• Newsletter Signup
  • Interested Authors
  • Blog/Content
    • Author Reports
      • On The Trail Of Ted Bundy
      • Bradley Nickell Q&A With a Sin City Cop
      • From Russia With Love
      • eZine
        • Sign Up For The WildBlue Press eZine
  • Events / Media
    • Special Events
    • Upcoming Media Appearances
    • Media Appearances Archive
  • About Us
    • Catalog
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
  • Partners
    • MacGregor Literary
    • ImaginePublicity
    • The House Of Mystery With Host Al Warren
  • Contact Us
    • For Interested Authors
    • Participate in Focus Groups
    • Employment

WildBlue Press

Great Reads from Exceptional Authors

Great Reads from
Exceptional Authors

  • Home
  • Our Books
    • By Genre
      • Business
      • History
      • Mystery
      • Sci-Fi/Fantasy
      • Thrillers
      • True Crime
    • Box Sets
    • Award Winners
    • Coming Soon
    • Featured Books
    • New Releases
  • Blog
  • Subscribe
  • Interested Authors
  • Partners
    • Imagine Publicity
    • MacGregor Literary
    • The House Of Mystery With Al Warren
  • About Us
    • Catalog
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us

Horror Author MJ Preston On “Building The Perfect Beast”

Find out more about THE EQUINOX here!

My first novel, THE EQUINOX, garnered a lot of love. People love monsters, and I believed, when I wrote it, that they were worn out on vampires and zombies. So, I wanted to write something beyond the usual trends. In retrospect, I might have to rethink that, considering that the vampires and zombies are still around. Walking Dead, What We Do in the Shadows, and so on…

In the case of THE EQUINOX, our protagonist Daniel Blackbird has been banished from the Chocktee Village known as Spirit Woods. Why has he been expelled? Well, first he got the Chief Elder (his grandfather) killed, but worse he has let loose upon the world his peoples curse. The curse comes in the form of a shape changer, known as a skinwalker, that kills people daily and then dines on their internal organs. Blackbird heads out into the world following a debris trail of murder and mayhem., chasing an impossible task that will last 14 years. His quest takes him from that northern village to the red-light district in Chicago, and eventually to a small prairie town called Thomasville, where police are investigating the serial murder of 17 young boys.

When I set out to write this book, I drew my inspiration from author John Farris’ THE FURY, and also from a newscast I heard as a child, and an article I read in a men’s magazine in my early teens.

Let’s talk about Farris first.

In THE FURY, a father who works for an intelligence agency gets double-crossed when they abduct his son to exploit the child’s telekinesis. There’s plenty of double-dealing, gore, and intrigue, but it was the quest of a father to find his son and reap vengeance upon the abductors that fascinated me. I truly loved this book, and by the time I finished it, the paperback was dog-eared and beaten. That quest idea stuck with me, and I thought that one day, far in the future of the 12-year-old kid who had read it, I would pen a story with a quest to right a wrong.

Inspiration came on two other occasions where art would imitate life. One morning in 1978, the news reported on a killer, named John Wayne Gacy, arrested after 26 bodies were found buried in the crawl space of his Des Plaines home in Illinois. All the victims were teenage boys, first molested and then killed by Gacy. The victim count would rise to 33, and Gacy would be sentenced to death. Strangely, not long after I read another account of multiple child murders in Houston, Texas, at the hands of Dean Corll, who abducted, tortured, raped and murdered 28 plus boys with the help of two teen accomplices, named David Brooks and Elmer Wayne Henley. While both crimes were horrific in nature, the Corll murders stuck out because Brooks and Henley were both around the same age as their victims. Why would they become a party to such evil? In reading about the excavation of these bodies, in horrendous forensic detail, I understood that monsters walked among us in the guise of everyday citizens.

Dean Corll would never see the inside of a courtroom after being shot dead by accomplice Elmer Wayne Henley. Henley had angered Corll, who was a homosexual sadist killer, after bringing a female to a party which involved drugs and alcohol at the Corll residence. When Henley awoke, he found himself and his friends bound, and only after pleading with Corll to release him and agreeing to kill his friends, Corll made the fatal mistake of untying Henley who then shot and killed his partner in crime.

When the police arrived, Henley was first thought to be a hero, but then the story between Brooks and Henley began to unravel. Both David Brooks and Elmer Wayne Henley confessed to their involvement in the abduction and brutal sex slayings. They led authorities to four separate dump sites. The bulk of the victims were found wrapped in plastic buried in the floor of a boathouse. In a filmed phone call to his mother, Henley confessed, “Momma, I killed Dean.” What would follow would be a view into a world of absolute revulsion. Investigators exhumed body after body, most so deep into decomposition that authorities measured out equal amounts of bones into bags, only to be later sorted and identified by forensic experts.

Gacy would find his end in a death chamber when an intravenous needle was inserted into his arm, and a cocktail of deadly drugs was be administered by the state of Illinois. But justice, if the death penalty could be considered so, only came 16 years after he was arrested. I watched an interview with Gacy, in which he claimed not to be the killer, but an accomplice guilty only of running an illegal graveyard. Both men were master manipulators, but Gacy maintained his innocence until he was executed.

I had no illusions of Gacy’s guilt. One does not live above the decomposing bodies of murdered children without involvement in the crime. He tortured and killed his victims, but his outlandish claim stuck with me and played into writing my first book, THE EQUINOX.

So, I got down to writing. My protagonist, Daniel Blackbird, sets out on a quest to stop a monster that kills daily and feeds on the internal organs of its victims. Blackbird’s hunt leads him on a decade-long chase that will take him from Chicago, Illinois, where prostitutes are being killed. After a near-death confrontation, he is drawn to a small prairie town called Thomasville.

In Thomasville, police are investigating a farmer/serial killer, named Stephen Hopper, whose backfield holds the bodies of 17 missing children. Blackbird is drawn to the town, just as he was drawn to the creature’s other killing fields. The Chief of Police, David Logan, is informed by the killer that he is merely a caretaker and that the real killer is a demonic monster demanding to be fed.

I’m not going to tell you any more than that about the plot. You can read the book. But I will tell you that this story is full of native mysticism, otherworldly creatures and plenty of action. The Equinox is, at its core, a monster story. It is an exploration of native mythos coupled a with a serial killer, known as Stephen Hopper. 

Along with writing, I dabble in art and photography. So, when I wrote Equinox, I also began to render pieces of digital art and decided one Halloween to create a life-sized skinwalker. Although I don’t consider myself a commercial artist, I created the creature which you see in the pictures. The sculpting of the skinwalker took a long time, first starting with the head and then moving on to the body. By Halloween night, the skinwalker, named “Skin,” was staged on my front lawn amid cornstalks and other creepy crawlies including giant spiders, vampires, gravestones and the odd demon. It also caught the attention of local media. Two reporters came out for a look. THE GRIMSBY NEWS and the SAINT CATHARINES STANDARD conducted separate interviews with me, and “SKIN” made the front page of THE GRIMSBY NEWS. I thought that was cool, and I have to say that the kids who came, loved the layout and were fascinated by the creature. The only downside was that after being overrun by hundreds of children, we ran out of treats to give the kids darn quick.

When it was over, I packed up my monsters, gravestones, and Skin for future Halloweens. When I moved from Ontario to Alberta in 2015, Skin was picked up in a yard sale, and is presumably entertaining children at someone else’s Halloween Haunt.

Check out MJ’s latest book HIGHWAYMAN here!

That is how I work as a writer. I employ everything I have in my artistic toolbox. Writing, rendering and even sculpting. I am happy that THE EQUINOX has found a second run with my new publisher, WildBlue Press. It gives new readers a chance to read this exciting book about monsters. In revisiting the manuscript, I was, again, reacquainted with a story I started thinking about when I was a kid.

In future blogs, I will talk about my other books and the journey of creation. With each new project, comes an odyssey, and in the case of my second book, a real adventure.

Thank you for tagging along, and I hope you’ll join me as I revisit these stories and recount their genesis.

Filed Under: Blog, HIGHWAYMAN Book 1, Horror, MJ Preston, THE EQUINOX Tagged With: beast, HIGHWAYMAN, Horror, horror book, Horror Fiction, horror novel, MJ Preston, scary, supernatural, supernatural thriller, THE EQUINOX
November 8, 2019 By MJ Preston 1 Comment

Comments

  1. R.James Steel says

    November 20, 2019 at 4:35 am

    Several years ago I had the pleasure (pleasure??) of reading Mark’s ‘Equinox’. I live in an area noted for its rural surroundings. Crows and corn fields abound. I don’t take my eyes off the road.
    When you read this book — and you should — you might want to keep keep your curtains closed and your lights blazing.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

THE EQUINOX by MJ Preston

Buy THE EQUINOX now:

Amazon Kindle eBook  eBook

Amazon Trade Paperback  Paperback

Audible Audio BookiTunes Audio Book  Audio Book

INTERNATIONAL KINDLE EBOOKS

USA  UK  Canada  Australia  Germany  France  Spain  Japan  Italy  Brazil  India  Mexico

GET A FREE AUDIBLE AUDIO BOOK

Get this Title for FREE at Audible with a free trialGet this Audible Title for FREE with a 30-day free trial

LISTEN TO THE FIRST CHAPTER

More Horror From WildBlue Press

FOUR The Highwayman Series Book Two

MJ Preston’s Highwayman Horror Series Continues With FOUR

Having abstained from killing for almost a year, the Highwayman is coming unglued. Unsure if the FBI is watching, Lance Belanger spends his days and nights in a paranoid malaise, longing to kill again. Meanwhile, in Bucharest, Romania, an … [Read More...]

MJ Preston Gives Readers An Epic Tale of Blackmail, A Diamond Heist, and Alien Invaders In ACADIA EVENT

Marty Croft has it all. A beautiful wife, and a successful career as a commercial artist. That is until his past comes back to haunt him. Enter Gordon Shamus, the psychotic son of Marty’s former gangster boss. After Marty’s wife is kidnapped, he … [Read More...]

THE RED SON: Book One In The Red Family Trilogy

A Finalist in the Horror Category of the 2020 Next Generation Indie Book Awards! In a world terribly altered by a mysterious, year-long phenomenon dubbed the Great Darkness by some, the Dark Rapture by others, Vincent Alexander, a serial killer … [Read More...]

Can The Monster Walking Among Us Be Stopped? Find Out In MJ Preston’s Horror THE EQUINOX

It has existed for centuries. A dark curse held captive by an ancient ritual, a creature of insatiable hunger possessing the ability to change shape at will. During the spring and fall equinox it would break through the walls, separating our … [Read More...]

HIGHWAYMAN: The Highwayman Series Book 1

The most terrifying monsters are real and walk among us every day. Meet Lance Belanger, he has only one ambition, to be the most infamous killer of all time. After murdering a single mom and her toddler child, Lance indoctrinates himself into the … [Read More...]

Genres, Types

New Releases
Featured Books
Coming Soon
Award Winners

Business
History
Horror
Mysteries
Romance
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Thrillers
True Crime

eBooks
Paperbacks
Audio Books
Box Sets

Available

Cookbook
• Frank Cullotta's Greatest (Kitchen) Hits
True Crime
• 'the Son Of Sam' And Me
• Serial Killers
• Satin Pumps
• Out Of The Mouths Of Serial Killers
• True Crime Chronicles Volume Two
• The World Encyclopedia Of Serial Killers Volume Three
• The Enigma Of Ted Bundy
• True Crime Chronicles Volume One
• Killing Women
• From The Mob To The Movies
• The World Encyclopedia Of Serial Killers Volume Two
• To Kill Or Be Killed
• No Angels
• Monster
• Under A Full Moon
• 'til Death Do Us ...'
• The World Encyclopedia Of Serial Killers
• First Degree Rage
• The 'supreme Gentleman' Killer
• Beast Of New Castle
• The Garden State Parkway Murders
• How Now, Butterfly?
• The Encyclopedia Of The Ted Bundy Murders
• Survival
• Missing ... And Presumed Dead
• Wrong Numbers
• Tantamount
• Playing Dead
• Mothers And Murderers
• Dead Reckoning
• Underworld
• Gabacho
• The Gangster's Cousin
• Race To Justice
• Ted Bundy's Murderous Mysteries
• Travesty Of Justice
• Railroaded
• You Have A Very Soft Voice, Susan
• A Family Business
• Pathological
• Wrecking Crew
• The Last Man Standing
• My Son, The Killer
• Saving Annie Book 2
• Inconvenience Gone
• Toxic Rage
• The Killing Game
• Shots In The Dark
• Saving Annie
• The Case Of The Golden State Killer
• His Garden
• The Crate
• Burned
• The Case Of The Zodiac Killer
• A Murder In My Hometown
• Bullied To Death
• The Beast I Loved
• Summary Execution
• The Shawcross Letters
• Better Off Dead
• Sidetracked
• My Brother's Keeper
• Targeted
• Held Hostage
• Room 1203
• A Special Kind Of Evil
• Brooklyn's Most Wanted
• Outlaw Los Angeles
• Unsolved No More
• She Is Evil
• The Rise And Fall Of A Casino Mobster
• Outlaw Southwest
• A Clockwork Murder
• Raw Deal
• The Bundy Secrets
• Betrayal In Blue
• The Politics Of Murder
• Murderers Row
• Rough Trade
• Daddy's Little Secret
• Murder In The Family
• Failure Of Justice
• Ice And Bone
• Smooth Talker
• The Trail Of Ted Bundy
• A Taste For Murder
• Sketchcop
• Body Of Proof
• Kentucky Bloodbath
• No Stone Unturned
• Repeat Offender
• Dixie's Last Stand
• Vampire
• Man Overboard
• Bogeyman
Thriller
• No One Will Hear Your Screams
• The Screaming Room
• Bone Thief
• Four
• Crux
• Sword Of The Caliphate
• Last Son Of The War God
• Leviathan
• Highwayman
• The Strait
• Enemy Of The People
• Cain
• Dark Visions
• Hunter
• The Reckoning
• Hard Dog To Kill
• 16 Souls
• Borderland
• Paper Wings
• Lockout
• Pitfall
Mystery
• Raven's Ridge
• Raptor's Ridge
• Napa Noir
• Melia Ridge
• Emerald Ridge
• Beacon Hill
• Northern Ex
• Created
• Crevice
• Headlock
• Identity Crisis
• The Obituary
• Naked Addiction
• The Deadline
Horror
• Acadia Event
• The Red Son
• The Equinox
• The Pure And The Hated
• Savage Highway
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
• Happenstance
• Destruction Of Justice
• Blunt Force Magic
Business
• Leaderology
• The Age Of Pluralism
• Bamboo Strong
• Corporate Superpower
• Wordpress Websites For Business
• Productivity Tools For Business
History
• Legion Rising
• The Korean Crisis
• Tempest Tost
• Saving Sandoval
• Killing Rasputin
Politics
• The (Redacted) Mueller Report
Romance
• When Fall Fades

New Releases

SERIAL KILLERS: 101 Questions True Crime Fans Ask

Learn the terrifying truth behind the world’s deadliest serial killers… Serial killers haunt our dreams and inspire the terrifying villains of TV shows and horror movies. But how much do you really know about the minds behind the world’s deadliest … [More...]

SATIN PUMPS Gives Inside Look Into Gripping Midcentury Murder

It was the midcentury murder that fascinated a nation and kept it glued for two years to radio, television and newspapers through three trials. Did the handsome, wealthy doctor and his beautiful young paramour plan to kill his glamorous socialite … [More...]

OUT OF THE MOUTH OF SERIAL KILLERS

Why Do Serial Killers Kill? Find Out In OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF SERIAL KILLERS

WHY DO SERIAL KILLERS KILL? OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF SERIAL KILLERS​ is as close as you will ever come to discovering the answer ... and in the killer’s own words! In this one-of-a-kind book, author Mary Brett corresponded with some of America’s … [More...]

True Crime Chronicles Volume Two

TRUE CRIME CHRONICLES: Volume Two Is Out! Classic Journalism With Commentary by New York Times Bestselling Author Mike Rothmiller

What do Wyatt Earp, Belle Gunness, Big Foot the Renegade, Billy the Kid, and Dr. H.H. Holmes, and The Black Hand have in common? They were all subjects of true crime newspaper reporting in the 1800s, and now these stories and that of many others … [More...]

Coming Soon

‘THE SON OF SAM’ AND ME

In 1976, a killer who called himself ‘The Son of Sam’ shot and killed a half dozen people and wounded as many more in New York City. During his crime spree, the madman left bizarre letters mocking the police and promising more deaths. After months … [More...]

The Son Of Seven Mothers Kindle Cover

Cult Survivor Benjamin Risha Tells Readers His Story In THE SON OF SEVEN MOTHERS

As the adopted son of two cult leaders, Benjamin Risha was raised to someday assume a place of leadership in the Tony and Susan Alamo Christian Foundation with the Bible, and his parents’ interpretation of it, as his guide. He believed the prophecies … [More...]

Recent Posts

  • Author and Aviator Les Abend Comments on United 328
  • Carl Denaro: “This Book Is About My Quest To Figure Out Who Shot Me”
  • ‘THE SON OF SAM’ AND ME
  • SERIAL KILLERS: 101 Questions True Crime Fans Ask
  • Joni E. Johnston, Psy.D.
  • SATIN PUMPS Gives Inside Look Into Gripping Midcentury Murder
  • Steve Kosareff On “His First Writing Gig”

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

eZine SignupJoin our email list and be the first to get hot deals, new releases and...
* Author updates
* Free eBooks
* Free audio books
* Enlightening and entertaining posts
* Advance notice of book deals, special offers

Follow Us

Blog Tag Cloud

best true crime books Bogeyman Bradley Nickell Brian Whitney Burl Barer Caitlin Rother Cold Case Crime Fiction Crime thriller Detective Detectives Facebook True Crime John Ferak Kevin Sullivan Las Vegas Murder murder book Mysteries Mystery mystery book mystery thriller Non-Fiction Ron Franscell Serial Killer serial killer books Serial Killers Steve Jackson Suspense suspense thriller Ted Bundy Thriller Thriller Books True-crime truecrime True Crime True Crime Authors true crime book true crime books True Crime Discussions True Crime Original true crimes true crime stories True Murder WildBlue Press writing

Privacy Policy

As Seen On:

Our Authors Have Been Seen On...

Interested Authors Click Here
See Our Entire Catalog
SSL Secure Connection

Copyright © 2021 WildBlue Press. All rights reserved.
Website design by Denver Local SEO Marketing Company
Horror Author MJ Preston On “Building The Perfect Beast”