◊  ◊  ◊

Jonathan Maberry: I’m a NY Times bestselling author in a number of different genres —horror, thrillers, fantasy, science fiction, mystery and others. I write for adults and teens, and I write comics for Marvel, Dark Horse, and IDW. I’m also the editor of WEIRD TALES Magazine. I’ve written 45 novels so far, about 135 short stories, 20 runs of comic books, edited 20 anthologies, and before that sold over 1200 magazine feature articles and a dozen non-fiction books on topics ranging from martial arts to supernatural folklore.

DJ: What is Kagen the Damned about?

Jonathan: The story deals with the return of magic to a world where it has been forced out of existence for a thousand years. The Witch-king brings it back and uses the magic to conquer the Silver Empire. Kagen Vale, captain of the palace guard was oath-bound to protect the imperial children but fails in a bloody and spectacular way. His own gods turn their back on him for his failure, damning his soul. Now Kagen wants to tear down the Witch-king…for revenge and to save his own soul. Things do not go as planned and he is embroiled with wild magic, mercenaries hunting him, love with a sorceress, and constant battles. It’s the first of a new series, and the second book, SON OF THE POISON ROSE, will be out in January.

DJ: What were some of your influences for Kagen the Damned and the series? 

Jonathan: I grew up reading what was called swords and sorcery back in the 60s and 70s. I read every Conan the Barbarian story, as well as the Eternal Champion novels by Michael Moorcock, the Kane stories by the late Karl Edward Wagner; as well as Tolkien, Stephen R. Donaldson and others. More recently I’ve devoured everything by Joe Abercrombie, George R.R. Martin, Andrezi Sapkowski, Robin Hobb, James A. Moore, and others whose books have evolved the genre in marvelous ways.

Continue reading “Author Interview: Jonathan Maberry” →