Scott Nicholson book spotlight and author interview

Book Synopsis:

In a wilderness gorge deep in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, the worst of the natural and supernatural worlds collide.

A crack adventure team is testing two experimental rafts, sponsored by an outdoor gear corporation. Led by Bowie Whitlock, the group plans a three-day run down 13 miles of the most treacherous whitewater in the eastern United States.

An FBI manhunt is underway in the gorge for Ace Goodall, a religious zealot wanted for a series of deadly abortion clinic bombings. Two agents, cut off from outside communication, stumble onto Ace's camp, triggering an explosive trip wire. The blast opens an underground cavern, exposing a long-buried subterranean species to the surface world.

A freak storm floods the river as the creatures swoop down from the cliffs. Cut off from the outside world, at the mercy of the harsh wilderness, the group's only avenue of escape is almost as deadly as the creatures that attack them.

The group must ride the deadly rapids, but not everyone is interested in mutual survival.
Ace has one bomb left.God is talking to him.It's raining again.The dead won't stay dead.
And the creatures...they hunger.

I was fortunate enough to be able to ask Scott some questions.

Who has influenced you throughout your career as a writer?

Mostly the writers who pour it out there on paper, like Steinbeck, Twain, Ira Levin, Stephen King, Stewart O'Nan, Shirley Jackson. Professionally, I admire people who craft their careers and do the right things like Deborah Leblanc, Brian Keene, Jonathan Mayberry, Alexander Sokoloff, and Sharyn McCrumb.

Do you write every day?

Yes, I write both love and money, and I still need to eat.

What has been your greatest achievement as a writer?

The last sentence I wrote--or this one.

Have you always wanted to be a writer, or did you aspire to be something else growing up?

I always figured I would be one, but now I think it's something you "are," not something you can choose to be or not be.How would you describe your writing?spiritual, thrilling, daring, and literate--I take it seriously but I don't take the "writer's life" seriously. I've been called "the love child of Stephen King and Sharyn McCrumb," and I kind of like that the best.

Are you currently working on anything?

revising a couple of novels and developing a new book, working on a separate novel, and some graphic novels

What authors do you enjoy reading?

It changes all the time, but lately I've been into Larry McMurtry and Sharyn McCrumb

Is there a particular author/s (yourself excluded) who you feel don't get the recognition they deserve?

No, I feel we all get what we deserve or want--some are better at promotion or hype, some get huge audiences with little talent, some very talented people blow their brains out in frustration. Better to be happy.

What is your favorite book?

Varies, but overall "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is probably the one I've read the most number of times.

What is a book that has been highly acclaimed but you haven't liked?

I find something valid in every book or I don't get past page three. But I have to say James Joyce's "Ulysses," which is always tops of the all-time list of best books, is a horrid stinker of masturbatory indulgence that too many people are afraid to admit is written in alien glyph

Is there a word that you think is overused?

Hmm, I don't like dead phrases like "as far as (blank) is concerned" or "at this point in time," but for single words, they come and go too fast to matter. But I think the word "preternatural" should only be used once per book.

To learn more about Scott Nicholson, visit http://www.hauntedcomputer.com/