Edgar's Books: Nighthawks by Jeremy Flagg

About the Book

Twenty-six-year-old painter Conthan Cowan takes art to a shocking frontier…

His debut exhibit features the transformation of his high school friend, Sarah, as she went from a shy, soft-spoken girl to a Child of Nostradamus—an individual gifted with extraordinary abilities. Living in a society where the Children of Nostradamus are captured by the government, Conthan’s exhibit draws attention from officials and protesters alike.

A government psychic may be dead, but that doesn’t stop her from manipulating the future…

The deceased White House aide is only remembered for her failed assassination attempt on the president decades before Conthan was born. Foreseeing her own death, she scribed letters to bring together specific Children of Nostradamus on a mission that will change the world.

On the night of the gallery exhibition, Conthan receives one of those letters…

Whispers from the past direct him to visit Sarah, the subject of his paintings, who like many Children of Nostradamus, is being detained in a government research facility. It’s there he finds himself aligned with a rogue group of Children on a mission to prevent a dark future.

As a dark future unfolds, there's only one hope to stop the destruction of the world...

The Children of Nostradamus.

Excerpt

“…Seabrook, New Hampshire is gone. If you’re just tuning in, the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant has just exploded. We have no word yet on what caused the explosion, but we do know there was a catastrophe resulting in failure of the systems at the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant.”

“God help them,” said the woman at the news desk.

He could hear Elizabeth gasp at the announcement. His mind was moving a million miles an hour. His wife, still covered in sweat and grime from giving birth, his newborn son, his office calling him to alert him to the news, all of it caused his head to swim. He was unsure of what his next move would be.

The television flickered and turned to static. Mark reached up and smacked the side of the box. The static began to take the shape of a person. He stepped back to see the solid outline of a man on the TV.

“United States of America,” said a voice through the static, “land of the free and home of the brave. We are calling out your discreet operations. We know all about The Culling. Individuals who for years have been in your employ, using their more-than-human abilities to further your goals, will not die in vain. Killing empaths, slaughtering clairvoyants, and the genocide of telepaths will be responded to in kind.”

“Eleanor,” he said in a hushed voice as he realized what they were talking about.

“The United States has declared war on the wrong people. We can see you coming. We can hear your plans. We will not be eliminated. You’ve seen our reach.”

Interview

What would we find under your bed?

I wish I could tell you something scandalous or, at least, provocative. Unfortunately, underneath my bed, you will find absolutely nothing. I’m a bit neurotic when it comes to my sleeping space (if only I was like this with my office) and keeping it clean. There is a basket of clean laundry nearby, but nothing under the bed. I do frequent checks. If even a sock falls under there, it gives the creatures that grab your ankles in the middle of the night a place to hide. We have to think of boogeyman prevention at all times.

What was the scariest moment of your life?

I was trying to think of one and it finally dawned on me, I work as a high school teacher in a suburban school system, I’m afraid of nothing. When you have to be worried that they’ll tie you down to the floor using duct tape or that they’ll steal your last red pen, you’ve developed an iron hide. At this point, nothing really scares me: except infants and small snakes.

Do you listen to music while writing? If so what?

I always have music playing. I find it helps me become hyper focused and do the most writing. I also use it to help inspire a mood. Most people have playlists like, “Country” or “90’s,” but of course, mine relates to my writing. I have “Fight or Flight,” “Space Battle,” “Dead Character” and “Get Angry.” I have everything from pop music to indie artists tucked away into playlists. Mostly I’ve been listening to Epica, music specifically written to help movie scores. Those have been extremely influential in helping me shift into the mindset to write some difficult scenes.

What is something you'd like to accomplish in your writing career next year?

Next year I will have finished my first series Suburban Zombie High and I’ll have put out two non-fiction books. With projects coming to an end, I plan to devote myself to expanding the Children of Nostradamus series. I already have a trilogy in the pipeline and hope to have the second book out at the end of 2016. There is a prequel series that will flow seamlessly and feature one of the fan favorite characters through their journey into Nighthawks. I’m hoping to have several branches of this universe expanding and growing. I’d like to spend some time invested with only this series to see what the long-term potential is. Dare we say graphic novel?

How long did it take you to write this book?

I guess in theory, you could say it took me nearly two decades to write. It was started in middle school at my dining room table with my best friend from school. However, from the moment I decided to novelize the idea, it only took me about a year. The first draft was part of NaNoWriMo and it was finished in 30 days. However, once my beta readers sent it back, I found it was lacking some depth. I spent the next ten months rewriting and digging into the characters and dragging out little stories I thought were necessary. Upon the final wave of writing, I had even added a new character who is now absolutely essential to the plot.

Thanks...

About the Author

I’m high school graphic design and marketing teacher, at a large suburban high school in Massachusetts. Working as a high school educator and observing the outlandish world of adolescence was the inspiration for my first young adult novel, “Suburban Zombie High.”

My inspiration for writing stems from being a youth who struggled with reading in school. While I found school assigned novels incredibly difficult to digest, I devoured comics and later fantasy novels. Their influences can be seen in the tall tales I spin.

I took the long route to becoming a writer. For a brief time, I majored in Creative Writing but exchanged one passion for another as I switched to Art and Design. My passion for reading about superheroes, fantastical worlds, and panic-stricken situations would become the foundation of my writing career.

I participated in my first NaNoWriMo in 2006 and continue to write an entire novel every November. Now I am the NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaison to the Massachusetts Metrowest Region. I also belong the New England Horror Writer’s Association and to a weekly writing group, the Metrowest Writers.

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