Bookish

Spensations: Spotlight On… Call of the Jersey Devil

29 April 2013 / 3 Comments

Hey Guys,
Welcome to another installment of Spensations. I am so excited about today’s post as I have the amazing Voltaire here. I am so excited as I got to meet Voltaire on Saturday during Whitby Goth Weekend so first I’m just going to do a wrap-up of what went down on Saturday.

Meeting Voltaire during Whitby Goth Weekend!
So I live like 1 hour away from Whitby but had never ever been, let alone went to Whitby Goth Weekend so I didn’t know what to expect. I completely went just because Voltaire would be there and I really wanted to meet him before this post went up! I have got to say it was the best day ever!
All the costumes were phenomenally beautiful, there was some awesome stores along the sea-front and there was even a Dracula store… Oh yeah… there was! I’m a little sad that I didn‘t have time to walk up the 199 steps and visit Dracula’s grave but I am soooo going back one day to do that. Hopefully soon.
Next I went to the La Rosa hotel to queue outside to go to Voltaire’s reading and I saw this….

YES… the hotel that the reading was in was the same hotel that Lewis Carroll… THE LEWIS CARROLL stayed in 6 times in the 1800s… This is the point where I started to fangirl! A book event… and may I say… MY FIRST book event was held in the hotel where Lewis Carroll stayed… that has got to be every booklovers dream come true right? That alone made the day absoluetly incredible… 
And then we got in to the reading. I have got to say Voltaire is absolutely the more awesome coolest person I have ever met in my life! He is just hilarious.
He started the reading saying “It’s beginning to smell a lot like Christmas” and that he would be doing a reading from his book “Fifty Shades of Black”. All the way through he had us all laughing constantly.
I did not manage to take any pictures during the reading unfortunately as I was so caught up in his book I could not even think of anything else. 
If you have no added Call of the Jersey Devil to your TBR list you have got to because it is honestly the most hilarious book ever! It’s about a goth singer and some goth mall-rats but don’t think just because you are not in the ‘goth scene’ then it won’t be for you as this book can be enjoyed by everyone… But it is not for children! Make sure you are 18+ please!
After the reading I went up to speak to the awesomeness that is Voltaire… AND HE KNEW WHO I WAS… *Insert freak-out here* He knew the name of my blog and even said “let’s take a picture to accompany the interview post” It can be fair to say that this was the best day of my life… like EVER!
To go to your first book event and for the author to know who you are is just… there are no words! WOW!

Wanna know more about the book?
OF COURSE YOU DO!
Check it out!

Call of the Jersey Devil
Aurelio Voltaire

Published By: Spence City
Publication Date: May 28, 2013
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From Goodreads
Five suburban mall rats and a washed up Goth singer find themselves stranded in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey where they discover two horrifying truths: The Jersey Devil, hellspawn of folklore and legend, is real; and New Jersey (as many already suspected) is the gateway to Hell!

With the help of one lone witch, this small group must face off against their deepest fears and the most unholy monsters in a battle where their very souls, the world they live in, and any chance of returning to Hot Topic in one piece is at stake!

The first novel by musician and horror media personality, Aurelio Voltaire, Call of the Jersey Devil is a hilarious and terrifying homage to 80s horror and genre films. Like a mad doctor, Voltaire has Frankensteined together elements of Evil Dead, The Breakfast Club, Poltergeist, and This is Spinal Tap to create a creature feature that will have you laughing out loud when you’re not glancing nervously over your shoulder.

Sounds epically awesome right?
IT IS!
And it’s freaking hilarious. My review will go up sometime in the next few weeks so check that out!

Interview With Voltaire!

So YES this happened. I met my first ever author at my first ever book event and I couldn’t be more thrilled that it was Voltaire. He is amazing and made me first book event the best day of my life. He also gave me some awesome bookmarks to giveaway so stay tuned after the interview for that!
Now without further adieu… I give you…
VOLTAIRE!

Hi Voltaire,

Thanks so much for joining us on K-Books today. I
am so excited to have you here.

V: Not as excited as I am to be here! ; )

So you are already well known for your other
works but how did you get into writing?

V: I animated and directed commercials and
station IDs for about twenty years. While I was thrilled to be animating for a
living, I eventually found myself frustrated that I was always telling someone
else’s story. And more often than not, that story was “buy this soap” or “watch
this station”. Eventually, I wanted to tell my own stories. One day, I simply
made the decision to do that and I sat down and started drawing and writing
what became my first comic book series. It was called Chi-chian and it was a
dark Cinderella story about a young girl living in a very dark, future
Manhattan. That series lead to me writing other comic books and graphic novels
(Oh My Goth!, Humans Suck!, Deady) and eventually to my first two non-fiction
books, What is Goth? and Paint it Black: A Guide to Gothic Homemaking. So you
could say I’ve been at this for a long, long time. Call of the Jersey Devil
though, is my first novel.

So your debut novel, Call of the Jersey Devil is
due for release with Spence City soon. Where did you get the inspiration for
the book from?

V: After having made a handful of short films and
touring the film festival circuit with them for years, I felt it was time to
make a feature film. One year, while on tour, I wrote the film I would love to
make and it was called Call of the Jersey Devil. However, I eventually learned
a horrifying truth and that was that I had no idea how to shop a screenplay.
Eventually, I decided to novelize the story so that people could at least enjoy
the tale if a film was never made.

The story is largely inspired by the only two
things about growing up in New Jersey that I actually loved and understood;
disenfranchised Goths and the Jersey Devil.

I think that people who are familiar with the
films I loved growing up will get a particular kick out of this book. Films
like The Evil Dead, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Poltergeist, Ghostbusters, The
Breakfast Club… they all lend a bit to the tone of this story.

Can you give us any little teasers from the book?

V: Okay.

1)          
There’s a lightsaber battle
in a Spencer Gifts store between two Goths wielding a Master Replica lightsaber
and a doubled ended dildo

2)          
One of the main characters
doesn’t really live in the steeple of
the Chrysler building nor does he really raise giant bats!

3)          
If you futz with one of those
Lament Configuration puzzle boxes from Hellraiser for too long, you might
ACTUALLY summon Cthulu!

4)          
And… when you find out why
the Jersey Devil is so angry, you might actually come to love and pity him.

Oh, you mean an excerpt? Alright, how about a
little flashback from the book?

Henry’s
parents, Caroline’s sister, Lucy, and her husband Mel, a balding accountant
from Metuchen, had died only three years earlier when last the gateway opened
its vile mouth. Lucy was Caroline’s only living female relative, and her death
weighed heavily on the witch. The family was sitting in the cabin, watching an
episode of The Golden Girls on Mel’s laptop, when suddenly the Jersey Devil
appeared and made a meal of Lucy and Mel.

When
Caroline finally arrived at the scene, she found the carnage – and Henry, then
a high school senior. He was hiding under the couch with three days of feces in
his pants. She knew she was on her own when she asked him to help her close the
fissure to Hell, but he instead insisted on staying under the sofa. He had two
more days’ worth of filth in his pants when she returned– only three hours
later.

How do you feel about the upcoming release?

V: I’m very, very excited!!!

I for one cannot wait to read it. You are the
first release with Spencer Hill Press’ new imprint Spence City. How do you feel
about being the first Spence City author?

V: It’s great! If I set the bar really low, those
who come after me will look like Gods! LOL! Honestly, though, I’m honored.
While I somehow doubt the subsequent books on the imprint will be as weird as
this one, I hope I can at least set a good tone as the first author to release
with them.

FYI… He sooo didn‘t set the bar low… this book is EPIC!
 

Can you give us any hint of what you’ll be up to
in the near future?

V: Yup! ? I’m writing the script for a
feature film based on one of my earlier comic book series, Oh My Goth! I’m
recording my eleventh full length CD- Raised by Bats. I’m touring the UK next
week and come back to the States for more shows. I’m preparing five different
toy releases for this year. I’m wrapping up my children’s book- The Legend of
Candy Claws. And slowly, I’m starting to write my next novel, The Nothing.
There are about a dozen other things that I can’t remember at the moment.

Thanks for the interview!!!

Aurelio Voltaire

www.voltaire.net
Isn’t he just amazing?
He is so awesome it’s unreal for a real person to be that awesome!
Now some of you may recall I did a giveaway for a Spencer Hill Press May Release at the beginning of the month that included Call of the Jersey Devil and the SHP Anthology Holiday Magick
Now the winner is…

Congrats Julie Belfield… email me with your choice of book.

If you didn’t win don’t fret we have some bookmarks up for grabs now and on May 1st there’ll be a giveaway for a June Release which includes either PODs by Michelle Pickett, Triangles by Kimberly Ann Miller or Copper Girl by Jennifer Allis Provost so don’t miss Spensations on May 1st

Giveaway!

Now want some Call of the Jersey Devil bookmarks?
Of course you do.
There are 7 up for grabs so there will be 7 winners and I WILL ship Internationally.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pre-Order!

Pre-Order Call of the Jersey Devil
US Peeps –> CLICK HERE (Amazon) / CLICK HERE (B&N)
UK Peeps –> CLICK HERE (Amazon)
International Peeps –> CLICK HERE (Book Depository)
Remember: The Book Depository has free shipping worldwide.

Thank you for joining me for this epic edition of Spensations. Good luck with the giveaway and see you May 1st

photo kayleigh.png

I’m Kayleigh, a teacher and blogger who is obsessed with all things bookish. I love reading YA books of all genres and I am happiest when sharing my love and passion for books.

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