Author's Featured Works
I Am Automaton (Severed Press) has won three Reader's Favorite International Awards and was also selection for Zombie Book of the Month in 2014. He has written two additional follow-up books.
Why do you write about dark and
scary things?
It’s just the way I’m wired.
Some people like roller coasters, some like haunted houses. I like writing and
reading horror…and haunted houses. Not roller coasters, though. As a clinical
psychologist, I’m fascinated with fear. It’s an emotion that’s crucial to the
survival instinct, yet in excess it can bog down one’s life. Horror fiction is
a safe way to feel the exhilaration of being the object of the hunt, the chased
pray facing a superior predator.
What is your latest
project/release and what is it about?
My latest release was “FeralHearts” (J. Ellington Ashton Press), an epic 6-author vampire collaboration
with 6 characters and 6 alternate endings. Co-authored with Amanda M. Lyons,
Michael Fisher, Jim Goforth, Mark Woods, and catt dahman, this was my editorial
debut.
Six
young people from different walks of life embark on a singles’ tour in Derosso,
Italy, only to encounter a strip club in town that preys upon the men. Warned
to stay away by their guide, two of the tourists give in to their curiosity and
encounter the undead exotic dancers within. Lured by promises of untold carnal
pleasures, these lonely hearts invite disaster on their group and the rest of
the town. Wild and erotic, manipulative and vicious, these feral vampires are
not at all romantic…they’re predators.
Six different characters and six different endings, this tale is not for
the faint of heart.
It is only for Feral Hearts.
It is only for Feral Hearts.
When did you know you wanted to
be a writer and how do you go about the writing process?
I’ve known I wanted to be a writer
since I’ve been a kid.
It depends on the genre. For my
more sci-fi oriented horror, I like to plan plots and subplots, and outline.
Plot twists and action scenes need to be choreographed and red herrings
convincingly executed. Then, of course, there’s the research on technology,
weaponry, military protocol, politics, etc.
My pure horror/dark fantasy
tends to be more organic, the source of my most potent elements being actual
nightmares I’ve had. I appreciate a good nightmare. When I wake up in a cold
sweat, I write everything down for use later. My wife can tell when I’m “on the
jazz” with a good idea because I toss and turn and cry out at night. But make
no mistake…I actually love a good nightmare. Once again, it’s the way I’m
wired.
What advice do you have for
other writers?
Write, submit/query around. As
you’re doing that, write and submit the new stuff while submitting the old
stuff. Keep writing. Submit that new material, and so on and so on, ad
infinitum. Unless you have aspirations to publish through a big 5 house, if you
write genre fiction, don’t worry so much about chasing agents. Query publishers
directly if they allow it, but make sure you follow their submission guidelines
to the nine.
Don’t be afraid to submit your
work to contests. You never know. What’s the worst that can happen—you don’t
win? My first two books in the “I Am Automaton” trilogy won Reader’s Favorite
International Book Awards as unpublished manuscripts, the first book finishing
in the same category with a NY Times Best Seller. That got me attention and
helped me land a book deal with Severed Press. Book 3 won as a published book,
making it an award-winning trilogy. While promoting “I Am Automaton,” I
attracted the attention of J. Ellington Ashton Press, who snatched up “The Odd
Tales of an Old Man” and commissioned “Feral Hearts.”
What is your favorite zombie
movie and why?
The original “Night of the
Living Dead.” I loved the stripped down, realistic sensibility. The movie
wasn’t overproduced with uber special effects laden zombies with state of the
art gore effects. The zombies looked very human, which I find terrifying.
What’s up next for you?
I’m wrapping up book one in a new zombie series for Severed
Press that should be out the beginning of 2015. I’ve been teaching a fiction workshop
leader at the Bronx Loaf Writer’s Conference for inner city youth, helping them
develop their work and identity as writers. I’m continuing to grow my
readership, and I’m enjoying interacting with old and new fans.
His Featured Works
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