Cosmic Horror and Weird Fiction Author Curtis M. Lawson #Interview
Curtis M. Lawson Interview
1. Congratulations on the release of you book Those Who Go Forth into the Empty Place of Gods! Can you tell us a little about the plot?
Thank you so much! The book is about an underachieving genius who inadvertently gets sucked into a world of cosmic conspiracy when he gives the wrong answer on a TV quiz show. His answer, a bit of trivia he remembered from his dead grandfather, awakens a cabal of immortal guardians of forbidden knowledge and sets in motion events which can undo creation itself.
It’s a fast-paced blend of cosmic horror, black comedy, and pulp adventure. The closest book I can think to compare it to would be John Dies at the End.
2. What was it like writing this book alongside Douglas Rinaldi?
It was great working with Doug. Years before either of us wrote fiction, we both played in metal bands and we played several shows together in the early 2000’s, so it was cool to reconnect years later and discover we were on similar artistic paths again.
The book was Doug’s idea. He approached me with the concept and the first scene, then I helped him flesh out the story and the mythology a bit more. Once that was done, we made a scene by scene outline and divided up the parts based on what we were most interested in and what parts might play to each of our strengths.
This was my first time doing a writing collaboration, and I’m glad it was with Doug. He’s an easy guy to work with, we have a lot of mutual respect for each other, and our styles mesh well.
3. I’ve seen several reviews that describe your “brand” as cosmic horror. Would you agree with that, and for those who aren’t familiar, what exactly is cosmic horror?
I have a deep love of cosmic horror, and I would say the themes behind it—humanity’s insignificance compared to the vastness of space and time, existential nihilism, fighting losing battles against entropy—those things influence most of my fiction. My body of work spans wider than cosmic horror, however. Almost everything I write has a supernatural or ambiguous element to it, which I would say puts it more into general weird fiction, which is another nebulous term. Sorry about that. Weird fiction readers and writers have spent a lot of time trying to define weird fiction, but for me it’s more a vibe that the work gives off. It’s kind of like punk rock—you know it when you hear it.
As for cosmic horror, that’s a bit easier to describe. Cosmic horror pits the smallness of mankind against the enormity and indifference/malevolence of the universe. It’s man versus nature combined with man versus god, if both were taken to the furthest extremes.
4. You’ve written several novels, short stories and comics. What tip would you give a newbie writer who is looking to break into the writing industry?
Write what you love and approach it as honestly as possible. Odds are you aren’t going to make much money, and chasing markets and trends is mostly a waste of time. I’m not trying to be a buzzkill, but that’s the truth of the industry. Once you realize that, you can stop worrying about making money and focus on making art.
Even if your book bombs, which you often can’t control, you still have the thing you created. No one can take that away from you, and it’s the only guarantee in this whole business, so make sure that your work is genuine and give 100% to every project. Make sure it’s something you can look back at on your deathbed and say “yeah, I’m happy with that piece of me living on”.
5. Where did you love of horror and weird fiction come from?
Since I was ten years old or so I’ve been exploring this ever-expanding web of weird, dark art. It started with the horror section at June’s Video Hut, my local video store. John Carpenter’s Christine and A Nightmare on Elm Street are both directly responsible for making me fall in love with horror. After that I was consistently attracted to dark art in all forms, and one thing led to another. Through Ghost Rider I discovered old Tomb of Dracula trades. Dungeons and Dragons brought me to mythology and occultism. Horror punk led to death metal and death metal to black metal. Stephen King and Bram Stoker opened the doors for horror books. Clive Barker and H. P Lovecraft hooked me for life.
6. Do you have a favorite author?
H. P. Lovecraft is my favorite author. There are books that I like better than Lovecraft’s best work, but no other writer has so consistently enraptured me with their imagination and their voice. Clive Barker comes close.
7. When you’re not writing, what are you up to?
I’m a stay at home dad so most of my time is spent writing and raising my son. I try to do a fair amount of reading of course, and I’m making a real effort to get in better shape this year. I used to play a lot of tabletop RPGs, but I don’t really have time for that these days, unless I’m playing something with my wife and son. I’m very dedicated to self-improvement and to working towards making things better for my family.
When I do have some time to myself though, I suppose I most like to spend it exploring museums and parks, having conversations with good friends, or relaxing with music or a movie. I’d like to make more time for seeing live music as well. I’d love to start going to the symphony a few times a year.
8. What is next for you? Anything in the works?
I’m currently working on a collection of short stories that all take place over the course of a single Devil’s Night in Detroit. Each is a standalone story, but they are loosely connected with nods to events and characters from other stories in the book.
For those unfamiliar, Devil’s Night was what they called the night before Halloween in Detroit up through the 90s. It started off as a mischievous kind of thing with harmless pranks, but through the 70s and 80s it turned into a free-for-all of crime and arson. It peaked around 1988, when over 500 fires burned throughout the city.
The collection, aptly called Devil’s Night, explores straight-up supernatural horror, urban folk horror, weird crime, dark fantasy—all sorts of interesting sub-genres of dark fiction. The limited edition hardcover is slated to come out from Weird House Press in September or October of this year.
9. Where can people find you online?
My website and I have a Patreon page with exclusive poetry and short fiction at patreon.com/curtismlawson
For those more into social media, I’m on facebook as Curtis M. Lawson, instagram and twitter
10. Thank you so much! This is you chance to say anything that wasn’t asked. Closing thoughts?
Thank you so much for having me! There are so many great people in the horror community—readers, reviewers, writers, publishers—and I am so thankful for all the connections I’ve made. I’d love to connect with more people, so for anyone reading this, please feel free reach out to me for any reason!
BUY THOSE WHO GO FORTH INTO THE EMPTY PLACE OF GODS HERE