Title: Monitors of Mayhem
Author: Darleen Hayball Johnson
Publisher: Greenberry Publishing, LLC
ISBN: 9781947995796
Pages: 336
Genre: Fiction; Contemporary
Interviewed by: Jennifer Weiss
Author Interview with Darleen Hayball Johnson
Today we are talking to Darleen Hayball Johnson, the author of “Monitors of Mayhem.”
PBR: What was your inspiration to write “Monitors of Mayhem”?
My adult children were home for Christmas, and we were discussing books. We started talking about vampires and paranormal creatures and mutually decided that they were very unlikely beings. I decided to come up with a more plausible story which might provide a possible explanation for a vampire. Next, my story would need an interesting setting and believable characters, and since the big house next door had been vacant for a time, I decided that the huge old house would provide a project that only an innocent would tackle. A Nova program on Yellowstone’s active mega-volcano struck my imagination as a reason for more extraterrestrials to want to observe us. Suddenly, I had my characters, my location, my problem, and my plot.
PBR: What is something you hope readers will take away when they finish reading your book?
There are many apocalyptic books out there, and most are pretty depressing. Granted, human brains enjoy toying with larger-than-life calamities, mostly because our lives are usually pretty predictable and frequently boring. When natural disasters do strike, however, we all pull together and work together to reestablish our reality. I am a humanist, and I believe that people are good and kind, and I believe that any species smart enough to have achieved interstellar travel would be way beyond the desire for conquest and violence. As our culture matures, we will also turn to science for answers, eschewing violence and religious dogma. (Read Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now or The Better Angels of Our Nature to see that the world is improving towards those goals at an astonishing rate.) I want my readers to feel upbeat about people and the American culture because both are pretty great.
PBR: I have heard authors say their books write themselves, do you believe that was true for your novel?
This was not an easy book to write. It required scientific research on volcanism and human biology, and I had to work hard to achieve credible extraterrestrials. The voices of Ruth and Ann were intended to show the very different points of view of ETs and humans. I used my home, my job, and my town as inspiration, which sometimes ruffled feathers on the home front. (I solved that problem by killing off my husband first thing in Book 2, No Guns, No Trumpets.)
PBR: What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?
Although this book is fiction, I worked hard to make the science valid yet easily understandable. As a teacher, it is very difficult not to sound pedantic. I read a lot, so doing research is no problem. I am also blessed with very well educated friends who are geologists willing to answer specific questions. My husband is always ready for a drive, so when I wanted to scout around Bakersfield, he was in the car before I could grab a pencil.
PBR: What is your writing kryptonite?
I liked my characters and the scenario so much that I have written three more books about them, and a fifth is underway. I had to slow down because I wore out my audience; my whole family got tired of hearing me talk about Monitors. They’re disinterest finally slowed me down. In addition, the selling process of books is very difficult for me; I hate Facebook, and I have no desire to blog or spend any more time in front of a computer. Writing books takes a great deal of energy, so I don’t want to spend any more time begging for the attention it now takes to be writer. Thus, writing books has become just an expensive hobby, and that gets old fast. It’s a good thing I don’t need to make a living writing!
PBR: Do you plan to write more books?
I will continue to write if my books begin to sell. We have a non-profit public benefit corporation which sponsors teachers in Kenya (among other things). I am 70 years old now, and I’d like to have an income after I die so that I can continue educating children in Kenya. All money earned by my books goes directly to teachers, and we were right—“Build it and they will come.” We support Hopewell High School, Lewa Children’s Home, Little Saints Nursery School, Kabi Turkana nursery school and we contribute to many others. We accept orphans and impoverished children (especially girls), and I’d like our work to continue because the contribution made by our educated Kenyan children has been immeasurable.
I feel incredibly encouraged by your review, and I thank you for it.
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