Paranormal Guest Author: Shawn Thomas Odyssey

Please welcome today's paranormal guest author Shawn Thomas Odyssey!  Shawn is the author of The Wizard of Dark Street.

EJ:  When did you begin writing?

Shawn:  I had a fantastic English teacher my freshman and sophomore year in high school who I looked up to immensely. I remember he had written a novel, and I just thought that was the coolest thing, so I decided that I would write one, too. I finished writing it (I think I was doing my best imitation of Douglas Adams at the time) over the Christmas break my sophomore year and gave it to him to read. He was very kind to read the entire thing (at least he said he did), and then he told me I should read Tom Robbins because he thought I had a similar thing going on, with a sort of sci-fi bent. I didn’t know if that was good or bad. But he was very encouraging! Oh yeah, and he also told me to work on my spelling.

EJ:  What brought you to the paranormal genre?

Shawn:  I’m pretty consistently drawn to elements of magic. I love the idea that there is more to the world than meets the eye…much, much more. I love the transformative powers of magic, its endless possibilities that cause us to step outside of our little box of how we think things work, and see that very often what we take as absolute reality is very often only the illusion of our own perception, our thinking mind. In THE WIZARD OF DARK STREET, the concepts of magic (or supernatural, or intuitive forces) vs. our logical and rational thinking come very prominently into to play for the main character, twelve year old Oona Crate.

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

Shawn:  I think it would be the power to let go of indecision and internal conflict with the snap of my fingers. To be one hundred percent present and alert, and to choose my mood and state of consciousness—any state, including the ones I don’t even know about yet—at will. That’s a bit out there, I know, and it might not even be supernatural, but it sounds cool to me. Then again, it would also be pretty nifty to be able to fly! How fantastic would that be?

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

Shawn:  It has something in it for just about everyone (bet you never heard that one before). If you like books that have magic in it, and that are set in a fantastical Victorian setting, then there’s something for you. If you like classic whodunits and murder mysteries, then there’s something for you. If you like oddball characters, and quirky riddles, and off the wall adventures into unknown and unexpected places, there’s something for you. If you like a heroine who is searching for something more than the life she has been handed, who must learn to trust herself, despite her past mistakes and deep sense of loss, then there’s something for you. If you like talking ravens, then there is something for you. If you like bumbling police inspectors, tattoo faced boys, venomous girls, witches, wizards, and bizarre faerie servants, then there is something for you. And of course, if you like to laugh at the absurdity of an unpredictable world, then there is something for you.

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

Shawn:  Off the top of my head, for the role of Oona, I would have to say Maisie Williams, who is presently playing the role of Arya Stark in the HBO version of A Game of Thrones. She certainly looks the part!

The Wizard of Dark Street by Shawn Thomas Odyssey

Oona Crate was born to be the Wizard's apprentice, but she has another destiny in mind.

Despite possessing the rare gift of Natural Magic, Oona wants to be a detective. Eager for a case, she is determined to prove that logic can be just as powerful as wizardry. But when someone attacks her uncle--the Wizard of Dark Street--Oona is forced to delve even deeper into the world of magic.

Full of odd characters, evil henchmen, and a street where nothing is normal, The Wizard of Dark Street will have you guessing until the very end.


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

To learn more about Shawn Thomas Odyssey and his books, please visit his website, blog, or the (very cool) official Wizard of Dark Street website (I highly recommend checking out the "video" tab for some extremely entertaining viewing!).