Robert Howell Author - An Interview

We recently read, and reviewed, A Devil Of A Time - you can find it HERE.

Open Shelf caught up with author Robert Howell to find out more. 

What first sparked the idea of a junior investigator being hired by the Devil himself?

I started writing this book about eighteen years ago, shortly after my YA book Third Times the Charm was published by Thistledown Press. I had wanted an adult version of this book (which has three young witches solving supernatural mysteries), but I wanted a main character who had no special paranormal abilities. I was probably a little influenced by the television show Supernatural; however, I didn’t want something as dark and scary as that. I had to put writing aside for a while as life got in the way.

In 2018, I had taken back the rights to Third Times the Charm and self-published it, followed by two more books in that series. That was when I was ready to tackle A Devil of a Time again, which was about half written at that point. I did quite a bit of rewriting as I went along, but was satisfied with the end result.

The blend of disbelief and acceptance in the opening reminds me of something like Buffy. Was that tone an intentional influence?

Absolutely. The main character had had some brushes with the paranormal as a kid, but being from a strictly Catholic family, he had passed it off.

You mix detective‑agency realism with supernatural chaos. How did you balance those two worlds?

Research – As I went along, I kept researching different supernatural creatures as well as watching a lot of detective shows. Going back and forth with the research made it easier to do the transition in the writing. This is also reflected a lot in my horror book, Blood Mansion.

Tom accepts the Devil’s story almost immediately, yet still questions everything. How did you shape his personality to walk that line?

It goes back to his childhood experiences with the paranormal on one hand, and the grounding of his Catholic upbringing on the other hand. His Catholic upbringing allowed him to accept the Devil’s story, but his past experiences made him question everything.

Laura‑Luss is both protector and tempter. What was the biggest challenge in writing a character with such dual purpose?

I mainly had to remind myself often that although she was a demon, she also had human blood. Her orders from her boss were to protect him until the mission was complete, but her seduction was part of her natural being a succubus, and what the devil was counting on to get a part of Tom’s soul.

The relationship between Tom and Laura‑Luss becomes the emotional heart of the story. Did you always plan for their dynamic to evolve that way?

No. At first, she was only supposed to be a semi-major character, to influence Tom and help him with the mission. But as it went along, the chemistry between the two evolved in my mind, and by the halfway point, I knew it had to end as it did.

Tom’s family - a priest, a monk, and a soon‑to‑be nun - adds a unique religious counterbalance. What inspired that trio?

I wanted to have some levity in the book, as well as to provide Tom with some assistance along the way. I do have a religious background (albeit not Catholic) so I knew a lot about the practices. I may have been a little influenced by Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, which I had read when it came out. But the idea of those three characters came early when it popped into my brain that it would be fun for Tom to have to call his brother Father, his mother Sister, and his cousin Brother.

Your supernatural elements “just happen” without heavy explanation, which keeps the pace fast. How much lore did you build behind the scenes?

I did a lot of research about demons and the other mythical characters, especially the golem. The difficult part was to make sure the reader understood the lore without wasting too much of their reading time to get the message, and keep the pace constantly moving. I do that in most of my books.

Asmodeus is positioned as the most powerful demon after Lucifer. What drew you to that particular figure from demonology?

Again research. I looked at all the possible adversaries from hell that would have the gall to challenge Satan, and his was the name that kept coming up.

The story moves from New York to Montreal to Rome - and eventually Hell. How did you choose the locations?

New York is the largest and maybe the most energetic city in North America, so it felt natural for the story to start there. It may also have been influenced by a trip I had made there before starting the book. As for Montreal, it is my hometown, and I know more about it than any other place, so I am comfortable writing about here.

Regarding Tom’s trip to visit his cousin, I have made trips to Oka Abbey. They make great cheese there. As for hell – I wanted something that was different from all other versions I had read about, and I think I accomplished that.

The book plays with ideas of temptation, faith, duty, and love. Which theme emerged strongest as you wrote?

It has to be Love. Even his mother pointed that out to him when it came time to decide what to do about the fate of Laura-Luss.

There’s a subtle commentary on belief systems and how characters normalise the supernatural. Was that intentional?

For sure. Once someone has had an encounter with the supernatural, they either accept it for what it was or try to explain it away. I speak from experience.

Let's take a look at some of the writing craft ideas. Dialogue drives much of the story. Do you naturally write dialogue‑first, or was that a deliberate stylistic choice?

Since I wrote my first ever short story that I tried to get published (when I was seventeen) dialogue has been the key in most of my writing, since I basically write in third person. By the way, that story was rejected.

The pacing is brisk, with each chapter ending on a hook. How do you approach structuring momentum?

I am an avid reader and have been since I was a kid. Nowadays, even though I spend a lot of time writing, I still read on average a book a week. The books that usually grab me are books with that type of pace and hook. So now I guess that just comes naturally for me since all my books have the same structure.

The pre‑epilogue chapter is almost a second (well, first) ending. What made you choose that format?

I had intended, and still do, to write more books featuring Tom and more supernatural mysteries for him to solve. So I had wanted the first ending for the story itself, and the second ending as a setup for the next book. Yes, I do plan on writing the book Another Nail in the Coffin and have already started on the planning. I also wanted to have that last twist right at the end (I will not say what it is as I don’t want to spoil it, but having read the book, you know what I mean).

The ending clearly sets up a sequel. Without spoilers, what can readers expect next for Tom and Laura‑Luss?

Of course, their relationship is complicated and will continue to be so; however, he will need her help in future cases. After all, how can a mere human expect to survive in a fight with a supernatural creature?

Will we see more of Tom’s family in future books?

Of course. Family makes a person stronger, and strong family support can help someone go a long way.

Let's now look at some of your other titles. First, Third Times the Charm, the opener of the Dramsmit Children’s Mysteries.

What inspired you to blend witchcraft, orphan‑quest fantasy, and classic mystery traditions?

When I started writing this book, it was not supposed to go the way it did. Originally, it was planned as a story about an orphan girl who had had a difficult life and who finally finds her true home. Then the characters took over. At the time, I was married to a woman who had converted to paganism and started practicing white magic. I made frequent trips with her to a store that catered to witches. It ended up influencing this story, and that is where the witchcraft came in. From that point the characters wrote themselves, with Sharron, who was the original focus of the story, becoming the main character.

The book is described as combining Harry Potter‑style magic with Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew sleuthing. How do you balance those tones for younger readers?

I was a big fan of the Hardy Boys and the Nancy Drew mysteries when I was a kid. When I started writing the book, my four children were aged 5-10, so the tone became natural for me. I used to write them short stories for the holidays in which they were the many characters. I had not seen the first Harry Potter movie or read the books when I started writing Third Times the Charm, so the magic part of it must have come from my trips to the magic store. My children knew about this side of my ex, so in my stories to them I blended that a little so they would understand their mother’s choices.

The three young protagonists discover a dark family history. What drew you to themes of ancestry and legacy in a children’s series?

There are two aspects to this. First, of course, being that Sharron was an orphan looking for a family, it would be normal for her to want to know all about her family and its history when she finds she has a family. The second is more personal. Although my father talked a little about his past, I never really got to know about my ancestors, so maybe this is a little of me wanting to have had that past.

How does The Fourth Charm build on the world you established in the first book?

In the first book, they learn a little about the witch community. In The Fourth Charm, they are forced into a situation where they have to know much more if they want to solve the mystery of their friend’s missing pet and what it meant for him and his familiar to be sundered the way they were. So for them the witch world became suddenly much larger. In the third book, The Charms Together, it becomes larger still.

Let's look at some horror next. Blood Mansion uses the idea of a house built from pieces of other haunted places. Where did that concept come from?

Ironically, it was based on real-life experience. At the time, I worked for a company that did private lending. From time to time, they would be forced to repossess a property. When that happened, one of my jobs was to do a weekly visit of the property since it would be vacant, to ensure vandals or squatters had not invaded the place before we could sell it. One such place always gave me the creeps. It inspired Blood Mansion, even though the house is very different. Note, though, that the secondary building in Blood Mansion is almost identical to the secondary building on the property I had to visit. I also had to oversee repairs, and that was where the inspiration came for building a house out of pieces of other haunted places.

The story mixes paranormal investigation with reality‑TV ghost hunting. What made you want to contrast those two approaches?

I watch a lot of documentaries and certain types of reality TV. Amongst those shows were Ghost Hunters, as well as other shows claiming to be real paranormal investigators. I had the idea of having one of each to do the investigation, to kind of set up some animosity and competition. Besides watching those shows, I contacted legitimate paranormal investigators, as well as those who claim to be psychics. In one scene, where the cop, Ron, is asking the investigator from the university how he works, what the investigator tells him comes almost directly from my interview with a legitimate paranormal investigator.

Over a hundred deaths and disappearances occur across decades. How did you keep the timeline and lore coherent?

I always keep several documents going, one with a timeline, one with the characters and their descriptions, etc. I have read books where the author had a character with brown eyes in one chapter and blue eyes in another. I don’t want to make the same type of mistake, and I would never depend on my own memory to keep it together (haha).

What can you share about Blood Castle and how it expands the mythology?

In Blood Mansion, the evil ghost (Peter Vandebilt) relied solely on the paranormal for the building of his house and the securing of his ghosts. In Blood Castle, the protagonist is also a scientist and inventor, and manages to merge the science with the paranormal. The third in the series, titled Blood Village, which should be released later this year, will add something completely different into their world.

Let's have an overview of everything. You write across urban fantasy, children’s fantasy, and paranormal horror. What draws you to supernatural storytelling in all its forms?

I think, between horror and supernatural, there is always a vein of excitement in the story, no matter the subject matter, so I find it easy to fit my stories in those worlds and have the words flow. As well, I have had a few supernatural incidents in my own life (I even lived in a haunted house when I was a teen, but that is best left for another time).

Do you see common threads between Tom’s world, the Dramsmit mysteries, and the Blood Mansion series?

Maybe between Tom’s world and the Dramsmit mysteries but not so much with the Blood series, other than the paranormal being involved in one way or another in all of them.

How do you shift your writing voice when moving between adult supernatural thrillers and children’s magical mysteries?

The adult part comes naturally, of course, since most of what I read or watch is adult-oriented. When I want to switch back to writing for the younger groups, I just have to reminisce about my children when they were younger. As well, I have kept a copy of every story I ever wrote for them, so sometimes I just reread those to bring them back.

As we come to the end of the interview, just what have we interrupted you doing?  What’s the current work in progress?

Already finished is another horror/thriller that I am pitching to agents, titled Evil Essences (not related to the other books). The pitch for this book is “Ghosts of serial killers given extraordinary abilities and controlled by someone who wants the world. How can a professor, a scientist, and a prepper survive long enough to stop him?”

I have also completed Blood Village, the third in the Blood series. I have a meeting with a publisher next week to discuss a release date. Currently, I am laying down the outline for Blood Island, which will be the fourth in the Blood series.

Also started are outlines for the next Tom Wilkins book, which will be titled Another Nail in the Coffin and will centre around the case of a vampire whose coffin has been stolen.

I plan to start work on the fourth book in the Dramsmit Children’s mysteries soon as well.

So yes, I plan on being very busy!

Thanks to Robert for joining us to discuss A Devil Of A Time and so much more!

You can read more about Robert and his work HERE.