About the Book
Name: Ajax Night
Occupation: Magic Crime Scene Analyst and Profiler
Hobby: Serial killer specialising in hunting mages
Diagnosis: Perfection with a splash of antisocial personality disorder
Treatment: Socialising, dating, intimacy
A kill gone sideways, and troubles invade Ajax’s meticulous life – one of which an unorthodox police psychiatrist who glimpses the void beneath his human mask. To maintain control over his double life and keep his homicidal tendencies a secret, he has to play the doctor’s game, navigate the unfamiliar waters of relationships, and find a new target to prove he’s still the apex predator.
The perfect challenge arises when a gruesome killer surfaces, leaving a bloodied mess behind. The caveat? Ajax has to find the mysterious mage before his colleagues from the Magic Homicide Division do – and claim him as his trophy. Which would be manageable if not for another problem: unwanted snippets of a lost childhood leaking out of the cage in his subconscious mind.
Book 1 of the Ajax Night Series.
About the Author
Ante Caleta has always been obsessed with storytelling in all its forms – books, films, TV series, and video games – so it’s no wonder he found his purpose in writing. Defying simple categorisation, his stories blend multiple genres, often with the paranormal, the horrific, and the fantastical thrown into the mix, and always with a sprinkle of dark humour and irreverence. He usually pens novels but is known to flirt with screenplays.
It was the master of horror himself, Stephen King, who inspired him to become a storyteller. Over time, his circle of influence expanded to include Clive Barker, Jim Butcher, Neil Gaiman, Ben Aaronovitch, Catherine Webb, and Daniel Polansky. Officially, Ante’s writing career began with the short story “The Wrong Place,” published in the Black Petals Horror/Science Fiction Magazine.
Born in Split, Croatia, he now resides in Scotland.
Qn 1: Can you tell us more about your book What is it about?
In a nutshell, the story is an urban fantasy thriller with high doses of irreverence and dark humour. It follows a magic crime scene analyst who moonlights as a serial killer to satisfy his urges. However, he has a self-taught code and murders only murderous mages who have escaped justice. In a more philosophical sense, it’s about this empty human being with a human mask who’s not that different from the rest of the world – we all walk around with a mask of our own and pretend we’re someone or something else. A theatre of roles, each of us an actor, in the grand masquerade we’ve agreed to call life.
Qn 2: Who do you think would be interested in this book, is it directed at any particular market?
The fans of Dexter, the Dresden Files, the Rivers of London series, and similar urban fantasy novels with a darkish twist.
Qn 3: Out of all the books in the world, and all the authors, which are your favourite and why?
While I’ve been influenced by many authors such as Stephen King, Jim Butcher, Daniel Polansky, Catherine Webb, and Ben Aaronovitch, my one and only favourite author is Clive Barker. As much as I love his stories and disturbing imagery, it’s his writing style that won me over, and I still read his old works. His use of language is simple, easy to read, yet so fascinating at the same time. There is magic in his prose.
Qn 4: What guidance would you offer to someone new, or trying to enhance their writing?
At the risk of sounding cliché, just write. Read and write. Degrees, courses, workshops – they can be useful, but they’re far from a requirement. Just keep honing the craft by writing.
Qn 5: Where can our readers find out more about you, do you have a website, or a way to be contacted?
I’m on X (former Twitter): @ante_caleta And there’s also my Amazon Author page with my books: https://www.amazon.com/author/ante.caleta Once I have a website up and running, the link will be in my X/Twitter bio.
Be the first to comment