Welcome everyone. I would like to introduce Jeff Horton, author of The Last Prophet, and The Dark age. He is here today to answer a few questions and give away two e-book copies of his book, The Dark Age, a riveting sequel to The Great Collapse. All you have to do to enter the drawing is leave a comment. Winners will be drawn on November 6th and we will forward each winner a copy of The Dark Age in whatever format you require for your e-readers. Remember to enter a comment to participate and your email address so we may contact you as a winner!

Thank you, Jeff, for participating in the interview and giveaway. Your readers would like to know a little more about you.

Jeff, tell us your latest news.

Two of my novels are currently on separate book blog tours. The Dark Age-Survivors of the Pulse, is currently on tour with The Experience Tours: http://theexperiencetours.blogspot.com/p/current-experience.html.

My third novel, The Last Prophet, is currently on tour through November with Blog-a-licious Authors:

http://blogaliciousauthors.blogspot.com/2011/10/jeff-horton.html

Once the novels are finished on their current tours, I expect they will swap tours, so the novels should be getting a lot of exposure through the end of the year.

I am also working on my fourth novel, Tales of Eden, a children's novel, which is starting to shape up nicely!

When and why did you begin writing?

I started writing several years ago. I had started doing a little self-examination about midway through my life, a little soul-searching if you will, about what I might want to do with myself going forward. I've always enjoyed writing so after a few false starts, I eventually settled down and wrote The Dark Age-Survivors of the Pulse, followed by The Great Collapse-Survivors of the Pulse, and then The Last Prophet.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

Like many authors I am an avid reader as well as an author. In addition to reading and writing, I like to spend time with my family, attend Church, watch good movies, discuss theology, and spend time outdoors.

What inspired you to write your first book?

I have always been interested in many of the big questions of life: Why are we here?  What does God want me to do with my life? Are we alone in the universe? How did humanity, as a species/civilization, get to where we are today, and where are we headed? How did people live long ago? How will we live tomorrow? What would we do without our modern technology?  The last question, spurred on by our annual loss of electricity when ice storms pass through our state, inspired me to write The Great Collapse and to a large extent, The Dark Age as well.

What do you think makes a good story?

I'm constantly telling my children that when it comes to movies and books, it's all about the story. I believe that as human beings we are so interested in stories because they teach us about ourselves. I enjoy stories that exemplify the best of humanity's nature; courage, self-sacrifice, love of God, family, and friends, etc.

How do you want readers to feel after they read your stories? 

When I finish reading a really great novel, or watching a really engrossing movie, I often walk away still feeling immersed in that world, reliving various scenes, interacting with the various characters and locations, and the like. In more intellectual story lines, I find myself thinking, sometimes for days, about the points raised by the story. That's how I would like for my readers to feel, still immersed in the world I created, and pondering the points I raised throughout the story, and how it might impact his or her life.

What is your favorite character out of all the books you have written?

That's a really difficult question to answer. It's like asking which of my children I like the best! I suppose my favorite character of all the novels I have written is probably John March from The Last Prophet. March is an ordinary man who's busy trying to make a living to support his family, when he learns that the end of the world is at hand, and that he has been chosen by God to confront the Beast, and warn humanity about the end of the world.  When I wrote The Last Prophet I found myself continually asking how I would respond given the various issues he has to deal with.

What influences your creativity of your characters?

My life experiences, my worldview, and my value system, all influences my writing style, subject matter, and the characters, I take from the best, and the worst of humanity when I write.

Can you share a little of your current work with us?

The following is from the prologue for The Last Prophet…

"I sat there on the sofa waiting, staring intermittently at the clock, the one with the minute hand that seemed to be racing around its circular course faster than any timepiece should. I looked out the living room window, where I could see nothing but gray skies and stillness. I knew he was coming for me, and that he would arrive within the hour. He would come and this time, kill me. Addon and his followers would undoubtedly rejoice once I was gone. I was the one that they feared and despised, the one they held responsible for the many plagues they had endured.

Having long ago said our goodbyes to our families and the believers we had met since arriving in Jerusalem––the wonderful, glorious, holy city-- Moe and I were ready. We had done all that we could to comfort our brothers and sisters, to assure them that we would see them again very soon. While all of them rejoiced with us that we were about to go be with the Father, some had left only when we told them that it would be easier for us if they did so.

Moe and I looked at one another before rising unsteadily from our seats. We both nodded in unspoken agreement as we began walking towards the door. We were scared, but we refused to stay and cower inside, just waiting for our enemy to arrive. We would meet him outside and face him as the faithful soldiers we were. Each of us took comfort from the words, ―greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.‖ We would not give the enemy the satisfaction of finding fear in our eyes when he arrived.

Our work was finally finished after traveling a long and difficult road wrought with many trials and tribulations. We had dutifully accomplished our mission by delivering the message that the Lord had sent us to bring, and we had warned the peoples of the Earth about the coming destruction. Our work was over; it was time for us to go home…

What are some of the goals and future plans with your writing?

I intend to finish Tales of Eden, the first in a series of children's novels. After that, I plan to begin work on my fifth novel, a sci-fi thriller, possibly called CyberWars, a story set in the near future, where nation states have moved fighting from the battlefield to cyberspace.

Thank you, Jeff! Please remember to enter a comment and your email for a chance to win a copy of The Dark Age.

Congratulations Akira, you have won a copy of The Dark Age!