I am so pleased to have Samantha Tourneau and James Wainwright, the principal characters in John W. Howell’s Paranormal Suspense novel Eternal Road – The final stop on my blog today. Their interview will be kicking off what I plan to be a return to #GuestDayTuesday, a regular feature that I hope to run every other Tuesday. More on that another time, but for now, let’s welcome Sam and James to The Write Stuff. Before we begin, let me tell you folks that Eternal Road – the final stop can be found here. Now, take it away, Sam and James!
“Thank you, Marcia. James and I are pleased to be with you today.”
“Yes, Marcia. Sam said it beautifully. It is a pleasure to be here.”
“When John told us we’d be visiting you, it was almost painful to have to wait for this day.”
ME: “Thank you, James and Sam. Let’s jump into the first question. How did it feel to play dead people in John’s novel?
“Wow, that’s a good one. Let me take a crack at how I felt. You okay with that, James?”
“Certainly.”
“Okay. It might be interesting for those who haven’t read the book to know that my character was abducted at seven years old and murdered. I needed to play someone who had been dead for quite a while since the story timeline is seventeen years later. All this time, my character got used to being dead and, in fact, used the time to study almost everything there was to study. I would say playing someone that smart was rewarding, even if dead. James?”
“It took me a while to get into the swing of things. I had been killed in an accident and didn’t even remember it. I did feel a little sorry for the character because he was driving across the country to start the first job. I think playing a person in that condition was a little sad at first but became rather normal after a while.”
ME: While you were playing your parts, did any individual moment pop out as a memory you would cherish?
“Sam, let me take this one first since I believe I know the moment you would mention.”
“Go for it.”
“There is a scene in the book where James is a Captain in the army and is making a landing on Omaha Beach during World War Two. He is placed in the scene by Lucifer and has no experience leading men and especially men, in combat. By the men’s reaction to the guy whose place he took, it was obvious he was not well-liked. James does a terrific job leading his troops ashore. He is then held in high esteem by the tough sergeant. The look on the sergeant’s face when thanking the captain for saving them is priceless. Sam?”
“My memory is the scene where I visit my mom. I had been missing for seventeen years, and I wanted her to know that I was all right. She had a hard time accepting the fact that I was no longer alive and that right then would be the last time we would be able to hold each other. It still brings tears to my eyes thinking about it.”
ME: I can imagine that would be heartbreaking, Sam. Sounds like a powerful scene. Since you mentioned him, James, my next question relates to Lucifer. Very seldom do we read books where there is a contemporary devil. What was he like?”
“OMG. He was unlike anyone we had met before. When he wanted something, he was handsome and carried himself as if he was an aristocrat. He was very knowledgeable about the current world and knew exactly what he wanted from both of us.”
“In addition to what Sam said, he was ruthless and evil as we have all believed over the years. We only saw his true appearance once, but that was enough to know we never wanted to see him again.”
ME: “Sounds terrifying. What did he want? Yes, James.”
“He was after my soul. He knew he couldn’t convince Sam to jump ship. After all, she had spent a good amount of time in paradise. I was a newbie, and I think he thought I was someone he could corrupt. If I had turned, that would have been a victory for him over God.”
“He tried to put James in the middle of a situation where his choice was to save mankind or his soul.”
ME: Now, that sounds like a no-win situation. I have to assume it worked out. You two did a bunch of time traveling in this book. What was the most exciting place and time you visited?
“James, you can go first.“
“No, that’s okay. You go ahead.”
“Okay. My favorite place was when we ended up at the Alamo just days before the big battle. It was exciting to see the mission as it originally stood. Anticipation filled the air with everyone getting ready for the attack by the Mexican soldiers. It was there we got a message from one of Lucifer’s agents to give him a call. Your turn James.”
“Thanks. I think Marcia’s readers would like to know that Lucifer’s phone number is 666 and his assistant’s name is Ms. Harpy.”
“Yeah, don’t remind me of that hateful woman.”
“My favorite place was in the future. The year was 3539, and we visited a spot that was where Las Vegas used to be. We thought we had traveled to a different planet but were amazed to learn we were still on Earth. I thought the whole idea that artificial intelligence had eliminated humankind was fascinating.”
ME: Humankind gone? That must have been a shock. One last question. What do you think the book’s message is or, if not a message, the central theme? Yes, James?”
“Some different messages play out in the story, but in my mind, the central theme is more important. There is a distinct conflict between good and evil that would lead one to believe that Eternal Road is a religious novel. However, if it were publicized that way, many readers would be disappointed since sexual and human-like situations in the book might cause the very religious a little discomfort as they would be expecting an absence of those things. It is more accurate to label the central theme of the book as spiritualism. The core belief is the spirit of humankind does not die with the body but is allowed to grow and develop until fully actualized and in the creator’s presence. This concept embraces the idea of eternal life but takes it a few steps further. Sam, you have any thoughts?”
“Yes, I do. While the spirit is allowed to grow and develop, there may be opportunities to revisit Earth to help others transition to the eternal side. The key to all of this is the spirit can make choices on how their Eternal life will look.”
ME: Well, all this is fascinating, and we could probably talk for hours, but the old word count is getting to that point that we should let it go for another day. It has been a pleasure having you two here today. Whoops, one last thing. Is John working on a sequel?”
“It has been a pleasure being with you, Marcia. Thanks for having us. John is working on a sequel, and he has Sam and I out on the Eternal Road looking for a soul and a guide that went missing. It seems no one knows what happened, but figure Lucifer is up to something.”
ME: “Sounds like it might be fun! And thanks so much for being my guests today.”
Buy Eternal Road The final stop HERE
Author John W. Powell
After an extensive business career, John is an award-winning author who began writing full time in 2012. His specialty is thriller fiction novels, but John also writes poetry and short stories. He has written five other books that are on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions.
John lives in Lakeway, Texas, with his wife and their spoiled rescue pets.
Contact John on Social Media here:
Blog Fiction Favorites, http://johnwhowell.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/john.howell.98229241
Twitter –https://www.twitter.com/HowellWave
Authors db –http://www.authorsdb.com/authors-directory/6604-john-w-howell
LinkedIn –http://www.linkedin.com/pub/john-w-howell/48/b59/462/
Goodreads –https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7751796.John_W_Howell
Amazon Author’s page –https://www.amazon.com/author/johnwhowell
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