Interview with Award-Winning Author L. Marie Wood Interview
L. Marie Wood Interview
1. Thank you so much for joining me! For those who don’t know you, could you please introduce yourself?
Hi! My name is L. Marie Wood and I love to write. Here is my official bio:
L. Marie Wood is an award-winning dark fiction author, screenwriter, and poet with novels in the psychological horror, mystery, and dark romance genres. She won the Golden Stake Award for her novel The Promise Keeper. Her screenplays have won Best Horror, Best Afrofuturism/Horror/Sci-Fi, and Best Short Screenplay awards at several film festivals. Wood’s short fiction has been published in groundbreaking works, including the Bram Stoker Award Finalist anthology, Sycorax's Daughters and Slay: Stories of the Vampire Noire. Her poetry has been showcased in the critically acclaimed collection, Under Her Skin. She is also the founder of the Speculative Fiction Academy, an English and Creative Writing professor, and a horror scholar. Learn more about her at www.lmariewood.com or join the discussion on Twitter at @LMarieWood1 or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LMarieWood.
That’s a lot of words to say I like to write. 😊
2. If you had to describe your writing “brand” in three words, what would they be?
Engaging.
Authentic.
Unsettling.
L. Marie Wood
3. Congratulations on your Golden Stake Award for Literature at the International Vampire Film and Arts Festival for your book The Promise Keeper! It’s very cool that it’s shaped like a stake! Without giving away spoilers, could you tell us a bit about this book?
Thanks so much! I absolutely love that thing, by the way. I keep it out so that it’s within grabbing distance, you know… just in case…
The Promise Keeper is a lot of things at once. It is a vampire tale first and foremost, but it is also a story packed with mystery, love, fear, and suspense. It is historical fiction meeting present day; it spans the globe from Benin to New York; it has shapeshifting, demons, vampires, and something far worse. It is a very complex work that I absolutely adore.
Have you ever seen the book trailer? If not, treat yourself to this visual: https://youtu.be/u4A6lK_2We8
4. What inspired The Promise Keeper?
Nothing in particular, to be honest. I like vampires and I wanted to see how I could use the antagonist in my psychological horror. This is the output of that exercise. It was so much fun.
5. In addition to books, you also write screenplays. What tips would you give aspiring screenplay writers?
Keep writing AND keep watching movies. Pick studio movies and indies and figure out why they feel different. Watch movies you like and ones you don’t. Figure out why you feel the way you do about both. You have to put in research and time to be able to get it right – there is truly something to be said about that due diligence.
6. Which of your screenplays is your favorite and why?
I always say, and truly mean, the screenplay, novel, short story, poem, etc. that I am currently working on is my favorite. And it should be. Why? Because you should be so entrenched in that world that you live, breathe, eat, and think about it all day long – even when you’re not actively doing anything within it. It should be all-consuming – literally the only thing on your mind. In my case, they are all special to me for various reasons – even the stories that never see the light of day.
7. When did you first develop a passion for horror?
At the ripe old age of 5. Seriously. I always knew I liked stories that unsettled me – I didn’t have a word for it the and it wasn’t that I was particularly excited to be frightened… it was just that I was entertained by the off-kilter. And still am.
8. What’s next for you? Any projects you can talk about?
So much – this is a fantastic year! I have nine individual titles come out this year – WOOT! And that’s not counting the stories in anthologies and such. I am so excited. I have my first dark romance coming in early May (!!) called The Tryst – it is the first in the series and I am over the moon about it. I have a mystery - Mars, The Band Man, and Sara Sue - coming in late May. I have a very cool horror project happening over the summer months and, later in the year, book 3 of my trilogy, The Realm. To date this year I have release a novella called The Black Hole about paintballing gone awry (so much fun - this one is realistic horror so it should make the hair stand up on the back of your neck for sure!) and a textbook (!!!). I have so very proud of this textbook, I must say. It is the tool I wish I had when I was in grad school. If anyone wants to learn about the history of the horror genre and/or tighten up the skills they are working on, this book, About Horror: The Study and Craft, is perfect for them.
OOH!
My novella, Telecommuting, came out last year and we just released the audiobook version. The voice actor absolutely killed it – this story just sounds so good. If you have about 3 hours to spare, you should definitely check out this neat tale – it is psychological horror and it is definitely creepy.
And then there’s the cool stuff coming next year! WHEW!
9. Where can readers find you?
Check me out at www.lmariewood.com. You can find out about all the books I talked about here, where I’ll be this year, and what’s coming next. You can also sign up for my newsletter, Random Musings, there as well. I also hang out on Twitter and Facebook. Come by and say hello!
