William Cook's Blog, page 9
February 15, 2014
Women in Horror Month #3 - Rena Mason
For WIHM (Women in Horror Month) I have had the great fortune to interview another fantastic author: Rena Mason. Rena is an up-and-coming author of dark fiction and is creating lots of ripples in the horror pond. Definitely an author to watch and without further ado, here she is:
Rena Mason graduated from college with a SUNY nursing license, started her career in oncology, did some home healthcare work for Visiting Nurses, and then went on to work in the operating room for over twelve years in Denver, Colorado.
A longtime fan of horror, sci-fi, science, history, historical fiction, mysteries, and thrillers, she began writing to mash up those genres in stories revolving around everyday life.
She is a member of the Horror Writer's Association, Pacific Northwest Writer's Association, and International Thriller Writers. She writes a column for the HWA Monthly Newsletter, "Recently Born of Horrific Minds" and writes occasional articles. She also does volunteer work for the Horror Writer's Association, KillerCon convention, and The Vegas Valley Book Festival.
An avid SCUBA diver since 1988, she has traveled the world and enjoys incorporating the experiences into her stories.
Currently, she resides in Las Vegas, Nevada with her family.
Interview with Rena Mason
Q: When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer and how did you go about realizing your dream?
A: About six years ago, I read ANGELS & DEMONS by Dan Brown and was completely disappointed the book had nothing to do with any angels and demons. Then I went on vacation with an armful of books that had won “awards.” They were some of the most boring books I’d ever read. I kept waiting for something to happen and it never did. When I got back, I turned on my new laptop, opened up Notepad, and started writing. Ha! Yeah, I still have that original, too. But writing wasn’t enough. I researched everything. Then when I thought it was ready, I started submitting it to agents. The rejections came one after the other. I bit the bullet and sent it to one of those “review” places and wasted money for nothing. (Money I later discovered, could have been put to better use by hiring an editor.) I attended a writers’ convention and a friend of a friend who’s a writer convinced me to pitch my novel. I did. Thought I might have a heart attack and drop dead after I left the room. It was set up like an American Idol audition, but there were only two people behind the table—the owner and editor of the company. A few weeks later, I received another rejection, but this time, the editor took the time to tell me that my dialogue was very stiff. Thank you! Since the story I’d written was a personal one, I put it on the backburner but knew I’d get back to it when I felt ready. I got to work on something else, focused on creating more natural dialogue, and then hired an editor after submitting to a couple agents and receiving rejections. Getting a professional editor made all the difference for me. Not only did it improve my MS, but the positive feedback built up my confidence, and I learned that if I really wanted to publish my stories, I was going to have to put myself out there. So, with the help of my editor, I did just that, by joining the HWA, “friending” other writers on Facebook, attending more conventions where I actually introduced myself and talked to people. It was a learning process, but I made fast friends, and soon my work caught the attention of an up and coming new publishing company and that’s how my work finally began to get published.
Q: Your work to date has mainly been in the Dark Fiction/Horror genre – is this a genre you prefer to write in and if so, why?
A: Yes. I prefer to write Dark Fiction/Horror, because that’s what I enjoy reading the most. None of the other genres give me the roller coaster of emotions I crave the way darker works do.
Q: Have you always been a fan of horror literature? Who are some of your favorite authors and why?
A: WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE was the first book I’d ever read in Kindergarten. I thought the little boy was a brat and wished the monsters would eat him. I was sad that the monsters were sad when the boy left. I’d always hoped that the monsters would find a way to sail off their island and find the boy. I read that book at least once a week and was disappointed there was never a sequel about the monsters’ revenge. When I was younger I read a lot of Edgar Allan Poe and Shirley Jackson. Their stories never got old for me. Nowadays, I’m all over the board when I read. There are so many authors out there, I don’t usually read more than one work by that author. But as of late, I’ve found a few authors whose works offer a variety. I’m horribly lazy and the mere sight of a thick book makes me cringe, so I tend to stay away from those. I’ve read a lot of Lisa’s Morton’s works, Benjamin Kane Ethridge, and have recently been reading Mercedes Murdock Yardley’s works. Lisa Mannetti is another author I enjoy reading, but in my heart I prefer Gothic works, and she’s great at writing them.
Q: What are your writing goals and where do you see yourself five years from now in terms of your writing/publishing?
A: If I could write and publish a novel a year, or five short stories in that same amount of time, I’d be happy. Like I mentioned earlier, I’m lazy, so my minimal aspirations are purely my own. But what I do publish, I want to be good and ready. It will have been edited professionally, proofread, etc. and that’s before submitting. This would give me five novels in five years, or 25 short stories. I’d be okay with half and half.
Q: What are your thoughts on self-publishing? Is it something you hope to do with your own work? If so/not, why?
A: I have nothing against self-publishing. I’ll never self-publish my own though, because like I mentioned above, I’m lazy. Really. That’s the only reason.
Q: As a nurse and author do you draw upon your experience as fodder for your stories? Do you catch yourself eying up situations and people in the workplace as potential candidates for your stories?
A: Absolutely. I’m a firm believer that truth will always be more horrifying than fiction. Oh, the stories I could tell! And will. Eventually.
Q: How do you approach your writing? I.e. do you outline plots and characters? Do you use any set formula?
A: If I get a story idea I’ll think about it and try to see it through in my head. If I can do that, and it doesn’t go away, but stays on my mind, I’ll write down how I’ve imagined the story plays out. If I keep thinking about it, then I’ll take the time to write it, because obviously it needs to get out of my head. So far, more stories get written than die out, which is a good thing.
Q: How do you promote your work and how important do you think social media is as a platform for marketing your books and building your profile as an author?
A: I’ve advertised in magazines, online magazines, do the Goodreads giveaways, Facebook posts, (just getting into Twitter now,) and word of mouth through friends and at conventions. I think all the social media is important, but I wish it wasn’t, because it’s hard to stay on top of everything and try to write. There are too many places where you can lose yourself for hours, and in the end, I wonder if it really makes any difference.
Q: What do you hope to achieve with your writing? Do you have a ‘magnum opus’ in mind or in progress that you would like to unleash upon the world one day?
A: I just hope to keep writing. Besides being lazy, I’m one of those people that does a thing, and when it’s done, I move on and find something else to do. I’m fighting a little bit of that now, actually, but the new horror family that I’ve gained keeps me in the train of thought to keep writing. I have so many more stories to tell. And yes, remember that first story I’d written on Notepad? Well, that’s become a series of at least six books. If I dwell on it too much it starts to weigh me down, but it’s a story that must be told, and it’s personal, so if I write nothing else, it has to be that.
Q: Which one of your works stands out as the best example of your style and ability? Do you have any future projects that you would like to tell the readers about?
A: I wrote a short story about six months ago that’s in a slush pile that I love. I’m considering turning it into a novella or novel. It could even be a series. Yikes! Why must everything be a series? But really, it’s got that potential. And it’s not that I don’t like series, it’s the thought of writing one that intimidates me. All my future projects are secret. I know, I know. Sorry. I’m working on something with a co-writer and then the other things floating around aren’t quite a done deal yet, so I shouldn’t say anything. But it does seem I’ve become a committee girl and am working on promoting the Horror genre in Las Vegas, which I’m proud of, is fun, but keeps me busy.
Rena MasonVisit Rena at the following places
Blog Website Amazon LinkedIn Goodreads Twitter Facebook
Rena Mason, #WIHM, Women in Horror Month, Interview, Horror,
February 5, 2014
Women in Horror Month #2 - Billie Sue Mosiman
Billie Sue Mosiman
Recently I edited/compiled a horror anthology called Fresh Fear: Contemporary Horror. Billie Sue Mosiman was one of the first authors I approached as I have been a fan of her work for years. I was very pleased when Billie Sue submitted a story called ‘Verboten’ for my anthology, and what a great story it is too. The first time I ever encountered her work was in Robert Bloch’s anthology ‘Psycho Paths,’ and then again in his next anthology ‘Psychos. ‘A Determined Woman,’ is the first story I read of hers and is still one of my favorites alongside ‘Interview With A Psycho,’ which blew me away. It’s one of the best dark psychological thriller stories I have read to date. The impact of the story stayed with me for a while and not just because of the subject matter, but because of how good the story actually is. Billie Sue can write and it’s no surprise considering that she has so many novels and collections published over the years. As Robert Bloch, author of Psycho and American Gothic, says about her novel Night Cruise[ing]: "A journey into the darkest recesses of the human mind...uncanny, unsettling, unforgettable."
Billie Sue Mosiman is a thriller, suspense, and horror novelist, a short fiction writer, and a lover of words. Her books have received an Edgar Award Nomination for best novel (Night Cruising) and a Bram Stoker Award Nomination for most superior novel (Widow). She has been a regular contributor to a myriad of anthologies and magazines, with over 160 published short stories. Her work has appeared in such diverse publications as Horror Show Magazine and Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. She taught writing for Writer's Digest and for AOL online. Billie Sue’s latest work in paperback and Kindle digital is SINISTER-Tales of Dread, a compilation of fourteen new short stories all written in 2013.
“Billie Sue Mosiman’s novels are edge-of-the-seat all the way!” Ed Gorman, award winning author of BAD MOON RISING.
February is ‘Women in Horror’ month and Billie Sue is one of the leading ladies in psychological horror; she has kindly agreed to do an interview and without further ado, here it is.
Interview with Billie Sue Mosiman:
Q: When did you first decide to become a writer, in particular a writer of Dark Fiction? Was there any one thing, or person, that influenced you to write your first story?
A: I was thirteen, apparently, since I wrote in my diary at that time, “I want to grow up to be a writer.” There wasn’t any one thing or person that influenced me to write my first story. I found it once. It was written in pencil on lined paper and involved some young people living around Paul, Alabama where I often lived with my grandparents. I think my work might be dark fiction because my childhood was often dark, there were volatile people around me, and of course I was steeped in superstitions and stories from the dark woods of Southern Alabama.
Q: You have been writing for many years now and have had many novels and collections published, do you think that your writing/work is more popular now than it has been in the past? If so/not why do you think that is?
A: I don’t think I’ve ever thought about that. I think my audience has been kind of steady over the years. It’s helped to have digital copies now so more people can find and afford my work. Where before readers had to wait for a new novel to appear every two years or a new magazine I had a story in, now they can go to Amazon and find so much of my work at their fingertips. Also, instead of paying close to ten dollars for a paperback, they can pick up a novel for four. That opens everyone’s work to the large audience of readers out there. I think that’s marvelous.
Q: In 2011 you self-published a novel (‘Banished’), the first novel you have published yourself; why did you decide to follow the self-publishing route? Did you find it a different process than writing for a mass market press/publishing house, like you have done in the past?
A: In 2011 it was a revolution. Literature and the method of conveying it to the reader had changed. I’d written a novel that was unlike what I’d done before. If it wasn’t suspense or horror I knew publishers would be reluctant to take it. I decided to join the revolution and see what happened. I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I went straight for the readers and it was a lot of fun. I had a professional cover made and the book looked over by a professional and just hit that button! It was a completely different process than working with mass market publishers out of New York. I had more freedom. I didn’t have to worry about the book appearing in bookstores and outlets maybe for a month and disappearing. I’d have that book [appear] before the public in a way [that was] easy for them to purchase day and night, for as long as I wanted it out there. I had more control. It was an interesting and profitable venture.
Q: As it is ‘Women in Horror’ month, who are your favorite female authors of dark fiction? Do any of your favorites have an influence on your own work or inspire you in any way?
A: Mary Shelley was the goddess of all things dark with FRANKENSTEIN. (I wrote a novella continuing her great novel in FRANKENSTEIN: Return From the Wasteland.) She was an influence. Then along came Flannery O’Connor, who isn’t thought of as a horror writer and she really isn’t, but she writes dark fiction and her way of writing it highly influenced me. I wanted to grow up to be Flannery. Next was Patricia Highsmith, who wrote some of the best darkest fiction of suspense-bordering-on-horror that I’d read. She was a “quiet” writer, intellectual, and she spoke to me. When I first started writing horror stories I didn’t see many women writing it in the horror magazines where I was sending my stories. Due to that I’m afraid I didn’t feel an influence from them; rather, we were all jumping into the Horror Sea and paddling our little lifeboats as fast as we could. At that point Stephen King began to influence me. And some of the best writers in suspense like Robert Bloch, Lawrence Sanders, Richard Matheson. Plus the old names like Jim Thompson, Patricia Highsmith, and others. Today I’m watching the blooming careers of new writers in horror and like many of them very much, seeing talent that is much better than I saw back in the 1980s when I started getting published with dark fiction.
Q: What/who influenced you to switch to self-publishing and/or do you still publish with others (publishers)? Is the self-publishing market more lucrative for a veteran author such as yourself who has been published by all manner of publishing houses, both big and small?
A: I saw Joe Konrath doing it and some other traditionally published authors doing it and I just leaped in. After BANISHED I just self-published my stories, some old and some new. I made sure my legacy novels, most of which you couldn’t buy anymore, were available as e-books. With short stories it’s very lucrative. Many markets today don’t pay enough to waste my time submitting to, but if I self-publish I go directly to readers and make more that way than for a one-payment deal. I’m not all about money, but I’m no fool either. I collected several of my stories into collections to make it easier and a little cheaper than readers having to buy individual stories. Now for my next novel (the only one I’ve done since BANISHED in 2011) titled THE GREY MATTER, I went back to looking for publishers. Mainly because it is not outside my usual type of novel I’ve been known for writing. It’s a suspense novel with a touch of speculative future events in it and I wanted to have someone else, an editor and a publisher, handle the whole thing for me. It was taken by Post Mortem Press, who will bring it out in April or May this year. I’m very excited about it and feel it’s some of my best work. In this way I’m more of a “hybrid” writer these days—self-publishing shorts and collections from those shorts, and going with a publisher for novels.
Q: You write in many genres but predominantly ‘Dark Fiction; do you consider yourself a "horror" writer, a genre (thriller, dark fiction, mystery etc) writer, or a writer in general? How does the type of writer you perceive yourself to be have an effect on the way you approach writing, if at all?
A: It would probably be best to think of me as a dark and speculative fiction writer. I’ve been known as a suspense/mystery writer and in my long work, the novel, that’s predominately what I’ve written. Of fifteen novels I only got off that path a couple of times, once with a Western (because a publisher asked for one and bought it on a short synopsis) and Banished, the horror-fantasy novel. I really think of myself in two ways—as a horror writer of short fiction and a suspense writer of novels. Straddling genres that way may seem odd, but my short work just tends toward horror.
Q: Quite often you write about serial killers and psychopathic personalities; how do you prepare/research for these stories and how much influence do other sources (i.e. True Crime, Non-fiction texts, Newspaper, Media etc) play upon/inform the development of your characters’ behaviors?
A: I spent years studying serial killers, the real ones, and abnormal psychology. I informed myself on the character and typical actions of those killers. From the writing of WIREMAN forward the serial killer intrigued me so I wrote several more novels about them. Male and female serial killers (WIDOW), killers who were so damaged and deluded they thought they had been abused and yet who had only been loved and couldn’t accept being a person who was loved (SLICE, which I retitled KILLING CARLA), killers who wanted revenge (STILETTO), killers who were young and psychotic (DEADLY AFFECTIONS, which I retitled MOON LAKE), and so forth. Damaged and disturbed personalities was the well from which I drank, trying to understand them, seeing them without blinders, and getting into their heads. I read tons of non-fiction books on people who kill, on psychopaths, and on family dynamics when there is a disturbed person affecting the unit. Now, with THE GREY MATTER, I have a serial killer, but he isn’t the focus of the novel. It’s focused on four young people who are castoffs from society who come together as a family and are menaced by the serial killer. I am on my familiar stomping ground, with some very wicked twists.
Q: Before you published ‘Banished’ in 2011 you have stated elsewhere that you had “finally overcome the dreadful writer's block that left me impotent to write.” Can you please tell us what led to your writer’s block and how you overcame it and also why you switched from traditional to self-publishing at this point? Were the two events (beating writer’s block and switching to SP) a result/consequence of each other?
A: My parents moved in with us. They’d sold their marina, which they couldn’t handle any longer, and were looking for a house near where I lived. My mother, who was a master manipulator, began suggesting they spend their money expanding my home for them to live with me. I had a lifetime of trying to understand my mother, who was mentally ill. She was an untreated victim of bi-polar and narcissistic personality. Once they moved in next door, as we separated our house into two distinct living spaces, my life became hell. I tried to write. I wrote several different novels and an autobiography that died halfway and went unfinished. My emotional state was not strong enough to write and at the same time deal with my parent, who were slowly having worsening health problems. My dad had Alzheimer’s and diabetes. I had to start taking him to doctor visits and help Mom with him. My mother’s furious episodes of anger grew worse. She finally was diagnosed with lung cancer and didn’t get treatment. My father died, and then my mother’s cancer worsened and I was her caretaker. It was seven or eight years of pure unadulterated hellish nightmare. I simply got blocked when trying to write by about page 150. Novels died and were put away. I stalled. I think I was just trying to survive and there was no room there for my writing life.
Jumping into self-publishing with BANISHED had nothing to do with the block. Once my mother died and I slowly came back to myself and my work, the whole digital revolution was happening, people all over Facebook, which I’d just discovered, were excited and publishing works, some good, some not. I wrote my book, published it, and I have been happy about that decision ever since.
Those who tell you there is no such thing as writer’s block just haven’t experienced one yet. I defy any writer anywhere to have lived here in my home with my insane mother and my poor, sweet, sad father, take care of them, and still find motivation to write. I dare them.
Q: Many of your recent titles/collections are self-published; one would think with a prolific career such as yours that traditional publishers would be waiting in line to offer you contracts. Do you still get offers of publication or interest from the more mainstream publishers?
A: I left the mainstream –NEW YORK- publishers behind once I realized they would demand to own, like forever, my digital rights. I understood my digital rights were worth a lot, perhaps more than any of us know today. If I gave them away, for just about any amount of money, I’d kick myself later. I’d have given away rights my family can profit from long after my demise. I went with a publisher for THE GREY MATTER that would not keep my rights forever. I had determined by that time I would never let them go for longer than a certain, spelled-out amount of time. I own those rights. I won’t give them away. I might share them, but I will never give them away. I would rather go with my mainstream smaller publisher any day than let that happen. Writers today still want deals with the 5 NY publishers who are left. Once they realize they can’t negotiate those digital rights for themselves I would think they’d know it’s a raw deal. I never go for raw deals. I protect my creative rights. I’ve no hope NY publishing will relinquish those rights for years yet. One day they might start making more reasonable deals with writers for them, sharing some of the rights, but until them I’m just not interested.
Q: Recently you bravely and publicly announced that you are battling cancer, has your illness caused any reflection upon your career as a writer of dark fiction or your direction ahead as an author?
A: It has. I look back and haven’t regrets. I wrote from my deepest place, from what interested me and inspired me. I wrote as well as I could. I must leave it at that. As for the future, I’m looking forward and hope to do more noir and suspense writing, even in the short form than in supernatural horror. My direction is changing slightly and I think that’s fine. Writer’s change and if they don’t they stagnate. I write what comes to me and I’m happy with what I’ve done and what I hope to do.
Q: Who or what has influenced your writing the most, and in what way?
A: Oh, I can’t really name names so much because I’ve learned so many different things from so many writers. But good dark fiction in any genre does influence me. I read them and think how wonderful is that? Can I do anything compared to it? I challenge myself to move forward and try new things in both the way I write and in what I write.
Q: I have read a couple of your novels and a few of your collections but feel that I haven’t even scraped the surface of your prolific bibliography/back list; what one work would you recommend to prospective Billie-Sue Mosiman readers and why? What do you consider your best novel and your best short fiction work?
A: Too hard, too hard. How does one pick out an individual baby she’s created from her flesh and from her mind? You might as well ask which of my daughters I love best. I love them both equally.
I can tell you the ones I like a lot. I like BAD TRIP SOUTH, because it is about crime, but has a supernatural element. I like BANISHED because I stretched and tried something new. I like NIGHT CRUISE (now titled NIGHTCRUISING) because it was nominated for an Edgar and it’s got a killer in it you grow to understand, and a girl who grows up and faces the horrors of the real world. I like WIDOW because I tackled something new in having a female and male serial killer, then the female comes to her senses while the male begins to commit copycat killings pointing toward her. In stories I like FRANKENSTEIN: From out the Wasteland because I dropped into Mary Shelley’s world and tried to see where it went after the end of her novel. I like INTERVIEW WITH A PSYCHO, that was in Robert Bloch’s PSYCHOS, because I wrote it in homage to the great man. And I like my new collection, SINISTER-Tales of Dread, because I was on fire last year in 2013 and the stories just poured out—all sorts of stories, but all of them dark. That’s where my writing Muse has lived from since the beginning, firmly in the dark fiction dungeon.
Thank you Billie Sue for such an insightful and informative interview.
Billie Sue Mosiman links: Amazon: http://amazon.com/Billie-Sue-Mosiman/
Website: http://peculiarwriter.blogspot.com/
Facebook page: http://facebook.com/billie.s.mosiman
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillieMosimanYoutube: http://youtube.com/user/texasdolly47/videos Shelfari: http://shelfari.com/authors/a633/Billie-Sue-Mosiman/Smashwords:https://smashwords.com/profile/view/billiemosimanLinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/pub/billie-sue-mosiman/24/477/578 Goodreads: https://goodreads.com/author/Billie_Sue_Mosiman
Billie Sue Mosiman's Books
Read about and buy ALABAMA GIRL-PART 1 -On This Link-
Read about and Buy CREATURES -On This Link-
Read about and Buy ZOM ALIVE: 2110 -On This Link-
Read about and Buy DiaboliQ -On This Link-
Read about and Buy LEGIONS OF THE DARK - On This Link-
Read about and Buy RISE OF THE LEGEND -On This Link-
Read about and Buy HUNTER OF THE DEAD -On this Link-
Read about and Buy RABBIT HUNTER -On This Link-
Women in Horror Month, Billie Sue Mosiman, Horror, Writing, Feature, interview, books, Facebook, Amazon, Goodreads, Twitter, Shelfari, Youtube
Recently I edited/compiled a horror anthology called Fresh Fear: Contemporary Horror. Billie Sue Mosiman was one of the first authors I approached as I have been a fan of her work for years. I was very pleased when Billie Sue submitted a story called ‘Verboten’ for my anthology, and what a great story it is too. The first time I ever encountered her work was in Robert Bloch’s anthology ‘Psycho Paths,’ and then again in his next anthology ‘Psychos. ‘A Determined Woman,’ is the first story I read of hers and is still one of my favorites alongside ‘Interview With A Psycho,’ which blew me away. It’s one of the best dark psychological thriller stories I have read to date. The impact of the story stayed with me for a while and not just because of the subject matter, but because of how good the story actually is. Billie Sue can write and it’s no surprise considering that she has so many novels and collections published over the years. As Robert Bloch, author of Psycho and American Gothic, says about her novel Night Cruise[ing]: "A journey into the darkest recesses of the human mind...uncanny, unsettling, unforgettable."
Billie Sue Mosiman is a thriller, suspense, and horror novelist, a short fiction writer, and a lover of words. Her books have received an Edgar Award Nomination for best novel (Night Cruising) and a Bram Stoker Award Nomination for most superior novel (Widow). She has been a regular contributor to a myriad of anthologies and magazines, with over 160 published short stories. Her work has appeared in such diverse publications as Horror Show Magazine and Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. She taught writing for Writer's Digest and for AOL online. Billie Sue’s latest work in paperback and Kindle digital is SINISTER-Tales of Dread, a compilation of fourteen new short stories all written in 2013.
“Billie Sue Mosiman’s novels are edge-of-the-seat all the way!” Ed Gorman, award winning author of BAD MOON RISING.
February is ‘Women in Horror’ month and Billie Sue is one of the leading ladies in psychological horror; she has kindly agreed to do an interview and without further ado, here it is.
Interview with Billie Sue Mosiman:
Q: When did you first decide to become a writer, in particular a writer of Dark Fiction? Was there any one thing, or person, that influenced you to write your first story?
A: I was thirteen, apparently, since I wrote in my diary at that time, “I want to grow up to be a writer.” There wasn’t any one thing or person that influenced me to write my first story. I found it once. It was written in pencil on lined paper and involved some young people living around Paul, Alabama where I often lived with my grandparents. I think my work might be dark fiction because my childhood was often dark, there were volatile people around me, and of course I was steeped in superstitions and stories from the dark woods of Southern Alabama.
Q: You have been writing for many years now and have had many novels and collections published, do you think that your writing/work is more popular now than it has been in the past? If so/not why do you think that is?
A: I don’t think I’ve ever thought about that. I think my audience has been kind of steady over the years. It’s helped to have digital copies now so more people can find and afford my work. Where before readers had to wait for a new novel to appear every two years or a new magazine I had a story in, now they can go to Amazon and find so much of my work at their fingertips. Also, instead of paying close to ten dollars for a paperback, they can pick up a novel for four. That opens everyone’s work to the large audience of readers out there. I think that’s marvelous.
Q: In 2011 you self-published a novel (‘Banished’), the first novel you have published yourself; why did you decide to follow the self-publishing route? Did you find it a different process than writing for a mass market press/publishing house, like you have done in the past?
A: In 2011 it was a revolution. Literature and the method of conveying it to the reader had changed. I’d written a novel that was unlike what I’d done before. If it wasn’t suspense or horror I knew publishers would be reluctant to take it. I decided to join the revolution and see what happened. I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I went straight for the readers and it was a lot of fun. I had a professional cover made and the book looked over by a professional and just hit that button! It was a completely different process than working with mass market publishers out of New York. I had more freedom. I didn’t have to worry about the book appearing in bookstores and outlets maybe for a month and disappearing. I’d have that book [appear] before the public in a way [that was] easy for them to purchase day and night, for as long as I wanted it out there. I had more control. It was an interesting and profitable venture.
Q: As it is ‘Women in Horror’ month, who are your favorite female authors of dark fiction? Do any of your favorites have an influence on your own work or inspire you in any way?
A: Mary Shelley was the goddess of all things dark with FRANKENSTEIN. (I wrote a novella continuing her great novel in FRANKENSTEIN: Return From the Wasteland.) She was an influence. Then along came Flannery O’Connor, who isn’t thought of as a horror writer and she really isn’t, but she writes dark fiction and her way of writing it highly influenced me. I wanted to grow up to be Flannery. Next was Patricia Highsmith, who wrote some of the best darkest fiction of suspense-bordering-on-horror that I’d read. She was a “quiet” writer, intellectual, and she spoke to me. When I first started writing horror stories I didn’t see many women writing it in the horror magazines where I was sending my stories. Due to that I’m afraid I didn’t feel an influence from them; rather, we were all jumping into the Horror Sea and paddling our little lifeboats as fast as we could. At that point Stephen King began to influence me. And some of the best writers in suspense like Robert Bloch, Lawrence Sanders, Richard Matheson. Plus the old names like Jim Thompson, Patricia Highsmith, and others. Today I’m watching the blooming careers of new writers in horror and like many of them very much, seeing talent that is much better than I saw back in the 1980s when I started getting published with dark fiction.
Q: What/who influenced you to switch to self-publishing and/or do you still publish with others (publishers)? Is the self-publishing market more lucrative for a veteran author such as yourself who has been published by all manner of publishing houses, both big and small?
A: I saw Joe Konrath doing it and some other traditionally published authors doing it and I just leaped in. After BANISHED I just self-published my stories, some old and some new. I made sure my legacy novels, most of which you couldn’t buy anymore, were available as e-books. With short stories it’s very lucrative. Many markets today don’t pay enough to waste my time submitting to, but if I self-publish I go directly to readers and make more that way than for a one-payment deal. I’m not all about money, but I’m no fool either. I collected several of my stories into collections to make it easier and a little cheaper than readers having to buy individual stories. Now for my next novel (the only one I’ve done since BANISHED in 2011) titled THE GREY MATTER, I went back to looking for publishers. Mainly because it is not outside my usual type of novel I’ve been known for writing. It’s a suspense novel with a touch of speculative future events in it and I wanted to have someone else, an editor and a publisher, handle the whole thing for me. It was taken by Post Mortem Press, who will bring it out in April or May this year. I’m very excited about it and feel it’s some of my best work. In this way I’m more of a “hybrid” writer these days—self-publishing shorts and collections from those shorts, and going with a publisher for novels.
Q: You write in many genres but predominantly ‘Dark Fiction; do you consider yourself a "horror" writer, a genre (thriller, dark fiction, mystery etc) writer, or a writer in general? How does the type of writer you perceive yourself to be have an effect on the way you approach writing, if at all?
A: It would probably be best to think of me as a dark and speculative fiction writer. I’ve been known as a suspense/mystery writer and in my long work, the novel, that’s predominately what I’ve written. Of fifteen novels I only got off that path a couple of times, once with a Western (because a publisher asked for one and bought it on a short synopsis) and Banished, the horror-fantasy novel. I really think of myself in two ways—as a horror writer of short fiction and a suspense writer of novels. Straddling genres that way may seem odd, but my short work just tends toward horror.
Q: Quite often you write about serial killers and psychopathic personalities; how do you prepare/research for these stories and how much influence do other sources (i.e. True Crime, Non-fiction texts, Newspaper, Media etc) play upon/inform the development of your characters’ behaviors?
A: I spent years studying serial killers, the real ones, and abnormal psychology. I informed myself on the character and typical actions of those killers. From the writing of WIREMAN forward the serial killer intrigued me so I wrote several more novels about them. Male and female serial killers (WIDOW), killers who were so damaged and deluded they thought they had been abused and yet who had only been loved and couldn’t accept being a person who was loved (SLICE, which I retitled KILLING CARLA), killers who wanted revenge (STILETTO), killers who were young and psychotic (DEADLY AFFECTIONS, which I retitled MOON LAKE), and so forth. Damaged and disturbed personalities was the well from which I drank, trying to understand them, seeing them without blinders, and getting into their heads. I read tons of non-fiction books on people who kill, on psychopaths, and on family dynamics when there is a disturbed person affecting the unit. Now, with THE GREY MATTER, I have a serial killer, but he isn’t the focus of the novel. It’s focused on four young people who are castoffs from society who come together as a family and are menaced by the serial killer. I am on my familiar stomping ground, with some very wicked twists.
Q: Before you published ‘Banished’ in 2011 you have stated elsewhere that you had “finally overcome the dreadful writer's block that left me impotent to write.” Can you please tell us what led to your writer’s block and how you overcame it and also why you switched from traditional to self-publishing at this point? Were the two events (beating writer’s block and switching to SP) a result/consequence of each other?
A: My parents moved in with us. They’d sold their marina, which they couldn’t handle any longer, and were looking for a house near where I lived. My mother, who was a master manipulator, began suggesting they spend their money expanding my home for them to live with me. I had a lifetime of trying to understand my mother, who was mentally ill. She was an untreated victim of bi-polar and narcissistic personality. Once they moved in next door, as we separated our house into two distinct living spaces, my life became hell. I tried to write. I wrote several different novels and an autobiography that died halfway and went unfinished. My emotional state was not strong enough to write and at the same time deal with my parent, who were slowly having worsening health problems. My dad had Alzheimer’s and diabetes. I had to start taking him to doctor visits and help Mom with him. My mother’s furious episodes of anger grew worse. She finally was diagnosed with lung cancer and didn’t get treatment. My father died, and then my mother’s cancer worsened and I was her caretaker. It was seven or eight years of pure unadulterated hellish nightmare. I simply got blocked when trying to write by about page 150. Novels died and were put away. I stalled. I think I was just trying to survive and there was no room there for my writing life.
Jumping into self-publishing with BANISHED had nothing to do with the block. Once my mother died and I slowly came back to myself and my work, the whole digital revolution was happening, people all over Facebook, which I’d just discovered, were excited and publishing works, some good, some not. I wrote my book, published it, and I have been happy about that decision ever since.
Those who tell you there is no such thing as writer’s block just haven’t experienced one yet. I defy any writer anywhere to have lived here in my home with my insane mother and my poor, sweet, sad father, take care of them, and still find motivation to write. I dare them.
Q: Many of your recent titles/collections are self-published; one would think with a prolific career such as yours that traditional publishers would be waiting in line to offer you contracts. Do you still get offers of publication or interest from the more mainstream publishers?
A: I left the mainstream –NEW YORK- publishers behind once I realized they would demand to own, like forever, my digital rights. I understood my digital rights were worth a lot, perhaps more than any of us know today. If I gave them away, for just about any amount of money, I’d kick myself later. I’d have given away rights my family can profit from long after my demise. I went with a publisher for THE GREY MATTER that would not keep my rights forever. I had determined by that time I would never let them go for longer than a certain, spelled-out amount of time. I own those rights. I won’t give them away. I might share them, but I will never give them away. I would rather go with my mainstream smaller publisher any day than let that happen. Writers today still want deals with the 5 NY publishers who are left. Once they realize they can’t negotiate those digital rights for themselves I would think they’d know it’s a raw deal. I never go for raw deals. I protect my creative rights. I’ve no hope NY publishing will relinquish those rights for years yet. One day they might start making more reasonable deals with writers for them, sharing some of the rights, but until them I’m just not interested.
Q: Recently you bravely and publicly announced that you are battling cancer, has your illness caused any reflection upon your career as a writer of dark fiction or your direction ahead as an author?
A: It has. I look back and haven’t regrets. I wrote from my deepest place, from what interested me and inspired me. I wrote as well as I could. I must leave it at that. As for the future, I’m looking forward and hope to do more noir and suspense writing, even in the short form than in supernatural horror. My direction is changing slightly and I think that’s fine. Writer’s change and if they don’t they stagnate. I write what comes to me and I’m happy with what I’ve done and what I hope to do.
Q: Who or what has influenced your writing the most, and in what way?
A: Oh, I can’t really name names so much because I’ve learned so many different things from so many writers. But good dark fiction in any genre does influence me. I read them and think how wonderful is that? Can I do anything compared to it? I challenge myself to move forward and try new things in both the way I write and in what I write.
Q: I have read a couple of your novels and a few of your collections but feel that I haven’t even scraped the surface of your prolific bibliography/back list; what one work would you recommend to prospective Billie-Sue Mosiman readers and why? What do you consider your best novel and your best short fiction work?
A: Too hard, too hard. How does one pick out an individual baby she’s created from her flesh and from her mind? You might as well ask which of my daughters I love best. I love them both equally.
I can tell you the ones I like a lot. I like BAD TRIP SOUTH, because it is about crime, but has a supernatural element. I like BANISHED because I stretched and tried something new. I like NIGHT CRUISE (now titled NIGHTCRUISING) because it was nominated for an Edgar and it’s got a killer in it you grow to understand, and a girl who grows up and faces the horrors of the real world. I like WIDOW because I tackled something new in having a female and male serial killer, then the female comes to her senses while the male begins to commit copycat killings pointing toward her. In stories I like FRANKENSTEIN: From out the Wasteland because I dropped into Mary Shelley’s world and tried to see where it went after the end of her novel. I like INTERVIEW WITH A PSYCHO, that was in Robert Bloch’s PSYCHOS, because I wrote it in homage to the great man. And I like my new collection, SINISTER-Tales of Dread, because I was on fire last year in 2013 and the stories just poured out—all sorts of stories, but all of them dark. That’s where my writing Muse has lived from since the beginning, firmly in the dark fiction dungeon.
Thank you Billie Sue for such an insightful and informative interview.
Billie Sue Mosiman links: Amazon: http://amazon.com/Billie-Sue-Mosiman/
Website: http://peculiarwriter.blogspot.com/
Facebook page: http://facebook.com/billie.s.mosiman
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillieMosimanYoutube: http://youtube.com/user/texasdolly47/videos Shelfari: http://shelfari.com/authors/a633/Billie-Sue-Mosiman/Smashwords:https://smashwords.com/profile/view/billiemosimanLinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/pub/billie-sue-mosiman/24/477/578 Goodreads: https://goodreads.com/author/Billie_Sue_Mosiman
Billie Sue Mosiman's Books
Read about and buy ALABAMA GIRL-PART 1 -On This Link-
Read about and Buy CREATURES -On This Link-
Read about and Buy ZOM ALIVE: 2110 -On This Link-
Read about and Buy DiaboliQ -On This Link-
Read about and Buy LEGIONS OF THE DARK - On This Link-
Read about and Buy RISE OF THE LEGEND -On This Link-
Read about and Buy HUNTER OF THE DEAD -On this Link-
Read about and Buy RABBIT HUNTER -On This Link-
Women in Horror Month, Billie Sue Mosiman, Horror, Writing, Feature, interview, books, Facebook, Amazon, Goodreads, Twitter, Shelfari, Youtube
Women in Horror Month #1 - Chantal Noordeloos
Chantal Noordeloos
Chantal's Amazon Bio:
Chantal Noordeloos (born in the Hague, and not found in a cabbage as some people may suggest) lives in the Netherlands, where she spends her time with her wacky, supportive husband, and outrageously cunning daughter, who is growing up to be a supervillain. When she is not busy exploring interesting new realities, or arguing with characters (aka writing), she likes to dabble in drawing. In 1999 she graduated from the Norwich School of Art and Design, where she focused mostly on creative writing.
There are many genres that Chantal likes to explore in her writing. Currently Sci-fi Steampunk is one of her favorites, but her 'go to' genre will always be horror. "It helps being scared of everything; that gives me plenty of inspiration," she says.
Chantal likes to write for all ages, and storytelling is the element of writing that she enjoys most. "Writing should be an escape from everyday life, and I like to provide people with new places to escape to, and new people to meet."
Chantal started her career writing short stories for various anthologies, and in 2012 she won an award for ‘Best Original Story’ for her short ‘the Deal’. Coyote is her first big project.
(See below for Chantal's books and more info)
A bit more about herself from Chantal:
"As many may know, it’s ‘Women in Horror’ month, and I happen to be a woman… who writes horror. Fancy that? The lovely William Cook offered to showcase my horror work on his blog, so *strikes a dramatic pose* here I am! Between you and me, I have to admit, I write more than just horror, but apparently I’m a ‘creepy’ sort of lady, and horror comes very natural to me.
On Halloween of 2013 I published my horror collection ‘Deeply Twisted’. It’s been well received and even landed on the Bram Stoker award ballot (am still keeping everything crossed that I’ll make it to a nomination). This year I have several other horror projects in mind.
Right now I’m working on a new collection… though series might be a better way to describe it, because all the stories are interlinked. The collection /series will be called ‘Even Hell Has Standards’ and it’ll contain 7 short stories, each representing one of the 7 sins. The theme will be ‘the horrors of humanity’, and this is quite a challenge to write.
Another horror project for 2014 will be my haunted house novel that I’ve started to outline. I can’t wait to write that. I’ve always been partial to a good ghost story, and haunted houses are –in my humble mind- the perfect setting for such tales.
But enough about me! Go and explore some lady writers in Horror fiction. Don’t let stereotypes of ‘women only write romance’ fool you, there are some dark and brutal ladies out there that will prove those stereotypes are wrong! It’s a tough genre for women to make a name for themselves in, so maybe give them a hand by reading their work and giving them honest reviews.
May you find many books that scare and entertain you! Thanks for reading, and if you want to get to know more about me, you can find me at the following places:
Website: http://www.chantalnoordeloos.info/ Blog: http://chantalnoordeloos.blogspot.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChantalNoordeloosStoryteller Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Chantal-Noordeloos/e/B009XUB50W/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1 Twitter: https://twitter.com/C_Noordeloos Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6564843.Chantal_Noordeloos
Chantal's Books:
Coyote – the Outlander
No one knows where or when the rips will appear, but they do, and from them, Outlanders walk the earth. Coyote travels the territories with Caesar, her mysterious partner in the bounty hunter business, and together they confront these alien threats to humanity. Along the way, Coyote discovers a secret that threatens to shatter everything she believes about herself, her father, and her sworn enemy, James Westwood.
Whether Outlander or inner demons, some things can’t be solved with a six shooter…
Visit Coyote’s website.
Buy the e-book version on Smashwords
Buy the e-book version on Amazon.com
Buy the paper version on Amazon.com
Dutch Version - (paper) on bol.com
Deeply Twisted
Deeply Twisted: twenty dark tales with a twist. A mother murders her eldest daughter. A clock appears in the middle of a park. A one-eyed man with a raven on his shoulder joins three homeless men on a chilly night… Embrace the night and all its terrors in this macabre gallery of monsters. The living and the dead, the spectral and the material—horrifying visions from the tormented mind of Chantal Noordeloos. Your nightmares will never be the same.
Buy now from Amazon.com.
Women in Horror Month, Chantal Noordeloos, Deeply Twisted, Coyote - the Outlander, Horror, Writing, Feature, interview, books, Facebook, Amazon, Goodreads, Twitter
Chantal Noordeloos (born in the Hague, and not found in a cabbage as some people may suggest) lives in the Netherlands, where she spends her time with her wacky, supportive husband, and outrageously cunning daughter, who is growing up to be a supervillain. When she is not busy exploring interesting new realities, or arguing with characters (aka writing), she likes to dabble in drawing. In 1999 she graduated from the Norwich School of Art and Design, where she focused mostly on creative writing.
There are many genres that Chantal likes to explore in her writing. Currently Sci-fi Steampunk is one of her favorites, but her 'go to' genre will always be horror. "It helps being scared of everything; that gives me plenty of inspiration," she says.
Chantal likes to write for all ages, and storytelling is the element of writing that she enjoys most. "Writing should be an escape from everyday life, and I like to provide people with new places to escape to, and new people to meet."
Chantal started her career writing short stories for various anthologies, and in 2012 she won an award for ‘Best Original Story’ for her short ‘the Deal’. Coyote is her first big project.
(See below for Chantal's books and more info)
A bit more about herself from Chantal:
"As many may know, it’s ‘Women in Horror’ month, and I happen to be a woman… who writes horror. Fancy that? The lovely William Cook offered to showcase my horror work on his blog, so *strikes a dramatic pose* here I am! Between you and me, I have to admit, I write more than just horror, but apparently I’m a ‘creepy’ sort of lady, and horror comes very natural to me.
On Halloween of 2013 I published my horror collection ‘Deeply Twisted’. It’s been well received and even landed on the Bram Stoker award ballot (am still keeping everything crossed that I’ll make it to a nomination). This year I have several other horror projects in mind.
Right now I’m working on a new collection… though series might be a better way to describe it, because all the stories are interlinked. The collection /series will be called ‘Even Hell Has Standards’ and it’ll contain 7 short stories, each representing one of the 7 sins. The theme will be ‘the horrors of humanity’, and this is quite a challenge to write.
Another horror project for 2014 will be my haunted house novel that I’ve started to outline. I can’t wait to write that. I’ve always been partial to a good ghost story, and haunted houses are –in my humble mind- the perfect setting for such tales.
But enough about me! Go and explore some lady writers in Horror fiction. Don’t let stereotypes of ‘women only write romance’ fool you, there are some dark and brutal ladies out there that will prove those stereotypes are wrong! It’s a tough genre for women to make a name for themselves in, so maybe give them a hand by reading their work and giving them honest reviews.
May you find many books that scare and entertain you! Thanks for reading, and if you want to get to know more about me, you can find me at the following places:
Website: http://www.chantalnoordeloos.info/ Blog: http://chantalnoordeloos.blogspot.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChantalNoordeloosStoryteller Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Chantal-Noordeloos/e/B009XUB50W/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1 Twitter: https://twitter.com/C_Noordeloos Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6564843.Chantal_Noordeloos
Chantal's Books:
Coyote – the Outlander
No one knows where or when the rips will appear, but they do, and from them, Outlanders walk the earth. Coyote travels the territories with Caesar, her mysterious partner in the bounty hunter business, and together they confront these alien threats to humanity. Along the way, Coyote discovers a secret that threatens to shatter everything she believes about herself, her father, and her sworn enemy, James Westwood.
Whether Outlander or inner demons, some things can’t be solved with a six shooter…
Visit Coyote’s website.
Buy the e-book version on Smashwords
Buy the e-book version on Amazon.com
Buy the paper version on Amazon.com
Dutch Version - (paper) on bol.com
Deeply Twisted
Deeply Twisted: twenty dark tales with a twist. A mother murders her eldest daughter. A clock appears in the middle of a park. A one-eyed man with a raven on his shoulder joins three homeless men on a chilly night… Embrace the night and all its terrors in this macabre gallery of monsters. The living and the dead, the spectral and the material—horrifying visions from the tormented mind of Chantal Noordeloos. Your nightmares will never be the same.
Buy now from Amazon.com.
Women in Horror Month, Chantal Noordeloos, Deeply Twisted, Coyote - the Outlander, Horror, Writing, Feature, interview, books, Facebook, Amazon, Goodreads, Twitter
February 4, 2014
Latest Review for 'Blood Related'
Blood Related by William Cook: 5 of 5 Stars
Goodreads Synopsis:
For over two decades, Detective Ray Truman has been searching for the killer, or killers, who have terrorized Portvale. Headless corpses, their bodies mutilated and posed, have been turning up all over the industrial district near the docks. Young female prostitutes had been the killer’s victims of choice, but now other districts are reporting the gruesome discovery of decapitated bodies. It seems the killer has expanded his territory as more ‘nice girls’ feel the wrath of his terrible rage.
Meet the Cunninghams... A family bound by evil and the blood they have spilled. The large lodging-house they live in and operate on Artaud Avenue reeks of death, and the sins that remain trapped beneath the floorboards. Ray Truman’s search for a killer leads him to the Cunningham’s house of horrors. What he finds there will ultimately lead him to regret ever meeting Caleb Cunningham and the deviant family that spawned him. The hunter becomes the hunted, as Truman digs deeper into the abyss that is the horrifying mind of the most dangerous psychopath he has ever met.
Click to go to Goodreads Review Blood Related by William Cook
My Review: 5 of 5 stars
Blood Related is a psychological roller-coaster. I couldn’t put it down. The nature or nurture theme comes across strongly. Reflective of Caleb and Charlie Cunningham's disturbing family background and the outcome of what could be only described as twisted parenting. Parents (Ella and Vera’s) poison continues to bleed into the adult lives of two brothers. The madness of their crimes is chilling, and persistence of Ray Truman whose goal is to bring them to Justice - leads the story into an endless horror fest for the reader.
The Cunningham’s childhood home becomes a house of horrors. Spine chilling gore and the insight into the mind of a serial killer kept me hooked. In my mind’s eye I could imagine the carnage, sense the emotions, with that feeling of watching a horror movie at every twist and turn, I wanted to look away, but couldn't.
Buy a Copy now from AmazonWilliam Cook has a talent of making the story come to life. And if this is your choice of genre, then you are in for a treat.
No Spoilers Intended
William Cook: Official Blog
William Cook: Goodreads Author Page
Debbie Allen (see all Debbie's reviews)
Check out Debbie's cool blog - click on the image aboveReblogged from the fantastic Bookworm's Bookmark
Review, Debbie Allen, William Cook, Blood Related, 5-star, Horror, Thriller, Bookworm's Bookmark
January 20, 2014
Writer Resources
The publishing world is evolving and expanding as we speak. There is so much information out there it is somewhat daunting for new authors when searching for quality advice and services. My written-work has been published traditionally and independently (self-published) and I have discovered a lot along the way, thanks to many of the listed websites below. On this journey that never ends, I have researched and compiled a list of useful and informative websites that have steered me in the direction I am now headed. The following links are all active as at time of writing (any dead links please let me know via comments below) and have either helped me in some way, or are just cool places to visit for inspiration and information. I hope you find these resources valuable to some degree. For links to my favorite authors and horror related sites please see my links/recommended sites page. This blog post is a replication of the page that I have here on my site - please make sure to bookmark it for future reference. Happy reading. Will
Blogs Twitter
Livia Blackburne's A Brain Scientist's Take On Writing; TwitterDavid Gaughran's Let's Get Digital; TwitterJ.A. Konrath's A Newbie's Guide To Publishing; TwitterThe Passive Guy's The Passive Voice; TwitterKristine Kathryn Rusch's The Business Rusch; TwitterMike Shatzkin's The Shatzkin Files; TwitterDean Wesley Smith's Writings and Opinions; TwitterMike Stackpole, Stormwolf.com; Twitter Barry Eisler, Barryeisler.com; TwitterChuck Wendig, Terribleminds.com; Twitter
Websites of interest101 Best Websites for Writers2 Read Or Not 2 ReadA Tale of Many ReviewsAbsolute WriteAdvanced Fiction WritingAll Indie WritersAlternative-ReadAmazon KDP & Author CentralAppleAuthor Marketing ClubAuthors GuildBacklist EbooksBackSpaceBargain EBook HunterBecky's Writing BlogBest Ebook Reader LoversBibrary Book Lustbigwords101 Blood, Sweat, & Booksbluedogwriter.comBook FaeryBook JunkieBookBubBookhound's DenBooks and NeedlepointBooks and PalsBooks and ThingsBooks on the KnobBooks, Thoughts, and a Few AdventuresBraintasia BooksBryan DunnCastle MacabreCatherine, CaffeinatedChaotic CompendiumsCheap Daily ReadsCheryl’s Book NookChuck SambuchinoCindy’s Love of BooksCopybloggerCoscom EntertainmentCrimeSpaceCrimeSpotCriminal MindsCrystal’s Reading RoomCurling Up By the FireCym LowellDaily Cheap ReadsDark Eva’s DelightsDark Wolf’s Fantasy ReviewsDavid GaughranDavid H. BurtonDean Wesley SmithDebbi Mack's Midlist LifeDellaster DesignDigireader LoungeDigital Book TodayDigital Book WorldDiva's BookcaseDo Some DamageDraft2DigitalEarth’s Book NookEbook FriendlyEbook Korner KafeEBookBoosterEbooks AddictEpic Kindle GiveawayEreader CafeEreader IQEreader News TodayEreader PerksEva's SanctuaryEZ Indie PublishingFaerotic ProseFaith MortimerFang-tastic BooksFemmes FatalesFirst OffendersFlorida Writers ConferenceFree & Lowcost Kindle BooksGalley CatGeneration Next PublicationsGetMeWriting.comGhost WriterGood Golly Miss HollyGoodreadsGoogle Books Partner ProgramGreat Minds Think AloudGuido HenkelHAROHey There’s a Dead Guy in the Living RoomHorror Writers AssociationHorror ZineHorrorNews.NetHugh HoweyI Smell SheepI’m a Book SharkIndie Books BlogIndie Books ListIndieBoundIndieReaderIndies UnlimitedInfinity PlusInternational Thriller WritersIreader ReviewJane FriedmanJenn’s BookshelfJohn O'DowdJungle RedJW ManusKaren WoodwardKattomic EnergyKBoards - Writers' CafeKelsey’s Book CornerKill ZoneKindle 3Kindle AuthorKindle BoardsKindle Direct Publishing (Amazon)Kindle in the WindKindle Nation DailyKindle ObsessedKindle on the CheapKOBOKristen LambKristine Kathryn RuschLearn WritingLibraryThingsLindsay BurokerLive Write ThriveLori’s Reading CornerLost For WordsLuxury ReadingMartha’s BookshelfMinding SpotMore Ebooks PleaseMoses Siregar IIIMurder Is EverywhereMurder She WritesMusings of an All-Purpose MonkeyMy Book and My CoffeeMy Bookish WaysMy Eclectic BookshelfMysterious PeopleMystery Writers of AmericaMystery Writing is MurderNaked AuthorsNathan BransfordNewbie's Guide to PublishingNo Rules Just WriteNook Press / PubItNovel RocketNovelists Inc.Nyx Book ReviewsOmnimystery NewsOne Hundred Free BooksPassive Voice BlogPerfect PitchPixel of InkPoe’s Deadly DaughtersProBloggerPubIt! (Barnes & Noble)Publisher's WeeklyQuery SharkRachelle GardnerReading KindleReading With MonieRites of RomanceRomance Writers of AmericaSatisfaction for Insatiable ReadersScience Fiction & Fantasy Writers of AmericaScribophileScrivenerSeduced By BooksSelf Publishing PodcastSeth GodinSimply StacieSisters In CrimeSmash Attack ReadsSmashwordsSomebody DiesSpellbound By BooksStory WingsStoryfix.comSuddenly BooksSuspense MagazineTED TalksTerribleMindsThe Book DealThe Book DesignerThe Creative PennThe Frugal EreaderThe Ginger NutcaseThe Happy BookerThe Indie ViewThe Indie Writer’s NetworkThe Kindle 3The Kindle Book ReviewThe Newbie's Guide to PublishingThe Novel BlogThe OutfitThe Overloaded BookcaseThe Passive VoiceThe Phantom ParagrapherThe Rap SheetThe Self Publishing TeamThe Top ShelfThe Writer's Forensics BlogThe Writer's Guide to E-PublishingThe Writer's KeepUK AuthorsVVB32 ReadsWhere Writers WinWise, Ink.Working StiffsWorld Literary CafeWorld of BooksWrite on the RiverWrite to DoneWriter BewareWriter’s DigestWriters Helping WritersWriters-Editors NetworkWriting-World.com YzhaBella’s BookshelfZoe Winters Promotional Sites For Your Books (from Indies Unlimited blog)http://addictedtoebooks.com/submissionhttp://askdavid.com/free-book-promotionhttp://authormarketingclub.com/members/amc-paid-promo-book-list/http://authormarketingclub.com/members/submit-your-book/http://awesomegang.com/submit-your-book/http://bargainbooksy.com/sell-more-books/http://bargainebookhunter.com/feature-your-book/http://blog.booksontheknob.org/about-this-blog-and-contact-infohttp://bookgoodies.com/submit-your-free-kindle-days/highlight-your-free-kindle-days/http://bookgorilla.com/http://digitalbooktoday.com/12-top-100-submit-your-free-book-to-be-included-on-this-list/http://ebookdealoftheday.co.uk/submissions/(UK site)http://ebookshabit.com/about-us/http://ereadernewstoday.com/http://fireapps.blogspot.ca/p/app-developers-authors.htmlhttp://flurriesofwords.blogspot.co.uk/(UK 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January 11, 2014
FREE [for Kindle] – DEATH QUARTET
FREE – DEATH QUARTET (A Selection of Short Horror Fiction & Verse) is an eclectic miscellany of stories, poems, and ephemera, wherein the subject matter relates to the study of homicide and the aesthetic portrayal of such an act. In other words, themes of death and murder abound in this horrific collection brought to you by William Cook, author the novel ‘Blood Related.’ Amazon Review: “5.0 out of 5 stars
Murder Can Be Fun
January 11, 2014By Marianne – Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase This collection of creepy stories, disturbing poetry, and other scary stuff is just what the doctor ordered. That is, if your doctor wants you to have nightmares!! William Cook never fails to please, and he is right on target with this one. It’s a unique mix of different items; stories, musings, poetry, and quotes, all combined to raise the horror bar waaay up there. However, I must admit: basements and cellars are now completely and totally off limits for me. Thanks a lot, William Cook!!”
Amazon Review:
“5 Star Review – Poetry and Fiction: Tastes of Horror January 7, 2014
By Diane J – Format:Kindle Edition
I had to give this book a five because every piece in it was excellent, although I did have my personal favorites. There are quotes from authors, psychiatrists, psychopaths, and others that generally lead us into one of the four stories. But first, the poetry is, as you would expect, dark, disturbing and dangerous. I found it very unsettling, which for my chosen genre, is a good thing. The stories are all well written and cover a wide variety of the underbelly of humanity. Don’t get me wrong, while I found them all gut wrenching and disturbing, the two that stood out for me were Blinded by the Light and Dead Aesthetics. The protagonist in the first story I listed is Patrick, a young horribly abused child who knows too many secrets and is punished severely for that knowledge. His world is so bleak and horrific, you will be completely drawn into it and won’t put the book down until the story is finished. The second story is obviously from the very twisted mind of an incredible author. My God, what can I even say? The subject matter is NOT for the squeamish and if you do read it knowing that fact, have a pail at the ready. The graphic imagery is grotesque beyond belief. But if you love your horror as nasty as it gets, this is a 100% winner by a brilliant writer.”
U.K. – http://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Quartet-Short-Horror-Fiction-ebook/dp/B00FPT3MZQ/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1389477861&sr=8-8&keywords=death+quartet
U.S. – http://www.amazon.com/Death-Quartet-Short-Horror-Fiction-ebook/dp/B00FPT3MZQ/ref=la_B003PA513I_1_18?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389477686&sr=1-18
#FF, #free, #Giveaway, #RT, Death Quartet, horror, Kindle, Serial Killer Fiction, William Cook
Amazon Review:
“5 Star Review – Poetry and Fiction: Tastes of Horror January 7, 2014
By Diane J – Format:Kindle Edition
I had to give this book a five because every piece in it was excellent, although I did have my personal favorites. There are quotes from authors, psychiatrists, psychopaths, and others that generally lead us into one of the four stories. But first, the poetry is, as you would expect, dark, disturbing and dangerous. I found it very unsettling, which for my chosen genre, is a good thing. The stories are all well written and cover a wide variety of the underbelly of humanity. Don’t get me wrong, while I found them all gut wrenching and disturbing, the two that stood out for me were Blinded by the Light and Dead Aesthetics. The protagonist in the first story I listed is Patrick, a young horribly abused child who knows too many secrets and is punished severely for that knowledge. His world is so bleak and horrific, you will be completely drawn into it and won’t put the book down until the story is finished. The second story is obviously from the very twisted mind of an incredible author. My God, what can I even say? The subject matter is NOT for the squeamish and if you do read it knowing that fact, have a pail at the ready. The graphic imagery is grotesque beyond belief. But if you love your horror as nasty as it gets, this is a 100% winner by a brilliant writer.”
U.K. – http://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Quartet-Short-Horror-Fiction-ebook/dp/B00FPT3MZQ/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1389477861&sr=8-8&keywords=death+quartet
U.S. – http://www.amazon.com/Death-Quartet-Short-Horror-Fiction-ebook/dp/B00FPT3MZQ/ref=la_B003PA513I_1_18?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389477686&sr=1-18
#FF, #free, #Giveaway, #RT, Death Quartet, horror, Kindle, Serial Killer Fiction, William Cook
January 3, 2014
Short Fiction Stories in Print (Anthologized)
Just doing a tally on short fiction of mine that others have chosen to publish. Here is the complete list (including links) of anthologies in which my stories have appeared, in reverse chronological order.
Ugly Babies (Vol II) – ‘Conceived By Death’
Bizarro, Bizarro: An Anthology – ‘The Colony’
Songs For The Raven – ‘Til Death Do Us Part’, ‘Aspects of Infinity’
Four Ghosts – Dead and Buried (Novella)
Splatterpunk Saints Anthology – ‘King of Terrors’, ”Til Death Do Us Part’
Read Us Or Die – ‘Burnt Offerings’,'The Reader’
Serial Killers tres tria – ‘Blinded By The Light’
I’ll Never Go Away Vol II – ‘Dead Memories’
Serial Killers iterum – ‘Return of the Creep’
Writings on the Wall – ‘Playing the Game’
Dark Light – ‘Beach House’
Putrid Poetry & Sickening Sketches -’In The Dead of night’ (poem)
Masters of Horror: The Anthology – ‘Devil Inside’
Ugly Babies (Vol II) – ‘Conceived By Death’
Bizarro, Bizarro: An Anthology – ‘The Colony’
Songs For The Raven – ‘Til Death Do Us Part’, ‘Aspects of Infinity’
Four Ghosts – Dead and Buried (Novella)
Splatterpunk Saints Anthology – ‘King of Terrors’, ”Til Death Do Us Part’
Read Us Or Die – ‘Burnt Offerings’,'The Reader’
Serial Killers tres tria – ‘Blinded By The Light’
I’ll Never Go Away Vol II – ‘Dead Memories’
Serial Killers iterum – ‘Return of the Creep’
Writings on the Wall – ‘Playing the Game’
Dark Light – ‘Beach House’
Putrid Poetry & Sickening Sketches -’In The Dead of night’ (poem)
Masters of Horror: The Anthology – ‘Devil Inside’
December 12, 2013
OMINOUS 13 Dark Fiction Author Interview Series: WILLIAM COOK
OMINOUS 13 Dark Fiction Author Interview Series: WILLIAM COOK
Hi William, thanks for agreeing to this interview for my Ominous 13 dark fiction author spotlight series! For starters, let me note that as far as dark fiction, or the macabre, goes, your work is about impressive as it gets: very dark, very creepy. Is it easy for you to get into that kind of vibe to create your dark works?
Thanks Paul – I have always had a morbid fascination with the darker things in life so I am usually in that state of mind anyway. I do use certain techniques to raise the energy/darkness levels when it comes to writing horror. Some things I do to get ideas and the heartbeat racing are to listen to my favorite music while I’m tapping away on the keyboard. I listen to a lot of soundtracks, horror and otherwise. Some of my favorites include the soundtracks to Halloween, Taxi Driver, Maniac (Jay Chattaway), Hannibal etc and other albums from Acanthus, Fantomas, and anything by Danny Elfman and Joel McNeely, to name a few. I have a small study room lined with a lifetime’s collection of horror books and related ephemera which certainly helps ‘ set the mood’ so to speak. So I guess it is relatively easy for me to get a dark ‘vibe’ going, although I wish it was as simple to get the motivation flowing, to actually write something down.
I read in an interview with you by another dark fiction author, Donald White, where you stated that personal tragedy seemed to lead you in the direction of creating dark fiction. Did it help you find closure at all?
On some level I think that the process of writing is cathartic, if not for any other reason than just getting thoughts and emotion on the page. Personal tragedy does provide grist for the mill, so to speak, but “finding closure” through the act of writing about it, does not necessarily happen because one writes about it. Events never happen verbatim in my stories; on some level the event or experience may be retold but usually I prefer to use an analogous situation to relay my personal feelings. I make stories from experiences and that’s all there is to it most times, although the event in question to which you refer (murder/suicide of close friends) will become a story/novella at some point in 2014. I feel the need to tell the event from my own perspective and to impart the message within the story, that suicide has no mercy on anyone that survives.
Your recent work, Fresh Fear anthology, ranks #1 Best Horror Anthologies. Congratulations. How do you manage to get so many great authors to collaborate with you on projects such as this?
Thank you. Fresh Fear was my ‘outside’ project for 2013. I have worked in publishing as a sub-editor and a proof-reader in the past and wanted to reinvent myself. I put the anthology together as a labor of love as much as it is/was a career move. I have been a ‘stay at home dad’ for the past five years and have some serious gaps in my CV which have me concerned with the inevitable return to the work force just around the corner. Hopefully it won’t be the last of such projects as I found the whole experience to be challenging and rewarding. Hey, I managed to get stories from the likes of Ramsey Campbell, Jack Dann, Robert Dunbar, JF Gonzalez, Billie Sue Mosiman and one of my personal favorites – the fantastic Charlee Jacob. Admittedly, the stories from Campbell, Dann, Dunbar and Gonzalez are reprints but they are no less powerful examples of the horror genre than the day they were crafted. I approached a lot of the authors mainly through social networking sites like FaceBook and Goodreads etc. I crafted a well thought out introductory letter to let them know what it was I had in mind with the anthology. I designed the cover and used that to solicit stories and interest in the anthology and as a result word of mouth spread and the submissions started rolling in. I sent personal invitations to most of the authors included in Fresh Fear and was very pleased with the response. A number of the authors have been online friends for a number of years, which definitely made it easier; I have only met one of them in person, fellow New Zealander Tim Jones, who is a fine writer and was high on my wish list from day one.
So To me, horror, like sex, is like a universal language. Being a New Zealander, what is the horror culture like there?
Well, New Zealand (NZ) is a small country and is still relatively young compared to the rest of the world. Our literary traditions stem back to England and as a result English literary tradition has steeped most of the work produced here. As far as Horror goes as a genre, film production/movies have the strongest output as part of the horror genre. Most people think of Peter Jackson (Bad Taste, Brain Dead, The Frighteners etc) as New Zealand’s only producer of Horror films but we have other talented directors such as DavidBlyth (Death Warmed Up, Angel Mine, Wound) and others like Paul Campion, Glenn Standring, and Garth Maxwell to name a few. We don’t have any horror conventions etc – the closest we come is something called Armageddon – which is more of a pop culture convention. The first real Horror novel produced in NZ (in my opinion) was ‘The Scarecrow’ by Ronald Hugh Morrieson, followed closely by Maurice Gee’s ‘Fire Starter.’ More recently we have begun to produce authors who write what would be considered ‘Horror,’ examples include: Paul Mannering, Tim Jones, Paul Haines, Lee Pletzers, Cat Connor, Rocky Wood, Marty Young and Tracie McBride. There are a few fledgling presses set up now who publish ‘Spec fiction,’ which tends to incorporate fantasy, horror, steampunk and dark fiction but none of the subsidiaries of the traditional publishers seem interested in NZ Horror to date. Most of our Horror writers (myself included) tend to write with an American or English audience in mind so it is quite hard to pin-point a distinctively unique NZ horror perspective or voice. I have recently set up a FB group called New Zealand Horror Writers and hope to setup an accompanying website early 2014. I feel we have enough talented writers of horror here in NZ to start a bit of a groundswell now and to let the world know that the horror genre is alive and well in Aotearoa (indigenous New Zealand).
You seem like a tireless worker, William, with novels, short stories, cover art and poetry to your credit. Which comes first, the story or the accompanying art?
I’m a very visual person and before I ever started writing horror stories I was drawing monsters and skulls. When I write I tend to plot/think in cinematic terms – Blood Related for example was written with a movie in mind. Ie, I wrote it with a view to develop the story as a screenplay eventually. Sometimes when I’m doing a cover design for someone I will go off on a tangent and create something that I’ll attempt to transcribe to the page as a written story. Most of my art is character based and it does help to develop story characters and their various attributes in a visually compelling way (I hope so at least). But for me the two don’t necessarily go together and I quiet often use the different mediums (art + writing) as a form of relief from each other when things get a bit wrought.
From reading your biography, you’ve worked quite a bit of odd jobs, from making rat poison to working in meat packing. Which was the absolute worst of these?
Oh man, I’ve had a few shitty jobs. Probably the worst one was when I worked for a huge chemical company as a process worker bottling something called Baquashock, which is basically concentrated hydrochloric acid used for cleaning swimming pools. I can remember having to wear a disposable full body suit with gloves and gas mask but having on occasion splashes of the liquid burn the pigment from my skin leaving white marks on my flesh. On Friday nights after work they had a social club and I’d only need two-three beers and I’d be nearly rolling on the floor – the chemicals seemed to enhance the effects of alcohol, which made the job bearable.
You seemed to have done a bit of everything in the macabre horror genre, except movies. Is there a certain work of yours that you feel would translate best into video form?
Yes. I’d love to see Blood Related made into a film one day – as I mentioned above, I wrote it with this view in mind. I am also currently working on an approved novelization of a great New Zealand Horror movie by director David Blyth, called ‘Wound.’
For someone totally unfamiliar with your work, which of your works would be a good starting point to discover the darkest nature of your work?
‘Creep’ is an easy read at about a 10k word count and has received many favorable reviews. I think it’s one of my better works and it also happens to be the first story in an exciting and gritty new psychological thriller series. Here’s the blurb – “Cassandra: Hunter of Darkness, is a hero to the victim and a merciless angel of death to the evil ones. A killer of killers, she strikes fear into the hearts of those who get their kicks off hurting others. Join Cassandra on her quest for justice and revenge as she begins her journey into the dark underbelly of serial murder and takes care of business, as only she knows how.”
Which do you prefer writing: novels, short stories or poetry?
I love writing short stories but I’m looking forward to writing my second novel. I actually started writing poetry seriously before short fiction and I feel that poetry prepared me for prose with a good understanding of cadence, strong imagery, and most importantly an ability to use language/words economically. The novella is my preferred format/word length as it seems to have many positive spin-offs in that if it’s too short it still works as a piece of short fiction and if it’s too long it can easily be worked up to novel length. So next year, I plan on writing at least three novellas and I hope that will result in at least one novel length work.
What are your current projects and what can we expect from William Cook in the future?
I am currently working on the novelization of David Blyth’s movie ‘Wound’ and expect to have that completed (pitch ready) by March 2014. I’m also halfway through the sequel to ‘Blood Related’ and hope to have that completed mid-2014. I’m also working on a collaborative novel/novella with friend and publisher James Ward Kirk and have a collection of short fiction nearly ready for submission, amongst other things.
If someone wanted to inquire about working with you on a cover project, what is the best way to reach you and even more importantly, what would make you interested?
Come and check out my design website – http://bloodsoakedgraphics.tumblr.com. There you’ll find prices, examples and testimonials from other clients. I am cutting back on my cover designs in 2014 to concentrate on my writing but I’m always interested in interesting projects. My main website has plenty of contact details/links also – http://williamcookwriter.com
Being a single father of three, I can totally respect your role of father to young girls. I often have to flip the switch from creator of darkness to big softy, often at the blink of an eye. Do your girls have any idea what your macabre works are about and do how do you manage to delve in and out of those roles?
No, they’re too young to know what I do although they do comment on my ‘spooky books’ etc. I have two older girls also (25 yr olds) who like reading similar books and seem to respect my obsession with writing and creating horror. I write in the evenings and when my youngest are at school/pre-school so I always keep my work separate from them really. I definitely have two separate realities in that respect.
Thanks for your time, William! It was a great pleasure digging into the mind of a great creator of darkness!!
Website - http://www.williamcookwriter.com/Blog - http://bloodrelated.wordpress.com/Twitter - @williamcook666My Facebook - Friend MeFacebook Page - Like My PageGoodReads - Become a FanLinkedIn - Connect With MeGoogle+ - Add Me To Your Circle SOURCE Paul Mannering, Tim Jones, Paul Haines, Lee Pletzers, Cat Connor, Rocky Wood, Marty Young, Tracie McBride, David Blyth, Paul DeThroe, James Ward Kirk, Peter Jackson, Paul Campion, Glenn Standring, Garth Maxwell, Ramsey Campbell, Jack Dann, Robert Dunbar, JF Gonzalez, Billie Sue Mosiman, Charlee Jacob, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, LinkedIn, Google +, #Horror, #Writing, #Interview, William Cook
Hi William, thanks for agreeing to this interview for my Ominous 13 dark fiction author spotlight series! For starters, let me note that as far as dark fiction, or the macabre, goes, your work is about impressive as it gets: very dark, very creepy. Is it easy for you to get into that kind of vibe to create your dark works?
Thanks Paul – I have always had a morbid fascination with the darker things in life so I am usually in that state of mind anyway. I do use certain techniques to raise the energy/darkness levels when it comes to writing horror. Some things I do to get ideas and the heartbeat racing are to listen to my favorite music while I’m tapping away on the keyboard. I listen to a lot of soundtracks, horror and otherwise. Some of my favorites include the soundtracks to Halloween, Taxi Driver, Maniac (Jay Chattaway), Hannibal etc and other albums from Acanthus, Fantomas, and anything by Danny Elfman and Joel McNeely, to name a few. I have a small study room lined with a lifetime’s collection of horror books and related ephemera which certainly helps ‘ set the mood’ so to speak. So I guess it is relatively easy for me to get a dark ‘vibe’ going, although I wish it was as simple to get the motivation flowing, to actually write something down.
I read in an interview with you by another dark fiction author, Donald White, where you stated that personal tragedy seemed to lead you in the direction of creating dark fiction. Did it help you find closure at all?
On some level I think that the process of writing is cathartic, if not for any other reason than just getting thoughts and emotion on the page. Personal tragedy does provide grist for the mill, so to speak, but “finding closure” through the act of writing about it, does not necessarily happen because one writes about it. Events never happen verbatim in my stories; on some level the event or experience may be retold but usually I prefer to use an analogous situation to relay my personal feelings. I make stories from experiences and that’s all there is to it most times, although the event in question to which you refer (murder/suicide of close friends) will become a story/novella at some point in 2014. I feel the need to tell the event from my own perspective and to impart the message within the story, that suicide has no mercy on anyone that survives.
Your recent work, Fresh Fear anthology, ranks #1 Best Horror Anthologies. Congratulations. How do you manage to get so many great authors to collaborate with you on projects such as this?
Thank you. Fresh Fear was my ‘outside’ project for 2013. I have worked in publishing as a sub-editor and a proof-reader in the past and wanted to reinvent myself. I put the anthology together as a labor of love as much as it is/was a career move. I have been a ‘stay at home dad’ for the past five years and have some serious gaps in my CV which have me concerned with the inevitable return to the work force just around the corner. Hopefully it won’t be the last of such projects as I found the whole experience to be challenging and rewarding. Hey, I managed to get stories from the likes of Ramsey Campbell, Jack Dann, Robert Dunbar, JF Gonzalez, Billie Sue Mosiman and one of my personal favorites – the fantastic Charlee Jacob. Admittedly, the stories from Campbell, Dann, Dunbar and Gonzalez are reprints but they are no less powerful examples of the horror genre than the day they were crafted. I approached a lot of the authors mainly through social networking sites like FaceBook and Goodreads etc. I crafted a well thought out introductory letter to let them know what it was I had in mind with the anthology. I designed the cover and used that to solicit stories and interest in the anthology and as a result word of mouth spread and the submissions started rolling in. I sent personal invitations to most of the authors included in Fresh Fear and was very pleased with the response. A number of the authors have been online friends for a number of years, which definitely made it easier; I have only met one of them in person, fellow New Zealander Tim Jones, who is a fine writer and was high on my wish list from day one.
So To me, horror, like sex, is like a universal language. Being a New Zealander, what is the horror culture like there?
Well, New Zealand (NZ) is a small country and is still relatively young compared to the rest of the world. Our literary traditions stem back to England and as a result English literary tradition has steeped most of the work produced here. As far as Horror goes as a genre, film production/movies have the strongest output as part of the horror genre. Most people think of Peter Jackson (Bad Taste, Brain Dead, The Frighteners etc) as New Zealand’s only producer of Horror films but we have other talented directors such as DavidBlyth (Death Warmed Up, Angel Mine, Wound) and others like Paul Campion, Glenn Standring, and Garth Maxwell to name a few. We don’t have any horror conventions etc – the closest we come is something called Armageddon – which is more of a pop culture convention. The first real Horror novel produced in NZ (in my opinion) was ‘The Scarecrow’ by Ronald Hugh Morrieson, followed closely by Maurice Gee’s ‘Fire Starter.’ More recently we have begun to produce authors who write what would be considered ‘Horror,’ examples include: Paul Mannering, Tim Jones, Paul Haines, Lee Pletzers, Cat Connor, Rocky Wood, Marty Young and Tracie McBride. There are a few fledgling presses set up now who publish ‘Spec fiction,’ which tends to incorporate fantasy, horror, steampunk and dark fiction but none of the subsidiaries of the traditional publishers seem interested in NZ Horror to date. Most of our Horror writers (myself included) tend to write with an American or English audience in mind so it is quite hard to pin-point a distinctively unique NZ horror perspective or voice. I have recently set up a FB group called New Zealand Horror Writers and hope to setup an accompanying website early 2014. I feel we have enough talented writers of horror here in NZ to start a bit of a groundswell now and to let the world know that the horror genre is alive and well in Aotearoa (indigenous New Zealand).
You seem like a tireless worker, William, with novels, short stories, cover art and poetry to your credit. Which comes first, the story or the accompanying art?
I’m a very visual person and before I ever started writing horror stories I was drawing monsters and skulls. When I write I tend to plot/think in cinematic terms – Blood Related for example was written with a movie in mind. Ie, I wrote it with a view to develop the story as a screenplay eventually. Sometimes when I’m doing a cover design for someone I will go off on a tangent and create something that I’ll attempt to transcribe to the page as a written story. Most of my art is character based and it does help to develop story characters and their various attributes in a visually compelling way (I hope so at least). But for me the two don’t necessarily go together and I quiet often use the different mediums (art + writing) as a form of relief from each other when things get a bit wrought.
From reading your biography, you’ve worked quite a bit of odd jobs, from making rat poison to working in meat packing. Which was the absolute worst of these?
Oh man, I’ve had a few shitty jobs. Probably the worst one was when I worked for a huge chemical company as a process worker bottling something called Baquashock, which is basically concentrated hydrochloric acid used for cleaning swimming pools. I can remember having to wear a disposable full body suit with gloves and gas mask but having on occasion splashes of the liquid burn the pigment from my skin leaving white marks on my flesh. On Friday nights after work they had a social club and I’d only need two-three beers and I’d be nearly rolling on the floor – the chemicals seemed to enhance the effects of alcohol, which made the job bearable.
You seemed to have done a bit of everything in the macabre horror genre, except movies. Is there a certain work of yours that you feel would translate best into video form?
Yes. I’d love to see Blood Related made into a film one day – as I mentioned above, I wrote it with this view in mind. I am also currently working on an approved novelization of a great New Zealand Horror movie by director David Blyth, called ‘Wound.’
For someone totally unfamiliar with your work, which of your works would be a good starting point to discover the darkest nature of your work?
‘Creep’ is an easy read at about a 10k word count and has received many favorable reviews. I think it’s one of my better works and it also happens to be the first story in an exciting and gritty new psychological thriller series. Here’s the blurb – “Cassandra: Hunter of Darkness, is a hero to the victim and a merciless angel of death to the evil ones. A killer of killers, she strikes fear into the hearts of those who get their kicks off hurting others. Join Cassandra on her quest for justice and revenge as she begins her journey into the dark underbelly of serial murder and takes care of business, as only she knows how.”
Which do you prefer writing: novels, short stories or poetry?
I love writing short stories but I’m looking forward to writing my second novel. I actually started writing poetry seriously before short fiction and I feel that poetry prepared me for prose with a good understanding of cadence, strong imagery, and most importantly an ability to use language/words economically. The novella is my preferred format/word length as it seems to have many positive spin-offs in that if it’s too short it still works as a piece of short fiction and if it’s too long it can easily be worked up to novel length. So next year, I plan on writing at least three novellas and I hope that will result in at least one novel length work.
What are your current projects and what can we expect from William Cook in the future?
I am currently working on the novelization of David Blyth’s movie ‘Wound’ and expect to have that completed (pitch ready) by March 2014. I’m also halfway through the sequel to ‘Blood Related’ and hope to have that completed mid-2014. I’m also working on a collaborative novel/novella with friend and publisher James Ward Kirk and have a collection of short fiction nearly ready for submission, amongst other things.
If someone wanted to inquire about working with you on a cover project, what is the best way to reach you and even more importantly, what would make you interested?
Come and check out my design website – http://bloodsoakedgraphics.tumblr.com. There you’ll find prices, examples and testimonials from other clients. I am cutting back on my cover designs in 2014 to concentrate on my writing but I’m always interested in interesting projects. My main website has plenty of contact details/links also – http://williamcookwriter.com
Being a single father of three, I can totally respect your role of father to young girls. I often have to flip the switch from creator of darkness to big softy, often at the blink of an eye. Do your girls have any idea what your macabre works are about and do how do you manage to delve in and out of those roles?
No, they’re too young to know what I do although they do comment on my ‘spooky books’ etc. I have two older girls also (25 yr olds) who like reading similar books and seem to respect my obsession with writing and creating horror. I write in the evenings and when my youngest are at school/pre-school so I always keep my work separate from them really. I definitely have two separate realities in that respect.
Thanks for your time, William! It was a great pleasure digging into the mind of a great creator of darkness!!
Website - http://www.williamcookwriter.com/Blog - http://bloodrelated.wordpress.com/Twitter - @williamcook666My Facebook - Friend MeFacebook Page - Like My PageGoodReads - Become a FanLinkedIn - Connect With MeGoogle+ - Add Me To Your Circle SOURCE Paul Mannering, Tim Jones, Paul Haines, Lee Pletzers, Cat Connor, Rocky Wood, Marty Young, Tracie McBride, David Blyth, Paul DeThroe, James Ward Kirk, Peter Jackson, Paul Campion, Glenn Standring, Garth Maxwell, Ramsey Campbell, Jack Dann, Robert Dunbar, JF Gonzalez, Billie Sue Mosiman, Charlee Jacob, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, LinkedIn, Google +, #Horror, #Writing, #Interview, William Cook
December 1, 2013
New Release - Kim Cresswell's 'Lethal Journey'.
Recently a friend of mine, award-winning author Kim Cresswell, told me about her upcoming release 'Lethal Journey,' and I quickly volunteered to do a feature on her and her book. Kim is a lovely person and her writing is of a quality and standard worthy of praise, so it is without hesitation that I present her and her latest work to you.
Kim lives in Ontario, Canada and has been a story-teller all her life. After working in legal and adult education for most of her adult life she has thankfully returned to her first love, writing. Her debut thriller, REFLECTION , has won numerous awards, including the UP Authors Fiction Challenge Winner (2013), Silicon Valley's Romance Writers of America (RWA) "Gotcha!" Romantic Suspense Winner (2004) and an Honourable Mention in Calgary's (RWA) The Writer's Voice Contest (2006).
LETHAL JOURNEY was a finalist in From the Heart Romance Writers (FTHRW) Golden Gate Contest (2003).
Her action-packed thrillers have been highly praised by reviewers and readers worldwide. As one reviewer said, "Buckle up, Hang on tight!"
Kim also recently entered the True Crime arena. Her latest story about accused Canadian killer, Cody Legebokoff, will be featured in Serial Killer Quarterly, a new e-magazine published by Grinning Man Press which debuts in December 2013. Her short story collection, Real Life Evil - A True Crime Quickie will release in January 2014.
LETHAL JOURNEY
Lethal Journey is a novella inspired by Kim's fascination with the Mafia and her love of action-packed thrillers.
A killer lurks in the shadows of Hyde Park, New York…waiting.
Manhattan District Attorney, Lauren Taylor, is about to take on the most important case of her career, prosecuting Gino Valdina, acting mob boss of New York’s most influential crime syndicate.
For three decades, Gino Valdina has led New York’s Valdina crime family. Since his recent indictment for murder, the leadership of the family is in turmoil, appalled by the death of one of their own, Gino’s wife, Madelina. Without the support of the family behind him, Valdina will do anything to save himself.
But Lauren soon discovers, things aren’t always as they seem when she’s tossed into a mystery, a deadly conspiracy that reaches far beyond the criminal underworld and a journey into the past makes her a target…and anyone she’s ever loved.
Holiday Special! On Sale for a limited time for $0.99!
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Praise
“An entertaining and complex novella with some solid twists at the end.” — Cheryl Kaye Tardif, international bestselling author of SUBMERGED
“High tension, high intrigue, and an angry mob boss put young Assistant DA Lauren Taylor on the defensive as she prepares for the biggest courtroom case of her life. All she has to do is stay alive long enough to put the head of one of New York’s biggest crime families behind bars, and the jury is out on whether she can pull that off. Her greatest ally is a man she knew and loved long ago, who shredded her heart as his own demons of guilt tried to drown him in an alcohol induced haze.
Lethal Journey by Kim Cresswell hits the ground running and does not stop! Are people as they seem or is there more to them? As the attempts on her life escalate and people close to her go missing, Lauren doesn’t have many options on who to trust. Enter the one man who broke her heart, Eric, a homicide detective who has also felt the burn of getting too close to the mob. Can Lauren trust him? Does she have a choice? It would be so much easier if her heart would stay out of it, wouldn’t it?
Kim Cresswell’s talent shines through again! With a talent for setting the stage, bringing in the characters and cuing the action, she held me from page one. She is not afraid to write a tale that is real, where the good guys do not go unscathed and they are not perfect. There is grit in her style, and when she says you are in a warehouse with a stench, you smell it. The romantic tension runs high, and using character flashbacks to the past not only builds on the development of each character as a flesh and blood entity, but serve to eventually bring everything full circle with an ending that you will NOT see coming!” —Tome Tender’s Book Blog
“Lethal Journey, a fast-paced novella hits all the points of a romantic murder mystery. The protagonist is Lauren Taylor, the prosecutor in the trial of a Mafia crime boss who once before slid out from under the punishment he so deserves. Her father is the district attorney, both enmeshed in a tragic family history they can’t leave behind. Eric Brennan is the tough police detective, who moves in and out of Lauren’s life as their sometimes love connection flourishes and then falls apart. There are other great characters in this drama who deftly fill in the blanks as the plot of murder, deception and tenuous connections twist into a knot that defies the reader to solve the mystery and unearth the true antagonist. Be prepared for a surprise ending that will blow you away. It’s a quick read that will keep your attention. Kudos to Kim Cresswell for a job well done.” - Review by Fran Orenstein, Sunwriter
Need more convincing? Here's an excerpt from Lethal Journey
"Eric slowed the Mustang to a crawl and searched the street for his informant, Jimmy Flame. This part of Brooklyn had it all — garbage, graffiti and gangs — a snake pit where debts were paid in blood. As it turned out, he spotted the lanky twenty-something-drug-dealer strolling up the sidewalk.
Eric didn’t trust the scar-faced kid dressed in clothes three sizes too big, but Jimmy knew the streets and somehow stayed clear of the gangs. A real miracle. He also knew Jimmy would be discreet, if he knew what was good for him.
Eric pulled the car over and stopped. Jimmy looked him square in the eye, turned, and kept walking. Eric jumped out of the car and snatched the back of Jimmy’s shirt. “We need to talk.” He whirled him around.
“Hey, you promised you’d only come around at night.” Jimmy scanned up and down the street clearly worried someone might see him with a cop.“It’s important. Get in.”
Jimmy hopped into the car and scrunched down low in the passenger seat. Eric started the engine and glanced at Jimmy’s low riding jeans. “How the hell can you wear those baggy ass pants? They should be outlawed.”
“What man? You don’t like my gear? These pants are cool.” Jimmy ran his hand over his knee. “What’s so important?”“Heard anything about prosecutor Stephen Taylor or the new district attorney?” Jimmy kept one hand clutched on the door handle.
Convinced the kid might bolt if he had the chance, Eric sped up.
“I ain’t heard nothing on the DA, but—”
“If you know something, spit it out. I’m not in the mood for games.” Eric looked at him.
Jimmy’s shaved head glistened with sweat in the early morning sun.
“Man you’re gonna get me killed.” Jimmy sank back into the seat, his fingers tightened around the handle of the door. “Some dude was looking for someone to put the scare into Taylor and the DA. I never saw him, but one of my boys told the guy to hit the road. The deal didn’t smell right. Something was way off.”
“How did Paul Cassico end up dead?”
Jimmy lit a cigarette and took an extra-long drag. “Cassico is a small-time bookie, you know, neighborhood shit, horse races and fights. Valdina learned the guy would be cooperating with the feds so Valdina had one of his crew take him out.”
“Did Cassico ever mention who killed my father?”
“The stupid shit went around flappin’ his gums. Said he knew who shot the cop in the warehouse drug deal. He also said he’d make a large stash when he went to the cops.”
Eric’s heart pounded. “Did he give a name, Jimmy?”
“Nope.”
“Shit. I need to find the shooter.”
“I don’t wanna get involved with Valdina’s crew. You’re talking Mafia.” Jimmy shook his head. “Man. I’m too young to die.”
Eric could tell by the quiver in the kid’s voice, he was scared. Something he’d never seen before. “Has someone threatened you?”
“Not yet. They will as soon as I start asking questions.”
“You’re smart. You’ll find a way to get the info. Besides, if you piss me off, I’ll drag your drug-pedalling ass off to jail. You understand?”
Jimmy remained silent for a moment. “Man, you’re a hard-ass.”
“Find out what you can.” Eric steered the car into an empty parking lot and tossed fifty bucks at him. “I’ll be back in a couple of days and watch your back.”
As Eric pulled away, he heard Jimmy call him an asshole. Okay, he deserved that. And yeah, he was tough on the kid when he needed to be. It was all part of the job. He liked Jimmy, but he’d never admit it. From what he just witnessed, Jimmy was scared shitless and that worried Eric even more."
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November 22, 2013
MARK EDWARD HALL - 'SOUL THIEF' - NEW RELEASE ANNOUNCED
I'd like to introduce Mark Edward Hall, a wonderful author of fast-paced thrillers and beautifully haunting horror stories.
I first met (albeit online) Mark when we shared a TOC in a horror anthology (Masters of Horror) back in 2010. Since then, we have remained online friends and I'm pleased to announce he has a new novel out called Soul Thief, which is the follow up to his fantastic novel Apocalypse Island. Anyway, without further ado here is the lowdown on the enigma that is Mark Edward Hall.
Mark Edward Hall has worked at a variety of professions including hunting and fishing guide, owner of a recording studio, singer/songwriter in several rock n' roll bands. He also worked in the aerospace industry on a variety of projects including the space shuttle and the Viking Project, the first Mars lander, of which the project manager was one of his idols, Carl Sagan. He went to grammar school in Durham, Maine with Stephen King, and in the early 1990s decided to get serious with his own desire to write fiction. His first short story, Bug Shot was published in 1995. His critically acclaimed supernatural thriller, The Lost Village was published in 2003. Since then he has published many books including his bestselling novella, The Haunting of Sam Cabot, his bestselling independent ebook, Servants of Darkness and his acclaimed thriller novel, Apocalypse Island. Soul Thief is his latest novel and is available now.
Soul Thief is the second novel in the Blue Light series. The first novel is Apocalypse Island. Although Soul Thief is a stand alone novel, it would be best if you read Apocalypse Island first.
Here’s a description of Soul Thief:
The Brotherhood of the Order is one of the oldest and most mysterious organizations on earth. Its primary mission is to protect one of the most carefully guarded secrets in human history, an object so enigmatic and powerful that in the wrong hands it could wreak havoc upon the earth. In the right hands it just might have the power to save humanity from its own destructive impulses.
Doug McArthur, hit in the face by a young friend at the age of seven, is suddenly able to see a supernatural creature who calls itself Collector. Doug’s life is turned upside down when he realizes that it’s not just the creature he sees, but the atrocities it commits.
Since marrying Annie his visions have been quiet and Doug is grateful. Now Annie is pregnant with their first child—a child that promises to be special—and their world is in the process of coming apart, beginning with the destruction of their home and forcing them to run for their lives, back into the world of Annie’s childhood, the De Roché dynasty, to a murdered mother and a cruel and enigmatic father.
Doug, whose love for Annie borders on the obsessive, has a deep and abiding hate for her father. He is nearly insane with grief over their plight, but soon finds that De Roché is the least of his worries when he begins to hear the pleading voice of a lost child that he cannot possibly save. And then, in the midst of Annie’s mother’s funeral, Doug is given a strange artifact, along with a dire warning by a dying priest. He must leave Annie and his unborn child and begin a sojourn into the darkest regions of the human heart.
In his attempt to save his wife and unborn child, Doug finds that there is much more at stake than the lives of two people, perhaps the very salvation of the human soul.
Soul Thief is the second novel in the Blue Light Series, a supernatural thriller that will keep you guessing until the stunning conclusion.
Look for On the Night Wind, the third book in the Blue Light Series, scheduled for publication in 2014.
Check out the following links for other great titles and interesting information about the man himself.
Purchase Ebook
Purchase Ebook
Purchase E-book
Purchase E-book
Purchase Ebook
Purchase E-book
Purchase E-book
Purchase E-book Website: http://www.markedwardhall.com
Twitter: markedwardhall
Facebook: Facebook profile
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=66893456&locale=en_US&trk=tab_pro
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/markedwardhall
Blog: http://www.markedwardhall.com
Mark Edward Hall, Writer, Author, Feature, New Release, Amazon, Kindle, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace
I first met (albeit online) Mark when we shared a TOC in a horror anthology (Masters of Horror) back in 2010. Since then, we have remained online friends and I'm pleased to announce he has a new novel out called Soul Thief, which is the follow up to his fantastic novel Apocalypse Island. Anyway, without further ado here is the lowdown on the enigma that is Mark Edward Hall.
Mark Edward Hall has worked at a variety of professions including hunting and fishing guide, owner of a recording studio, singer/songwriter in several rock n' roll bands. He also worked in the aerospace industry on a variety of projects including the space shuttle and the Viking Project, the first Mars lander, of which the project manager was one of his idols, Carl Sagan. He went to grammar school in Durham, Maine with Stephen King, and in the early 1990s decided to get serious with his own desire to write fiction. His first short story, Bug Shot was published in 1995. His critically acclaimed supernatural thriller, The Lost Village was published in 2003. Since then he has published many books including his bestselling novella, The Haunting of Sam Cabot, his bestselling independent ebook, Servants of Darkness and his acclaimed thriller novel, Apocalypse Island. Soul Thief is his latest novel and is available now.
Soul Thief is the second novel in the Blue Light series. The first novel is Apocalypse Island. Although Soul Thief is a stand alone novel, it would be best if you read Apocalypse Island first.
Here’s a description of Soul Thief:
The Brotherhood of the Order is one of the oldest and most mysterious organizations on earth. Its primary mission is to protect one of the most carefully guarded secrets in human history, an object so enigmatic and powerful that in the wrong hands it could wreak havoc upon the earth. In the right hands it just might have the power to save humanity from its own destructive impulses.
Doug McArthur, hit in the face by a young friend at the age of seven, is suddenly able to see a supernatural creature who calls itself Collector. Doug’s life is turned upside down when he realizes that it’s not just the creature he sees, but the atrocities it commits.
Since marrying Annie his visions have been quiet and Doug is grateful. Now Annie is pregnant with their first child—a child that promises to be special—and their world is in the process of coming apart, beginning with the destruction of their home and forcing them to run for their lives, back into the world of Annie’s childhood, the De Roché dynasty, to a murdered mother and a cruel and enigmatic father.
Doug, whose love for Annie borders on the obsessive, has a deep and abiding hate for her father. He is nearly insane with grief over their plight, but soon finds that De Roché is the least of his worries when he begins to hear the pleading voice of a lost child that he cannot possibly save. And then, in the midst of Annie’s mother’s funeral, Doug is given a strange artifact, along with a dire warning by a dying priest. He must leave Annie and his unborn child and begin a sojourn into the darkest regions of the human heart.
In his attempt to save his wife and unborn child, Doug finds that there is much more at stake than the lives of two people, perhaps the very salvation of the human soul.
Soul Thief is the second novel in the Blue Light Series, a supernatural thriller that will keep you guessing until the stunning conclusion.
Look for On the Night Wind, the third book in the Blue Light Series, scheduled for publication in 2014.
Check out the following links for other great titles and interesting information about the man himself.
Purchase Ebook
Purchase Ebook
Purchase E-book
Purchase E-book
Purchase Ebook
Purchase E-book
Purchase E-book
Purchase E-book Website: http://www.markedwardhall.comTwitter: markedwardhall
Facebook: Facebook profile
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=66893456&locale=en_US&trk=tab_pro
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/markedwardhall
Blog: http://www.markedwardhall.com
Mark Edward Hall, Writer, Author, Feature, New Release, Amazon, Kindle, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace
