Blood and Bullets
Book Blurb:
He lives to kill monsters. He keeps his city safe. And his silver hollow-points and back-from-the-dead abilities help him take out any kind of supernatural threat. But now an immortal evil has this bad-ass bounty hunter dead in its sights. . .
Ever since a monster murdered his family, Deacon Chalk hunts any creature that preys on the innocent. So when a pretty vampire girl “hires” him to eliminate a fellow slayer, Deacon goes to warn him–and barely escapes a vampire ambush. Now he’s got a way-inexperienced newbie hunter to protect and everything from bloodsuckers to cursed immortals on his trail. There’s also a malevolent force controlling the living and the undead, hellbent on turning Deacon’s greatest loss into the one weapon that could destroy him. . .
That Thing At The Zoo
Book Blurb: Shredding monsters is his stock and trade. He sniffs them out, tracks them down, and corners them. End of story. But when the tables are turned, expect the unexpected. . .Knowing his enemy is a rule Deacon Chalk swears by. But he’s never seen anything like whatever is leaving the Atlanta Zoo’s most dangerous predators bloodless, skinned, and hanging high in treetops. And he’s only got till sunrise to keep it from turning the entire city into a slaughterhouse. Now Deacon is in zoo lockdown with a handful of staffers to save. His zookeeper backup has more guts than monster-hunting experience. And the only chance Deacon has to run this thing to unholy ground is to risk unleashing his darkest, most uncontrollable instincts. . .
Interview:
Where are you from? Tell us a little about yourself!
I was born and raised in the South, just outside of Atlanta. I’m old enough to remember when I was young with fondness, but not quite old enough to be considered crotchety. LOL.
I’ve been a professional tattoo artist for the last 16+ years and own a tattoo shop called Family Tradition Tattoo. So now, between tattooing and writing my whole life is based on ink of some kind!
Tell us about your book? How did it get started?
BLOOD AND SILVER is book 2 in the Deacon Chalk series and it follows the events in BLOOD AND BULLETS (book 1) and SPIDER’S LULLABY (novella 2) pretty directly. In it you get to see even more of the world that Deacon lives in (the Deaconverse) and you get to watch as he and his chosen family of misfits grow through the series. Plus you get a new stable of monsters because this book deals mostly with how lycanthropy works in the Deaconverse. It’s not anything like any other book you will find!
How do you create your characters?
They come to me. I’m not a metaphysical type writer. I don’t open my head and let the universe speak to me. I create all of this, but the characters are very organic. Because most of my life has been spent as a tattoo artist my brain works in visual images, so normally I get a picture in my head and then build a character around it. Like I had an image of a stocky, scarred, chain smoking priest holding a shotgun and BAM! Father Mulcahy was born.
What inspires and what got you started in writing?
I read a book that was supposed to kick ass and it totally sucked. I put it down and said out loud “I can write better shit than that.”
Where do you write? Is there something you need in order to write (music, drinks?)
All I need is a keyboard. I can and do write damn near anywhere. I keep my stories on flash drive and email backup so that I can remain mobile. I tend to write in silence though or with just background noise. I cannot write around songs with lyrics or dialog on tv though, it starts to creep in to what I am writing or distract me since I love words so much.
How do you get your ideas for writing?
The Illuminati sends them to me by email. They do that for all published writers because even though we own our souls, they own the souls of our families.
Seriously, they come from everywhere. I have more ideas than I have life left to write them all.
What do you like to read?
Mostly urban fantasy. I chose to write it because it is my first love. I also dig on crime fiction, horror, sword and sorcery, and comic books. Damn do I love me some comic books. They were the first things I ever read.
What would your advice to be for authors or aspiring in regards to writing?
Go buy THANKS, BUT THIS ISN’T FOR US by Jessica Page Morrell. It’s the best book on writing you will ever read.
Other than that you should write more than you read and you should read more than you do anything else.
If you have a constant excuse as to why you don’t have time to write then just own the fact that you are not ready to be a writer. Writers write. The thing defines itself. If you don’t write, then you ain’t no writer. And it’s okay. You don’t have to write, God knows I LOVE people who are readers.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Well, I just signed on to edit a Sword and Sorcery anthology with Seventh Star Press so if there are any writers who would be interested the submission call is open. It’s a paid gig with a great publisher. The details are here:
Other than that, you can keep up with all my comings and goings on my website:
www.jamesrtuck.com