So John, it's been a hot minute since we last talked. Let's cover some bases. How long have you been writing professionally?
I’ve been writing “professionally”—and I define that as how long I’ve been writing The Dark Matter Series—since 2009 when I lost my job in the Great Recession. A friend and I were watching True Blood and discussed it often. She said, “We ought to write our own vampire story.” A gong went off in my mind.
Back in the 90s, when I was an English teacher, I had written the beginning of a story about a girl named Angelique who had a fetish for serial killers. She tracked one down to find out he was a vampire. He started to tell her about his origins. Well, yes, it was a lot like Interview with the Vampire (I was into Anne Rice at the time), and I knew that, so I put it aside and essentially forgot about it. Until that gong went off in my mind.
It took me a while to find that old hand-written document. I started by word-processing it… and it expanded into The Dark Matter Series.
A small part of that kernel story might appear in the second book which will drop later this year.
The Dark Matter Series will consist of:
Book 1: The Dark Stirs (published June 2022; you can find it on Amazon)
Book 2: The Dark Gambit (later this year)
Book 3: The Dark Harvest (2024)
Book 4: The Dark Angel (2025)
I also have a story on Kindle Vella entitled “The Long Shadow of Rising Night.” It is a prequel to The Dark Stirs. Actually, the story had originally been a part of it, but my publisher and I decided to take it out. I am also working on another Vella story: “Tales of a Dark Son.” It is about the backstory of one of the characters in The Dark Gambit.
I have a lot of material that has been taken out of earlier drafts of The Dark Matter Series that I plan on turning into Vella stories.
What genre/s do you write?
The Dark Matter Series starts as a vampire thriller, but the second and subsequent books expand the story into a more epic dark fantasy. I like to use the French literary term fantastique. The series is a mix of horror, thriller, science-fiction, and fantasy.
I have been researching quantum field theory and dreaming. I have a story brewing that will be a mix of science-fiction and horror.
I also have a novel I had begun back in college. It is a high medieval fantasy with dragons and knights fighting a great evil. I know, it doesn’t sound very original… but it will be.
What drives you to write?
That’s an interesting question with a complicated answer.
One of the first stories I wrote was my own War of the Worlds entitled “Earth Invaded.” I’m talking fifth grade—10 years old. It was quite long. My teacher read it aloud to the class. It has some grotesque parts in it (I’ve always been a horror fan), and I remember the class gasping. At the end, I received a standing ovation.
So, I have been writing almost as long as I’ve been reading. As Mickey Spillane once said: “I write the kind of stuff I want to read but can’t find. If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t write it.”
I’ve always wanted to see my name on a book.
So, I’d be lying if I didn’t say fame has something to do with it.
But in 2010 as I was expanding the first book of The Dark Matter Series (then entitled The Dark Betwixt but now The Dark Stirs), I met the real Darkness behind the vampire with whom I had started. That followed with the forces of Light on the other side of the conflict. These characters drive me to tell the story… as if they stand behind me, whispering what’s happening, and all I do is my best to transcribe it.
My characters talk to me all the time.
What was the biggest hurdle you had to cross? Whether professionally or personally.
At a young 60 years old, I’ve had quite a few hurdles to cross over the years. Some of the BIG hurdles are too personal to divulge… and involve other people; it wouldn’t be honorable of me to speak of those.
My time as an English teacher (long ago and far away) was rewarding and very successful. I was at the top of my game. Each school where I taught, I managed to make a heroic mark. I’m not exaggerating. I revived a high school theatre club whose performances received rave reviews, causing the mayor of the
town to request another night’s performance. The students and I were dumbfounded. At another school, I helped to create an Honors program and a Medieval Faire that received accolades all over the state; the school became a Blue Ribbon School and a School of Excellence. At another school, I had
consistently high AP Language exam passing rates; I was a tennis Coach of the Year, and one of my players won the State Tournament. I worked very hard in all those schools and all those years.
Then I left teaching. It wore me out.
I met the woman who would become my wife, and I moved to Pittsburgh.
I took all that winning attitude and drive, and I went into recruitment process outsourcing. I was kicking ass at my company: developing new revenue-generating programs, auditing hiring processes at large manufacturing companies, writing reports and presenting findings to C-level executives. Life was good.
Then The Great Recession hit. When no one is hiring, no one needs RPO. I was laid off. I had never been laid off before. There was a part of me that took it as a failure. I became a little depressed…
Until…
Remember that little gong I spoke about earlier?
It changed everything.
What is your latest WIP about?
I’m currently in the revision process of my second book The Dark Gambit. My publisher and I are—once again—going back and forth on what should stay and what should go. She calls it “killing my darlings,” but like I told her, she should say killing my children. I have episodes I spent a lot of time researching and developing and writing. It’s very difficult deciding what’s important and what’s not. When I wrote it, it
was ALL important. Gambit starts immediately where The Dark Stirs leaves off. In fact, the entire series is really one long story with very little time jumping (except for the odd day or two). When my publisher and I decided to
split the series from three books into four, I already had the titles done and dusted. Then I had to come up with a new title for the second book. The original three titles focus on what the Dark is doing:
1. Stirring into action.
2. Harvesting the Dark Matter in the world.
3. Creating the Dark Angel.
With the major split coming between books one and two, I had to think about what new thing the Dark is doing. I had just watched The Queen’s Gambit (fantastic show, by the way), and I watched the brilliant chess play… and the move called the Queen’s Gambit: an opening move that sacrifices a pawn for an
advantage. Call it providence, but that is exactly what happens in The Dark Gambit.
1. Stirring into action.
2. Making a sacrifice for an advantage (gambit).
3. Harvesting the Dark Matter in the world.
4. Creating the Dark Angel.
And since The Dark Matter Series is essentially about bringing back the Queen of the Night, The Dark Gambit is a perfect title. In fact, the series itself is like a huge chess game between Darkness and Light.
In Gambit, you’ll find out what happens with John and his new associates. You’ll get to see the
consequences of Angelique’s obsession. You’ll meet some new players on the game board. More importantly, you meet the real antagonist of the series.
Other than writing, what do you do for fun?
My wife and I are learning how to tame our tennis strokes for the more delicate touch play of pickleball.
We visit our kids and grandkids when we can.
We both love to read. She just finished Kate Atkinson’s Shrines of Gaiety. I’m nearing the end of S.T. Gibson’s A Dowry of Blood.
We both love a good story on the telly. She has her favorites on BritBox. I recently finished Wednesday.
We both are enjoying The Last of Us. Some of the movies we’ve recently viewed are Everything, Everywhere, All at Once and The Banshees of Inisherin.
If I’m not working, we have a little Saturday morning ritual where we go grocery shopping, visit our favorite tea and coffee shops, and when the weather’s warmer, check out farmer’s markets.
Where can readers find you? Drop those links!
The Dark Stirs can be found on my publisher’s website https://www.publishcourage.com/product-page/the-dark-stirs.
It can also be found on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/DarkStirsMatter/dp/1732219869/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_pdt_img_top?ie=UTF8.
The story “The Long Shadow of Rising Night” is located on Kindle Vella:
https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B09JF1NCRH.
I can be found on social media:
Facebook: John P. Wallman – Author
Instagram: authorjohnpwallman
I have a website: johnpwallman.com.
You can sign up for my newsletter on the site.
I have a public playlist on Spotify, where I have curated over four hours of music that focuses on many themes and situations in The Dark Matter Series. It’s called just that: The Dark Matter Series. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/224bPAI8QfP67IJBSlA2LQ?si=MooIv2VjSFGH7xs8i8BjgA&pt=07c3ffc2297292c338abd10604b5f348.
