Rachel Coles - Author of Pazuzu's Girl, Into the Ruins, and Beyond The Veil
Rachel
Coles lives in Denver with her family in Denver, Colorado. She works in public
health disaster preparedness. She enjoys researching mythology to incorporate
into story-telling. Her family and friends share her enthusiasm for fantasy and
science fiction, she is the proud mom of one of the youngest Trekkies in the
state.
Social
Media Sites:
Spotlight
Author Questions:
1.
What is your all-time favorite book, and why?
I'm
not sure I could pick a single one. One of my favorite series is Dan Simmons'
Hyperion series: Hyperion, Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, Rise of Endymion. I
loved those books because they were complex, and when I put the last one down,
it felt like my brain had changed after reading them. Mind-blowing. The series
explored human evolution, not just physical, but religious and cultural, in the
kind of time-span covered by Dune. It also explored artificial intelligence, in
a different way than anything I'd read before. I also loved reading Terry
Pratchett's Discworld series. I always enjoy reading that because Discworld
really picks you up and carries you away in the story. And that world is
hilarious. Terry Pratchett takes typical tropes like vampires, dwarves,
werewolves, etc, and turns everything on its head. He's a really fun read,
great for escaping. But I would say that the book whose phrases stayed with me
for decades was either Something Wicked This Way Comes, or The Halloween Tree
by Ray Bradbury. He was one of the most poetic writers I'd ever seen, and
really impressed upon me the power of words.
2.
Is there an author you could be compared to or a popular fictional character
you could relate to and why?
I
have been compared to Neil Gaiman once or twice, because of the mythological
content of some of my stories. That absolutely makes me feel honored. He is
another one of my favorite authors, and I have to admit that I've emulated him
in a lot of ways. As for characters I could relate to, I guess I would have to
say Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit. I come from a family of Hobbits, pretty
much. We're mostly little people who love to eat and talk, and eat and talk,
and eat and talk. I'm mostly not exaggerating. When I went to my aunt's
retirement party, we stopped at a deli and got pounds of meat, knishes,
whitefish salad, bagels etc, on the way to her place from the airplane. Two
hours later, we went to her party at which we didn't stop eating, talking, and
dancing for five hours. And when we got home, we cracked open the leftovers and
ate again, chatting around the kitchen table. And that was just the beginning
of the weekend. Elevensies/luncheon/afternoon tea/dinner/supper, they all ran
together. Somehow I'm not 800 pounds. That's why I think we're secretly
Hobbits. I am specifically a bit like Bilbo Baggins because I like telling
stories, I am a creature of habit, and don't normally go for anything unexpected,
but every once in a while, I throw my hands up, give in to my wild side, and
get into trouble.
3.
Can you give us your favorite quote from your book and explain it?
My
favorite quote, spoken by Pazuzu, is "I will do whatever I have to do to
protect you, even if I do it poorly in your eyes. You are young and angry and
nothing is as simple as you imagine." I like it because Pazuzu's Girl is
partly about what it means to be a parent. Whatever his other flaws are, he
loves his daughter, and insists on being a dad, even if it means Morpho is mad
at him. It reminds me of what I have heard some parents say, 'It's not my job
to be your friend, it's my job to be your mom/dad.' I'm sure that I will
someday have this conversation with my daughter when she is a teenager, because
I had it with my parents at some point.
4.
What types of things/people/music inspires you and makes you want to keep on
writing?
Everything.
I'm a space cadet and cannot stop daydreaming, and every experience I have
somehow wends its way into a story. But specifically, I'm a child of the 80's.
I mostly listen to 80's music because even though it's corny often, there was
an optimism then, and now a nostalgia. It's energetic, bittersweet, and just
kind of grabs my emotions. I write best when I'm caught up in some emotion or
other. People who inspire me to keep writing are my family and friends. My
daughter was the reason I started writing. She loves to hear bedtime stories,
particularly scary stories. And when we had burned through all of the remotely
age-appropriate scary stories we could find, we started making them up
together. I started writing them down, and kept going. My husband who is my
best friend is really supportive and beta-reads my stories. The writing group
I'm part of, we critique each others material, and have peer-pressure writing
nights and get each other to write (pssst, just a few words, you know you want
to, all the cool kids are doing it...)
5.
Describe your typical writing day or week.
My
writing can be kind of scattershot. I have weeks where I'll sit up until
midnight after my daughter goes to bed, and write every night. Other times,
it'll be only on peer-pressure writing night, when I take my daughter with me
to Panera and she plays Minecraft, while we all write, though I often have her
write me a story on her iPad too.
6.
Is there a typical food/drink you have to have when you write?
Well,
I don't know if I have a particular food or drink, whatever I'm in the mood for
at the time. Usually iced tea of some kind. I've gotten into the habit of
eating a Panera sandwich and soup, and one of their brownies. I love eating
their brownies when I'm writing, and am sad when they're all out by the time I
get there. Their chocolate chip cookies are nice, gooey, and chewy too. But I
can't eat those every time I write, or I'd need a forklift to get me to the
restaurant.
7.
Can you tell us what you're working on now, possibly an excerpt?
I'm
working on a sequel to Pazuzu's Girl. For now the working title is Iron
Butterfly. But I will probably change it, because there are really four main
characters: Morpho-- the demon Pazuzu's daughter who is also part Sidhe,
Ereshkigal--ruler of the Underworld, Ninhab Agresti--Morpho and JD's high
school principal and future consort of Ereshkigal, and Marduk--ancient god-king
of Babylon now a CEO.
From
'Iron Butterfly'
The tunnel went on in darkness
for a ways. Morpho couldn't tell how long. She had the feeling of rough walls
on either side and above. The ground felt like loose dirt underneath her
sneakers. But light grew ahead, and slowly they emerged out of the tunnel.
There was sky overhead, but it wasn't like any sky she'd ever seen. There was a
moon like the moon outside in the regular world, except bigger, and brighter.
It was clearer, and looked somehow like a bowl of molten silver dripping little
pearls into the rest of the sky. The sky around the moon was deep emerald green
shading into black velvet, which was littered with rainbow swaths of stars.
Pazuzu's Girl - Morpho
Wilson thought her life was difficult enough. Her father is Pazuzu, the
Mesopotamian demon of plague and the Southwest wind. As a teenager Morpho
struggles against her father, while trying to adjust to high school in a new
neighborhood. The family is constantly moving in an attempt to elude Pazuzu’s
murderous ex-wife, a demoness known for killing children.
Then something unique happens. A socially-impaired classmate becomes so intrigued by Morpho that he pursues her, despite the mystery surrounding her family and the danger that accompanies it.
But before their romance can grow the demoness tracks Morpho down, and now only needs an ancient artifact called the Tablet of Destiny to complete the destruction of the world. The tablet confers on its owner the ability to control the fate of everything and everyone on earth.
Once the tablet is discovered in the Middle East, the oldest and most powerful gods begin a battle for its possession, with the human population caught in the middle. Morpho, her family, and her new friend must decide, do they escape from the horrifying demoness or fight for their own destiny. How far will Pazuzu go to save his daughter from a hellish fate? Will his banishment from Heaven so many millennia ago end up being a curse...or a blessing?
Then something unique happens. A socially-impaired classmate becomes so intrigued by Morpho that he pursues her, despite the mystery surrounding her family and the danger that accompanies it.
But before their romance can grow the demoness tracks Morpho down, and now only needs an ancient artifact called the Tablet of Destiny to complete the destruction of the world. The tablet confers on its owner the ability to control the fate of everything and everyone on earth.
Once the tablet is discovered in the Middle East, the oldest and most powerful gods begin a battle for its possession, with the human population caught in the middle. Morpho, her family, and her new friend must decide, do they escape from the horrifying demoness or fight for their own destiny. How far will Pazuzu go to save his daughter from a hellish fate? Will his banishment from Heaven so many millennia ago end up being a curse...or a blessing?
Into The
Ruins is an urban fantasy anthology featuring life-changing or
world-changing events. They feature everything from comic horror, as in Diary
of a Duct Tape Zombie, horror, as in Mushrooms, historical fantasy, as in
Plagues, science fiction, as in Whistles, and finally a fun animal story, as in
Beergarden.
In Diary of a Duct Tape Zombie, Detective Nate Mallon investigated vice, when he was alive. Being a police officer was his life. Even dying didn't dampen his enthusiasm for solving his last case. However, there are others who aren't ready to be dead yet, and they aren't trying to solve cases. They are at the center of them.
In Mushrooms, Kallie and Mark Sangiovi didn't live complicated lives. They enjoyed their humble home in Denver, fresh food, and most of all: each other's company. But one strange summer in 2011, everything changed. What begins with an invasion of ants, and summer colds, brings them to the brink of death, in a few days. And they aren't the only ones. During this time, Denver becomes an eerie city, populated by the sick, whose imperative is to bite the people closest to them. The city grows still as the epidemic progresses, and Kallie and Mark leave the human race behind.
In Plagues, Miryam, humble daughter of Hebrews, doesn't have many aspirations as a slave in the city of Ra'amses. It might not be much, but the stability of her husband, child, and home are enough for her to live her life as it is. Her brother, Moses, raised in the Pharaoh's palace and 'touched by God', has grander aspirations for their entire people. But there are many sides to the growing conflicts. The political situation deteriorates in Mitzrayim with the rising power of Ramses, and the advent of terrible environmental disasters. And Miryam finds that her friendship with her Egyptian neighbor, Acenath, means as much to her as her religion.
In Diary of a Duct Tape Zombie, Detective Nate Mallon investigated vice, when he was alive. Being a police officer was his life. Even dying didn't dampen his enthusiasm for solving his last case. However, there are others who aren't ready to be dead yet, and they aren't trying to solve cases. They are at the center of them.
In Mushrooms, Kallie and Mark Sangiovi didn't live complicated lives. They enjoyed their humble home in Denver, fresh food, and most of all: each other's company. But one strange summer in 2011, everything changed. What begins with an invasion of ants, and summer colds, brings them to the brink of death, in a few days. And they aren't the only ones. During this time, Denver becomes an eerie city, populated by the sick, whose imperative is to bite the people closest to them. The city grows still as the epidemic progresses, and Kallie and Mark leave the human race behind.
In Plagues, Miryam, humble daughter of Hebrews, doesn't have many aspirations as a slave in the city of Ra'amses. It might not be much, but the stability of her husband, child, and home are enough for her to live her life as it is. Her brother, Moses, raised in the Pharaoh's palace and 'touched by God', has grander aspirations for their entire people. But there are many sides to the growing conflicts. The political situation deteriorates in Mitzrayim with the rising power of Ramses, and the advent of terrible environmental disasters. And Miryam finds that her friendship with her Egyptian neighbor, Acenath, means as much to her as her religion.
Beyond The
Veil is an anthology of ghost and spirit stories that encompass
everything from vengeance, closure, or justice from beyond the grave, to
portals from which sinister things can enter our world. Take a ride through
these stories and explore some of the possibilities of existence beyond life.
Bees of St. John:
Shana Latray needs a vacation. Her life as a telecommunications service provider feels like a dead end. St. John of the Virgin Islands seems like paradise, but behind the frozen drinks, and the beaches, is a complicated history of invasion and ancient predators. Shana Latray realizes quickly that nothing, from the warm, friendly locals, to the ever-present bees among the profuse tropical flowers, are at all what they seem.
Kisses:
Terry Cooper always hated Valentine's Day, more so since losing her husband. In fact, she hated it so much, she inadvertently put a curse on it. Now, dreadful things are happening on this romantic holiday, as anyone who is kissed will die. And in the midst of this crisis, is a strange ancient ghost warning Terry that only she can revoke the curse. But she doesn't know how. What she does know is that if she doesn't find a way, for hundreds of people across the city, their Valentine's Day kisses will be their last.
Tribulations of a Jewish Vampire:
Becoming a vampire was not on Leah Horowitz's list of life goals. Contrary to all the romantic and dark hype about the sexy life of vampires in the movies and books, Leah's life, when she was turned after her fatal motorcycle accident was anything but glamorous. With no guidance but her still human wedding-happy cousin, her orthodox Jewish aunt, and skeptical mother, she almost dies as her culture and her needs as a vampire clash.
Full Circle:
Life for Jim Red Eagle and his family is unfair. He is an auto-mechanic in his Lakota community, who runs a simple honest business. When his son is involved in an accident that leaves him paralyzed, and he can't seem to find anyone who can help them, he starts falling apart. As he sits in the hospital chapel, wondering what to do, a mysterious Irishman shows up. As the two men get to know each other, and the man's shocking history are revealed, Jim finds that good deeds in the past can return in forms he never expected.
The Muse:
Do you ever feel like statues can hear you, see you, feel your presence? Eliza Shourd is a sometime sculptor, filling credits with an art class while she works through another degree. But after falling asleep by the Platte River in the middle of the night, and waking up to a disturbing drawing she didn't remember doing, her life, and her art takes a turn for the dark. When people in her life begin disappearing, she returns to the river to find out why.
Bees of St. John:
Shana Latray needs a vacation. Her life as a telecommunications service provider feels like a dead end. St. John of the Virgin Islands seems like paradise, but behind the frozen drinks, and the beaches, is a complicated history of invasion and ancient predators. Shana Latray realizes quickly that nothing, from the warm, friendly locals, to the ever-present bees among the profuse tropical flowers, are at all what they seem.
Kisses:
Terry Cooper always hated Valentine's Day, more so since losing her husband. In fact, she hated it so much, she inadvertently put a curse on it. Now, dreadful things are happening on this romantic holiday, as anyone who is kissed will die. And in the midst of this crisis, is a strange ancient ghost warning Terry that only she can revoke the curse. But she doesn't know how. What she does know is that if she doesn't find a way, for hundreds of people across the city, their Valentine's Day kisses will be their last.
Tribulations of a Jewish Vampire:
Becoming a vampire was not on Leah Horowitz's list of life goals. Contrary to all the romantic and dark hype about the sexy life of vampires in the movies and books, Leah's life, when she was turned after her fatal motorcycle accident was anything but glamorous. With no guidance but her still human wedding-happy cousin, her orthodox Jewish aunt, and skeptical mother, she almost dies as her culture and her needs as a vampire clash.
Full Circle:
Life for Jim Red Eagle and his family is unfair. He is an auto-mechanic in his Lakota community, who runs a simple honest business. When his son is involved in an accident that leaves him paralyzed, and he can't seem to find anyone who can help them, he starts falling apart. As he sits in the hospital chapel, wondering what to do, a mysterious Irishman shows up. As the two men get to know each other, and the man's shocking history are revealed, Jim finds that good deeds in the past can return in forms he never expected.
The Muse:
Do you ever feel like statues can hear you, see you, feel your presence? Eliza Shourd is a sometime sculptor, filling credits with an art class while she works through another degree. But after falling asleep by the Platte River in the middle of the night, and waking up to a disturbing drawing she didn't remember doing, her life, and her art takes a turn for the dark. When people in her life begin disappearing, she returns to the river to find out why.
