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This is Doug Gibson, of Plan9Crunch blog. We are fortunate to have an in-depth interview with Dean Patrick, author of the dark horror novels, "The Lady Mephistopheles," (reviewed here) and "Terra's Sabbath," (reviewed here). These are great novels with unforgettable characters and a uniquely evil antagonist, Terra Drake. A trilogy is planned, with the final likely in about a year. Below is our interview: The novels are published by TWB Press, Centennial, Colo.
Who is Terra Drake? What does she represent in history, mythology and theology? What is her purpose for being on the earth at this time?
DEAN PATRICK -- Terra Drake is the living Satan on earth for the modern times. But her literal presence is Lilith, the mythological character who is believed by many religions to be Adam’s first wife in the Garden of Eden, a woman who slept with Satan. Her purpose on earth is to destroy the children. In her quest in doing so she finds different specific characters who she lures into her world of witchery and Satanism. Terra specifically uses confusion to lure in her victims. She gives her victims inner thoughts of what could be, then when in her grasp, the deal is sealed with something completely different than what they thought. She also, of course, hits her victims at their weakest points. If it is sex, she owns you. If it is drugs or alcohol, she controls you. It goes from those character faults to the very worst of us via rape, murder, betrayal and chaos within religions and political power to that of the serial killer.
The same questions for Adrian Kane. You might want to expound on how easily their demonic influence overwhelms other minor characters.
DEAN PATRICK - Adrian Kane aka Cain aka Adramelech is the literal Cain from Genesis, the first murderer. His goal on earth is the same as Terra’s. He is the rightful overlord of evil - even over Satan.
Terra and Kane work together as a team that is an overwhelming force to anyone they lure into their lair. These are transformative figures, meaning they shape shift to what is needed with who can be tempted with what. Kane can be seen as a pervert or a gunslinger or a high priest. Terra’s power initially comes with a sexuality that can overtake any man or woman. From there, she has the power to present power itself if that is what is needed. This duo represents the core nature of our humanity when tempted with what hits us the most deeply. Whether it is sex or drugs or pure chaos, this duo has the power to take a person to levels never experienced so that an inner destruction takes place that is almost guaranteed.
What does Marion, as an adversary of the above, represent, both in history and theology, and currently?
DEAN PATRICK - Marion is the representation of humanity as a whole who is trying to overcome sin and evil. He is a cop with fabulous instincts about the entire world of evil with all he has seen. But more than that, Marion is able to use his skills to a different level because of an unshakeable moral compass. He is the Christ figure in Terra’s Sabbath. He was first seen in The Lady Mephistopheles as Steven Paul’s brother (younger brother). Marion ended up going to Duncan to help save his brother but ended up in the hospital, which sets the opening scene in Terra’s Sabbath.
Who and what does John (the cowboy type) represent?
DEAN PATRICK - John is the literal figure of John the Beloved from the New Testament. Blessed with the power of immortality from Christ Himself, John has certain powers on earth. For one, Terra and Kane must listen to him and even obey his word. They have no influence over him in any way. But John does not ever use his power to completely save or take over a scene or person. He appears to those who need him when at a place where only an angel or a John can make a true difference. John always appears as as well-dressed gentleman of grace, but with enormous physical power and mental strength.
Dean Patrick, you have overcome personal demons, such as alcoholism? How have your life experiences helped shape these trilogy novels?
DEAN PATRICK - I am a fierce alcoholic. Only by going through what I have overcome in addiction have I been able to write these books. No way I could have delved so deeply and so personally in these works’ creation had I not experienced first hand how bad things can get in life. They can get extremely bad, and as Terra would say, “They can always get much worse." Prisons. Rehabs. Death. Violence. Betrayal on every level. Ruining everything in any path and now living a life of sobriety has given me the ability to write such stories and create such characters.
In the first book, The Lady Mephistopheles, Steven Paul is me. Almost in every way his character represents who I am at my core when spiraling out of control in alcoholism. But unlike Steve, I never allowed it to kill me. In this book, I am part of Marion Paul. But just a part. Marion is a representation of my brother, Josh Nielsen, a man of incredible integrity and moral fiber as well as physical strength. He has all the traits needed to combat the force of Terra and Kane.
However, in my sobriety, and those parts of me as a sober man with my own strength and skills, those, too, are pieces of Marion to stand ground against and Terra and Kane. I have faced women in my life who are far too close to Terra in reality. I have faced men like Kane in prisons. Only by facing such people in real life have I been able to create such characters in horror fiction whom I hope are characters who will scare and haunt readers and leave them with unforgettable moments. (Dean Patrick's photo is below)
What impact do current political, social, religious and moral issues, have on the narrative you present?
DEAN PATRICK - In Terra’s Sabbath, much more than the first book, I wanted to use a backdrop of the current sickness in modern culture. Terra Drake exposes this in the opening chapter in a dream sequence where she is the pure representation of how modern culture is doing everything possible to destroy our youth. From a trans movement that seeks out to force children to confuse their identity and sexuality, to a modern-day far left agenda that has declared war on every one of our personal freedoms, this is the complete package of Terra Drake. She represents anything this is confusing, anything that is contradictory, anything that is luring and tempting - all of it hangs around her waste and neck as a full armament to destroy us individually and collectively. She is written and created to offend everything and everyone regardless of consequence.
What feedback are you getting from the Terra Drake trilogy? Share what you are doing to boost your profile?
DEAN PATRICK - So far the feedback I’ve received from almost every reader has been incredible. From being terrified and truly disturbed, to feeling they have been on a hell ride they will never forget, these works have really affected people. Especially with Terra Drake. She’s become an unforgettable villain who has the power to hit everyone’s nerve in some way. An interesting story about finding an image or graphic to portray her took place just before publishing the first book. It was my wife, Lisa, who actually found a photo from a gothic website of a model who looks exactly how I have created the character.
I ended up needing to get permission, of course, to use her photography. The model’s name is Alfiia Mankin, and she lives in Moscow, Russia. I first received the permission needed from her husband, Sergey, who I ended up contacting through Russia’s social media platform equivalent to Facebook, called VK (Vkontakte). Alfiia herself was more than happy to give permission to use her artwork and photography, and both she and her husband have remained in contact with me from time to time over the past few years. It’s an incredible story, really, especially considering the war now going with their country and Ukraine. The photographs on both books and my website are her. I am also working this Russian story into the third book, but won’t give that away.
In conclusion, it is my hope that Terra’s Sabbath is a novel that will take a reader on a near-biblical journey that we all face. Whether you believe in a God or not, this is a work that shows a battle that’s raging around us everywhere. We live in a world where our senses are assaulted every day, all day. This assault comes from an evil force, regardless if one believes it’s Satan or The Devil, there is an evil force our world faces that we have never seen before in history. It is completely different because it comes so fast and so overwhelming through technology. This kind of evil force, in my belief, can only be faced with an equal force of good. For me, that is God. Period. I knew early on in my sobriety that only such a force could overcome something as seemingly impossible as alcoholism. This is a God thing, and that’s what this book is about. The only way to stand our ground against such a force as a Terra Drake is to match it with something God-like.
Thanks Dean for taking the time to talk with us.
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