Rose
by
Rami Ungar
Genre:
Fantasy-Horror
Rose
Taggert awakens in a greenhouse with no clear memory of the
past two years and, to her horror, finds her body transformed into an
unrecognizable form.
Paris
Kuyper has convinced Rose that they are lovers and as Paris
could not bear for her to die, he has used an ancient and dark magic
to save her from certain death.
But
the dark magic Paris has used comes at a price. A price which a
terrible demon is determined to extract from Rose.
As
Rose struggles to understand what is happening to her, she must
navigate Paris’s lies and secrets; secrets that Paris will
do anything to
protect.
Rami
Ungar knew he wanted to be a writer from the age of five, when he
first became exposed to the world of Harry Potter and
wanted to create imaginative worlds like Harry’s. As a tween, he
fell in love with the works of Anne Rice and Stephen King and, as he
was getting too old to sneak up on people and shout “Boo!’ (not
that that ever stopped him), he decided to merge his two loves and
become a horror writer.
Today,
Rami lives and writes in Columbus, Ohio. He’s self-published three
novels and one collection of short stories, and his stories have
appeared in other publications here and there. Rose, his first novel
with Castrum Press, released June 21st, 2019.
When
he’s not writing your nightmares or coming up with those, he’s
enjoying anything from the latest horror novel or movie to anime and
manga to ballet, collecting anything that catches his fancy, and
giving you the impression he may not be entirely human.
GUEST POST
Can you, for those of you who don’t know already, tell us
something about yourself and how you became an author?
My name is Rami Ungar, and I’m a
horror novelist from Columbus, Ohio. My first short story was
published in my senior year of high school, and I self-published four
books in and after college. My latest novel, Rose, about a
young woman turning into a plant creature (and that’s just the
start of her problems), is my first book with a publisher, Castrum
Press.
As for how I became an author, I
guess the appropriate answer is to say I did it one word at a time,
until I got decent at putting those words together into a story. I
like to think said stories are compelling and even scary at times,
but I’ll let you decide on that.
Tell us something really
interesting that’s happened to you!
As I said before, my novel Rose
has come out. This has been a dream of mine for years, and I honestly
wasn’t sure at times it would come true. I wrote this as a college
thesis about five years ago, and I’ve swung between thinking “this
is a brilliant novel” and “this is absolute bonkers garbage. I
mean, a woman becoming a plant?” over the course of those five
years. And during the numerous edits, it often seemed impossible.
But it’s out now, which just goes
to show that hard work and persevering over doubt can lead to
extraordinary things.
What inspired you to write this
book?
I wish I remember. It just came to
me one day in the middle of Science-Fiction and Fantasy literature
class (yes, that was a class they taught at my school. I hope they’re
still teaching it). It just popped into my head, the story of a woman
in a Misery-like situation but with a supernatural twist. I
brainstormed a bit, and when I decided to do a thesis project, this
is what materialized.
Can you tell us a little bit
about the characters in the book?
Of the four main characters, the two
leads are Rose Taggert and Paris Kuyper. Rose is pretty practical
about her situation. She’s shocked by it, obviously, but once that
wears off her goal becomes to deal with it as best as she can.
I don’t want to give too much away
about Paris, as he drives a lot of what happens in the novel. He’s
a young man with a magic book who desires love and to be loved, and
it’s with that book and that goal he turns Rose into a plant
creature to save her life. Let’s just say he’s full of secrets,
and they will change your perception of him as you continue to read
the novel.
Did you learn anything from
writing Rose?
Oh, I learned plenty from writing
this book. It was a challenge in every draft. I actually had to start
over a few times because the opening scenes were crap. And last year,
I had to do extensive rewrites to fix major problems with the story.
Even with the final draft, which I finished about a week before the
book was due to be released, I was learning things. Like how badly I
need a thesaurus.
All in all, though, I think it made
me a better writer. And hopefully it’ll serve me well for the next
book.
If Rose was
made into a movie, who would play the lead?
I’ve only thought about who I want
to play Paris’s father Mr. Kuyper, another major character in the
book. That actor is Willem Dafoe. I modeled Mr. Kuyper on some of his
performances, so I’d like to see him in the role.
What books are you working on
next?
I’ve a couple of projects on the
horizon. I have a novel partially inspired by Dante’s Inferno that
a few friends are beta-reading for me. Once I have their feedback,
I’ll edit the novel and see if my publisher is interested. And I’ve
a Gothic horror novel I plan to write in November for National Novel
Writing Month. That, and a bunch of short stories novelettes, and
novellas in the works. Some of them will be terrible, but a few will
hopefully turn out well.
What are you currently reading?
I just finished a book by one of my
college professors, Joy by Erin McGraw, and a horror novel on
audio book called The Shuddering by Ania Ahlborn. Both I
recommend. I’m also listening to a lecture series on Victorian
England by Stephen Fry and tomorrow I’m starting a new sci-fi novel
by an acquaintance of mine named Paul Falk. After that, a little
Terry Pratchett and some more sci-fi, most likely.
What advice would you give new
authors?
Write the stories you want to read.
Constantly try new things. And don’t give up, because eventually
all that struggle does lead to something.
What is a book everyone should
read?
I’m not sure one exists. Perhaps
everyone should read a book that hits home to them one important
fact: that we’re all human and deserve a chance for life and love.
It’s probably different for every person, but I’m sure one exists
for everyone out there.
Follow
the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!
No comments:
Post a Comment