Horror Author Sola Cordis #Interview
Sola Cordis Interview
1.Congratulations on the release of Anhedonia! What inspired this plot?
Thank you so much I'm very proud of all the work I put into this book. The idea came around because of that old mother goose thing, "Rub-a-dub-dub, Three men in a tub, And who do you think they be? The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, And all of them out to sea".
I was just thinking about those three people and sort of daydreaming. It also occurred to me that there are certain monsters you just don't see in many forms of media, so I wanted to find a way to use them and make them really dominant.
I also wanted to show different forms of villainy. People don't always choose to be evil. It's just the path they wind up going down, and it happens without realizing. Sometimes the nature of a thing is just that- its nature, you know? It;s only evil when you feel like the victim much of the time. The relationship between the two main characters was important too because I myself was in a relationship that I was beginning to realize was...troubled. So, I imagined what something good could be like. The relationship that you see reflects a lot of my own.
Many books and movies romanticize couples in rather violent or abusive relationships. I think it's weird how stalking someone is considered romantic. I just wanted a romance that included respect. I wanted to do so much. Honestly, a great deal of the small domestic scenes got scrapped because they didn't really move the story forward. I'm still unsure if I should have pulled them. They were things that, to me, seemed like those trivial things that make life worth living. The original draft was actually much longer, but I had to pull the parts that didn't move the plot.
2. Do you believe in writer’s block? If so, how do you combat it?
Writer's block is something that happens when you don't know what happens next. So about halfway through this book I decided to actually write out an outline of the story. That allowed me to smooth out a lot of kinks and helped me sort of steamroll forward. Yes, writer's block can happen but I guess at that point you can just look things over to make sure what you have so far is cohesive. Well, that's what works for me, and also a good playlist of course!
For this book, I listened to a vast list of tavern-style music and some of that old 'chant' music.
3. You’re a self-published author. What tip do you wish you knew ahead of time, before
entering into the self-publishing world?
Editing is way more expensive than I thought it would be. I wish I would have started saving money for a really good editor as soon as I started writing the book. A good editor is worth every penny. At this point, I did manage to find an editor that I could afford, but I didn't pay very much. As a result, a few things were missed, and that's my fault for not saving up ahead of time; however, it is a lesson I did learn well. Since I've started writing my second book, I've been putting some money aside and looking around for good editors. I want the next book to be more polished.
Even though I do intend to hire an editor, I still need to brush up on grammar and for myself. That and outlines. I spent six years 'pansting' one story that still isn't finished, so if I could go back and tell myself something it would be to stop being a brat and just outline my work.
That's really the biggest thing I've learned.
4. We all know that authors have, um, unusual search histories. If the FBI were to search
through your history, what would that find that is totally, complete for “research?”
I don't even know where to start with that one, especially right now. I mean how much research on cults can you do before they flag you? I was researching scarification and blood loss and you know for a writer it's all pretty tame stuff i suppose.
5. When did your love of all things creepy and eerie begin?
One day, I wanted to be a vet. Then, I wanted to do comic books, and I have absolutely no idea at what point I fell in love with beasties and all the lore that follows them. I guess it just crept up on me, but it is really wonderful. I love being able to explore fantasy and fairy tales in a different light. I love the concept of mermaids as maneaters. These things are meant to be ugly and repulsive. They're excuses for why bad things happened when people couldn't explain why tragedies happened. Monster and ghost stories are what many mothers would use as a warning for why children and people should behave because if you didn't you might change and become something else or something wicked might reach out to take you away. Some foolishness like that. So many monsters were and are like strange guardians of a sort. I love monsters. I love them most when they're not the villain or don't see themselves that way.
6. Do you have a favorite author?
Gerald Brom. He wrote the Child Thief and Krampus and few other books. He does such spectacular paintings to adorn his writing but honestly even without the art his worlds are visceral and substantial. He took Peter Pan and made him ominous for a very different reason than one might think. He wrote a first page so hurtful that I had to close the book and brace myself for the rest. The man is absolutely amazing
7. What book(s) are you reading right now? At the moment, I'm adjusting to a new work schedule so I mostly read my friend's fan fiction on the bus rides to and from work.I used to write a lot of fanfics myself too. It's kinda funny now.
8. What is next for you? Anything in the works?
I have one manuscript that's nearing a close. I'm almost finished writing the 1st draft, and I have another planned to start after that. For now, I'm trying to focus on the 1st draft of what I think might be more thriller than horror. The one I have lined up after that s definitely going be a fantasy type horror.
9. Where can people find you online?
I don't know anything about manning a website but boy am I trying. Check it out here. I'm also on twitter but it's under @aleushadrake because I have no idea how to change that handle.
10. Thank you so much! This is your chance to say anything that wasn’t asked. Closing thoughts?
I'm afraid i must get back to my writing now. This was an absolute pleasure. I hope one day to do it again!
Horror, Fantasy, and Supernatural Thriller Author Kerry E.B. Black #Interview
Kerry E.B. Black Interview
1. Let’s start by getting to know you as an author. What would you say your “brand” is?
Author Kerry E.B. Black
Thank you for interviewing me! I'm a bit of an eclectic mess. I write short stories, drabbles, and flash of many genres. I've a YA supernatural thriller novel with its sequel already penned and in the editing stage. Essays, poetry, articles, and reviews also seize my imagination. I adore boosting fellow writers when I can. I write for this great game designing company, Games Omniverse, when they need, too. I write whatever inspires me, be it history, horror, or non-fiction. Actually, my newest collection of short stories will be fairy tales and myths.
2. Congratulations on the audio book release of Season of Secrets! What inspired this manuscript?
Thank you! Megan L. Hysell did a wonderful job with the Audible adaptation. I'm a huge old-time horror nerd, so late-night Chiller Theater episodes, classic tales of terror, and jaunts through haunted houses formed elements of my perspective. In Season of Secrets, some college kids awaken something paranormal. (Or maybe not. Who knows? Readers, I suppose. haha!) When people in the small community begin dying, these young people feel they must face whatever it is they released during that equinox ceremony high on the hill above the charming Ol' Nor'Eastern campus.
3. How autobiographical is your work? Do you draw off real events?
It depends on the story, really. I've had a lot of experiences in my life, so I do have a wealth from which to draw.
4. We all know that authors have, um, unusual search histories. If the FBI were to search through your history, what would that find that is totally, complete for “research?”
My most recent searches involve the history of witch trials.
5. What tips would you give newbie writers looking to break into the industry?
Find a supportive writing group, whether it's online or in person. Writing can be lonely business, so having others with whom to bond is special. Value a good editor and beta readers. And write those great ideas into stories.
6. What book(s) are you reading right now?
"The Lift" is an anthology of short stories on my Kindle. I have "The Tenth Girl" from my library for the Ladies of Horror Read along. And I read to the youngest of my five children every night, so we're reading "Seraphina and the Seven Stars" with them.
7. If you could co-author a book with any author, living or dead, who would it be and why?
I would love to write with Neil Gaiman. I greatly enjoy his writing and approach to the craft.
8. What is next for you? Anything in the works?
I always have something brewing along with my Earl Grey. Besides the two previously mentioned projects, I'm working on a story called "Wolves at Bay" that I hope will boost disability awareness.
9. Where can people find you online? Bookbub Instagram My Wesbite Facebook Twitter Goodreads
10. Thank you so much! This is your chance to say anything that wasn’t asked. Closing thoughts? Thank you again for including me!
BUY SESON OF SECRETS HERE
Dark Fantasy Author Austin Case #Interview
Austin Case Interview
1. Congratulations on the 2019 release of your book Wild, Dark Times! Can you tell us a little about the plot?
Thanks so much, Nico! Sure thing. So, the story takes place in the summer of 2012 and follows Elizabeth Megalos, who’s a failed art school grad working as a bank teller. One night, a possessed coworker attacks her and she’s saved by a roguish wizard named Eddy who drags her and a skeptical occult scholar to Europe. The group goes to Europe and meet up with Eddy’s celebrity sorcerer pals to help stop a creature from Gnostic mythology from fulfilling the apocalypse set out in the Book of Revelation. They take drugs and do rituals to learn more about how to stop Armageddon, and try to stay clear of supernatural creatures after Elizabeth.
2. When it comes to your writing process for Wild, Dark Times, what did you develop first – the plot or the characters?
For WDTs in particular, I seem to recall developing the plot and the characters pretty much at the same time. I drew on quite a few of my experiences during grad school in Europe studying esotericism and mysticism, as well as the friends I made during that time to develop the book. My initial outline incorporated early sketches of my characters.
3. Are you a pantser or a plotter?
For fiction, I’m definitely more of a plotter but for my poems I’m a definite pantser: I like to write stream-of-consciousness poems. I do also incorporate that style in my fiction from time to time. For WDTs the sections where they ritualistically take psychedelics were all written initially as stream-of-consciousness (with extensive editing later for cohesion, flow, etc.) But for WDTs as a whole, I definitely plotted out the principal points of the narrative.
4. While browsing your website, I noticed you have a Master’s Degree from the University of Amsterdam in Western Esotericism and Mysticism. That’s so cool! What is something you learned from that degree that you use with your writing?
Thanks! It was a pretty cool time: it felt like Hogwarts but with sex and drugs (a big part of why I love Lev Grossman’s The Magicians series so much). There were lots of little things sprinkled throughout that came from learning things at the UvA. References to the Golden Dawn, Gnosticism, Aleister Crowley, and John Dee come to mind. One class we had investigated the incidence of altered states of consciousness within the Western Esoteric tradition and that definitely was influential. The whole Eleusinian Mysteries possibly being ancient Greeks having ergot/LSD infused porridge and the group in the book building a ritual around that came straight from that class.
5. Where did you love for the dark fantasy genre come from?
I loved reading fantasy as a child (C. S. Lewis, Madeleine L’Engle, J. R. R. Tolkien). Those books were all foundational, but I became less interested in fiction as I got older until the end of grad school and I started working in a public library. I got back into fiction and dark fantasy in particular, since so much of that genre incorporates ideas about magic or the occult, and often in bleak or cynical ways. Studying magic from a scholarly perspective really takes a lot of the shimmer and mystery out of the world, but (at least in my case) the interest in the subject never dissipates. Urban fantasy, occult horror, and postmodern takes on the mystical all appeal to this sort of tense relationship that I have with the magic and esotericism.
6. Do you have a favorite author?
Neil Gaiman. The first book I read when I got back into fiction after grad school was
American Gods, and it satisfied the malaise I discussed earlier so thoroughly that I tore through the rest of the works he’d written. It also showed me a path that ultimately led me to become an author: incorporating the academic knowledge of fanciful things into story. I never had a background in creative writing so I had to learn (and continue to learn) the tricks of the trade on my own. I owe my writing profession to American Gods, and for that I’ll be forever grateful to Gaiman.
7. What book(s) are you reading now?
My partners bought me a copy of The Poetic Eddas for Christmas. I’ve been enjoying reading those, even though they’re saturated with so much misogyny (admittedly, par for the course for pretty much everything written more than half a century or so ago). It is kind of interesting to see an ethos and mythical framework that almost reads as though it were written by Ron Swanson and Tolkien.
8. What is next for you? Anything in the works?
My current WIP is a postmodern adaptation of The Epic of Gilgamesh which will, undoubtedly, be the most hubris driven task of my career. Writing this has been daunting as fuck. WDTs came out pretty easily, but this one is like pulling teeth. I do think it’s a solid premise though – the deities are movie stars and celebrities and Gilgamesh is a former action star turned governor (playing off of the demi-god status of the original) and it rips into our countries fetishism with celebrity, Scientology, our corrupt political climate, etc. It may be the death of me…
9. Where can people find you online?
Here’s some links to my author’s website, my Twitter page, my Goodreads page, and my Facebook page.
10. Thank you so much! This is your chance to say anything that wasn’t asked. Closing thoughts?
Thank you! I really appreciate you interviewing me and was thrilled to let you know a little bit about me and my writing!
BUY WILD, DARK TIMES ON AMAZON HERE