The Book has been self-published via Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes & Noble and is available as eBook (~190 pages / Released in May 2012).
The Void is Book 2 of The Weaver Saga which is basically a fusion of the classic Young Adult coming-of-age saga and the X-Files style paranormal police procedural.
Book 1 of The Weaver Saga can be downloaded for FREE (see link at the end of this post)
About the Book
The Zombie Apocalypse is Nigh!
The trouble is, Alex Cronlord is the only person who knows it. She is a Weaver -- one of a group of superhuman children who are able to see the future -- and she can still remember the vision she had just weeks ago of being chased by a shambling undead horde. But that's all she's seen of the coming horror, and lately, her visions have mostly been confusing. Dead bodies in dumpsters, a strange place called "Pinnacle," and no sign of a Xorda anywhere. At least, not at first.
As Alex struggles to make sense of these bits of information, a stitch-faced assassin surfaces with a vendetta against Ainsling Cronlord, Alex's mother. Ainsling is a member of the enigmatic Wells Society, a secret order of women who genetically mutate their own children to turn them into fighters against the Xorda. She is the person who gave Alex her Weaver powers. And she is the person Alex can least afford to trust.
But when the stitch-faced man steps up his campaign against the Cronlord family, Alex begins to realize she may not have a choice. As she learns the disturbing truth behind her recent visions, Alex must decide how far she is willing to go to save the world.
Reviews (Excerpts)
- "[...] Fast-paced, fascinating, creative, and curious, the entire novel sped through an insanely unique plot - pulling old and new enemies into the storm and slicing the work up with an intense journey, darker creatures (zombies, Xorda, and wolves - oh, my!) graver circumstances, worse consequences, and an epic cliff-hanger ending. Trust me, while The Void is a definite must-read - it's definitely not somewhere you want to be. [...]" - Miranda Wheeler
- "[...] This author writes a creative story with very interesting characters. Once you start the novel you can't put it down.[...]" - SciFi Neophyte (Amazon)
- "[...] I highly recommend this book and its predecessor Weaver to anyone who enjoys a good book that allows you put aside reasoning and enjoy a good tale of coming to age, and not just for teenagers.[...]" - CabinGoddess (Amazon)
Author Interview with John Abramowitz
John Abramowitz: I'm a long, tall Texan (sorry, Lyle Lovett) born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas. I got my formal education in the Midwest, and consider Iowa my second home state. I now live in Austin, Texas, where I'm working as a lawyer during the day, writing in the evenings, dating someone far more creatively brilliant than I am, and sleeping very little as a result of all of these things. Everything I really need to know about telling stories, I learned from Joss Whedon. While most of my work is "fantasy" of some kind, I love genre-mixing and do it whenever possible.
What is your your writing background?
Well, I first decided I wanted to be an author when I was about twelve years old. I spent a lot of time at the keyboard banging out stories, but was never satisfied with anything I wrote. Eventually, I gave up in frustration and figured I must not be that good.
For a couple of years, the only writing I did was the academic kind. And then, slowly, I started dipping my toes back in the writing pond. I made serial short fiction and ran RPGs for a few years. This taught me a lot about the mechanics of storytelling, about what worked and what didn't. I knew I was getting better, but I still didn't feel ready to "go public," so to speak.
And then I noticed that, for several weeks in a row, the episode plots on one of my favorite television shows mirrored plots I'd just done in the serial I was making at the time. That was when I thought, "Maybe I can play in the big leagues."
John, tell us about your Series The Weaver Saga
The Weaver Saga is basically a fusion of the classic Young Adult coming-of-age saga and the X-Files style paranormal police procedural. I've loved both of those types of stories for a long time, so when I realized I could tell both of them at once, I jumped at the chance.
It really started as an homage to a friend of mine from college, who used to regale us all for hours with stories about her incredibly vivid, realistic zombie dreams. One day, I was remembering those stories and thought, "Hmm, a little blonde girl with zombie dreams. You know, if those dreams came true, that would be an awesome premise for a book... Hey, wait a minute!"
What is Book 2 of The Weaver Saga - The Void about?
This book is really about Alex's journey. She's the blonde girl who can see the future that I talked about before. The last book was about her discovering that she had those powers, and coming to terms with the fact that her life wouldn't be the same anymore. Now I want to explore what she decides to do with those powers.
To take a quote from Harry Potter, "It is our choices that show what we truly are, much more than our abilities." This book deals with Alex's choices. What makes it even more interesting (at least for me) is that Alex has a mother who isn't a very nice person (I won't say more than that to avoid spoilers), so Alex spends the whole book in the shadow of possibly becoming like her mother.
That's a pretty classic "young hero" plot-line, but I think the fact that Alex can see the future adds an extra dimension to it. Even with that power, can she avoid becoming what she hates? When all is said and done, does she even want to?
When has it been released?
Weaver (Book 1 of The Weaver Saga) was released last August, and I recently re-released it with a new cover (and for free on Smashwords! - see link below). The Void has been released on May 12, 2012.
What genre?
I would say it's a paranormal thriller, though I do so much genre-mixing that it's hard to pigeonhole any of my books into a particular genre.
What is your target group of readers?
Anyone who likes a good story. The Weaver Saga is classified as Young Adult fiction, but I think there's something in there for lots of different types of readers. For those who like a more adult protagonist, there's Moira McBain, the take-no-prisoners FBI agent with the haunted past. For those who like vampires, the Xorda are close enough that you should have a good time. For those who like zombies, Alex spends the entire second book under the threat of a possible zombie apocalypse. For those who like romance or sexual tension ... well, I'll just say that there are a couple of plot threads in the books that you should enjoy, and leave it at that.
Is this the first book you have published?
No! The first book was Weaver itself. I've also published Atticus for the Undead, which is about a law firm that defends supernatural (sorry, arcane!) creatures in a world where their existence is widely known, and The Antlerbury Tales, a short story that is basically a fantasy comedy.
Where did you (self)-publish? How did the publish process work for you?
I publish everywhere I can. Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble. In terms of the process, I write the books chapter by chapter. After each chapter, I let my trusty team of beta readers comb through what I've written and tell me whether I'm holding their interest, whether the characters' actions feel believable, what works and what doesn't. When necessary (which is most of the time), I re-write according to their comments.
Then I let an editor take a pass or two at the book to fix all the technical problems. Then I set a date, and upload. Usually the book is finished a while before upload, so that the review blogs have time to read it and write their reviews.
Is the book available as eBook or Print or both?
So far, eBooks only.
Where can readers buy the book?
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.
Thank you so much for the Interview, John. Good Luck with your future book projects.
Links to the Author and the Book
Link to John Abramowitz's Website
Connect with John Abramowitz via Twitter @OnTheBird
Link to the Book The Void with Excerpt on Amazon
Link to Book 1 of The Weaver Saga for FREE on Smashwords (all Formats)
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