3Q’s Special – Dan Coxon wants to Isolate you!
It’s always an exciting time when a star-studded anthology is about to be released!
And what’s even more exciting? When that anthology is about to be launched in the US, only a few short days after winning a British Fantasy Award for Best Non-Fiction!
Dan Coxon is a celebrated author and editor and today, I have the pleasure of welcoming Dan, just before the launch of his newest Anthology!
Welcome Dan!
Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?
Dan: I actually have so many things going on at the moment that – out of necessity – I’ve come to see writing as only one part of it. The way I’ve learned to look at it, the writing is simply part of the bigger project, which is being a writer. So while it may sometimes feel like I’ve wasted a day editing submissions to an anthology, or preparing a writing workshop, or even booking membership for conventions and arranging travel, that’s all still part of the bigger project. All this is a long way of saying that I’m not always writing, and that old adage of ‘make sure you write every day’ just doesn’t ring true for me. What I do instead is make sure I engage with writing every day – whether it’s as a reader, a writer, or an editor. That said, when I’m deep into a project – a novel manuscript, or a longer story – I tend to make sure that I’m coming to it every day and adding to it, so that the momentum and energy behind it don’t fizzle out.
Steve: You end up at an estate sale and discover an unpublished manuscript from an author you love. Do you keep it just for yourself or do you share it with the world?
Dan: I’d be straight on the phone to a few publishers I know! In all seriousness, I’ve always felt that it’s like trees falling in a distant forest – if the words aren’t being read, then it’s basically the same as if they didn’t exist. It’s why being published is so important not just to me, but to most writers – for some people it’s ego pure and simple, but I think for most of us we don’t feel like our work truly comes alive until it’s published somewhere. The reader brings your world into existence.
Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!
Dan: My latest release is actually an anthology. Isolation: The Horror Anthology is out now in the UK and the US from Titan Books, and as for why you should read it… well, I might as well reel off the contributors. We have stories by Joe R. Lansdale, Paul Tremblay, Tim Lebbon, M. R. Carey, Ken Liu, Laird Barron, Gwendolyn Kiste, Jonathan Maberry, Angela Slatter, Owl Goingback, Ramsey Campbell… the list goes on. I’m also really pleased with the way it all came together. There are a few pandemic stories in the mix – it’s one of the reasons why we decided to do the anthology in the first place – but isolation has a much longer history than that within the horror genre. From the abandoned cabin in the woods to the star freighter adrift in the vacuum of space, isolation is a cornerstone of so many horror stories, and it’s fascinating to see so many great writers approaching it from such different angles.
If you want to check out my own writing, I also have stories coming out in Mother: Tales of Love and Terror from Weird Little Worlds, and Great British Horror 7: Major Arcana from Black Shuck Books. It’s been a busy few months.
Steve: Bonus Question! You wake up in a comic book. What is your comic book character and what is your super power?
Dan: I have two boys, aged 7 and 10, and this is something that frequently comes up in conversation! I think my favourite answer so far is ‘Imaginarium’, who has the ability to make anything he imagines come true. That pretty much covers most bases, since you can imagine other super powers. It also feels remarkably like being a writer, now I come to think about it…
That is really a fantastic answer and what a fun game to play with your boys!
Thank you so much for doing this, Dan!
To find more of Dan’s work – check the links!
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dan-Coxon/e/B0034PDEYM/
Website: http://www.dancoxon.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanCoxonAuthor
