About Larry
Larry Rodness began his entertainment career as a professional singer at the age of 19 and has been performing in and around Toronto Canada for over 35 years with his wife and singing partner, Jodi. They have three children, Adam,
Jonathan, and Erin.
Jonathan, and Erin.
In the 80’s Larry studied musical theatre writing with P.R.O. under Broadway conductor Layman Engel, which led him to write for dinner theater.
He then moved into the screenplay arena where he has written over a dozen screenplays and has
had 3 scripts optioned to date. “Perverse” is his second novel.
had 3 scripts optioned to date. “Perverse” is his second novel.
My Review of Perverse
Perverse by Larry RodnessMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Awesome book! I love all things Goth and all things vampire so when it came to this book everything was just win win...lol...the book had some amazing twists and turns and a very wonderful ending! I totally didn't see any of it coming!
Emylene Stipe is a Goth Princess, Literately, her parents are like Goth royalty and they own the biggest Goth club in all of Toronto. When out shopping one day Emylene buys an old sketch and takes it home to hang on her apartment wall, but little does she know the sketch is more then it seems and inside is a whole other world. Determined to salve the mystery of the sketch Emylene unleashes chaos, magic, and horror into her world.
Laszlo Birij was by all appearances a simple shop keeper, but appearances can be deceiving. The day Emylene Stipe walked into his store to purchase the sketch he knew there was something special about her and that she might be the one to break the curse. All Laszlo wants is to be with his beloved Mira again. Laszlo and Emylene team up to help save the town from the chaos that has been unleashed upon it, but if things don't go according to plan they may loose everyone they love or worse be turned into the things that they are hunting.
Larry Rodness is a fantastic writer! I loved the imagery and they detail into everything. I could see in my mind everything that happened as if it was a movie playing. Fantastic work Larry!
View all my reviews
19 year old Emylene Stipe is a 2nd generation Goth who, like every teenage girl, is trying to find her place in the world. One night she comes upon an old painting in an antique store and is compelled to purchase it. When she brings it home an image of a young woman appears in the sketch and then magically materializes in her apartment. Emylene nick-names her 'Poinsettia' and they soon become fast friends. But Poinsettia has an ulterior motive for her sudden and strange intrusion into her host's life which causes Emylene to question her whole belief system.
My Interview
Today I am here with the wonderfully talented Larry Rodness of the Paranormal Gothic Thriller Perverse. I can't tell you how excited I am! this book was awesome! and rightly so is its author!
Larry a Canadian just like me has his hands in a lot of cool stuff and one of those things is writing. Perverse was defiantly a book of to get your Goth on ..lol.. and I loved it but it also had its action, love, and its heartbreak.
Larry as entertainment professional and singer definitely has his hands full, but after getting to know him a little I get the feeling he likes it that way...lol...as he is not one to sit still long he seems to be always looking toward the next project.
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what made you take up writing?
A: I began my professional career in the arts as a singer. I was hired for a season with the Charlottetown Festival back in 1975 to perform in the rock opera version of Hamlet called ‘Kronborg 1582’. After becoming immersed in the theatre I felt I needed write as well as perform – it was a voice begging to be heard. For the next few years I wrote 2 musicals and a dozen screenplays – 3 of which were optioned but not produced. During this time I was also working with a small writing group and was persuaded to rewrite my screenplays as novels. Boom! The first one was published in 2010 and the second one, “Perverse”, was published a few months ago.
Q: Can you please tell us a little about your book Perverse and what inspired you write it?
A:The kernel of the story came to me one day when I was browsing in an antique shop. I saw a common enough looking picture – a rural scene in winter. I asked myself, what would happen if I looked at the scene again and noticed footprints in the snow that weren’t there before. Then I asked myself ,who would have made those footprints and what would she be doing there?
Q: What made you decide to write a novel that had both Goths and Vampires in it?
A: As I was daydreaming I wondered what kind of person would I expect to find in a rural winter scene – perhaps a farmer, or a hunter. Who would I not expect to find there – a Goth teenager. Immediately I knew she would be my cipher for this adventure. The story involves not just vampires but a species called Vrykolakas which are undead beings. their origins being in Europe. These creatures are similar to vampires in that they prey upon the living but have additional powers and characteristics that I became fascinated with when I began to study the folklore. But truthfully, I had been obsessed and fearful of the vampire legends since I was a kid and I never grew out of it. My writing became a way for me to exorcise my demons and deal with them one way of the other.
Q: Do you yourself have any ties to the Gothic lifestyle? or know anyone who does?
A: I have no ties to the Goth culture except for my fascination with the occult, the paranormal, and even alien possibilities. My research for the book has led me to study the Goth subculture through the internet and personal interviews. Personally I have always wondered what lies beyond, and whether we as humans we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg as to what is around us. I find I am at my best when I allow my imagination to wander – although my wife often chuckles about it.
Q: What made you decided to write in the Paranormal Genre?
A: Most of us live rational, work-a-day lives dealing with family, mortgage, and business. Writing has always been a way for me to leave the mundane and express myself artistically without any boundaries. Writing about the paranormal actually gives me the freedom to ask some soul-searching questions and helps me balance my life.
Q: If faced with a Vampire what would you do?
A: I have been faced with vampires many times in my childhood dreams. I can remember waking up quite often in a cold sweat and terror-stricken. One of the reasons I wrote about the phenomenon was to help me lose my fears. As an adult those dreams occurred less and less. But if confronted one evening by such a creature I would be both frozen with terror and tempted to ask it questions that have haunted me all my life about life and death. I would probably conduct my own ‘interview with a vampire’ and write about it after.
A: If you’re referring to any character I’ve written about or created in Perverse I would have to say all of them. That’s because they become your babies, your children. Your mind gives birth to them and you watch them grow on the page. Sometimes it almost feels as though the characters take on a life of their own and begin speaking through you. The writer just becomes the conduit.
A: I have actually written about 3 chapters or experiences of my life. They all began as screenplays. My first novel entitled, “Today I Am A Man” is a semi-autobiographical account of the days when I was a young teenager and my family moved to Los Angeles. It is a coming-of-age story that touches on bullying, racism and sexual awakening. Instead of finding the promised land as we’d hoped, it was a disaster and I had to write about it to get it out of my system. My second story was about my younger brother who suffered and eventually died from cancer a number of years back. My third story was about the summer I worked with the Charlottetown Festival and was involved with the first Canadian musical that went to Broadway.
Q: Do you have plans to write a sequel to Perverse?
A: I have several ideas but I am waiting to see how the novel catches on. In the meantime I have a number of different projects in the wings so I suppose the readers out there will let me know if they want to hear more about Emylene Stipe and her family.
Q: What do you like to do besides write books?
Q: What are you working on at the moment / next?
A: I am working on 2 writing projects, the first is called “October 32” a ghost story that occurs in the small town of Elora, Ontario. Years ago I went there during their Halloween festival and was amazed at how the entire town came together to create an incredible, visual effect. The story grew out of that.
The second is a book called “Matrimoany”, I’m writing with a lawyer friend – stories about marriages from Hell.
Q: Thank you so much for the interview, Larry. Would you like to tell my readers where they can find you on the web and where everyone can buy your book?
A: They can purchase my books in print and/or electronically through Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and most outlets online. They can also visit my website, www.larryrodness.com for more information.
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