Welcome Loren Rhoads to Deviant Worlds!
LR: Thanks
for having me, Eric.
First off, tell us a little bit about yourself. When
did you decide to be a writer?
LR: I don’t
exactly remember. I was a storyteller
from a very early age. My mom was a
librarian, so I grew up surrounded by books.
I decided I was a writer – for real – in 2008, when I
flew to LA to do a book signing for the Sins of the Sirens anthology at Dark Delicacies. It was a four-woman anthology that I shared with Maria Alexander, Mehitobel Wilson, and Christa Faust. That trip made me feel legit at last.
flew to LA to do a book signing for the Sins of the Sirens anthology at Dark Delicacies. It was a four-woman anthology that I shared with Maria Alexander, Mehitobel Wilson, and Christa Faust. That trip made me feel legit at last.
What inspired you to write fiction in other worlds?
LR: I read a
lot of science fiction as a kid – Wells, Verne, John Christopher – but those
were all set on earth. What really
inspired me to explore other worlds was Star Wars. It came out when I was 13. I fell in love with all those worlds, all
those aliens, like I hadn’t fallen for Star Trek or Doctor Who. I started writing Star Wars fanfic and didn’t
look back.
Who’s your favorite author and what’s your favorite
book?
LR: My
favorite author is Ray Bradbury, because he did such an enormous range of work,
from children stories to memoir to essays to horror to science fiction. My favorite of his books – at this moment,
anyway – is The Martian Chronicles. It
changes. In fact, there’s an homage to
Bradbury’s Mars in my third Templar novel.
For people who may be unfamiliar with your work, where
does it land on the spectrum of science fiction to fantasy and how would you
describe your work?
LR: Genres
are arbitrary constructions, so I like to blend them. The publisher described my In the Wake of the
Templars trilogy as military science fiction, but Publishers Weekly called it
grimdark space opera. The Dangerous Type,
the first book, is a Hong Kong-style revenge story. Its sequel, Kill By Numbers, is a Philip K.
Dick mindwarp with spaceship recalls and corporate espionage. The conclusion, No More Heroes, combines
courtroom drama with shore leave, bounty hunters, and time travel.
What are your current publications?
LR: The first
book of my new series just came out from Automatism Press. Lost Angels is about a succubus who decides
to bring down an angel, only to find herself possessed by a mortal girl’s soul
and in need of an exorcist. It straddles
the line between dark urban fantasy and erotic horror.
I have short stories about a young witch who hunts
monsters in Fright Mare: Women Write Horror and in nEvermore: Tales of Murder,
Mystery, and the Macabre. nEvermore is up for a Bram Stoker award this year.
Are you currently working on any writing projects?
LR: I’m in
the process of finishing Angelus Rose, which is the sequel to Lost Angels. It will be out in November from
Automatism. In that book, Lorelei
discovers that Azaziel is experimenting with souls after their bodies’
deaths. She tries to broker peace in LA
before all Hell breaks loose.
How can readers discover more about you and your
work?
LR: I blog at
www.lorenrhoads.com.
The site has a bit of everything: samples of my books, videos of me reading,
essays on writing and surviving as a writer, and giveaways. I also spend way too much time on social
media.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/loren.rhoads.5
Twitter: twitter.com/morbidloren
Anything else you’d like your readers to know?
LR: I’m pushing myself to get out more. This weekend (April 17), I’m meeting with the
Science Fiction Book Club at Borderlands Bookstore. They’re reading The Dangerous Type and I am so
dying to know what they think.
Next month, I’m going to my first WisCon. I’m
participating in the Broad Universe reading. I think it’s up to me to represent
grimdark.
I’m looking forward to WorldCon later this
year. I’ll read with Broad Universe
there, too. I met a bunch of fascinating
people last year in Spokane, so I’m looking forward to meeting more this year.
Thank you for your time Loren!
LR: Thank you
for your time. This was fun!
The Dangerous Type (In the Wake of the Templars #1)
Blurb: Set in the wake of a galaxy-wide war and the destruction of a human empire, The Dangerous Type follows the awakening of one of the galaxy's most dangerous assassins and her quest for vengeance. Entombed for twenty years, Raena has been found and released.
Thallian has been on the lam for the last fifteen years; a wanted war criminal whose entire family has been hunted down and murdered for their role in the galaxy-wide genocide of the Templars. His name is the first on Raena’s list, as he’s the one that enslaved her, made her his assassin, and ultimate put her in a tomb. But Thallian is willing to risk everything—including his army of cloned sons—to capture her. Now it’s a race to see who kills whom first.
Alternatively, Gaven has spent the last twenty years trying to forget about Raena, whom he once saved and then lost to the clutches of Thallian. Raena’s adopted sister, Ariel, has been running from the truth: the one about Raena, about her and Gaven, and doesn’t know if she’ll be able to face either of them.
The Dangerous Type is a mix of military science fiction and an adventurous space opera that grabs you from the first pages and doesn’t let go. Along with a supporting cast of smugglers, black market doctors, and other ne'er-do-wells sprawled across a galaxy brimming with alien life, The Dangerous Type is a fantastic beginning to Loren Rhoads’s epic trilogy.
Buy this Book: The Dangerous Type on Amazon
Lost Angels (As Above, So Below #1)
Blurb: In the days before the Flood, Azaziel had been a Watcher, sent down to help God’s creatures on Earth. He fell in love with one of Cain’s granddaughters and they passed her mortal life in bliss.
Now he’s imprisoned in the Los Angeles basin. His angelic brethren, Heaven’s misfits, don’t understand the longing Aza feels: once he had been loved entirely for himself.
The succubus Lorelei doesn’t know any of this when she sets her sights on Azaziel. All she knows is that the angel’s fall will bring glory to Hell and acclaim to any succubus who accomplishes it.
Of course, it never occurs to Lorelei that Azaziel might try to tame her by possessing her with a mortal girl’s soul.
Can the succubus find an exorcist before the fury of Hell is unleashed?
Buy this Book: Lost Angels on Amazon
nEvermore: Tales of Murder, Mystery, and the Macabre
Blurb: Compiled by multi-award winning editors, Nancy Kilpatrick and Caro Soles, nEvermore! Tales of Murder, Mystery and the Macabre presents a tantalizing selection of imaginative stories by New York Times bestselling and prize-winning authors.
This anthology consists of 22 original tales that blend supernatural and mystery elements in unique re-imaginings of Edgar Allan Poe's exquisite stories.
nEvermore! Tales of Murder, Mystery and the Macabre is an homage to the great American writer, the incomparable Edgar Allan Poe, and a must-have for every fan of his work.
Buy this Book: nEvermore Anthology on Amazon
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