So just how do you go about writing a book in which one of the main themes is the demonic?  You should probably start with prayer, then move on to speaking with a spiritual director of some sort, then follow through with more prayer and careful discernment of the way forward.

I did none of that.

My wife and I were in D.C. for a visit and we happened to hit the Basilica, more formally known as the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, aka America’s Catholic Church.  While wandering through the bookstore, I stumbled across the first of Fr. Gabrielle Amorth’s books on exorcism, An Exorcist Tells His Story.  Thinking it would be good research material for an idea I had involving recreating the world of angels and demons from whole cloth, I quickly realized that the full theology of the spiritual world was way more interesting than anything I could make up.  Ditching what I was thinking of doing, I molded the book ideas around the spiritual world according to Catholic (and hence early Christian) theology.  From then on, if I had any questions about how things worked, I referenced the Catholic thinkers, writers, and doers.

I won’t bore you with all the details of my readings and research – I actually hit on those at the end of the book – but one point I will make was how I had to take a month and a half hiatus from writing because I got my demonic voice “too good”.  I had contacted an exorcist (no mean feat, believe you me) and asked a few questions about what I was writing.  When the response came back that I had the voice nailed down, I had to stop.  After all, when you’re told by someone who knows, and I mean really knows, that you’re writing what demons sound like…you think about that very seriously.  Once I got my feet back under me, I was able to continue, but it took some time.

Polite reminder – The Devil and Casari: Ad Hominem is out for preorder now due for release on Halloween!  Preorder, read, enjoy, and spread the word!