I am excited to welcome author Naomi Clark, who is celebrating the release of her new Ethan Banning novel, Undertow.
PI Ethan Banning is a desperate man. He’s desperate to rid himself of the demon possessing him. He’s desperate to stop the nightmares and the evil urges it fills him with. He’s so desperate, he’s agreed to quit smoking and drinking in exchange for help. Professor Benedict Walters thinks he can exorcise Ethan with clean living and ancient history, but he won’t do it for free. Ethan’s got to track down Heather, a missing colleague of Walters in the quaint and creepy seaside town of Beacon’s Point. It should be simple… But the locals are hostile and Heather may not want to be found. Even if Ethan can crack the case, he’s still got to deal with a trainee necromancer, his own fading self-control, and an ancient entity that terrifies Ethan’s own personal demon. Crack the case? He may not even survive it.
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Music to Make Novels By
Like a lot of writers, I find music to be an essential part of the writing process. Not so much for writing to – I do most of my writing at work on my lunch breaks, and hospitals tend to object to hard metal and punk rock for some reason – but as part of the world-building and mood-making. I love listening to songs that remind me of my characters while I’m travelling; it helps fire the creative parts of my brain, remind me of their loves and hates, their problems and their coping methods. It helps me get a feel for the world they live in and the atmosphere the book needs. My Ethan Banning playlist is too long to talk about in detail, but I’ve picked out my top 5 tracks here. Enjoy!
1. Monster – Skillet
The secret side of me
I never let you see
I keep it caged
But I can’t control it
So stay away from me
The beast is ugly
I feel the rage
And I just can’t hold it
Really, could there be any more accurate lyrics for a man possessed by a demon that feeds on pain and misery? Ethan goes to great lengths to keep the Voice under control…and he doesn’t always succeed.
2. Gotta Get Away – The Offspring
Sitting on the bed
Or lying wide awake
There’s demons in my head
And it’s more than I can take
I love The Offspring’s older stuff, and this is another song that just screams Ethan to me. That sense of claustrophobia and the need to get away from the one person you can never escape – yourself.
3. I Won’t Back Down – Johnny Cash
You can stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won’t back down
Listen, if you don’t have room in your life for Johnny Cash covering a Tom Petty song, I don’t want to know you. This is a great, slightly more uplifting song, one I think captures Ethan’s determination – not just when it comes to mastering the Voice, but in general. He’s a stubborn son of a bitch, regardless of the situation he’s in.
4. Plowed – Sponge
Say a prayer for me
I’m buried by the sound
In a world of human
Wreckage
I’m lost and I’m found
And I can’t touch the
Ground
I never get tired of this song. I think if you asked Ethan, he’d say he didn’t deserve or want anyone’s prayers, but I just love the lyrics and they really fit Ethan for me. That idea that you can’t tell dreams from reality – that’s something Ethan worries about constantly, due to his family history and his current paranormal lodger.
5. Whiskey in the Jar – Metallica
Musha ring dum a doo dum a da
Whack for my daddy-o
Whack for my daddy-o
There’s whiskey in the jar-o
No deep meanings here. Whiskey is Ethan’s drink of choice, and this is a fun song that mentions whiskey.
And if you want an idea of how the rest of the playlist looks, think The Distillers, Rancid, Rob Zombie, AFI, Dropkick Murphys, The Vandals, and um…Survivor. Well, Eye of the Tiger is a classic, right
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Meet Naomi Clark!
Naomi Clark lives in Cambridge and is a mild-mannered office worker by day, but a slightly crazed writer by night. She has a perfectly healthy obsession with giant sea creatures and a preference for vodka-based cocktails. When she’s not writing, Naomi is probably either reading or watching ’80s cartoon shows—sometimes she manages to do all three at once.
Contact Info: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | GoodReads | Amazon
Want to purchase Naomi’s novels? 
Ethan Banning
Urban Wolf
Brides of Darkness
Afterlife Night and Chaos The Necromancer’s Apprentice The Beast of Birch Hill
