Dante Eternal's Virtual Bookshelf: Interview Fury From Hell by Rochelle Campbell

Title: Fury from Hell
Author: Rochelle Campbell
Series: From Hell Series (Book 1)
Genre: Paranormal/Cop Thriller (with dashes of Horror & Suspense)
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: Sept 9 2014
Edition/Formats Available In: eBook
Blurb/Synopsis:
Fury From Hell is a paranormal thriller about good vs. evil. Here, the good is in the form of Detective Jennifer Holden, a homicide cop that is haunted by her own personal demons of a murder she committed when she was just a teenager. The trauma she suffered at the hands of social agency after agency hardened Jennifer into a staunch atheist making her gun and her bank account the only things she truly believes in.
We meet Detective Holden, shortly before she begins working on her first solo murder case. The victim is Kyma Barnes who was brutally raped and killed. As Kyma’s soul leaves her body, a demon being called by a coven of dark witches at nearby Prospect Park, is drawn to the dying woman by her death throes. Fury Abatu offers to avenge Kyma’s death. The price? The dying woman’s soul. Kyma gives it gladly to ensure the man who killed her pays dearly.
At the crime scene, Jennifer becomes possessed by Fury Abatu. Hosts usually die a violent death within weeks of the initial possession. Detective Holden does not know she is possessed…
With her own demise on the line, Jennifer must fight for her life and her very soul – something she’s not sure she even believes in – to rid herself of the dark force surrounding her and her friends.
Can Jennifer be saved from the demon? Will she be able to find the faith to believe in something greater than herself and her material things?

Hello and thanks for stopping by and visiting with us today. It is so nice to have Rochelle Campbell here. Readers I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did. Oh, hold on while Rochelle and I grab our favorite beverage.

What do you do when you are not writing?

I read and review books in and around my favorite genres: paranormal, mysteries, psychological thrillers, contemporary fiction, etc.

Where do you get your ideas?

My ideas come from everyday life. Pictures, words and phrases have all at one point helped bring me to the start of a new idea for either a short story or a novel.

Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult?

Robert Heinlein’s “Stranger in a Strange Land” is a work that I read at least a half a dozen times or more up until I was 20 years old. In fact, I had three different editions (1 hardcover and 2 paperbacks).

Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?

Where do I start? With the over 22 submissions I made? Or, with the Gotham Writing course I took to help me ‘elevate’ my writing to take it to ‘the next level’? LOL. These were comments from some of the editors and publishers in the kind rejection letters regarding “Fury From Hell” (which had a different name when I was subbing it).

It was after I took the Gotham course that it all sort of came together in my mind and I decided to re-write the book and embellish on things that I understood needed strengthening. I also added in pieces that would further bolster the main character’s history and backstory.

‘Getting published’ in a real sense for me was not about making the story available to the public. ‘Getting published’ was, and still is, an affirmation that I take pride in the story that wants to be told and telling it to the best of my ability.

How do you market your work? What avenues have you found to work best for your genre?

My main go-to social media is Twitter. I enjoy this particular social media platform. It is great fun and I enjoy meeting so many diverse people across the world. I am relatively new to the self-publishing scene and am still looking for what works. Bublish is an interesting platform that I have tried. It presents a ‘bubble’ snapshot of a chapter, or a scene, of your work. The team at Bublish create catchy Tweets about your work and tweet it out over their networks while providing buy links to the author’s work. A very cool concept!

If you had to go back and do it all over, is there any aspect of your book or getting it published that you would change?

I think not. Every part of the journey from the start – Spring of 2012 – until it was published this past September has been an integral piece of the puzzle. I am now fiddling with the last 6 or 7 pieces – marketing! LOL.

Tell us about the first story you ever wrote and how old you were.

I was in the 5^th grade and wrote a story about a superhero with a big brain that was visible. New York City was on fire and this hero’s solution was to melt all of the glass and use it to put out the fires. However, he had a bit of a problem, he cursed a lot.

While there were elements my teacher did not appreciate in this little story (ya think??) he did tell my mother he felt I was very creative and should be encouraged to write.

Do you prefer to live in a big city or in the country?

If I had a choice I would most definitely live in the country. The fresh air would make me sing every morning and the countryside would set my imagination on fire.

JUST FOR FUN

Night Owl or Early Bird? I am a learned early bird who much prefers being a night owl.

One food you would never eat? Fried crickets.

Pet Peeves? Uhmm…how many do you want?

Plain or Peanut (M&Ms)? Peanut with dark chocolate.

Coffee or Tea? Are you kidding? COFFEE.

Writing has been a ‘thing’ I’ve done for well over 20 years. I started off in journalism and was bitten by the fiction bug in college. Through a series of fortunate events, I found an awesome Sci-Fi writing mentor – Jacqueline Lichtenberg. I studied with her for two years and began formulating plots that she approved of…mostly. Then, one day, I saw a plume of steam rising up from a manhole and the idea of a Fury coming out/through and Fury From Hell was born.