SYNOPSIS: What can humans do in a secret world where they are
sorely overpowered and outmatched? How do they stand up against the things that
bump in the night? The answer is simple: they cheat. And in a world of shadows
where might makes right, humans must rely on their ingenuity to survive.
The
hero, humanity’s champion for light and order, is dead. The Supernatural and
Paranormal Defense Organization, an international covert ops agency assembled
to fight against the powers of darkness, just lost their field commander
against the forces of Satan. Now, their former Special Projects Director, the
angelic Jayda Marie Lafayette, must spearhead the search for the hero’s killer:
his brother, a newly turned and blood-thirsty vampire named Frederico. And if
she doesn’t get to him first, the Devil will turn him into a weapon capable of
single-handedly destroying the human world.
By Aaron C. Richards
The idea for my own book series came to me as these
things usually do: through the observation of various works of other authors.
It usually happens that while I’m looking at the work of some publicized
creator, whether reading or watching, a question occurs to me. I take my
viewing very seriously…perhaps overly so. I understand that there are movies
that the viewer isn’t mean to over-analyze, but I can’t help myself. That
tendency has only increased as I’ve gotten more serious about my own writing.
And when you find a number of films or books approaching the same idea from the
same direction and having the same problems, you find yourself a niche to fill.
That’s where Spies Vs. Monsters came in.
There are a number of popular series out there about
secret government agencies that fight monsters. The idea in itself is nothing
new. But one thing that I noticed, whether they be fighting super villains,
monsters, demons, or something else, the agency in question tends to have a
corresponding monster of their own that does the fighting for them. They
recruit similarly powered individuals to make a stand, instead of humans. It
makes sense, from a brute force standpoint. If you’re not physically strong
enough to take on your enemy, recruit someone who is. But the idea never sat
well with me.
I never liked the idea of a “neighborhood watch” agency.
The agency that presses the panic button and then waits for the real heroes to
show up has always struck me as very nearly useless. As if the heroes wouldn’t
notice the enormous car-throwing bully wreaking havoc in their cities. At best,
the secret agents are there to escort the good monster or superhero, and they
are likely to die as nothing more than glorified luggage-handlers. The mundane
everymen are swept aside in favor of the far more interesting lantern-jawed
supermen. They’re discouraged, even chastised, for trying to fight outside
their league. Nothing for us normal folks to do when Superman shows up except
pull up a chair and watch the freaks do battle. Nevermind the fact that now
there are now two enormous car-throwing brutes rampaging around the city
instead of just one, and they’ve found a reason to fight each other. The
possibility of collateral damage is completely ignored, in favor of watching
the awesome grudge match.
The idea for my own book came to me when I considered
what would happen in my hometown if a hostile alien shoved his way amongst us
with plans to conquer the world. If Superman showed up to defend my tiny little
town and told us to stand back, he’s got this, the people here would be
outraged. And every one would show up to do something, even if there was
nothing they could do. Because the bottom line is this: if something is that
important to you, you find a way to fight back, even if the best you can do is
spit on the tyrant‘s shoes as they walk by. And Spies vs. Monsters is
exactly that: humans doing the best they can to find a way to fight back.
Super powerful characters are often interesting, but only
if there is a reason for them to be there. There are also characters like
Batman, Iron Man, and the men from Independence Day, that had no superpowers.
They just did whatever they could with what they had. Spies Vs. Monsters
is a story about humans, for humans, by a human. And if the monsters have
anything to say about that, they should know: humans fight dirty.
Title: Spies
Vs. Monsters
Author: Aaron
C. Richards
Genre: Horror/Paranormal/Supernatural
Length: 328
pages
Release Date: October 2014
ISBN-13: 978-0692278383
AUTHOR INFORMATION & LINKS
When
I was in 3rd grade, the other kids were trying to decide whether to be actors,
racecar drivers, or astronauts. I decided that I wanted to be an author. My
answer to the age-old question "What do you want to be when you grow
up?" was always the same. I wanted to write books. When I wasn't trying my
hand at writing, I was watching movies. I was always trying to satisfy that
primal urge: storytelling. Almost 15 years later, I decided to try to sit down
and write a full-length novel for myself, just like all of the people that I
idolized. Spies vs. Monsters is the culmination of a childhood's worth of
dreaming.
Now,
at 25, I live in my own dream world that is conveniently packaged in one
bedroom of the house that I share with my sister.
DEVIANTART: http://acefleam.deviantart.com/
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