Mar 7, 2016 Posted by Simon Rose on Mar 7, 2016 | Comments Off on Guest Author Konn Lavery

Guest Author Konn Lavery

My guest today is Edmonton author Konn Lavery, creator of the Mental Damnation series of novels.

Firstly, can you tell us a little about yourself and your writing?

I’m a freelance graphic designer/web developer by trade and a writer by passion. I’ve been writing since I was eight years old and decided to peruse writing professionally after college in 2010. This decision was made after some encouragement from a good friend who read the original Mental Damnation manuscript that I had written in high school.

After some heavy editing the original script became way too long and my editor and I decided to slice it into installments, creating the series of Mental Damnation novels. The first being released in 2011, Reality (Prequel), followed by Dream (Part One) and Fusion (Part Two). The series is not the only writing I do, I have explored short stories, poems, lyrics and other full novels.

Have you always been interested in the fantasy horror genre?

I have always been a fan of the two genres. As a kid I loved fantasy stories, movies, board games and video games. Fantasy was where my writing had originated from and as I grew older I grew interested in horror films and novels. Naturally my writing became darker and more twisted. I also admired works by Todd McFarlane and Clive Barker and they both continue to be a major inspiration for me.

What was the inspiration for the Mental Damnation novels?

The original concept came to me in math class back in high school from a sketch of the protagonist Krista (who was featured in an earlier unpublished novel I wrote) split between two worlds. The series is essentially about her origins for a much larger storyline beyond the Mental Damnation series.

I have also had great interest in heaven and hell concepts both in religion/mythology and fictional stories. So I thought I would write my own spin on the concept. I had also heavily researched into Christian and Greek lore to build the world Mental Damnation is based in.

Tell us about Fusion, Book Two of the series.

Book two continues Krista’s journey with the brain disease Mental Damnation as it starts to consume more of her energy and sleep. Her concept of time is continually warped and one night’s rest is several days in the dream hell known as Dreadweave Pass. It also introduces new characters and reveals tension with previous characters. The book trailer can be watched here. In short, the plot looks grim for Krista and ends at quite the violent cliffhanger. I don’t want to give away any spoilers though!

Why did you choose to publish the books yourself rather than taking a traditional publishing route?

I went self-publishing after getting some advice from both traditionally published and self-published authors who gave me their pros and cons. The creative control over the story, marketing, costs and distribution seemed very appealing to me. Plus I had already done a lot of ground work with hiring an editor. I realized I could also apply my graphic design knowledge to create the cover/layout and print the books.

Ideally I am looking for an agent and I am not opposed to the idea of a publisher but we’d have to be a good fit for each other.

What are you doing to promote the books?

I have had success with the physical books and less with the ebooks. The physical books make it easy to go to book signings, trade shows/expos and simply walk into a book store and see if the store is willing to carry them.

Additional promo material also goes a long way. I’ve created posters, t-shirts, button pins, book marks and post cards that people enjoy purchasing along with the books. I also do digital marketing with a newsletter and book trailers. Also continually trying to wrap my head around social media.

What are you currently working on?

I am currently working on a separate stand-alone horror novel titled Seed Me. This one is based in Edmonton and differs stylistically from the Mental Damnation series. Seed Me is being written in first person, past tense. Where Mental Damnation is third person, present tense. To be honest this book has pushed me far beyond my writing comfort zone. It is currently being reviewed by a select group of test readers.

I’ve got a number of additional exciting media that will go along with the launch of Seed Me in the fall of 2016 and am very excited to announce them over the coming months.

You can find Konn’s work on Amazon and other locations online. You can also learn more about Konn on social media.

Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
Goodreads
Blog

No Responses to “Guest Author Konn Lavery”