Author Interview: John Kohlbrenner

Buy the book at Amazon

Book summary:

“The ultimate Halloween adventure.” – Professor Grimmgraves.. 

From a distance, the town of Autumnville never seemed quite right – the area being picturesque while at the same time haunting. It was a quiet, peaceful place to live, but there was a strange feeling that permeated the town and its people as Halloween approached. An eerie feeling that descended upon Autumnville, and no one knew why… until now.
Jason Myers, a 12-year-old boy who enjoyed all things monsters, discovers through a mysterious Halloween blog that monsters may be very real. On the blog is a video of a witch flying on a broom sighting. While showing it to his three best friends, they come to the horrible realization that it was filmed in the very town they live in.
The four friends will have to face a host of ghosts, witches, scarecrows, and other terrifying nightmares that have invaded Autumnville for a dark and sinister purpose. The boys will have many terrifying encounters and ultimately uncover the real secret behind Halloween. But Jason is not completely helpless, for he has the unwanted aid of a monstrous ally, and of course, Jason’s own incredible secret!

Interview 

Hello John. Welcome to Ja čitam, a ti? blog. It’s really a pleasure to have you here. I have some questions for you so let’s start.

1. Can you first tell us something about your book – One Dark Halloween Night?

One Dark Halloween Night is like all those costumed trick-r-treaters that visit your door on Halloween, from monsters, superheroes, to celebrities and politicians. The book has a wide variety of elements in it besides horror. There is mystery and suspense, action and romance and a story about young friendships that overcome great obstacles. Also the story incorporates a large number of elements from the holiday, from trick or treating, to costume parades, Halloween parties, haunted houses, corn mazes, candy, costumes, a spooky story, and of course lots and lots of monsters.

2. For people who get scared easily (ME) is this book recommended for younger readers or who scary it actually is? (To me this book sounds like a perfect read for young boys who love scary stories and are just discovering witches, ghosts and all those scary creatures)

There are scary elements in the story, but there are far more suspense, mystery to it, along with action scenes and humor to break up any scary tension. There is nothing too graphic so it would be fine for middle school kids.

3. What or who inspired you to write this book?

I would say it’s my love of the holiday Halloween. I’ve been trick-r-treating with my daughter for a couple years now and we always have a blast. It is the second most popular holiday in America, yet it barely any fictional mythology to it. Yes you can say any scary story is a Halloween story, but what is the definitive Halloween story about the holiday. You could say it’s The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury, but the book reads like a kid’s history lesson on the holiday. Or John Carpenter’s Halloween which is just a serial killer movie. So there is a void out there needing to be filled. Christmas has several stores that does it, A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Story, etc.. I hope my novel will fill that void.

4. Do you plan to make this book a part of series or it’ll remain standalone?

You will have to read my book to find out.

5. It’s October and time for Halloween so it’s be only fair to share your biggest fear with my readers.

My biggest fear is not making ends meet. It is a tough economy out there and becoming a successful writer is akin to winning a lottery. I think my book has winning numbers, I just hope they get picked sooner then later.

6. What’s your favorite author or book if you can pick one?

My favorite author would definitely be H.P. Lovecraft. He is a master at scary descriptions and his monsters were out of this world, literally.

7. At the end it’d be amazing if you’d share your favorite quote or something that inspires you.

What inspires me is my father, his reaction to reading my novel made all those hours of writing worth it. First by telling me how surprised he was at how good the story was, and the gasp of shock he made when he read the last page of my book. To write something that invokes such an emotional response you know just has to be good.

Thank you for this interview. It was a pleasure to talk to you.

Trailer

About the author

Born in Blytheville Arkansas, but living there was not to be.

Ended up growing up in Buffalo and Denver you see.

Went to the University of Colorado and got a film and English degree.

Then moved to Los Angeles to work in the movie industry.

Was a sound FX editor for eight years, but that was not for me.

Raised my daughter at home, lovingly doing it for free.

Now it’s time to start a new career, this being number three.

I’ve become a writer, so buy my book, if you hear my plea.

It’s an exciting and scary novel, I’m sure you would agree.

I hope you like my life rhyme and not found it too goofy.

Author's

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Until the next time,