What first attracted you to horror writing?
The drugs?
No, honestly, writing horror began for me as a way of cheating and defeating fear. As a little kid I was terrified of horror movies like The Exorcist and Nightmare on Elm Street, and yet I was compelled and fascinated by them. So, learning to embrace that kind of storytelling was a way of getting power over fear. After a while, though, I just found it really cool.
What is your most notable work?
That depends on who you ask, probably.
Recent book: Double Dead – a vampire in zombieland. But a lot of folks likely know me due to my website and blog, Terrible Minds, wherein I dispense bucket-loads of dubious writing wisdom.
What are you working on now?
I just finished up an edit to Mockingbird, the sequel to Blackbirds (which drops in late April). It tells the ongoing story of Miriam Black, a tortured (and generally very cranky) girl who can see how you’re going to die just by touching you.
Who do you admire in the horror world?
Oh, man. The list is pretty epic. Robert McCammon, Brian Keene, Weston Ochse, Joe Lansdale – I could keep going.
Do you prefer all out gore or psychological chills?
I’ll cheat and say, “a lovely little mixture of both.”
Why should people read your work?
That’s a hard question. Here’s the thing: I like to write about characters who are troubled, who are damaged goods, who are *this close* to being downright despicable but then – like a plane narrowly averting a crash-landing – I pull it out of the tail-spin and make you enjoy your time with them. Like a train crash, you cannot look away.
At least, that’s the theory. Not sure how it really pans out, but it’s my ideal.
Recommend a book.
Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs. Go find, read, adore.
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