Lovers of Paranormal discussion

Greetings Lovers of Paranormal!

One of the awesomest things about being a MOD is being able to contact the authors and find out the SCOOP behind whatever book is up for our group read. This month Randall Morris has answered our interview to tell us all about the inspiration behind our group read, Minor Demons by Randall Morris.



So what ever POSSESSED him to write a book from the point of view of the bad guys? Let's find out in our LoP Interview.

Be epic!

Anna Erishkigal

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1. What books have most influenced your life?

I'm a big fan of Dan Brown, Stephen King, John Grisham, and lots of others. One of my favorite books was A Time to Kill from Grisham. Sycamore Row was also really good. I really got into reading in elementary school with the Goosebumps books from R.L. Stine.

2. How do you develop your plots and characters?

I've worked in IT for a long time and I'm currently in law school. I've also traveled a lot around Asia, Europe, the Caribbean, and the U.S. Some of my characters are influenced by people I know from work, school, or my travels because I've met some interesting people. Most of them were also created with a mixture of my own traits. I generally write a little and then think about how all the characters would react and go on from there. No outlines or anything like that.

3. Tell us about your Lovers of Paranormal book?

Minor Demons started out as an idea I got from reading The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. When I finished that book, I wanted more. I decided I would write about demons-in-training with their own hellish hierarchy, ambitions, flaws, and everything that goes along with it. Some of them search for power, others for revenge, and some just have a deep desire to prove themselves.

4. We all need a hero! Tell us about your protagonist(s)? Was there a real-life inspiration behind him or her?

Shadow is the demon I focus on the most in Minor Demons. His father is in the lowest circle of Hell being tormented for betraying The Dragon. Shadow was mostly raised by his uncle who ruthlessly forged him into a weapon. There's no real-life inspiration behind Shadow, but many of his traits either come from me or people I know (the same goes for Leech and Lilith, the other two main characters).

5. A good villain is hard to write. How did you get in touch with your inner villain? Was there a real-life inspiration for him/her/it?

I've had to stand up to my fair share of bullies in my life. Nightmare was partially inspired by them. I also have a little bit of jerkiness in me. I guess most people do. :-P That comes out in Nightmare mainly but it is also a part of all of the demons.

6. What real-life inspirations did you draw from for the world building within your book?

When I write, characters generally live in or visit places I've traveled to or lived. I wrote a novella a few years back called The Journals of Jacob and Hyde and the main character lives in Seattle (where I grew up... the novella is also permafree everywhere if anyone wants to grab a copy). Minor Demons follows that pattern. Throughout the series, the demons travel to earth and visit Salt Lake City (where I live currently), Seattle, the Philippines (where I was a missionary for two years... I speak fluent Tagalog) and several other places I've visited.

7. What real-life science, pseudo-science, history, religion, or mythologies did you research for the paranormal aspect of your book?

This played into Minor Demons a lot. The whole Hell I built is loosely based on Dante's Inferno. Some of them demons I made up but others are actual feared demons from several cultures. I had to do some background research into several religions. Research definitely takes a large portion of my time when I'm writing. After I have the basic idea of a demon or angel, I infuse them with whatever else I need them to be as well.

8. What was the hardest part of writing this book?

Getting past the point of a novella was difficult for me at first. Minor Demons is my first 70,000+ word novel. All the other fiction I had written up to this point capped out at about 22,000 words. When I needed to think out what happened next, I went for walks on my lunch break. That helped me think out the issues and keep it moving. Middle Demons (the sequel) was easier to write.

9. What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?

There's a point where the demons-in-training enter the trials. It's a system Hell uses to recruit demons-in-training as minor demons or assign them to different departments. I got to write in some classic characters from mythology... a sphinx and a minotaur just to name a couple. I like riddles and you'll find them throughout my books. The trials have some riddles mixed in.

10. Did you learn anything from writing this book and what was it?

The biggest thing I learned is that I can finish writing books. :-P I'll let all of you decide whether they are any good or not.

11. Is there a message in your novel that you hope readers will grasp?

I want readers to relate to at least one character. Relating to a demon is weird... but I've had readers do it a lot. It isn't often the same one either. I've had readers relate to Baal, Cain, Shadow, Leech, Lilith, the list goes on. Basically my message is that I want you to feel connected to the story and escape into my written world for a while. There's no message deeper than that.

12. What are your future project(s)?

I'm currently writing Major Demons (the third book in the series) when I find time. It's hard to find time right now. I'm in law school, working an evening IT job, and interning for a state judge. Slow but steady. I have it around 10% for the first draft as of right now. I also occasionally write short non-fiction articles and I'm finishing up Explanations and Advice for the Tech Illiterate Volume III right now.

13. If you couldn’t be an author, what would your ideal career be?

Lawyer. I'm really looking forward to the moment when I pass the bar. I've already decided I won't work myself to death as a lawyer though. I need more time to write and travel.

14. Do you have anything specific that you want to say to the Lovers of Paranormal community members?

I check in here and I've gotten some good books to add to my TBR list. I also love hearing from readers. If you want to tell me anything about my books, feel free to email me. My author email is randallmorrisauthor@gmail.com. I also really wanted to say thanks for making Minor Demons the book of the month. It's tough getting started as an indie but I have a lot of fun writing and appreciate all of your support.

Interview granted to LoP: 2015.08.02

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Thank you, Randall!

And be sure to check out MINOR DEMONS in our Book of the Month thread. Find a book buddy to read along.

HERE: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

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