Dan McDowell

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Uncaged welcomes Dan McDowell

Welcome to Uncaged! Your debut novel, Level Zero, will release on May 13th. Can you tell readers more about this suspense thriller?

Level Zero is a novel of terror, intrigue, and suspense. It hits heavy on the complexities of interpersonal relationships and the burdens carried through life in the midst of a terrifying backdrop. What may strike some readers differently is my choice to tell the story through multiple character’s lenses to make their thoughts visible in a given scene. Some people enjoy the first person point of view. Others may prefer second or third. I’m still deciding what I like best. I think it all depends on what the story demands. Each one has different needs and lenses required to view it optimally. I found out early in the writing process that Level Zero was too big a universe to focus on a single character. It’s essentially the gateway into a universe of stories I hope to write that we’ll be branding “A Nightmare in Riverton.”

You write quite a bit of short stories on your website. Are these ever going to be published or are they just to be published on your blog?

There have been some talks with publisher(s) in the past about an anthology of my short stories. Short stories are where my I began my creative writing journey in 2019. At present, I have written about thirty. Most of them fall into the mystery/horror/thriller category with a few lighter and campy/corny stories in there as well. Short stories are an important tool for writers, both new and emerging, and for the seasoned bestsellers. In my opinion, telling a story concisely takes a lot of discipline. Sometimes, it may even require more than a novel or novella because of the age-old “show don’t tell” rules for writers and limited opportunities for character dialogue.

What are you working on next that you can tell us about?

I’m pleased to mention that the next Nightmare in Riverton Novel, Oak Hollow, will release with Black Rose Writing in October. We are currently prepping it for pre-sale and will debut the cover in the near future. It’s my hope that it will make Level Zero a richer experience retrospectively and offer further depth into The Oak Hollow Hotel and the property’s troubled past. I had a fun time writing it and broke away from some of the conventional approaches to keep the writing more dynamic. It’s my hope that these adjustments make it both engaging and thought provoking to the reader. Thrilling fiction often has many layers, and can often mean something different each time we look at it.

Outside of the Riverton universe, I have a few other works in progress including a completed first draft manuscript for a new psychological thriller/horror novel -- working title “Truth or Consequences.” It takes place in dystopian New Mexico shortly after the US has split between East and West. The premise of the story is about a teenager struggling with addiction issues. His parents opt to have a chip installed to adjust dopamine and cortisol levels in his brain to curb addictions and cure his depression and anxiety. Unfortunately, the protagonist’s’ installation does not go well, and he’s sent to an experimental rehab facility as a result. Upon arrival, a curious and charismatic overseer uses cult-like approaches to cure residents with the help of emerging simulation technologies. Elsewhere in the facility, struggling counterparts and supervisors exhibit bizarre behaviors in their quest for a state called “tendom” during rehabilitation. As the body count increases around him, he finds that the lingering side effects of the chip may not be worth the cost.

The Arlington Hotel offers the upper-class amenities of any standard 100 year old hotel in Hot Springs, Arkansas... if you can get over it’s troubling past and bizarre relocations. Oh, and don’t forget the fires that may or may not have been carried out on the competition by mobsters or a crazy group of hillbillies that live in the hills just across historic state highway 7 dividing Hot Springs National Park from the city of Hot Springs.

My lovely wife designed the cover for my first novel, Level Zero. Though the character and POV in my book can vary by chapter, one character is constant, the Oak Hollow Hotel and its surrounding area. Its mysterious origins are still being discovered... houetted hotel theme on my book’s cover was inspired by a picture of an old hotel we found on the internet. What’s interesting is that we didn’t know what or where it was when we designed it.

Then, the irony of ironies occurs... 9 months after completing the initial draft of Level Zero which features a rather spirited hotel and securing a publishing contract, we took an unplanned vacation to Hot Springs, Arkansas — a quirky, sleepy, and steamy town with a seedy past.

Upon arrival, while driving the main street, we found the hotel that inspired the cover, despite never realizing it was in the same town. Total coincidence? Or was it fate? Only time will tell.

The most difficult scenes for me are the ones I can’t visualize in my mind’s eye. These aren’t usually introductions or endings, but rather the scenes that carry the narrative forward from beginning to end. I tend to write dialogue heavy because I see excessive description as slowing to character and story development. I ground my characters and worlds as caricatures of reality. The easiest scenes for me are often deaths, traumas, and moments of emotional struggle. I guess modern media and books are to blame for that… and an excitable imagination after midnight.

What are you looking forward to doing when the pandemic is over that you haven’t been able to do?

I’m tired of masks and feeling like I can’t gauge someone else’s comfort level with them on or off. I don’t like having to think about it everywhere I go or forgetting one. Recently, I went to an auto parts store without one and I ended up wrapping my four-year-old daughter’s fuzzy hot pink sweater around my face stupidly. I can’t say that the guys in the shop were impressed… depressed, maybe. I don’t want any more of those makeshift mask moments. I’m too much of a rule follower to allow for it.

What was the first book that made you laugh and/or cry?

I don’t know if I know for certain, but as a child I was particularly tickled by Chris van Allsburg’s, The Sweetest Fig. I’ve enjoyed dark humor ever since and continue to read the story to my daughter today. As for crying, it was another children’s book -- Brian Selznick’s, The Houdini Box. I didn’t cry because of the book, but remember tears streaming down my cheeks when I found out how Harry Houdini died. The book was my first exposure to his story. Needless to say, I never considered a career in magic after the fact.

What are some things you like to do to relax when you aren’t writing or working? | DAn MCDOWELL |

I love watching films and documentaries. As you can imagine, I enjoy a good horror or thriller film, but I’m also a sucker for award winners and decade defining works, too. My wife jokes with me that I could open a shrine to Blockbuster (RIP) with our myriad of films accumulated through the years. I cataloged, organized, and databased all of them at the start of the pandemic—consolidating them into zipper sleeves (close to 1,000 films and television shows in total), and purging all of the cases. What once took up closets full of discs are now handily stored under one cubby hole in alphabetical order by genre. (Yes, the horror/thriller films have their own binder.)

I also love quality time and/or traveling with my family. We haven’t been able to do as much traveling during the pandemic, but look forward to when we can again.

If you could have one all-year season, which would it be and why?

I would have to say Fall. Growing up in Texas, the scorching summers and ever-lingering humidity are far from enjoyable. Unless you’re playing in the water on those days (which requires a ton of sunscreen), it’s just better to enjoy the A/C or find the shade. I love the first evenings in late September (more realistically -- October) when the temperature begins to dip overnight. It’s a relief in the air you forget during the cruel months of July and August. For those gawking at the concept of a Texas Fall, some years it feels like there isn’t much of one. The same could be said for Spring. More often than not, it’s just Summer or Winter here.

How many hours a day do you write? On average, how long does it take to write a full novel?

I make an intentional effort to be creative in some capacity at least an hour per day – trying to stretch to two when possible. This occasionally transcends writing, though. On more creative days where larger windows of time present themselves or a big epiphany arrives, I enjoy to hammer out words for many

This photo was taken at the scariest place in under a bunch of corn syrup and one other Hot Springs, Arkansas, Madame Toussard’s undefinable hodge podge of outdated creepiHouse of Wax. It hadn’t seen a lick of updating ness. The rain-catching buckets in the hallways since 1973 and my wife and I loved it as Rich- perfected the setup as water dripped through ard Nixon greeted us through the entryway. Not the long forgotten ceiling tiles. The musty smell sure if my daughter felt the same. Only fitting of aged rubber mannequins (or whatever gobthat Alfred Hitchcock introduce the chamber of bly goo they’re made of) completed the eclectic 92 | UncagedBooks.com horrors which featured a werewolf on a table feel to this unlikely shrine of yesteryear.

hours. As much as I’d like it to be in one successive period, it’s often broken up throughout a given day -- early in the morning, late in the evening, across a lunch hour, etc.

The length of time required to write a novel is a complex one. A first draft might be completed in 30 days, but a completed book might take 30 years… It’s hard to say. On average, I would say 3 months to write, a month off with eyes away from it, and another 6-9 months for editing and production. All in all, a one-year turn around is an impressive feat most of the time.

Do you prefer ebooks, audiobooks or physical books? Are you reading anything now?

I have a kindle, but I prefer physical books. There’s nothing quite like the page turning sound, the smell of the book, and the tangibility and ability to underline or highlight. To counter that, I respect the desire to reduce clutter. If someone’s moved over to ebooks, they’ve probably freed up a shelf or a section of their garage or attic. I enjoy audiobooks… if it’s the right narrator and the right book. My household is a mixture of all three. I don’t believe I’ll shy away from one over another entirely, but am admittedly slowing down on physical books. If I think it’s one I will read or reference more than once I often buy the physical.

I’m reading a handful of books. I’m sorry to admit it, but I am one of those DNF guys with a lot of them. Books are like pizza, sometimes, you only need a slice. Other times you want the whole pie!

Consider this by Chuck Palahniuk The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris Everything’s Eventual by Stephen King The Husband by Dean Koontz Posting from Proverbs by Nick Harris It Was Born in the Darkness of the Wood by JL Hickey

What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you?

Thanks for your support, encouragement, and feedback along the way. I enjoy writing and feel like I have many stories to tell. When it comes to writing, I can’t help but parallel it with music. Sometimes it works well, other times not so well. Think about it. You may have an album you love and then a follow up album or song doesn’t stand out as much. Then, a year later, another one releases that ends up being a swan-song opus of “Stairway to Heaven” proportions. Never give up on an artist because one effort doesn’t fit your taste. Ride the wave of creativity and see where it leads, and don’t be afraid to create something new yourself, too!

Enjoy an excerpt from Level Zero

Level Zero Dan McDowell Horror Releases May 13

In 1982, an acquisition of a troubled hotel leads Chris Wilkerson down a dark path as he forms a horror hotline in the facility. Fixating over the macabre and a collapsing marriage, Wilkerson unlocks a ticket to terror.

Waking from a coma with 53 others, Todd Adams fights to understand phantom memories before disappearing into the hands of a peculiar captor. Discovering commonality in an unresolved past, Todd questions why as he charts out an escape.

Excerpt

I guess this is it. Chris Wilkerson, I hope you know what you’re doing.

Walking toward the extensive building, he peered up at it,catching glimpses of silhouettes engaged in questionable behaviors.

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He moved toward the entryway and noted an etching in the stone of the building’s outer wall.

THE OAK HOLLOW HOTEL — ERECTED 1926 BY DON WASSERMAN... MAY OUR FOLLY NEVER LEAD US ASTRAY. FOR W.W.

Never stepping into the building, Chris opened the door and looked around a moment.

What a sad decline. This place must have been so much more.

A voice called out from behind, “Not going to get very far, sir. You can’t just come snoop around over here. Can’t you respect the hallowed ground you’re standing on?”

Who is this guy? Give me some space.

“What are you talking about? Hallowed ground? This place is a dump.”

“Watch yourself. I’ve managed a pawn shop down the block for a while. There’s something that just ain’t right about it. I best get back over there. I was just on an evening stroll.”

“It’s a good night for that. I’m Chris Wilkerson.”

The man extended his hand to shake Chris’s, “Steve Renzell. Nice to meet you. Steer clear for your own good. I can’t put my finger on why I feel implored to tell you this. Call it an intuition. I get ‘em from time to time. I ain’t no caretaker or wet nurse, though. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

“Thanks for your concern. Have a good night,” Chris said as Steve strolled the block toward Bridgewater. He walked away from the building in misdirection. Steve turned around to assess his whereabouts.

Go on now. Get out of here, Steve. I’m a grown man. Leave me be. After Steve was out of sight, Chris moved back toward the door and entered the building’s lobby. An older black woman draped in loose fuchsia-colored fabric approached Chris. She spoke in a Cajun accent, “Can I help you with somethin’, honey? You look lost.”

“I don’t know. Maybe... I was told this building might help me...”

“Darlin’, this place will do whatever you need it to if you treat it right. You hear me? Smoke one with me, will ya?”

“Sure. I could use a drag.”

Let’s see where this takes me.

“Oak Hollow. It’s an area of many successes and failures. People grade a place based on its surroundings. I know the verdict on this joint may not be that great in your social circles, but there’s a whole ‘nother thing going on here behind the scenes. You know what I mean?”

Chris studied the room in enchantment. Despite mediocre maintenance through the years, it had good bones. The ground floor possessed an open layout with dried out fountains, worn tapestries, weathered pool tables, and red felt chairs. Clusters of people hovered in each corner. Some had fires lit and burning near busted out windows. Others hummed and chanted incantations. The peculiar place captivated Chris.

k ATE RIGBY

Kate Rigby was born near Liverpool and now lives in the south west of England. She’s been writing for over forty years. She has been traditionally published, small press published and indie published. She realized her unhip credentials were mounting so she decided to write about it. Little Guide to Unhip was first published in 2010 and has since been updated. However, she’s not completely unhip. Her punk novel, Fall Of The Flamingo Circus was published by Allison & Busby (1990) and by Villard (American hardback 1990). Skrev Press published her novels Seaview Terrace (2003) Sucka! (2004) and Break Point (2006) and other shorter work appeared in