Happy Tuesday readers.
Please join with me in welcoming Class Acts author, Rick McQuiston to the blog as he shares his new book and answers a few questions about himself.
Welcome, Rick. Please start by telling us three words that describe yourself
starting with A, B, and C.
A-
Artistic; B- Bizarre; C- Creative
*What are your three favorite things?
Reading,
watching movies (horror movies, of course), and playing drums.
Are you self- published or with a publishing
company (if so, which one?)?
My
first two novels were self-published; my third, fourth and fifth (pending) are
published with Class Act Books.
What is the ultimate goal you have for your
career?
To reach the point where I can make a living with my writing.
When not writing, what
can you be found doing?
Aside from my day job and spending time with my
family I'm usually working on my music or researching
history.
When writing, which do you prefer to write
with, computer or paper and pen?
Definitely
paper and pen. For me, it's easier to relate to my characters and the
situations there are in if I write them down by hand. It allows me greater
control to shape the outline of the story. In addition, I can work faster since
I'm not the greatest typist in the world.
Blurb: Fear the Sky
A small town sheriff and three young boys fight
to protect their town from an age-old evil.
Excerpt:
The lone sparrow soared through the air above the
dense foliage surrounding the tourist town of Frankenmuth. Its glossy black
body, streamlined to achieve maximum aerodynamics, moved with minimal effort;
the natural advantage its species had achieved through evolution. The
wing-to-body weight balance it possessed was geared specifically toward a
relatively predator-free existence in the sparsely-populated heavens. God
Himself, in conjunction with Mother Nature, Father Time, evolution, and a host
of other variables both fictional and non-fictional, had bestowed upon it an
efficient and successful combination of senses and attributes. It would live a
long life using only common sense and a bit of luck. Of this much the sparrow's
future was assured.
But this was no ordinary bird. This feathery
creature soaring through pillow-white clouds and basking in the life-giving
sunshine was not a natural product of God, or Mother Nature, or even evolution.
No, this solitary sparrow cutting a graceful swath through the sky above
Frankenmuth and its host of unsuspecting inhabitants, was anything but natural.
Its roiling mind convulsed with strange and dangerous thoughts, complex
frightening ideas, and a single-minded, tunnel-vision resolve that was
unmatched by any other living thing on the planet.
Or anywhere else for that matter.
The sparrow lowered its gaze down to the thick
forests covering the landscape like a heavy green rash. Virtually every single
tree or bush grew wildly enough to touch its neighbors, forming an even coating
of lush plant life, unmarred by the taint of fire or disease.
It had no pupils in its deep-set red eyes; the
sparrow tilted its conical head to one side, and then to the other. The warm
breeze that rushed past its leering face and up through its outstretched wings
nurtured it to a degree. It didn't need oxygen, food of any type, or at least
the kind normal birds would require, so it didn't particularly care to focus
its attention on any movement far below or to breathe in the atmosphere.
But it did regardless. A certain level of
enjoyment coursed through its lithe body, and although rather alien in nature
to its senses, it found it liked it nonetheless. Much like a virus would attach
itself to a human.
A virus. It was a fairly appropriate analogy to
be sure.
What could only be construed as a crude,
rudimentary smile creased the bird’s fluttering visage. A flake of hardened
cartilage on either side of its beak snapped and obediently drifted downward,
falling through the warm air in a chaotic dance of nothingness.
The sparrow circled in a tight formation. It
moved with purpose, and yet slowly, patiently. All the time in the world rested
beneath the greasy folds of its wings in the form of a small, somewhat isolated
forest town bordered by huge expanses of green wastelands. It had chosen this
location carefully, knowing full well its presence would be no more noticed
than a passing cloud or gentle breeze through the congested streets of
Frankenmuth. Unbeknownst to the shuffling crowds and their seemingly important
agendas and desires far below, it would be able to further its plans
substantially without interference.
The sparrow's eyes narrowed as it surveyed the
landscape. There was little movement in the brush, but it mattered little
because it hadn't yet reached its destination. It needed to fly a little ways
further to get to Frankenmuth and all the plump new prey that would be there.
A fire lit in the sparrow's belly. An intense
heat seared outward from its center and burned straight to the bird’s eyes.
Already red as blood, the tiny misshapen orbs deepened to a shade unlike
anything on Earth, a swollen hue tinged with disease and hatred and all things
evil.
The sparrow blinked once, and then twice, feeling
the liquid death welling up within its eyes. It needed to wait for the proper
time to release the fresh batch of its judgment on the Earth. But once it did,
nothing would be beyond its reach.
With a gentle but biting wind in its blackened
face, the devil surged forward toward Frankenmuth.
Buy links for Fear the Sky:
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/560272
About the Author:
Rick
McQuiston is a forty-six year old father of two who loves anything horror-related.
By day, he works for a family-owned construction and management company. By
night, he churns out horror fiction.
Rick
has well over 300 publications so far. He’s written seven anthologies, one book
of novellas, and edited an anthology of Michigan authors. He’s also a guest
author each year at Memphis Junior High School, and is currently working on his
fifth novel, a Cthulhu-based anthology. Rick currently has two novels with
Class Act Books: Fear the Sky and When Only
the Nightmare Remains, which was voted #2 in Horror for 2015 by the
Paranormal Romance Guild’s Reviewer’s Choice.
Find out more about Rick
at:
Publisher's website: www.classactbooks.com
Author's website: www.many-midnights.com
Congrats on your release!
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