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Author
Works in Progress
Hunger of the Abyss: Cambion
Hunger of the Abyss: Winter’s Ashes
Book Three Coming Soon
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Novel: Hunger of the Abyss
Release Date: Sept 9th, 2024
Available for Preorder, or add it to your wishlist!
About the Author:Luke Hoffman is an author and game designer hailing from Sacramento, CA. His works include The Scarlet Bride; or a Bloodstained Romance, and Aeon, as well as the Hunger of the Abyss series, which was written largely at his favorite local haunt, Bottle and Barlow.Â
First of all, thank you for this interview, Luke. I would love to dive right into talking about your demons and hunters, but first, let’s get to know you.
Literary Roots: Influences and Inspirations
I know creative processes can be very challenging and that it takes experimenting to get where you need to be. Is there anything interesting you experimented with in your writing and liked so much that you stuck with it?
Less so within the Hunger of the Abyss series (thus far), but I’ve been experimenting with a droning, punctuation-light poetic form utilizing strings of adjectives. I’m not sure yet if it’s good, but we’ll see. Beyond that, I found that focusing on simple, “in the moment” expression rather than complex prose has worked well in Hunger of the Abyss. Yes, I’m often tempted to dress it up a bit, but I don’t think that’s what readers (or I would) want out of fantasy like this.
Could you tell us a bit about your demons? Not your personal demons, mind you. We want to hear about the demons in your series, the Hunger of the Abyss — which launches its first book, Cambion, in September! What is different about them? What inspired you to make them the way they are?
Hunger of the Abyss deals with demons of all sorts, from the devils of the Abyss itself to the inhospitable denizens of Figia. I really enjoyed exploring both the ways in which the actual demons differ and combat each other, as well as starting to touch on the backgrounds of the Demon touched – the Oni, Zilzina’s curse, and the cambion herself, Autumn. A demon is less a member of some monolith and moreso a being touched by chaos to some extent – how that chaos is expressed is up to the user.
What’s one of your favorite scenes between Autumn and Zilzina?
Zilzina and Autumn’s first meeting is a horrific one, fraught with death and misunderstanding. The cambion mistakes (or perhaps rightly recognizes) her savior, Zilzina, for a monster worse than the hellspawn she’d been saved from. I love the way their relationship evolves from a night of ice and blood to a tight sisterly bond.Hunger of the Abyss is about living through and with our scars, and never stopping the journey for a better future.
Autumn froze, her heart beating faster and faster. A shiver ran down her spine, though not from the snow–it was the feeling of being the sole object of a predator’s gaze. Even when the devil, her father, had attacked, she hadn’t felt like this.
“Don’t run,” continued Zilzina, taking a step further. She pulled her hood up, but Autumn could still see those bloody fangs glinting in the moonlight.
Like hell she wouldn’t run.
(Cambion, Ch. 2)
As we wrap up this first exploration into the creative mind of Luke Hoffman’s mind, we’ve only scratched the surface of the complex world he has crafted in the Hunger of the Abyss series. Luke’s unique approach to demons and his experimental prose are just the beginning. Stay tuned for more insights and revelations in our upcoming posts as we continue to explore the depths of his imagination and the dark wonders that await in Cambion and beyond.
