"The Dead Lands"
by
Dylan J. Morgan
As I began reading this book, I freaked out a little. One of my favorite "kinky" writers knows why. But it wasn't until later, I learned what the problem was, and yes, I will elaborate rather than leave everyone guessing.
You see, I was reading it on my iPad, not my kindle. Well, through the iPad, it works a bit differently, which tends to confuse some. Alright: me. (Don't even laugh!) The size of your font, depends on how many pages a book will have. Who knows this?! I mean, seriously?!
I opened it up to read the book. It must be a misprint, as I gulp. I flip the page. Nope....swallowing hard. It still reads over three thousand. I tell my writer friend. He looks it up online, (why didn't I think of that?!) he says it says something like two something. He asks me what I think so far. I explain its Sci-Fi.
Needless, to say, I went to Kindle and iPad both to learn about my font size adjustment to feel like a loon. So, if this ever happens to you, don't fret. It's your font size. Not the book. Now, you have learned something! (Stop laughing!)
Now then. On with my review of Dylan's book: "The Dead Lands" which as I've already enlightened you, is a science fiction book. I'll have you know: it's Sci-Fi with a kick! And let it be known that as I was reading it, I couldn't help but picturing it as a Movie. I could see so many options for it, and even taking it further. But as we all know, this is my opinion, and my imagination, as I read, you may see things differently; but if you grasp his words as well as I did. I doubt you will doubt me.
He can see, his words allow you to see. And as I was reading, I knew, one of the questions I was going to ask him, was if he felt his book, could ever be a movie!
I was drawn in, wanting more. I was curious, and enlightened. It's a book that you won't be able to put down, once you become engrossed in it, because you won't want to leave Lane unattended. I mean trust me. You won't want to. These people, these things.... are you even remotely interested yet? You should be! It's a definite five star book in my eyes, what are you waiting for?!
And these um... "The Dead Lands" I don't suggest leaving these words unattended either. Because if we aren't careful, leaving these words alone.... with those things...
As for Dylan, he is a wonderful, friendly person. I enjoy him very much! He was born in New Zealand, and now resides in the United Kingdom. He loves associating with his fans, and spending much of his time writing! Don't be afraid to contact him on Twitter, he is quite a social butterfly there! Least wise, I think so.
My Interview Questions for Dylan:
- What made you write this book?
Believe it or not, a video game. I
have an Xbox, play it weekly, and the one game I spent a lot of time on a year
or so ago was Rage, a first person post apocalyptic shooter game from Bethesda
Softworks. Basically, the plot is that Earth is destroyed by an asteroid and
it’s become a lawless world, controlled by bandits. One mission in the game is
to enter the main city to recover a defibrillator from the hospital, but the
city is crawling with mutants that jump out of nowhere with blades and try to
kill you. I just thought what an awesome story it would make, having a group of
people thrust into such a city against insurmountable odds, and watch them try
to survive.
- Do any of these characters resemble you in some way shape or form?
Ha, I hope not! With that said, I
think there’s a little bit of someone in every character ever created, but
putting a piece of myself into a character is not something I have ever
purposely done.
- Do you think this book would make for a good Movie?
Yes, but then I would say that. Just
the situation and the environment would make for a good movie I feel, and I
have noticed a few comments in the reviews I’ve had so far have mention that
the story could work being turned into a movie, so I’m glad other people have
thought that way. You never know, maybe a producer or director might happen
upon it one day.
- Whom is your favorite character in this book?
That’s a really hard one to answer
as there are a few characters I’m quite fond of in the novel. Reese and Braeden
are strong characters, and Ludger is pure desperation which makes him stand
out. I’m torn between selecting the main character, Lane, or Blaine, who is a
young man living on the post apocalyptic planet where the soldiers are sent to.
Lane is the typical hero in this story, hard and tough, handsome, a fighter,
and someone who has had his heart broken yet cannot let go of the love of his
life. But Blaine has had a harsh existence guarding over the settlement in
which he lives. His is plagued by his mother’s death, and her words to him that
everyone has a path in life and that he should follow his. This leads him to
make the decisions he does, and try to make something of his life. His
situation speaks a lot for people who have hopes and dreams (however big or
small) yet don’t act on them, and when you do, that’s when you find out if you
can live your life the way you want to.
- How many books have you written?
Well, there’s three full-length
novels (Hosts, Flesh, and The Dead Lands), four novellas (although three are a
trilogy of werewolf-vampire books), and a collection of short stories. All of
my titles are available on Amazon Kindle, and a select few can be purchased at
Barnes and Noble or Smashwords. All three novels and my collection are also
available in paperback.
- Are you, or do you plan on going in a book tour?
I am not, at the moment, on a book
tour, but I certainly wouldn’t rule it out in the future. As I live in Europe
the easiest form of tour for me would be a blog tour and I have looked into it
in the past. I think I need to contact some of my author friends who have done
these types of tours and find out how they profitable they are in relation to
book sales. As for an actual flesh-and-blood tour, that would be awesome, but
at the moment I neither have the money or the status in the publishing world to
pull something like that off.
- How long have you been writing?
A little more than ten years. I’ve
been writing for a lot longer than that, but around 2002 and 2003 was when I
made the decision that I would seriously try and get stories published in
various venues online and in print. I honed my craft writing short stories
before eventually getting to the stage where the stories themselves couldn’t be
contained and the longer works began to form.
- Whom is/are your favorite Author(s)?
A while ago I would have said
Stephen King and Dean Koontz, some of James Herbert’s books too, but I think
that’s probably true of a lot of horror authors of my generation. These days my
favorite authors, those who I try to read as often as I can, are my peers: the
other independent authors I share space with on Twitter, who are trying to gain
a readership just like me. There are a ton of high quality authors out there,
and I’m fortunate to say that some of them have become good acquaintances.
Authors such as Kealan Patrick Burke, Joe Hart, and Craig McGray, are the ones
who push me to be better than I am.
- How much time do you spend writing?
As much time as I can. It’s
important to write every day, but I’m also of the opinion that it’s important
not to force the words either. I live by the rule that a story will be as long
or as short as it needs to be, and it will be finished when it’s ready. If I
manage to write for half an hour then that’s all I need to do. If I manage
longer then that’s great, but I’ll only write for as long as there are words
flowing.
- What kind of education and skills do you have?
Not much of an education; I’m a
dreamer, I have a huge imagination that runs away with itself and it’s been
that way for as long as I can remember. I learned what I wanted to in school, I
had fun, and I dreamed of becoming a rock star. That’s not something I tell my
children, of course, I tell them that school is important and they must try
their best to get good grades, but for me that didn’t matter. If I was a
studier instead of a dreamer I wouldn’t be a published author. As for skills: I
can cook, I can play drums and guitar, I can play darts, I can write stories. I
can’t sing and dance though.
- What suggestions do you have to offer, for someone wanting to pursue a writing career?
Write loads. Read loads. Don’t ever
think that what you’ve written is the best literature on the planet because it
isn’t. But it could be really really good if you take the time to edit, and
edit, and edit some more, before getting reliable proof readers to critique
your work, before you edit it again. Be dedicated and willing to learn. Grow a
thick skin, because not everyone will like what you write and you must learn to
accept rejection and criticism. Have fun, and write what you want to write.
- Are you currently working on another book?
Yes, I am writing a horror novel
titled The Sickness which delves into the macabre art of necromancy. That’s
just a plot device; hopefully this will be a character driven novel. I started
it a while ago, but it got abandoned while I wrote The Dead Lands, and it has
been put to the side just recently while I wrote a bunch of flash fiction for
my website. I have also started on a few early chapters of a new post
apocalyptic novel, but that book is still in the early stages of formulating
the plot and ideas.
- Please provide for us any web sites and ways for your fans to reach you and find your work:
The
easiest way for somebody to get a taste of my writing is to visit my website, www.dylanjmorgan.com and click on the
link marked The Crypt. This will take you to a long list of short fiction that
is available free to read. Comments about my work are welcomed, too. I also
have a page on Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/dylanjmorgan, where all my
work is listed and readers are able to give reviews. For the real me, and an
ideal way for anyone to interact with me, simply head over to Twitter and follow
me at @dylanjmorgan
Thank you Dylan! It was truly and honor!
