Horror that Sticks to your Brain!

Today I welcome Erki Gustafson to my blog. Erik writes gripping horror stories that will make you think twice about doing everyday tasks, a unique aspect of his tales. Erik was my guest on the Book Junkies Interview Livecast on Monday 2/6/2012. You can listen to that interview here:

When did you decide to get serious about writing?

I first got excited about writing in 2010. My wife suggested I try the NaNoWriMo challenge and I went out and gave it a shot. I loved the challenge and more importantly, I loved writing! What I ended up with was a draft of Fall Leaves and the Black Dragon. I also wrote in high school (25 years ago now, I guess. Wow that was a long, long time ago) some. I had fun writing short stories but never did anything with them. I put them away and forgot about them until after NaNoWriMo. I pulled a few back out, most were terrible! But a few had hope with a little polish. One in particular, My Lover, My Garden is very popular and I wrote that in high school.

Which writers have inspired and influenced you?

I have always been fascinating with horror and getting scared. I used to love watching the lovely Rhonda Sheers on USA's Up All Night showing cheesy B rate horror flicks. As far as writers, Edgar Allen Poe and Charlotte Perkins were two of my early favourites. I don't know if Charlotte is horror, but her short story The Yellow Wallpaper really stuck with me. Powerful stuff. Of course, Stephen King and Peter Straub were big influences. I think my favourite Stephen King book is Salem's Lot. Scared the crap out of me. Now I am inspired by the Indie revolution. I am learning as I go, the hard way, you know but there are a lot of people in various Facebook groups that are extremely helpful and take the time to answer questions and guide me.

Share some information about your book with us:

I describe Fall Leaves and the Black dragon as a coming of age horror story. Liam's formative years were far from normal. When he was six, there was a huge fire that involved his childhood friend, piles of dry leaves and a box of wooden matches. This horrific past won't leave him alone. Literally. Secrets that should have burned away long ago have haunted him for years and ruined his childhood. Demons want him dead. Voices beckon to him in the night. At the brink of insanity, Liam heads back to confront the ghosts of his past and gain control of his life. Every step of the way something evil is trying to stop him. This dark coming of age journey reveals a truth more horrifying than the huge fire he lived through as a child. A truth that threatens many lives. I also have several short stories that I hope will soon appear in magazines and anthologies. One is about a psychopath shark lover that is going to appear in The Horror Zine next month. It's called The White Van.

What is your process for creating characters? What do you do to get them to feel genuine to your readers?

I try and think like my characters and feel what they feel. I keep writing about them, getting to know them better, and I rehearse the dialog in my mind. The story I am working on now, I wrote a character sketch and all sorts of back stories for my characters, but I don't think helped much.

What genre do you most love to read? Are your stories exclusive to that genre?

Sometime I like thrillers and the occasional crime novel but I read almost all horror and so far I have written all horror stories. I think I will try my pen at other genres someday. I have a few ideas centering around an epic fantasy featuring dwarves that fly on the back of huge eagles.

What does writing do for you, personally? How does it make you feel?

I guess I am a dreamer or something. It seems there is always a story unfolding in my mind- my dreams even seem to be story lines. My wife has told me that I talk in my sleep sometimes and tell stories. They are usually epic fantasies and she gets drawn up in the stories, that she keeps listening. I never remember them. So writing is something inside me that needs to come out. Filling a blank screen with words is relaxing. Telling stories seems to be something I was made to do.

Are there other genres of fiction that you would like to explore in the future?

I am branching off, slightly. The book I am writing now is a sci-fi horror story, so that is a little more than just horror. The working title is The Rise of Wenchiron Zombies. The first quarters is a traditional horror story then a discovery is made that sends the plot hurling into the science fiction realm. I am pretty excited about it, I hope the twist works.

What new projects are you currently working on?

I mentioned the book I am writing. The Rise of the Wenchiron Zombies. This one actually started out as a short story I titled The Fishers…with over a 1000 downloads on the Amazon Kindle store, I hope that is a sign it is being well received! The rough draft of the novel is almost done. It starts out with a missing son, a dead father, and a trail of other mysterious gruesome deaths. While searching for the missing boy, a bizarre discovery twists the story into an adventure on a distant planet, where a few desperate people are caught up in a grisly apocalyptic war. And all they want to do is get back home.

What is the story you remember best from childhood, and does it still influence your writing today?

There are two stories from childhood that stick with me. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster and Puff the Magic Dragon. They both are wild fantasy stories that take the reader on a journey outside of their everyday life and fill their boredom with adventure. I think that escapism is something I try to capture in my work. Everyone wants to get away now and then.

Where do you see yourself as a writer five years from now?

Five years from now? That's easy. I hope to be able to quit my day job and write fulltime.

IS there anyone you'd like to give a mention to?

I have had a great many of mentors and patient people show me the ropes and encourage me. Robert S. Wilson comes to mind right away. That man has done more than I could convey in words. He has many talents as well- he writes kick ass stories, is a gifted editor, and creates audio books.

Any last words for our readers?

If you like to write, then write. There are trends in writing you can follow and critics you can listen to…but the trends come and go and the critics aren't part of your inner voice. Write want you love, drag out the boxes in your mind and dig through them. Tell the stories you find inside yourself. Run with your ideas. If you stay true to yourself, the fans will follow.