Guest Author Interview: Kevin R. Maze

Please welcome today's paranormal guest author Kevin R. Maze!  Kevin is the author of Wisp: A Small Town Nightmare.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Kevin:  I’ve been writing as long as I can remember! When I was about four or five, I compiled a collection of space photos from newspapers and wrote descriptions or stories with them, stapled them together in a manila envelope I colored red, and called it “My Space Book.” I also wrote for my high school newspaper as well as short stories on the side.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Kevin:  When I was a child my dad and I watched the Twilight Zone, and a few years later I began reading Stephen King. As much as I enjoyed war stories, westerns, space sagas—little boy favorites—something inside me quickened with these stories that did not have easy answers or did not end they way you thought they would. I liked the way Twilight Zone brought a different scenario and situation to different groups of people, but then there was the human element of how it affected them, not just weirdness for weirdness sake. I realized anything was possible, and in fiction, that is definitely a good thing.

EJ:  If you could be any paranormal or have any one supernatural talent, what would it be? Why?

Kevin:  I think it would be great to be telekinetic because you could move just about anything: a person, yourself (flying?), stop catastrophes or attackers. In the third X-Men movie, it was the previously quiet character whose telekinesis grew that became the major threat. Of course, I would want to use the talent for good. But then again, so did she at first…

EJ:  Tell us why readers will enjoy your new release.

Kevin:  It combines a traditional murder-mystery with the paranormal, which is a strange combination because in order to figure out who-done-it, the protagonists are going to have to use unconventional methods, which upsets the status quo of the small-town, whose citizens are resistant to any sort of change. “Wisp” has mystery, intrigue, some humor, a hint of romance, and the unknown, all of which I think will appeal to all readers.

EJ:  If your book(s) were being made into a movie, who would you cast for the leading roles? Why?

Kevin:  I picture protagonist Sheriff Stan Murphy played by Joe Don Baker because 1) I always like Joe Don because he always brings something likeable to movies he is in; and, 2) he would be an unlikely lead for a paranormal murder-mystery, which is exactly what Murphy is: unlikely. He’s not a superhero; he’s just a guy who finds himself in a situation that he must see through to the end.

Steven Williams (“21 Jump Street,” “The X-Files”) is who I picture as Deputy Nathan Williams. In fact, if “Wisp” did get filmed, I would have to insist strongly on him because he has a presence that exudes authority and firmness, but fairness, with controlled charisma.

Medical Examiner Clarissa Amason I see portrayed by “Diagnosis: Murder’s” Victoria Rowell, Zoe Saldana, or Thandie Newton. All of them are beautiful women who exude intelligence and strength, but retain their femininity.

Those are the main three I see, so I really have nothing for Murphy’s nephew and co-protagonist Alex Fiedler. He would have to be someone who had charm, humor, and a sense of determination. I’ll leave that the reader’s imagination ;)

Wisp: A Small Town Nightmare by Kevin R. Maze

Ellerton, Alabama is a small town with practically no crime, and no homicides in five years. So Sheriff Stan Murphy is surprised when he is called out to investigate a death at Bowers Field, a popular hunting spot. Instead of finding an accidental shooting, he finds the mangled body of prominent business man Edwin Price. The 47-year-old real estate broker does not appear to be the victim of any known wildlife; in fact, there’s very little physical evidence except the presence of misshapen footprints that disappear just a few feet away from the body. Alex Fiedler is a reporter for The International Paranormal Reader and also Murphy’s nephew, who is in town to interview an alleged UFO abductee. The two men begin a quest for the elusive killer the papers refer to as “the Shadow Man.” A search that offers more questions than answers. A search for a figure of unspeakable horror that just may not be human… 

Over the course of the next week, the people of this quiet town face its worse nightmares, transforming this restful hamlet into a community of fear. Because what begins as a routine assignment soon becomes anything but routine.


Thank you Kevin for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about Kevin R. Maze and his writing, please visit his website.