Author Spotlight: Eloise J. Knapp

13/3/2014

Today I'm introducing you to the lovely and extremely talented Eloise J. Knapp and her novel-- Pulse. Not only is she a damn fine writer, but her artwork is to die for! I predict great things for this woman in the not so distant future.

Pulse is currently sitting in the top #100 for post-apocalyptic and horror, where she's been for nearly a month, I highly recommend buying this book before the price goes up.

Stalker links: (website/FB/Twitter/Amazon author page/Goodreads etc)

Website: http://www.eloisejknapp.com/
Fan page: https://www.facebook.com/eloisejknapp
Blog: eloisejknapp.wordpress.com/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/eloisejknapp
Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Eloise-J.-Knapp/e/B00AS66BH2

Genre of writing:
Post-apocalyptic horror

Can you name the last three books you read?

Rag Men by Rocky Alexander, Suffer the Children by Craig DiLouie, and Tooth & Nail by DiLouie also.

Can you name the next three books you will be reading?

I’ll be reading a beta version of Jim LaVigne’s next book, and after that whatever happens to be on my Kindle (there’s a lot!).

New author finds of 2013-2014 and those that you look forward to hearing more from?

I started reading Laura Lippman’s crime drama novels in 2013 so I’m looking forward to her new stuff this year.

Other than writing, what do you do?

I do hot yoga, maintain a YouTube channel, and a little bit of cosplay. I’m also pretty dang good at baking and cooking. To be honest, I just graduated from Seattle University so “real life” is still sinking in. I work part time photographing handmade and benchmade knives.

What’s do you think is the hardest thing about writing?

Motivation. Some days I just don’t want to write, whether it’s because I don’t have any ideas or I’m suffering from writer’s block. Nowadays I’m better at forcing myself to write no matter what (you can always edit later), but it has always been a struggle for me ever since the beginning.

Tell us about your latest book?

Title: Pulse

Brief run down in your own words:
Pulse is about a mutated parasite that sweeps the nation. One of the side effects the parasite causes is for people to become deranged, usually extremely violent. The novel focuses on a few different character’s perspective as the infection takes hold of the country.

Published by:
I self-published this one.

Release date:
02/09/14

Anything in particular that you want to say about it? Where did you get the inspiration from? Favourite characters? Tell us something unusual.

This book was inspired by a very vivid dream I had about a parasite that eats you from the inside out. I had a really strong idea of how I wanted to write a book about it, but I felt conflicted because I knew I needed to write the last book in my Cyrus V. Sinclair trilogy. A friend at a convention told me I needed to give in, knock the book out, so I could put all my energy into the last book. I followed his advice and am extremely happy I did.

What are you working on next and when can we expect to get our greedy little mitts on it?

As of today, I’m 85% done with the first draft of the last book in my trilogy! Woot! I can’t guarantee an exact date, but probably next year.

Blurb For Pulse

Everyone thought the world would end in a rain of atomic fire; no one suspected it would come from a piece of bad fish.

An unidentified and aggressive illness begins spreading in North Dakota, and the nation panics. People are becoming sick, losing their minds, and murdering each other in disturbing ways. The government is struggling to come up with a solution, but as the epidemic mutates within the civilian population, its grip grows stronger.

Dom is thousands of miles away near Seattle, witnessing his city collapse. The pandemic hasn't even reached them, but people are panicking and rioting as though it's already there. Holed up in his apartment with his best friend and girlfriend, Dom fears the worst.

Dr. Adam Baker dreamt of a different life; one full of scientific discoveries and not a failed marriage and twin daughters who hate him. But when the opportunity to make a difference arises and his team has to find a solution to this national crisis, he finds that what he wanted is more than he bargained for.

Who will survive in the wake of this devastation?

Excerpt & Book Cover For Pulse

1 The Infected

In a podunk little town in North Dakota a man named Jay Lehmann died. He had no children to his name and never married. His best friend was a bottle of the cheapest whiskey he could find. Calling him the town drunk would be giving him too much credit; really, no one knew him well enough to bestow a title.

Four days prior to Jay's death, he bought a slice of salmon on quick sale from the town store. The store didn’t usually get fish, being so far away from water and all. Even at its best by the time the salmon arrived, it was old.

It was a real treat, but he felt like he deserved it after the bad summer. Jay pawned a ring he found while plowing his field and made thirty bucks which meant he was celebrating. The color of the fish looked a little off, but he had a stomach of iron like his momma always said. Only gotten food poisoning twice in his life, so there was no sense in wasting a good piece of fish. He seared both sides and ate it chewy in the middle, how he liked his fish.

After that he got sick. Sicker than he'd ever been before. Yellow, thick sweat oozed from his pores and was sticky to the touch. Blood vessels popped in his eyes until there were no whites. On the third day he fell into a coma. On the fourth day he woke up.

And wanted to kill.

An agonizing pain coursed through his body, sending spasms through his arms and legs. Thoughts of every person in town who looked at him wrong flooded his mind. All he could think of was tearing their bodies apart with his teeth, hearing their screams as he took their lives away.

Jay Lehmann got to his feet, ran out the door of his one room shack, and began looking for someone to rip apart and eat alive. He went back to the very grocery store he bought the fish from and tore into shoppers with the ferocity of an animal.