Steve Stred's Blog, page 44

3Q’s Special – Adam Nevill introduces us to The Vessel!

There’s a few authors who it truly blows my mind they even know I exist on this earth. I’ve had so so many stellar and phenomenal guests over the course of 3Q’s, but at the end of the day, I’m still just Steve and Steve still struggles to comprehend he’s not a young kid living in a town of less than 100 people. I’ll always have a part of my heart in Burton, growing up isolated in the mountains and running as free as I wished.

But, now, as adult Steve, that disconnect between being there and here rears its head when people I genuinely consider to be Author Celebrities respond to me, let alone know who I am.

Case in point – Adam Nevill. Adam is easily one of my all-time favorite authors and he continues to destroy readers with each and every release. I was fortunate enough to get an advanced copy of his newest, The Vessel, which arrives in a few days on October 31st! But, first, Adam stopped by for 3Q’s!

Please welcome Adam!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try to write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?
Adam: My schedule varies greatly and has changed as my career has changed. I now split my time between writing new novels and publishing Ritual Limited titles, and working on screenplays and film developments. Sometimes, it can feel like having three jobs, and one of the three will take precedence at any given time. For the instance, the last quarter of 2021 was all about film work; I had no time or energy for anything but films. Over the last few months, though, it’s been all about The Vessel and signing, packing & shipping the limited edition hardbacks, as well as setting up the audio book with a producer.
But I always review my schedule if one component is taking over. This winter I’ll go back to getting up early to write the second draft of a new novel for the first few hours of each day, before switching to the film and publishing demands.
All of this I balance with family time, exercising and well, life just taking over, as it often does.

Steve: You win the lottery and the only condition is that you need to fund another author’s book to be made into a movie. What book would you choose to be filmed?
Adam: It’d probably have to be the Euro millions and one of those 140 million euro jackpots, to finance War of the Worlds, set in the time of Wells’ story, and with a much closer adaptation of what Wells wrote.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!
Adam: Well, my latest release is a novel, The Vessel. It’s the second novel I have derived from one of my own screenplays in development. And it’s been an interesting aesthetic endeavour, in which I have closed the gap between film and prose. I guess it’s also part of my continuing investigation into my own take on folk horror, in which I embed a story into as credible a background as I can. It’s an eerie story, I’d say, for the best part, but with some monstrous and sinister scenes erupting. It’s a tight and very concentrated horror story too, claustrophobic I’d say. In some respects, it’s inspired by The Turn of the Screw, that made my blood run cold when I first read it as a teenager.

Steve: Bonus Question! If you could be an extra on any TV show, which one would it have been and why?
Adam: Raised by Wolves, to be involved in something Ridley Scott is connected to.

Oh, yes, Ridley Scott would be awesome to be involved with. I’ve yet to watch this show, but it looks stellar!

Thanks again Adam, and best of luck with the launch!

To find more of Adam’s work, check the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Adam-Nevill/e/B0034PH9HA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AdamLGNevill

Website: https://adamlgnevill.com/

3Q’s – Matthew R. Davis longs to be an Airhead!

One thing reviewing has done for me, is open the doors to so many new and exciting authors I might’ve never taken a chance on previously. I don’t mean in terms of freebies (I do get a decent amount of free ARC’s which I am forever grateful for), no – what I mean is the various projects and synopsis’ that are sent over that might’ve been lost in the fray otherwise.

Case in point – today’s guest came onto my radar with his phenomenal release ‘Midnight in the Chapel of Love.’ I very well might’ve missed that one if not for it being offered for review on Kendall Reviews.

Please, do welcome Matthew R. Davis to 3Q’s today!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try to write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Davis: My writing time is in total disarray at the moment, which is to say, business as usual! My schedules are all over the shop as I work two jobs with floating rosters, which means I no longer have any solid conception of routine. I’d like to say that I write whenever I can, but the truth is, I write whenever I feel like it. I’m not one of those disciplined authors who can sit down for an hour a day and write 500 words every time; I’d much rather do nothing particularly productive for a week while I get the feel right, then block out a day and write an entire short story or novelette in one go. (My record so far is 17,000 words in a day. I know, right?) But my mind is always chewing over ideas new and old, putting pieces together in the dark. Sometimes you have to think yourself into the right state of readiness to write a story.

Steve: If you started a series and for some reason had to have another author finish it, who would you choose?

Davis: Ha! Unlikely as it is that I would ever write a series, I would certainly want to have complete creative control over it. The only reason anyone would finish my work is if I died and the world cared enough to get some closure on my incomplete plots. But if that were the case, what happened next would depend upon the executors of my estate. If they respected my living wishes, they’d probably just leave it hanging; if they didn’t, the choice of author would be up to them, not me. That said, I’ve been idly thinking about projects that would require a group of authors, kind of like a TV writer’s room, and the possibilities are very broad there. Sorry, too many cool peeps to namedrop!

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!
Davis: At the time of writing, my latest release is a novella called The Dark Matter of Natasha (Grey Matter Press). It came out in June and it’s a terrifically dark, gritty, disturbing slice of small-town despair that, according to the reviews, seems to linger in the minds of those who read it like an inherited haunting. It’s not a horror story, exactly – we called it a psychological thriller for lack of a better marketing term – but with its constant cloud of impending doom, it sure feels like one! It’s for lovers of sex, drugs, and heavy metal, lovers of deep and dark explorations of the flawed soul, and it’s also just for lovers, though as a cautionary tale more than anything else. I may have a few more short stories out by the time this goes live: “Vigil at Singer’s Cross” (Voices in the Dark), “Visitation Rites” (Midnight Echo 17), and “Dawn Dressed in Rain” (Draw Down the Moon) should all be out in July or August.

Steve: Bonus Question! If they made a movie about your life, what actor or actress would you suggest they get to play you?

Davis: Anyone better looking than me! I used to get compared to Brendan Fraser, especially his character in Airheads, but these days, if I have my hair tied back and my glasses on, I tend to get Penn Jillette instead. (Thanks, guys.) You know what, let’s fuck with everyone’s head and cast Idris Elba as me – it doesn’t get much cooler than that! Or maybe Kate McKinnon – Benedict Cumberbatch – a particularly tall mop, with a Sharpie face drawn on a paper plate stuck on it! It’s not like any such film would be hidebound by an adherence to the truth – they never are – so let’s have some fun with it! Maybe I could do a Howard Stern and play myself, and we could cast Karen Gillan as my partner Meg – she’s one of the very few women beautiful enough to even attempt the role – though Meg would no doubt insist upon overseeing the shoot to give Karen notes and make sure I behave myself during the movie’s copious love scenes. “Copious love scenes?” you ask, somewhat disbelievingly. Oh, yes, because I’d be writing the script, too.

Loved that movie and I can still totally see it!

Thank you so much, Matthew for doing this!
To find more from him;

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Matthew-R-Davis/e/B09SKSTTZ7

Website: https://matthewrdavisfiction.wordpress.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5332110.Matthew_R_Davis

3Q’s Special – Nathan Ballingrud brings The Strange!

Holy cow – what an honor to have today’s 3Q’s Special Guest here!

I’ve said it a number of times, but it blows my mind when some of the authors I reach out to agree to do these and it warms my heart to see them have fun with it and participate. Today’s author has written some of the most powerful fiction out there over the last number of years. His work moves the reader, frightens them and makes them question why they read it and when can they read more.

I’m so excited to welcome Nathan Ballingrud!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?
Nathan: I work best in the mornings, but I’m not militant about that. Sometimes it’s mid-day, sometimes it’s at night. It depends on the circumstances. I try to hit a minimum of 500 daily. Usually I’ll go over, but on days when everything I write seems like garbage, 500 is an achievable goal. Even though it might take me a while to get there. I also have several projects going on at the same time, so if I get bogged down in one, I can switch to another. I leave myself no excuses that way. Something is going to get done.

Steve: You end up at an estate sale and discover an unpublished manuscript from an author you love. Do you keep it just for yourself or do you share it with the world?
Nathan: I would absolutely share it. Art is not meant to be hoarded.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!
Nathan: My first novel is The Strange, coming in March of 2023. It takes place on Mars in 1931, and is about a girl whose life is turned upside down first by a catastrophic event that affects the whole colony, and then by a more specific attack on her family. Unsatisfied by the response of people around her, she decides to seek restitution herself. It might not be the story people expect from me, but I think if people give it a chance they’ll see it’s coming from the same place as everything else I’ve written: conflicted characters, an uncertain moral center, and the loss of preciously held assumptions. And there’s an undercurrent of horror in there too, because I am who I am.

Steve: Bonus Question! You wake up in a comic book. What is your comic book character and what is your super power?
Nathan: The Gargoyle. I could hang from the sides of walls or perch atop buildings, watching everyone around me with a sympathetic objectivity. I would yearn to be one of them, but my distance, horrible countenance, and stony heart would make me forever grotesque and unapproachable. It’d produce some good stories though.

What an amazing response!

Thank you so much, Nathan!

To find more of his work, check the links!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NBallingrud

Website: https://nathanballingrud.com/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Nathan-Ballingrud/e/B00E7I2OGY

3Q’s – Kevin Lucia runs The Night Road!

Fun one again today, friends!

Kevin Lucia is an author, editor, family man AND now one of the driving forces behind Cemetery Dance. I was lucky enough to have Kevin agree to do a 3Q’s, and I’m thankful he found the time to squeeze this in!

Please, do welcome, Kevin!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try to write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Kevin: For the past fifteen years, I’ve gotten up at 3 AM in the morning to write for an hour before school. At this point, it’s so hardwired into my system, I get up before the alarm! No word count. I write for that hour, and whatever I get done, I get done.

Steve: If you started a series and for some reason had to have another author finish it, who would you choose?

Kevin: Either Norman Prentiss, Ronald Malfi, or Paul F. Olson. All of them were huge influences on me, and I think we have the same vision when it comes to horror.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

Kevin: The Night Road – Cemetery Dance Publications. If you like Irish Folklore and Myth, folk horror in a small town setting with an emotional core, this is the book for you.

Mystery Road/A Night at Old Webb (novella duet) – Cemetery Dance Publications. Coming of age stories that are love letters to the Twilight Zone and Boys Life, by Robert McCammon.

Steve: Bonus Question! If they made a movie about your life, what actor or actress would you suggest they get to play you?

Kevin: John Krasinski!

Very cool!

Thank you so much, Kevin!

To find more of Kevin’s work;

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Kevin-Lucia/e/B003L29OEM

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KevinBLucia

Website: http://kevinlucia.blogspot.com/

Book Review: Dragonfly Summer by J.H. Moncrieff

Title: Dragonfly Summer

Author: J.H. Moncrieff

Release date: Originally released February 13th, 2020, re-releasing November 15th, 2022

Huge massive thanks to J.H. Moncrieff, Flametree Press and Netgalley for sending me a digital ARC of this one!

Originally released as an audible only release back in 2020, fans of Moncrieff were elated when this was announced as coming in November in physical form! As a massive fan of her work, I’m always excited to see what she’s creating and knowing that this one was partially inspired by a real-life moment from her youth, I knew this one would be filled with emotions. The other thing that I was curious about – Moncrieff and myself both come from small-towns (at opposite ends of the same province) but we both share similar feelings towards ever returning to those places.

What I liked: The story follows Jo Carter, who, after receiving some odd bits of mail regarding her high school best friend, Sam, who disappeared mysteriously around grad, returns to her hometown. A town she vowed she’d never return too, but is now determined to get to the bottom of what happened to her friend.

Moncrieff does a wonderful job of showcasing just how claustrophobic and intermingled these small towns can be, and how interwoven appearances and justice are. Money and subsequently status associated with money play a prominent role and as Carter begins to discover little bits and pieces, we see that rear up.

Moncrieff also does a pointed, spot-on job of showing how those who typical remain behind can end up bitter, jaded and outwardly aggressive to those who return. This not only begins to create issues for Carter, but it also begins to highlight Carter’s memory struggles, which move the story along really well and help to heighten the chaos that is continuously happening.

The ending is messy, complicated and worked really well to show just how much each person involved had to bury for so many years to keep their stories straight.

What I didn’t like: When taken as a whole, there are a number of ‘tells’ throughout that give away the ‘who’ as you go on. Fear not, that only pushes Moncrieff to try and deflect and distract more often, which gives us some other clues to fill in the gaps.

As well, I think if someone hasn’t experienced the frustrating aspects of small town life, they may find this to come off a ‘bit much,’ but trust me when I say – it is 100% accurate.

Why you should buy this: Fans of Moncrieff will know exactly what they’re in for – a solid, strong female lead, a mystery-wrapped-in-a-riddle and electrifying sequences that are tailor-made for the big screen. ‘Dragonfly Summer’ walks the line between her straight ahead horror novels and her Ghostwritten series and will make fans very happy!

5/5

3Q’s Special – Tyler Jones and what haunts his DNA!

Hello, I’m Steve Stred, and this is… (BOM BOM BOOOOOOAAAAAAMMMMMMBBBB) 3Q’s.

Today’s guest joins me at a time when the world is influx, the NHL season has started, the MLB playoffs are in full swing and his books are flying off shelves.

That’s right – I’m talking about none-other-than (BOM BOM BOOOOOOAAAMMMMMBBBBBB) Tyler Jones.

I connected with Tyler when his debut, ‘Criterium,’ arrived and his fiction has a way of infecting your soul.

Please, do welcome (BOM BOM BOOOOOAAAMMMMBBB) Tyler!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Tyler: It’s changed a lot over the years. The first ten (or maybe more) books I wrote were done in stolen hours after my kids fell asleep. I’d think of the story all day at work, and then the words would come rushing out when I finally sat down at the computer.
These days, my schedule is much more intentional. Writing time has become an important and protected part of my day. I’m incredibly blessed that my wife supports and encourages me to hide away for hours at a time and tell spooky stories.
On a good day, I get up early and spend an hour or two before the kids wake up attending to the more “business” side of writing. Emails, interviews, scheduling etc. After the kids go to school, I’ll get at least three hours of solid writing done. No music, no distractions. Around noon I’ll break to have lunch with my wife, run errands, do work around the house, and maybe a little reading. I’ll try to fit in another hour before school lets out, and if I’m really caught up in a story, I’ll steal another hour at night.
I keep a close eye on how many words I’m writing, but it’s more to feel a sense of progress on a day to day basis.
Depending on where I’m at in a project, that “writing” time might actually be editing or rewriting or note taking.

Steve: You decide to host a writer’s retreat. One weekend in a luxury house on an island. What three other authors do you invite to come along?

Tyler: Only three? Well, this means I have to be selfish. No room for friends on this retreat. First, I’d invite Thomas Pynchon. I assume he wouldn’t come, but in this scenario, let’s just say he does. Why Pynchon? Besides the obvious (no one knows what he looks like, he doesn’t do interviews, and he’s written some of the craziest books in American literature), because I’d love to have a conversation with him about anything other than writing. We already have the books. I don’t want to know his process. I’m fine believing he performs some kind of sorcery, or goes into a trance and auto-writes stories telegraphed from the future. I just think it would be cool to hang out and chat with him, get his thoughts on the world, on society. I’d love to discuss Edward Snowden, government surveillance, privacy in the digital age, UFOs, and the JFK assassination. And he seems like he’d be a fun guest. I mean, he voiced himself on The Simpsons and his character wore a paper bag on his head.
Second would be David Mitchell. His prose is electricity in my brain. His novel The Thousand Autumns of Jacob deZoet is one of my favorites of all time. I didn’t read that book so much as live in it. And I really admire all the effort he and his wife put into getting the book The Reason I Jump out into the world.
Last, would be Joe Hill. To those who know me, this will not be a surprise. I love Joe’s writing. His prose, his stories, his ideas—especially all the big ones lurking behind the smaller ones.
I imagine this writing retreat being one where we all go our separate ways during the day and write our stories. But once the sun goes down we’d gather in the dining room for dinner, then move to the massive library where we’d drink wine and talk into the early morning.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!
Tyler: Earlier this year my horror collection ‘Burn the Plans’ was released. Fifteen stories that contain ghosts, bloodthirsty machines, witches, ghosts, dark family secrets, and mysteries that touch the edge of the cosmos. Two stories in the book, “Trigger” and “Full Fathom Five” are my favorites of anything I’ve written. If you’re looking for stories that are character and concept driven, and don’t hesitate to run headfirst into the dark…then grab a match and set your plans on fire with me.
I’ve got a new story called “Trip Sideways” that’s in the anthology Campfire Macabre 2, which also includes tons of other great writers/friends.
In a couple months Thunderstorm Books will release a special edition collection called Turn Up the Sun, which combines four novellas (Criterium, Enter Softly, The Dark Side of the Room, and Along the Shadow) into one volume, along with a brand-new novella that takes place in the Criterium world. My good friend Ryan Mills did the cover art and it’s stunning.
My story “Who Built the Moon?” will be appearing on the Tales to Terrify podcast later this year as well.
A new novella called Heavy Oceans will be released by Dark Lit Press in Spring 2023. It’s a cross between The Mist and Nope. A bloody, bonkers good time.
And last, my novel Midas will be released in October 2023 by Earthling Publications. It’s about a man mourning the death of his son, and he stumbles across a cave that contains the power to transform anything into solid gold. This puts him on a collision course with a violent cult leader who has been searching for the power for years. This book means a lot to me, and I’m absolutely thrilled it found such a good home.

Steve: Bonus Question! You receive an invitation in the mail from one of these two people. The invitation invites you to have dinner and spend the night in their home. Do you accept the invitation from Victor Frankenstein or Dracula and why?

Tyler: Victor Frankenstein, without question. That book is somewhere in my DNA, and so is he as a character. A tragic figure who follows his ambition across a line he didn’t even know existed. And that mistake, along with an act of cowardice, set in motion a series of events that lead to death after death, loss after loss, until Victor is a just a haunted shell of a man, obsessively trying to destroy what he’d created.
That book is one of the most haunting stories every written. It contains so much, and I’d love to unpack the details surrounding a life suffocated by guilt. I’m sure he’d have some unique insights. If he’d survived that book, I bet he wouldn’t have been able to stop himself from creating again. A man like that…he’d have to. You know he’d be thinking, “I can get it right this time.”

Excellent reason! Thank you so much, Tyler and best of luck with all you have going on!

To find more of his work, check the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tyler-Jones/e/B0069ESEZ4

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tjoneswriter

Website: https://www.tylerjones.net/

3Q’s – S. Alessandro Martinez Bottles Up Darkness!

Hello, my name is Steve Stred… and… this… is… 3Q’s! BAH DAH BUM!!!!!!!

Welcome back to another fun, fantastic, phenomenal (with an F!) 3Q’s.

Today’s guest is none-other than Bram Stoker Nominated author S. Alessandro Martinez!

Welcome, S!!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try to write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?
S.A.M.: I try to write every weekday, starting around 10:00 and going until 4:00 or 5:00. I take weekends off, but I usually end up writing a bit anyway. I don’t have a word count I try to hit. Just getting any writing down is good for me. I’m also reading and researching topics related to what I’m working on, which I count as part of the writing process.

Steve: If you started a series and for some reason had to have another author finish it, who would you choose?
S.A.M.: That’s a tough question. I write horror as well as fantasy. I have already started writing a fantasy series (currently working on Book 2), so I think I would want Brandon Sanderson to finish it. Now for a horror series, I think I’d love it if Adam Nevill completed it.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!
S.A.M.: My debut novel, Helminth, came out last year! Four best friends decide to get away for the weekend after one of them suffers a great tragedy, and drive up to a lakeside cabin in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. It seems like an idyllic location, that is until the women start experiencing unexplained phenomena such as disembodied whispers, shadowy figures, unnatural fog, someone moving in the house, oh, and something begins to call to one of them from beneath the waters of the lake. It’s got lots of things for horror lovers to enjoy: ghosts, hauntings, nightmares, monsters, cosmic beings, cults, dark rituals, blood. Did I mention it was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award? You can grab a copy on Amazon!

Steve: Bonus Question: If they made a movie about your life, what actor or actress would you suggest they get to play you?
S.A.M.: Hmm, I’m going to go with Charlie Cox. He seems like a nice guy. He’ll have to go a bit goth though.

Good stuff! Thank you again!

To discover more outstanding work – click the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/S-Alessandro-Martinez/e/B01K8C23K4

Twitter: https://twitter.com/The_Morda_Shin

Website: https://salessandromartinez.com/

Book Review: Decimated Dreams by Brennan LaFaro

Title: Decimated Dreams (Slattery Falls, Book Two)

Author: Brennan LaFaro

Release date: December 13th, 2022

Huge thanks to Brennan for sending me a digital ARC of this one!

Book one was a blast and when Brennan announced a book two was coming, I was super excited to see where he went with it. Brennan is on a roll right now, with exciting new releases on the horizon and a ton of stuff in the works. His storytelling is solid, quick and powerful and he has a knack for creating characters that you immediately know and root for. Saying that – this one is a sequel and in this case – you definitely need to have read book one to follow along with book two.

What I liked: Set five years after the events of book one, we arrive as Elsie and Travis are trying to continue on with their lives and do their best to remember their friend Josh. They have a daughter now, April, and this is the jumping off point for their return to Slattery Falls. One night, April gets taken, and while the police try and find her, Elsie and Travis know exactly who/what is behind her disappearance and they go in search of them and April.

Over the course of one full novella (book one) and a quarter of book two, I soon realized just how familiar Slattery Falls felt and how easy it was to slide back into this world. LaFaro has done such a solid job with these characters, that even when this book has periods of, let’s call it ‘lightness’ – where we go from scene to scene with minimal between developments, it still works and holds up.

This novella works purely as a set up for book three, which means some questions won’t be answered, but it does a great job of getting us from point A in book one to where we need to be for point C in the finale. The ‘why’ of the novella is the true catalyst for a lot of what happens and guides the characters along nicely.

The ending, while a bit rushed and not as fleshed out as I was hoping for, does what I mentioned, setting us up fantastically for where things need to go for the final book in the trilogy.

What I didn’t like: Even though Elsie and Travis knew who took April and where they were taking her, it still felt a bit like they weren’t as affected as someone would be if their child was kidnapped. For instance, they rush out to Slattery Falls and we get a scene where they sit and chat with the owner of the Bed and Breakfast they’re staying at. It was an odd juxtaposition. Yes, they need to get clues and collect info to find where their daughter is, but at the same time, it came off as very relaxed when they should be wracked with anxiety.

Why you should buy this: If you loved book one, this will be a must read and if you love Brennan’s storytelling, definitely dive into book one before this one comes out. The characters are top notch, the bad guy is a really intriguing bad guy and the town of Slattery Falls is a fantastic back drop for all of the going-on’s that give us readers so much stress.

This was a blast and I’m now going to have to wait for book three!

4/5

3Q’s – Tim McGregor LURES the reader into his dark world!

3Q’s today is with ANOTHER Canadian writer! How exciting. I’ve loved doing my best to try and get more Canucks on here, but also in front of you, the readers, eyeballs!

Tim McGregor has been churning out darkness for over a decade now. His latest has just dropped, which makes for a perfect time to have him on here!

Please welcome, Tim!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try to write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Tim: The writing time looks pretty glamorous; a guy staring at a screen with a confused expression, frequently interrupted by the cat scratching to go outside. I always laugh at the depiction of writers in movies. You know the ones where the writer gets a flash of divine inspiration and races to the typewriter to write like a demon while crumpled pages pile up around them. Who does that?

I’m all about routine; early in the morning and later at night. It’s a habit I got into when the kids were little. It’s a routine, but I think the fact that it’s routine is why it works for me. My brain/body knows it’s time to write, even on days when I lack enthusiasm or ideas.

I used to push for a daily word count of 2K, but I don’t do that anymore. It started to feel like a weird competition, followed by berating myself for failing to achieve that. So I stopped. Now I just write and see what the day brings. Sometimes it’s 3k, sometimes it’s 500 words. Writing is hard enough, so why add pressure to it, you know? (deadlines of course are a completely different story)

Steve: If you could write a story for another author’s fictional world/series, which would it be and why?

Tim: Writing something in the Cthulu mythos would be fun. Say, Miskatonic University in the 1920s, with all the characters being nerdy professors or socially awkward archivists. And then everyone goes insane glimpsing some “indescribable horror.” I’d give it a shot if I thought I could bring something new to it.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

Tim: LURE comes out July 18 from the fine folks at Tenebrous Press. It’s a folk horror novella where a mermaid descends on a remote fishing village and turns their world upside down. It’s a weird piece, but one of my favorites and I hope it finds its way to a lot of readers.

Steve: Bonus Question! Do you have a cherished book?

Tim: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. It’s all about the voice with this one. Whenever I feel I’m floundering with my abilities or story, I read this for inspiration.

Thanks for chatting, Steve. All the best.

Most welcome!

Thank you, Tim!

To find more of his work, please do click the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tim-McGregor/e/B004Z6M8EQ

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TimMcGregor1

Website: http://timmcgregorauthor.com/

3Q’s Special – Trevor Henderson conjures crazy creatures!

Man, what an exciting 3Q’s I have for you today! In the course of doing these 3Q’s, I’ve tried super hard to have a solid mix of authors – be they Internationally Best-selling authors to those who’ve only released a story or a poem or their debut novel/novella/collection. The reality is  – a writer is a writer is a writer – no matter what stage you’re at. But then I also started thinking about those on the periphery. Those who may not release work in a traditional sense, but who have staked a claim in the dark fiction community.

Today’s guest is one such writer. Trevor Henderson is no stranger to those in the dark fiction community. Between the cover art he has created, illustrations he’s done as well as the support to so many authors, Trevor has sealed a spot in the dark fiction community as a whos-who. As well, with his Flash Fiction tales he shares on Twitter/IG etc, he shows his ability to create creepy stories with only a hand full of words. But, things are about to change soon. Trevor has releases of his own coming shortly through Scholastic (which my son and I can’t wait for!) and I figured it was high time I reach out and invite him to come share some thoughts! It’s always a blast to have another Canadian creator on here!

I do want to add – Trevor has been beyond kind to my son’s obsession with his creatures – and that has been really, truly phenomenal to see.

Please, do welcome Trevor!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Trevor: My writing time fluctuates wildly! I’m trying to keep to a stricter schedule but it’s honestly difficult. When I’m actively working on a bigger project, like when I was writing the MG kids book for scholastic, I tried to stick to the hours of 10-6 and used a timer to work in 20–30-minute intervals, but I’ve since kind of fallen off of that, haha. At the end of the day, if I have 500 decent words, I consider it a net gain.”

(Trevor’s iconic creation Siren Head as shared on his Twitter account)

Steve: You end up at an estate sale and discover an unpublished manuscript from an author you love. Do you keep it just for yourself or do you share it with the world?

Trevor: Oh man. I feel like I’d take my time and read it myself, first and foremost. Then, I’d do everything in my power to find out if the author would have wanted it to be released or not, under those circumstances. That’s very important, I think. If I released it to the public from there it would be completely dependent on what I’d found out about their intentions. If they wanted it to never be released, I’d probably bury it in the woods in an air-tight Ziploc bag, I think.

(Trevor’s iconic Long Horse character, as shared on his Twitter account)

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

Trevor: Well, I’m currently just starting edits / revisions for my middle grade horror book for Scholastic, so I’m still quite deep in the weeds, but hopefully you’ll hear more about it soon! It’s about kids being hunted down by a variety of monsters in their small town, various creatures from local urban legend that might be connected to a mysterious Art Bell-style paranormal radio show. Aside from that, I’m the creative director of Mayfair Watchers Society, a podcast that spins some of my internet creatures into 30-minute scary stories. The team involved is incredible, and the first episode just dropped.

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mayfair-watchers-society/id1646154626

Steve: Bonus Question! You wake up in a comic book. What is your comic book character and what is your super power?

Trevor: I would absolutely just be some random person but with absolutely bone-crushing, flesh-melting, body horror, John Carpenter’s The Thing shape-shifting powers.

Fantastic option!

Thank you once again, Trevor for doing this!

To find more of his work and stay up to date with his upcoming releases, check the links!

Website: https://trevorhenderson.format.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/slimyswampghost

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trevorhenderson/