Suspense
Date Published: 7/1/2020
Publisher: Épouvantail Books, LLC
Murder and Madness in the High Sierras
The tragic and gruesome story of the Donner Party is being made into a movie, a tale of cannibalism and treachery high in the snowbound mountains. The cast is made up entirely of children. One by one, they are dying. The series of deaths are haunting the production, each one of the “accidents” at the hands of Florentino Urbino. Driven by greed and jealousy, he is killing off the film’s stars to line his pockets by selling off the gruesome footage of the accidents.
Six-year-old actress SeaBee Danser in her black veil is his next target. She is the only one who can see through the black curtain that Florentino Urbino drapes over his deranged and murderous heart.
Can she survive?
Can he be stopped?
Will any of the children be left standing?
Interview
Is There a Message in Your Novel That You Want
Readers to Grasp?
In Black Veil, the two main characters are
both determined to keep their secrets draped in darkness. For movie producer Florentino Urbino, he keeps his greed and madness and
hunger for fame behind a black curtain that he can draw across his mind. The
other main character, SeaBee Danser, has taken to wearing a funeral black veil to
protect others from seeing the full extent of her steely resolve to survive, no
matter what she must do. How and what we all hide is the primary theme, be it good or
evil, light or darkness.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your
writing?
Because Black
Veil is about the real and tragic Donner Party, I had two concerns. The
first was to treat all members of the party with respect. The second was to
find a balance with the amount of factual detail so that the Black Veil story remained true to
itself.
How many books have you written and which is your favorite?
I’ve written twenty-five Danser novels. Eleven
of them are slated for future publication and the others are on hold for future
rewrites before I decide if they will see the light of day. I suspect they will.
I love every member of the Danser family – and their stories – too much.
If You had the chance to cast your main character from Hollywood today, who would you pick and why?
I would cast the evil and
bizarre Florentino Urbino
to be played by Johnny Depp, who would certainly bring to it his own quirks and
style. My second choice would be my pal, film director Justin Diemert, who is
brilliant with darkness, if he could be persuaded to move to the other side of
the cameras.
When did you begin writing?
When I was in my
mid-twenties, an excellent age to wade into the waters of the art and craft of novelists.
How long did it take to complete your first book?
Approximately a year and
a half. Those were the days of draft after draft, before I developed a bit of
confidence and learned from a lot of trials and errors. These days, the writes
are a lot smoother. It helps a great deal to write seven days a week. It also
keeps me sane and my life balanced between the world of craft and imagination
and the real one.
Did you have an author who inspired you to become a writer?
Yes, Richard Brautigan,
which is funny because he was as much a poet as a novelist. His experiments and
wit and honesty, as well as his minimal prose, lit up my imagination like only
a few others (J.D. Salinger, Peter S. Beagle and later, Elmore Leonard).
What is your favorite part of the writing process?
The months of research
and gathering of ingredients for each book. These are characters, locations,
questions, photographs, quotes and vignettes, all loosely gathered. With Black Veil and the other books, I’ll
typically have ten to fifteen thousand words before I start to write the novel.
Of course, a lot of this material is cast overboard, as it should be. There is
a true delight in the important act of killing our little darlings.
Describe your latest book in 4 words.
A suspenseful cinematic
nightmare.
Can you share a little bit about your current work or what is in the
future for your writing?
Two weeks ago, I started the novel Small Lunatics which promises to be a
fun and challenging write. The book is cast almost entirely with children –
Florida street urchins. While I’ve barely started, I do know it’s a story of
survival in a world gone crazy because, unfortunately, the adults are still in
charge.
About the Author
Greg Jolley earned a Master of Arts in Writing from the University of San Francisco and lives in the very small town of Ormond Beach, Florida. When not writing, he researches historical crime, primarily those of the 1800s. Or goes surfing.
Contact Links
Twitter: @gfjolle
email: gfjolle@sbcglobal.net
Purchase Links
iBooks: Black Veil is available via search
Posts
1 Comments
Thank you so very much!
ReplyDeleteAll the best,
Greg Jolley
The Danser Novels