1. First, introduce yourself a bit. What is your name (or pen name) and where are you from?
My name is Miranda Armstadt. I was born a US citizen in Europe, when my father was with the US State Department, and primarily grew up in New York City, but I’ve lived all over the US.
2.Next, tell us a bit about your most recent work. Is this your first published book? What is it about and what genre would you classify it as?
My debut (and currently only published) novel is Cut Back to Life —it’s Romantic Suspense/Contemporary Romance, with a very adult twist. It follows a celebrated L.A. neurosurgeon and an A-list actress whose long Hollywood career has just about peaked. They meet when she requires back surgery, and a dark tale of her past unfolds along with their relationship.
3. Tell us a bit about your main character; what are they like, how did they come about, and what are some of their strengths and weaknesses?
The two protagonists are Anna Porter, the movie star, and Dr. Mark Scofield, a revered neurosurgeon who has many of Hollywood’s elite as his patients. We also have the antagonist, Roger Niles, a British personal trainer with a very dark side, who is Anna’s live-in boyfriend/trainer as the story begins.
Anna is a survivor, first and foremost. She has defied all odds to become a star and remain at the top of the Hollywood food chain for five decades. She is also quite fragile—both emotionally and physically—and we find out more about that as the story progresses.
Mark Scofield is a very disciplined, talented surgeon. He’s never rocked the boat or defied society’s rules—until Anna Porter shakes his world to its core. He comes from a very staid background, and now, late in life, has to decide if he wants to remain on the straight and narrow path, or find his personal joy. There’s a lot at stake for him in making this decision.
Roger Niles has also survived a tough and lonely childhood. Being a trainer, he’s very buff and good-looking and has learned to take advantage of his clients’ insecurities. But his own inner demons will meet him head-on as the story progresses.
4. What was your hardest scene to write in this (or any) book?
I don’t want to give away the plot, so I won’t say. But because we are dealing with complex characters and their difficult backgrounds, a lot of painful situations come to light as these three find their lives entangled.
5.Did you go the traditional route when publishing your book or did you choose to self-publish?
I self-published Cut Back to Life.
6. What would you say is the most difficult part of your writing journey and what advice would you give to other writers?
For me, reviewing the final proofs of the formatted galley were excruciating, and I worked as a news editor and am used to paying attention to detail. But knowing this was it and that any mistakes overlooked would be there forever, that’s a lot of pressure, and you are looking at minutiae ad nauseum.
As far as advice: you have to want to do it for yourself. Not for money or glory or fame. If those things come, fantastic. But it’s like show business (which I also have a background in): maybe one percent reach those heights. Write because you have a story you want to tell, and then tell it the best way you know how.
7. Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
I am now at work on my second novel—it’s historical fiction, so not even remotely related to my first novel. I don’t preclude the possibility of doing connected works down the line, but not at this time.
8. Who are some of your favourite authors, what are some of your favourite books, and what inspired you to become a writer in the first place?
I was raised largely on classics, from Shakespeare to Tolstoy to Austen and Dickens (who all certainly rank among my favorites). Although I always wrote, I never saw myself as a fiction writer. I was a news editor for many years. Cut Back to Life was inspired by a major personal life event, and now fiction writing is my full-time career.
9. What would you say has been the best way to market your books?
I don’t think there is one way to market. It’s very competitive out there now—more so than at any time in history—so you need to be creative, multi-pronged, assiduous, patient, and mostly: realistic.
10.Are there any tropes, clichés, or writing styles that you dislike and, if so, what are they and why?
I am not a fan of rules of writing, other than to use grammar correctly, unless it’s dialogue or perspective of a character in your story who you consciously create with a particular regional, educational, or cultural articulation.
11. Do you read reviews of your book and, if so, how do you handle negative feedback?
I have read my reviews, yes. And overall, they’ve been four and five stars. But I don’t think reviews, and the way in which Amazon’s policy allows for “ratings” without reviews, are reflective of the writer’s work. Neither good nor bad reviews are the absolute truth. So honestly, you have to take it all with a grain of salt, in my opinion.
12. What are some of your quirks as a writer? Do you like to plot everything out or do you prefer to just “wing it” and see where the story takes you? Do you listen to music when writing and, if so, what do you listen to?
I am, it seems, a rare writer who likes to create in absolute silence. I don’t like any distractions when I am writing, so no music. As far as plotting vs. pantsing (as they call it, namely, winging it): to me, it’s like a road trip. Have some hotel reservations and destinations mapped out, but don’t be afraid to go off-road or change directions as you travel. With a major epic novel like the one I am now in my fourth year of researching and writing, you can be sure there have been many changes along the way. All for the better, I hope.
13. What is the best advice you’ve ever had when it comes to writing and what advice would you give to new writers?
Writing is like singing: you need to have an inner ear for it. To how words flow, to phrasing, to storyline, all of it. If you are entirely dependent on outside feedback as to whether or not your story or writing is “good,” in my mind, anyway, you are in the wrong line of work. Writing is a very solitary profession. Of course, we all need constructive criticism and input. But you also need to know when not to look for input.
14. What’s next for you? Are you currently working on any new books or stories?
Yes, as I mentioned earlier, I am now working on a historical fiction novel. It’s a World War II/Cold War thriller, based loosely on my father’s time with the US State Department in Central Europe during the early to mid-1950s. But it’s about much more than espionage and intelligence. It spans a century of a Jewish-American family’s secrets and struggles, which come to light when a third-generation newscaster discovers many things she never knew about her predecessors.
15. Finally, feel free to plug your social media, website, and links to Amazon, GoodReads, and other relevant sites below, and detail any current offers available for your book/s:
Bert S. Lechner, author of the The Roots Grow Into the Earth stories
– First, introduce yourself a bit. What is your name (or pen name) and where are you from?
Hi! My name is Bert S. Lechner and I’m a cosmic horror author on the autism spectrum from the Bay Area, CA.
–Next, tell us a bit about your most recent work. Is this your first published book? What is it about and what genre would you classify it as?
My most recent book is a cosmic horror novelette, Joanne’s Vault. It’s the third book in my series of cosmic horror stories, The Roots Grow Into the Earth, all set in a shared universe of dark magic and cosmic nightmares. Joanne’s Vault is about the protector of a vault of occult items, hidden away for the safety of others. Faced with a malicious presence in the dark of night she finds herself in a position where she must come to terms with the monster she harbors within herself, bound in enchanted tattoos, in order to save herself and the innocents brought into the crossfire.
– What was your hardest scene to write in this (or any) book?
The hardest scene for me to write so far in any book has been the ending of my first book, Interstate. It was a culminating moment in the book, a major reveal, and, most of all, a painful moment for the protagonist that I really did not want to put down on paper.
– Did you go the traditional route when publishing your book or did you choose to self-publish?
I chose to self publish my work! It’s been a fulfilling adventure to learn how to publish and market my work, even if it’s been an incredible challenge.
– What would you say is the most difficult part of your writing journey and what advice would you give to other writers?
The most difficult part of my journey to become an author has been my experience as a survivor of domestic abuse and the challenges of recovering from the trauma that abuse brings with it. My dream of writing as a career was something my abuser dismissed, belittled, and shot down early on in our relationship, demanding instead that I take on work that would pay enough for her to pursue her own artistic endeavors. Experiencing this early discouragement, and the continuing abuse I experienced, very much killed my desire to write or be a writer for a long time. After the relationship ended it took a long period of recovery to build my writing back up. Despite the challenge, pulling myself through that difficult time has ended up becoming a source of strength for me and has very much forged me into the author I am today.
From this experience I think the best advice to aspiring writers I can give is this: don’t let someone tell you you can’t be an author. Don’t let someone use pessimistic odds of success to discourage you. Don’t let someone say you’ve got to stick to writing as a hobby if your ambition tells you you want more than that. If writing is something that sets your core alight with inspiration and joy, and you find yourself with an opportunity to strike forth and put your art out in front of the world, give it a try.
– Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
My series, The Roots Grow Into the Earth, is my first foray into a larger universe that I’ve been developing for nearly 20 years. I have so many stories to tell from this setting, and many of the characters I’ve written about so far are characters I want to explore further in other short stories and novels.
– Who are some of your favourite authors, what are some of your favourite books, and what inspired you to become a writer in the first place?
Stephen King is a huge inspiration for how and what I write, as is Neil Gaiman. HP Lovecraft’s works have also had an influence on the kind of horror I pursue, but he’s not an author that I look up to. It’s hard to pick a favorite book, but among my favorites are the Dark Tower series, Salem’s Lot, Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarilion.
As for what inspired me to write in the first place, I can’t really place it. I’ve consistently had a vibrant sense of creativity throughout my, and after pursuing other forms of art that didn’t quite click I sort of just fell into putting my imagination onto paper and found out that I liked it.
– What would you say has been the best way to market your books?
Instagram has been great for finding readers and spreading the word. I also use Reddit, Tumbr, Facebook and Discord servers as places to talk about my work. From my minimal experience as a marketer it seems two good practices include casting your promotions across a wide net of social media networks and having an awareness of what keywords are most likely to get your work in front of an audience that will love it.
– Do you read reviews of your book and, if so, how do you handle negative feedback?
I still have only a small number of reviews, but the review I appreciate the most has been the one for my book The Wall, which included constructive criticism of some grammar challenges I’ve run into.
– What are some of your quirks as a writer? Do you like to plot everything out or do you prefer to just “wing it” and see where the story takes you? Do you listen to music when writing and, if so, what do you listen to?
I spend a lot of time running through sentences in my head, working them over like dough to find the right way to get the sort of prose I prefer. A lot of my stories start out as titles, or single thoughts that sound cool. Joanne’s Vault was inspired by a dream, as is another story in my todo list. I do have a hard time with outlines, though, so most of my work is absolutely written by winging it and seeing where it ends up.
– What is the best advice you’ve ever had when it comes to writing and what advice would you give to new writers?
It’s been said by many people many times, but the first big piece of advice I can give is to just write if you want to write: even if it’s just one sentence a day, getting that habit started is the best thing you can do to unleash your own avalanche of creativity.
– What’s next for you? Are you currently working on any new books or stories?
I have a wealth of ideas for what to write, but for now I’m focusing on finishing the stories that will comprise my current series in progress. For The Roots Grow Into the Earth, I have three more novelette length stories planned. I’m hoping to have a paperback collection out in October which contains my existing works, the planned novelettes, and a few bonus smaller stories.
– Finally, feel free to plug your social media, website, and links to Amazon, GoodReads, and other relevant sites below, and detail any current offers available for your book/s:
1. First, introduce yourself a bit. What is your name (or pen name) and where are you from?
My pen name is Sirius, although most people call me Star outside of writing. I am from North Carolina and I currently live near Greenville (ECU territory for any who might not be familiar). Before 2020, I lived in Greensboro for eight years.
2.Next, tell us a bit about your most recent work. Is this your first published book? What is it about and what genre would you classify it as?
The next book I have coming out is Condemned, which is book three of an ongoing series entitled The Draonir Saga. It is preceded by Uncrowned and Partitioned, which both came out in 2022. I would classify it as dark fantasy, a blend of gothic storytelling with a clear love for the fantasy of manners genre woven throughout. I have always preferred focusing on the characters, their relationships with each other, intrigue, and politics over action sequences or quests. I put a lot of value into creating atmosphere and beautiful prose that resonates with the reader while staying genuine to the characters and the world around them.
3. Tell us a bit about your main character; what are they like, how did they come about, and what are some of their strengths and weaknesses?
Pharun Mahtrador is definitely the main character of this particular series. On the surface he is a lot of things – he is very beautiful, he is clever, and he is mean. Even to those who know him intimately it is never easy to tell what he is thinking. He is enigmatic and oftentimes aloof – it makes it easy to believe that he does not care. He can be flippant and downright cruel. Of course, when he looks at himself, he sees someone who feels too much. There is a vast disconnect between how he feels and how he presents – everyone sees him as cold, he sees himself as keeping the world at a distance because there are too many emotions brimming up at once, and too much pain that he has to keep stuffed down. He does not sleep well, he has nightmares about the things that happened to him when he was young. He masks often – he is very good at being charming and at imitating social graces. He knows the ins-and-outs of high society very well, but when he is alone or in the company of the very few he keeps close, he is often straight-faced with a dry sense of humor and he is easily irritated. He definitely holds himself in very high regard and considers himself more intelligent than most, so when he finds someone he feels “understands” him, he becomes obsessed and he ends up running them into the ground – “breaking” someone and destroying them is the only way he can maintain superiority, but it is not always what he wants to do. Sometimes, he wants a genuine connection, he just does not know how to get it. He does not know how to stop taking advantage of people. He needs to be told how, but that does not mean he will follow the rules, either. I am very close to Pharun, and we share a lot of similarities. I think if anything he absorbs a lot of my insecurities, and we both feel very out of place. We both have a lot to prove, and we are both ruthlessly ambitious. One thing about Pharun is that he never gives up, especially when he has his mind set on what he wants to pursue, and sometimes that is to his detriment.
4. What was your hardest scene to write in this (or any) book?
The hardest scenes for me to write in any given work are the sex scenes. I add them if they come about in the narrative naturally, but I do not go out of my way to insert them, and I often find myself doing a lot of second-guessing when I write them. I’m not sure why, because I used to enjoy writing them a lot more. I think they just don’t interest me very much. I get a lot more out of tense dialogue and climactic betrayals.
5.Did you go the traditional route when publishing your book or did you choose to self-publish?
The Draonir Saga is self-published. My next book in a totally separate series, Swallow You Whole, is coming out in September and it will be through Curious Corvid Publishing. With the Draonir Saga, I wanted it to look a certain way and feel a certain way, and I was not ready to relinquish control. I love how it looks and feels now, even though there is always room for improvement. I also did not want to put myself through the wringer with sending it out to agents and publishing houses, because while I love the story and I love its writing, I was really insecure about how it would sell because the entire story is queer, the entire cast is queer, and the subject matter is dark. At the time (this was way before I found CCP), I had not been in the industry in a few years and was not sure if people even wanted my story, although I wanted nothing more than to share it. Being a queer, nonbinary writer trying to find a seat at the table of genres typically dominated by cisgender men has been difficult to say the least. If the Draonir Saga was to be picked up down the road by a publishing house, I would still want a lot of say in how it was packaged and presented.
6. What would you say is the most difficult part of your writing journey and what advice would you give to other writers?
The most difficult part has been giving myself grace. I am a prolific writer and an ambitious personality, and between those two things I find it difficult to “check out” even for an afternoon. I am not good at giving myself days off, and the wheels are constantly turning in my brain. All I ever do and think about links back to my writing in some way, it seems. So, if I were to give advice to other writers, it would be to let yourself have a down day. Do not push yourself into burnout, and also never give up. Pursue what you want, because success will start to find you when you do.
7. Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
I like to build a body of work with connections between each book. Even within Swallow You Whole’s universe, there are a few small references that can be linked back to the Draonir Saga. I have been experimenting more with standalone works and short stories, but for the most part everything connects. Everyone lives together in my head anyway, so it does not make much sense to try and separate them entirely.
8. Who are some of your favourite authors, what are some of your favourite books, and what inspired you to become a writer in the first place?
Some of my favorite authors – I definitely love Ellen Kushner, I feel I always say that first and foremost. She established the fantasy of manners genre and she is a queer writer, so I look up to her a great deal. Her writing is lush and gorgeous and her characters are so near to my heart. Another author is Megan Whalen Turner – I feel she gets overlooked a lot because most of her early books are geared towards a younger audience. I did discover her when I was sixteen, so I suppose I was the target audience at the time – but King of Attolia is still my favorite book, and everything she has released since then has felt like it has “grown up” with me. I will never stop loving her books. I am also, of course, in love with Anne Rice. I feel like that goes without saying. Her work has inspired me above and beyond in too many ways to list. I love Robert Louis Stevenson, Charles Dickens, and Victor Hugo with all my heart. Not to lump the classics together, but I would be remiss not to mention their influence. There are dozens more, but these are my all-time favorites.
I have been writing since I can remember, so I do not know what inspired me or compelled me to become an author. It just seemed the natural step. This is what I want to do, this is what I love to do. I have always had stories to tell, I have known so many of these characters for a long time. There was never really an option for me to do anything else. Writing is where my passion lies. I have flip-flopped through career options, especially when I was in college, but the idea was always “this…AND, or this, TO SUPPORT writing”.
9. What would you say has been the best way to market your books?
So far, word and mouth and in-person events have done the most for me. TikTok and Instagram algorithms are absolutely necessary tools, but they are so difficult to crack, at least for me (and especially promoting queer content, a lot of algorithms bury it). Online marketing leaves me frustrated more often than not. I prefer in-person encounters, I prefer connecting with the reader on that level, and I prefer putting a physical copy in their hands.
10.Are there any tropes, clichés, or writing styles that you dislike and, if so, what are they and why?
I greatly dislike first person, I cannot read it, and I don’t know why. If writing is too short and choppy, if the sentences are too simple and broken up and lack rich or offbeat description, I cannot invest in the story.
11. Do you read reviews of your book and, if so, how do you handle negative feedback?
I do read my reviews sometimes, but I have come to learn that reviews are for other readers, and not for the writer. Bad reviews can sting, and I will still read them because I am not immune to criticism. I like to know what other people are thinking (and I find reasons for disliking something can be just as interesting as for why they might like it). I have been writing and publishing for a long time, so I am not immune to feeling hurt, but I do have a pretty thick skin.
12. What are some of your quirks as a writer? Do you like to plot everything out or do you prefer to just “wing it” and see where the story takes you? Do you listen to music when writing and, if so, what do you listen to?
I used to think I was more of a “wing it” person, but I think that is just because I know the story so well (I have rehashed The Draonir Saga in so many ways over the years) that I never felt the need to write it all down each time I started to type. Nowadays, I give myself at least a loose outline (my memory has also gotten exponentially worse and I try to minimize the risk of plot holes). I love to listen to Classical music (sometimes overlapping with ocean or fireplace sounds) when writing, but I have a separate Spotify playlist of different songs to listen to when I am not writing to keep me inspired and connected with the characters.
13. What is the best advice you’ve ever had when it comes to writing and what advice would you give to new writers?
The whole “you can edit a bad page, but you can’t edit a blank one”. I repeat that religiously when someone tells me that they don’t know where to start. I am bad at handing out advice most of the time because my theory has always been “Just start. Do it, see where it takes you.” If you can’t make yourself begin because you’re waiting for the perfect circumstances, they will never come. I taught myself to write almost anywhere even if it was just to get out a small idea to return to later. A lot of things I’ve written when I’m out of my ideal environment have been dross, and that’s okay. Come back to it, sometimes you just have to make yourself do it to begin with.
14. What’s next for you? Are you currently working on any new books or stories?
With Condemned and Swallow You Whole coming out this year, I am currently working on Hawthorne, a novella that takes place in the Draonir Saga timeline that is separate from the main story – and I have two novellas I am trying to find a home for, a Dracula-inspired retelling called Rising Sun Over the Devil’s Nest and a vampire hunter story entitled These Bleak Atrocities. I hope to write more novellas and short stories this year, and explore more magazines and anthology opportunities.
15. Finally, feel free to plug your social media, website, and links to Amazon, GoodReads, and other relevant sites below, and detail any current offers available for your book/s:
E.C. Hanson, author of Fake Somebodies/Real Nobodies and more
– First, introduce yourself a bit. What is your name (or pen name) and where are you from?
E.C. Hanson. I grew up in Monroe, CT. I relocated to Salem, Mass in the fall.
–Next, tell us a bit about your most recent work. Is this your first published book? What is it about and what genre would you classify it as?
Fake Somebodies/Real Nobodies. It is a collection of previously published stories. Although I tossed in a couple of new tales.
– What was your hardest scene to write in this (or any) book?
I am in final edits on a novella. There is a scene involving the act of suicide. I want to honor the reality of such a difficult moment and, if nothing else, capture some degree of truth. It means too much to me to get it wrong.
– Did you go the traditional route when publishing your book or did you choose to self-publish?
My first two books were with publishers. But I self-published this one to gain some new perspective on the entire process. I have to say that I love it.
– What would you say is the most difficult part of your writing journey and what advice would you give to other writers?
The best advice I can give is to write and read something every day. It could be one poem. It could be notes for a synopsis. It could be the drafting of a cover letter. If you take one step daily, you will eventually have some degree of success.
– Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
I am about to finish a novella called The Clairvoyant. It is a spinoff novella from the main storyline in my debut collection called All Things Deadly (Salem Stories). It is too early to tell whether or not I will continue with the Frost family. But I had some unfinished business.
– Who are some of your favourite authors, what are some of your favourite books, and what inspired you to become a writer in the first place?
Sylvia Plath, Saul Bellow, Ernest Hemingway, Francine Prose. None of them are horror writers, haha. I took a playwriting elective in college. A day or two after I started the course, the professor said, “You should do this.”
– What would you say has been the best way to market your books?
Oh man. I try to promote the work of others. I really do. More than myself at times. But you have to hustle. Contact libraries and bookstores about events. Reach out to those that do podcasts. Swing away over and over. Someone is bound to say yes.
–Are there any tropes, clichés, or writing styles that you dislike and, if so, what are they and why?
I don’t like flowery language. I like spare prose that gets to the point and keeps the narrative moving.
– Do you read reviews of your book and, if so, how do you handle negative feedback?
I do. I am seriously grateful to anyone that tries one of my books. They gave their time. The only criticisms I dislike towards my work (or that of others) is when they say, “I could write something so much better than this.” Fine. Not debating it. But that’s a vague review. Put your work out there then. In this day and age, you can get your work out there for many to see. Put yourself in the firing line and then reflect on how you review a book. If someone says they hate my characters, prose, and dialogue, I would be fine with it. Why? Because it was strictly about the contents of the book. My work isn’t for everyone. I accept that.
– What are some of your quirks as a writer? Do you like to plot everything out or do you prefer to just “wing it” and see where the story takes you? Do you listen to music when writing and, if so, what do you listen to?
My background in playwriting allows me to wing it. But I like to make a scene list and then drift towards or away from that. It’s a light framework, so to speak.
– What is the best advice you’ve ever had when it comes to writing and what advice would you give to new writers?
Write and share. Write and share. There are so many writers that are better than me and they are afraid of trying/sharing their material with the world. Some might hate your work, but a few here and there might be inspired by it. Those people are worth it in my eyes.
– What’s next for you? Are you currently working on any new books or stories?
I hope to release The Clairvoyant. Also, I wrote a book with Mark Towse called Mischief Night. We are currently trying to land a publisher.
15. Finally, feel free to plug your social media, website, and links to Amazon, GoodReads, and other relevant sites below, and detail any current offers available for your book/s:
Auctor Trevel, author of The Blood Red Snowman, The Maze’s Aumlet, and more
1. First, introduce yourself a bit. What is your name (or pen name) and where are you from?
My name is Auctor Trevel and I am primarily an independent author who specializes in horror, dark comedy, and dark urban fantasy. I am based in the United States.
2.Next, tell us a bit about your most recent work. Is this your first published book? What is it about and what genre would you classify it as?
The Blood Red Snowman And Other Horror Flash Fiction is my tenth book and my second short digital eBook work sold on Amazon (the others being Preyed and the short science-fiction horror story Afflicted, which is currently on Fictionate and about to be released in a collection). I decided to publish The Blood Red Snowman as horror-based flash fiction that goes no longer than a page, and I decided to publish it to commemorate the fact that I have been self publishing for ten years (my first book was The Maze’s Amulet in 2012) and that contests I sent the horror flash fiction to at the time was not accepted in contests I submitted to. Other short works I submitted to so far have been to Indellible, which primarily publishes superhero prose and comics.
3. Tell us a bit about your main character; what are they like, how did they come about, and what are some of their strengths and weaknesses?
Given The Blood Red Snowman is a horror flash fiction collection, the main characters are varied. Some of them survive the bite-sized horror they are featured in, but many don’t get so lucky. If I were to talk about a main character, it would be Elza del Toro from The Maze’s Amulet. She is a terminally ill war vet cursed with a magical illness and relies on a green amulet to survive. Her greatest weakness is her illness but her greatest strength is facing adversity thrown at her without flinching.
4. What was your hardest scene to write in this (or any) book?
The hardest scenes were in The Maze’s Amulet, as they were the most grim but also the most emotional, especially the ending that I won’t spoil here.
5.Did you go the traditional route when publishing your book or did you choose to self-publish?
For all my books, especially The Blood Red Snowman, I went the self-published route because I like having control of my work and had creative freedom to edit and modify whenever I need to. I am not against traditional publishing and might go into it in the future, but self-publishing allows a great chunk of freedom but also a ton of responsibility.
6. What would you say is the most difficult part of your writing journey and what advice would you give to other writers?
The most difficult part would be the marketing and also finding yourself as an author. Part of me wish I held off publishing my early works because I was using a different name and was not sure how to present myself. My recommendation to starting writers is not to immediately market yourself after you finish your first book. Play around with different genres and formats, and market yourself as you authentically are and with a name you are comfortable with.
7. Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
For now, I want each book to stand on their own. I’m not against building a body of work with connections but given that I play around with a lot of different genres, each work is almost guaranteed to be its own.
8. Who are some of your favourite authors, what are some of your favourite books, and what inspired you to become a writer in the first place?
Mark Z. Danielewski, Richard Matheson, Stephen King, John Scalzi, Neil Gaiman, Paolo Bacigalupi, J.R.R. Tolkien, Anne Rice, Laurell K. Hamilton, H.P. Lovecraft, Koushun Takami, Abe Kobo, Richard Wright, Alan Moore, and even people in other mediums in films and video games like Frank Miller, Shinji Mikami, Hideo Kojima, H.R. Giger, Salvador Dali, Jordan Peele, Jhonen Vasquez, Gary Larson, Bill Watterson, Kohta Hirano, Takaski Miike, Ryuhei Kitamura, and John Landis. I could go on forever about the influences! R.L. Stine was the first author to convince me to write, and to go in the horror direction when I first started reading chapter books as a young boy. Regarding favorite books, they include House of Leaves, Neverwhere, American Psycho, Interview with the Vampire, Old Man’s War, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I Am Legend, Dracula, Battle Royale, and Moby Dick.
9. What would you say has been the best way to market your books?
I like presenting excerpts and I have taken advantage of online-based programs like Canva to help these excerpts pop and show readers what these books each. I feel it is important to show readers what the books are like, and not just showing the flashy covers. I also compose shorter bite-sized pieces of darkly humorous and horror texts to entertain readers and help them consider if they would like to buy my books. The most important part is creating a platform that they are willing to visit often.
10.Are there any tropes, clichés, or writing styles that you dislike and, if so, what are they and why?
I hate damsels in distress, I hate “chosen one” narratives, and as much as I like Dungeons & Dragons and works by Tolkien and some of the high fantasy greats, I am sick and tired of the medieval fantasy genre being overused. I feel there is not a whole lot of risks being taken with writing creatively regarding world building, especially in the self-publishing arena.
11. Do you read reviews of your book and, if so, how do you handle negative feedback?
I do not respond to negative feedback. If someone dislikes my book, it is what it is. If I see a book I just released with a three star rating, I just continue selling it. I used to be happy about good reviews at one point but if someone points out something they did not like in a book, I pay attention and see what I can learn from the experience.
12. What are some of your quirks as a writer? Do you like to plot everything out or do you prefer to just “wing it” and see where the story takes you? Do you listen to music when writing and, if so, what do you listen to?
I am a “wing it” person and make multiple drafts of chapters and short pieces. If I did outline, I don’t follow it to the letter and I found the outlining process-at least the conventional method-to be rigid and hindering. I also confess I’m still figuring out my processes as a writer and willing to learn new tricks and techniques. I almost always listen to music and/or a podcast when writing as it helps put me into a “zone” where I can concentrate on the manuscript. The music I listen to comprises of rock, metal, industrial, hip hop, trip hop, electronica, jazz, alternative, and film and video game soundtracks.
13. What is the best advice you’ve ever had when it comes to writing and what advice would you give to new writers?
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and don’t give in to perfectionism.
14. What’s next for you? Are you currently working on any new books or stories?
I am currently working on a superhero noir serial and a spiritual successor to The Maze’s Amulet. I am also starring in the independent zombie web series Dead Legion, which premiered on Amazon Prime on January 13th, 2023.
15. Finally, feel free to plug your social media, website, and links to Amazon, GoodReads, and other relevant sites below, and detail any current offers available for your book/s:
J L Grice, author of Forbidden and the Dominated series
– First, introduce yourself a bit. What is your name (or pen name) and where are you from?
I am J L Grice, and I am from East Yorkshire, in the UK.
– Next, tell us a bit about your most recent work. Is this your first published book? What is it about and what genre would you classify it as?
My most recent published work is my novella Forbidden. This is my fourth book. It is about a university student whose grades are falling. Her professor notices and he offers to help by giving her a live-in job at his house as a cleaner. The problem is she is smitten with him. The book is forbidden romance.
– Tell us a bit about your main character; what are they like, how did they come about, and what are some of their strengths and weaknesses?
Imogen is one of the main characters in Forbidden. She is a strong character that isn’t afraid to let people know what she thinks. Imogen came about because I wanted someone who was a match for Grey, the main male character. Imogen is loyal, strong, feisty and bright (even though she thinks she isn’t) Imogen is jealous, she can sometimes be childish and quite impulsive.
– What was your hardest scene to write in this (or any) book?
The hardest scene to write was the rape scene. Being a survivor of sexual assault, and rape this was extremely hard to write.
– Do you read reviews of your book and, if so, how do you handle negative feedback?
I read my reviews. Usually I ignore it, but if it is constructive I take it in to consideration.
– What’s next for you? Are you currently working on any new books or stories?
I am working on a horror/ thriller book. I hope to get it finished sometime this year.
– Finally, feel free to plug your social media, website, and links to Amazon, GoodReads, and other relevant sites below, and detail any current offers available for your book/s:
Tobin Elliot, author of The Aphotic series and others
1. First, introduce yourself a bit. What is your name (or pen name) and where are you from?
I’m Tobin Elliott (and yeah, that’s my real name…who needs a pen name when you’re stuck with “Tobin”?) and I’m from the Great White North. I live about an hour east of Toronto, in Ontario.
2.Next, tell us a bit about your most recent work. Is this your first published book? What is it about and what genre would you classify it as?
This is where it begins to get complicated… my most recent work is actually a six-book horror series called The Aphotic.
What it’s about…
The Aphotic is a hexalogy about a Book who seeks out those at the fringe, those that think of the bad things they wish they could do… and the Book finds them and offers up the powers to do so.
What It doesn’t offer is the price each will pay for letting the Book into their mind.
Over the six books, you’ll meet the people of New Hope—some good, some very bad, some human, some demon, werewolf, or vampire—and watch as a century of stories collide at the end, as various characters from each book are drawn into the battle against the one pulling the Book’s strings.
They are all interconnected and should be read in order. It’s the story I’ve been working on telling for a long time, but it’s not my first published work. I’ve had three novellas published about ten years ago through a couple of micro-presses, and a bunch of short stories in various anthologies. All horror.
3. Tell us a bit about your main character; what are they like, how did they come about, and what are some of their strengths and weaknesses?
Over six books, I don’t have one main character, but there is one—Talia—that makes appearances in four of the six books. When we meet her in the first book, Bad Blood, she’s an angry and vengeful nine-year-old, upset that her father has left the family, and she blames her baby sister for it. Then an equally angry and vengeful Book comes into her possession, and suddenly, Talia’s ability to get back at those that upset her is magnified to a dangerous level.
By the last novel, Talia almost fifty and…well…things have changed. I don’t want to say more about that, because her changes mirror the heart of the story. Let’s just leave it as she’s one of my favourite characters to write.
How did she come about? Well, I was casting about for a novella-length story, and I ran across a short story I’d written years before. And while I plucked some of the details out and built a new story around them, the central girl… interesting, angry, and powerless, spoke to me, because, in many ways, I was that kid at one time. We write what we know, right?
Her strength is her unwavering confidence in herself, as is her conviction. She doesn’t think she’s right, she knows it. Her weaknesses all stem from her strengths, as the best weaknesses do. She’s overconfident, because a child trusting and using the Book is like a child trusting a wild horse to obey her. And, of course, she’s not always right. So she needs to learn to temper both of those qualities.
4. What was your hardest scene to write in this (or any) book?
The hardest scene to write came after I thought I’d finished the sixth and final book. I’d literally written “The End” with great satisfaction, then when I went to bed, I started to think about the entire story, and realized that I needed something—some traumatic event—in one of the characters’ backstory to make their ultimate redemption make a bit more sense.
So, the next day, I had an idea and I started to write that scene. Obviously, after I’d gone to sleep, my devious little hindbrain continued to chug along and come up with more material because—and I’m being completely truthful here—I started the scene, and a couple of paragraphs in, I realized what I was now writing was uncharted territory. I honestly wasn’t sure what this was leading up to, until I actually began writing what it was leading up to.
Here’s my thing: when I sit down to write, I will have a rough idea of where I’m starting, and where I’m ending, but I do trust my gut to fill in the details as I go. I find that spontaneity is where the magic happens.
And that’s what was happening here. I wasn’t sure where I was going, but I trust myself enough to just let it pour out.
And what poured out was more trauma for this character than I’d expected to give her. For me, it was awful to write. I, for the first time, was actually crying as I destroyed this character.
Even weirder, I finished the scene, then saved it and walked away. Talking to my wife about it, I started crying yet again.
To me, I think that’s a sign that I’ve done the right thing. If I can get invested in a character that I created… invested enough to hurt for them… then I’m writing something good.
5.Did you go the traditional route when publishing your book or did you choose to self-publish?
I offered up the series to several publishers, but I knew, with some of the subject matter, it was always going to be a hard sell. I did have one publisher express interest, however, the first editor who looked at it—and I’ll stress here that the call was for “horror”—decided it was not for her because it was “too much horror”…
…yeah. Okay.
Anyway, they did say they were passing it over to two other editors who might be a better fit, however, as it’s been over a year with nothing but “hold on, they’ll get to it” promises and nothing else, I decided it was time to put it out myself. I decided that because I didn’t want to compromise on any of the subject matter in the books, and I also had a vision for the covers that, along with my cover artist, have exceeded anything I’d hoped to get created.
6. What would you say is the most difficult part of your writing journey and what advice would you give to other writers?
The most difficult part of my writing journey has always been two things…
First, believing in my writing. I get a lot of fantastic feedback for my writing, but there’s still times when I’ll read something of my own and think, “ugh, that’s terrible.” The funny thing is, I’ll set it aside and, six months later, come back to it and be really happy with it. Self-doubt of your abilities is a horrible, destructive thing.
Second, just building the habit of bum in chair. It’s easy to create excuses to not write.
“I’m still thinking about it.”
“I’m not inspired.”
“I don’t know what to write.”
“I’m stuck.”
I’ve learned that you can’t wait for any of that. Getting in the habit of just sitting down and planting my fingers on that keyboard is enough to get me going. I always find something to write, no matter if there’s inspiration or whatever. Just sit down and write.
7. Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
I have always loved how Stephen King interconnects all his stories into one vast tapestry, but not necessarily with interconnected stories, more with just little mentions here and there. Obviously, with this hexalogy, yes, it’s fully connected, with recurring characters and themes. But I do consciously look for ways to add in those little mentions between all my work.
8. Who are some of your favourite authors, what are some of your favourite books, and what inspired you to become a writer in the first place?
That’s a hell of a list you’re asking for!
Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov were my first loves with both their short story collections, Clarke’s A Fall of Moondust, Rendezvous with Rama, and others, and Asimov with his Robot and Foundation series. I was an SF guy before I was a horror guy.
Ray Bradbury, under the guise of SF, introduced me to the wiles of horror. I can still remember the first time I read The Veldt… it’s left a mark on me that, decades later, still remains. Fahrenheit 451 and Something Wicked This Way Comes and The October Country are still favourites that I revisit.
Stephen King is a huge influence, with too many favourites to mention. But I will say, when I picked up Carrie, I remember thinking two things. The first was, Carrie White was me. I was Carrie. I was bullied, I was the outcast. And he captured a lot of my feelings and insecurities in that novel. The second was, hell, this is something I could write. It gave me the courage to try.
Jack Ketchum is another huge influence, and I adore his work. But it was The Girl Next Door that showed me how to be fearless in my writing, and to write stuff that Hurt.
Joe R. Lansdale quickly stole my heart, whether it was with his goofy horror, his Hap and Leonard series, or his gorgeously written examinations of life in Texas in the 60s and 70s, he’s just a brilliant writer. And right now, my three favourite authors are Eric Leland (if you haven’t read Inhuman, you’re missing out), Matthew Lyons (The Night Will Find Us and A Black And Endless Sky are phenomenal), and finally, the best horror author in the business right now, Philip Fracassi (when The Boys In The Valley is released, you need to read it, it’s brilliant).
9. What would you say has been the best way to market your books?
I don’t know if I’ve actually cracked that nut yet, to be honest. I’ve been pounding the social media trail, and that’s helped, and I’ve reached out to a bunch of bookstagrammers, and that’s helped as well.
But the most traction has been from publishing through IngramSpark, so my novels are available pretty much globally, then working with the large outlets, and specialty shops, to make sure they have some physical copies in their stores.
It’s a lot of work, but it all pays off. It’s all the small streams that eventually lead to a river.
10.Are there any tropes, clichés, or writing styles that you dislike and, if so, what are they and why?
I’ve never been a fan of anything told in second person POV (you did this, you saw that), but, having said that, I have read one book that did it well.
The only writing style that drives me bonkers is the Cormac McCarthy elimination of apostrophes and quotes, leaving you to shake your head at words like “cant” which has a completely different meaning from “can’t” and puzzling out if someone’s actually talking or not. I love McCarthy, but I can only get through a book by listening to audio, because otherwise, I just yell at him for several hundred pages.
I am getting sick of the “hero of a thousand faces” Joseph Campbell trope that’s been used from everything from Star Wars to Harry Potter where there’s the orphaned child who harbours a power and only needs a mentor to unlock it, blah blah blah. It’s getting old, writers, even if it still sells. In horror specifically, the nice couple who move out to the secluded house only to find it’s haunted with (fill in the blank… anything from vampires to horrible secrets) that they must vanquish to save their lives/marriage/family/sanity… yeah, I could live without that, too.
11. Do you read reviews of your book and, if so, how do you handle negative feedback?
I do, and positive or negative, I love them all. Seriously.
I’ve had people get up and walk out of readings. My cousin told me she was putting my book down and never reading anything else of mine because she could “only handle so much madness”.
Last night, I had a person who’d agreed to review my books message me and tell me, due to one scene, they simply couldn’t go on.
That’s fine. I write horror. I write to horrify. I’ve done my job.
I handle negative feedback the way I handle positive feedback. Writing, like it or not, is art, and it’s highly subjective. I despise authors that everyone loves. I love authors that many can’t stand. We like what we like, and we dislike what we dislike. So, if someone tells me I’m fantastic, I take that with a grain of salt. I’m all right, but I don’t think I’m fantastic. And if someone tells me I suck, again, I’m all right, but I don’t think I suck.
If the feedback can point to specifics, and a case is made in regard to the writing working or not, then I’ll consider it, and hold on to it for future writing. It’s all I can do.
But yeah, I’ll happily take it all. I got into a field where I create something, then share it to the world. I’m not going to hide from those that don’t like it. I want to know. Like Mellencamp sang, I’m here for the full catastrophe of life.
12. What are some of your quirks as a writer? Do you like to plot everything out or do you prefer to just “wing it” and see where the story takes you? Do you listen to music when writing and, if so, what do you listen to?
Here’s the way I describe my writing…
I look at it like I’m planning a road trip. Let’s say I’m planning on driving to DisneyWorld. So, I know where I’m starting, I know where I’m ending up, and I’m pretty sure of a few stops along the way.
But the minute to minute experience of the trip is new experiences and new road under my wheels.
So, in real terms, I bullet out a list of somewhere between 5 and 20 points, and then I write toward each one. I will rarely plan out much more than that, though I’ll have some individual scenes in my head.
Then, as I write, I have a lot of leeway, but I still know where I’m headed. And that, for me, is where the magic happens. Like I described above with that traumatic scene that left me in tears, I often start writing, then just trust my fingers to type out some really good stuff that it finds rattling around in the back of my brain that I didn’t even know was there.
When I write, I can’t have interruptions, but I do want music playing. What I listen to depends on what I’m writing.
When I wrote Out for Blood (book two of The Aphotic series), it takes place in summer of 1981, so I limited my playlist to any music that might have been playing at that time. Nothing past ‘81.
When I wrote a short story inspired by a song, I listened to that song on repeat.
For others, it’s been stuff like Pink Floyd and Airbag, or it’s been loud and angry like Godsmack and Alice in Chains. In a couple of cases, it’s been classical orchestral music by Mozart and Chopin.
It really depends on the mood I’m trying to achieve.
13. What is the best advice you’ve ever had when it comes to writing and what advice would you give to new writers?
It’s all quotes…
“What would you attempt to do if you knew you would not fail?” – Robert Schuller
“The first draft of anything is shit.” – Ernest Hemingway
“Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down. Rewrite in process is usually found to be an excuse for not going on.” – John Steinbeck
“If it doesn’t hurt while you’re writing it, you haven’t dug deep enough.” – Unknown
As for advice for new writers… all of the above, and also, read! Read a lot. Read everything. Read good stuff and bad stuff. And most importantly, read outside your genre. You’ll learn from all of it. Oh, and the whole “bum in chair” thing, too.
14. What’s next for you? Are you currently working on any new books or stories?
What’s next?
Over the first eight months of 2023. I’ve got the last four books of this hexalogy to release, one every two months from February 1st for book three to August 1st for book six.
Well, I’m co-authoring a book with a brilliant author that I want to finish this coming year. It’s our second, and we have a third teed up right behind it. They’re all inter-related, but wildly different. One’s very gothic, and involves the classic monsters… Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, etc. The other is much more contemporary and involves the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. They’re a lot of fun to write.
Aside from that, I’ve got a haunted house story that I’m about halfway through that I also want to finish soon.
I’ve got an old novella that I’ve got some ideas on expanding into a full novel.
I was also quite surprised to realize I’ve amassed enough short stories to release two full collections.
And finally, I’ve also got a non-fiction project that unfortunately I can’t say much about, but it’s sad and inspiring, horrifying and uplifting, and just an incredible story. So, yeah, I’m a busy guy right now!
15. Finally, feel free to plug your social media, website, and links to Amazon, GoodReads, and other relevant sites below, and detail any current offers available for your book/s:
Erin Banks, author of About Rage and Ted Bundy: Examining The Unconfirmed Survivor Stories
1. First, introduce yourself a bit. What is your name (or pen name) and where are you from?
I’m Erin Banks, and for the main music project I do with musician friends, I go by About Rage. This only happened because we discovered there was already an Erin Banks on Spotify when we released the soundtrack to the novel About Rage.
I was born in Northern Germany and intermittently lived in the US, Sweden, Denmark and the UK over the past twenty years, as I’ve always loved to travel, learn foreign languages and about other cultures.
2.Next, tell us a bit about your most recent work. Is this your first published book? What is it about and what genre would you classify it as?
I just published my debut novel, About Rage, in late October, though it isn’t my first book. I wrote a non-fiction one on Ted Bundy, as I have blogged on CrimePiper about the case, as well as other True Crime cases, going on five years now.
About Rage is a psychological Horror Thriller centered around a ruthless female serial killer, Emily Sand, with a uniquely complex psychopathology. She shows symptoms of complex post-traumatic stress disorder, paired with other specified dissociative disorder, so similarly to Ted Bundy, she has sort of an “entity” that she calls the Rider, who is basically her externalized kill urge or alter ego. Emily soon realizes that someone has been watching her…or watching over her? That’s something she must find out, and for this she employs the help of a therapist. How she goes about this would be a little bit of a spoiler.
Going forth, Emily learns more about herself, including betrayals of her past and present, and she attempts to find out whether the people in her life she thinks of as friends are trustworthy or not, in order to face a seemingly omnipotent enemy.
The novel has twists and turns aplenty, and I’m overjoyed that readers reported to me they could not put the book down, finishing it within a day or two. This is exactly what I wanted to achieve, to “edutain” – to leave readers breathless and wanting for more, while still taking them on a journey into the mind of the killer to facilitate a better understanding of how trauma, loneliness and fantasy life spinning out of control very often plays a part in creating these violent offenders.
3. Tell us a bit about your main character; what are they like, how did they come about, and what are some of their strengths and weaknesses?
How Emily Sand came about is a bit of a convoluted story, but I’ll try to keep it short: In late 2017, I had tried to look for Horror and Thriller novels centered around a female serial killer who would be more than just a two-dimensional, Disneyesque villain to hate. I found one series that I enjoyed, but it didn’t go far enough for my taste. So I started penning disjointed chapters about a female serial killer, and in 2018, I learned about a (by now long disbanded) group on social media that was doing a “serial killer role playing game,” for which the admin would give us a setting and scene prompt and the members would finish that story. There had also been plans of co-writing a female serial killer story with someone else but ultimately, they didn’t come through. So I had gathered a lot of material I had to try and combine but didn’t have time to do so until last year.
As for Emily Sand’s strengths and weaknesses, that is a really great question, because at times, they appear interchangeable. She is a cautious and paranoid killer, thinking of anything and everything she would require in any scenario, and she is just as meticulous and obsessive-compulsive when disposing of bodies. She’s unfortunately not as cautious once she meets the man who’s been watching her for a while, and the prospects of what he offers her cast her whole world into disarray. My favorite strength of hers is her willingness to self-reflect, even though she’s not always a reliable narrator.
4. What was your hardest scene to write in this (or any) book?
There were three that were all equally emotionally taxing. The one during which Emily reveals to the therapist what she suffered through as a child and how it impacted her. As someone who grew up with extreme abuse, it left me reeling a bit. Connected to it is a scene during which Emily learns how everything in her life is interwoven. The disillusionment, the sinisterness of it all was something I experienced on a very real level.
Lastly, there’s one scene in one of the last chapters that involves a betrayal not even I had seen coming. One of the characters just forced me into that direction, despite my outlining, and I knew I had to run with it, but it broke my heart for Emily.
5.Did you go the traditional route when publishing your book or did you choose to self-publish?
I had originally intended to go the traditional route. Ultimately, I couldn’t relent control, or rather, the rights, of this story to anyone else. It’s too close to my heart, and I needed to be in the driver’s seat, even if it meant far less exposure.
6. What would you say is the most difficult part of your writing journey and what advice would you give to other writers?
This is probably something I shouldn’t admit, but one thing I learned is that no matter how much and often I edit, I’ll still find things after publishing that make me cringe. Part of it is that, as a non-native speaker, I’m extremely apprehensive about possible mistakes I could make, particularly in terms of punctuation. Being an indie writer without an editor, I am still happy that the second book proved to be a less straining experience than my first one, so I believe I have the capacity to further develop my craft.
7. Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
About Rage will have a follow-up, possibly more. It’s a vast universe inside me that just expanded over the years.
My first book, Ted Bundy: Examining The Unconfirmed Survivor Stories, will remain a standalone, though I may write another Bundy book on an unrelated topic in the future. I do already have the material and a general outline for it.
8. Who are some of your favourite authors, what are some of your favourite books, and what inspired you to become a writer in the first place?
My favorite non-fiction author is Kevin M. Sullivan. I read his first two Ted Bundy books years before we became friends, and was immediately enmeshed with what a gifted storyteller he was. He is a true edutainer. Eventually, he asked me to write a chapter for his sixth book, The Enigma of Ted Bundy. I was shocked that my favorite author would ask me if I wanted to collaborate. Me! I look up to Sondra London as well. She’s completely in control of every word, every sentence she produces, and has a very elegant writing style I truly enjoy.
My favorite fiction author is Josephine Angelini. I love her world building and character development, particularly for the Worldwalker trilogy, and her standalone What She Found in the Woods. My favorite book will always be Jane Eyre, though; the ultimate coming-of-age story about independence, self-respect, self-mastery, and how all of this could be balanced and expressed in a romantic relationship setting.
9. What would you say has been the best way to market your books?
I so suck at this stuff. Probably social media. It’s very difficult for me to network because human interaction leaves me extremely drained due to always having to mask. I’m autistic. Plus, it’s always been a bit awkward for me to clap for myself in public, but I want to be read, so that’s what it takes.
10.Are there any tropes, clichés, or writing styles that you dislike and, if so, what are they and why?
I don’t think any trope or cliché has to be bad, necessarily. I’ve read books that played with tropes, and just when you thought you knew where the story was headed, you were thrown for a loop, because the author had just used cleverly it as a set-up.
As for writing styles, be it narrative, descriptive, expository or persuasive, I enjoy them all, though expository is a bit tricky because it can get dull quick, so it takes a very skilled writer to do this in a way that’s still engaging and keeps my attention.
One thing that drives me nuts is clipped sentences and a lack of paraphrasing.
11. Do you read reviews of your book and, if so, how do you handle negative feedback?
I’ve received some great bad reviews because the person shared in-depth what their expectations had been and why my book did not deliver, in their view. Some of these readers’ suggestions stayed with me. For instance, in my first book, the last chapter was supposed to be the big bombshell, but it was advised this would have made for a better first chapter. I found the reasoning for that very interesting and could see their point, so I am always grateful for honest feedback, if presented in a reasonable manner.
I think the most important thing to remember is always that even Stephen King has one star reviews. It’s inevitable and nothing personal, though especially as it pertains to fiction, it can feel almost like a personal rejection, since you pour your heart and soul into these stories, the world-building and characters that you love like family (or at least I do.) But negative reviews definitely help curb the ego a bit.
On the other hand, I’ve had very persistent stalkers in the last three years, centered around a disgruntled ex and his associate. These people have chased me across every platform to leave character assassination reviews, partly even in the name of my dead father. Fortunately those were removed when I contacted the website owners.
12. What are some of your quirks as a writer? Do you like to plot everything out or do you prefer to just “wing it” and see where the story takes you? Do you listen to music when writing and, if so, what do you listen to?
Well, the way this happens with me is usually that either a fully formed story or scene will pop into my head. I really just watch it play out as though it were a movie, jot down what I see, then try to fill in the blanks. This is when I will start outlining things, though never in too much detail, as I learned that the story and characters really do have their own lives.
I can’t write without music, and that is probably also one of my biggest writing quirks. Music puts me in an altered state, almost a meditative one, and I need that to summon the feelings I want to ban onto paper. When I wrote About Rage, I mostly listened to a combination of atmospheric, dark and desperate songs for the interpersonal scenes as well as brutal bass Dubstep and Metal for the action-laden passages. And then, as Peter Douglas, Mirko Swo and I put together the songs for the soundtrack, I would listen to those tracks, too.
13. What is the best advice you’ve ever had when it comes to writing and what advice would you give to new writers?
I see a lot of advice by other writers being presented as ironclad rules, and it can sometimes come across as a bit restrictive, if not even arrogant. I don’t subscribe to the notion that one ought to push themselves to write every day to be a “real writer.” There’s so much implied stress and worry in that notion. The majority of my writer friends struggle with mental health in some form, and with my condition, I sometimes require periods of rest, during which I’ll focus and work on other things related to the book instead. If I push myself, I’ll have a major meltdown or shutdown, and I have observed similar things happening with author friends. I’m not a fan of working yourself sick.
General advice I would offer is to perhaps try and make time to read, because you may enjoy broadening your horizon, add to your vocabulary, play around with different ideas that others’ stories may prompt.
14. What’s next for you? Are you currently working on any new books or stories?
My main project is writing About Revenge, along with the second soundtrack. On the side, I am working on the Murderous (True Crime-related) album franchise with the band Dead Possum, for which I write half of the lyrics and read the intros and outros in different languages, such as Urdu, Japanese, Ukrainian, Spanish, Swedish, German and various others. I am also in the process of putting together a hybrid-genre short story collection, and I’ll be featured in two other True Crime authors’ books that are to be published next year.
15. Finally, feel free to plug your social media, website, and links to Amazon, GoodReads, and other relevant sites below, and detail any current offers available for your book/s:
Mark Towse and Chisto Healy, authors of The Bucket List
1. First, introduce yourselves a bit. What is your name (or pen name) and where are you from?
M: Hi. I’m Mark. I’m an Englishman living in Australia.
C: And I’m Chisto, an American living in America.
2.Next, tell us a bit about your most recent work. Is this your first published book? What is it about and what genre would you classify it as?
M: Our book is called The Bucket List. We’ve done a lot of solo stuff but this is our first together. It’s a horror comedy, emphasis on the horror.
C: What he said.
3. Tell us a bit about your main character; what are they like, how did they come about, and what are some of their strengths and weaknesses?
M: Our main characters are Marge and Alby. They’re old, and off, and dangerous. Their strengths and weaknesses? Wow. Um.. I guess it’s their love and devotion to each other vs their recklessness.
C: Yeah. They’re strength is also their knowledge, I think. They’ve been doing this a long time. As for how they came about, they were destined for each other, soul mates, love brought them together.
M: Do you mean how did we come up with them? They just happened. I think they found us.
C: Yeah, this book was begging to be written. It all just came. None of it needed to be found.
4. What was your hardest scene to write in this (or any) book?
M: None of it was hard to write. I mean I’m claustrophobic so some of that hit home but I enjoy exploring those things.
C: Same actually, though the early bit about Alby’s testicles brought back some childhood trauma for me.
M: As for us, we’re really in tune with each other. Writing together was seamless and easy.
C: He was dominant, and I was submissive. That’s why it was easy. Haha. No we really do work together well.
5.Did you go the traditional route when publishing your book or did you choose to self-publish?
M: We definitely made plans and shopped it around. We were really excited to land with Evil Cookie Publishing.
C: It was a really cool thing because we had both been rejected by them on our own and together we made it. It was a testament to the fact that we bring out the best in each other.
6. What would you say is the most difficult part of your writing journey and what advice would you give to other writers?
M: The marketing. I’m an introvert. It’s really difficult to be a sales person and promoter.
C: Absolutely what Mark said. I have terrible anxiety and all the non-writing stuff that comes with writing is really overwhelming honestly.
7. Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
M: It’s pretty open. We wanted to make this a one shot but if people are into it we’ll give the people what they want.
C: We definitely fell in love with the characters so there could be a prequel in the works if people want it.
M: Really, there’s so much we could do if we wanted to continue it. We could do a book for every decade of Marge and Alby’s crazy marriage.
C: Like I said earlier, they’ve been doing this a long time. There’s bound to be a lot of stories to tell.
8. Who are some of your favourite authors, what are some of your favourite books, and what inspired you to become a writer in the first place?
M: The easy answer would be Stephen King but really it was my wife. She saw how stressed I was and said I needed an outlet and I should write. I did, and never looked back.
C: There are writers who inspired me when I was young and made me want to do this like Dean Koontz and Simon Clark. I’ve been writing since childhood, but it took a health scare and a pandemic for me to really apply myself to it. Sometimes good comes from bad I suppose.
9. What would you say has been the best way to market your books?
M: Instagram is a really useful tool, and getting interviews. I think we’re still learning though. We’re both dinosaurs.
C: Seriously. Not tech savvy guys here. If we figure out the best way to market, we’ll let you know haha.
10.Are there any tropes, clichés, or writing styles that you dislike and, if so, what are they and why?
M: I’m really not into splatter but there’s definitely a place for it. People love it.
C: For me, I love the tropes and cliche’s and seeing what new spin people can put on them. I don’t like overly detailed writing styles. I want to know how the characters think and feel not read three paragraphs about the stain on the wall.
M: Oh, me too, actually. I agree with that one. Definitely.
11. Do you read reviews of your book and, if so, how do you handle negative feedback?
M: We read all our reviews and share them with each other. Negative feedback? I don’t handle it well. Haha. No. I don’t know. If you get a one star review but you’ve had ten five stars before it then ten out of eleven people loved it so I think that’s what you need to focus on.
C: I only had an issue with negative feedback when it felt personal, but honestly, I know it wasn’t and it’s just my RSD, rejection sensitive dysphoria, but I didn’t know I had that at the time. Understanding that it’s my own brain sabotaging me actually makes it easier somehow.
12. What are some of your quirks as a writer? Do you like to plot everything out or do you prefer to just “wing it” and see where the story takes you? Do you listen to music when writing and, if so, what do you listen to?
M: We’re actually completely different in this. I like to breathe life into the characters and then see where that life takes them.
C: And I like to have the ending planned so I know the destination and then just wing the journey to get there so if it goes off course I know how to steer it back.
M: The listening to music part of the question is a no. I need to be in my head without distraction. I will actually play storm sounds and write to that.
C: I don’t listen to music as much as watch TV. I put on a movie that is on theme with what I’m writing to set an atmosphere and help create ambiance. It helps me get in the zone.
13. What is the best advice you’ve ever had when it comes to writing and what advice would you give to new writers?
M: I don’t like advice. I want to figure this out on my own. The discovery and journey is part of the fun.
C: Simon Clark told me I was doing everything right and I need to account for the luck factor because it’s real. I think that’s great advice because it takes a lot of the pressure off and allows you to work on your craft and do what you love.
M: Advice I would give? I guess it would be that even if it takes you out of your comfort zone, you need to do the sales and promoting. You gotta do it.
C: Yeah, and write. Write, write, write. You can’t be a writer if you don’t write.
14. What’s next for you? Are you currently working on any new books or stories?
M: We’re both doing a lot. We’re workaholics and people call us prolific. I have 3 novellas and a novel on the way currently.
C: And I have two novels and more in the works and we both write creepy pastas for youtube shows. We’re always doing something.
M: Maybe if we get enough fans we’ll be writing Marge and Alby’s next story.
C: Let’s manifest that and change if to when
M: Deal.
15. Finally, feel free to plug your social media, website, and links to Amazon, GoodReads, and other relevant sites below, and detail any current offers available for your book/s:
J.M. McKenzie, author of Wait for Me and Trident Edge
1. First, introduce yourself a bit. What is your name (or pen name) and where are you from?
I write under the pen name J.M. McKenzie. I’m Scottish but live in the UK Midlands.
2.Next, tell us a bit about your most recent work. Is this your first published book? What is it about and what genre would you classify it as?
I’m the author of Wait for Me and Trident Edge, which are both set in the UK after a bio terror attack and tell the story of an ordinary woman on an extraordinary journey to survive and get home in a world that has changed forever and is now dangerous and unpredictable. My genre is zombie apocalypse.
3. Tell us a bit about your main character; what are they like, how did they come about, and what are some of their strengths and weaknesses?
Lisa, my main character, is introverted and analytical. She is not your typical machete wielding, gun toting, alpha male zombie apocalypse survivor. I wanted to write a story about how an ordinary woman would react and behave in an apocalyptic scenario.
4. What was your hardest scene to write in this (or any) book?
The hardest scene to write was a chapter in the first book involving an evil and violent group of survivors. The scene did not feature in the first draft but was added after feedback from Beta readers – against my better judgment.
5.Did you go the traditional route when publishing your book or did you choose to self-publish?
After dipping my toe into the lottery of traditional publishing I decided to self-publish and have no regrets about my decision. I have more control over my content, a bigger share of my royalties and people are reading and enjoying my books!
6. What would you say is the most difficult part of your writing journey and what advice would you give to other writers?
I think the most difficult part of my writing journey was getting the first book finished. It was a slog, a constant battle with confidence and self-belief and a steep learning curve. I’ve very much been on a roll since then.
7. Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
The first two books are a series. Trident Edge is set six months after Wait for Me and is a continuation of Lisa’s story. My current work-in-progress, Amenti Rising, is a stand-alone story about a different group of survivors in a different location but in the same zombie apocalypse.
8. Who are some of your favourite authors, what are some of your favourite books, and what inspired you to become a writer in the first place?
I read a lot in many different genres. A few of my favourite non-horror authors include Margaret Atwood, Donna Tart and Emily St. John Mandel. In the horror genre I like Stephen King and Paul Tremblay. In the zombie genre I like M.R. Carey, Chris Philbrook, Rhiannon Frater, Sarah Lyons Fleming, Mira Grant, Max Brooks and Carrie Ryan. I love all of their books but a few stand outs are Alias Grace, A Secret History, Station Eleven, The Stand, Survivor Song, The Girl with all the Gifts and Adrian’s Undead Diaries … I could go on but I’ll stop here.
9. What would you say has been the best way to market your books?
I have done most of my marketing on social media, Facebook and Twitter in the main. Just starting to have a go on Instagram. This year I’m going to come off KUP and try a Book Bub ad!
10.Are there any tropes, clichés, or writing styles that you dislike and, if so, what are they and why?
I don’t like the fact that many zombie apocalypse books are so macho with lots of guns and very big knives and people who adapt to extreme violence so easily and quickly- real life is not like that and neither are my books!
11. Do you read reviews of your book and, if so, how do you handle negative feedback?
I read all my reviews and use the best ones for marketing purposes. Generally they have been positive but I’ve had an occasional negative comment. I don’t take it to heart- you can’t please all of the people all of the time. Sometimes I even agree with them. Reference “evil” scene in Wait for Me. I’ll follow my own judgement in the future!
12. What are some of your quirks as a writer? Do you like to plot everything out or do you prefer to just “wing it” and see where the story takes you? Do you listen to music when writing and, if so, what do you listen to?
I write in silence. I hate being interrupted! When I get into the zone I can write for hours without a break. I used to be a “pantser” but I have plotted out every scene in Amenti Rising and am loving the process. I think the book will be all the better for it!
13. What is the best advice you’ve ever had when it comes to writing and what advice would you give to new writers?
The best advice I got as a writer was from Chris Philbrook, author of Adrian’s Undead Diaries. He said that whoever you are and whatever you write there will always be someone out there who loves your book.
14. What’s next for you? Are you currently working on any new books or stories?
I’m currently 40K words into Amenti Rising and I think it’s going to be a corker! I already have the cover!
15. Finally, feel free to plug your social media, website, and links to Amazon, GoodReads, and other relevant sites below, and detail any current offers available for your book/s:
Dr. K's Waiting Room 
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