Author Interview: C.A. Deegan

Biography

Hi everyone! I live in the East Midlands, right in the center of the UK, and when I’m not writing or working, I’m with the family or walking the dog in the local woodlands seeking those ever-elusive Fae.  Or sitting, pint in hand with the good friends I grew up with. Some of them are hidden in the books themselves; quite a few characters are based on the people I know and love. 

The Cracklock Saga is my first series, and I have huge plans for the world!

Share a little bit about your Cracklock Saga.

All the books are set in our world but with an overlap with the world of the Faery, plus a few other worlds thrown in. The protagonist knows nothing about Faeries or anything else; he’s just a normal teenager before everything gets really strange. He has a lot to deal with quite quickly, but fortunately has some family and friends who can help him. Throw in the megalomanic other family members, and it’s a melting pot of myth, folklore and peril.

Book 3 introduces the American Cracklocks; a long lost part of the family. Fortunately they are good guys but with an extremely interesting history that I cover in Book 4, “Dire Sorrows”. That one went off to the editors first week of March 2022 whilst I jumped straight onto Book 5 of the series.

You plan to release book four in the fall of 2022. Will that complete the Cracklock series or can readers anticipate more books?

Not quite! I think that there will be 6 books in this series, maybe 7 depending on how book 6 goes. After that, I have the back stories of some of the characters to do, then onto my new series which I am itching to write. Set in the same world, but following Tobias; a Cracklock that hunts dark Fae.

How did your writing journey begin?

I have always written short stories (never published them, too shy!) for pleasure; it just feels good to sit and type sometimes. But it was in 2019 really when I seriously started to wonder if I could write an actual novel. I beta read for a number of authors, and one of my author friends listened sympathetically and then told me to get on with it; there was no reason not to. That was February 2019. It was May 2019 before I got the courage up to try and write a full novel.

Why did you decide to write about faeries?

Hobya

I was triggered by those awful fairy books I had to read to my children! They were all the same, even though there were hundreds of them. It was reading those to my daughter over the years that got me started – I always wondered what would happen if someone didn’t like fairies, what they would do about it, and could anybody stop them? This idea grew, and the Cracklocks were born. I liked the idea of people who hated the Fae and everything they stood for. Everything else kind of grew organically from there; I had character ideas and they all started popping up to say hello.

Do you have any odd writing habits?

Alas, no. Apart from I need almost complete silence to write. I can’t have the TV on, or music playing otherwise I can’t think. I can just about cope with the sound of gunfire from the other room where my lad is playing Fortnite, but that’s about it! I have a study I can shut myself in so I am pretty lucky.

What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?

Can I use the dreaded “M” word? Marketing. As an indie author, its always the marketing that is the hardest part. I would like to have more time to do it, but it just isn’t feasible at the moment. I do what I can.

Lisovyk

How and where do you get your best writing ideas?

Walking the dog two or three times a day over the fields and through the woods is where I get my best ideas; it gives me time to mull over things my fevered brain throws out and see what fits. I dictate into my phone which gets some funny looks from other dog walkers. And occasionally the 3am muse visits. I have to go to the bathroom to write down ideas in a notepad I keep in there; my wife is only so tolerant… 

What do you like to do when you aren’t writing?

I’m quite simple really. Writing is a hobby for me; I have a business to run which takes most of my time, and I write to relax. When you have a business, relatively young family and needy dog, time is a luxury! I like video games as an alternative leisure pursuit, and meeting up with the lads. The latter is a rare occurrence nowadays; we are all busy with real life.

What advice has made the biggest impact on your writing?

“If you don’t have a go, you’ll never know.” That came from the author friend I mention above. It was really that that made me start to think I could do it. I have had a lot of great advice over the past few years that I have taken on board, but it was that simple statement that kick started it all.

What does success look like for you as an author?

I still consider myself to be a hobby writer if I am honest; I would love to do it full time and hope to be able to one day. So, I already have the success I was looking for – publishing a story (well, several!) that people seem to like. I’m not in it for money or fame; just to satisfy that itch that writers have. It works for me.

Anything additional you want to share with readers?

Just a big thank you for reading this far. Anyone who is interested in learning more about the Cracklocks can check out the following:

Email:  thecracklocksaga@outlook.com   – always happy to answer questions!
Website:  https://www.thecracklocksaga.com   [check this out for all things Cracklock!]
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TheCracklockSaga   
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecracklocksaga/  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CracklockSaga  
Oh, and keep looking for those elusive Fae! Anyone needs a hagstone, let me know!

Book Locations:
Book 1, Fae or Foe?   
Book 2, The Lost and the Departed  
Book 3, Alice and the Mirror Glass

Excerpt

“Okay, my love.  Close your eyes.”

Jack did as she asked.  He felt Elsie’s hands move off his head, and then a feeling like his skin was stretching.  It felt like a plaster as you pulled it off your graze, stretchy and a little tight.  It continued to tighten until he felt something rip.  It wasn’t painful; it was like pulling off the skin after a sunburn when it was ready to go.  Jack felt it completely tear, unravelling from his whole body, and then the memories stopped swirling abruptly.

“Open your eyes, Jack.”

Jack did, and the light flooded in, causing him to squint.  He blinked a few times and marvelled at that colours as he took in the sights of the kitchen again.  Everything seemed intense, and the sun shining in through the windows dappled rays across the kitchen worktops. 

“I can see!” he shouted, hands coming up to his face to rub his eyes. “I can see, Auntie Elsie!”

He looked to his side at the old lady, who stood there with a slight smile on her face, her hands gleaming with a shining silvery thing that was slowly fading away, like water draining.  Jack turned back towards the window, and he gasped as he saw a dapper little man, elegantly dressed, standing in front of him on the tabletop. Jack’s jaw dropped.  About twelve inches tall, he had pale skin underneath his smart green suit.  He doffed his red hat to Jack with a smile and said in the rich, comforting voice that Jack had heard before, “I take it from the look on your face that you can see me, Jack?”

Jack fainted clean away.

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2 Responses to Author Interview: C.A. Deegan

  1. Ruth Lewis says:

    I have really enjoyed reading these books, they are different in their own way, almost finished the third one and can’t wait for the next issue to be published, hurry up please.

    • billbushauthor says:

      Thank you so much! I love hearing that people enjoy them, for whatever reason. I’m nearly done with book 4 but don’t yet have a publication date set.

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