Castle of Sorrows

by Jonathan Janz

Overview

"One of the best writers in modern horror to come along in the last decade. Janz is one of my new favorites." -Brian Keene


A year ago composer Ben Shadeland traveled to the Sorrows, a reportedly haunted island off the California coast, to find inspiration for a horror movie music score. Instead, he found madness, murder, and an ancient evil. His family barely survived the nightmare, and Ben swore he'd never return to the island or its accursed castle.
Now Ben's infant daughter has been kidnapped and Ben is convinced that the malevolent creature that lives in the catacombs beneath Castle Blackwood is responsible. Ben joins three federal agents, a sultry medium, and others in an attempt to save his daughter. But what awaits them is far worse than they ever imagined. The creature - an ancient god named Gabriel - has grown more powerful than ever. It has summoned unspeakable monsters to the island - both human and supernatural. And Gabriel won't rest until he has his revenge.





FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781787582484
Publisher:	Flame Tree Publishing
Publication date:	07/25/2019
Series:	Fiction Without Frontiers
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Jonathan Janz is the author of more that fifteen novels and numerous shorter works. Since debuting in 2012, Jonathan’s work has been lauded by Booklist, Publishers Weekly, The Library Journal, and many others. He lives in West Lafayette, Indiana. Jonathan Janz grew up between a dark forest and a graveyard, which explains everything. Brian Keene named his debut novel The Sorrows “the best horror novel of 2012.”

Interviews

What is the book about?

This one is about the attractive, swirling vortex that evil can become. Whether the evil is from the island itself, the creature who rules it, or an underworld gang, the evils in this story are seductive and magnetic, and more often than not, they tend to undo those who fall prey to them.

What are the underlying themes?

One idea I examine quite a bit is how obsessive people are about unhealthy pursuits. Often, people’s basest urges are the ones that call them the most urgently.

Did real life experiences bring about any of the plot of this tale?

There’s a minor character in the tale who’s a weightlifter. I’ve lifted some in my life and know that sort of subculture fairly well. What we put into our bodies can be problematic, and it’s always something that’s frightened me about the culture of lifting weights and bodybuilding. Some of the people I’ve met helped inspire the weightlifting character.

What about the setting stimulated your imagination?

The island (the Sorrows) always calls to me. It was the setting of my first published novel, and since it’s a real place (Craigeivar Castle in Scotland, though in my novel it’s placed in the Pacific), it’s exceedingly easy to imagine and return to. I love the idea of a windswept castle not far off the California coast. I love the notion of the woods there and the solitary structure rising from the center of the island.

What are some of your favorite satyr stories?

Though I’m sure I’m forgetting some books, the two that come most readily to mind are Arthur Machen’s THE GREAT GOD PAN and Brian Keene’s DARK HOLLOW. There’s so much potential in the satyr, and both of these works and authors utilize that potential to great effect. Machen wrote tantalizingly about what lies behind the veil of reality, while Keene expanded the notion of what a satyr could be and dramatized how the creature could interact with our world, as well as the kind of damage it could inflict on people (emotionally, as well as physically).

Who influenced you most in the writing of the book?

Arthur Machen, Peter Straub, Brian Keene, and Richard Laymon influenced the novel the most.

Is there any advice you can give someone starting to write?

You will only succeed if you love it, if you burn to write. If you’re not passionate about it, you need to get out, because that passion and determination will keep you going when things go badly. And they will go badly. You’ll be rejected, you’ll be discouraged, you’ll be told you’re not good enough. You’ll likely experience soul-sucking self-doubt. But if you love it enough, you’ll stay with it. That’s how you climb. By not quitting.

Where did you write?

Like most of my novels, this one was written in my home, in my writing room. It’s an inspiring setting filled with books and an aura of magic.

Did you write in silence, or to any particular music?

I write to Baroque music. It’s the perfect fusion of mystery, passion, and energy, and listening to it, the words just flow from my fingertips to the page. It also drowns out the ambient noise that I sometimes find distracting.

What are you writing now?

At the moment I’m editing a post-apocalyptic novel (the first of a planned series) and working on the second CHILDREN OF THE DARK book.

Editorial Reviews

"One of the best writers in modern horror to come along in the last decade. Janz is one of my new favorites."

Brian Keene

"One of the best writers in modern horror to come along in the last decade. Janz is one of my new favorites." - Brian Keene

From the Publisher