Hi All,

I’ve gotten quite a few emails about Damnation… Given that I’m trying to balance my time between my reader base, AND getting Soul Siphon out there to all of you, the emails are too much for me to be able to answer individually.

Don’t get me wrong, I love getting them and I read every last one personally. It’s just difficult finding time to respond to them all. So instead I thought maybe it would be best for me to take the most reoccurring questions and write up an interview. So hopefully this answers all questions, but if not, feel free to leave a comment under this message and I’ll do the best I can to give a brief response.

Thanks friends!

Question 1: What is the premise for Damnation?

Damnation is a story that goes concurrently with Divinity. It is a reactionary story that starts out during the same time period, but actually goes later then Divinity. The second part of it happens as the result of what goes on in Divinity, though for the most part, it is only barely affected by the events.

Question 2: So this isn’t a direct sequel?

No, as I’ve previously stated, Adalyn and Giovanni’s story is over. They’ve been through their adventure, suffered loss, faced insurmountable odds, and managed to come out on top.
They faced off against both God’s decree and Hell’s infernal legions, I can’t imagine them having to face off against anything worse. Let’s let them have their happy ending, yes?

Question 3: Does that mean that they’re not going to appear?

Oh by no means. Characters from Divinity will indeed make appearances, but they will not be main cast members in this one. They will be reduced to guides and cameos, but don’t worry, we’ll be able to check in on our previous heroes.

Question 4: It seems that you often write the basic premise about good vs. evil, and the male hero saving the damsel in distress. Can we expect to see a stronger heroine in this one?

Stronger? I’m not sure what you mean. Yes Adalyn was rescued early on in the book by Giovanni, but throughout the rest of the book Adalyn does much of the saving.
Considering everything she went through, all while being completely blind, I’m not sure how much stronger of a character I can write.
If you’re hoping I’ll write a story where the heroine spends most of the time saving the hero, you’re going to be disappointed. Though I started off writing… as you say, basic good vs. evil, I think Divinity shows that my writing has grown from that. It’s no longer the guy saving the girl, it’s them saving themselves and each other, often times from their own nature.
Damnation and Divinity were meant to be symbiotic stories where two unlikely people from two completely different walks of life come together to face down evil. Neither could succeed without the other’s help. I sincerely hope that’s the message I’ve been conveying, but if not, please email me, as I’d be very interested in hearing your thoughts. Thanks!

Question 5: You use that picture very often, is that going to be on the cover of your book?

Oh Heaven’s no! That was a pencil sketch which I had done when I first created the character. Often times I do small concept art pieces so I have a visual to refer to when I’m writing a physical description of a character. It just came out really well and I wanted to share it.
No, trust me, the cover will be infinitely more elaborate.

Question 6: Are you planning any further sequels for Divinity?

Honestly… I don’t know. Damnation’s rewrite may have damaged the story line for the potential sequel, but I’m not certain yet. It would require rewriting another draft I have.

Question 7: Why are her wings black?

You’ll find out in the book.

Question 8: Why are you against writing sequels? You seem to have a bit of a chip on your shoulder when it comes to them.

Okay… for the record, I don’t have a problem with sequels, when they’re needed and/or done correctly.
That said, ask yourself, did Cinderella need a sequel? Did Jaws? Did the NeverEnding Story need one? Did the Phantom of the Opera need one?

The answer should be ‘no.’ As I said before, once a story is over, it’s over. The people who wrote those stories never intended for there to be a sequel and thus creating a sequel wouldn’t be seamless and it wouldn’t be natural. The result is a ton of plot holes and really poor story-telling. It is a bad idea to make a sequel when one isn’t needed, but that doesn’t mean I’m against sequels. Arguably, Empire Strikes Back is far superior to the original. Lord of the Rings obviously couldn’t be done in one book, and so on.

Stories that are meant to be continued should have a sequel. Stories that aren’t, really shouldn’t have one forced, especially once you’ve established the ‘Happily Ever After.’ It rarely ends well.

That said, you can do a sequel to a story like that, perhaps make it surround minor characters, bringing them to the forefront, etc. Which is what I did with Damnation.

Question 9: If you were against the idea of writing a sequel, then why did you?

To be perfectly honest, to get a publisher’s attention. I had Divinity written and it was complete, but when I spoke to the literary agent I was trying to convince to take on my work, the conversation ended rather abruptly when I told him that I wasn’t planning a sequel. To date, it’s the stupidest thing I’ve done in terms of writing.
So at that point, I knew I had to find a middle ground. I knew that I had to figure out a way to preserve the ‘Happily Ever After’ while being able to continue the story, pretty impossible, yes?
Well that’s when I took a couple of side characters from Divinity, added in entirely new characters, and created an entirely separate story. It was a story that was not a direct sequel, but because it involved characters from the first book, it still counted. It was my middle ground.
That said, something happened along the way… more and more ideas kept coming, the story grew and grew and before I knew what was happening, Damnation had emerged from Divinity’s shadow and become a story that I was even more proud of than Divinity.

Question 10: How similar is it to Divinity’s themes?

We’re still dealing with a fallen angel and a human rescuer, but things are considerably different this time around. This story is much darker, far more desperate, and focuses far more on the internal struggles of the main character as opposed to external ones.

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.
jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com
I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.
Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Thanks friends!
Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim