Guest author Konn Lavery
Today’s guest is Edmonton author Konn Lavery, who is known for his Mental Damnation dark fantasy series. He has also written the thriller/horror novel Seed Me which was released last summer. Konn and I have discussed his writing last year in March, mostly covering his Mental Damnation series. Now he is back to tell us what has changed with the dark fantasy series.
Konn Lavery, can you introduce yourself to us and your writing?
Hi Simon! Thanks for having me again. I am a freelance graphic designer/web developer by trade and a writer at heart. During the day I work with a range of clients ranging from mom and pop shops to big corporate companies in the real estate and energy industries. The work includes website development, logo creation, branding, etc.
While juggling family, friends, and running my own business I squeeze in my desire to write wherever I can. I’ve been writing professionally since 2012, mostly in the dark fantasy and horror genres. Although, the stories tend to bleed into other genres, those are the primary categories.
Last year we discussed your Mental Damnation series. This year you are working on it, what is new?
After the release of Seed Me in 2016, I revisited Mental Damnation in the fall with the intention to finish the story once and for all. The third book, Fusion, came out in the fall of 2014 and it left a lot of readers wanting more. In order to finish the series I had to review the story from my notes and read the first three novels, Reality, Dream and Fusion.
After reading the first book, I realized a lot could be improved. It had been five years since Reality was released. My writing has grown drastically and I can identify some clichés in the novel. In addition I could implement the feedback I had received over the years to really polish the story.
Instead of working on book four of Mental Damnation I decided to retire Reality, Dream and Fusion and release second editions of the novels.
What have you changed in the series?
Reality has had the biggest overhaul. Most of the original 70,000 words have been rewritten to drastically improve the narrative format. Several chapters have been deleted and a number of them have been expanded upon. New chapters have been added which has brought the word count up to 100,000.
In addition a lot of the world’s creatures, physiques and locations have been re-named and altered. There is also an encyclopedia that’s included to give readers more tidbits on characters, factions, and locations.
Not to mention all of the illustrations and the book cover have been updated to reflect the new edition as well.
Is the new edition of Mental Damnation Reality quite different then from the original?
The narrative format is the biggest thing that has changed in the new edition. Some smaller scenes have changed. There are new chapters that elaborate on characters and events that will ultimately lead to the fourth and final book.
Overall, the story has remained unaltered, I wanted it to stay true to the plot. Readers that have read both versions of the book have told me it is like night and day though. Much like listening to a remastered album, the quality is way better but it is the same songs.
Now that Reality is released, what will become of Mental Damnation Dream and Fusion?
These are already in the works. The second edition of Dream is currently in the editing phase and projected to be out this fall. Fusion will be out early 2018.
You mentioned a fourth and final book for the Mental Damnation series?
Yes. Now that I have re-read the three books and revised them with the ending in mind, there will be a fourth and final book in the series. Previously the ending was unclear to me but after finishing Seed Me the ending of the storyline is obvious.
The two year break I took from the series has done some good. I’ve been able to look at it with a clearer mind.
When can we expect the fourth and final book?
I am projecting in 2019-2020. We’ll see how time goes, I have some other books that I want to release.
What are these other books?
One is a thriller novel that is half finished which I’m aiming to have out next year. The other is a horror anthology. These are the next two on the radar while I am finishing up the Mental Damnation series. So over the next several years I will have some exciting new stories to share.
Thanks Konn, it’s always great to hear about you and your exciting projects.
You can find Konn’s work on Amazon and other locations online. You can also learn more about Konn on social media.
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- An interview with Konn Lavery - Simon Rose | Simon Rose - […] in May, Konn Lavery was here to tell us about his new novel, Reality: Part 1 of Mental Damnation.…
