Horror Author Justin Fulkerson #Interview
Horror Authro Justin Fulkerson #Interview
1. Congratulations on your most recent release Crossroads! Can you please tell us a little about this collection?
The first three stories (Unfinished Business, One More Cup and Knackelflerg) were some of the first I published to Amazon back in 2011-12. I was playing around with the platform back then and wanted to get my name out into the publishing world. The last three are novellas I wrote shortly afterward (Paranormal Alien Crap, Koyaanisqatsi, and Gate of She’ol). These are all the first stories that I shared with the world and I thought it would be fun to collect them into one volume. The introduction explains the origins of the stories and a few tidbits about each one.
2. Without giving away spoilers, what was your favorite story in this collection and why?
I would have to say Koyaanisqatsi. What could be better than Lee Harvey Oswald, Charles Manson and Jim Morrison teaming up to defeat time-traveling demons and aliens in order to save the world?? The story takes place in an alternate timeline when the Cuban Missile Crisis leads to nuclear Armageddon and the survivors are drawn to a figure named Phoenix that promises them safety. Hope that doesn’t qualify as spoilers, lol.
3. I’ve had the pleasure of reading your terrifying book Freckles the Clown. It was a delicious blend of disturbing gore and horror. Can readers expect this level of horror in your other works? In other words, how would you describe your horror brand?
Justin Fulkerson
I think Freckles the Clown pushed the envelope more than most of my past writing. My horror brand deals more with the human side of horror and the fact that there are no real ‘good guys’ on the world. Everyone has a dark side or secrets they do not want brought to light. The majority of my works are character-driven. The characters are the heart and soul of the horror I produce. Sure, in my novel Hallowed Ground there are a few zombies, in An Hour for Magic there is a power-hungry demon set to take over the world but the majority of my antagonists are human. Psychology plays a major part in my story-telling. Unfinished Business follows an elderly serial killer in search of his fiftieth victim on a Texas highway, One More Cup takes on the subject of an innocent person being accused of following someone else and how these situations can spiral out of control.
4. You’ve published eight horror books. What’s one tip you wish someone had told you before you began your journey as a writer?
Don’t give up!!!! Several times I stopped writing because I could not find a market. I even had one retired agent tell me that horror was dead and had been for more than ten years. He said there was no market for horror and that I should try something else. I won’t say his name, but he was a big name agent. It hurt momentum for a while, but then I became determined to prove him wrong. Write what you love and what you feel is a good story. Let the chips fall where they may and go for it. There will be a lot of people in the way, but you have to ask them to step aside and give let you take the path.
5. There’s a theory floating around the artist community that creative people need to experience suffering in order to write about suffering. True art comes from suffering. What do you think of this idea?
Wow. Well, suffering does give you fuel. But feeling sorry for yourself will get you nowhere. I am going to tell a story that I don’t share with a lot of people. To make a long story short and leave out the sordid details, I have been supporting myself since I was seventeen years old. I have worked full time since then. I am now 44 years old and I can truly say that I owe no one anything. I have gotten through this life without being indebted to anyone, including family or friends. Sure I owe my mortgage and bills, but have never had to ask anyone to help me financially.
6. Who is your favorite author and why?
Of course, you know the answer to this one. Stephen King. One of the most significant reasons I ever read him was because my mother was whole-heartedly against it. She said when I was 12 that I could read whatever I wanted, as long as it wasn’t Stephen King. So, I went behind her back and my father (they were divorced) bought me Cujo one month. I was hooked. My mother was livid but eventually came around. She said, ‘okay, as long as you don’t read The Shining.’ Well, what do you think I did next? Now I have an entire wall of my office papered with pages from IT, ‘Salem’s Lot and The Gunslinger. I have covers from Carrie, The Shining, Pet Semetary, The Stand and Misery polyurethane coated to the counter. I have 6 books signed by his son Joe Hill. So, yeah, I am a big fan of Stephen King. It humbles me when sometimes I am compared to him in a review.
7. What’s next for you? Any projects you can discuss?
I am working on four at once, but two of them are quite promising. Space Hobos is coming along nicely (you got a sneak peek of this one). Here is a blurb for those interested:
A galactic adventure rife with cultural relevance in today’s political and social media driven climate, Space Hobos launches the reader into a plausible sci-fi drama and never drops out of orbit.
For quite a while the future has been bleak for Holistic Henry and Cancer Carl and it isn’t getting any better. As the government begins to round-up the homeless population for an involuntary mission to space, Henry and Carl attempt to evade capture, fleeing with acquaintances Junkie Julie, Castaway Carl and Bike Mike. But their luck quickly runs out.
Trillions of dollars behind schedule, the government and sponsoring corporations scramble to find enough manpower to finish preparing Mars for imminent colonization. Current social economic challenges give them the perfect opportunity to capitalize upon. They make themselves champions of the homeless, forcing upon them a permanent solution to their predicament. A potential workforce of 554,000 homeless is at their fingertips.
Exiled to Mars, the hobos must stick together in their isolation. What the rest of the world sees as opportunity for them, they see as a death sentence. The people in charge have a deadline and don’t care what they have to do to meet it.
When an uprising begins, orchestrated by Carl and Henry, the powers that be see the imminent threat and decide to quash it before it can gain momentum.
Will Henry and Carl survive not only the harsh living conditions of Mars but live long enough to see their revolution become a reality?
Sounds good, right? This is my first stab at a full sci-fi novel.
I am also working on a post-pandemic novel from two different perspectives with my friend Dan Hubbard. It is called Cabin Fever.
Two families, one apocalypse.
When society breaks down after a worldwide pandemic, two families set out from opposite sides of the country in search of a safe haven. Two separate stories running parallel on an inevitable collision course until the two families finally cross paths. Forever changed, they each realize what sacrifices have to be made in order to survive the horror around them.
Both of these stories will be completed in the near future.
8. Where can people find you online?
9. Last chance! Anything else you’d like to say?
Thank you for taking the time, that is all I ever ask. Let me tell you a good story and make you think about how good your life is in comparison to my characters. Enjoy the ride and please leave a review when you read a story. A few words is all it takes to help an author like me gain attention.
