AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
With us today is U.K.–based debut novelist Iain Rob Wright, the man behind the supernatural/suspense thriller The Final Winter and a three-pack of horror stories entitled Thrillobytes.
Iain, tell us a bit about Winter.
The Final Winter is about the end of the world, or at the least the events leading up to it. We start out by following a down-on-his luck alcoholic named Harry, who is slowly drinking himself to death for reasons we find out later. He spends all his time at a rundown pub called The Trumpet, and that's where he is on the night that it begins snowing…in every country of the world.
But that's only the start of it, and Harry, whether he likes it or not, is finally going to have to sober up and confront his demons, both real and emotional, if he is to last the night. The entire world could very well depend on it.
Where do you get your crazy ideas?
Life! Life is pretty horrid and provides plenty of material for the aspiring horror/suspense author. The world is full of sickos and deviants and things that don't make sense. That's why writing horror is so cathartic, because in a make-believe setting there can be order and justice. In real life the bad guys win, but in my stories they get what they deserve (usually!). It's my way of punishing the wicked – I put them in a book and kill 'em off in the most gruesome ways I can imagine. Ha!
Plus, like most writers, I get a lot of middle of the night inspiration and a notepad beside my bed is a must! Gotta catch them dreams.
What kind of research went into the meteorological and ecological background of the snowpocalypse?
It actually came mostly from my own experience. The UK has suffered from unprecedented snowfall in the last few years (at least unprecedented for us) and has been completely unable to cope; roads choked up with car smashes, public services halted, and the entire country skiving off work for weeks. I thought to myself, this is nothing compared to what some countries have on a seasonal basis, so why are we making such a hash of things? My next thought was what if the snow never stopped? What if it kept going? What if it got worse? The idea blossomed from there.
What are you working on now? A sequel?
Yes, a sequel indeed. Animal Kingdom will be done later this year and is another end-of-the world thriller (I'll move on to something else soon, I promise) where animals all over the world suddenly attack humanity. We follow our protagonist, Joe, as he finds himself, and his 8-year old son, standing in the worst place in the world that day, the freakin' zoo! Suddenly the animals aren't the ones on the endangered list anymore.
Please also give us the quick pitch on Thrillobytes.
Thrillobytes is a 'thank you' to my readers. Only 99 cents on Kindle or free from my website, it will be an ongoing series of short stories. Each one will examine a classic horror theme: Sicko rapists, Killer viruses, crazed animals, etc. It is a way for me to give back to my readers and to also explore my own ideas. If something really 'pops' as a short story then it may be the idea I use for my next novel. Animal Kingdom for example is based off a piece of flash fiction that won in a competition (it is featured in Thrillobytes, Volume 1).
Readers can find Iain's web site here with free excerpts of The Final Winter, free short stories, and more.
