Out Now--"Dark Hour"!

I am pleased to announce that Dark Hour, the third and final installment in The Coming Evil Trilogy, is now available! This series has been a labor of love of mine for nearly fifteen years. Seeing it published in its entirety is a dream come true. I am so thankful for the fine folks at Realms for taking a chance on the first two books and helping me build an audience. They set the standard for amazing covers and pristine formatting and have shepherded me through the process of honing my craft. This final book is published by Splashdown Darkwater and we have worked hard to follow through with the example that Realms set before us.

Our own Bruce Hennigan had this very nice thing to say about Dark Hour: "More demonic monsters, a looming apocalypse, bloody spiritual warfare, and a painful reunion -- Greg Mitchell has delivered a tour de force in the final volume of The Coming Evil Trilogy. It is impossible to put down this taut, supernatural thriller until the last, gut-wrenching page!"

Now, you can order all three books in the Trilogy in either print or digital formats. As always, stay tuned to my author blog where, in the coming weeks, I'll be posting my commentary for the book to provide additional insight into the creative process behind this epic Christian Horror series! Thank you to everyone who has been following this series so far. I hope you'll join the fun for one final roller-coaster thrill ride.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

The End is Here

Greensboro has fallen.

Swayed by the demonic Strange Man, the townspeople have sacrificed their freedom for prosperity. Monsters lurk in every shadow and the few who oppose the new regime have been chased out of town, forced to wage their war in hiding. For ex-reverend Jeff Weldon and those under his care, it is a losing battle, but the tale begins to turn with the return of his brother Dras.

Dras arrives at his hometown to find it has descended into darkness - but the worst is yet to come. The Strange Man's final plan is falling into place and the Dark Hour is close at hand. Dras, Jeff, and the last of Greensboro's protectors work frantically to unlock the Strange Man's secrets and uncover the key to stopping the Dark Hour before all is lost. But when Dras discovers the fate of his best friend, Rosalyn Myers, he will realize that he has more to lose in this battle than he ever imagined.

Dark Hour is the explosive final act in The Coming Evil Trilogy. All bets are off as the remnant of light clash with the armies of darkness. The final fates of Jeff, Isabella, Dras, and Rosalyn, along with all of Greensboro, will be decided in a desperate last stand. 

Order all three volumes of The Coming Evil Trilogy!
The Strange Man
Enemies of the Cross
Dark Hour

Also available--Lengthening Shadows, an exclusive e-novella set before the dramatic events in Dark Hour.

Coming Soon--"Dark Hour"!

I'm pleased to announce that the third and final installment in my The Coming Evil Trilogy is due out early next year. Not only that, but it is titled Dark Hour, and here's the cover!

This series of "Christian Horror" books has been a dream of mine for a very long time now. It's always been my desire to write about that battle between fear and faith, good and evil, God and Humankind's Rebellious Attitude.

The Coming Evil Trilogy follows the struggles of the small town of Greensboro. Ever since the highway moved, the once prosperous town has fallen on hard times and abandoned their collective faith. The barriers of protection that gaurded this small town for over a hundred years has fallen and their apathy has paved the way for a terrifying devil--enigmatically called "The Strange Man"--to make his move.

In the last two books of the Trilogy (The Strange Man, Enemies of the Cross), the Strange Man has been moving pieces of his diabolical puzzle into place to bring about the Dark Hour. With the publication of Book Three early next year, the Strange Man's plans will come to fruition.

There is hope, though. A small group of Christians is beginning to wake up and lay hold of the faith they have taken for granted for far too long. The odds are impossibly stacked against them, but through perseverence, friendship, family, and love, they must stand against the Strange Man and his army of monsters.

Realms has been instrumental in helping me realize this dream, publishing the first two books in the Trilogy. For the last installment, Splashdown Books will be handling publicshing duties, building upon the top notch quality that Realms began and seeing this series to its dramatic end. I hope you all will come on board for this wild ride through the depths of darkness and to the heights of hope.

Check out my original announcement for Dark Hour on my blog, and, if you've yet to jump into The Coming Evil Trilogy, Books One and Two are on sale in your favorite bookstore, as well as online and in Kindle and Nook formats.

How Much Do Writers Owe Their Audience?

Been thinking of some things lately. I don't know if I've come to any conclusions, but I thought I'd share my thoughts and get your thoughts, as well.

How much do writers owe their audience?

Now, of course, writers wouldn't get paid unless their audience bought their books. So, for that, no doubt, we are eternally grateful that people give of their time and their money to indulge our writing obsessions.

But my question goes deeper than that. The second book in my The Coming Evil Trilogy--Enemies of the Cross--will be released in February. That's just around the corner, and I'm starting to feel the pressure. Will people like the book? Will they feel satisfied and that the year-long wait was worth it?

Will I live up to the expectations of my fanbase?

Expectations... I never had those with Book One. It was a wild card. A weird little addition to the world. No one saw it coming and I certainly had no clue what the reaction of readers might be. But now that it's out--and people have read it--they have no doubt come to their own conclusions about "what happens next". I know I would if I were merely a Reader. Most of my favorite TV shows are eventually ruined for me because, the longer I stay with them, the more ideas I come up with for how I would continue the show. And, when the show veers from my ideal direction, I feel offended. I feel that the show has let me down because it's not stuck to my own fantasy direction.

The question is: Should it?

At what point do fans have "a right" to their story? Or do they ever? Is a book art? Or is it a product to be consumed?

If it's merely a product to be consumed, then I would say the fans have every right. If you buy Peter Pan Peanut Butter all your life, and suddenly the recipe changes, you have a right to complain. That's a product and you buy it because of certain attributes. If that changes, then it's not the same product. I suspect that's why some fans have created an uproar over the Blu-Ray release of the Star Wars saga with all of its (largely unnecessary) changes. They saw the movie a certain way in the theater, and now that product is being changed. The recipe's changed. It's not the same product. Or is it?

If a book is art, do the fans have any say? Or is it the author's right to create however he or she desires? Is George Lucas right to make his changes to Star Wars? It's his movie, after all, right? (I'm being rhetorical. I'm one of those upset with most of his changes :p)

What I find interesting is that, personally speaking, when I become a fan of something, it's because I trust the author. I feel like they know what they're doing and, especially for that first book/movie/tv season, I'm just along for the ride. But, as the ride progresses, then I want to start having my say. I turn into a backseat driver and I think the characters should do this, or the twist should be this.

I remember reading someone's comment on a facebook post that, if a reader doesn't like your book, then you--as the author--let them down. I find that to be a very harsh and erroneous, black-and-white statement. But maybe I'm wrong. How do you measure the success of a book? By how many people you pleased with it, or by how you personally feel about it?

I will not please everyone with Book Two, I fear. I'd like to think my audience will continue to place their trust in me as I lead them through this story. On the other hand, maybe it's an honor that fans feel so comfortable with your story that they feel a small ownership in it. Maybe that's what I want. Maybe that's a good thing. I'm passionate about the story and I want others to be too. At what point do you cater to those "partner owners" and at what point do you carry on in the path, regardless of your fanbase's wishes (both extremes)?

I've seen shows and stories that (at least I thought) have catered only to their loudest fans and they lose their identity. They lose the thing that made them unique because they allow themselves to be pulled this way and that.

I don't know if these questions have any easy answers. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about all of it--but I'd love your input. Where do you draw the line between "fan service" and "creative freedom"? Are novels art or a product? Or does the truth lie somewhere in the middle?

Is "Christian" a Genre?

A few months back, I was interviewed about The Strange Man and towards the end of the interview the question came up, "So, why did you choose to write in the Christian genre?"

I have to admit, I just sort of sat there for long seconds of stupefied silence. I was confused: Horror is my genre. I wanted to say, "No, no, I write horror. Look, I've got monsters!" I wanted to whip out my pedigree of horror-dom to prove to this person that I was a horror writer! At last, I stumbled and said, "Well, I'm a Christian. It just sort of comes out." The reporter nodded, jotted it down, and I believed I'd come up with a great answer.

But, as time has moved on, I'm not so sure.

There are some who can honestly give that answer. Recently I attended a writer's workshop and Robert Liparulo was in attendance. He relayed an encounter where someone came up to him and asked, "What's Christian about your stories?", to which he replied: "Me." That's a great answer and I think probably fits Bob perfectly. But, in my The Coming Evil books, no one who has read the book will ever have to ask the question: "What's Christian about your stories?" It's everywhere. I write about Christian characters dealing with specific struggles that Christians can relate to--things that "non-believers" don't necessarily understand. Book Two of the trilogy, Enemies of the Cross, has just got a fancy new cover. The book's getting closer to release date. It deals with anger towards God. Doubt--not in God's existence or power, but in His judgment. Does God really know what He's doing in my life? I think that's a unique circumstance to the Christian experience.

Understand, when I started writing these books, I had no idea about markets or target audience. I just had a love for the story and these characters and a desire to communicate my own faith journey. And, as much as I always wanted to believe that this series would be a cross-over success--something that Christians and secular horror audiences would enjoy--it's just not happening that way. Why? I've got monsters all over the place! I wrote this thing from a lifelong love of horror--years of my knowledge, influences, and passions boiled into one cataclysmic event!!

Perhaps the reason is that this isn't a novel in the "horror" genre. Could it be I wrote in the "Christian genre"? If that's so, it's certainly not because I chose to, but rather it's chosen me.

If only Christians read my book, is that a bad thing? It's a smaller audience, yes. A much smaller audience, given the global stage. But if I can challenge them, help them to grow, to excite them about their faith--even just simply entertain them with my story I will always think of as a monster/horror story--I don't see any shame in that.

As Christian writers, whether we're writing in the "Christian genre" or not, ultimately we have to trust this story inside us. We believe God's put it there--or at least blesses the fruits of the imagination He's given us--so we have to trust it will find its audience. That it will serve its purpose, whatever that purpose may be. I'm trying to trust that, to let the story be what it needs to be, regardless of genre or audience.

But it's an interesting question to me: Is "Christian" a genre? Or is it simply a perspective the writer brings to a genre? If it is a genre, is it possible to have a book published by a Christian Fiction publisher and yet not be of the "Christian genre"? Questions abound!