Here it is my EXCLUSIVE interview with Lorne Dixon, author of Blue Eel

1. Jay Whales: Was there any significance to the “hopeful” dogs name of Cornelius?

Lorne Dixon; There are lots of little codes hidden in details within the book. Not all of the dog names have relevance. But… maybe one might, to the right readers.

2. Jay Whales: “Yellow spined paperbacks, black and white monster movies and thunder lizard backbeat of rock and roll.” Please name one favorite of each?

Lorne Dixon; From my youth? Charles L. Grant’s “Shadows 2” anthology. It! The Terror from Beyond Space. The Jet Black Berries “Sundown on Venus”. Today? Dan Simmons “The Terror”. The Bride of Frankenstein. Dead Sara’s “Pleasure to Meet You”.

3. Jay Whales: I am trying to not give away any spoilers for the book for many of these questions. What gave you the idea for the eels blood as a drug?

Lorne Dixon; Psychedelic toxins really exist in the animal world and indigenous people have often ascribed mystical properties to their effects. The drug cults in Blue Eel believe that the eel’s blood gives them glimpses of the future, of a greater truth. A major theme of the book is how much of the human experience is subjective. Are the Pacificans and Moonmen cults right? Do they see the future? That’s for the reader to decide.

4. Jay Whales: At times the book almost, kind of seemed like a “bizarro” book. Was this intentional or was I seeing things from a different perspective?

Lorne Dixon; Blue Eel is not properly part of the “bizarro” genre, but elements of incongruent fantasy are present. I made a point of never describing the “drug trips” in detail. Instead, those moments bleed over into the “straight” narrative.

5. Jay Whales: Toward the end, to not cause a spoiler, the “wizard of oz” type scene was totally unexpected, was that a homage or just circumstantial or again or was I seeing things from a different perspective?

Lorne Dixon; Blue Eel is not a manipulative experience. Throughout its length, the reader is free to decode the events as you interpret them. The final chapter puts the story into perspective in a way that may be at odds with how the reader has followed the story. But you haven’t been misled. There are plenty of breadcrumbs, if you choose to follow them.

6. Jay Whales: SPOILER ALERT: Dear readers, these next questions may give away parts of the book, if you have not read it yet, stop here, read the book, then come back. Was Branson a bad guy? The ending kind of alluded to that?

Lorne Dixon; Every reader will probably feel slightly different about this. Branson sets off to right a horrible wrong. The things he does along the way to that end… might not be morally justifiable. Or maybe everything he does is acceptable given the context. That’s up to the reader. In the real world, no one chooses to be the villain. They make decisions that might put them in the role. There’s an old quote that some trace back to Darrell Trent, “One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist.”

7. Jay Whales: The glowing angels from the beginning of the book to the drugged up glowing cult members was quite the jump, as the book progressed. Was that your original intent or did the book take on a life of its own as you wrote it?

Lorne Dixon; Laurie, the abducted child, sees them as angels because that’s her point of reference. Branson, the protagonist, he sees them as terrifying junkie murderers. The book is all about the democracy of opinion, even within its characters. Branson never sees them as angels. The only time he refers to them as such- the quote on the cover of the book- is when he’s talking to Laurie.

8. Jay Whales: Lastly, do you feel “moral decay” type books will replace things that go bump in the night? I like both but sometimes I just want to immerse myself in a mass murderering fake monster instead of a monster that could be sitting next to me on the train.

Lorne Dixon; Well, I’d answer that by saying that there’s no reason that moral decay can’t go bump in the night. There’s room for all kinds of stories within the horror genre. My interests has evolved over the years. Right now, I’m interested in telling stories that have not been told before. Blue Eel is not a rehash or a “new angle on an old story”. It’s very modern and focused on relevant fears, albeit exaggerated for dramatic purpose. But I love the entire genre. Your mutant slashers, giant radioactive spiders, backwoods cannibals, and haunted sports cars are all family as far as I’m concerned. I might be writing something a bit different from all that, but not because I think any less of them.

please got buy Lornes newest Book Blue Eel at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Eel-Lorne-Dixon-ebook/dp/B0170TZGZ2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448544712&sr=8-1&keywords=blue+eel) or other fine retailers worldwide

Dont forget you can follow Lorne on Twitter @lornedixon