Fictitious Musings

Today I am pleased to have Guido Henkel, author of the fantastic supernatural mystery series, Jason Dark Ghost Hunter, stop by to discuss classic characters. The Jason Dark series is a collection of Gothic horror tales that are gripping and filled with paranormal entities that will definitely get you in the mood for Halloween. You can check out my reviews of The Blood Witch, Terrorlord and Curse of Kali here and Interview here.

Welcome back to Fictitious Musings Guido.

Classic characters reborn

There are some classic characters in popular history that just never seem to lose their appeal. In fact, some of them seem to get even more interesting, the older they get.

Sherlock Holmes comes to mind right away, and the tremendous success and popularity of the new movies starring Robert Downey Jr. as the titular detective are clearly testament to that. Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot also come to mind, having spawned countless TV productions that never run out of fashion or steam. And, of course, Dracula is still a character that haunts countless horror features, ranging from books, comics and movies, not to mention that it is an icon emblazoned in every walking human’s mind.

Another such character that has proven remarkable sustenance is Doctor Fu Man Chu, the evil criminal mastermind thought up by writer Sax Rohmer a hundred years ago. The character may be a little more low-key than some of the aforementioned ones, but if you’ve ever seen any of Fu Man Chu movies starring Warner Oland, Boris Karloff or Christopher Lee, you are unlikely to forget them. And if you’ve ever read Rohmer’s books, there can be no doubt that he has created an icon. These are atmospheric stories filled with borderline horror elements and a villain that paints itself in your head.

I love to use events and characters rooted in history in my own writing. Readers of my Jason Dark books will have noticed appearances – large and small – of people, such as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Edgar Wallace, Aleister Crowley, Elizabeth Bathory, Inspector Lestrade and many others in my supernatural mystery books. Even characters whose names you may not recognize are often taken from real life history, such as Edmund Hett in “Terrorlord.”

My books may have the feel of pulp fiction, and they may not have the depth of a full-fledged novel, but that was never the intention. The Jason Dark mysteries, are more like TV episodes. You watch one, you skip one, you pick and choose, and the real depth and beauty of it comes through if you watch stories and characters unfold as a whole over the course of a season. Therefore, it is so ideal for me to create little cameos in one volume, drop the character for a while and then bring him back a few volumes later. It creates more of a sense of a living and breathing world that has some persistence.

Giveaway:

Up for grabs are 5 digital copies of The Jason Dark Supernatural Mystery Collection 1. The collection includes the first three Jason Dark Adventures (Demon’s Night, Theater of Vampire and Ghosts Templar) all in one book.

This giveaway is International; ends on October 27th

To enter:

Leave a comment with your email addy or Twitter handle and answer this question.

What is/was your favorite Halloween costume?

About the Author:

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Based in Southern California, Guido Henkel has been a computer game designer and interactive fiction writer for over 25 years before he decided to try his hand at traditional novelized fiction.

Among the many award-winning games he’s worked on as the “Realms of Arkania” series which was the official adaptation of the highly successful German pen&paper role-playing game series “Das Schwarze Auge.” However, he has also worked on titles such as “Fallout 2″ and “Planescape: Torment,” a game based in one of the more extreme and mature AD&D universes.

Guido Henkel is the creator of the gothic horror dime novel series “Jason Dark: Ghost Hunter,” which he not only writes but also publishes.

Tags:Classic characters, Contests, Demon's Night, Ghosts Templar, Giveaway, Guido Henkel, Horror, Jason Dark, Jason Dark Supernatural Mystery collection one, Keepers of the Crypt, Mystery, Supernatural, Thater of Vampire