J.K. Coi

INTERVIEW: C.A. Milson!

I love horror novels, I mean what's not to love? They're spooky and scary and spine tingling (I'm all about the 's' words today). So when Chris agreed to be on my blog I was ecstatic. I just finished reading his book, The Chosen and let me tell you that if you like devils and dark magic and the end of the world type stuff, this is your book. So, let's welcome C.A. Milson by getting right to the interview...

Tell us a little about C.A. Milson.

For most people C.A. Milson is just another "someone" who had a book published, yet there is more to this Horror Novelist than people know. I grew up in Brisbane Australia. At a young age I was fascinated with the world of writing, but never really did anything about it. Unfortunately reading was not one of my favorite subjects. For a time I attended Kedron State High School, and when I was in Grade 9, there was one time that the class had to do a book report. "DREAD"

Instead of reading a book and writing a report on what I thought about the topic, I decided to pen a short story. In about 2 hours I penned a short sci-fi story, which was my first attempt at the world of writing, and would no doubt, play an important part in my career later in life. The story received top marks from my English professor, who also encouraged me to continue writing.

That was the first and seemingly last time I put pen to paper.. until the summer of 1989....

So Chris, when did you start writing seriously?

In 1989, I was living in Melbourne, and once again I found myself writing. My first short story was titled "Shack of Evil", a 9 page tale based on the character Jamiesonn. The story idea came from a Hobbytex picture my mother had on the wall of her apartment.

Who was your inspiration?

I was not automatically drawn into the world of horror, but after reading stories by H.P. Lovecraft and Misery by Stephen King, I knew that I wanted to write novels that would entertain and scare the audience.

What was the hardest part of learning the craf?

Like most beginning writers, I had no idea how to get the storyline past the seemingly impossible short-phase and also written in the third person context.

Where did you go from there?

After writing "Shack of Evil" I went on to write an additional 25 short stories, all of different genres, including a children's story. Shack of Evil would later become the base for what is now the trilogy of The Chosen, Bloodline of Darkness, and Prophecy's End.

After finishing an anthology of short stories, I put aside my writing, but came back to it in 1994, and re-wrote Shack of Evil under a new title--The Chosen.

From 1994 to 2006, I set aside my writing completely to pursuit prospects in Marketing. Then, in 1999 I moved to the US to pursue prospects there. For 14 years, I worked in marketing, working with SME to Fortune 50 companies. My career in marketing saw me become one of the most sought after freelance marketing agents in the US.

In 2007, I submitted my novel to Hazard Press in Chrischurch New Zealand. After reviewing it, the publisher said that the story needed tweaking and recommended that the novel be submitted to mainstream publishers in the US. With some reworking and editing, I submitted my story idea to several publishers in the US.

51 rejection slips later, I received a letter from Amira Press in July 2007, offering to publish my debut novel.

51 rejection letters is pretty good, Chris. And by that I mean it's a respectable degree of rejection to make your ultimate success that much sweeter :)

So what are you doing now?

Since early 2008, I have spent a majority of the year travelling to places such as China, Russia and Japan. In April, I set foot back in my home country, Australia, after almost a 10 year absence. I now live in Samara Russia with my wife, Anna, and spend my days writing and running the recruiting efforts for a global mystery shopping company.

Tell us a little bit about your next book.

My upcoming novel is titled Bloodline of Darkness, the second in the trilogy in the life of Alex Manning - A man who is put in the middle of a spiritual conflict he otherwise wants no part of. Bloodline of Darkness is set 7 years after The Chosen. Alex has forsaken his powers to live a "normal" life, and the forces of Tartarus have arisen to harvest the souls of humans and fling the world into damnation and darkness. Alex once again must stand and save humanity but can he overcome the ever present darkness that also reigns in his own heart?

You can get more details from my website at: www.authorcamilson.blogspot.com

Thanks so much for joining me today, Chris!