Photo by Brett Mullins - Robert Sounvonnakasy with his daughter Makenna showing off his new novel along with Emily Falker who is the character model for Briana Kilmer on the book cover.
South Bend graduate from the class of 2002, Robert Sounvonnakasy has published again. His fans will be excited to read his new book Melissa Weller and The Curse of Branford Manor.
Robert was born and raised in South Bend. He traveled for several years and then landed in Raymond where he lives with his daughter. He attributes his writing inspiration to a variety of areas including the Harry Potter and Hunger Games series, video games, and super hero legend Stan Lee.
The Herald talked with Robert recently about his publishing and his new book.
Herald: How successful was your first book?
Robert: The first book, The Prescott Legacy, was a moderate success. It's gone head-to-head a few times with a couple of Stephen King novels on Amazon UKs bestsellers' list for Psychic Suspense subgenre. It also reached the bestsellers' list a few times for the Superhero Fiction genre and Metaphysical Fantasy on Amazon Canada.
Herald: What is your new book about?
Robert: The title of the book is called Melissa Weller and The Curse of Branford Manor. It's about a young woman named Melissa, who's a Taekwondo student. She wants to travel the country with her wisecracking dog, so she can meet other martial arts masters. She makes a stop at an old house, but she isn't aware it was haunted. When she encounters a terrifying ghost, she gets hit with a really bad curse that gives her a ten-day death sentence. During those ten days, she'll be haunted daily and has to find a way to break the curse. This new book is a unique blend of The Karate Kid meets American Horror Story.
Herald: When and where will your new book be available?
Robert: It's available now on Amazon worldwide. Readers can buy it as a Kindle ebook or a paperback physical copy. Those who have a Kindle Unlimited account can read it for free.
Herald: What inspired you to write this one? Where did the main character come from?
Robert: Well, to be honest, it originally started out as a romance novel, but I realized I am terrible at writing romance. Then after I saw my first book squared off against Stephen King, I immediately knew what my stomping ground is: Writing horror and fantasy. That was my inspiration. The main character of this new book is a supporting character from my previous novel. Furthermore, one of the people on the front cover of this new book is actually a local person from Raymond, Washington. She modeled for a new character I developed; Briana Kilmer, who's a self-taught witch. I'm all about supporting our local community, and she did a fine job of standing in for such character. My daughter also contributed to this book. She mostly helped me create all the scary, horrendous ghosts that will haunt the main character. Ninety percent of them were based on her idea.
Herald: So this is book 1 of a spinoff series. What is the future of this series?
Robert: For this spinoff, I plan on writing at least six books. I wanted to emphasize women of martial arts within a horror setting, involving ghosts, demons, and witches. As of right now, I'm writing a direct sequel to my previous book, The Prescott Legacy.
Herald: Is there any book signings in the future?
Robert: Probably. I might do a book signing in Raymond, and other parts of the Pacific Northwest. Although, my main obstacle is that I'm a bit of an introvert...and shy.
Also, any proceeds and royalties from this book, I'm going to save for my daughter's future.