Hi everyone. Today I am featuring Zach Stivers new release, "The Witches of Claw and Fang." Check out his guest post, sneak peek, book details, and a giveaway below. Happy reading :).
What can we expect from you in the future?
I love exploring the crossing-points of different genres. And using tropes from one genre in another. Hard sci-fi and horror, crime thrillers and romance, Fantasy and heist. I like crafting real, authentic human characters that feel like you could bump into them at the grocery store and then having them sort of stumble or fall into dealing with extraordinary circumstances well beyond their usual day-to-day. I really admire authors who can avoid their protagonists being sort of bland Mary Sues. And I strive to do that too.
So I think those sorts of stories for sure. And I do have more stories lined up for the characters that survive in WITCHES OF CLAW AND FANG…
Do you have any “side stories” about the characters?
I don’t usually write them out, but I like to storyboard their backgrounds. And it’s funny how sometimes a random little piece of their history can end up so critical it works its way into the main narrative.
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in WITCHES OF CLAW AND FANG?
Morgan Reaves, one of our main protagonists, is a thirty-something-year old nurse who recently lost her husband. She’s an introvert-- he was more of an extrovert-- and they had just moved to a small, mountain town near Shenandoah National Park. They have three cats and a dog and a couple acres of land out in the forest outside of town and all of a sudden, boom, Morgan finds herself suddenly alone, grieving, in this new town. On top of all this, she’s attacked by a werewolf and barely escapes with her life. Some people might sort-of crumble under this pressure, but not Morgan. She starts seeing “animal attack” victims at the small hospital she works at, and she knows something very insidious is going on in her new hometown. So the story sort of starts there, with her feeling this strong need to unravel the mystery of Pineville for the sake of the innocent residents, all while trying to keep her own secrets hidden from the town.
How did you come up with the concept and characters for the book?
My wife is a nurse, and one of the strongest people I know. She also seems to be able to read my mind, oftentimes before I even know what I’m thinking. Suspiciously witchy behavior…
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
Everytime I write, I come to a certain point in the book where it feels like my characters have become fleshed out enough that they start making their own decisions. Like I’m just the vessel that writes out what they are doing, but I’ve lost any real control over their actions. So when this happens, sometimes the plot can take interesting twists and turns that even I don’t see coming. This is always exciting, and usually always makes for a better story than what my original plot arc looks like.
How did you come up with the title of your first novel?
I knew I wanted to combine the sort of bestial, dangerous physical elements of the werewolf with the phrase Witches somehow or another. And like lots of fantasy books, the template of ‘THE BLANK OF BLANK AND BLANK.’ fit perfectly. Funnily enough, I came up with THE WITCHES OF CLAW AND FANG title over two years ago now and this title template has become prolific across the industry since then. You see it everywhere! Which is both good and bad, I suppose, since it’s obviously a successful but overused way to do a title. But it sets the tone perfectly, so I wouldn’t ever change it.
Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?
To trust my characters, and not to force them into any behaviors that feel inauthentic. Once I stopped fighting them, the final act fell into place perfectly.
What is your favorite part of this book and why?
I have a couple of side characters who started out as just throwaway extras and became some of my favorite characters I’ve ever written. They are two guys that own the local brewery and they just sort of insisted on joining in on the adventure after they witnessed an… event… that is hard to ignore. I intended for them to sort of run off and hide, but they were too stubborn and proud for that. They wanted to defend their hometown! All of my beta readers loved them, so they got a couple extra scenes, and they bring a dose of humor and hometown pride to the story that I think fits in really nicely with the protagonists who are both out-of-towners.
If you could spend time with a character from your book whom would it be? And what would you do during that day?
Definitely with Philip and Craig, the two side-characters that own a brewery and end up helping our protagonists. And I’d spend the day mostly just tasting all of their amazing beers that they brew!
Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?
100% definitely from my imagination! They are not at all based on any of my ex-bosses or my wife or my coincidentally-similar-looking-to-the-main-character younger brother. Not a chance.
Have you written any other books that are not published?
I have two out of three books completed and published in my YA sci-fi fantasy series. The first is STAR TOWER: THE THIRSTING FOREST, and the second, STAR TOWER: STARVING KINGDOM. I also have a completed manuscript for a crime thriller/ horror that is in the querying process. The working title right now is THE FEATHERMAN. It’s a cross between SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and CONTAGION, about a serial killer that leaves mutilated bodies covered in feathers across the city of Atlanta. An ornithologist is brought on to help solve the case and she finds out that the killer is attempting to gain access to a mutant virus from the CDC and plans to unleash it on the city.
If your book had a candle, what scent would it be?
Hah! Well, the WITCHES OF CLAW AND FANG is spooky, magical and set at Halloween, so I’d give the candle the title: Haunted Jack O’Lantern - It would smell of roasted pumpkin with notes of cinnamon and nutmeg and-- what the heck-- throw in a little dash of espresso!
What are your top 10 favorite books/authors?
Top Ten- No particular order!
Off the top of my head, so I call take-back’s if something pops into my head later on!
HOUSE OF LEAVES - Mark Z Danielewski
SHANTARAM - Gregory David Roberts
THE WOLF’S HOUR - Robert McCammon
SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES - Ray Bradbury
THE SUN ALSO RISES - Ernest Hemingway
BLINDSIGHT - Peter Watts
BLOOD MERIDIAN - Cormac McCarthy
KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL - Anthony Bourdain
HYPERION - Dan Simmons
SLAUGHTERHOUSE 5 - Kurt Vonnegut
Okay… three more I’m going to put in as OLI’s: A LAND REMEMBERED, Patrick Smith, EDUCATED by Tara Westover, THE SHINING, by Stephen King, and anything by Michael Pollen
What book do you think everyone should read?
The world would be vastly improved if everyone read BRAIDING SWEETGRASS and A WALK IN THE WOODS
Tell us about a favorite character from a book.
Rocky from PROJECT HAIL MARY and Glotka from Joe Abercrombie’s THE BLADE ITSELF deserve shout outs!
A hard-edged werewolf crashes into the life of an isolated witch who has temporarily given up her magic. They must overcome their differences and learn to harness their dangerous powers to stop a supernatural evil from corrupting their small town nestled in the Appalachian Mountains.
The Witches of Claw and Fang
by: Zach Stivers
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Thriller
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The truck stayed on his tail the whole time. Didn’t try to hide it at all. At first, Max thought he’d just give the truck a run all the way over to the far side of the next mountain, but eventually Max would have to stop to get gas, so he decided he might as well get to it. His drill sergeant, lifetimes ago, had told him, “Ain’t nothing got easier by waiting around worrying about it.”
He circled all the way back to the gas station where he’d first come across the red pickup truck. He pulled in, stopped at the one lonely pump, and got out. He was onto his fourth beer at this point, and he swirled it in his hand as he pumped gas and watched the old truck pull in behind him. Max felt closer to Grim and farther from Maximillian with four beers in him. He shouldn’t be drinking this much, out here in the middle of nowhere, and he knew it. Especially this time of the month.
But knowing you got a problem is a hell of a lot different than managing that problem.
Right after he heard the pump handle click, the gas station lobby lights went dark, followed quickly by the neon ‘Open’ sign. It flickered, then went out.
The red truck inched uncomfortably close to Max’s bumper before the hillbilly brought it to a complete stop and shifted into park. The big man got out, still slow moving, and stared at Max.
Max stared right back.
The breeze had picked up, the wind gusting down off the mountain. The flagpole chain was dangling loose, and the metal clanged loudly against metal.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
“I was worried you might get lost out on the roads this time a night. Wondering if you needed directions?”
Max raised a single eyebrow. “You were following me around for thirty minutes to make sure I didn’t need directions?”
Clang.
“We do that sort of thing out here: help take care of folks. Even city folks that don’t shake hands and have a ten o’clock shadow, dark eyes, and a bad attitude.”
In the distance, an eerie howl carried down the mountain with the wind. It was the same howl Max had heard lifetimes ago, on another continent.
Clang.
Clang.
The hairs on the back of Max’s neck stood upright. His ears tingled. He couldn’t help but cast a furtive glance toward the moon. He swallowed hard and clenched his fists.
Clang.
Clang.
He did not expect that trigger, not here, not now.
Keep it together, Grim.
—Let me out, Maximillian. It’s been so long.—
Goosfraba.
Max looked at the beer in his hand and tipped out the remaining third.
Lose it now, the career’s gone. The bank accounts. This identity. Everything.
—Let me out, Maximillian. You know its time.—
He hadn’t prepared. He was nowhere near any of his hideouts.
Clang. Clang.
Clang. Clang.
Vic chuckled. “Take ‘er easy, I’m not the cops. Don’t have to dump your beer.”
Max wasn’t listening; he was concentrating on his own mind.
The wind gusted. The pole chain clanged even louder.
Clang, clang, clang!
Clang, clang, clang!
What were the odds of running into another one, way out here?
Don’t give in.
—Let me out!—
“You look sick, city boy. Want to hop in my truck? I can take you somewhere safe.”
Goosfraba.
The wind whistled now, pushing trash and debris across the parking lot, sending the metal chain into a frenzy, knocking again and again against the pole.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Max could barely think straight.
“Goosfraba,” he said out loud, holding his hands up and pressing them against his ears. He felt a magnetism from overhead, pulling on his eyes, begging for him to turn and look up.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
“Boy, you need a real man to protect you from the big bad wolves?”
—LET ME EAT HIM, MAXIMILLIAN!—
Fuck it.
Max craned his neck, stared at the moon, felt the cold primal iron rippling below the surface. This time of the month, it was always so easy. Just sitting there in the sky, beaming down an intoxicating, hypnotic ray of pure lunar ecstasy. Max could slip right into Grim, no effort at all. He didn’t really even have to try to turn. He just had to stop resisting.
So, he stopped resisting.
It hurt whenever it happened, but despite the pain, shedding his human flesh felt sublime.
The bones snapped in his fingers, bigger bones splintered in his hands; his wrists dislocated as larger, thicker muscles exploded across his forearms. Jet black fur pushed out like barbwire across his skin. His mouth tore open, stretching wide, the skin at his lips splitting, a bloody gash slicing along his cheek lines to allow his mouth to continue to gape larger and larger.
From the tips of his fingers steel-sharp claws emerged, pushing off his human nails like old, dried skin. His eyes stung and his face felt pinched and a spasm shot down his spine. His calves trembled and his legs gave out and he crumpled toward the ground, head banging off the car door on the way down.
A moment later he stood back up, over nine-feet-tall, all pain forgotten.
BLURB:
Welcome to the cozy mountain town of Pineville, Virginia. It’s autumn, the leaves are gold and orange, the apples are crisp and sweet, town residents are going missing, and a bloodthirsty monster with ten-inch claws is loose in the forest.
Morgan Reaves tries her damndest NOT to use magic. That’s why she hid in Pineville, after all. But now, Morgan needs to dust off her spell-casting skills, ASAP. Problem is, she may have lost her touch.
She has another problem, too, and it smells like wet dog.
Max: AKA the naked man with rip-cord tight muscles that stumbled out of the woods near Morgan’s house, ranting about curses and conspiracies and a coven of witches.
Is he a werewolf? Well, yes. But he’s also the only one who can help her defeat whatever evil is threatening her adopted hometown. That is, if they manage to not kill each other first...
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Zach Stivers
Zach Stivers lives with his wife in Virginia, at the foot of the Shenandoah National Park. He loves to tell people they do lots of hiking in their free time, but usually they just go for a short stroll in the woods with their dogs and then stop off for a drink or two at the local brewery. That still counts as hiking, right? He has a degree in English Literature from Florida State University, runs really slow half-marathons, and leads an overly-competitive book club that reads a book a week … or else.
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