SARA SARQUE & THE DEMON EXECUTIONER and Other Stories of Mystery, Terror, Heartbreak, Hope and Humor received a 4+ star review, making it an IndieReader Approved title.
Following find an interview with author D C Mallery.
What is the name of the book and when was it published?
SARA SARQUE & THE DEMON EXECUTIONER and Other Stories of Mystery, Terror, Heartbreak, Hope and Humor. Published in October of 2023.
What’s the book’s first line?
My wife had her auburn hair pulled tight in a bun. Her name might have been Anne. I’m not sure. Our son was twelve. Arthur, I think. My wife tried to say something that I couldn’t hear. But I never had a wife. I never had a son.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
SARA SARQUE & THE DEMON EXECUTIONER is an award-winning collection of short stories, some previously published in various genre magazines, others brand new.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
The title story was inspired by my desire to tell a very different kind of exorcism tale without the usual exorcists or the usual Old Testament demons.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
The book won the Gold Award for Best Horror Book in the 2023 Reader Views Reviewer’s Choice Awards. “Mallery’s stories and talent are so otherworldly and unlike anything I’ve ever read. I may never read a full novel, or collection of short stories, as engrossing and enjoyable as this.” — Reader Views Reviews
What’s the most distinctive thing about the main character? Who-real or fictional-would you say the character reminds you of?
Each story has its own main characters, but as to the eponymous Sara Sarque: she’s a feisty junky with a snarky sense of humor that she uses to try to forget a painful past.
When did you first decide to become an author?
In Junior High, as I recall. Alas, but some number of decades elapsed before progress was made.
I’ve published three novels and two story collections. My latest novel ARTEMESIA won the Gold Award in the Thriller Classics category in the 2023 Reader Views Reviewer’s Choice Awards.
Which writer, living or dead, do you most admire?
Ray Bradbury. Intriguing stories told with skillful and often lyrical prose.