An interview with Konn Lavery
Back in May, Konn Lavery was here to tell us about his new novel, Reality: Part 1 of Mental Damnation. Now we welcome him back to discuss the second installment in the Mental Damnation series titled, Dream. He has written in the dark fantasy (Mental Damnation) and horror (Seed Me) genres. Let’s introduce him and have him tell us about his new novel.
Hi Konn, welcome back.
Hi Simon! Thank you again for having me on your blog to discuss my new novel. I am born and raised in Edmonton and am a contract graphic designer and web developer by day. This includes logo design, branding, print design, website design and development. I am quite grateful for this because it gives me the flexibility to do book signings and conventions on the fly. By night I pursue my passion of writing, being an indie author.
I starting my writing career professionally back in 2012 with the original release of Reality: Part 1 of Mental Damnation and have learned a lot in five years. Dark fantasy and horror are my primary categories, although I have dabbled with short stories in splatter punk, cyber punk, thrillers and traditional fantasies.
You mentioned Reality: Part 1 of Mental Damnation originally being released in 2012, care to elaborate?
Sure. I originally wrote Mental Damnation back in high school in 2007. When I decided to take my writing seriously back in 2011, I found editor Robin Schroffel who was willing to work with me on my manuscript. As we were editing we sliced the manuscript of Mental Damnation into various parts because it was getting too long for a single novel. The first third of thatmanuscript was sub titled as Reality which was released in 2012.
Jumping forward four years, I released Seed Me in August of 2016. I went back to work on the Mental Damnation series, having 3 installments at this point, and had to brush up on the lore to work on the next novel in the series. After reading the first edition of Reality, I identified a number of narrative clichés the novel fell under. I decided it was time to revisit the story from the beginning and retired the first editions of all three novels of the Mental Damnation series. Through some heavy revamping of chapters, characters and of the fantasy world, the second edition of Reality came out in the spring of 2012.
Now you have Dream, Part 2 of Mental Damnation. What makes this release different from the original edition?
Much like the second edition of Reality, Dream has seen a large overhaul with the world, locations and elaborated scenes. The new Reality was such an alteration to the beginning of Mental Damnation that there were a lot of inconsistencies in the series if Dream did not have a second edition too.
- An increased word count from approximately 60,000 words to 100,000 words.
- Several new chapters and expanded chapters.
- An encyclopedia
- New illustration.
- Consistency from the second edition of Reality.
Here’s the map found within Dream: Part 2 of Mental Damnation.
With the re-telling of the story, will it still attract the same fanbase?
Yes, so far the feedback from the new Reality has been encouraging. Fans that have read the first edition and second edition say it is like night and day between the two. I hope for the same 
feedback with the second edition of Dream.
What is the age range for the Mental Damnation series?
It really depends on the maturity level of the reader. I have had as young as 12 years old read the series and rave about it. It also appeals to the 20-30 age range who can get more from the philosophical undertones of the novel than the younger crowd.
If anything I’ve toned down some of the unneeded shock value that was found in the original editions. Those scenes didn’t contribute to the story at all and were only there to try and rattle the reader. Now the series has a stronger focus on the characters and the tension between them and each of their personal goals.
There is also a third book in the original series, will that see a second edition?
It will. Again, lots has changed since the release of the second editions. The third installment in the Mental Damnation series will be out in 2018, so keep watch.
Do you have anything else in the works?
I do have a couple of drafts I am working on currently. One is a thriller and the other is a horror anthology. I am also beginning the story outlines for the fourth and final novel in the Mental Damnation series. So expect more novels to come in the next several years!
Any final thoughts to share with the readers?
Thanks for having me and if anyone has any questions do find me at my website or social media links below. If you’re an aspiring writer, I have plenty of blog articles related to writing.
You can find Konn’s work on Amazon and other locations online. You can also learn more about Konn on social media.
