Risingshadow has the honour of publishing a guest post by Tim Marquitz.
Tim Marquitz is the author of the Demon Squad series, the Blood War Trilogy, co-author of the Dead West series, as well as several standalone books, and numerous anthology appearances including Triumph Over Tragedy, Corrupts Absolutely?, Demonic Dolls, Neverland's Library, and the forthcoming No Place Like Home and Blackguards.
The Editor in Chief of Ragnarok Publications, Tim most recently compiled and edited the Angelic Knight Press anthologies, Fading Light: An Anthology of the Monstrous and Manifesto: UF, as well as Ragnarok Publications' Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters.
Web Presence:
Website: http://www.tmarquitz.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tim.marquitz
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Marquitz
Blog: http://tmarquitz.com/blog/
GUEST POST: The Pitfalls of Expectation by Tim Marquitz
When a new story knocks on my skull and demands to be written, I rarely have much control over the genre or style of the story. It is what it is, my imagination crafting the boundaries without any pre-defined set of guidelines. I can nudge it a little here and there, but it’s not normally a conscious effort on my part. As such, I’m never really sure what I’m going to be left with when the story is fully realized. Dirge was definitely one of those stories that caught me off guard.
I’d imagined a concept closer to that of Witch Bane, a previous release of mine, where the magic and world building took a back seat to the action. For me, that’s pretty normal. And Dirge was similar in that aspect, so no major surprise there, but the voice itself seemed different from early on. Whereas Witch Bane is more direct in its manner, a common trait of mine, Dirge took on a more lyrical bent, the writing demanding I spend more time crafting the lines than envisioning the battle scenes. Something in my head wanted Dirge to come across more poetic, more literary (though not to imply it would hold up against the greats of the genre). There was just something different about the story as it was coming together.
Stylistically, though, it might confuse some of my readers who are used to the Demon Squad books where the most literary aspect of those are fart jokes. Then there’s the addition of zombies into what is a dark fantasy book, further confused by Dirge being released by Permuted Press, the primary source of post-apocalyptic zombie literature. All that seems contrary to the idea that Dirge is a fantasy tale, closer in content to sword and sorcery than survival horror.
As such, I can imagine the loyal Permute readers being a bit confused by Dirge as they have expectations of the publisher regarding content that the book might not offer. At the same time, I can imagine my own readers being uncertain as the book does not convey the humor of the Demon Squad or the bluntness of my recognized style. It’s a book of growth, as I see it. An experiment in voice where I mix and mangle what has come before in an effort to create something new, something different.
My hope is that readers will set aside their expectations for a while and take a journey with Dirge and find, while a little different, there’s still a lot of enjoyment to be had.
Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Dirge-Tim-Marquitz-ebook/dp/B00QR2S8YU/
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Dirge:
Wreathed in the ashes of betrayal, forced to come of age in the dungeons of her stolen inheritance, Kallie Brynn Soren died so that Dirge might be born.
In the midst of an undead invasion, Kallie is gifted powers by a dying priest. His last wish is for her to use them against the Necrolords in a way his faith would not allow. Reborn as Dirge and free of the priest’s conscience, she is more than happy to do so.
But when fate brings Dirge into the employ of the emperor–the same man whose machinations brought about the murder of her father–the opportunity for revenge becomes too much to ignore.
Torn between vengeance and the need to protect the only people she dare call family, Dirge learns there is a much deeper purpose to the Necrolord’s advance. Should it come to light, it might destroy everyone.