Welcome back to our author interview series! This week, I’m super excited to spotlight Matt Andrew. Matt is a fantastic speculative fiction writer who has several great stories already out in the publishing world and more awesome tales on tap for release in the coming months. Recently, he and I discussed his inspiration as a writer, his current training in the prestigious Seton Hill University MFA program, as well as his future literary plans.

A couple icebreakers to start: when did you first decide to become a writer, and who are some of your favorite authors?

I wrote a bit when I was a kid, like most writers. As a lifelong fan of horror, I authored my share of one-page werewolf stories with Crayola illustrations. But, I spent most of my adult years drawing and painting semi-professionally. About three or four years ago I went through this massive creative slump. None of my projects panned out—they all seemed like garbage. A friend suggested shifting my creative gears for a while to get out of the doldrums, so I went back to writing—just whatever popped into my head, at first. I’ve been hooked ever since. Although it had been over two decades since I’d written anything fictional, what made all the difference was the fact that I’ve been a heavy reader my whole life. My favorite authors are Cormac McCarthy, Stephen King, Chuck Palahniuk, Elmore Leonard, Tom Spanbauer, and more recently, Megan Abbott.

As a fiction writer, many of your stories have been in the horror genre, and you’re currently at work on a novel that’s a horror-western set during the Civil War. What is it about darker fiction that draws you in?

It’s kind of like being an adrenaline junkie—some of us that like dark fiction want to look death in the face. I think, if done right, dark fiction tends to force us to confront some harder truths about life, some of the ugliness that makes us sit back afterward and wonder, “would I do that?” The answer to that can be surprising.

Have you always been a fan of the genre, or did you develop a love for it later in life?

ALWAYS been a fan, both movies and books! I read King’s Skeleton Crew when I was probably way too young to be reading it and I was sold.

You act as first reader at Pantheon Magazine. How (if at all) has sifting through the slush pile changed your approach to your own writing?

One of the first bits of writing wisdom we all hear is that we need to compel the reader to turn the page. Nowhere is that more apparent than when you’re a slush reader. I go through hundreds of stories a year and always sitting forefront in my mind is “would I keep reading this story if I picked it up off the rack?” As a result, it’s become a more conscious tactic in my own toolbox as I write my own stuff—is there anything I can do here to make the reader more willing to turn the page or move to the next chapter?

You’re currently working on your MFA through Seton Hill University’s Popular Fiction department. What’s the most important thing you’ve learned so far in the program?

From a technical standpoint, I couldn’t even begin to answer that. The mentors and professors are top notch and the learning curve has been very steep. But on a more personal level, the most important thing I’ve learned has been time management. In the program, you have a certain number of pages of your thesis novel that you have to complete each month. But you have several other responsibilities, too. We also have critique groups in which we have to provide feedback for other people’s thesis pages. There are also readings from within our preferred genres, which come with their own bit of homework. Not to mention my own projects, unrelated to the MFA program—I always have at least one short story I’m working on, usually more. Procrastination can mean failure in these endeavors and you learn to pace yourself real quick.

Out of your published works, do you have a personal favorite?

My first attempt at horror was a story called ‘Take the Flay Train” which was published in Pantheon Magazine’s Ares volume. I wrote it as kind of a Clive Barker tribute, because I’d just finished Books of Blood and said to myself “That’s what I want to write!” I’ve written some stinkers since then, but I still hold that story close to my heart.

Where would you like to see your writing career in five years?

I’d like to say my first novel will be on a bookshelf somewhere by then, but I’d be happy if I just continued to improve steadily in the interim.

Big thanks to Matt Andrew for being part of this week’s author interview series. Find him online at Facebook and learn more about a few of his stories at his Amazon author page.

Happy reading!

Welcome to this week’s author interview! Today, I’m thrilled to spotlight the amazing Lori Titus. I first met Lori when she published one of my flash fiction pieces earlier this year, and ever since, I’ve enjoyed keeping up with her work as both an author and editor.

Recently, Lori and I discussed how to make time for writing and where she sees her already booming career headed in the coming years.

An icebreaker to start: when did you first decide to become a writer, and who are some of your favorite authors?

I wanted to be a writer pretty early on. I started writing stories when I was nine. In college, I majored in Journalism. My professor had a talk with me about the fact that I wasn’t really enjoying writing non-fiction work. She told me that she saw my work as being highly creative, and that really I should put my energies towards that. I changed my major to something I thought was more marketable. My idea was that I needed a skill to pay the bills, and I wasn’t expecting I could do that by writing fiction. In the meantime, I continued to write, but I didn’t pursue publication.

My favorites are King and Koontz, Tananarive Due, Octavia Butler, and of course, Poe! Right now I am looking for new favorites. I am reading a book by Alaya Dawn Johnson, and a paranormal thriller by T.P Miller. I just ordered the first novel in Sumiko Saulson’s horror series, and I’m looking forward to it. I love the creativity amongst the indie authors that are coming up right now.

Over the past few years, you’ve been consistently writing and releasing short stories and novels. How do you maintain such a consistent level of productivity, and what advice do you have for writers who sometimes find it difficult to produce new fiction regularly?

For me, writing has been a passion that I decided I couldn’t put on hold any longer. I’d say that I put aside writing for three years while I cared for two family members that were ill. Between being a caregiver, work and school, there was no energy left at the end of the day for me to write anything. I decided that if I wasn’t going to publish, it was silly for me to continue writing for pleasure when there were more serious things that required my attention.

After a death in the family, I found myself with some time on hand. I got back into writing as a way to deal with things that I was going through, a sort of positive way to channel my energy. It was therapeutic for me. I think I had forgotten just how much I loved to write and what it had always meant to me. I found that the more I wrote, the more I was able to produce. I started out with short stories, and then novellas. I worked my way up to full length novels.

My suggestion to anyone that is having trouble producing work is to make a commitment to start small. Don’t expect yourself to bang out the Great American novel on your first try. Set a goal for yourself. It might be as small as 500 words a week. Use some of your downtime to do this. It might mean getting up early or staying up late. In my case, a lot of work was written on my lunchbreak at work or late at night with the television on in the background. Once you smash one goal, slowly add more. Your ability to write is like singing or dancing. The more you practice, the more you can do. There’s a sort of muscle memory that comes with building people and worlds within your imagination. If you don’t exercise that muscle, your movements and your voice will both lack flow and strength.

On several of your novels, you’ve collaborated with other writers. How does the creative process differ when you’re working so closely with fellow authors?

My first collaboration with another author was with my sister, Linda, so I believe that this experience taught me to keep an open mind when it came to working with other writers.

The process really varies hugely depending upon the writers that are involved. When I wrote with Linda, our story was a fantasy, and there were a lot of characters. We divided up which people and storylines we would write about. Linda focused her energies on writing about the kings and queens in our stories, and some of the social struggles the characters faced. I wrote about the younger set, the rebellious royals of the story, as well as most of the romantic storylines. This worked well for us. Linda was very interested in sociology and the connections between people, including wars and family disputes. I was more into magic and love. Two of my upstarts from that story would eventually find new life in the personalities of Marradith Ryder and Justin Granthem.

Angel Brown’s novel Harmony’s Prophecy was a bit different. I was the editor on that book, and we would have long talks with each other on Skype about how to re-word things or about what we might add as far as world building. We would literally type and rewrite together while online, reading parts back to each other to see how it sounded. At the end of the project, Angel told me that she felt my efforts deserved a co-writing credit.

The books that I wrote with Crystal Connor were different than any collaboration that I have heard of so far. Crystal suggested that we see what kind of story we could come up with. I sent her some writing prompts, and about a week later she emailed me the first chapter. The story was about the inhabitants of a small town stranded in their homes. Without heat, light, and the worst of winter yet to come, worse problems were on the horizon.

We started with the intention of writing one book, but as the novel progressed, Crystal told me that she wanted to divide up, essentially creating different versions of the story so that we could each have our own endings. We ended up as the co-authors of each other’s novels, with divergent endings and different outcomes for many of the characters. We put the books out under the collective penname of Connor Titus.

In addition to your prolific work as a fiction writer, you’re also the editor of Flashes in the Dark. What initially drew you to editing, and what is the most important thing you’ve learned about writing from your work as an editor?

I have had the pleasure of working with some kick ass editors: Loretta Sylvestre, Felicia Tiller, Olivia Weston and Tony Smith. A good editor can bring out the very best in a writer, stripping away the noise and junk that gets caught on the page and bringing out the clear, true voice the author was trying to get to in the first place.

Tony Smith had worked with me on Marradith. He founded Flashes in the Dark, but after a while, decided that he wasn’t going to be able to balance work and other things with the amount of time that he wanted to devote to the website. I had worked as an editor for a couple of indie publishers before that but this was my first chance to have my own online publication. I took the proverbial baton and ran with it. I continue to edit novel length manuscripts for writers.

The main thing I have learned is to be mindful that the reader doesn’t come with pre-conceived notions about anything in our storytelling universes. We have to balance showing with telling. Characters need to have real backstories. Their fears, ambitions, and dreams are something that the reader needs to know and understand. Grammar and spelling are important, but those are easy fixes. Focus on what makes the setting and characters feel real. Other things can all be tweaked and turned later.

Out of your published works, do you have a personal favorite?

Out of my published works, probably The Bell House. I like that it touches upon different eras, complicated relationships, adults with emotional baggage. The harmful results of family folklore, and the injurious result of hidden truths all come to bear in very real (and sometimes paranormal) ways. It’s firmly rooted in the horrors of the Southern past while standing in the kind of dysfunction that most families are familiar with.

That said, I have two upcoming books that are poised to take the spot as my new favorite. One is the second installment of The Marradith Ryder Series. The other is a story which takes place in Chrysallis, South Carolina, which is the setting for The Bell House. The novel revolves around a group of religious zealots and their quest for control.

Where would you like to see your writing career in five years?

I hope to be able to write for a living, and just continue to build up what I have already started. Five years ago I would not have guessed how far I would have come by now.

Big thanks to Lori for being part of this week’s interview series! You can find her online at Facebook and Twitter, and be sure to keep up with her releases on her Amazon Author Page.

Happy reading!

For this week’s author interview, I’m pleased to introduce Geosi Gyasi. Geosi is a fantastic author and a huge supporter of indie writers. On his site, Geosi Reads, he interviews up-and-coming authors, and I was honored to appear there over the summer. His questions are well-researched and in-depth, and his writing is the same. This is one writer whose star has only begun to rise.

A few icebreakers to start: when did you first decide to become a writer, and who are some of your favorite authors?

I became a writer when I started taking writing “seriously” – thus – in the latter part of my final year at the university. I wrote a number of short-fiction until after several rejections, I turned to poetry.

For my favorite writers, I would always go for Benjamin Kwakye and J.M Coetzee.

Your site, Geosi Reads, is a fantastic project that, in part, helps new writers get their names out there through your insightful interviews. What inspired you to start reaching out to up-and-coming writers?

This is an important question as I also identify as a budding writer. It is often too common that budding writers are not always given the needed exposure from the beginning of their writing careers. My role as an interviewer is to give them this exposure they need to blossom. My site is therefore a celebration of both budding and established writers.

What is your favorite medium as a writer: short stories, novels, or nonfiction articles?

Poetry is my favorite medium.

What writing projects are you currently working on?

I am working on a couple of poetry but at the same time, my book of interviews is forthcoming by Lamar University Press Books in 2016.

Where would you like your writing career to be in five years?

In five years from now, I hope to have a couple of chapbooks out and also to pursue further studies in writing and make a descent living as a writer.

Any links you’d like to share?

Sure!

1. A Journey: http://visualverse.org/submissions/a-journey/
2. A Writer’s Block: http://visualverse.org/submissions/a-writers-block/
3. Three Poems: http://afrikana.ng/the-olduvain-review/poetry/three-poems-4/
4. On Your Birthday: http://literaryyard.com/2015/09/15/poem-on-your-birthday/
5. If You Truly Enjoyed My Voice, Why Did You Reject Me: http://www.artvilla.com/plt/if-you-truly-enjoyed-my-voice-why-did-you-reject-me-a-poem-by-geosi-gyasi/

Big thanks to Geosi for being part of this week’s author interview!

Happy reading!

For this week’s author interview, I would like to welcome writer Dina Leacock. Dina is the successful author of hundreds (yes, hundreds) of short stories. She and I recently discussed her incredible bibliography as well as why she enjoys writing dark fiction.

A few icebreakers to start: when did you first decide to become a writer, and who are some of your favorite authors?  

I loved so many that I had to become a writer. My favorites were Harlan Ellison and William Tenn but there were just so many great writers and great books. I loved short story collections. I think I read just about every author from the Golden age through the 1970s. By the 1980s and 90s I was writing fiction in what little spare time I had, I was writing a lot of nonfiction working for newspapers, having a few columns and freelancing, and I had  two young children so time was precious.

What attracted you to the horror genre, and what in your opinion makes horror such a distinct medium?

I have always read horror, my main source of reading material was my brother’s library which had a lot of SF but tons of horror and horror comics. I grew up in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey so it was a heavily wooded area, very dark and very scary. And my brother and sister loved to scare me with stories. So I naturally turned to horror, because I had a never ending source since everything scares me. I never run out of scary thoughts.

You’ve had around 200 stories published as well as a couple full-length books. How do you keep yourself motivated to keep writing, especially when it comes to the rejections that authors so often must endure?

I’m really stupid.  Seriously, rejection just never bothers me; I just send the story back out.  I had one story that was rejected 27 times before it was published in a really tacky magazine.  The kicker to this tale is that the story, which is short, humorous and seasonal, has been published 7 more times as a reprint. I just knew the story had merit, so I didn’t care about the editors who didn’t like it. I had confidence in my story. My second book is a reference book on writing which is now out of print, but I’m thinking of resurrecting it. And I now have about 210 or so stories published.

If forced to choose, which part of the writing process is your favorite: developing characters, plotting the story arc, or establishing setting?

Writing the story. Each one is different, the process changes but I usually have the plot figured out before I start writing and then the story takes on that life of its own and changes by the time it’s completed.

Out of your published pieces so far, do you have a personal favorite?

I have a couple and oddly enough they are the ones having a hard time finding a home. I loved my story, “To The Farm,” which has been up for a Derringer and won the Spinetinglers Monthly Contest.  Usually my favorite pieces are both speculative, usually dark and very funny.

Big thanks to Dina Leacock for being part of this week’s author interview series. You can find her work at Sha’Daa and the State of Horror anthology series.

Happy reading!

For this week’s author interview, I am pleased to spotlight writer Brandon Getz. In fact, I’m pleased to say that today’s post marks a first for this site. Unlike the previous interviewees who I found through the vast expanse of the world wide web, I actually met Brandon in real-life. Yes, writers do indeed exist in places other than online! It was a shock to me too! Brandon writes cool, offbeat literature, and we recently discussed his space opera serial as well as his future writing plans.

A few icebreakers to start: when did you first decide to become a writer, and who are some of your favorite authors?

I started writing stories independently (not for school assignments) when I was ten. My first story, “A Dangerous Dude,” filled 64 pages in a Taz notebook. It’s a ten-year-old’s mishmash of ‘90s action movies, super-soldier serums, inter-dimensional travel, cyberpunk futurism, and all the guns from Doom. Pretty ridiculous. I’ve been writing ever since. It’s more of a compulsion than a vocation; I can’t not write stories. I think my head would explode. Current favorites are China Miéville, Raymond Chandler, Jonathan Lethem, David Mitchell, Margaret Atwood. Neil Gaiman inspired me to write my first “literary” short story when I was sixteen. George Saunders was my idol later on, especially in grad school. I still love his work—a fantastic blend of satire, pathos, and genre elements borrowed from sci-fi and horror. I’ve read “Sea Oak” probably 20 times.

Until recently, your background as a fiction writer was mostly in the literary genre, but with your current serial, Lars Breaxface, Werewolf in Space, you are segueing into speculative fiction. How, if at all, has that transition changed your approach to writing?

My stories have always tended toward the weird. A man’s mid-life crisis unfolding in a taxidermy factory. A widower and his baby daughter visited by demons. A mysterious bottle of unicorn tears, or the strange white neighbors next door. With Lars Breaxface, Werewolf in Space, though, I think I’m just cranking the weird-o-meter up to 11. It’s a send-up to all the sci-fi and monster movies I’ve been watching since I was a kid, and I’m trying to keep it as ridiculous as possible. My ten-year-old self would love it.

Lars Breaxface releases a new installment every week or two. Prior to the launch of chapter one, did you plot the entire serial, or are you allowing some elements to develop organically as you go along?

Totally organic. When I wrote chapter one, I didn’t even know who the mysterious stranger he meets in chapter two was going to be. After I introduced Jay, I got a rough idea of what I was going to do, a couple of classic monster riffs I wanted to introduce as characters (witch, zombie, creature from the space lagoon…), and where I thought the story would end up eventually. Almost seven chapters in, all of that is holding together pretty well, but if the story decides to take me somewhere else, I’m gonna follow.

In addition to your fiction, you also write poetry and nonfiction. How is your process different (or similar) for each?

Story ideas are like earworms–they infest and evolve, they’ll gestate for days or weeks before I finally put them on the page. Poetry tends to be more spontaneous. An idea pops in and I just write it in one brief sitting, usually focused around a central image. Nonfiction, so far, has only been the paid kind, mostly in the form of short portraits of artists and performers involved in local events. I love it—I love talking to people who are creating art and are passionate about what they do. But it’s a whole different animal from the creative stuff.

Out of your published pieces so far, do you have a personal favorite?

Probably “White People,” which came out in The After Happy Hour Review this spring. It’s my newest published piece (minus Lars Breaxface, which I won’t count since it’s still ongoing), so maybe that’s why I’d call it the favorite. But… it is pretty hilarious. I laughed out loud writing it. I’m also still partial to my first published story, about God and the Devil playing chess. At first I’d written that story as a joke, a kind of challenge to see if I could turn the cliché on its head. It was such an affirmation to have that piece be my first in print. It was the complete opposite of the Raymond Carver knockoff bullshit I thought I was supposed to be writing. Also, I wrote a story about a robot on a park bench that was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. I feel obligated to list that among the favorites. It’s called “Robot on a Park Bench.”

Where would you like your writing career to be in five years?

Shopping a novel and a collection. With Werewolf in Space, I’m still feeling out the process of novel writing, something I’ve been trying to learn for the past three years (two aborted/on-hiatus projects still bear the scars of my novice attempts to push beyond 4,000 words). Whatever happens with Lars after his space-faring serial, I hope to apply this writing process to future projects. As for the collection, I’m about halfway there. Seven stories finished and published, a handful of others in the pipeline. I’ve got a graphic novel project in the works with Pittsburgh artist Ross Kennedy of Armature Tattoo, and I’m also mulling the idea of a kids’ series. More adventures with monsters and silliness, R.L. Stine-style.

Big thanks to Brandon for being part of this week’s author interview series. Find him at his website and on Twitter.

Happy reading!

Welcome back to this week’s author interview series. Today, our featured writer is James Everington. Based in Nottingham, England, he writes lots of cool and strange stories, which have been featured in numerous publications including his own short story collection, Falling Over.

Over the summer, James and I discussed the great icons of horror, the future of the genre, and what this dedicated author has in store for his readers.

A few icebreakers to start: when did you first decide to become a writer, and who are some of your favorite authors?

There was no lightbulb moment when I decided to become a writer; I’ve always loved books and stories and at some point as a teenager I just started writing and never stopped, really. I guess the main decision was to focus on one particular style–horror–which I felt I had the most aptitude for. I wrote a lot of other stuff when I was younger: realistic fiction, poetry, a dreadful Martin Amis-y novel. If I die, I sure to god hope none of it comes to light! But it was all useful; it’s as important to know what you can’t do as what you can.

In terms of favourite authors who’ve also been an influence on me, I’d pick Ramsey Campbell, Shirley Jackson and Robert Aickman as my key guiding lights. But there’s so many great horror and weird fiction authors writing today as well; it’s hard to keep up with the amount of talent in our field.

I must take this moment and commend your choice of social media banners: the inimitable Christopher Lee commanding a brood of pagans in front of an eponymous wicker man. With all the classic Hollywood horror icons gone, do you ever find yourself concerned about the future of horror cinema, or are you less cynical than me and think a new brigade of talent will soon assume the mantle?

Thank you! It’s certainly true that a lot of my favourite horror films are of that era: The Wicker Man (obviously), Alien, Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers, Videodrome and my absolute Number 1, Don’t Look Now. But there were a lot of shit films back then, let’s not kid ourselves. As for more recent films, I’m probably not the best person to ask; I don’t see enough modern films to be able to give anything like a comprehensive answer. There’s obviously still a lot of shit, but things like The Awakening, It Follows and plenty of foreign films seem to be at least trying to do something interesting.

Your short story collection, Falling Over, was released in 2013. Was it difficult choosing which stories to reprint from your past publications, and did the decision in any way impact the new stories you wrote exclusively for the collection?  

I was most concerned in getting the stories to flow right. I always think of sequencing a collection like making a mix-tape for someone: you want to start with a bang, then build on that, then maybe take it down a notch by having a slower, more contemplative piece. And at the same time, you want the stories to talk to each other. I think of that collection as my ‘falling stories’ – they nearly all have some literal or metaphorical descent in them.

Since you’ve done both, which do you prefer writing: short fiction or novels?

Well, the only novel-length work I’ve had published is The Quarantined City which is being published episodically throughout 2015. And each episode contains a complete, self-contained short story: the central character is searching the quarantined city for a reclusive writer called Boursier, one of whose stories features in every episode.

All of which is an oblique way of saying that, whilst I certainly intend to write further novel length work in the future, my first love is short stories (I loathe it when people call them ‘shorts’, especially other writers) and I’ll always be drawn to writing them.

Out of your published pieces so far, do you have a personal favorite?

I’m not sure about favourite, but the title story of my collection Falling Over is one I think sums up my style and themes pretty well, which is why I picked it to name the collection as well. It’s my take on the doppelganger/pod-people idea, but it’s also about very human things: individuality, growing up and the spark we might lose doing so.

What projects are you currently working on?

There’s the finishing touches to The Quarantined City and then onto a novella called Paupers’ Graves which will hopefully be out in 2016. It’s set in a real cemetery here in Nottingham, so I’m doing some research, taking photos of interesting looked graves–cheery stuff like that! I’m aiming for austerity-horror with this one.

I’m also working on my first anthology project, called The Hyde Hotel which will be out from KnightWatch Press sometime this year. The other editor (Dan Howarth) and I created a strange and creepy hotel, and then invited some fantastic authors to each write a story about someone staying in one of the rooms. To my surprise, they all said yes!

Thanks to James for being part of this week’s author interview series. Find him online at Scattershot Writing.

Happy reading!

This week’s author spotlight features writer and illustrator Gowon M. Fisher. Gowon writes charming children’s book, including Kenai’s Thanksgiving, which is a sweet tale of holidays and one very curious dog. Recently, Gowon offered a pithy perspective into his life as an artist.

A few icebreakers to start: when did you first decide to become a writer, and who are some of your favorite authors?

I decided to become a writer in 2013. I have always enjoyed drawing, and writing, but 2013 was when I decided to put my ideas into action. I love writing children’s books and was inspired by the works of children’s authors, whose books I read as a child. These authors include William Steig, James Marshall, and Maurice Sendak.

In addition to your writing, you are also an illustrator. What are your favorite mediums as an artist?

I love experimenting with different mediums. In my newest book, the illustrations are done in acrylic paint. However, I also like to do illustrations in colored pencil.

Your children’s book, “Kenai’s Thanksgiving,” is such a wonderful concept. What inspired you to create a book from the point of view of your Siberian Husky? (He’s adorable by the way.)

Kenai’s Thanksgiving was inspired by an actual event that took place on Thanksgiving. I felt that this would make a wonderful children’s story because it is funny, and tells the story from the point of view of Kenai. He lives in a world with such wonders, and is curious about everything!  But sometimes his curiosity leads to chaos.

What projects are you currently working on?

I am working on publishing a new children’s book called The Great Squirrel Rebellion. This story is about a group of squirrels who try to eat seed from a bird feeder. However, the woman who owns the feeder does not want squirrels eating her seed. Only birds. The squirrels devise all manner of tricks to gain seed, and the woman tries her hardest to keep them away. A bitter conflict ensues. However, in the end, both parties learn that compromise is always the best way to solve problems.

In what directions would you like to take your writing career in the future?

In the future, I would like to gain employment as an illustrator of children’s books. Right now, I am just working on getting my ideas out in the public.

Thanks to Gowon Fisher for being part of this week’s author interview series! You can find Kenai’s Thanksgiving at Amazon!

Happy reading!

Welcome back to the latest edition of my author interview series! This week, I shine a spotlight on Lambert Muir. Lambert is just starting out in his writing career, but he’s already well on his way when it comes to leaving his mark on the fiction world.

A few icebreakers to start: when did you first decide to become a writer, and who are some of your favorite authors?

I don’t believe in Fate or Destiny, but I don’t believe I really decided to be a writer either. I was the weird kid at school, distant, always with his head in a book, living in that head most of the time, had maybe one friend. A C student that no one really thought would go on to pursue higher education. BUT! Find me a book that interested me, most often a book that hadn’t been assigned by a teacher, and I could recite it almost cover to cover. Ask me to write something, not just take dictation, a story of my own and I was on it like I was trying to cure cancer, working madly at it. I wrote past the word limit, I wrote stories that didn’t fit the curriculum. Some teachers encouraged me, most asked to speak with my parents or sent me to speak with the counselor.

Flash forward to some years ago, add some punk and puberty, and I made it to the Cinema program at Dawson only to realise that I cannot stand cameras and sound equipments and editing softwares. The whole moviemaking process is like a piano wire spider web and I want my ideas out there faster than it would allow. There’s no way I’m continuing in this field of study on to University. Fortunately, the nice older man working at the comic shop I frequent tells me that [if] I like coming up with stories, why don’t I try and sign up for the Creative Writing program at Concordia? So I cobble up a portfolio a week before deadline and I get in. Once there…Things felt right.

I’ve been shamelessly calling myself a ‘‘writer’’ ever since, because when I write, it feels like the right thing for me to be doing at the time ,and I want to go on writing in some capacity until I die.

As for favorite writers, I don’t really have one. Let’s just say Grant Morrison, or Arthur Conan Doyle, or Hunter S. Thompson and move on.

Is there a particular genre in which you prefer to write?

No. My writing is predicated on the ideas I have when I have them. They appear as flashes, images, sentences, and evolve as I think about them.

If forced to choose, which part of the writing process is your favorite: developing point of view/voice, crafting dialogue, or building conflict?

Again, writing is more a long strange trip for me. Sometimes ideas will come as big story-ready things; sometimes I have to Frankenstein smaller ideas together. But once I have my idea, my story, and what I want to say or do with the story, writing is just a matter of getting to work.

It’s not a perfect process and it results in a lot of beginnings written with ink scattered across quite a few notebooks, unfinished, waiting for something that’ll trigger an idea on what to do with them. Still, it allows for fresh perspectives, new ways of telling the story that I think improve the whole thing. Though, I may just be excusing laziness.

What is best, though, is when you go off. When the actual work of writing is erased by the fun of creating, of coming up with the next bit of the story, when you’re jamming, like, really jamming, going back and forth, writing and rewriting, like…Jamming. I’ve been high, I’ve been drunk, but nothing’s quite like when you just let go and jam your writing. It’s what makes the tenth rewrite tolerable.

What projects are you currently working on? In what directions would you like to take your writing career in the future?

A sci-fi story, maybe a queer love story, a spy story, an autobiographical story about going on the road, a weird detective story…I couldn’t say which will be published first, or which will get worked on next or when, but that’s mostly what’s been in my head this summer.

The way I write is dependent on mood and setting aside time to work, which I wouldn’t recommend to anyone, least of all me, but I recently joined a group of writers online and while it doesn’t ‘‘motivate’’ me per se, it does keep me thinking about writing, consciously or otherwise.

As for the future, my wildest dream would be to write comics. Marvel, DC, creator owned stuff, I love the medium, I’m a fiend for it and I’d love to contribute to its future. I don’t think I’ll stop writing prose though; maybe I’ll even try this poetry thing I keep hearing about…

Any links you’d like to share?

You can find both “Clarity in Darkness” and “Two Fifteen,” my first published work, at The Blasted Tree’s website. The Blasted Tree is a Canadian art collective and publishing company that provides an outlet to the next generation of Canadian artists, writers and poets. If you’re looking for wild stuff produced by mad Canadian children who witnessed the birth of the 21^st Century, then look no further.

Big thanks to Lambert for being part of this week’s author interview series!

Happy reading!

For today’s author interview, I’m pleased to introduce Nicole DeGennaro. She’s a speculative fiction writer with stories appearing in numerous anthologies. Her upcoming project called 341 is a fantastic interdisciplinary project that involves both authors and artists in an unusual hands-on way. Plus, Nicole cites both Ray Bradbury and Richard Matheson as her horror inspirations, so there’s no way to deny this author knows her stuff.

Below, we talk about her upcoming project as well as her favorite part of the writing process.

When did you first decide to become a writer, and who are some of your favorite authors?

To be honest, it was never a conscious decision that I made. I grew up as a voracious reader (and still am), so I’ve always considered it a natural progression that I would go from reading to writing. A few years ago it occurred to me that people other than my friends and family might like to read my stories, and that’s when I started submitting to anthologies and whatnot.

Some of my favorite authors are Ursula K. Le Guin, Neil Gaiman, Susanna Clarke, and Maggie Steifvater.

Much of your work belongs to the gothic and/or horror genre. When did you first become interested in horror, and do you find yourself returning to certain stories/poems/films for inspiration?

I grew up watching The X-Files (and am SO excited for the new season), and I read some Stephen King when I was relatively young; The Stand is still one of my favorite books. Eventually I branched out into Richard Matheson and Ray Bradbury and other staples of the genre. Like writing in general, writing horror was never a conscious choice for me either; most of the ideas I come up with just naturally take a dark turn!

I re-read The Stand often, but it isn’t exactly for inspiration. I tend to seek new sources of inspiration instead of returning to old ones because I’m always looking for ways to improve and expand my own writing, and I feel a good way to do that is to read new authors and stories. I do sometimes re-read the same short story collections from authors like Matheson and Bradbury because those will offer a lot of variety, which I find can plant new story ideas in my head.

You work in New York City. How does the omnipresent bustle of one of the world’s largest metropolitan areas impact your work (if at all)?

What a great question! New York City is such a large and diverse city; it’s great for people watching. You can get glimpses into lives that are completely unlike your own, and also see the full range of human emotions in a very short span of time (especially during the morning and evening commutes). It’s a great way to learn the nuances of human behavior. So I think being there almost every day has a more general rather than specific impact on my writing.

In what directions do you see the horror genre going in the next ten to twenty years?

I’d like to think it’s going to become more inclusive with regard to author and character diversity. This is already happening, but I hope it continues to do so. I also think that as technology continues to advance, horror will follow that. Like the movie “Unfriended” that came out recently (although I haven’t seen it yet). We’ll see more stories that play on our fears related to social media and technology. But I think the classic staples of the genre, like supernatural creatures and psychological horror, will always be around. They feed into a more primordial fear that I don’t think humanity can escape no matter how far we advance. (I should note that I am terrible at predictions.)

You have three works appearing in an upcoming illustrated short story book. What can you share about this project?

I am so excited about this project! It’s called 341; my girlfriend came up with the idea a few years ago, and we asked another of our friends to participate. It’s an interesting concept: each of us wrote one main story, then we read each other’s main stories and each wrote a response. So each author has three stories in the collection. Our responses had to be inspired in some way by the main story, but it was a loose requirement: we could do the same theme, or try to mimic the writing style, or repeat the imagery, etc. Then we each got an artist on board to illustrate our stories, and the artists have to do the same thing, taking inspiration from each other’s artwork. It’s been great fun so far. The collection should be available in October.

We’re hoping to do similar projects in the future and expand the number of writers and artists we have involved. Our Kickstarter for this first collection was successfully funded, so we know there is a good deal of interest in the idea.

If forced to choose, which part of the writing process is your favorite: developing characters, creating setting, or plotting the story?

Hands down, it’s developing characters. Most of my stories are character driven; I am so interested in how people react to events, how they grow over time, how we can damage and also heal one another. So it’s no surprise that when I do write horror, it’s mostly psychological.

Once I have the characters, the story usually follows. Sometimes I have to write character sketches, just figuring out the inner workings, before I even know what the story involving the character will be.

Out of your published pieces so far, do you have a personal favorite?

I feel like all writers must dread this question! It’s so hard to choose; they’re each like a little piece of me, and they have their strengths and weaknesses. Currently, though, I think my favorite is “Making Friends,” which is in Gothic Blue Book IV from Burial Day Books. It’s just this creepy story about loneliness, and I really love how it turned out.

Big thanks to Nicole for being part of my author interview series! Find her at her blog where you can learn more about the 341 project as well as her upcoming publications!

Happy reading!