Blog Tour: DARK WALKER SERIES

DARK WALKER SERIES

Shelly Campbell

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GENRE:   Speculative Fiction/Horror/ Dark Sci-fi

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Series Blurb: 

When we were children, they told us monsters weren’t real. They were dead wrong.

It’s just a closet door with a skeleton key, but when David opens it, he unlocks a gateway to a sinister world that’s bent on destroying everything and everyone he loves. Some doors are better left closed. 

Embark on a thrilling journey with the Dark Walker Series, and be transported into an interdimensional tale of monsters, lies and self-discovery. Where the terror of darkness is real and the line between ally and enemy is as thin as a blade.

“Equal parts coming of age story and otherworldly horror, Gulf probes the depths of loneliness, loss of identity and childhood trauma. It is a true treat for fans of the genre and had me clutched in its razor-clawed hands from the first word to the last.” -C.M. Forest author of Infested

Book One Blurb:

Seventeen-year-old David is fading from his world, like a Polaroid picture in reverse. He longs to feel connected to something bigger.

When his brothers discover the new extension at the rental cottage comes with a locked door, David finds the key first. Expecting to claim a bedroom, he opens a dimensional gateway instead, exploring abandoned versions of his world in different timelines, 1960s muscle cars alternating with crumbling cottages.

Except now the dimensional bridge won’t close, and something hungry claws the door at night. David scours for clues to break the bridge, but each trip to the other side makes him fade more on his. Even if he succeeds, he risks severing his connection to his own world, and dying on the wrong side, forgotten.

Book Two Blurb:

There are doors that open to other worlds, but it’s no fairytale on the other side.

I thought otherworldly monsters bent on devouring my whole world starting with my family trumped everything. Turns out, I was wrong. My world’s only one of thousands facing annihilation from the maneaters that tried to eat me alive. Charlie saved me, rolled into my life on a motorcycle, and rescued me.

Problem is, I’m the Embassy’s property now. They’re the interdimensional agency tasked with stemming the flow of ravenous aliens into our universe, but they seem more interested in studying me. I crashed a gateway in a way they’ve never seen. The Embassy wants to replicate that. I think they want to use me as a war weapon.

If I don’t convince Charlie to help me escape, I’ll be an Embassy science experiment for the rest of my short life, or worse, eternally trapped in the dark hell that fills the spaces between worlds.

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EXCERPT:

“James?” I try again. “Wake up, James. It’s back.” 

I need someone else to feel it, to experience the icy breath of air from under the door and see if it’s as foreboding to them as it is to me, or if they can sense it at all.

Maybe it’s just messed up circuitry in my mind.

James doesn’t wake up, just shuffles around in the loft like a slow-motion pinball. Eventually, I climb the ladder and pull the beanbag across the gap in the railing. He’ll break his neck one of these nights. When my feet hit the main floor, the draft washes over them and makes me flinch. I lick my lips and ignore the soft rattle of the five-panel door in its frame.

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Interview:

Where are you from? Tell us a little about yourself!

I’m from Alberta, Canada. I’m the proud Mom of two boys and, when I’m not playing in imaginary worlds, I’m watching them play baseball or hockey, or I’m gardening, or paddle-boarding. Anything to avoid cleaning the house ☺


Tell us about your book? How did it get started?

Gulf, book one of the Dark Walker series actually started as a short story writing exercise prompt that simply said: there is a locked door. Your character finds the only key. What’s on the other side? Writing that helped form the character of David. I liked him so much, and there were so many ways to expand upon him and his world, a short story wasn’t nearly enough. 

As a teenager, I often felt a bit invisible. I wanted to make these big impacts in the world, but at the same time felt unequipped to do so. I really wanted to amplify that. What if David was actually becoming invisible and forgettable. How would that affect him and his family? What if this was a horror novel and horrible, hungry things were trying to get onto his side of the door, and he couldn’t warn the people he loved, because they couldn’t see or hear him?

That’s the basic premise of Gulf.

How do you create your characters?

Once I’ve formed an outline, I start writing, and the characters seem to come to life on their own, so I suppose I get to know my characters in the same manner that my readers do, as the story progresses. Sometimes, when I’m stuck in a scene, I find it’s because I’m asking my imaginary people to do something out of character, something they just wouldn’t do and I have to go back and adjust.

Often, I sketch character portraits to help me picture the person I’m writing about, but in David’s case, I wanted to play with that idea of invisibility. The interior illustrations I created for Gulf and Breach never really give us a firm picture of what David looks like.

Fun fact, there’s not a single physical description of David in Gulf either. I never describe his eye colour, height, or his appearance like I do for some of his family members.

What inspires and what got you started in writing?

I’m inspired by odd ideas in my head that just won’t let go of me until I write them down. I’ve written since I was young, and even back then,my tales were the disturbing kind that often ended with my parents getting called in to my principal’s office to discuss why Shelly’s stories never had happy endings. (I promise that David gets a somewhat happy ending.)

Where do you write? Is there something you need in order to write (music, drinks?)

Oh gosh. I’m all over the place. My laptop just died so right now I’m writing on my IPad wherever I’m comfortable. In a La-Z-Boy chair. Out in the backyard with the birds and the pond. Bedroom desk. Kitchen table. I like to edit on our dual screen computer in the office, and I need quiet or instrumental music on my headphones to get into the writing zone. Being far from my phone and the temptations of endless social media scrolling helps too.

How do you get your ideas for writing?

It varies. Most writers I know (including myself) are people watchers. Sometimes it’s an interesting character I pass in a mall. Or, an idea springs from a news article, or something I’ve watched or read, or a piece of art. A lot of my writing involves just tweaking the real world, altering one or two big things so I can explore the ripples that kind of change would make in societies and individuals.

What do you like to read?

I like to read sci-fi, fantasy and horror books, but I genre hop a bit too. If something hooks my attention and holds it, regardless of what section of the bookstore it’s in, I’ll read the heck out of it. 

What would your advice to be for authors or aspiring in regards to writing?
Feed your Imagination. Read. People watch. Explore books on craft, but not too many—that’s a whole different kind of procrastination! Take the advice you like and leave the rest and then just write. It’s a skill. Like anything else, the only way to get better at it is to keep writing and reading. And rest assured, there’s a reader out there who needs your books. It’s a magical way of connecting with people across the voids of distance and time, just a bunk of ink and bound paper, creating pictures and characters and worlds in someone else’s head. 

Anything else you’d like to share?

I think I’ve rambled enough! Thanks again for having me. Really appreciate the support!

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

At a young age, Shelly Campbell wanted to be an air show pilot or a pirate, possibly a dragon and definitely a writer and artist. She’s piloted a Cessna 172 through spins and stalls, and sailed up the east coast on a tall ship barque—mostly without projectile vomiting. In the end, Shelly found writing and drawing dragons to be so much easier on the stomach. Shelly writes speculative fiction ranging from grimdark fantasy, to sci-fi and horror. She’d love to hear from you.

http://www.shellycampbellauthorandart.com

https://twitter.com/ShellyCFineArt

https://www.instagram.com/shellycampbellfineart

https://www.facebook.com/shellycampbellauthorandart

https://www.tiktok.com/@shellycampbellauthor

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

The author will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway