BooksChatter: ℚ Chains of the Sciell: Merging Worlds [2]

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author Auden Johnson to talk about Chains of the Sciell (2 June 2015, Aubey LLC, 365 pages) a dark fantasy, and the second book in the Merging Worlds series.

"I really liked the book and I think young adults and adults alike will enjoy it. Especially if you like repressed memory, paranormal powers and kidnapping" - Reader's Favorite.

Hello Auden and thank you for taking the time to talk to us here at BooksChatter.

What was the inspiration for your latest book?

"Chains of the Sciell is a marriage between a novel and a short story I wrote.

The novel, after several rewriters, was about a group of people who suddenly found themselves in a strange mansion. They soon discovered they were experimented on as children and had otherworldly being put inside them that could possess them in order to protect them.

The short story was about a cursed character, Belial, and his siblings who were changed because of his curse. They attacked a mansion because the people harmed one of the siblings. The attack went so wrong. Everyone except Belial died. I know, it’s so dark. I don’t usually write stories with that bleak of an ending. "

How much of yourself is reflected in Chains of the Sciell, and how?

"For my characters, I take a part of my self and blow it up. Josephine Royal shares my love for research and history, but she made a career out of it. Divine Mathews, like me, is fascinated by historic architecture so much so that he designs buildings for a living. Bel is a total nerd, like me. He plays with technology just to see what he can make. I’m not skilled enough to do that. Bel doesn’t do anything with his creation. The experimentation is what he cares about. "

The first thing that draws me to a book is its cover. Can you tell us about their cover - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.

"I design my own covers. It started as an experiment. I have Adobe Photoshop and wanted to play around with it. Turns out, I really enjoy creating book covers.

Since Chains of the Sciell is part of a series, I wanted to make sure the cover fit in with the first book. For The Sciell, Book 1, I created the symbol for my race of beings- the blue butterfly. I wanted that symbol to be on the cover of Chain of the Sciell. Then, I looked for different stock images with chains in them until I found a few I liked. I put the different chain backgrounds with the blue butterfly until I found a good pairing. After that, it was matter of editing the blue butterfly and the chain background to make them look like one image. The blue butterfly is wrapped in chains to represent the title of the book. "

Why should we read your book and what sets it apart from the rest?

"Because it’s awesome! Kidding. No really.

The Merging World Series plays with the idea of Darkness. It’s not evil. It’s an Energy source. It can be good or bad depending on who’s controlling it. The characters open the Darkness and feed on its Energy. Darkness is alive.

In Book 1, The Sciell, Darkness is like a baby. It can’t do anything on its own.

In Book 2, Chains of the Sciell, it’s a teenager and it hates almost everyone. The characters have problems getting the Energy they need from Darkness because it doesn’t want to be touched. A group of otherworldly beings told the Darkness it could do whatever it desired. Because of this, the Darkness does whatever these beings want. Its new masters want to take over the world.

You can enjoy Book 2 without having read Book 1. "

Can you tell us something quirky about Chains of the Sciell and its characters?

"Most of my characters have explosive powers that can level cities with a thought.

Blae Carlton’s power is quieter, if that’s the right word. His power sharpens his already acute mind. He’s able to come up with battles plans within seconds. He creates traps using bombs made out of Energy and lures the enemy into those traps. Because of his power, Blae is able to defeat people much stronger than he is. No one likes sparring with him"

Who would you recommend your book to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?

"Chains of the Sciell can be enjoyed by adults and young adults. It’s for anyone who likes some horror in their fantasy, for readers who enjoys characters with a lot of attitude.

It has some romance though the love story isn’t at the center of the plot.

Chains of the Sciell has some gore but nothing excessive. "

If you could / wished to turn your Merging Worlds series into a movie, who would be your dream team (e.g. director, actors, locations, etc.)?

"Funny enough, whenever I picture a movie of my book I always see it as an anime.

I’ve been told my stories reads like anime. My character have these epic moments. I can picture color power swirling around them while an epic score is playing in the background. That would be awesome!"

What do you like to write and read about? Do you stick to a particular genre or do you like to explore different ones?

"I like writing apocalyptic or dystopian worlds with aggressive characters that have may too much mouth.

Most of the time, my characters are non-human. I don’t know what draws me to those type of characters.

I stick to dark fantasy though the level of dark varies. I’ve written some fantasy books that are heavy on the horror and some that are horror light. Some of my books are heavy on the romance.

I read mostly fantasy though I do venture into paranormal romance and urban fantasy."

What is your writing process?

"A scene, character, a what if question may come to me. I start with a simple idea then go from there. I let the story write itself.

I don’t work on a story every day. When I have a project, I write as often as I can. Most of my writing is done the pm for no other reason than I work better at night.

I always have a journal or a tablet on me because a scene or story idea usually hits me when I’m not at home. "

What is in store next?

"Book 3 is up next. It doesn’t have a title. The road for the characters gets harder as the world becomes more dangerous. The new masters of Darkness are almost done taking over the world. They encounter a problem in Book 2. That problem is taken care of in Book 3.

You’ll see more of the world in Book 3. The characters don’t have a home. They travel in search of a safe place to live. In Book 2, you’re introduced to human communities that settled off-the-grid because large cities aren’t safe . In Book 3, you learn more about these communities."

That sounds brilliant. Thank you again for joining us Auden and sharing so much with us.