Dark
Fiction
looks like a great horror book. Do you plan any follow ups or making
it into a series?
Actually,
my novel Travel Bug is kind of an unofficial sequel. Travel Bug has
all new characters but does feature the character of Dr. Wells from
Dark Fiction briefly. Henry David Wells is also in just about every
other book I write. I am working on a direct sequel to Dark Fiction
right now.
What
do you think makes a great horror story?
A
good horror story makes you even more afraid of death. A great horror
story makes you sympathize with the protagonist so the reader will
route for them not to die or suffer.
What
inspired you when writing Dark
Fiction?
The
Arabian Nights
and Ghost
Story
were two heavy influences. I wanted to write a horror novel that
relied on a supernatural monster that is seldom used (the Djinn or
Jinn). I wanted to create a story that used suspense and terror as
opposed to graphic violence.
What
are your ambitions for your writing career? Full time? Part time?
I’m
an all or nothing kind of guy. Full time.
When
did you decide to become a writer?
When
I got sick of my college friends and I talking about how we were
going to write the great American novel someday. Then work, marriage,
and everything else took over. Life happened. Then my thirties were
over. Now I was forty. Then I was going to be a father. That’s
when I stopped making excuses and started writing.
When
writing Dark
Fiction
did anything stand out as particularly challenging?
I
love British culture. I was an English major. I write for a British
website www.mastersofhorror.co.uk.
I had to write about the American Revolution from the perspective of
an English soldier in Dark Fiction. This was a daunting task because
of all of the biases of having an American perspective on historical
things. This is especially true of our glorious revolution where we
fought for justice and equality and God was on our side. It was hard
to do. So I sought out the help of my English friends to do those
scenes justice. I hope I did.
How
did you come up with the story of Dark
Fiction?
I
have always been fascinated with the wish gone wrong fables. The
malicious spirits who will do terrible things to you if you do not
word your wishes perfectly. W.W. Jacob’s The
Monkey’s Paw
is the epitome of this story arc. What if these evil genies fed on
human wishes and needed horror stories in order to understand human
nature. They need dark fiction.
What
do you like to do when not writing?
Reading,
going to the movies, playing video games and spending time with my
seven-year-old son.
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