Note: The following is an interview Saucon Source recently conducted via email with author and Lower Saucon Township resident Larry Deibert.
1. What is your new book about (please provide a synopsis if possible)? Who do you think it will appeal to?
The cover of Larry Deibert’s new book, “From Darkness to Light,” which combines paranormal with spiritual elements.
From Darkness To Light is my first attempt at Christian paranormal, but I am hoping that anyone who loves a good ghost story will enjoy it. There are a large number of earthbound ghosts, and eight people are enlisted by an angel of God to send them to their final reward, be it Heaven or Hell. The ghost hunters come from different parts of the United States and are amazed with the ways they are ‘recruited.’ The Gathering is to occur on a deserted island off the coast of North Carolina, but when they arrive, they find four people camping there. All their lives will be changed forever.
2. What was the primary inspiration for the book? Were any characters or settings influenced by local people/places?
Good question, Josh. I wrote my first ghost story last year after visiting Wrightsville Beach, Wilmington and Southport, North Carolina. I heard about a number of ghost stories, especially aboard the battleship North Carolina. After I wrote Fathoms, I just felt there was more to tell about the spirit world. Darkness is by no means a sequel, but some of the same characters play important roles in each book.
3. How can people purchase it?
Author and Saucon Valley resident Larry Deibert has published a new book, “From Darkness to Light,” that is now for sale on Amazon.com.
People can purchase it at Amazon.com, but if anyone wants a signed copy, email me at la**********@rc*.com and I’ll give you more information. I also have about 15 copies of Fathoms and about 10 copies of The Christmas City Vampire available.
4. Do you have any upcoming book-signings/appearances scheduled?
At the moment there is nothing planned because I have to give the bookshops copies of my book and if there are times available, they will set up a signing. I am planning to query Moravian (Book Shop) in Bethlehem and the Bookshop in Doylestown.
5. Do you see your writing style changing in any way? How do you think you’ve evolved as an author since your first book was written?
I think my style is similar in each book, but each book is a little bit better than the one before it. I think an author is always learning more about his or her craft as one reaches out and challenges oneself to write a better book each time. I have found I enjoy writing novellas more than novels because I can write a story using fewer words, because I do like to keep my writing as simple as possible.
The back cover of author Larry Deibert’s new book, “From Darkness to Light.”
6. How many books have you now written? Do you have a favorite?
I have now written seven, but Combat Boots dainty feet-Finding Love in Vietnam is a shorter version of my first book, 95 Bravo. Since I’ve written in four different genres, pulling a favorite out of the hat is a difficult thing to do. I will always have a special feeling for 95 Bravo because it was the first. I never thought I would ever write a book, and now (with) seven books finished, I want to write many more. The Christmas City Vampire gave me a great deal of satisfaction because I thought I had forgotten how to write. Before that project, in 2010, my writing was very sporadic. I wrote Bravo and Requiem For A Vampire in 1999 or 2000, and then I did nothing until Boots in 2009. After The Christmas City Vampire, I wrote my first Civil War time travel novella, The Other Side Of The Ridge-Gettysburg, June 27th, 2013 to July 2nd, 1863 in 2012, Fathoms in 2013 and Darkness this year. Next on the list is Family about a ‘family’ of immortals and I am hoping to finish that in spring. I still have a werewolf novel in process along with a new Vietnam novel that I want to publish before the 50th anniversary of the Tet Offensive in 2018.
