Featured Interview With Julian M Coleman
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in a housing project in Richmond, Virginia. It was rough then, and I can’t imagine what it’s like now. I remember cinderblock walls, no air conditioning and poverty. I’m Catholic, and I remember how the nuns used to visit us in that huge boat of a station wagon and take us to the center to play, sing and it was where I learned how to needlepoint. Those nuns were fearless. I had prayed to get the Calling, but I never did.
I’m happily married to a military colonel. We live in an old house that I swear is haunted. I remember being so depressed when I was a kid that I wanted to die. I had a dream that I lifted up from my body and saw another presence in the room with me. I could look down and see my body still asleep. What was weird was that I thought I saw the content of my soul and thought that it looked basically good. When I turned to the presence (that I could only thing of as an angel), I thought that she was beautiful but that she was transparent and I couldn’t determine her race. I just knew that she was good. She knew that I was sad and that I didn’t want to continue, but in the nicest way possible, she explained that I had to live. Did she actually speak or did I just hear her thoughts? I don’t know. I just remember that I wanted her to stay. Finally I was calm enough and I settled back into my body. I never forgot that dream. I was about eleven or twelve. I’ve felt haunted ever since.
I’m still in Richmond. Actually not too far from my childhood home, but lightyears away. My mother never moved too far away from that old residence, so I’m very close to my mother’s location. I have a snarky she-beast that I “rescued” almost ten years ago. She loves my husband, but she tolerates me. Seriously, she’s my muse and I wrote a novel about her humorous antics last year, Really, Cher?
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My mother was a voracious reader, I think that was because she needed to mentally escape five small children and a dead-end job. I was naturally shy, and therefore great bully material for anyone who wanted to beef up their schoolyard reputation. Reading helped me survive too. I would say that I started reading as soon as I could read a string of words.
I was approximately nine or ten when I put together my first “book”. What was it about? I don’t remember. I think it was an autobiography which is interesting since I’m hate talking about myself. I’m also uncomfortable when folks compliment me on my writing.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My favorite authors are Stephen King, Anne Rice, and Toni Morrison. I also like some Peter Straub. His Ghost Story was one of the best horror novels I’ve ever read.
When I was much younger I read Sidney Sheldon (Rage of Angels was my favorite), Rosemary Rogers and Harold Robbins. Those books were guilty pleasures. There was nothing like cracking open a steamy novel while indulging in bites of pure chocolate candy. Still my preferred read is Paranormal/Supernatural romance. So in a way, I combined my favorite – scary books with sensual characters. What I don’t ever want to do is to throw in gratuitous scenes just for the sake of it. If it’s not central to the plot, or if it doesn’t explain the character’s motivations, then it isn’t necessary. I’ve actually had my editor say, “Julian, you need to add this scene so that it makes sense.”
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Stolen Prophet: The Prophet’s Mother (Book 1) is about the kidnapping of a young boy from his school playground. He’s nicknamed a prophet by his classmates because at times he’s able to tell the future. The story isn’t so much about his kidnapping as it is about his mother, a demigoddess who becomes a monster, to search for him.
The meat of the book is the police investigation. According to one character, “the city busted a crazy nut and jised a conscience on anyone who had ever committed and gotten away with a felony”. More than that, an unexplainable snowstorm covers the city in a matter of hours while the police work leads while trudging through a supernatural undercurrent. Dead bodies start filling the morgue with the preliminary cause of death examinations as undetermined.
I’m currently writing Book 2 of this Trilogy and excited how the story is going. I know my readers will love it too.
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