Interview with Frank Cavallo, Author of Eye of the Storm

Horror and dark fantasy author Frank Cavallo's work has appeared in magazines such as Another Realm, Ray Gun Revival, Every Day Fiction, Lost Souls and the Warhammer e-zine Hammer and Bolter. 

His latest novel, Eye of the Storm, was released in August 2016 by Ravenswood Publishing.

“In Eye of the Storm, I try to bring back some of the elements that I like from old time pulp fiction,” says Frank. “It is a throwback to old school adventure stories, combining the pacing and the feel of those classic tales with some newer elements that are not all that common to typical fantasy fiction.”

Frank’s previously published works include The Lucifer Messiah, The Hand of Osiris, and the Gotrek & Felix novella Into the Valley of Death. He is currently working on a new novel, The Rites of Azathoth, with Necro Publications, due out in February 2017.

Frank was born and raised in New Jersey. He graduated from Boston University with a degree in Communications in 1994 and he earned a JD from the Cleveland Marshall College of Law in 2001. He currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio, where he has been a criminal defense attorney for fifteen years. 

Readers can connect with Frank on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

To learn more, go to http://www.frankcavallo.com/

Where did you grow up?

I was born and raised in New Jersey, just outside of New York City.

When did you begin writing?

The first time I can remember writing on my own, was in the third grade. I wrote a bunch of monster stories around Halloween that year and discovered that I really enjoyed it.

Do you write during the day, at night or whenever you can sneak a few moments?

I used to write in the middle of the night, and I still think that’s the ideal time for it. There’s something about the late night hours, when almost everyone else is asleep, that is just perfect. However, because of my work schedule I mostly end up writing during the day now. I miss those solitary late night writing days though.

What is Eye of the Storm about?

It’s the story of two people from Earth, an ex-Navy SEAL turned reality TV star and an intrepid scientist who are thrown into a parallel dimension, where they land in a kind of lost world. There they have to fight to survive in a land dominated by prehistoric beasts, warring kingdoms and dark wizards.

What inspired you to write it?

It was mostly inspired by my love for things like “The Land of the Lost” and for old-fashioned Sword & Planet tales. No one is writing much of that stuff anymore and I wanted to do my small part to bring it back.

Was the road to publication smooth sailing or a bumpy ride?

I had a bit of a hard time finding a home for this one. Any book that doesn’t fit neatly into a category can be hard to sell, because publishers want to be able to “place” a book in a slot where they can market it to a well-defined audience. I tried a few fantasy publishers who weren’t sure they could market a book that is a blend of sci-fi and horror in a fantasy setting. I also tried a horror publisher who came at it from the other direction, he didn’t think his core readers would respond to a book in a fantasy setting despite the sci-fi & horror elements. Eventually I found Ravenswood Publishing, which is a small independent outfit, and they were willing to extend a chance to a book that crosses multiple genre boundaries.

If you knew then, what you know now, is there anything you would have done differently?

Yes, I would have made it longer. I know that’s maybe the opposite of what every editor wants to hear, but in this case I think it’s apt. I made a concerted effort to write one stand-alone novel. But in order to do that I had to compress things that maybe should have been allowed more room “to breathe.” If I were writing it again, as cliché as this might be, I would be let it expand into a trilogy or a small series. One of the most frequent critiques I’ve heard about it is that there isn’t a ton of character development, and that’s true. It was never intended as a “character study” – it’s an old-fashioned pulp fiction adventure story. The setting and the action are the real focus, not the characters. But I take that kind of assessment to heart, because most of my work is character-oriented. As it stands though, at 400-plus pages, there just isn’t any room for more angst and “internal monologue.” If I were to do it again, I would “go bigger” and write it long enough to allow for everything: deeper characterizations along with the fantasy action-adventure elements. Live and learn, right?

Where can readers purchase a copy of your book?

To the best of my knowledge it is available at every one of the major online book sites, Amazon, B&N, Kobo, you name it. Ironically, when I first started doing this, everyone wanted to know if a book was available at “brick and mortar” stores and the online sites were just a secondary option. These days, the reverse is true.

Do you have a video trailer to promote your book? If yes, where can readers find it?

I do, thank you for asking. I have trailers for all four of my novels. They’re on youtube at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0a2O6XQE7AygTiYiZeQGnA

and also on my facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Author.FrankCavallo/videos/?ref=page_internal

What is up next for you?

I usually balk at answering this question, for fear of jinxing my next project. But since this is technically an interview based around Eye of the Storm I can safely report that my follow-up book, a Lovecraftian thriller called Rites of Azathoth has just come out, so that’s what I’ll be busy promoting for the next few months.