Dishing it up with Alan Nayes

Today I have the pleasure of dishing it up with Alan Nayes. Alan was born in Houston and grew up on the Texas gulf coast. He lives in Southern California. He is the author of the critically-acclaimed biomedical thrillers, GARGOYLES and THE UNNATURAL. His most recent releases are BARBARY POINT, SMILODON, GIRL BLUE and PLAGUE.


An avid outdoorsman and fitness enthusiast, he is one of only a few individuals to ever swim across Wisconsin’s chilly Lake Winnebago. When not working on his next project, he enjoys relaxing and fishing at the family vacation home in Wisconsin.

JET: Can you tell us about your most recent book, Plague?

Alan: I’d love to, J.E. First, thank you for hosting me. PLAGUE is the second book in my Resurrection Trilogy series starring my most favorite character, Amoreena Daniels. The first book GARGOYLES finds Amoreena immersed in a diabolical biomed experiment. She survives, with the help of some close friends, but just barely. PLAGUE picks up the story four years later. When Amoreena’s nemesis from GARGOYLES unwittingly unleashes a highly virulent gene-altering viron, the resulting world-wide infection is catastrophic. Amoreena is reunited with her companions from GARGOYLES and together they must flee for their lives. Only in PLAGUE there is no place to run. The civilized world as Amoreena knows it has come to an abrupt end! PLAGUE is her story of trying to survive the initial onslaught of this wide spread epidemic.

JET: What drew you to horror and thrillers?

Alan: I’ve always been attracted to stories that possess a supernatural element. They are fun to read. Two of my all time favorite horror novels are Stephen King’s THE STAND and James Cronin’s THE PASSAGE. Since I was a child I’ve enjoyed watching horror movies—from the original Draculas and Frankensteins to more recent Hollywood endeavors. I thought THE RING was a pretty decent film. After watching and reading so much horror, I decided I needed to try and write one. THE UNNATURAL was my first horror publication. GIRL BLUE and PLAGUE will be my most recent releases in the horror/thriller genre.

JET: What’s been your most challenging hurdle on the road to publication?

Alan: Getting one of the big six publishers to look at my material was incredibly challenging. For me, just getting a reputable literary agent was really difficult. There is so much competition out there, so many talented writers. I’m in two camps now—Samhain Publishers is releasing GIRL BLUE and I’m continuing as an indie, releasing PLAGUE this January. What follows after these releases only time will tell.

JET: What was your favorite moment in the journey?

Alan: J.E. that’s an easy question. Receiving my first advance check in the mail. Wouldn’t mind receiving some more of those…

JET: Which authors had the most influence over you growing up?

Alan: That’s not an easy one to answer as I really can’t claim to have a favorite author. There are plenty of good authors out there who create really good stories. I think my answer is going to be: it is more the stories that influence me than the authors. I’m inspired when I read a very entertaining novel and this is what influences me to try to write better myself—if that makes any sense.

JET: When did you know you wanted to take the plunge into the writing world?

Alan: After I moved to southern California in the 80’s I decided to take a creative writing class at a local community college. I’d written some music in college but when I realized I couldn’t sing real well—not at all actually—I switched to stories. After several failed attempts at breaking into the screenwriting business I decided I would have a better chance at novels. Not much better, but I am making progress. My mantra—every day write something. Even if it is only some responses to an interview. Lol.

JET: What’s the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of book research? Most interesting fact you uncovered?

Alan: For my horror thriller THE UNNATURAL, I met with the man in charge of maintaining the complex Los Angeles sewer system. You would not believe how massive a system it requires to haul away all our “by-products”. Interesting fact—in researching SMILODON, the huge explosion over Siberia in 1908 was from a huge meteor and was 1000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.

JET: Of all the novels and stories you’ve written - which one is your favorite? Why?

Alan: I would have to say GARGOYLES. I really like the main character, Amoreena Daniels and it was my first published story.

JET: Any advice for the novices out there?

Alan: Three words—persistence, persistence, and…persistence. Also, as long as you believe in your project you should never give up.

JET: All right - now that I’ve hammered you with the big questions, let’s tackle my favorite (and geeky) quick ten…starting with…Paper or Plastic?

Alan: Paper—it’s more biodegradable. Plus plastic would not be comfortable when suffering from a runny nose or when you are in the bathroom—never mind.

JET: Steak or Tofu?

Alan: Steak, even though tofu is a heck of a lot better on my cholesterol.

JET: Beach or Mountains?

Alan: Mountains.

JET: Country or Rock-n-Roll?

Alan: Have to say country, though many of my favorite songs are also rock.

JET: Top 10 best seller or Unknown Back Shelf Find?

Alan: Unknown back shelf find—more mysterious.

JET: Zombies or Demons?

Alan: Zombies.

JET: Paper or Digital?

Alan: Paper. (not plastic)

JET: Silent Film Classics or Cheesy B Rated Horror?

Alan: Did someone say Nightmare on Elm Street or Halloween?

JET: Sword wielding ninja or Gun toting momma?

Alan: Give me the gun-totin’ momma. She can kill you from twenty feet away! (not you but the ninja)

JET: Coffee or Tea?

Alan: Tea. Never drank much coffee, though I love coffee flavored ice cream.

JET: Thank you for indulging me. Before we wrap this up, can you tell us what you're working on now? What next?

Alan: Just completed PLAGUE, the second book in the Resurrection Trilogy series (GARGOYLES being the first). My next project that I am finishing up is titled HEMLOCK POND. HEMLOCK POND is about a woman and her young son who move into an old farmhouse with a haunted pond on the property. Also, I’m completing the final edits on my Samhain Publishing release GIRL BLUE.

And thank you for hosting me, J. E.

JET: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat on my blog. Folks, you can find out more about Alan Nayes and his work at the following places:

Website: http://anayes.com/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/527589.Alan_Nayes
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/mflYEU
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/alannayes
Blog: http://alannayes.blogspot.com/

You can purchase his books at the following places:
BARBARY POINT :   Amazon        Barnes & Noble   Smashwords 

GARGOYLES (Book One of the Resurrection Trilogy):  Amazon   Barnes & Noble   Smashwords  

THE UNNATURAL:  Amazon    Barnes & Noble   Smashwords

SMILODON:  Amazon       Amazon UK     Barnes & Noble     Smashwords

Thank you for swinging in!

Until Next time,

Ciao

JET