Dark fiction author Jonathan Spain-Collins chats with me about his new dark fantasy, Phenomenon: Monster – Escape to Earth.
Welcome, Jonathan. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am a full time gigworker who drives for apps such as Uber, Lyft, Doordash, and Instacart from Boston, Massachusetts. I even attend anime and comic book conventions to meet celebrities. I enjoy playing video games and reading manga online. I currently live with my fiancée Natalie Fothergill in North Andover, Massachusetts.
Please tell us about your current release.
The demon Alessandro has managed to escape from Hell after enduring a lifetime of suffering from his dreadful mother Striga. Even after making it to Earth, he began to hear a voice in his head. That voice belonged to a witch whose soul he was forced to devour when being held captive by Striga. Luckily Alessandro was accepted by a band of witches to live with in Boston, Massachusetts. To forget where he came from, Alessandro changed his name to Jonathan. As time progressed for Alessandro and his witch girlfriend Natalie, his older brother Amon came to find him. Out of anger for defying to follow the cultures of Hell, Amon led a vast region of demons and witches to wipe out humanity on Earth and Alessandro along with it. Hearing of this forced Alessandro and his new friends to fight. Who is the witch that Alessandro can’t stop hearing? Will Alessandro and his friends thwart the attack to save the city? Who was it that gave Amon the idea to spring the attack in the first place? Find out in this dramatic tale of Monster.
What inspired you to write this book?
The horror and trauma of my past child abuse I suffered at the hands of my mother and the neglect of my father made me want to create the story. I grew tired of letting it control me. I chose to stand up against it.
What exciting project are you working on next?
I am currently writing another book entitled Phenomenon: Trust and Betrayal – Desires Foiled.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I first began writing back in August of 2014 after finishing attending a Celebrate Recovery group I was forced to attend to keep an internship I was working at that time. I decided to want to begin writing books.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I currently write books part time. I also work as a school bus driver for the Pentucket District and transport children from the Groveland, West Newbury and Merrimac areas in Massachusetts. I am also a Personal Care Attendant or PCA for my disabled fiancée.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
My writing quirk is mentioning the names of the chapters at the end of them to give more meaning to the story.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
As a child I wanted to be a fire fighter.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
Yes. I love to thank my influences that inspired me to create the contents of my books. Stan Lee (I miss him and I wish I got the chance to meet him) and John Ronald Reuel Tolkien were a couple of them. Thank you so much for having me on and thank every single person out there who will potentially read my books.