What first attracted you to horror writing?
Morbid curiosity I guess. I found myself drawn to a genre which inspired powerful emotions.
As a teenager, I became interested in the darker aspects of entertainment. I loved movies like Hellraiser, Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday 13th, I listened to a lot of metal, which typically invoked dark imagery and I obsessively read horror fiction. The first novel I read all the way through was Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. To be honest, I was never interested in reading prior to that, but after the first taste of what King had to offer, I consumed his novels one by one until I had exhausted the entire King bibliography. After that I moved on to other notable authors of the genre; Graham Masterton, Dean Koontz, Shaun Hutson, Richard Laymon and Guy N Smith.
A little later I began to write my own short stories imitating the styles of my favourite authors. Back then, it was a pretty stormy time in my life and I used my writing as a form of catharsis, pouring my emotions into my work. I still do.
What is your most notable work?
As a relative newcomer to the genre, my short stories have mostly appeared in various eZines, websites and anthologies. My first solo piece, The Echo of a Lost Virtue will be released through Hellfire Publishing on April 30; I hope it will be the first of many. My other works will appear in numerous anthologies due out later in the year including the Hellfire Book of Beltane from which a percentage of the proceeds will be donated to St. Jude’s Children’s hospital in Memphis.
What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on my first novel entitled The Cottage on Boag Hill (working title), which I am hoping to have completed at the end of this year at the latest, and a short story collection, Macabre Transgressions which is coming together quite nicely.
Who do you admire in the horror world?
That’s a tough one to narrow down, as a horror fan there are so many names in the genre who I admire. I admire the classic authors of the genre who have set the president for modern horror fiction; Lovecraft, Shelley, Stoker and Poe. Without these great authors, I believe that horror and all its sub-genres would not exist as we know it today.
Do you prefer all out gore or psychological chills?
I like a bit of both. For me, anything with a dark theme usually grabs my attention, whether its Thomas Harris’s psychological chiller, Silence of the Lambs or Eli Roth’s gore-fest, Hostel. As long as its horror or dark fantasy and doesn’t feature fangless vampires who sparkle in the sunlight…
Why should people read your work?
If you like your horror fast-paced and full-on with that all important twist in the tale, then you will enjoy my work.
Recommend a book.
The book I would recommend is the one I’ve read most recently; American author, John Prescott’s Pray. Pray is a cracking novel, the first part of a trilogy, based on the end of times. It contains a bit of everything from werewolves to the coming of the antichrist. Brilliant work, go buy it!
