WRI Fright Fest 2015 Interviews: Author John Everson

@johneverson #wrifrightfest #cafechat #authorinterview

Today on Cafe Chat we are welcoming John Everson. Thank you for being here John. Let's get right into it.


Bunnita: Most people have a time of the day when they feel most productive. When do you find yourself writing most?

John: Given the way you phrased it, that’s actually a much more difficult question than you might think! I have a pretty demanding day job, so, while I probably feel most productive in the mid-late afternoon… that’s usually not when I get to write! I am a night owl, so you’d think I would write a lot at night, but really, if I don’t start working by 6 or 7 p.m., it’s not worth it for me to open a manuscript. I stay up late, but my productivity wanes as the hours grow later. So when I’m actively trying to finish a novel, I will frequently stake out a “writing night” where instead of going home after work, I go from work to my favorite pub and hole up in a corner, eat some finger food, have a couple beers and write for 4 hours or so. That gets me rolling before I start zoning! I have also gone through months where I force myself to get up 90 minutes early, and write before going to work. Not my favorite way to work, AT ALL, but I have gotten a lot done that way, since the house is quiet, and I have a looming time limit (leaving for work).  But my favorite and most enjoyable times to write are when I’ve got a day off for vacation or on the weekend, and I actually have the time to sit on the patio for several hours in the late morning / afternoon and create… with no hard deadlines! That’s how I started out as a writer when I was (a lot) younger – sitting out on the patio on the weekends for hours on end working on odd little stories. Damn I wish I had that kind of time today!


Bunnita: What drew you to the horror genre?

John: Oddly enough, science fiction! Growing up, I was a huge fan of golden age science fiction… but writers like Richard Matheson tended to fuse science fiction themes with horrific, macabre endings. His “Born of Man and Woman,” a very short story about an alien offspring determined to break free of its imprisonment, had a huge impact on me. It was sci-fi (alien) but yet had a horror twist at the end. Same goes for his Incredible Shrinking Man. Those kinds of stories really drew me, and when you coupled those with what I loved to watch on TV (Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, Outer Limits) you can see how I was drawn to “weird” stories that ended … badly! When I began to write stories myself, they frequently had vaguely science fiction themes, but always had a horrific twist. Eventually, I stopped trying to drag in the sci-fi, because the stories I thought up just didn’t call for futuristic trappings.


Bunnita: What kind of research do you?

John: Not a lot, because most of my stories aren’t based on anything “real” that I need to bone up on. When I set a story in a particular “place,” I do make sure that the place supports the story — for Siren and The Pumpkin Man, I’ve actually visited and taken pictures of the northern California coastal towns that the stories are set in… although, I ended up changing the names of the towns to protect the innocent! But those stories are based on real places. For demon and siren mythology, I did do some research, just to understand what the mythology has said about those beings… but there are so many variations, you really can follow some of a “path” and then invent your own alternate rules.


Bunnita: Is there anything you would say is hard about writing horror?

John: Horror has a couple roads. You can focus on building a mood of dread and anxiety… or you can focus on grossing out the reader with truly horrible things. I think the best horror has a little of both – and that’s a difficult line to walk!


Bunnita: What do you hope a person experience while reading your books?

John: I hope sometimes their skin prickles a bit, as something gets under it. I hope that they giggle a little when some of my characters get sarcastic. And I hope they hurry to turn the page and put off going to bed because they have to know what happens next. That’s the best experience as a reader… and it’s what every writer hopes to inspire.


Bunnita: Do you have a favorite horror movie?

John: Lots! It’s hard to narrow it to just one. I love Alien because it’s the perfect creepy merger between science fiction and horror. I love European horror from the ‘70s and ‘80s – Dario Argento’s Phenomena and Suspiria, Fulci’s The Beyond, Jean Rollin’s Living Dead Girl and Fascination,  Renato Polselli’s Delirium and Reincarnation of Isabel, Jose Ramon Larraz’s Vampyres, Harry Kumel’s Daughters of Darkness… the list goes on.


Bunnita: Do you have a favorite horror author?

John: Edward Lee is probably my favorite modern writer. Nobody else locks me to the chair like his books do. In the past 10 years, he is the only author who has had a book that really kept me turning the pages from start to finish all in one sitting because I just couldn’t put it down.


Bunnita: Do you go all out with Halloween?

John: Ironically… no. It’s my favorite holiday, but I don’t dress up, and don’t decorate the yard like a cemetery – though I love it when other people do! For most of the past 15 years I’ve hosted Halloween movie nights for a small group of friends, and played a variety of new and old horror movies for the group to enjoy, but outside of that, I’m fairly low key. I’m a horror spectator.


Bunnita: Do you have a favorite holiday and why is it your favorite?

John: Halloween is my favorite, because suddenly horror is everywhere! Nothing makes me more excited than the Gothic trappings of a haunted house. Now if I could just find the time to go visit some haunted houses at Halloween…


Bunnita: What is your favorite horror book?

John: I couldn’t possibly pick one. Stephen King’s Night Shift or Pet Sematary or Clive Barker’s The Damnation Game or Books of Blood or Edward Lee’s Succubi or Incubi or Coven… or Anne Rice’s The Vampire Lestat or The Witching Hour… or how about the one I read a couple times as a teen – Bram Stoker’s Dracula. They’ve all grabbed me in different, important ways.


Bunnita: Which book that you have written is your favorite and why?

John: Nope… still can’t do it. I guess I just don’t usually hone in on “a single thing” in my life! I love aspects of all of my books, and I can’t really put one above the other! I love Covenant because it was my first novel, but I love its sequel Sacrifice because I think it’s a better, more action-packed book with some of the same characters. I love The 13th because I think at that point, I really knew better what I was doing and had a blast creating its crazy blood-spattered orgy … and I love Siren because it’s a little more of a serious reflection on obsession and who, really, is a villain. And I love NightWhere because it’s the bravest, most over-the-top erotic horror story I’ve ever come up with. And then there are The Pumpkin Man, Violet Eyes and Family Tree… All of them have high points for me…


Bunnita: Do you have any advice for the aspiring writers out there?

John: Write what you want to read. If other people respond well… awesome. If they don’t? You still pleased yourself. And that’s all you really can ever count on. Entertain yourself, and others will follow.


Bunnita: Any advice specific to the horror genre?

John: We will always be afraid, because we’re human. It’s part of our genetic makeup. Taking that fear and using the adrenaline it releases to create the literary equivalent of a thrill ride is a tightrope feat… but if you can find the right balance and not fall off the wire, you’ll hit a universal nerve that can move everyone who reads your work. And that’s an amazing, powerful thing.


Bunnita: Your most recent novel was The Family Tree last fall… do you have any novels coming out this year?

John: I’m actually working on my ninth novel, which I’d planned to have finished by the summer, but… real life got in the way. That book is a long-overdue sequel to Covenant and Sacrifice, which at the moment is tentatively titled Redemption. I’m looking forward to finally being able to tie that up and write THE END.

In the meantime, I’m pretty excited about this year’s release – Sacrificing Virgins will be out from Samhain Publishing in December. This is a collection of my best short stories from the past decade, plus a couple new pieces. It will be the largest of my four fiction collections, with 25 stories, and includes a wide sampling of my work – from quiet ghost stories to over-the-top horror. There are even a couple tie-in stories that relate to my novels The Pumpkin Man, Siren and NightWhere. I hope readers will enjoy these tales!

Bunnita: Do you have any last words?

John: R.I.P.

Well there you have it. I'll like to thank John for this interview. And once again, thank y'all for stopping by until next time Happy Reading!



About the Author:
John Everson is a staunch advocate for the culinary joys of the jalapeno and an unabashed fan of 1970s European horror cinema.  He is also the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Covenant and seven other novels, including the erotic horror tour de force and Bram Stoker Award finalist NightWhere and the seductive backwoods tale of The Family Tree. Other novels include Sacrifice, The Pumpkin Man, Siren, The 13th and the spider-driven Violet Eyes. In December 2015, Samhain Publishing will release his fourth full-length short fiction collection, Sacrificing Virgins, collecting his best short stories from the past decade and more. In addition to Sacrificing Virgins, his other short story collections include Cage of Bones & Other Deadly Obsessions, Needles & Sins and Vigilantes of Love.

Over the past 20 years, his short fiction has appeared in more than 75 magazines and anthologies and received a number of critical accolades, including frequent Honorable Mentions in the Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror anthology series. His story “Letting Go” was a Bram Stoker Award finalist in 2007; the story “The Pumpkin Man” was included in the anthology All American Horror: The Best of the First Decade of the 21st Century; and he was also a finalist in the L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest. He has written novelettes for The Vampire Diaries and Jonathan Maberry’s V-Wars series, as well as stories for the anthologies Kolchak: The Night Stalker Casebook and The Green Hornet Casefiles.  His tales have been translated into Polish, French, Italian and German and optioned for potential film development.

Learn more about John on his site, www.johneverson.com or connect on Facebook at www.facebook.com/johneverson.

Book Available through Amazon - B&N - iBooks

 Author Links

Website  -  Blog  -  Facebook  -  Twitter  -  Linkedin  -  Pinterest

 Amazon Author Page  -  Goodreads  -  Dark Arts Books

Friend Me

*Thank you for stopping by. Comment, Share, and Happy Reading! 

**This blog may use cookies to enhance your experience. Also clicking links may take you to a third party website that may use cookies. Most browsers have an option in the right hand corner setting icon to disable the use of cookies.

WRI Fright Fest 2015 Interviews: Author Ania Ahlborn

@aniaahlborn #wrifrightfest #authorinterview #horror

I am happy that y'all were able to stop by. As part of the WRI Fright Fest we have author Ania Ahlborn. 

Bunnita: Tell us a little about yourself and your background?
Ania: I was born in Poland, moved to the States when I was around three years old, lived in a house next to a cemetery, and watched a ton of scary movies as a kid when my mom wasn't looking.

Bunnita: When do you write?
Ania: All throughout the day. It depends on how I'm feeling, really. Sometimes I'll be on a roll and write for two or three hours in the morning and be done for the rest of the day. Other times, mornings stretch out into afternoons. As long as I'm hitting my word count, I'm happy. What time I hit that word count is pretty irrelevant.

Bunnita: Do you write full time or do you also have a regular 9 to 5?
Ania: I've been writing full-time since 2012, but I managed to eke out my first novel, SEED, between days at a boring old office job.

Bunnita: What drew you to the horror genre?
Ania: People aren't drawn to horror, horror is drawn to them. It's as much a fondness for the dark and spooky as it is a way of thinking. I was wandering cemeteries at five years of age. I was smuggling horror flicks into my room before I was ten. When taken to a Toys 'R' Us, I spent my pocket money on a Ouija Board instead of a Barbie doll. This was never a choice for me...

Bunnita: What kind of research do you?
Ania: It depends on the book. BROTHER takes place in the early 80's, so I had to look up a lot of time-related stuff most people don't think about; like, what models of TV's were around in 1981, whether the car my character was driving was made as a stick shift or an automatic, what songs were on the Billboard charts, and what commercials you would see if you were watching a made-for-TV movie on late night NBC. I had to teach myself how to field dress a deer (virtually...because in real life? No thanks!). Today, I looked up the anatomy of a human heart and the history of baby diapers. It's all across the board, and it completely depends on the content of the book.

Bunnita: Is there anything you would say is hard about writing horror?
Ania: Everything is hard about writing horror. Writing is never easy. Writing suspense is masochistic.

Bunnita: What do you hope a person experience while reading your books?
Ania: First and foremost, I just want people to enjoy the ride. Getting in a good scare or creeping people out is just a bonus.

Bunnita: Do you have a favorite horror movie?
Ania: As far as classics: The Shining, Stanley Kubrick's version. A masterpiece. More recent: It's probably a tie between The Conjuring and Drag Me To Hell. They're two completely different styles of movie, but both are brilliant in their own ways.

Bunnita: Do you have a favorite horror author?
Ania: Stephen King. I know, what a cliche! But I really do love his writing style. His cadence is great. His use of language is amazing. Reading King, for me, is like listening to a favorite album or watching a favorite movie for the umpteenth time. It's less about the lyrics or the plot, and more about that warm fuzzy feeling.

Bunnita: Do you go all out with Halloween?
Ania: Surprisingly, no. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. One of my rituals is to play old horror movies on a loop in the evenings throughout the month of October. Even if I'm not actively watching the movie, hearing Jamie Lee Curtis scream for her life while I cook dinner in the other room is fun. Trick-or-treaters are always great as long as they're enthusiastic, not high school seniors thrusting pillowcases toward your chest with bored entitlement. But I've never lived in a neighborhood where Halloween was a huge event. Perhaps someday I'll get lucky and be the spooky horror author with the super creepy haunted house set up for kids to run through every October 31st.

Bunnita: Do you have a favorite holiday and why is it your favorite?
Ania: Next to Halloween, Christmas. I bake, and I cook, and I bake, and I bake...

Bunnita: What is your favorite horror book?
Ania: I don't have an all-time favorite because books are like people, they're different in so many ways. It's hard to fairly compare them. King's Full Dark, No Stars is at the top of my list, but that's a book of short stories, not a novel. Rosemary's Baby is phenomenal, but it's more of a novella. You can read it in an afternoon. I guess when we're talking full-length, Let the Right One In by John Lindqvist is at the top of the heap for me. It's such a fantastic, moody, atmospheric read.

Bunnita: Which book that you have written is your favorite and why?
Ania: Honestly, it's BROTHER. It's probably the darkest thing I've ever written, and everything in it is absolutely feasible. I love books that leave you thinking "man, that could really happen." BROTHER is one of those, which is....pretty terrifying. You'll have to check it out to see what I mean.

Bunnita: Do you have any advice for the aspiring writers out there?
Ania: Write what you'd want to read. Personally, I read across the board. It's not just horror, it's whatever I think sounds interesting at the time. But when it comes to finding scary novels dealing with the exact topics I want to read about, most of the time I either can't find them or they aren't out there. So I write my own.

Bunnita: Any advice specific to the horror genre?
Ania: Just the above. That, and if you're going to use age-old horror tropes, know that you're using them. It's one thing to riff on an old standby. It's another to be oblivious to the fact you're being cliche.

Bunnita: Do you have any last words?
Ania: Don't run with scissors, never give a dog avocado, cold brew your iced coffee, and if you like a book or an author...tell your friends and leave a review. Word of mouth and reviews are priceless. We love you for it. Seriously. Do it.

I would like to thank Ania for this interview. And thank y'all for stopping by. Until next time Happy Reading!




Ania Ahlborn is the bestselling author of the horror thrillers Within These Walls, The Bird Eater, The Shuddering, The Neighbors, and Seed, which has been optioned for film. Born in Ciechanow, Poland, she lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and their dog, Sulley. Facebook friend requests welcomed!

                                       Author Links

Website  -  Facebook  -  Twitter  -  Amazon Author Page  -  Simon & Schuster  -  Goodreads

Deep in the heart of Appalachia stands a crooked farmhouse miles from any road. The Morrows keep to themselves, and it’s served them well so far. When girls go missing off the side of the highway, the cops don’t knock on their door. Which is a good thing, seeing as to what’s buried in the Morrows’ backyard.

But nineteen-year-old Michael Morrow isn’t like the rest of his family. He doesn’t take pleasure in the screams that echo through the trees. Michael pines for normalcy, and he’s sure that someday he’ll see the world beyond West Virginia. When he meets Alice, a pretty girl working at a record shop in the small nearby town of Dahlia, he’s immediately smitten. For a moment, he nearly forgets about the monster he’s become. But his brother, Rebel, is all too eager to remind Michael of his place…

Purchase Links

Amazon  -  B&N  -  Kobo  -  iBooks

Friend Me

*Thank you for stopping by. Comment, Share, and Happy Reading! 

**This blog may use cookies to enhance your experience. Also clicking links may take you to a third party website that may use cookies. Most browsers have an option in the right hand corner setting icon to disable the use of cookies.

Interview: Lynn Lindquist author of Secret of the Sevens

 @LynnLindquist @fluxbooks #givewawy #authorinterview #greatbook

I loved Secret of the Sevens so much that I reached out to Lynn and asked her for an interview. Luckily, for me she agreed! :) Let's welcome Ms. Lynn Lidquist.

What inspired you to write Secrets of the Sevens?

I read an article a few years back on how a lot of boys stop reading in their teens. My sons both became reluctant readers themselves in high school (oh the shame…). So, I asked them what kind of book it would take to get them to read for fun again. They answered that I should write something with sex, sports, guy humor and things blowing up. No, I am not kidding. What can I say? They’re cute but “nothing upstairs.”  (Just kidding, Ty and Aust). Anyhow, I asked them to get serious and give me a more specific idea, and they said to write a book about a secret society or a conspiracy theory that was set at a high school… that had sex, sports, guy humor and things blowing up. So I did. Well mostly. You’ll have to read it to see what’s covered J.

Are the characters based on anyone you know?
Talan’s sense of humor is based on my sons, and Laney resembles myself in that she’s a tenderhearted do-gooder. Outside of that, the characters are probably a mix of personalities from the hundreds (maybe thousands, actually) of kids that have come through my home over the years.

I like the idea of an boarding school for underprivileged children. However, I was confused a bit confused about the living situation. When Talan is task to take a new comer to housing it seems like he is walking down a street. Is housing in a regular neighborhood or is the boarding school a huge complex?

The school is actually based on two real philanthropic boarding schools for kids from troubled homes- the Milton Hershey School (founded and supported by the chocolate entrepreneur who started the Hershey Company) and Mooseheart Child City and School  (which is supported by Moose International Lodges). Mooseheart’s campus borders my neighborhood and I’ve always wanted to use it as a setting for a book. I toured it to get an idea of how it’s run. Both Hershey and Mooseheart have separate group-home houses all across their campus like a regular neighborhood. Small groups of same-sex students (close in age) live in the homes like a family, under the guidance and care of houseparents that work for Mooseheart. It’s pretty cool. These large homes are intermixed with parks and school buildings, etc., like a small, self-contained town. Mooseheart even has its own post office. It’s very cool.

What would you say was the hardest thing about writing this novel?

The middle, LOL. I had a lot of scenes that randomly came to me, but tying them all together was hard. It took me forever to figure out who the real murderer(s) would be!

What do you hope the reader get from reading the Sevens?

I would like them to be entertained, of course. But I do love the story’s theme that virtue (the altruistic way the Sevens define it) is more valuable in life than those things today’s society values (the Pillar’s narcissistic version of success). I believe that teens have a nobler soul and selfless idealism, so I know they can connect with that idea. I have great faith in young people. 

From the first word you wrote to the completion of the first rough draft, how long did the process take?
Two years.

Are you working on a new novel? If so could you tell us a bit about it?

I have a book I wrote a while ago that I would love to see sell. It’s very personal to me. It’s about a funny seventeen-year-old girl dealing with an escalating anxiety disorder and OCD after her sister is killed in an accident.  More recently, I’m being drawn to a story that actually occurred at Mooseheart (the school I mentioned above). It involves some poor students that came over from South Sudan to attend Mooseheart. They touched and changed the attitudes of everyone they came to know at the school, rose above incredible obstacles, and led the school to its first state championship (in basketball) in the history of Mooseheart. It’s a phenomenal story, but I’m intimidated to write it. I don’t normally write non-fiction and I really would want to do this amazing story justice.

Do you have a release date in mind?

If you mean the Secret of the Sevens,  it is set for release June 8^th.  I’m hoping my OCD novel (Nothing Left to Lose but Me) sells soon. The project I’m considering now at Mooseheart is probably a couple years off.

What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Keep pushing on. Statistically speaking, you probably won’t sell your first few books, so be prepared for that. Don’t get defeated. Consider those stories your warm up and practice time. And when you do have something special, don’t rush it. Edit it over and over and over, and when you’re completely sick of polishing it, edit it ten more times. This is the difference between a strong story and a weak story.

Thank you for speaking with us today. Do you have any parting words?

Thank you soooo much for having me! I really hope your readers enjoy the story. Happy reading everyone!

Well that it everyone. I hope you enjoyed the interview. Be on the lookout for the Secret of the Sevens, I think y'all will really enjoy it. I'm actually looking for to Nothing Left to Lose but Me. 

About the Author

Lynn Lindquist lives in a suburb of Chicago with two overly-social sons and a mutt named Slugger who wisely hides under the bed most days. The hordes of teenagers that regularly frequent her house (think Panama City Beach during spring break) provide fodder for her young adult novels and growing anxiety disorder. Ever since her sons broke the Guinness Record for Largest-Rager-Thrown-While-a-Parent-Was-Out-for-the-Night, she enjoys spending her free time at home entertaining friends, cooking, reading, and writing. Thankfully, her favorite things in life are her sons, words, and kids, so she wouldn’t have it any other way.

She is represented by Katherine Boyle at Veritas Literary Agency.  

Author Links: 

Website│Goodreads│Twitter

*Secret of the Sevens was an ARC review

**If you would like to support this blog consider purchasing your books from the links below. Thanks you for stopping by. Comment, share, and Happy Reading!

Interview: Sky High by C.J. Lake

Q&A with C.J. Lake 

What makes Jamie and Sky such a great couple? 

When the story begins, Sky is in a tough transition, finally coming to terms with the fact that her ski career is over after it had only just begun—and that she has to figure out what’s next.  She has become somewhat negative and cynical, but when Jamie comes along with his easygoing, funny personality, he inevitably brings a positive energy to Sky’s life.    

If you had to choose, what is your favorite scene? 

Sky and Jamie have a confrontation about their whole “friendship” and what’s really been happening below the surface.  It’s a pretty intense, sexy scene and I love that whole moment between them!   

Do you have a music playlist for this book? 

Yes!  My #1 Jamie-Sky inspiration song is “Afterlife” by Ingrid Michaelson—but there are so many fun, romantic songs that remind me of their love!  Like: “Want to Want Me” (Jason Derulo), “Sugar” (Maroon 5), “Boom Clap” (Charli XCX), “Riptide” (Vance Joy), “Classic” (MKTO), “Love Me Like You Do” (Ellie Goulding), and “Unconditional” (Katy Perry). 

What are your must-haves while writing? 

I’d like to say good lighting and espresso—but truthfully, I’ll write even when I’m out of espresso.  Still…good lighting is a must and I will pretty happily settle for regular coffee. 

What else should readers know? 

Sky High is the third book in The Attraction Series.  Like the other books in the series, Sky High is a standalone novel—although characters from Constructing Us (Book 1) and A Hot Winter (Book 2) also appear, so readers can see how they’re doing!  I had a lot of fun with this book, because Jamie is one-of-a-kind and I hope I captured that.  

What’s next? 

Coming up are Parts 2 & 3 of The Allnighter (My New Stepbrother).  I recently released Part 1, which you can check out here: http://amzn.to/1cuDWZc  Mick and Cady would be perfect together…if only the timing and circumstances weren’t so imperfect!  The rest of their sexy and at times funny love story is coming soon… 

Also, Let it Burn (Book 4 in the Attraction Series), is coming in 2016! 

Sky High by C.J. Lake 

(The Attraction #3) 

Publication date: May 2015

Genres: New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

**All books in C.J. Lake’s Attraction Series are standalone novels with NO cliffhangers.**

First she stole my parking spot.  Then we became friends.  Then I fell completely, mind-torturingly in love with her.  Oh, wait—I think that happened first.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Q&A was provided by Xpresso Book Tours

**If you would like to support this blog consider purchasing your books from the links provided. Thank you for stopping by. Comment, share, and Happy Reading!