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ABOUT THE BOOK
Eye of the Storm is a new Dark Fantasy / Sword & Sorcery novel by Frank Cavallo. It is recommended for fans of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Karl Edward Wagner and Robert E. Howard.
“It’s a story about two people from Earth trapped in a parallel world that is sort of a “Land of the Lost” where, for reasons that become apparent during the course of the story, people and creatures from every era of Earth’s history have been snatched up and similarly stranded–some for so long that they no longer recall that their ancestors came from anywhere else,” says Frank. “In the course of trying to find a way back home, they encounter a kingdom of living Neanderthals, who are not cavemen but civilized humans with a culture similar to ancient Mongols or Scythians. They also find a city populated by Etruscans, the ancient pre-Roman rulers of Italy, who have discovered a way to manipulate the currents of dark energy in that parallel world to accomplish things that look like magic.”
Synopsis:
On a research mission in one of the most remote regions of the world, former Navy SEAL Eric Slade and Dr. Anna Fayne are caught in a mysterious storm. Catapulted through a rift in space-time, they are marooned on a lost world.
Struggling to survive and desperate to find a way home, they must confront the dangers of this savage land—a dark wizard and his army of undead—a warrior queen and her horde of fierce Neanderthals that stands against him—and a legendary treasure with the power to open the gateway between worlds, or to destroy them all: the Eye of the Storm.
Praise:
“Eye of the Storm is a terrific fantasy from Frank Cavallo… Imagine being caught in the Eye of the Storm; chased by pterosaurs and other creatures that are supposed to be extinct, in a prehistoric setting that has traces of ancient Roman culture and other significant eras. Frank Cavallo’s novel has an intriguing, ongoing sequence of activities I really liked. He is very imaginative and it shows in his writing, which is descriptive and well defined.” – 5 Stars, Readers’ Favorite
INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR
What initially got you interested in writing?
That’s hard to say, because I’ve been doing it for so long. When I was about 7 or 8 I used to pass around stories I’d write in class on loose leaf paper to entertain my friends. I also never missed an opportunity to blow every school writing assignment way out of proportion. If we were asked to write a 500 word story, I’d turn in a 5000 word one with a construction paper cover, artwork, etc. Probably drove my teachers crazy. Some kids liked to play sports or music, but writing was what I enjoyed.
What genres do you write in?
Classifications are a little fuzzy these days, with genres and sub-genres branching off as they are. I’m only going to muddy the waters here further. Officially the press releases say that I write “dark fantasy.” There’s usually some element of gore in my stuff and I love the grotesque, but I’m not really writing true horror. Except for my most recent book, I don’t really do much “swords and dragons”, so it’s not pure fantasy either.
Mostly I like to mash-up genres and see what happens. My first novel combined 1940s gangsters with ancient Greek monsters and my next one was a “weird western” with lost Egyptian gods battling gunslingers. My current book is a sci-fi/fantasy blend and the one I have slated for next year is an FBI procedural with Lovecraft-mythos elements. It’s all pretty dark though.
What drew you to writing these specific genres?
I tend to write what I read, or what I enjoy reading. I’ve always been into the fantastical stuff. I grew up on comic books, and stuff like Robert E. Howard, Tolkien, Moorcock and a lot of the older pulp fantasy stuff. That was my first love and I always come back to some version of it when I sit down to write.
How did you break into the field?
With a provocative title.
My first book was called “The Lucifer Messiah” which drew some attention simply because of that title alone. The editor who bought the book told me she initially picked it up off of the slush pile just because of the name. That turned out to be a little bit of a double-edged sword though, because the book was really not satanic in any way. It had to do with how old myths become twisted over the years, taking benevolent figures and re-casting them as evil. Judging by a few of the less-kind reviews, some people didn’t quite get that.
In any event, it got me my first book contract.
What do you want readers to take away from reading your works?
I’d hope they enjoy reading them, primarily. I’m not trying to proselytize or persuade people of much of anything with my books. I might pose some questions that I find worth discussing, from time to time. But really, I just hope people are entertained and feel that they got their money’s worth.
What do you find most rewarding about writing?
I have two answers for this. For the writing itself, the rewarding thing for me is just taking an idea from a concept and turning into a full, finished manuscript. So in a way, the process itself is really its own reward.
From a publishing perspective, the best part is putting something out there and finding out that it reached people. When you take a risk or try something you’re not sure will work, there’s nothing better than getting a note back from a reader who says, not just that they liked it, but that they got it.
What do you find most challenging about writing?
The editing. Like a lot of writers I tend to get lost in my own stuff, and then I’m almost pathological about cutting any of it. I usually have to be persuaded (sometimes strong-armed) to eliminate or streamline anything, even though I know that in almost every case, for as long as I’ve been doing this, that sort of thing has made a piece better.
What advice would you give to people wanting to enter the field?
Read. As much as you can, as often as you can. Then write, as much as you can, as often as you can.
What type of books do you enjoy reading?
I have a couple of shelves devoted just to my collection of fantasy stuff, some of which I mentioned earlier. But Clive Barker has his own shelf, so does Neil Gaiman. China Mieville is now filling up one too.
Is there anything else besides writing you think people would find interesting about you?
In my non-writing life (which is most of the time) I’m a criminal defense attorney. I work in the Public Defender Office for the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, which is the largest criminal court here in Ohio, in their Felony Trial division, so I handle only felony criminal cases. Lots of drugs, guns and general mayhem.
What are the best ways to connect with you, or find out more about your work?
I’ve got the usual social media outlets, Facebook and Twitter. I have an Amazon page, a small Youtube channel with all of my book trailers and I maintain a site with a fairly well-updated blog. I’ll list them here for your readers.
facebook.com/Author.FrankCavallo
twitter: @fjcavallo
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Horror and dark fantasy author Frank Cavallo’s work has appeared in magazines such as Another Realm, Ray Gun Revival, Every Day Fiction, Lost Souls and the Warhammer e-zine Hammer and Bolter.
His latest novel, Eye of the Storm, was released in August 2016 by Ravenswood Publishing.
“In Eye of the Storm, I try to bring back some of the elements that I like from old time pulp fiction,” says Frank. “It is a throwback to old school adventure stories, combining the pacing and the feel of those classic tales with some newer elements that are not all that common to typical fantasy fiction.”
Frank’s previously published works include The Lucifer Messiah, The Hand of Osiris, and the Gotrek & Felix novella Into the Valley of Death. He is currently working on a new novel, The Rites of Azathoth, with Necro Publications, due out in February 2017.
Frank was born and raised in New Jersey. He graduated from Boston University with a degree in Communications in 1994 and he earned a JD from the Cleveland Marshall College of Law in 2001. He currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio, where he has been a criminal defense attorney for fifteen years.
Readers can connect with Frank on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.
To learn more, go to http://www.frankcavallo.com/
