| "Temporary Monsters" |
| Published by: |
Burning Effigy Press |
| Date: |
September 2009
November 2009 (second printing) |
| Ordering: |
Burning Effigy Press
Horror Mall
ISBN: 978-1-926611-07-5 |
| Synopsis: |
Felix Renn is a private investigator in a supernatural world, an alternate reality where a dark dimension called The Black Lands co-exists alongside our own. Travelling to and from The Black Lands is dangerous — and illegal — but that doesn't stop some of the creatures that reside there from crossing over into our world from time to time.
After a man goes berserk in a posh Toronto restaurant, Felix suddenly finds himself torn between both worlds as he is drawn into a deadly game of movies, murder, and monsters. |
| Notes: |
"Temporary Monsters" is the first in a planned series of stories featuring Toronto private investigator Felix Renn and his encounters with the entities from the Black Lands.
I wanted to create a world where the supernatural existed as a matter of course. I decided the best way to do that was to take an existing event in history and alter it to my own creative purposes. The event I chose was one I had seen as a kid on an episode of Unsolved Mysteries: the disappearance of Flight 19 in the Bermuda Triangle.
In my world, the search for the missing five Navy bombers turned out quite different. The planes were found, for one thing, and so was another dimension. Because this world seemed devoid of any sun, it was called the Black Lands. Most people came to the belief that the majority of paranormal phenomena experienced around the world, as well as our deep-rooted superstitious beliefs, were due to our world's close proximity to this dark dimension. Strange disappearances, supernatural entities, psychic powers. It could all be explained as a kind of supernatural influnce "leaking" into our world from the numerous Black Lands portals that were still being found to this day all over the planet.
After creating this world, along with a bit of history to go along with it, I needed a character to drop into it. In addition to be a serious horror buff, I'm also a fan of suspense and mysteries stories, especially those featuring private detectives. My favourites were Robert B. Parker's Spenser novels, John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee novels, and Dashiell Hammett's Continental Op stories.
So I decided to create my own private investigator and see what kind of trouble he could get into in a supernatural world.
The concept of a "supernatural detective" wasn't a new one, but I figured I could put my own spin on it. I enjoyed Clive Barker's Harry D'Amour stories and Jay Russell's Marty Burns stories, and I thought there was still plenty of room in the genre for another paranormal dick (so to speak). One of the ways I tried to distinguish my stories was to set them in Canada. They say you should write what you know, but I will go you one further and say you should write where you know, as well. I knew Toronto. I was born there and I lived there for many years. So that's where I decided to set up my private detective. (
Some useless trivia: the name Felix Renn is a nod to Max Renn, James Woods' character from Videodrome, which is my favourite David Cronenberg film.)
I have several more Felix Renn novellas planned. as well as outlines for a series of novels. I also plan to write a number of standalone stories set in the Black Lands universe featuring different characters. Some of them may pop up in the Felix Renn stories, but my intent is to tell a variety of stories about how different types of people live in this strange and dangerous world. |
| Reviews: |
"It’s always thrilling to make a discovery like this. Ian Rogers’ “Temporary Monsters” introduces what promises to be an engaging saga, seething with vampires, werewolves, hardboiled dames and – notably – a soulfully wise-cracking detective named Felix Renn. More exciting ideas, more action, more chills and laughs lurk within this slim volume than you’ll find in any ten fat tomes on the current best seller list. Grab a copy. You won’t want to miss a ride this wild." — Robert Dunbar
"TEMPORARY MONSTERS is a fun hybrid of P.I. noir, classic monsters, and some well done humor that doesn't overshadow the action. Nifty ending, too."
— read the full review at The Horror Fiction Review
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pictures from the Official Launch Party
"Temporary Monsters" listing at GoodReads.com
Pictures from the "Ash Angels" reading |
