If you’re one of the growing group of fantasy fans who like stories about time travel, werewolves, and zombies who interact with mortals, you might enjoy meeting David Ejchorszt.
The three-year Pacific resident just released his first book, a slipstream novella with the title “Death the Pharmacist.”
As a novella it is short – 126 pages. And slipstream means it’s out of the mainstream world, somewhere between science fiction, fantasy and literary fiction.
This little book and its author take readers into the realm of fiction writing in the emerging genre of slipstream.
At first mainstream publishers didn’t know what to make of these fantasy stories about zombies and shape shifting creatures falling in love with mortals. Like realism painters who first looked at the hazy landscapes of the impressionists, they took a step back. The genre first surfaced in 1989 but didn’t catch a foothold until 2007 when London held its first Literature Festival and set aside one evening for the unusual genre of slipstream.
It has since emerged with a tidal wave of books, movies and tv series about other worldly characters and their interaction with ordinary people. David is part of a prolific group of fantasy fiction writers who dream up stories about the undead, fairyland and the apocalypse. He loves slipstream because it allows the writer’s imagination to run wild as he or she crafts a tale that takes the reader to a new reality.
The first time novelist’s eclectic background gave him a lot to work with. The 28-year-old had already tried his hand as a wild-land firefighter, trail builder, timber harvester, compounding pharmacy technician, and emergency management team member. In his off-time, he is passionate about weightlifting, role-playing, back-country hiking, and asking deep theological questions. But it was his work in the pharmacy field that he chose to set his fantasy fable.
He wrote the book in eight weeks in a Novella Course at Liberty University. He said he wanted to create “something wondrous.” And he did.
The “Pharmacist,” in David’s book is a supernatural life essence provider who operates between the world of the living and the other side. It’s quite a read.
You can buy it at: Neighborhood Reads, 401 Lafayette Street, Washington; Subterranean Books, 6271 Delmar, St. Louis; or online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Indie Bound. Cost is $16.99 plus tax.
David will hold a book signing at Little Ireland on 1:00 p.m. on March 4. On that day, you can buy the book for $18, which includes tax.
