Kent Shawn - Gripping Supernatural Thriller

Kent Shawn is a father of two amazing kids Angelina and James, husband of a one-of-a-kind wife, Brigitte, and owner of two hell-hounds “Captain” and “Bucky”. He writes science fiction, fantasy, paranormal thrillers, and suspense, and will stop when they nail his coffin shut.  As our Author of the Day, he tells us more about his book, Blindspot.

Please give us a short introduction to what Blindspot is about.

Near future Los Angeles is a war zone, and the good guys are losing. Damien Rehnquist, the so-called devil of Los Angeles, terrorizes the city, killing anyone who opposes him. A federal task force led by legendary manhunter, Jon Benz has tried and failed for years to bring Rehnquist to justice. When a hot tip leads Jon to the Millennium Tower cornering Rehnquist, it looks like he might finally get his man. Instead, Jon wakes up shot, drugged and wearing Rehnquist’s face.

Making matters worse, Jon learns that the war between the cops and the gangsters is only an extension of a far larger conflict between angels and demons, both of which want Jon dead. Now, Jon has one night to unravel the mystery of what is happening to him before his friends toss him in a cell or his enemies kill him. It’s going to be a long night.

What inspired you to write this story? Was there anything that made you want to tackle this?

When I wrote Blindspot, my intention was to write a fast, slick short story about mistaken identity. However, I became enamored with the idea that Jon had a guardian angel. That never made it into the book, but I started playing with the idea that meeting an angel might not be that fun. In fact, it would probably be terrifying. So, I set out to create angels, fallen or otherwise, who did not fit the typical tropes associated with the halos and wings crowd. I tried to make them more flawed and human and definitely more violent.

Tell us more about Special Agent Jon Benz. What makes him tick?

Jon Benz is almost pathologically driven to protect others. The purpose of the federal task force is to bring down Damien Rehnquist, but Jon joined because the people of Los Angeles were suffering. Jon is not a happy camper. He has already sacrificed his health, lost good friends, and had his wife murdered by Rehnquist since coming to Los Angeles. But no matter what he suffers, Jon will never quit till Rehnquist goes down or he does.

This is Book One of your Millennium Tower series. Can it be read as a standalone? Do any of the other books in the series tie in with this one?

All the books tie in together, but Blindspot and the prequel, Collision are designed to be read as standalone stories. However, the continuing books Forbidden, Forsaken (set to drop in April), Defiance, and Armageddon (series should be complete this summer) are essentially one long story that deals with the aftermath of the events of Blindspot.

Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

I play guitar, jump out of airplanes, and study psychology and physics.

Why did you title this book Blindspot?

At first, the title was in the running because of how a rebel angel hides from Heaven. A cherubim named Beherit discovers a “celestial shadow” in which he can break the thousands of rules heaven places on its angels. Also, a theme emerged when writing this book and the sequel Forbidden. I noticed that all of the major characters in the story have an aspect of their personality that they either hide from themselves or others. In the Millennium Tower series, all the characters have their own blind spot.

Readers say this book had them at the edge of their seats. How did you pull this off?

The way I measure the success or failure of any scene or event in a story is by how much tension it generates. Every conversation should be contentious. Everything the hero tries to do should be opposed. I really subscribe to the Elmore Leonard rule and try to “leave out the boring stuff.”

This is your debut novel. What has the experience been like so far?

It has been a strange experience. Perhaps the strangest aspect was hearing from strangers who wanted to talk about my imaginary friends.

Do any of your characters ever take off on their own tangent, refusing to do what you had planned for them?

I come up with new ideas as I write, for sure. However, my characters are all in service to the story. If one of them does something contrary to the story’s best interests, I am quick and merciless with the delete key.

The story had plenty of twists and turns. Did you plan it all out before you started writing, or did some of it just "happen" along the way?

Blindspot was supposed to be a short thriller about mistaken identity. New ideas showed up and an entirely new story emerged. I followed the story where it led, and it really surprised me where it ended up.

What did you have the most fun with while writing Blindspot?

My favorite part of writing Blindspot was getting into the heads of the supernatural creatures haunting Los Angeles. Especially my rebel angel, Beherit, known to the city’s criminals as “The Doctor”, and Canamvar, the leader of heaven’s warrior angles who is masquerading as an intelligence operative called Wainwright. I really wanted to create characters whose psychology was larger and darker than the surrounding humans.

Do you have any interesting writing habits? What is an average writing day like for you?

I write a minimum of 2k words on weekdays and 5k on weekends. When I am working on a project, I work seven days a week, no exceptions till the current draft is done. When I finish a book and send it off to the editor, I immediately start the next book. I have written 15 books and I plan to publish four a year till they nail my coffin shut.

What are you working on right now?

Book three in the series Forsaken is with the editor right now, and I am outlining the next two books in the series, Defiance and Armageddon. I will wrap up this story arc of the Millennium Tower Series this summer and I already have the first book in two new series written.

Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?

Please come visit my website kentshawn.com and sign up for the “Newsletter of Doom”. I give away a lot of exclusive content to my subscribers, free books, and updates on upcoming projects. I answer questions on Facebook and you can email me at [email protected]. If you are writer I have a lot of writing videos up on the Kent Shawn YouTube channel.