Guest Post w/ Author Dave Becker

Today at UMB, we have author Dave Becker. Dave is the author of The Faustian Host and is here to talk with us about a most wonderful topic that I think we all question at some time or another.


What is Out There?

In addition to reinvigorating the young adult book market, authors like JK Rowling and Stephanie Meyer gave us something else: magic. Not just magical stories and characters, but a paranormal element woven into the fabric of the narrative, a "secondary world" that was intriguing and somehow fit in the world we know.

Anthropologists recognize that humanity has always shared a fascination with the unknown. Whether it's gods and monsters, or aliens and quantum phenomena, we know something is out there - something extraordinary. We've all experienced strange, inexplicable things, and our gut reaction is usually to use words like luck, miracle, or magic. Even if it's in jest, we're acknowledging our spiritual inheritance - there's more to this world than we can see.

In recent polls, most Americans still believe in angels, aliens, and psychics. And while we recognize it as fiction, our favorite stories always seem to include the supernatural, something bigger than ourselves. There's something about a world where we understand everything that's stifling, depressing, and downright boring. Nobody wants that. Nobody really believes in that.

That's the biggest appeal to writing paranormal fiction. It's exciting; it's boundless; it's timeless. I didn't use every idea that popped into my head in my new thriller, THE FAUSTIAN HOST, but it was never because it didn't make sense. Anything can make sense in a supernatural novel!

I chose certain plagues, monsters, and curses to carefully propel the main character, Tony, through the theme of the book. Tony is convinced that religion and magic are completely false, and anyone who believes in them is ignorant. Then a meteorite destroys his house, and a scroll bursts into flames at his touch, and Plymouth Rock begins to bleed. Suddenly, his logical world is falling apart, and no scientific explanation can save him.                                                                     

As Tony's science teacher eventually muses, "Most people spend their entire lives wandering in darkness, never wondering if there's anything more out there."

What is out there? Read THE FAUSTIAN HOST and find out!



Dave Becker is the author of The Faustian Host, a new young adult, paranormal thriller. After losing his family and his home, 14-year-old Tony Marino is forced to move from Florida to Massachusetts to attend Kalos Academy, an unconventional school for gifted children. Strange things begin to happen the day he arrives, and soon stories of plagues, monsters, and mystical objects surround him. Refusing to believe superstitions, Tony struggles to explain the occurrences logically, until he comes face to face with a satanic cult determined to bring about the end of the world.