I'm honored to have as a guest on my blog today,
Teric Darken, one of my favorite authors and a respected friend. Upon the release of a new edition of his fantastic thriller,
U-TURN KiLLuR, Teric was kind enough to stop by to share some extra insight on the novel and why, to fully portray the power and glory of the Light, an author can never fear looking at the darkness it pierces.
Sunglasses…
No one’s ever bothered to ask why I’m always wearing those silly
sunglasses in my author photos…
My newest release, U-TURN KiLLuR (Death Row Edition)…
What should I say about it? I
think, perhaps, out of the three thrillers I’ve scripted, this one hits extremely close to home. Each of my works contains snippets of my
personal life, but U-TURN KiLLuR…
Tears came to my eyes at several intervals while plugging away at it. When one reads it and discovers the message
within, he/she will understand why.
U-TURN is a supernatural
thriller about a firefighter and his family:
each member being preyed upon by a sinister stranger – a killer we all know all too well. I believe it will come as a surprise as to
whom the killer actually is. Ah, yes,
the misspelling of “KiLLuR” in the title… The “i” and “u” hold significance
within the storyline.
Did I mention the newly released Kindle
version is free on Monday, September
24th and Tuesday, September 25th? Indeed, it is! Simply go to Amazon.com on those dates and
pick it up!
Why the newly released edition? Simply because the first version was
self-published. After being picked up by
TreasureLine Publishing, I was afforded an opportunity to re-release my first
two self-pubbed works. This gave me a
chance to scrub up each script a bit, add some storyline to each book, and
enhance each release with a wonderful new cover. Linda Boulanger designed the covers for my
TreasureLine offerings, and she did a remarkable job.
About the U-TURN
(Death Row Edition) cover and my writing style: I do espouse a Christian worldview, though my
target audience isn’t projected toward those living behind stained glass
windows. I have seen much darkness in
the world – a lot of hard living – and I am simply “bleeding ink” about things
I’ve seen. I mince few words and
scenery. Some have misconstrued my
intent and labeled my works as “gratuitous.”
I’m not glorifying the dark things I write
about. On the contrary, I’m exposing the
darkness, often empathizing with those in its vortex, and displaying humanity’s
need for The Light. I like the term
“progressive” for my works though perhaps “innovative” would be a better term,
indicative of that which is “cutting-edge,” “leading-edge,” and “breaking new
ground” by definition.
What I mean by the above terms is that it
often seems as though – in the realm of “Christian” authorship – there are
aspects of every-day-life that some authors are afraid to freely script out,
even while trying to “go there”. I’ve
never been content to say something such as:
“He struggled with temptation,” or “She cussed him out and walked
away.” I wish for the reader to relate,
interact and react with my characters.
Therefore, as with the above instances, I would place the reader
smack-dab within the temptation this character is going through, or allow my
character to belt out the expletive within dialogue. In my opinion, reasonably fleshing it out a
bit makes for a richer storyline that’s more true-to-life. It might raise the hair on one’s arms or make
their blood begin to boil… Signs of captivated reading!
"I've never hit a line-drive directly into right field or straight down the center. My works take flight toward left field then curve to the right." - Teric Darken
Speaking of “innovative”: I believe the cover for U-TURN KiLLuR (Death Row Ed.) says it all for a work some deem
“Christian fiction.” At first glance,
most will probably see nothing but the pole dancer’s torso. But what else is shown? What about the skeleton rising from her
frame? What about the blood on the
keypad and the surrounding flames? What
do these things mean? When one takes the
time to delve in, he/she will see the big picture and understand the
significance of it all. Would anyone
believe that my cover concept was conceived from Proverbs 6: 23 – 32 and Proverbs
7: 7 – 27?
Several have read KILL FM 100 (Night Shift Ed.) and Wickflicker, and I am truly thankful. U-TURN
KiLLuR (DRE) is the link between the two.
Each book stands alone, but U-TURN
makes the connection between the former and the latter book. There is a connective thread in the stories.
A prominent author once told me that my works
were comparable to “C.S. Lewis meets Stephen King.” She also gave me a cautionary statement which
proved to be prophetic: “Many will deem
your works as too worldly for the ‘Church’ and too Christian for the
world.” That’s okay. I’ll keep shining that Light out into the
darkness, regardless of how unpopular it may be to the world at large. Prostitutes, drug addicts, cutters, domestic
abusers… I have seen a lot of things
first hand. I can relate. "It is not the healthy who need a
doctor, but the sick."
Oh, yes, the sunglasses… The shades are simply a visual metaphor: “For
now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in
part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” -1 Corinthians 13:12
Teric Darken
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My thanks to Teric for his visit and for sharing more about his newest release and his writing with readers. Remember that, to get a free Kindle copy of
U-TURN KiLLuR this coming Monday and Tuesday, September 24th and 25th, just click on the book cover link above. To learn more about Teric and his novels, visit him at his blog:
http://tericdarken.blogspot.com/ or on his website:
http://www.tericdarken.com/
