drifted on the offensive fumes.
He sucked in a quick breath and jerked the pilotka from his head.
Death nodded blindly, as
if pleased, and then started rocking again.
Nikolai could only stare
at the living corpse swaying in front of him.
Porrajmos.
Such a simple word.
And when translated into
Russian, two words: The devouring.
Interview Questions….
What inspired you to become a writer?
As a young boy, I read short stories by Ray Bradbury. I
loved his stories: his ability to paint a picture with his words, and the
strange twists he devised inside his storyline. I was hooked and decided that
one day I would be a writer.
What genre(s) do you write? Why do you write the stories
that you write?
I write horror, Sci-fi, and historical fiction. I think like many writers, I write what my
imagination “kicks-out.” The sad fact of writing is: you must write the story
in your head if for no other reason than to get it out of your head.
Where did the inspiration for your book come from?
The idea for The
Devouring came while sitting at a red light in Lampasas, Texas. Glancing
around, I saw a funeral home on the corner of the intersection and was
immediately struck by the thought - if I were vampire, that’s where I’d hang
out. I’m sure every writer in the writing world can relate to the fact that
once an idea invades your mind, it will not leave until you write the story.
So, The Devouring was born. Plus, I felt it was time to “evolve” the vampire
story from the undead to living creatures that were an apex predator.
How long did it take you to put the story together?
I spent 3 months researching the Romani Holocaust, Vampire
legend, and prey mimicry in nature. Then another 3 months to write the story.
Can you share a little about your novel with us? (About the Book) and/or (Excerpt)
The Devouring is based on my premise that vampire are not the undead,
but an animal species evolved over millions of years to harvest a specific
amino acid chain in human blood. I make the distinction by calling my
characters vampyre in the book. After WWII, vampyre are domesticated by the
U.S. government. The domestication is achieved by allowing the vampyre to run
government owned mortuaries where they have an unlimited supply of blood.
That’s the storyline. The plot, of course, is much more involved.
Who is your favorite character in your novel and why?
The vampyre sister, Tetanya. The funny thing about Tetanya
is she literally hijacked my writing after chapter nine, demanding more reader
face-time. I finally buckled to her wishes and gave her an equal role with her
brother.
Now that your book is getting ready to hit the stores
describe how you feel in one sentence?
Exhaustively pleased and pleasantly exhausted.
What has surprised you the most about the whole processes of
getting your book on the market?
The speed of publication from the time the contract was signed
to the book’s release. It was the fastest of any book I have sold.
How many books have you written?
10 Novels / 1 Graphic Novel
Horror:
- The Resonance (2011)
- The Devouring~Kavachi’s Rise (2012)
Historical Fiction:
- The Road to a Hanging (2006)
- Ride the Desperate Trail (2007)
- Ambush at Mustang Canyon (2007), 2008 Spur Award Finalist
- The Last Renegade (2009)
- The Taken (2010)
- A Hundred Miles to Water (2010), 2011 Will Rogers Medallion Award for Best Adult Fiction
- Dead Man's Saddle (2011)
Science
Fiction:
- The 13th Baktun (2008)
Graphic
Novel:
- Texas Tale Illustrated (April, 2011) 2012 Will Rogers Medallion Award for Best YA Non-Fiction
What are you working on next?
The Devouring Annihilation
and a mystery, Chip Shot to Murder.
What do you like to do for fun when you’re not writing?
Cooking with my wife - Enjoying great food with family or
friends.
How can readers contact you?
Website: www.mikekearby.com
Email: mikearby@hughes.net
When does your book
go on sale and where can we buy it?
Book went on sale on Sept 1, 2012.
eBook versions can be found at:
Print Copies will
be available Sept 20, 2012 through your favorite book source.
Last but not least is there anything that you would like to
add?
Yes, Thank you for having me!
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