Sunday Author Interview: Renée Pawlish - Mystery, Suspense and The Genesis of Evil

Renée Pawlish and I bumped into each other on one message board or another recently, or maybe it was Twitter. At any rate, I wound up discovering the e-book edition of her novel Nephilim: Genesis of Evil. It's a  horror thriller, and I was prompted to write this review:

 Fans of early Bentley Little should enjoy Nephilim: Genesis of Evil, a chilling, horror outing that uses The Apocrypha as source material for its menacing beings. It's a well-crafted tale of the re-emergence of spirits who are the offspring of humans and angels. The spirits begin possessing humans in a small Colorado town in order to obtain corporal form, capturing the attention of paranormal journalist Rory Callahan who's traveled from New York City where he witnessed a strange and malevolent presence. Rory joins forces with Anna Holmes, a local resident with a troubled past. Anna is a counterpoint to the skeptical Rory, allowing a deeper metaphysical exploration as the novel charges forward into a full-fledged confrontation between good and evil. This is a powerful and well-written effort.

Renée agreed to drop by the blog for an interview, so there are a questions and answers below. You should also know that she is a Colorado resident with a love for travel, hiking and playing guitar.


Thanks for dropping by the blog. Your bio states you have degrees in history and
counseling. Tell us a little of the path that led you to writing.

I've always had stories running around in my head, and I even dabbled in writing as a
child. One of the classes I most enjoyed in high school was a creative writing class.
About the time I received my degree in counseling, I had an idea for a story that just sat
with me, just waiting to be told. A friend kept encouraging me to write the book and
I finally did. It's not written very well, but I still think the general story idea is good.
From there, I just kept at it, honing my craft.


I’m intrigued by Nephilim: Genesis Of Evil and its basis in Genesis. Tell us a little about the nucleus of the novel. How much did your seminary background influence the book.

Nephilim came about because of a dream I had. I was rereading 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King, and I dreamed about characters trying to escape some malevolent presence they knew was coming, and the action in the dream occurred on the shores of a lake. I woke up and knew I had to write it. Some of the characters from that dream ended up in Nephilim, and I incorporated the lake into the book as well. Of course, studying the Bible helped in my research, but I actually did not have the Nephilim as the "bad guys"
initially. Originally, I wanted the characters to think they were dealing with vampires, and then realize they were mistaken. As I was working through that idea, I was in a Bible study and we were reading Genesis. As we discussed the Nephilim, I knew I had my bad guys.

The synopsis and reviews state that it’s a vampire novel and a detective tale, could you elaborate on that?

It's really a twist on the vampire tale, in that the residents of this small town are dealing
with an evil presence that tries to overtake their bodies. The similarities end there,
but I don't want to give away too much. I've mostly written detective stories, so those
elements exist in Nephilim, where the characters have to piece together clues in order to figure out how to handle this evil presence. Unfortunately, from a marketing standpoint, I didn't help myself because Nephilim doesn't fit into just one genre. People think that Nephilim is horror, and although it certainly has horror components in the story, Nephilim is also a mystery or thriller. The feedback I consistently get is that Nephilim is just a great read and that it's hard to put down. That's the best compliment an author can receive.

The next book
Speaking of mystery and suspense, Renée's new book, a mystery, was just released this week.

Synopsis: Thirty-something Reed Ferguson, a wannabe private eye with a love of film noir and detective fiction, needs a paying client to prove his career choice to himself and his parents. The customer shows up at his downtown Denver office in the form of Amanda Ghering, a rich, attractive, but unhappily married woman. She hires Reed to find her husband, who is presumed dead. The superb cast of characters include a duo of oddball brothers who lack common sense and a genius computer geek. Follow Reed as he solves crimes akin to his cinematic hero, Humphrey Bogart. Get it from Amazon

Visit Renee on the web or follow her on  Twitter.

Further reading

• Get Nephilim from Smashwords.
• Read the prologue