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The only way to read the whole story is to buy the magazine! For the FREE Morpheus Tales Supplement visit The reviews pages.
What inspired you to start writing? I started writing in my late teens
because I enjoyed the creative aspect, but nothing serious. Then when I was in
my twenties, I moved to You’ve had a lot of short stories
published, which do you prefer writing, short stories or novels? I much prefer writing novels. While it’s much harder to write a novel, you have to invest much more time with the characters and their lives. You also learn more about the writing process when you write a novel as it’s much more intensive. How did you go about getting your
first novel published? I begged and then when that didn’t work, I sent threatening letters. Really though, it’s the same as anyone else. I submitted to various publishers, thinking the first one I sent it to was going to spot my obvious talent and snap it up. Years later, I was still waiting. Your second novel, The
Kult, has just been published by Leucrota Press in the Again, it was a long process of sending the manuscript out to publishers that I felt it might appeal to. I came across Leucrota, who are a relatively new publisher, and thought I would give them a try. I submitted the first three chapters, and the first response I received was to ask me what qualified it to be a horror novel, as they only publish genre fiction in the horror, fantasy and sci-fi vein. I responded, and they requested the full novel, which they then accepted. The Kult
is
a horrific serial-killer thriller. Can you tell us a little about the story and
what inspired it? The
novel actually started out as a supernatural thriller, but I was never happy
with it. It just didn’t feel right. I snagged an agent with it, but the agent
didn’t secure a deal, and we eventually parted company. I left the novel alone
for a while after that, but then when I reread it, I saw another way to approach
it, and did a complete rewrite that I was much happier with. Part of the story
as it stands now was inspired by the actual building that artist Daniele Serra
painted for the cover. The synopsis is as follows: People
are predictable. That's what makes them easy to kill. You’re most well known for your
horror fiction. Do you write in any other genres? I feel that much of what I write falls
through the gaps that separate genres as it’s not always straight horror. Take
for example The Kult. It’s a horror story, a thriller, a crime story
and a mystery all rolled into one. Where do you get your inspiration? I steal it. Hopefully no one will ever catch on. Generally, I just write about everyday life. The things I see around me. I watch what’s going on, and try to use what I see and hear in my writing, but obviously I put my own weird slant on it. What is your writing day like? I don’t write every day, so it’s
hard to say. I procrastinate a lot, and then I surf the internet, read emails
etc. Then I’ll finally sit down and do some writing. I really do need to be
more disciplined about it all. If you could go back in time to when
you started writing and give yourself one piece of advice what would it be? Write because you love it, not because
you expect to make a fortune at it. Do you read reviews of your work? How
do you deal with criticism? Yes, I read reviews. Constructive
criticism can be very useful, but then what one person hates, another might
like. That’s not to say criticism doesn’t hurt, because it does. When I
write something, there’s a little bit of me in there, so when they criticise
what I’ve written, it sometimes feels like they are criticising me. What book are you reading now? I always have more than one book on the
go at any one time. Fiction wise at the moment, I’m reading Heaven’s
Falling by Garry Charles, One if by Heaven, Two if by Hell by Rick
Maydak, and Afraid by Jack Kilborn. Non-fiction wise I’m reading The Illustrated
Guide to Forensics and Evil Serial Killers. Oh, and also a series of Beast
Quest books that I’m reading to my son at bedtime. What's the most exciting thing about
writing for you? The most exciting thing is creating
things that are purely fictional and doing things through my characters that I
couldn’t do in real life because I’d be arrested. Creating characters and
worlds that you can mould - although the characters sometimes won’t conform to
what you want, and they take on a sort of life of their own - is a very
liberating experience. What's the most frustrating thing about
writing for you? Getting the initial words out in the
first draft. Then making it readable and – hopefully – good enough that if
anyone else reads it, they might enjoy it too. What's the best piece of feedback that
you've had from your audience? Someone once said, “This is the worst
book I’ve ever read.” Although it may seem unusual to think that’s the
best piece of advice I’ve ever received, it made me want to improve my writing
so that no one would ever say that again. What is the most important thing when
becoming a writer? Not to take yourself too seriously, and
to realise that like anything else, if you don’t put the time in to learn the
craft and practice what you’ve learnt by actually writing, then you won’t be
a writer. Perhaps I should take more note of that myself! Do you write for a particular audience,
for yourself? I write mainly for myself, because at the end of the day, if I don’t like what I write about, what’s the point? That would make it more of a chore. As it’s not my fulltime job, I have to enjoy doing it. And while I never find it easy to sit down and write, when it all comes together and a few words actually make sense, that makes it all seem worthwhile. Do you have a ritual or routine for when you write? I like to sacrifice a couple of goats. What do you like to do when you’re
not writing? When not writing, I spend time with my
family, I read, I watch films, I go to the gym and I’ve just taken up
Taekwondo with my son. Who are your favourite authors and
favourite books? My favourite authors, in no particular order are, Richard Laymon, Stephen King, Dan Simmons, Shirley Jackson, Ray Bradbury and Graham Masterton. Do you get writers block? How do you
cope with it? I wouldn’t say I get writers block. I
just get lazy or I get easily distracted, which stops me writing. Then
sometimes, if I’m writing a novel it can be hard to get back into it if I
haven’t written for a few days.
If you could live in any fictional
world or time other than now, which one would it be? I’d like to live in the future, as
I’m always interested in what tomorrow will bring. The technological advances
in recent years have been massive, so I wonder what the world will be like, say
100 years from now, or 500 years etc. Will we colonise new worlds? Will death
ever be overcome? Will we get a holographic room in every house? Will monkeys
ever take over the world?
What are you working on now? I’m working on another novel featuring the main
character from The Kult, Prosper Snow. I don’t like to say too much
about what I’m working on though as I feel that if I talk about it, then it
loses its magic.
Do you have any advice for other
writers? I don’t really feel qualified to give
anyone advice, but all I would say is that even if other people don’t like
what you write, as long as you enjoy doing it, then that’s all that matters.
Write for yourself first and foremost. If you achieve anything, then that’s a
bonus.
What scares you? People scare me. There are some
fruitcakes in the world. Everyone has seen or read about them, and these are
real people, not the fictional creation of a fervent mind. These are the people
that torture animals, the people that rape and brutalise, the people that take
pleasure in killing.
What makes a good story? Correct grammar and punctuation, believable characters, and a plot that makes me Want to keep turning the pages.
Where can we find out more
information about you? You can check out my website, www.shaunjeffrey.com,
which to celebrate the publication of The Kult is featuring an associated
competition to win gift vouchers. Thank you for taking the time to interview me.
Interview with Author Joseph D'Lacey
Interview Your
new novel Garbage
Man has just come out (7th May) from Garbage
Man is
a tale about the burial of unwanted things. By
this I mean secrets and past misdeeds as well as the physical waste of human
society. The lead character, Mason Brand, is an ex-photographer – celebrated
for his portrait shots capturing the rich and famous. Rejecting the glitz and
insincerity of
The
story follows an ensemble cast of characters, each with their own secret
histories, each trying to survive the horrors which rise from the landfill. Your
debut novel MEAT
was launched to critical acclaim last year. You had a very busy tour schedule to
help promote the book launch, including a Meat-wagon. Will there be something
similar this year? This
year Bill Hussey (my fellow My
favourite ‘stunt’ this year took place outside Borders, A
year after the publication of your first novel, MEAT,
how do you feel about your writing career? My
feeling is it’s not a career so much as a vocation. The response to MEAT
has been overwhelmingly positive and I was therefore very nervous about how
Garbage Man would be received. Once again, though, the word coming in from both
readers and reviewers is wonderfully encouraging. The
trouble with the idea of a writing ‘career’ is that it sounds like something
you could go to university to prepare for. Writing, as a job, isn’t like that.
Even authors who did study writing at university were already writers in their
hearts before they started. Unlike a career, there’s no security. No financial
bonuses just because you worked harder. No holidays. No golden handshake at the
end of it all. The truth is, it’s just what I do. I was built for the job. I
don’t mind that my holidays are unpaid or that what pay I do receive is meagre.
I don’t want a golden handshake because that would mean my job was finished
and I don’t ever want to stop writing. But
I’m not really answering your question! I couldn’t be happier that my work
is of enough interest to continue being published. I hope that one day, it will
amount to a living but even if it doesn’t, I’ll keep doing it. Your
books have very striking covers. Do you have a say in how the finished book
looks? I
do have a say. I make suggestions before the art is commissioned and I’m asked
my opinion once the cover is ready. That said, my publisher has a good idea of
how a cover should look so I don’t worry about it too much. I think I’ve
been very fortunate that the covers of MEAT
and Garbage Man are so striking. I
hope the trend continues! You
have a book launching in the The
Kill Crew
started life as a short story I was working on between novels. The voice of the
lead character, Sheri Foley, was so strong that she kept me writing until it
became a novella. The
whole tale was born purely from the title. I loved the sound of The Kill Crew so much I had to find out what it was. So I began
writing. I ended up with a first person narrative told by a woman. I think
that’s probably a first for me, though I do sometimes write female characters
in the third person. The
Kill Crew
will be my first
What
inspired you to start writing? And why horror stories? I’ve always loved stories, books, bookshops and libraries. I started writing poetry and journals as a youngster – purely to empty my head. As time went on, I began to see I was making an attempt to craft things. I wrote a series of children’s verse about ten years ago, illustrated by a talented friend. It went nowhere. After that, for some reason, I started writing fiction with new passion. I write across many genres – whatever grabs me, whatever mood I’m in. Your
first novel Meat
was published by Bloody Books last year, can you tell us how the story came
about? The idea, or the issue, has been kicking around my mind for a long time. At least seven years. There used to be a slaughterhouse in my village. In the summer, when the wind blew the wrong way, it stank. I couldn’t stop thinking about the processes behind farming animals to harvest their flesh. Eventually, the story demanded to be written. Is
your first published novel also your first written novel? No. I’ve written eight novels. Meat was the sixth, with two more since then. It has taken me about nine years of fairly solid practice to develop the maturity of style necessary to attract a publisher. How
did you go about getting your novel published? I assume it’s the same as everyone else. I wrote short fiction as much as possible. When a story had more ‘legs’ I let it become a novella. Occasionally, I wrote novels. You have to have the material first. Then you have to allow yourself to make a tanker-load of mistakes and not hate yourself for it. You have to submit stories all the time and resubmit them when they come back. Then you learn about the way publishing works. All the time I did this, I submitted novels too. The more I wrote, the more material I had to send out. Eventually, through luck or just plain being everywhere at once, you find a way in. Or it finds you. Meat was the fourth novel I submitted to Bloody Books. I’d stopped writing it at the time because it was disturbing the hell out of me. They convinced me to finish because they liked my work and the idea. So I did. Then we made a deal. What
book are you reading now? I’m very fortunate to have an unedited proof of Through a Glass, Darkly by Bill Hussey - also published by Bloody Books - that’s how I got an early look-see! It’s a great story. I think we’ll all be seeing a lot more from this guy. What
writers have influenced you the most? Barker, King, Masterton and Herbert in the horror department. What
other things have influenced you? I’ve always had an interest in unexplained events and experiences which the modern world struggles to define: Altered mental states, extraterrestrial activity, myths and legends. That kind of thing. Where
do you get your inspiration? Now that writing is a ‘job’ I tend to turn up and do it rather than get inspired. I usually experience inspiration when an idea hits me out of the blue or when I’m writing at full speed and don’t want to stop. How
did you first get published? The first short story I wrote – Getaway Car – was taken by a literary magazine called “Cadenza” first time out. That gave me a lot of confidence. What
is your writing day like? Depends on my other commitments. I still work as an acupuncturist, so sometimes I have to take my laptop to work and write between patients. If I’m at home I start as soon as I’m ready in the morning - could be 7am, could be 9am. I try to complete a fixed daily quota. Sometimes I do it in an hour. Sometimes it takes four or more. If I make quota and want to keep going, I never stop myself! Do
you read reviews of your work? How do you deal with criticism? I do read reviews because I’m fascinated by what people say and how different readers interpret the same material. I hate criticism, but in this game you have to accept a certain amount or you’ll never learn the right way to do things. What's
the most exciting thing about writing for you? There’s always another story waiting to be written. Writing is a process of discovery so it’s always a surprise. You never know what you’re going to find. What's
the most frustrating thing about writing, for you? When I finish a novel, I tend to take some time off. When I don’t write, I get very frustrated indeed. I should learn the simple lesson that it’s better to never stop working! What's
the best piece of feedback that you've had from your audience? The
manager of a What
do you think is the most important thing when becoming a writer? Two things: Perseverance and being honest with yourself about your abilities. Understanding what it means to be humble and then being it. So, three things. Let’s not turn this into a bad Monty Python imitation. Do
you write for a particular audience or for yourself? I write for me. I’d like to have the ‘constant reader’ Stephen King talks about, but I don’t. Do
you have a muse? Muse is something I spend a lot of time doing but I don’t actually have one. Do
you have a ritual or routine for when you write? It usually revolves around making cups of tea, doing last-minute email checks and internet tinkering. A bit like a dog making several pointless revolutions before attending to business. What
do you like to do when you’re not writing? Drink beer, smoke cigars, practise Yoga, meditate and watch movies. Oh, and play PC games. Any time now, I’m going to buy a computer dedicated to gaming and get into Bioshock – haven’t let myself get lost in a game for years… Have
you ever tried your hand at other types of fiction or different medias, TV or
film, etc? I’ve
messed around with movie scripts, comic scripts and plays. I’d like to do more
of that in the future. Some independent You’ve
been doing a tour to promote your book, including signings. Is that a fun part
of the job? It’s fun but surprisingly tiring. We toured the UK in a specially converted vehicle called the MEATWAGON for about three weeks and had a great time going from city to city. But it’s good to get home.
What
parts of being a writer do you like best? And least? I like being my own boss and writing whatever pleases me. I dislike having to spend so much time convincing people to buy my book. Marketing is a chore but it’s essential. Who
are your favourite authors and favourite books? King, Barker and Herbert I’ve mentioned as ‘influences’ but I also love Douglas Adams, Iain Banks, Margaret Atwood and many others. Among my favourite titles are: The Great and Secret Show, The Stand, The Fog, The Hitchhiker’s Guide series, Oryx and Crake and The Wasp Factory. How do you feel about the current trend in horror films to depict graphic scenes of violence, so called torture porn?
Do
you get writer’s block? How do you cope with it? I can’t afford the luxury of writer’s block any more, sadly. If I didn’t write, my career would end! That would be a Bad Thing. If
you could meet anyone, fictional or real, dead or alive, who would it be? I’d like to have a long, boozy lunch with the Buddha, Stephen King, Jesus Christ, William Shakespeare, Alistair Crowley, Prot (from K-Pax), Bruce Lee and Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever. What
are you working on now? I’m rewriting a novel for Bloody Books, due on the shelves in spring ’09. It’s an Eco-horror tale about the dangers of landfill. Do
you have any advice for other writers? Think again or commit yourself completely. Nothing in between. www.meatnovel.comwww.myspace.com/josephdlacey
Interview with Joseph McGee What inspired you to start writing? And why horror stories? To be honest, writing comes as easy as the oxygen that fills my lungs. I don’t think I was inspired into writing, I believe it just hit me one day. Hmm, what a good idea. Let’s try this bitch out. I never intended on writing horror stories. It was always more of telling a story than bothering to scare the person on the other end of the book. I like to keep concentration on characters that you’ll remember after the final page; a story that will keep the reader thinking. Do
you write in any other genres? I consider myself to be a writer of suspense and horror, but in every story I write there’s always elements of other genres: Romance, Crime, etc. How
did you go about getting your first novel published? Well it consists of a few things really. One, a good editor to help you along. Two, 100 Large envelopes. Three, a case of paper. Four, a couple hundred dollars to mail the manuscript to everyone under the sun that’d give a look at it.
Having a novel that reached higher points than I had thought (and I had only thought about 10 copies), but regardless of any previous publications, I always like to have a big bang with anything I pop out there. I look at it this way: With each book, my goal is one billion copies sold. That of course won’t happen, but that leaves room for never giving up and always reaching new pivotal marks in my career. How
did your new novel Snow Hill come
about? Snow Hill came from three years of writing and my love for snowy weather. I always
consider a snow storm to be a violent creature itself. A storm that us New
Englanders faced in 1978 was a murderous bastard; some of the newer beasts take
their toll as well. I wanted to create a town in It took a lot of work, rewrites and the help of two editors and four beta readers to get Snow Hill rolling. You’ve
been described at "the next Dean Koontz!”. Are you a fan and has Koontz
influenced your work? I’m a huge fan of Koontz! I own all of his books, to date; literally all of them - over 50. He is a huge influence to where I hope to be some day down the road. His first book I read was Phantoms, and it was such a powerful novel that I went out and ordered all of his I could find; then with the Odd Thomas series - I just love it. He’s a fantastic writer.
Jack Ketchum and Tom Piccirilli would have to be at the top of the list. Ketchum for his raw brutality and Piccirilli for his capturing the human mind. They are both fine writers. What
are your other influences? You’ve written an excellent zombie tale for the
next issue of Morpheus Tales, so I’m
assuming zombie films? I’m a
zombie enthusiast, I guess. I’m into the Resident Evil gaming and their movies
and their novels (written by S.D. Perry); the George Romero films are legend and
it’s overall great fun. People reading this might be thinking Fun?
Yeah. Rotting bodies eating flesh. Loads of fun! Freak! When I was younger
playing Resident Evil, for the original PlayStation Way Back When and the
thought would arise in my mind: What
If?...
Where
do you get your inspiration? Inspiration
for anything comes from everywhere. Walking down the street or flying over What
is your writing day like? Most people have a schedule to abide by, and that may serve them well. But I don’t. I feel the need when I feel it. I could go a week without writing completely, then go on a binge and writing for 16 hours straight. If
you could go back in time to when you started writing and give yourself one
piece of advice what would it be? If I could go back in time, I’d simply tell myself “Life’s a real bitch. It’s going to give you some ups and down; lots of hellos and goodbyes. You’ll get through it. You’ll be okay.”
I’m lucky to have received good reviews from magazines and critics and, more importantly, the readers. People who give me negative feedback are very welcomed. Doing this, writing, you can’t expect to please everyone. You never will. Look at all your favorite writers; check out the reader reviews on Amazon.com or wherever you buy your books from. Bad comes with the good, and likewise. I love my readers, good or bad, and that won’t change. What
book are you reading now? I’m currently waiting for The Cold Spot by Tom Piccirilli and The Reach by Nate Kenyon. Right now, I’m consumed with Sarah Pinborough’s Tower Hill.
The most exciting thing would be getting to travel. It’s fun going to book signings at booksellers and conventions and meeting your readers or potential readers. It makes you feel good about what you’re doing.
Not meeting deadlines. For In the Wake of the Night, they had given me a deadline and I was so on the line with it, I had to have the final manuscripts sent overnight. What's
the best piece of feedback that you've had from your audience? I think every piece is good. It allows you to know that you’re getting some kind of response back, whether good or negative.
The most important thing I’ve learned is no matter how successful a writer becomes (and I’m nowhere near the point of success as some), you are nothing without your readers - absolutely nothing. Do
you write for a particular audience, for yourself? I write for both, I suppose. I write what I love to read - isn’t that what we all do? I’m glad that over the past few years I’ve been breaking out more and more, that I have a following, small or large. Do
you have a muse? If I do have one, it’s one strange mother- Do
you have a ritual or routine for when you write? Not usually. Sometimes, I do write in my boxers, but I don’t think that gives the writing any special powers. Now I’ll have to see about that one. What
do you like to do when you’re not writing? I like to shoot hoops in my spare time, believe it or not. There’s something about holding the ball in your hand and letting it soar up from twenty-five feet away and hearing it hit the net. Other than that, I’m a gamer, and XBOX 360 Live games, in fact. I collect rare memorabilia of the Boston Celtics. I’m sure I do other very uninteresting things in my spare time as well. Have
you ever tried your hand at other types of fiction or different medias, TV or
film, etc? Well, though some friendships extend to other medias, I don’t reach out to them as most people would. It’s not my point to exploit a friendship for personal gain. I am, however working on a script and an adaptation into the comic book world. You’ve
been on tour to promote your book, including signing. Is that a fun part of the
job? Very fun. I love it. It’s venturing outside and visiting new places and seeing new people (albeit sometimes weird people). It really is some sort of high when someone comes up to you and says “I liked your book.” And I’m very approachable. Anyone can just come up to me and talk about whatever and I’ll try to hold my own in the conversation. I don’t mind that one bit. But being on
tour and going to conventions and signings is a great experience. I’m not a
big fan of gore for gore’s sake. If it fits in well with the story, then so be
it. People see these things in the movies and they think what sick bastards
there are to create these things for mass-entertainment. They often forget that
the sick bastards are the ones that do this in real life for self-entertainment. Do
you get writers block? How do you cope with it? I never do. If I do, I don’t consider it a block, so to speak. It’s a matter of kicking myself in the ass and saying Let’s go. We got work to do. If
you could meet anyone, fictional or real, dead or alive, who would it be? If
you could live in any fictional world or time other than now, which one would it
be? What
are you working on now? I’m working on condensing a 200,000 word novel, as well as a sequel to a previous published novel and other shorts here and there. I’m trying to pop out a novel as often and as soon as I can.
People, the “toughers” as I call them always say “Not much scares me” or “I’m not afraid of nothing.” Think again, hot shot. Someone’s always afraid of something. It could be death, could be life; perhaps flying or tall buildings; maybe the ocean or dogs. There’s something somewhere that strikes fear into someone like nothing else can but fear itself. Do
you have any advice for other writers? I do. My words are sincere and simple: Just. Do. It. If there are ten rungs to the ladder, I try to go to number twelve. You never can stop believing in yourself. You do that—you ought to stick your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye. Sometimes you’re going to get breaks, sometimes you’re not. Make your own. Break down walls and build new ones, higher ones. Just believe and try to do it every day. You’ll do just fine.
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That’s a very dangerous question.