Daemon Manx Interview - Abigail ~ JeanBookNerd

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Daemon Manx is an award-winning American author who writes horror, suspense, supernatural, and speculative fiction. Daemon has recently been nominated for the 2021 Splatterpunk awards for his debut, Abigail in the best short story category. In 2021 he received a HAG award for his story The Dead Girl. He is a member of the Horror Authors Guild (HAG) and has been featured in magazines in both the U.S. and the U.K. Daemon lives with his sister, author Danielle Manx and their narcoleptic cat, Sydney where the patiently prepare for the apocalypse. There is a good chance they will runout of coffee far too soon.

When/how did you realize you had a creative dream or calling to fulfill?

I have always been a creative, but originally, I was drawn to music and writing lyrics. However, later on, when I found myself behind the walls of a maximum security prison, I knew I had to dig deep and find a creative outlet or I would surely go insane. Writing helped pass the time, occupy my mind, and ultimately saved my life.
Beyond your own work (of course), what is your all-time favorite book and why? And what is your favorite book outside of your genre? My all-time favorite book is actually a series, and that would be The Dark tower by Stephen King. I love an epic journey, and I especially love the way King was able to weave his own created world with our own. The story of a lone gunslinger traveling through a world that has moved on, in pursuit of his nemesis, the man in black, is a tale I often return to and have read multiple times. A piece of this world will always live within me now that I have experienced this journey firsthand. If you are a like-minded individual who has also followed the path of the beam, I say, Long Days and Pleasant Nights.

Outside my own genre would be Fall of Giants by Kem Follett. This is part one of a trilogy and an epic journey as well. The historical fiction of World War I told by the author is accurate and gripping. It allows the reader a quimps of what was happening in the world at the time while it sprinkles in a history lesson that is both gripping and thought-provoking.

If you could have written one book in history, what book would that be?

I wish I wrote Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. I feel there has never be a book that captures the feel and emotion, and presence of Halloween quite like this one. It encapsulates the sense of wonder and mystery I remember feeling as a child the moment October rolled around, the air grew cooler, and the leaves started to change. It is a perfect piece of literature where every single word is perfectly place and well thought out.

Can you tell us when you started ABIGAIL, how that came about?

I started and finished Abigail while I was serving time in the prison system. I had struggled with addition for years which resulted in my incarceration. It’s an old story that happens to a great many individuals, so I won’t go into too much detail. Well, you need a creative outlet on prison, or you will go crazy. Mine was writing. I always loved to read horror and wanted to try my hand at a few stories of my own. Well, I noticed that despite the fact that everyone in prison was in the same boat, there was still a great deal of marginalization taking place. What I witnessed was men who had come from marginalized backgrounds, had been oppressed their entire lives, had zero tolerance for men with alternate gender identities and sexual preferences different than their own. This was the initial inspiration for Abigail, although you would never guess that by looking at the cover.

In your new book; ABIGAIL, can you tell my Book Nerd community a little about it.

Strange things come in small packages.
Adrian Billard believes he knows what it's like to be different and has nearly given up hope of ever finding happiness. But a strange package left on his doorstep is about to turn his entire world upside down. Adrian is about to meet ... Abigail.

Adrian has never fit in, has never belonged, and has been bullied for being different. He carries the scars from his childhood and is positive he will never find happiness. Then, on what should be the happiest night of Adrian's life, his world is turned upside down by a strange package left on his doorstep. A baby-like none he has ever seen stares up at him from the tangle of pink blankets.
"A wide pair of violet eyes looked up at him. Silver flecks around the reptilian pupils flashed in the pale glow of the porch light. A hypnotic chimera washed over him as he fixed on the strange gaze. Suddenly, he felt weightless and out of the body; the sense that he was floating several feet above the ground was consuming. Adrian found himself face to face with the most peculiar vision. A small note accompanies the odd little girl."

“Please take care of my daughter. Her name is Abigail.”
Honestly, I think the blurb sums it up best.

Your Favorite Quotes/Scenes from ABIGAIL
Adrian sat at the bar picking at the microscopic particles of lint from his razor-pressed Marconi shirt that only he could see. He stirred a glass of sparkling water, which looked more like a cup of fruit cocktail rather than a beverage. With precisely one slice of lime, one lemon wedge, a twist of orange peel, and two maraschino cherries, there was little room left for liquid in the slender high-ball glass.

There was little that was subtle about Adrian if anything at all. He was flamboyant and overt, with a definite flair for the dramatic, especially when it came to displays of emotion. He had once been told by a former boyfriend that he wore his pain like a chartreuse ascot; loud, proud, and in your face.

When all the projections of the unforeseeable future were reduced to one moment and all the pretentiousness of the “so-called” modern world were stripped away, the beauty of acceptance and unconditional love was all that mattered. The ability to love one of God’s creatures unencumbered by prejudice or fear was a quality that Adrian had seen little of in his lifetime.

“What on earth are you, Abigail?” he asked as he stared in wonder. “How am I going to take care of you when I don’t even know what you are?” Adrian stared at the strange child that had been left for him on his doorstep. She was like nothing he had ever seen before and clearly possessed powers beyond comprehension.

What is your most memorable travel experience?

That would be the time I traveled to California to appear on the game show Wheel of Fortune. It was surreal and it is difficult to express in a short paragraph. But the episode is on You Tube if you want to check it out. Dec 21st 1999 episode, of course I wasn’t using a pen name back then. You will know me because I am wearing a suit almost identical to Pat Sajak’s. Also, I am the guy who, Had A Hunch; You will understand if you watch it. Enjoy.

Which incident in your life that totally changed the way you think today?

Prison. It’s supposed to change you after all. There is something about having that kind of time to reflect on your life, your past, your mistakes, and hopefully your future, that allows an individual to focus on what matters most. When a man in stripped of all his possessions and isolated from the ones he loves he finds himself at the jumping off point where he can either follow the path he is currently on, or he can do something about it. Change is an inside job, and there’s a whole lot of time to focus on change when you’re on the inside.

If you could be born into history as any famous person who would it be and why?

I would want to be Paul McCartney. The Beatles influenced pop culture and the world in such a major way. They were the first to write their own music, play their own instruments, and ultimately own their own label. They are the original rock band and the reason why every kid wants to pick up a guitar. Some will deny that, but it would be impossible to name one band that was not influenced by the Beatles, to claim otherwise would be inaccurate. I chose Paul because he seemed to be the fun guy in the band, the happy one, and in my opinion, the most prolific. I couldn’t even imagine the life the man has lived and would have loved to have spent one day in his shoes.

What event in your life would make a good movie?

My life is a movie, and it would be impossible to narrow that down to one event. In 1991 I worked on the sets of Saturday Night Live and the David Letterman Show, I got to hang out behind the scenes and rub elbows with the celebrities and was involved in a car accident with Ronald Reagan’s limo. 1999 I was a contestant on Wheel of Fortune, and I won a Chevy Tahoe. In the early 200s I fell victim to the opioid epidemic and became hopelessly addicted, I ended up in prison where I met a retired mobster who would ultimately mentor me and help change my life. I had everything, I lost everything, and then I got it all back. Honestly, you couldn’t make up my life if you were the best writer in the world.

On what should be the happiest night of Adrian's life, his world is turned upside down by a strange package left on his doorstep.

“Please take care of my daughter. Her name is Abigail.”

But there is something strange about baby Abigail ... something very wrong.

A wash of emotion overcomes Adrian, and he is compelled to take care of her. His life is turned upside down and he can't help but notice that it all centers around Abigail, who appears to have a mysterious effect on anyone who comes in contact with her. How can Adrian care for such a strange creature, where could the child have come from, and what exactly is she?

But for every answer, there are even more questions about the child with violet eyes, reptilian skin, and horns. The unimaginable ending will offer the reader a glimpse into their own demons and the evil that resides within us all.

You can purchase Abigail at the following Retailer: