New Novel Questions
Q: So you’ve written another novel?
A: Yes.
Q: What’s it called?
A: Magic Once Removed.
Q: Who’s the publisher?
A: World Castle Publishing, Inc.
Q: What’s the book about?
A: Down on his luck former police detective turned private investigator Peter Cunningham thought the beautiful Abigail Mitchell was just another crazy client. Now he’s entangled in an ancient conspiracy that dates back to the Salem Witch Trials, a far cry from the simple assault case the woman wanted him to solve.
His budding romance with the witch Abigail will have to be put aside as he travels the Pacific Northwest with estranged friend and former partner Kelly Martinez to discover who these people are and their goals.
A coin, a five-year-old case, the Malleus Maleficarum, televangelist and motivational speaker Tony O’Stein, Pope Innocent VIII, and a secret society all tie back to a tragedy from Peter’s childhood and he will need to figure out what it all means and a solution.
Though many witches live amongst us, they are also part of a secret society but their clandestine organization seems to have been discovered which has led to a new wave of persecution. Internal tensions were already high and the attacks have only exasperated the issues. Peter must expose the members of the conspiracy and thwart their nefarious plans before an even bigger tragedy strikes.
Q: Neat.
A: Thanks.
Q: What genres is it?
A: It’s an action-adventure mystery with large elements of magical realism and romance.
Q: Magic and witches? Is this story anything like Harry Potter?
A: Not particularly. The story doesn’t really revolve around witchcraft. It’s more about how society reacts to those who are different.
I’d be lying if I said there isn’t a lot of magic in the tale. There is, but mostly because I felt it would be pointless to write about witches and not include any magic. That’s where a lot of the fun lies.
Having said that, I tried not to use magic as a crutch. I’ll admit that in a few places in the story I use magic as a way to bypass a few steps or make tasks a little bit easier for the protagonists (such as unlocking a locked door).
However, I still limited the magic and never allowed it to get too powerful. I never allowed the main characters to be “saved” because of magic or had them solve a problem due to a spell. I felt doing something like that was cheating.
Q: How long is the story?
A: About 100,000 words, over twice the length of Ghosts are Assholes.
Q: When’s it going to be released?
A: June 29th. It is available to be preordered now: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08B5JWQQV.
Q: Since you brought up your last book, what if I didn’t like Ghosts are Assholes?
A: 🙁
Q: I’m not saying I didn’t like it. I’m just asking “what if”?
A: I suppose everyone is entitled to their opinions.
Q: All right, let me put it this way. Is Magic Once Removed anything like Ghosts are Assholes?
A: Why didn’t you ask that in the first place? Other than Vincent Pietro receiving a passing mention and police detective Kelly Martinez becoming a major character in Magic Once Removed whereas he was a minor character in Ghosts are Assholes, there is nothing tying the two stories together. Perhaps they are set in the same universe but are otherwise completely distinct tales.
The main characters of Magic Once Removed may share a similar dynamic to the ones in Ghosts are Assholes but their interactions are much less sardonic and much more mature, which is to be expected, as the characters are older and wiser. It is also a far more somber tale and much less irreverent. The story still has its humorous moments but overall, it is far more serious.
To put it differently, if you enjoyed Ghosts are Assholes, I think you will enjoy this one as well. If you didn’t enjoy Ghosts are Assholes, you may still enjoy this one anyway as it is a completely independent story.
Q: What was your inspiration?
A: I’ve always been interested in history and the time period of the Salem Witch Trials was something that always particularly fascinated me. However, while knowledge of that time period helped me write the story, it was not the initial inspiration.
A long time ago I used to be really into webcomics and wanted to write one of my own. My initial concept was to write a story about a cartoon witch that solved mysteries chiefly because I wanted to throw in the line “Burning at the stake may have been the end for Joan of Arc but for me, it was just the beginning”.
Not to give too much away, but I managed to wrench that line into my novel and I think it fits though not in the way I intended when I initially wrote that line. I originally thought the line would lead to a greater story where my witch main character was over five hundred years old or something like that. I never solidified the plot so I’m not quite sure where I would have gone had I kept the original concept. Who knows? I might still do something with that concept at a later date.
Though I have to admit if I ever decide to use that premise, I really need to make it distinct from the comic Fables written by Bill Willingham. My original idea was incredibly similar in that I wanted my witch character to solve mysteries in a fairy tale world. Bill Willingham’s comic is incredibly similar as it stars characters from folk tales living amongst regular people in our world.
From what little I’ve read, it’s not bad, though I must admit that my chief exposure to the world is through The Wolf Among Us, one of the few video games I truly think has an excellent story. Part of the reason why I abandoned my original idea was that I felt it would be too similar to Willingham’s work which is okay because I think what I came up with is a lot better than what I would have had before.
It’s a far more grounded story and because of that, events have more weight, tragedies feel more real and you feel more empathy for the characters.
A man like Bill Willingham can take a silly concept such as fairy tales living in the real world and make it work but I don’t think I could have. What I had before could have easily become a farce so I think the new premise allows me to write a much stronger story especially with my style of writing.
Q: Anybody you’d like to thank?
A: I want to thank my mom for all she’s done in my life and my dad as he was an invaluable resource. He was someone I could bounce ideas off of and he helped me throughout the editing process, helping me reduce the story down to a manageable size and at times he gave me a few pointers when I needed them. I couldn’t have written the story without him so I’d like to give him special thanks here.
Miscellaneous Questions
Q: What are your plans for the future?
A: I’m hoping to get a young adult fantasy novel published and I have a plethora of other novels that I’d eventually like to write. In fact, I have a list of about three or four more relatively solid ideas for novels that I would like to work on in the near future and about twelve ideas total, though the rest of my ideas are a little bit more tenuous. Also, my list is quite flexible and you never know when I’ll add or subtract from it.
Otherwise, I’ll just keep working on short stories when I’m not working on a novel. Perhaps you’d be so kind as to check some of them out? I have at least thirty-five written and they have been broken down into twelve genres available here, or you can take a look at all of them by clicking on this link. I admit that they vary in quality and some of them need a revision or two as they are mostly rough drafts but I still feel like they are well worth the read. Please check them out and let me know what you think. I’d love to hear from you. Please subscribe too if you want to get an e-mail alerting you of new posts and new short stories.
Q: I ordered your last book but didn’t receive it. What should I do?
A: If you ordered my book and didn’t get it, first I apologize. I blame Amazon for the mistake. Second, please DM on facebook or please e-mail me at: writerjrk@jameskirst.com. Don’t worry. I’ll hook you up.
Q: Is there anything I can do for you?
A: I’m glad you asked. I am a total dunce when it comes to marketing so if you have any tips or tricks and are willing to share, please contact me via one of the links below:
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jamesromankirst
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jameskirstauthor
E-mail: writerjrk@jameskirst.com
Any sort of advice would be helpful, whether it be social media tips and tricks or people I could contact to get my book reviewed or just a link to a site where I can advertise my book or my blog, anything would be appreciated.
If you can advertise in any way that would help immensely even if it’s just a matter of telling your friends or sharing a link to my blog on your Facebook page or even shouting on the highest mountain top, anything would help.
Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you soon!
