This Is Horror

TIH 034: Nathan Ballingrud on The Visible Filth, Stephen King Novels and Story Endings

  • March 10, 2015

  • 7 mins to read

In this podcast Nathan Ballingrud talks about his forthcoming This Is Horror novella The Visible Filth, Stephen King Novels, Story Endings and why he doesn’t like writers writing stories about writers. 

About Nathan Ballingrud

Nathan Ballingrud is an American writer of horror and dark fantasy. His first book, the short story collection North American Lake Monsters, was published in 2013 by Small Beer Press to great acclaim, including winning the Shirley Jackson Award and being shortlisted for the World Fantasy, British Fantasy, and Bram Stoker awards. He lives in Asheville, NC, with his daughter.

Show notes

  • [01:50] Nathan’s beginnings as a writer and attraction to horror
  • [07:35] Nathan’s break from writing in his twenties
  • [12:00] Redrafting and editing
  • [14:05] Themes in fiction
  • [15:35] Writing flawed and morally objectionable characters
  • [21:25] Working as a bartender in New Orleans
  • [21:55] The Visible Filth and how Nathan’s life experience’s impacted its development
  • [30:45] Setting
  • [32:14] The inspiration behind The Visible Filth
  • [41:15] Nathan’s pet peeve: writers writing stories about writing
  • [41:55] Nathan’s favourite Stephen King novels
  • [45:09] Real life bizarre experiences with technology
  • [49:00] Endings in fiction

Resources

Pre-order The Visible Filth by Nathan Ballingrud
North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud (UK)
North American Lake Monsters by Nathan Ballingrud (US)
Habit by Stephen McGeagh (UK)
Habit by Stephen McGeagh (US)
The Elementals by Michael McDowell (UK)
The Elementals by Michael McDowell (US)
The Shining by Stephen King (UK)
The Shining by Stephen King (US)
Salem’s Lot by Stephen King (UK)
Salem’s Lot by Stephen King (US)
Misery by Stephen King (UK)
Misery by Stephen King (US)

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