Author: Don Castle
Title: Dark Soul
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 978-1468184976
Pages: 258, Paperback/Kindle
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Author Interview with Don Castle
Author Interview Don Castle
Dark Soul
Interviewed by: Gary Sorkin, Pacific Book Review
PBR: Today we have the pleasure of being with award winning songwriter, author and Texan by heritage, Don Castle. Don, thank you for joining us.
DC: Thanks for having me Gary. It’s always a pleasure talking with you.
PBR: Don, your first book using the Jake Somers character was Pecan Gap, and I have since learned that you have family ties to that small, or rather tiny town of Pecan Gap. In this book you talk about an area of Dallas called Bryan Point. Is there a real area or did you model it after some imaginary criteria?
DC: I do have strong family ties to Pecan Gap. My grandparents lived there and my mother was raised there so we made frequent trips to that area. The train station that played such an important role in that novel existed when I was a boy. It has since been destroyed but I can vividly remember seeing that old station many times. Still, when it came to writing the novel Pecan Gap I was long on memories but short on history so I had to do my research about the town to give the reader a true feel for the area. And you ask about Bryan Point, the location for the new novel Dark Soul. It is a fictional area based partially on my knowledge of several upper middle class areas in Dallas and on some basic research into the history of the city. If you study the history of Dallas, you’ll find that John Neely Bryan was an early settler who established a trading post in 1839 to serve the Native Americans and settlers. So the fictional name of Bryan Point was developed from my own memories of Dallas suburbs and research.
PBR: I see. Tell us a bit more about how you came up with the character Jake Somers, and how you picture his personification?
DC: Ahhhhh….. the illusive personality of Jake Somers. Let’s start with the name. My father, Joe Thomas Castle was a hard working, under educated man who died at an early age from kidney failure. I have very vague but good memories of him from when I was a boy. One of the things that I remember is that his friends always called him Jake. So naming the hero Jake seemed to be a natural. The name Somers was initially a working name that I liked so much that it just stuck. As to Jake’s personality, I like to think of him as an easy going but hard working “good old boy” with a strong moral character. You know, the kind of person you want on your side when there’s a serious problem that requires an analytical mind and a dogged determination to make things right.
PBR: What about Tug, the dog and unsung hero of the book. What made you bring so much into the dog’s role?
DC: My love for animals, and especially dogs, made that part easy and fun. The right dog can add a warm and relaxing additional personality to our everyday life so I felt that a dog was just as deserving of a place in the book as anyone else. Don’t you agree?
PBR: I couldn’t agree with you more. Regarding the villain, the “Dark Soul” in your novel, did you model the character after one person, a combination of traits of different people, or from a fully factitious imaginative character?
DC: Fortunately I don’t know anyone like this villain so he is certainly a fully fictitious character. I approach character development based the situation. In other words, if the anticipated story line dictates that certain things, good or bad, are going to happen then that dictates the personality of the character. Of course the flexibility of defining that personality is what makes writing so rewarding, at least to me.
PBR: I thought the villain was a bit of a light weight as compared to some of the characters John Malcovich played? Was the villain as mean as you wanted him to be, or did you not bring in some aspects of his personality on purpose?
DC: John Malcovich is personal favorite of mine. I’m not sure that I could create a villain that would not appear light weight compared to him. However, let’s go back to the novel Pecan Gap for a moment. In that novel the killer knocks old people in the head with a hammer and then stuffs their bodies into a mail bag and then under the train station. Although the crimes are discussed, the actual acts of violence are not described in detail. And intentionally, or unintentionally, the acts are softened by the lack of detail. Realizing that, I tried to push the envelope a little bit farther in the new novel. The description of the girl being repeatedly tortured to the point of blacking out seemed to me to be a sufficiently violent act to position the bad guy as a serious psychopath. Additional acts of violence might have deepened the reader’s sense of evil but I’m not sure that it would have defined the bad guy as more villainous.
PBR: Jake Somers doesn’t seem to get riled up much, as he always seems to be pensive, level headed and cognitive – except in the end of Dark Soul when his own mother is being stalked. Tell us a bit about the relationship Jake has with his mother, and while you’re at it, also his girlfriend, please.
DC: Like all of us, Jake’s character has been molded by where he came from and what he has been. Here we have a former police detective, injured in an on duty auto accident and now a private investigator, who has to rely daily on his experiences in the police department. But that experience is constantly modified by his heritage. He was raised by a father and mother to be a good person. So even though he has to react, sometimes violently, to certain evil situations he cannot avoid his ingrained sense of right and wrong implanted by his parents. The loss of his father to a heart attack left Jake with the sole responsibility for his mother Josie’s well being. Because of his enormous affection for her he gladly accepts that responsibility. Shirley, Jake’s girlfriend who he met through the D.A.s office several years ago, shares Josie’s and Jake’s strong moral character, dedication to family, and just importantly their sense of humor. Josie and Shirley have become close friends and it’s obvious that Jake cares deeply for Shirley so the obvious question is “will Jake and Shirley marry?” Josie would like to see that happen. We’ll see.
PBR: Are you currently working on another Jake Somers’ mystery novel? If so, can you tell us a bit about the plot or story?
DC: I am well into the next novel. I hesitate to say too much about it because of the very unique type of criminal activity that introduces a host of unusual villains. Let’s just say that the book contains more of the characters that you know and love and some new people that you would prefer to avoid.
PBR: Wow, this sounds to be another page turner, and speaking from your audience I can’t wait to have a chance to read it.
DC: Thank you very much Gary. I sincerely appreciate the interest in the Jake Somers series and I look forward to bringing you the next novel as soon as possible.
PBR: I wish to thank you again for your time today, and all of us wish you the best of success with your Jake Somers series.
DC: Thank You.
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