#onebookinterview

One Book Interview #46 – Frank Dorrian (Author)

January 6, 2018 by andygraham Leave a Comment

Other than a love for reading (and a bloody-minded persistence*), there isn’t a particular type of person that writes, no easy pigeon hole for, or set of ingredients that go into making an author.

Author #46 is no different.

Describing himself as ‘a veteran observer of the world,’ #46 has competed internationally as a Muay Thai fighter, worked as a mental health nurse, and now works for a specialist unit for those with financial problems.

Good people of the Internet, writing out of Liverpool, UK – Frank Dorrian.

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

The most recent one that springs to mind would be Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames. It’s an awesome book that I think will strike a note with fans of all branches of fantasy. It’s not overly complex story-wise, in fact I’d say its astoundingly simple, but it gives plenty of room for the characters to shine, which is where the book’s strengths lie.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

Something fat. Like, p h a t. Probably something from the Malazan Book of the Fallen series, as I should probably read beyond the first book at some point.

I actually took three huge tomes with me to Thailand in 2015 when I was training for a fight there for a month – Queen of Fire by Anthony Ryan, The Shadow Throne by Django Wexler and The Liar’s Key by Mark Lawrence. I finished ‘em all in about three and a half weeks, fought, lost, and spent the rest of my free time nursing bruises and drinking cheap beer in 40 degree heat.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

The Thousand Names by Django Wexler. I’m not into imperialist/colonialist era stuff, reminds me way too much of Sharpe-style stuff which I’m just not a fan of, but The Thousand Names was awesome. Very different book, and after reading about swords and shields and spears and bows for years on end, reading about muskets was actually pretty refreshing.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

I would say my first book, The Shadow of the High King, which I published in August 2016. It took 14 months to write and another 10 to edit and redraft, as it’s a t h i c k book, but I had a beast of a time writing it in a way that I’ve never had since.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

More than likely The Hobbit, if I’m honest. It was the first real fantasy book I chose to read when I was about 12, way before The Lord of the Rings films were kicking about. I picked it up from the school library after my dad said I should read it and finished it in about 2 days, after that I picked up his old copies of The Lord of the Rings and fantasy just sort of became my thing, even if Tolkienesque fantasy no longer is.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

Definitely Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence. It wasn’t my introduction to grimdark, but it was certainly my introduction to a poetic, philosophical form of grimy fantasy, one with emotional depth. It was enough to inspire me to start writing again after 10 years away from the keyboard.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

I’m not sure how my readers’ opinions would fall upon this, but personally I’d actually say my most recent book, Scars of the Sand. It’s book 2 of my series of shorter standalones, Tales of the Blackshield Dogs, and something of a prelude to the central story arc in The Shadow of the High King.

You can find Frank at www.frankdorrian.wordpress.com

Frank Dorrian was born in 1987 in Liverpool – his hometown, a post-industrial cityscape, served as poignant inspiration for his creative efforts. He would commence writing in earnest during his teenage years, composing stories to sate desires of both expression and introspection.

Formerly a qualified mental health nurse working with people suffering severe psychiatric and psychological disorders, today Frank works in a specialist role supporting and educating vulnerable people through financial difficulty.

When not writing, Frank spends his spare time reading, playing computer games and attending a martial arts gym. He has previously competed as a fighter domestically in the UK and abroad in Thailand.

*Don’t believe me? Try writing a book.

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One Book Interview #45 – Ty Arthur (Author)

December 30, 2017 by andygraham Leave a Comment

Metalhead.

Gamer.

Author.

And now winner of the best answer to question one to date!

Good people of the Internet, writing out of Great Falls, Montana – Ty Arthur.

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

This is a really subjective issue, since obviously not all readers are going to love the same style of writing or be interested in the same subject matter. I could say start off The Song Of Ice and Fire saga with first entry A Game Of Thrones, but not everyone wants to read about royal incest and the good guy getting his head chopped off because he wasn’t conniving enough (although those people would, of course, be wrong). I could recommend trying out Malazan or Wheel Of Time, but not everyone wants to get dragged through a never-ending mammoth fantasy series that becomes a marathon to finish. I could say that people should see where cosmic horror got its legs with Lovecraft or Chambers, but the dense style and off hand racism from another era would be off-putting to many modern readers. No matter what book I think is perfect, someone out there would be able to discover flaws or find it just doesn’t suit their tastes.

Rather than giving a specific title, I’d say the one book everyone needs to read is an indie book from a self-published author or someone on a small time publisher. While there are literary disasters out there to be avoided (that were rejected by all the publishers for very good reasons), I absolutely guarantee if you dive into the indie world you will find a book that’s leagues ahead of anything published by King, Jordan, Sanderson, and so on. Spend some time joining online groups of readers and writers in whatever genre you prefer, whether that’s urban fantasy, grimdark, sci-fi romance, or whatever, and you will find a book that you didn’t know you couldn’t live without.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

When it comes to re-reading books, I find I usually only devour a fiction novel once or at most twice, but I really like diving back into RPG manuals again and again, especially if they are heavy on the story fluff (as opposed to the mechanics crunch) and marry their substance with a distinctive style. If I could only read one book over and over again while stuck on Mars, it would have to be something that was visually interesting and had themes I wanted to keep going back to, so I’d probably pick something like Earthdawn, Warhammer 40: Dark Heresy, or perhaps one of the many Call Of Cthulhu tabletop RPG iterations.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

Back in high school years ago, I picked up The Gathering Dark by Jeff Grubb, which is a tale of a magician’s apprentice trying to stay alive during Dominaria’s Ice Age when a powerful religious group is busy persecuting wizards. To be blunt, novels based on game franchises like Magic The Gathering or Forgotten Realms are often terrible, so that was a gamble. The book has always stuck with me over the years though, both for its interesting commentary on real world groups, and for its usage of game mechanics to bring scenes to life. A segment where wizards of various colors are trying to vex each other in entertaining ways at a fest hall – like reanimating the chicken through necromancy – has always stayed with me as a great example of how to use a setting’s quirks to your advantage.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

My fiction, whether short stories for anthologies or stand alone novels, is always based on a personal experience that gets translated into a fictional medium like horror, sci-fi, fantasy, etc. Almost universally, its the negative experiences that provide the most drive to write, so honestly I couldn’t say that any of the books I’ve written are my “favorite” in the sense that I actually enjoyed them.

If I had to pick one of these vile, misbegotten bastards though, I’d probably have to go with my short story A Church Full Of Lovers, which features an atheist, an agnostic, and a true believer all experiencing a terrible apocalypse together. It was the first short I actually put serious effort into and intended other people to read, and it has a revolving perspective mechanic that makes it quite different from many of my other releases.

The anthology that A Church Full Of Lovers eventually landed in is no longer available, but a revamped version of the story will be making an appearance in an upcoming release that goes a direction readers may not be expecting.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

There are a lot of books I could list here that had big impacts on me, from Seyonne’s tale of being relentlessly downtrodden in Carl Berg’s Transformation, to the surprising revelations and genre mixing in C.S. Friedman’s Black Sun Rising, to the unforgettable portrayal of the devil and his motivations in Anne Rice’s Memnoch The Devil. The collision of punny humor with fantasy storytelling in the Xanth series also played a big role in crafting my early years.

Going back the farthest though, I’d have to say the book that influenced me most as a person was Redwall, as that was probably the book that most ignited my imagination and made me fall in love with fiction in general and fantasy in particular as a kid. I think its safe to say I wouldn’t be a roleplayer, an author, or an all around geek today if it weren’t for those books. That love really got a surprise re-ignition with the Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 graphic novel when I discovered it out of the blue at my local library years ago, and I highly recommend it to anyone of any age.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

Although I don’t try to emulate his writing style at all, a book that strongly influenced me as an author would have to be Clive Barker’s Weaveworld. The mashup of fantasy with horror in a modern day setting showed me that you don’t always have to color within the genre lines, and there’s plenty of room for characters and themes from one genre to land in another.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

The place to start with me is definitely my grimdark fantasy / cosmic horror mashup Light Dawning that released back in May. Its a story that turns the standard fantasy tropes on their heads, so don’t go in expecting to meet any chosen one farm boys, brash rogues that evade the authorities and get the girl, or wise old wizards who will help the underdogs save the world.

Most of my other work is currently unavailable or about to become unavailable as contracts with publishers end and I re-launch as an indie self-published author. Those stories are all getting ready to be released again with new covers in the near future.

You can find Ty at www.tyarthur.wordpress.com

Ty Arthur has the good fortune to meld his passions and hobbies with his work while freelancing for the likes of Metalunderground, GameSkinny, and WorldStart.

He’s been busy writing a variety of gaming, heavy metal, and tech-themed columns since 2008.

Following a string of anthology appearances, Arthur’s debut standalone sci-fi / horror novella “Empty” was released in early 2016, with many more dark tales still to come.

Arthur writes to exorcise his demons and lives in the cold, dark north with his amazing wife Megan and infant son Gannicus Picard.

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One Book Interview #44 – JR Rice (Author)

December 22, 2017 by andygraham Leave a Comment

I read Dracula when I was about fourteen years old. I did it in one sitting because I wanted to know how it ended before I tried to sleep.

I have a feeling that if I read author 44’s books, I’d need to do the same thing.

(Or at least read them in a country where the sun never sets.)

Good people of the Internet, writing on an island, near a dark forest, by moonlight – J.R. Rice.

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson.

First published in 1954, it was a novel ahead of its time. I consider it the patriarch of all vampire/zombie/end-of-the-world apocalyptic novels. Famed writer/director George A. Romero claimed Matheson’s novel was his primary inspiration for his 1968 film “Night of the Living Dead.”

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

Spacecraft Repair for Dummies by Jerry Rigg.

Alternatively, if that doesn’t work out:

Zen and the Art of Whiskey Making by Glen Livet

All lame attempts at humor aside, I would have to go with Stephen King’s “It” for content, length, and re-readability factor.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge by Carlos Castaneda.

It was first published in 1968 by the Berkley: University of California Press as a work of anthropology, and submitted as the author’s Master’s thesis, although many people—including myself—contend that it is mostly a work of fiction.

The story documents the events that took place during an apprenticeship—by the author—with a self-proclaimed Yaqui Indian Sorcerer, don Juan Matus from Sonora, Mexico between 1960 and 1965.

It’s a fascinating and moving blend of fact and fiction with regard for Nagualism, and other Native American/Mesoamerican folklore.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

I’m a new writer, so I’ve only written two novels. The second book in my Bane County Series “Bane County: Returning Moon” is my favorite, so far.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

It would be a toss-up between Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and 1984 by George Orwell.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

I would say that the writing style of Michael Crichton in novels such as “Jurassic Park” influenced me most. Crichton’s seamless blend of science fact and science fiction make your “suspension of disbelief” almost unnecessary.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

The first book in my Bane County Series is “Bane County: Forgotten Moon.” Readers should start there.

You can find JR here.

J R Rice is the author and creator of Bane County: a horror/suspense/thriller series.

Book One and Two of the Series are available now:

Bane County: Forgotten Moon (Book 1)

Bane County: Returning Moon (Book 2)

Book Three is currently underway:

Bane County: First Moon (Book 3)

An Active Member of the Horror Writers Association, he lives on a large island, near the edge of a dark forest, with his beautiful wife, unruly children, dogs that he loves and cats that he tolerates, and one very nasty monster who lives under his bed and never shuts up.

He enjoys interacting with readers, so please feel free to join him at:

www.Facebook.com/JRRiceAuthor

(Fan page) Facebook.com/jrricefanpage

Twitter.com/jrriceauthor

Amazon.com/author/jrrice

Plus.google.com/+JRRiceAuthor

Instagram.com/JRRiceAuthor

Goodreads.com/JRRICE

Youtube.com/c/JRRiceAuthor

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One Book Interview #43 – Brian Barr (Author)

December 15, 2017 by andygraham Leave a Comment

The One Book Interview train rumbles relentlessly on, and this week we have . . .

A speculative fiction author of science fiction, fantasy and horror.

A lover of dystopian, Orwell, weird sci fi and the occult.

An artist and author.

Good people of the Internet, writing out of somewhere in the US (I have no idea where!) – Brian Barr

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

Otherland by Tad Williams. I am a writer who loves to mix genre and I love epic writing as well. Tad’s Otherland mixes genre on an expert level- it’s a science-fiction book, but there are fantasy elements, and fantastic world building. The characterization is believable and intriguing. His chapter cliffhangers are exciting, and each chapter just makes you want to read more. His series wrapped up perfectly and it seemed he took the time to comb through his series as expertly as possible, to tie up all ends and make such a complex story complete.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

Aristoi by Walter Jon Williams. It’s a great space opera and probably the first sci-fi novel I read. I’d have to read something science-fiction based while leaving the planet.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

A Clockwork Orange. I found it in my uncle’s old room at my grandparent’s house when I was about 15 or so. It became one of my favorite books. Just the way Anthony Burgess plays with language is incredible.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

That would be a mix between Serpent King: Shadow and Light, which is my latest novel, and Carolina Daemonic Book II: Rebel Hell, which is currently being edited by Leza Cantoral. Serpent King was my chance to play with science-fantasy and tell an epic tale in a standalone novel that may or may not have future books to follow it. Book II: Rebel Hell is the second book of my Carolina Daemonic series, and hits on a lot of dark themes with the world building already established from the first book, so I’m able to dive into a lot of action and wild scenes in the second book while continuing a through, complex story with difficult politics.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

Wow. That’s a hard one. Maybe The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky because it looked at a variety of personalities and gave a deep analysis of where all the characters were coming from, why they thought the way they did, why they chose certain actions. That book helped me understand that everyone’s different, and what may work for one person may not work for another.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

So many books. I think the main book that hit on the what I wanted to write was The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker, which I read in high school. I knew I liked horror, and although I hadn’t gotten heavy into epic fantasy, I knew I liked fantasy. Clive Barker was the first author who showed me the main way I like to write- horror and dark fiction mixed with fantasy and occult themes, with a flair for philosophical probing and interest in art, the act of creating itself. Clive just seemed like a natural influence on me. I grew up with Stephen King in the house, and though I love King, it was Clive who showed me horror that was “my” horror.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

I have three novels out, and a variety of short stories out at the moment. I would like people to read my latest novel, Serpent King: Shadow and Light, to get familiar with my genre mixing, characterization, and world-building. You can get it on Amazon.

Then, I would ask that people check out Carolina Daemonic: Confederate Shadows, which was my debut novel and the first of my Carolina Daemonic series. This book tackles heavy social and political issues. It has a prosier start than my following novels; I like that about it, since I had to discuss and cover a lot of ground to build a dystopian world that is not that different from our own. As an Orwell fan and a lover of alternative timelines, I was drawn towards making my own dystopian fiction. Carolina Daemonic mixes steampunk, the occult, and weird science in an urban horror-fantasy hybrid. Like Serpent-King, it’s multigenre. I also have a lot of short stories in this series as well.

You can find Brian at: www.brianbarrbooks.com

Sunlight hits the tapestry of ovular golden designs stretched across the outside of opulent dome-shaped ruins on my home world, possessed by Reptilian poltergeists. I revisit this planet often, the cradle of my origins, and the remaining puzzle piece of the people responsible for half of my ancestry. I am reckless and ashamed inside whenever I sojourn to this wretched ball, so I mustn’t stay long. If I do, then I’ll smash down more walls, cause damage to a few more palaces, and continue to endanger the preservation of this place’s essential yet painful history.

My tortured, tragic beginnings were composed upon Naga, the planet’s interlaced lands and oceans ruled by the greatest civilization of the Draco constellation. My Reptilian people taught me how to hunt, strike, and kill. They showed me how to conquer. In return, I killed them all. Vengeance was the reason behind their demise, for they did more to me and my parents than they did for us, but I often wonder if the annihilation of my people was truly worth it.

Possibly not, if the visions of my mother and father are to be trusted. Their ghosts seem to be lost within the ghostly soup of this possessed planet, contaminated with the shared suffering and agony of serpentine spirits trapped on the once grand world of Naga. My vengeance was in their honor more than my own. If they are truly underworld slaves here, then this planet has every right to shame me.

Truly, I am the greatest subjugator ever spawned from the Reptilians. Naga should be a trophy on my cosmic mantelpiece, a triumphant reminder of my first success as a solitary conquistador. Instead, it is a contaminated burden, adulterated with memories that, akin to the birth world in my collection, I can never let go of, ultimately. My blood and past will always bond me to Naga, for I am Zian Axakil Din’amu Ur, born a commander general’s son, reborn as the Serpent King

Cosmic colonialism, extremist planetary nationalism, and alien genocide are abound in the Dracos Constellation, where the Reptilians rule without mercy. Enter Serpent King, a dark occult science-fantasy novel following the origins of Zian Ur, the last of the Nagans and a cosmic conquistador with a unique destiny.

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One Book Interview #42 – Rob Hayes (Author)

December 8, 2017 by andygraham Leave a Comment

After a collection of posts by dark fiction and horror writers, we move sideways, via steampunk, into fantasy and grimdark.

Author #42 also gives us the most authentic profile picture to date.

(And a stunning book cover for question 7.)

Good people of the Internet, writing out of Derbyshire, UK – Rob Hayes

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

Retribution Falls (1^st in the Tales of the Ketty Jay series) by Chris Wooding. Followed quickly by the Black Lung Captain, because you really need to read the 1^st book first, but the 2^nd book is better. Honestly, I just love the entire Ketty Jay series so very much. They have it all: gun fights, sword fights, dog fights, thrilling chases, epic swashbuckling action, demons, warlocks, golems, a fist fight with a cat, devious religions, ancient secrets, and so very much more, all wrapped up in Chris Wooding’s explosive style.

I first read the book one day when I came down with the flu and it might well be the fastest I’ve ever read a book. I zipped through it and couldn’t put it down. So yeah, everyone should read Retribution Falls so I can have endless conversations about it, and maybe one day we can all convince Chris to write more stories in that world.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

How about I answer by pointing out that I was once marooned on an island in Fiji for 3 months… Well it wasn’t so much marooned as stationed there while researching coral reefs, but that’s beside the point. I actually took 2 books with me during my maroonment and they were Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton because I figured if I was going to live on a desert island for a bit I should probably dream of dinosaurs. And the other book I took was Game of Thrones by the GRRM Reaper himself. Actually that was the very first time I read anything by George and it was so very painful not having access to any of the later books. Of course now I realise that 3 months waiting in GRRM time is nothing.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

I’d go with Damoren (book 1 of the Valducan series) by Seth Skorkowsky. It’s an urban fantasy series where demons are hunted by templar knights who wield semi-sentient holy weapons. The hunters form bonds with their weapons which gives it a sort of dual peril aspect. It’s bloody and nail biting and gruesome and again it only gets better as the series goes on.

Now I’m not usually fan of urban fantasy, in fact I have never read another urban fantasy that I liked, but Seth’s stuff is brilliant. It reminds me of the Hellsing anime and has that same dark feel to it.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

I could cheat a little here and say City of Kings (coming 2018), but I’ll stick to the books I’ve already published. I’d go with The Fifth Empire of Man (Best Laid Plans Book 2). It’s actually my most recent release and continues the piratical story I started in Where Loyalties Lie.

I had an absolute blast writing about my pirates and the vulgar, dangerous world they inhabit. But for me I would say the 2^nd book in the series is my favourite because it has so much more going on in it with crazy treasure hunts, massive naval battles, and a race to see who will get to sit on the pirate throne.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

I think I’d say The Dark Portal (book 1 of The Deptford Mice) by Robin Jarvis. I’m a lifelong fan of the fantasy genre and I’m fairly certain it was this book that kicked it all off for me back when I was still but a child. I was a fairly sickly child and my mother and father both worked, so I often found myself alone during those sick days. Sometimes my mother would rent a video from Blockbuster for me, and sometimes she nip to the library to borrow a book or two. One such time she borrowed The Dark Portal and I devoured it as quickly as I was able. I may even have claimed I was ill for a little longer than I actually was just to finish the book. It was the very first fantasy book I can remember reading, and it set me down the path I’m on today

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

On a professional level. I’d go with Aurian (book 1 of The Artefacts of Power) by Maggie Furey. This was the book, and the series, that made me want to give the whole writing thing a go. I’d always made up stories here and there in my head, but it wasn’t until reading Aurian that I started sitting down at a keyboard and trying to turn those dreams into coherent stories. I failed. Back then I failed so very hard. But it was a starting point for me. Twenty years (or so) later and here I am, a professional author. So I’d say Aurian was pretty influential.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

I would start with The Heresy Within (The Ties that Bind Book 1). It’s the book that started my career and the first in the much longer First Earth Saga, which will eventually encompass multiple series. It’s a sort of fantasy spaghetti western where the Bad, the Worse, and the Ugly have to put aside trying to kill each other to face a common enemy. You can expect magic wielding witch hunters, legendary swordswomen, and a world that is trying its very best to kill them all. And you can find it on Amazon, Kobo, and Barnes and Noble

You can find Rob at www.robjhayes.co.uk

Rob J. Hayes is a UK based fantasy author of both Grimdark and Steampunk. His love of pirates, witch hunters, vikings, and cowboys has influenced his work far and wide and they can all be found in the pages of The Ties that Bind and Best Laid Plans.

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One Book Interview #41 – Matt Hickman (Author)

December 1, 2017 by andygraham Leave a Comment

The hangover has cleared after last week’s 40th birthday celebrations, and The One Book Interview is back with what counts – the authors.

This week, I’m very happy to have with us a British author who is rapidly carving out a name for himself in the UK horror scene.

Not literally, you understand.

(I hope.)

Good people of the Internet, writing out of Tipton*, UK – Matt Hickman

Name one book:

1 – everyone should read

Since a young age, I’ve been a massive fan of the work by Roald Dahl. The man had an imagination that was out of this world, I can still picture him scribbling his crazy ideas in his notebooks in the hut where he wrote at the bottom of his garden. His writing manages to cross any boundaries of age or sex; they’re as much loved today as they were when I was a boy, and the joy between those pages has been passed down to my two children. I would find it difficult to pick a certain title as a favourite, so as a book that everyone should read, I would choose Tales of the Unexpected, his eclectic short story collection which really showcases his diverse literary talents.

2 – you would take with you if you were going to be marooned on Mars

Damn, I knew there would be one of these types of questions. If you were stranded on Mars, aside from playing volleyball against little green men, you would need something fairly substantial to keep the boredom at bay, a book where you could get immersed into its pages again and again. For my choice, it would be The Stand by Stephen King. Weighing in at over 1000 pages, it’s a massive read, and also one of the best takes on an apocalyptic pandemic, threatening to wipe out humanity that you’ll find.

3 – you took a chance on and were pleasantly surprised by

Back when I was living at home, my dad was studying for an Open University course in the classics, and I picked up a battered, dog eared copy of The Iliad (a poem) by Homer that he had left on the kitchen table. Oblivious to the theme of the book, and it being a modern version of the translated text, I started to browse the contents and found myself blown away. I’d never seen such a cocktail of sex, violence, deceit and revenge. Those Greeks really knew how to do a number on each other.

4 – you’ve written that is your favourite

That would be one of two, but I think I’ll go with my novel, Amnesia. I awoke suddenly one morning in a hotel while working away in Crawley, with an intensely violent and disturbing scene running through my mind. I’m not sure whether I dreamt it, and it etched itself into my psyche. That scene was the only thing I knew I wanted to write. Without any other ideas for plot or the story, I went to work, blind. A few months later, the novel was complete. A slow burn and build in tension until it erupts into hell. I have recently received the digital rights back from the original publisher, so I will be writing the prequel, Flashbacks, and releasing them together. The paperback is still available.

5 – that has influenced you most as a person

I think that would have to be Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. I read a copy of the book when I was about fourteen years old and it scared the living shit out of me. It was the first time I’d really looked at any depth into the depravity of humanity, and the way that realism can, in some ways be more horrific than monsters or the supernatural. In addition, the book introduced me to a character that was to become a lifelong obsession, Hannibal Lecter.

6 – that has influenced you most as a professional

That’s a really difficult one to answer, as I don’t really consider myself anything like professional. I’ve certainly never studied any books on writing techniques or taken any creative writing classes. I kinda just fell into this after years of being an avid reader with an astute eye. I haven’t dodged around the question properly have I? Okay, I’ll pick a book from a writer that I would say is one of the biggest influences on my style of storytelling, Endless Night by Richard Laymon. When I first read this book, I knew immediately that I would be pursuing more of his work. The story is an intense, harrowing, and adrenaline fueled piece of fiction. For me, it was all about the characters, good and bad, an equation that ultimately works for me.

7 – of yours that prospective readers should start with if they want to get to know your work and where they can get it.

As with most authors, my work varies in content and style. I think the best place to start would be with my short story collection, Sinister Scribblings. There are thirteen of my own stories ranging from seasonal horror, to extreme, nasty shorts, to tales underpinned with dark humour. The book also contains additional stories from other emerging authors within the indie market.

You can find Matt at : www.matthickman.co.uk

Matt is an avid fan of horror fiction. He spends a majority of his free time reading books from both established and independent authors. With a diverse knowledge of the genre, and an astute mind for the macabre, he has taken to writing his own brand of horror – dark, relentlessly violent and blood-soaked, and often peppered with dark humour. With the support of his peers, some of which are established writers themselves, he has taken on a new career, one that has seen him take the genre by storm. He currently resides in Tipton, a small town in the West Midlands with his partner and two children. He travels the width breadth of the UK on a regular basis as a Sales Manager for a construction company.

Since his debut eighteen months ago, he has been featured in numerous short story collections, including anthologies for charity, as well as releasing numerous novels and novella’s and collaborations with Stuart Keane, Andrew Lennon, and Matt Shaw including his first solo collection of short stories – Sinister Scribblings.

*Not to be confused with this place. (Sorry, Matt. It’s lame, but I couldn’t resist.)

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