- What is your “day” job if you are not a full time author?
I am an account manager for an IT Managed Services Provider. I’ve been working in IT for more than ten years
- If you wrote a book about your life what would the title be?
That is a good question. I suppose if it was a general biography, I would have to go with “No Sweat” because the play on my last name is way too easy to pass up. The second choice would be, “A Geek For All Seasons,” because I’m proud of being a well diversified geek.
- What is the hardest thing about being an author?
The hardest part for me is finding the time to write. Working a full time job, having a wife and kids, and a household full of pets (three dogs and six cats at current count), means I have very little time I can dedicate to writing. I find time here and there, often writing during my lunch break or after everyone else has gone to bed.
- What is the best thing about being an author?
The best thing is the way it feels when I finish a book or story. That is pretty amazing on its own. When someone reads your book and you get some positive feedback, especially if it is from someone you do not know. I’ve gotten some really nice reviews from complete strangers for my latest book and it sends me to the moon every time.
- Have you ever been star struck by meeting one of your favorite authors? If so who was it?
I’ve never actually met one of my favorite authors. I’ve had some secondhand brushes with Robert Asprin, and that was kind of cool. Until recently, I’ve not spent time in many writing circles and felt more like a guy on the outside.
- What book changed your life?
Oh wow. That is a tough one. The first one I recall feeling like a life changer was Christopher Stasheff’s Her Majesty’s Wizard. I remember reading it and enjoying what was a pretty solid fantasy novel with a concept I though unique at the time (a person from the real world being transported to a fantasy world), but toward the end, there was a transformative scene that reminded me of the Arthurian legends. I remember less of the details since it has been years since I read it, but I remember the way it made me feel. For the first time I could recall, I felt like there really was a higher power, or at the least, a higher purpose. It’s not that I suddenly found religion and that changed my life, no, it had more to do with the way good writing made me feel deep inside. There are other books and authors that have changed my life since, but that was the first I recall and I will never forget the way that book made me feel.
- What were some of your favorite books growing up?
When I was a kid my favorite books had to do with World War II, especially books about fighter aces and warplanes. I had one book in my grade school that I probably checked out once a month throughout fourth and fifth grade. I could have recited it to you back then.
As I got older I got into fantasy novels. I especially loved the original Conan stories and the Robert Jordan Conan novels, but anything fantasy was an interest. Weis and Hickman’s Dragonlance novels and John Norman’s Gor series both played a big part of what influenced me in Junior high.
Highschool brought on Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan novels along with other like Dale Brown’s Flight of the Old Dog and the like. Robert Heinlein's Battlefield Earth and The Invasion Earth series were huge influences and I still reread them every few years.
- What books are currently in your to be read pile?
I’ve been reading a lot of independent authors as of late. I’m also listening to Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire on audio book. Next in my queue though is book five of the Wheel of Time series or book seven of the Goblin Slayer light novels.
- Which do you prefer ebooks, print, or audio books?
I prefer ebooks because I can read in the dark or wherever I happen to be. I don’t always have a paperback with me, but I always have my phone on me, so my kindle app is always on hand. I do read a lot of audiobooks because I spend a good amount of time on the road, but my audiobooks are almost always non-fiction.
- If you could live inside the world of a book or series which world would it be and why?
That is one tough call. A lot of what I read tends to be pretty bleak, but if I was pressed to pick one it would be the Chicago of the Dresden File novels. I love the blend of magic and modern and knowing someone like Harry Dresden is running around would make me feel a bit better about the world.
A Murder of Wizards: Apocalypse Rising Year Two Armageddon Angels
Book Three
Eric Swett
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Haileybug Publishing
Date of Publication: 12/9/23
ISBN: 979-8867576660
ASIN:B0CN7HJCGN
Number of pages: 251
Word Count: 95,789
Cover Artist: Eric Swett
Tagline: The Grim Reaper looks for a serial killer who is ritually murdering wizards and taunting them in the process. He needs to find the killer and stop him before his plot comes to a disastrous conclusion.
Book Description:
Apocalypse Rising: A Murder of Wizards is an Urban Fantasy about a fallen Angel named Justin. He just happens to be one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the Grim Reaper himself, Death.
Two years have passed since he remembered who he was and what he is. He is regaining abilities and memories he lost when he chose to fall to earth and live among humans, but he has a long way to go before he can fully reclaim his title. When Justin is asked by a friend to investigate a string of supernatural murders he can't say no. Justin discovers he has a connection to the murders and has to find the murderer before their plans come to fruition.
Excerpt:
“Don’t look.” Justin turned and pulled Lilly to him. He tried to shield
her from the gore splattered about the alley. The copper stink of fresh blood
assaulted them as they stood across the street from the scene. As the Grim
Reaper, eons of death dulled the impact for Justin. He wanted to keep Lilly
from it if possible.
“I can’t.” Lilly looked away, but it did not help. Despite being blind,
the murder shone in vivid technicolor to her. Being Justin's Oracle gave her
sight far beyond what any normal person enjoyed.
The pull of death drew her attention, and in her mind's eye, the scene
coalesced as clearly as if she stared at it. The violence and butchery lit the
aura surrounding the dead body in angry tones of black and red that shone like
a spotlight upon the murder.
She placed her hand over her mouth to keep from vomiting.
The splayed open corpse's entrails hung about the alley. The smashed
kidneys hung from the side of a dumpster. The lungs sat in a pile against the
alley wall. The liver dripped blood into a shallow pool beside the corpse. The
buzzing of flies grew louder as the dead man's evacuated bowels drew them to
the feast.
The callous mess made of another human left her uneasy.
She wanted to block it out, bury her head in Justin’s chest, and flee
the scene. She tried to look away, but ancient instinct forced her to bear
witness to the death of a fellow human. Her instincts buzzed with warning. Her
palms sweated, and her lips trembled. A predator lurked nearby, and she needed
to be aware.
“Lilly.” Justin put an arm around her shoulders and turned her back to
the horrific scene playing out in the alley. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
Justin wanted to go home and leave it all behind them. Lilly wanted to
know what happened and needed him to tell her so she did not have to face it
alone. The closer they got to it, the more apparent the full extent of the
horror became.
“What…what is it? What happened, Justin?” Lilly held onto him tightly,
seeking comfort in his strength.
He apprised the situation with a practiced stare. His experience on
earth gave him some insight, but his familiarity with death brought everything
into focus. He scratched at the stubble on his chin as he considered the dead
man. “Looks like a sacrifice of some sort, a ritual, but not one I’ve seen
before. Doesn’t appear demonic, but it could be part of a summoning. Maybe
something geographical...”
“Can we go? I don’t like the way this feels. There is something wrong about
this. I can't put my finger on it, but there is something dark here. It's
tickling my senses, tempting me, drawing me toward it like an inevitable
conclusion.” She turned her back on the scene and shuddered.
“Huh? Oh. Yeah, sure. Let’s get out of here.” Justin guided Lilly away
from the murder. Justin held her hand gently as they walked. “Sorry about that.
Hazard of the profession. As the Angel of Death, I've seen a lot of corpses.
It’s not every day you come across something this unusual.”
Eric Swett is a husband and father. He has a beautiful wife named Tracy and three fabulous children (Zachary, Connor, and Kaitlyn). Between the four of them, he has absolutely everything he really needs in this world. If everything else went away and he still had them, he could die and count himself a fortunate man.
He works in IT, streams video games, and dabbles in 3D printing.
He is a self-proclaimed Geek and does not adhere to a single form of geekdom. He likes roleplaying games, tabletop games with painted miniatures, video games, comic books, science fiction and fantasy, Star Wars, Star Trek, and Doctor Who.
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