Category Archives: Indie Author Spotlight

My dear readers we are at the end of the meet the characters journey. I’ve taken you as far down the JESSICA rabbit hole as I can. This is the last stop on my train. (I think you get the point.) Today we’re learning about Zoe with Helena Hann Basquiat aka HK Abel.

Is this all totally new to you? Don’t fret my pet, start here and learn about this Meet the Characters.

We’re not going to leave you hanging! SINGULARITY‘S release party on Facebook is going to be happening and Aug. 4th release is the date. I wouldn’t steer you wrong. I’m endorsing it, because I love it. I’m enthralled with these characters and creeped out by Jessica. And I want you to fall down the rabbit hole with all of us. It’s creepy, but it’s one hell of a ride. Did I mention it’s available for pre-order?

SINGULARITY was written by Helena Hann Basquiat with Sara Litchfield, Sandy Ramsey, Lizzi Rogers, and Hannah Sears. It’s a companion piece to JESSICA, which was released last year. (It’s not required reading, but I urge you to pick it up.) Jessica B. Bell is the brain child of Helena Hann-Basquiat, but she’s somehow pushing beyond just the stretches of the imagination. She wants to be more.

SINGULARITY asks us the question:

What happens when the creation surpasses the creator? How far will Jessica go to be real? 

SINGULARITY description:

An unspeakable act of violence leaves the residents of Ward C, home of a secret experiment, dead — torn apart.

There is only one survivor…A couple of years ago I started writing horror stories and Jessica was born. I had fun creating a twisted and ominous biography for her, painting a picture of some crazy hermit who lived in my basement and wrote stories on old parchment using her own blood for ink.

But she was never real. It seems that Jessica has taken on a life of her own, and so I’m going to do what I should

have done a while ago. 

I am going to kill Jessica B. Bell.

Today we’re talking about Zoe with Helena Hann Basquiat aka HK Abel My questions are in purple.

Alright, let’s talk about Zoe. What or who was your inspiration for her?

Oddly enough my own daughter Zoe. She is off at her first year of university, and I went and visited her one night and we got talking about ghost stories

Is her university as steeped in ghost stories as the one in Singularity?

I think all old places have their stories, and her University did used to be a mental hospital (or there was one wing that was anyway). We got talking about the idea of stories and belief, which fits right in with the whole motif of the novel. We asked the question, can the belief — The communal belief that something or some place is haunted — make it so?

Can you believe in something so strongly that it becomes real?

I’m fascinated with things like shared hallucinations, mass hysteria. Religious phenomenon.
 

I was going to comment about Jessica herself, but realized it was much too spoilery. I did enjoy how Singularity dealt with the idea of “reality” and how flimsy our grasp on it can be. Singularity Zoe started out as a sensible character with a strong grasp on reality.

Yes – I was challenging her belief that somehow we have control over things that we can’t understand. That even the rational can be taken over by the irrational

Zoe is youngest character we’ve discussed here on the blog. She seemed like the most sensible and I think that’s what makes the irrational takeover so startling for me.

Maybe there’s an innocence her (or maybe that’s just wishful thinking on her father’s behalf) that maybe comes off as sensibility. She’s not old enough to have experienced the shit that some of the other characters have – those awful things in life that cut us and scar us.

She’s brave and compassionate. I think that whatever reached out to her recognized that. Because whatever her fate, she’s not really a victim

Of course the Zoe in her story is somewhat different than the Zoe that we meet in the hospital
That Zoe is after her innocence is lost. She creeped me out a bit in the hospital.

She has definitely lost something of herself and maybe gained something else. Something scary.

Another lost soul…so to speak. What do you hope your readers will get from Singularity?

Thrills, chills… That “aha!” moment when it all becomes clear. I hope it appeals to people who are completely geeky about storytelling craft. It’s certainly not your standard fare (not that I think it’s inaccessible either). By the end I almost hope that people are rooting for Jessica.

Is Jessica an anti-hero you hope people will love..or even love to hate?

I don’t want to say too much, because I am already thinking about book three, but let’s just say — she’s complicated.

Fair enough.
That made me think of Facebook, so let’s talk about the book release party.

Jessica’s relationship status! Hahaha

With the world, lol.

I’m nervous about the party. When I held the party for memoirs back in March, I had already been plugging the hell out of that book for a month. I feel like there’s definitely a different kind of vibe going on with Singularly, and getting people interested is a completely different animal.

Plus with memoirs I had monetary goals that I needed to get with Pubslush – while that is stressful, it is also motivating. This time around, I want to forgo that stress, but I still want to see the book do well with pre-orders

So this time around, what is your main goal with the SINGULARITY release party on Facebook  is July 31-Aug. 1st and what do you plan to do?

Well right now there are about 70 confirmed attending. If half that many people show up, my goal is that everyone of them will walk away with a book, even if it’s just as a door prize. Pre-sales are great, but expanding my readership is even better. If I can make a dozen new fans, that will be a success. Me and the other authors are going to be hanging out chatting with people, handing out door prizes, taking turns playing DJ. I’d be interested to hear what the other writers think good songs would be for a soundtrack for their book.
Will they be there at assigned times or will everyone come and go as they can?

Well, we have four different countries represented, in three vastly different time zones. I’m afraid it’s going to be random. I’m going to be there as much as I possibly can of course

And if anyone has a question they want to ask they can always post it on the wall and if I’m not there I will get it when I checked back in

That’s understandable. I’m sure the people will keep the party going!
Will you be posting video responses this time around?

Anything could happen!

Thanks so much for chatting with me. This entire journey has been a lot of fun!

Here’s the last and final character video in our SINGULARITY journey. I hope  you’ve enjoyed this series as much as I have. You can pre-order up to August 4th!

Add SINGULARITY to your Goodreads want to read list. Is available for PREORDER now!