In a few weeks time I’ll be self-publishing another entry in the TotenUniverse. The One Rule of Magic is the first book in what I call the Reflections strand of novels following the new life of Bamberg witch Frieda Schoenhofer. Frieda was first encountered in Who Among Us… (still doing the rounds with literary agents) … More Blurb request – The One Rule of Magic
I feel terrible. I feel as if I have instigated a great wrong. When I wrote Toten Herzen Malandanti and Who Among Us… I portrayed witches and Satanists as violent criminals, hell bent on selfish pursuits and ‘removing’ anyone who got in their way. But the thing is, they’re not really like that. My excuse … More Apologies To Witches And Satanists
‘Electoral democracy, for pretty much the entire nation, is nothing more than a spectators’ sport.’ Rupert Dreyfus’s debut novel Spark explores the individual in the face of big business and reacting against a system geared towards a select self-interested few. In this author interview I asked Rupert about writing, self-publishing and a worldview that led … More Author Interview – Rupert Dreyfus
Three images produced to illustrate the three principle players in the novel Who Among Us. . . Software is Photoshop and if there was time I’d post a tutorial, but I haven’t got time so unfortunately I won’t! Frieda Schoenhofer “. . . . I didn’t do this.” “Well who did?” “Someone above the law.” … More Who Among Us. . . illustrations
Susan Bekker is the de facto leader of Toten Herzen. The others might disagree, but they all wait for her directions. In Malandanti she is learning to sing, but her ambition comes up against Russian composer and unwilling voice coach Dmitri Neved. Before the band came into the studio Susan was allowed one hour for … More A lesson in music
The trend for vampires in literature has been in stagnation for a while and shows no sign of revival, but vampires still have potential, so long as they avoid daylight and all the sparkly shit that goes with it. Toten Herzen are prone to a change of pesonality when events don’t go their way, such … More Reaction to a lawsuit
In Malandanti Susan Bekker, lead guitarist, decides she wants to sing on the new album. This doesn’t go down too well with Dee Vincent, the lead singer. Throughout the novel the tension betwen guitarist and singer builds in classic Gillan/Blackmore style. Dee isn’t the first person you’d imagine having a crisis, but in this scene … More On borrowed time
I’ve often been asked are Toten Herzen a real band. Well, the person to ask is Rob Wallet, the British music journalist who discovered Toten Herzen alive in 2013. But Wallet is a difficult customer to get hold of. We could ask Rene van Voors, the band’s drummer, but he’s just as likely to spin … More Real or Hoax?
Isn’t it typical? You think you’ve come up with a good idea and then someone beats you to it and gets all the kudos. For several months now I’ve been writing the second Toten Herzen novel and thought I had found an opportunity for a spin off series and then I read this article in … More The Witches Are Coming
I was spoiled. Perhaps I was fortunate, but the first book I ever read by Umberto Eco was Foucault’s Pendulum and to this day it’s still the greatest novel I’ve ever set eyes on. It didn’t take long to devour all of Eco’s collections of essays and observations and then, having seen the film, read … More Determined to read Eco
The Opening Sentence 