Six characters from history enter the Devil's labyrinth - the fatal puzzle.
Robert Lath dies in the trenches of World War One. But he wakes to find himself on a never-ending flight of stone steps without end. A face appears and offers him a choice; a choice that might damn his soul.
During his struggle to beat his captor in a terrible game, he must watch the lives of six others:
A deckhand on a spaceship with a psychic girlfriend, a detective investigating a murder, a monk sheltering a werewolf, an artist, a friar and a medieval knight, battle against fatal illness, seemingly the result of a game with Satan and human frailty, to find salvation in this suspenseful and often erotic thriller.
Expect to find many story-telling traditions enfolded within this story, from science fiction, through noire and game theory to tales of Greek Priapus. It's fiendishly dark and complex plot is often reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum.
"Reminds me of David Lynch's Lost Highway."
Interview with Lazlo Ferran: Where do you live now?
I live and work in London.
Please tell us a little about your writing ie genre etc.
That is a difficult question to answer because I don't feel limited by genres, have never recognised them and my readers have come to expect that I will cross any genre boundary without recognising it. I have published fourteen books; two science fiction stories, two occult thrillers, one spooks thriller, one historical epic, one contemporary literary novel in two volumes, one war thriller and now Lotus. The best way to put this is that I look for a story that stimulates me and tests my philosophical limits. If it doesn't stretch me, I will not be able to engage and excite the reader.
Where do you find inspiration?
Inspiration most often comes from dissatisfaction with the world, either general or specific but this will be mixed in with my ideals to make a good story because I don't want to operate on just one level. Occasionally, my need to understand the world around us alone will generate a story idea. Sometimes I simply want to write a good yarn, as is the case with Attack Hitler's Bunker! Lotus, however, comes from none of these places. It comes from a very dark place, a place that needed illuminating, a place that I took 64000 words to describe! I hope it gives readers a jolt when they read it and that they will say, "Yes, I know this place. I have been there!"
Do you have a favourite character? If so why?
No. All my characters are my favourites and they all do things I can't predict or stop! If my books are my children, their characters are my grandchildren!
Do you have a character you dislike? If so why?
Yes. But he is in a book yet to be published and he is the hero!
Research can be important in world-building, how much do you need to do for your books?
I am lucky enough to know a lot about WWII and the early Medieval. I have always been fascinated by WWII so I have extensive knowledge of it. I know quite a bit about the Medieval because. I became interested in the Cathars and early medieval religion so I read widely on the subject, mostly academic works. When I came to write a sequel to Ordo Lupus and the Temple Gate, the 13th Century seemed a natural setting for me to attempt. However, I ambitiously decided to depict the Battle of Bouvines, which needs a few months extra for research.Research is not something I crave, however. A purely romantic novel is on the cards. That shouldn't require much research!
In what formats are your books available?
All my books, apart from the short stories, are available both as eBooks and paperbacks.
About the Author: During Lazlo Ferran's extraordinary life, he has been; an aeronautical engineering student; dispatch rider; graphic designer, full-time busker, guitarist and singer (recording two albums, one of Arabic music featuring the rhythms of Hossam Ramzy). He has traveled widely, marrying in Kyrgyzstan, and a had long and successful career within the science industry. He has now left employment in the public sector to concentrate on writing. He has lived and worked in London since 1985 and grew up in the home counties of England. Brought up as a Buddhist, in recent years he has moved towards an informal Christian belief and has had close contact with Islam and Hinduism. He has a deep and lasting interest in theology and philosophy. His ideas and observations form the core of his novels. Here, evil, good, luck and faith battle for control of the souls who inhabit his worlds. He has traveled widely, living for a while in Cairo during 1982. Later, he spent some time in Central Asia having various adventures, one of which was getting married in a the traditional Kyrgyz style. He has a keen interest in the Far East, Middle East, Asia and Eastern Europe - the latter informing his series of books about vampires and werewolves. He keeps very busy writing in his spare time and pursuing his other interests of history, genealogy and history of the movies.
