Cursed
When I wrote THE CURSED EARTH (last year; feels like a lifetime ago), it began as an exercise in Folk Horror -- I wanted to write a folk horror story. I was influenced by Ira Levin's work when I began putting my ideas down. He managed those wry stories with elements of shock and terror to them.
But I thought typical crops were done to death already, when it hit me that I could use mushroom farming as the earthbound agrarian activity that might cement the story.
The moment I had that, I had the story. It was right there. And when my research showed me that Pennsylvania is a major mushroom-farming state, it all unfolded in creating the fictional town of Lynchburg.
Things I didn't expect when writing it was when the Cosmic Horror and Horror Thriller components of it manifested themselves, making it more than just a Folk Horror story.
That was a happy evolution for me, because I think it made the work stronger than the original idea I had for it. Those other elements enriched the story the way components to a stew make it better.
Something else about that story is I wrote the first draft in 46 days! That's the fastest I've ever written a novel, and for a nearly 500-page book, that's lightspeed for me. In fact, the original draft was closer to 600 words, and I willfully sacrificed ~150 pages to get it to the right length. It's STILL a big book, but that's just how it shook out.
The confluence of subject and story propelled that one for me. I don't know if I'll ever write another book as quickly as that one. And I say that as a fast writer.
It's my masterpiece of indie horror, for sure. That said, it's not particularly scary. At least not for me. It is why I always call it a "cosmic folk horror comedy thriller" to adequately describe it.
There are elements of folk horror, cosmic horror, horror comedy, and horror thriller to it, but it's not a pure horror novel by any means. It's more fun than frightening the way a rollercoaster is intended to be more fun than frightening.
I don't apologize for this. It's a fun read. People read for fun, right? Isn't that the intention? I accomplished that with THE CURSED EARTH.
As I've said as a tagline, it puts the FUN in FUNGUS. And speaking of that, I'm proud of Fun Gus the Laughing Clown, who's the best killer clown this side of Pennywise. Fun Gus walked into that novel and stole scenes. I love him!
Although it wasn't my intention, my partner has told me that Fun Gus is the purest literary expression of myself in any story I've written, which makes me laugh.
I don't know if it's too big of a book for most attention spans these days, but I stand by it, and always will. I'm proud of it.
But I thought typical crops were done to death already, when it hit me that I could use mushroom farming as the earthbound agrarian activity that might cement the story.
The moment I had that, I had the story. It was right there. And when my research showed me that Pennsylvania is a major mushroom-farming state, it all unfolded in creating the fictional town of Lynchburg.
Things I didn't expect when writing it was when the Cosmic Horror and Horror Thriller components of it manifested themselves, making it more than just a Folk Horror story.
That was a happy evolution for me, because I think it made the work stronger than the original idea I had for it. Those other elements enriched the story the way components to a stew make it better.
Something else about that story is I wrote the first draft in 46 days! That's the fastest I've ever written a novel, and for a nearly 500-page book, that's lightspeed for me. In fact, the original draft was closer to 600 words, and I willfully sacrificed ~150 pages to get it to the right length. It's STILL a big book, but that's just how it shook out.
The confluence of subject and story propelled that one for me. I don't know if I'll ever write another book as quickly as that one. And I say that as a fast writer.
It's my masterpiece of indie horror, for sure. That said, it's not particularly scary. At least not for me. It is why I always call it a "cosmic folk horror comedy thriller" to adequately describe it.
There are elements of folk horror, cosmic horror, horror comedy, and horror thriller to it, but it's not a pure horror novel by any means. It's more fun than frightening the way a rollercoaster is intended to be more fun than frightening.
I don't apologize for this. It's a fun read. People read for fun, right? Isn't that the intention? I accomplished that with THE CURSED EARTH.
As I've said as a tagline, it puts the FUN in FUNGUS. And speaking of that, I'm proud of Fun Gus the Laughing Clown, who's the best killer clown this side of Pennywise. Fun Gus walked into that novel and stole scenes. I love him!
Although it wasn't my intention, my partner has told me that Fun Gus is the purest literary expression of myself in any story I've written, which makes me laugh.
I don't know if it's too big of a book for most attention spans these days, but I stand by it, and always will. I'm proud of it.
No comments have been added yet.
