Horror Author Thomas Gaffney #Interview
Thomas Gaffney Interview
1. Congratulations on the release of your award-winning book Stranger Things Have Happened! Can you tell us a little about this book?
TG: Thank you! It’s still weird to think about. It started off a vanity project, I had a few short stories (around 1500 words max) that I submitted to contests and anthologies but were rejected. I was really enjoying writing short stories at the time, so I wrote a few more and collected them together. I self-published Stranger Things Have Happened to get the stories (and my name) out there, and submitted it to any contest that came along. I was very fortunate Stranger Things Have Happened anything, honestly.
2. Without giving away any spoilers, do you have a favorite story from the collection and why?
TG: That would have to be FEEEEENIX or FRAXINUS AMERICANA. FEEEEENIX is a very personal story to me. It’s the first one of these short stories that I wrote, the two main characters are based on me and my wife, and my father was a firefighter (but, luckily, both my parents are still with us). FRAXINUS AMERICANA is the second story I wrote and the one I was most “in the zone” while writing. That one flowed from like I creating a new world, and it was the most I felt like a “real” writer.
3. How long, from conception to final edits, did it take you to write Stranger Things Have Happened?
TG: I’d say a full year to write all nine stories that appeared in the book, and probably another year to edit them all with the help of a writer’s club I belonged to when I worked for Barnes & Noble. Some stories, like FRAXINUS AMERICANA and EIGHT DAYS A WEEK came easier than others.
4. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
TG: Growing up, I made my own comic books and Choose Your Own Adventure books for the neighborhood, but I never equated that to wanting to be a writer. I always assumed it was from my love of drawing. I stopped writing stuff until rereading Stephen King’s IT in my mid-thirties. It’s a masterpiece of 20th century storytelling, IMHO. After that, I sat down and said, “I want to tell stories.” And having grown up devouring horror novels (and King in particular), I knew exactly what genre I wanted to write.
5. What would you consider to be the hardest part of writing?
TG: Whew. I would have to say the monotony more than anything. I never had an issue coming up with ideas. Nor any problems with “killing my darlings” in the editing process. Yeah, I would hit some writer’s block, but I could usually transition to another chapter, or another project, until I got through it. The hardest thing for me is sitting at the same desk and working on the project for years on end. I have a completed novel in the middle of a third draft that I’ve been working on forever, and I had to put is away for a bit and work on something else, because working on that for 3 years straight finally got to me.
6. What changes would you like to see in the horror writing community over the next ten years?
Thomas Gaffney
TG: I’d like it to continue the path it’s on. More tension and less reliance on blood and guts. The best King books had their share of gore, which helped cement his reputation, but they also were adept at delving into the human psyche and that got overlooked by the death and gore. I want to see more diverse characters, and more of the everyday world where a tiny corner gets peeled away and underneath the bad day you’re having at work is a horror so unimaginable, it turns your hair white. And I do think the horror writing community is on the right path with that. The best horror stories, IMHO, are what would YOU do if you walked into your usual Starbucks and your regular barista was turned inside-out by a hell demon and begging for your help?
7. Is there anything you won’t write about?
TG: Off the top of my head, nothing is off-limits, per se, but I’m trying to make it a point not to put any romance into my stories. One, I’m probably terrible at writing it. And two, just because the story might put two strangers together to get out of a situation alive doesn’t mean they have to fall in love over the course of the book. A good portion of my stories have a female main character, and honestly, she doesn’t need a boyfriend or any man to help her save the day.
8. What’s next for you? Any projects you can discuss?
TG: I’m working on the first draft for a horror novel about haunted/cursed dice. I pitched the idea to one of my Creative Writing professors (who is a Bram Stoker nominated author) and he thinks it could potentially be purchased by a publisher. I wrote a short story about the same cursed dice for another Creative Writing class (it’s a sort-of prequel story) and it’s on a short list to be bought by an online magazine for their next anthology (fingers crossed). After that I’ll go back to the 3rd draft of a completed horror novel about a woman with unique eyesight and the creature that’s after her.
9. Where can people find you online?
TG: You can browse my website or find me on twitter where I’m most active. I’m also trying to use my Facebook and Instagram more often . Stranger Things Have Happened is available anywhere ebooks are, from Amazon to Apple to B&N to Kobo to Smashwords and Google.
10. Last chance! Anything else you’d like to say?
TG: If you want to be an author, stop making excuses. Believe me, I tried them all. But the writing bug never left me, and I found that any excuse is lame. I think my writing is junk, but I keep at it. The only way to get better is to practice by writing more. I work 40 hours a week, I simultaneously take online classes at Southern New Hampshire University, and I’m married and juggling home life as well – but I can always find time to write. Yeah, I wish I had more time, but there is always time if you want there to be time. Stop with the excuses.
BUY STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED HERE
