READERSVOICE.COM: Can you recommend some of your favorite books of all time, especially any horror or fantasy, but anything really, fact or fiction?

JIMMY D. GILLENTINE: My favorite fantasy writer of all time is J.R.R Tolkien. Not just The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy but all of his works. The man was so creative and built an entire world right down to the way they wrote their languages. I wish I could be half the writer he was. When it comes to horror novels, my favorites have been Salem’s Lot by Stephen King, Cabal by Clive Barker, and fellow horror writer Elizabeth Donald who wrote the Nocturne series of books along with the novella The Cold Ones which has a sequel coming out soon called Blackfire that I’m going to be sure to pick up a copy of.

RV: I thought the characters were realistic. Were people like Frank the bar owner based on people you’ve known?

JG: Oh sure they were. I’ve know people like Frank and the other characters in my story growing up here in Memphis. Some of my characters were named after friends of mine. One person that dies in the book was done as a joke to my good friend KD to rib him a little. He still gives me flack about it to this day, that I killed him in my book.

RV: Have you worked in bars and was Ace’s High based on real bars, like in Beale Street?

JG: I was a bartender a few years ago and used some of my experience from then to help me out for the bar scenes. Ace’s High isn’t a real bar, but it’s just like a sports bar I went to a couple of times in Memphis that I drew from for the story.

RV: That was good how you kept the character Andrew at arm’s length for a while. The reader kind of likes him, then doesn’t, then does. It’s a slow feed and it keeps the pages turning. Can you give any other tips on techniques to keep pages turning?

JG: When writing the story, be sure to keep the pace going as much as possible. After a big action sequence don’t let the story slow down too much or you could lose your reader and make them lose interest in the story.

RV: How is Of Blood and the Moon II: The Reunion progressing?

JG: The sequel is finished and has been renamed Crossroads: Of Blood and the Moon Book II. I renamed the book to reflect the fact that all of the characters in the book are at a crossroad in life and have to decide which way to turn. For better or worse, we have to make decisions in our life. It is being edited right now, and I hope that it will come out sometime this year.

RV: Have you got one big story arc all planned, like George Lucas did with Star Wars, and divided it up into novels, or do you take one book at a time?

JG: Yes, Of Blood and the Moon is a three part story arc. The final book in the series will be called Blood of the Father, Blood of the Son: Of Blood and the Moon: Book III. I hope fans of the first book will stick around to see how the story ends.

-copyright Simon Sandall.