Interview with R. W. K. Clark - By David Kempf

When did you first become interested in writing?

I have been interested in writing since I was a teen. I remember being so excited on my first day of creative writing class. So many ideas just popped into my head, from a love story that I hoped would be a reality one day to the darkest thoughts within me. I sat down to write my first project, and the words just poured out of me. Looking back now, I realize I should have taken more time editing it before turning it in. When I got my story back from the teacher, it was covered in red marks. She even added little notes like, “this makes no sense,” and “where are you going with this?” There were also a few not-so-nice things noted. Well, not nice to a teen with fresh hopes of becoming a writer. Some could consider it traumatizing in a way. I remember feeling so defeated that day that I honestly thought I’d never pick up another pen. Fortunately, due to my tenacity, I picked up another. I learned to take criticism, whether constructive or not, and try to understand the reasoning.


How did you get involved in so many genres?

I’ve always had an interest in the darkest thoughts people hide away. What makes a serial killer tick? Why would a sweet person suddenly turn dark? I know how that may seem, but it intrigues me. Most of my bestsellers are psychological thrillers. However, I do like to dabble in fantasy and sci-fi on occasion. The things we all want to believe in, but know deep down are all make-believe, like a Zombie apocalypse, are also appealing to me. No matter how many reiterations, it’s still entertaining and thought provoking. Writing sci-fi gives my mind a much-needed break from some of my deranged characters, like Melvin from Mindless or Elliot Keller in Passing Through.


How would you classify the genre you write?

Fiction thrillers, psychological, science fiction, supernatural,




Why do you think horror and Fantasy/Sci-Fi books remain so popular?

For the simple thrills they give you. While fantasy and horror are two very different genres, they certainly give you the same sensations. Anticipation of what is to come next, the goosebumps, the chills from the scenes you never saw coming, or your heart racing waiting to figure out how it will all end. It’s all so liberating. It allows us to feed our minds with things that scare us and thrill us at the same time.


What inspires your stories?

A variety of things inspire my stories—movies, books, and newspaper headlines. On occasion, even a YouTube video has inspired a story. I recall watching a video about contaminated water, drugs, and meds lurking in your drinking water. It was a terrifying reality that inspired my book Living Legacy.




What are your favorite horror books?

One of my favorites is Misery, although it’s more of a psychological thriller. I can certainly relate to Paul… well, except for the crazed fan and the hobbling. I’m not ritualistic with my writing, but I certainly like my solitude when I sit down to write—what better place to do that than in a small mountain town, where no one knows you.


What are some of your favorite horror and Fantasy/Sci-fi movies?

I have such an extensive favorite collection that I love. It’s impossible for me to choose only one out of the vast number of genre categories. So, if I pick one… let’s say zombies… my favorite zombie movie is World War Z. I recently watched a psycho thriller that I found fascinating, Unhinged with Russel Crowe.


What do you consider your greatest accomplishment as an author?

My greatest accomplishment is the number of stories I’ve published over the years. It’s astounding, even to me, that I have more than 1.2 million words currently published. That doesn’t include the books I have yet to complete. Can you imagine the vast number of words for someone like Stephen King? I'm sure he must be in the hundreds of millions of words.


Do you have any advice for new writers?

When you think you have edited your work to satisfaction, edit it again. Then hire someone to edit for you. Once they’ve finished editing it, edit it yourself again. Trust me. You’ll read an error a hundred times and still miss it. Also, NEVER GIVE UP! Learn to take criticism and use it to your advantage, whether constructive or not, and try to understand the rationale. Is the statement truthful or factual? Or just a negative or subjective comment. You’ll know the difference.

Also, the very nature of writing as an artform has always been controversial at times. But now it’s even worse because people are offended by everything. It’s impossible to please everyone, so my advice is: Do and say what makes you happy. If you believe in yourself and you believe in your story, publish it. Some will love it, and some will hate it. The people who enjoy and appreciate your creativity will support you, and that’s what really matters.


What is your opinion of the new self-publishing trend?

I’m thankful for it. There are bestselling indie authors who have mastered how to leverage all the advantages, like being able to indefinitely promote, retain 100% control of your royalties, even reinvent plots without dealing with red tape. It’s the control that I prefer.


Please, in your own words, write a paragraph about yourself & your work.

I believe that writers and novelists, as in any profession, change and grow over the timespan that they work and produce. Any of my readers and fans who are familiar with my books, and the ‘genres’ they are ‘classified’ under, are able to recognize the point I’m making. Authors’ characters get more detailed and personal. Descriptions get a bit more intense, as do emotional scenes of any kind. I’ve also found, for myself, that with each and every fiction book I put out, I’m getting into the 'guts' about what I am willing to put down on paper. For instance, I'll admit it, in the beginning, writing a detailed love scene was something I dreaded, but getting more comfortable with it now. This, of course, is just one example. I look forward to growing more as an Author and seeing it come through in my stories. 

Links
https://rwkclark.com
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY928pOtc5NaUMW7y7E1bSg
https://www.facebook.com/R.W.K.Clark.Novelist
https://www.instagram.com/rwkclark/
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/r-w-k-clark-64a3eca1-061b-412a-9487-37b77f818ff4
https://www.goodreads.com/rwkclark
https://www.twitter.com/rwkclark
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rwkclark/
https://www.tiktok.com/@rwkclark

Horror Channel announces raft of premieres for February

 

February on Horror Channel keeps genre fans alive with the UK TV premiere of WHAT KEEPS YOU ALIVE - another suspenseful knife to the throat of 21st Century genre cinema from the deliciously warped mind of Colin Minihan, director of It Stains The Sand Red.

And expect more total shock and abject terror in the UK TV premiere of Paul Hyett’s sinister sci-fi horror fantasy PERIPHERAL. This twisted cross between Ex Machina and Videodrome boasts an astonishing performance from Hannah Arterton.

Plus, there are channel premieres for the gore-filled, stomach-churning zombie chiller DEATH TRENCH, Producer M. Night Shyamalan’s claustrophobic supernatural thriller DEVIL, the fast, funny and smart B-movie horror parody ZOMBEAVERS and THE MIDNIGHT MAN, which stars Horror legends Robert Englund and Lin Shaye in a terrifying, supernatural game of cat and mouse.

Full film details in transmission order:

Saturday 5 Feb @ 21:00 – THE MIDNIGHT MAN (2016) *Channel Premiere
It was supposed to be just an urban legend. On a snowy night in her grandmother’s sprawling mansion, teenage Alex and her best friend Miles discover a mysterious box hidden away in the attic. Inside are instructions for The Midnight Game, an ancient Pagan ritual said to summon the players’ greatest fears. It all seems like harmless fun—until they unleash the terrifying spirit of The Midnight Man, an unholy force who pits them against their darkest demons and dares them to survive.

Saturday 12 Feb @ 22:45 – DEATH TRENCH (2017) *Channel Premiere
In the final days of WWI a shell-shocked tunneller leads an Allied team into a hidden German base...one hundred feet below the trenches. The Germans have lost control of a highly contagious biological weapon that turns its victims into deranged killers. The Allies find themselves trapped underground with hordes of the infected, a rapidly spreading disease and a team of German Stormtroopers dispatched to clean up the mess. The only thing more terrifying, is what lies beneath it.

Sunday 13 Feb @ 21:00 – WHAT KEEPS YOU ALIVE (2018) *UK TV Premiere
On the eve of their one-year wedding anniversary, Jules and Jackie become embroiled in a merciless fight for their lives when they find themselves pitted against the most unexpected of adversaries. As violence reigns down upon their idyllic forest getaway, the two women engage in a frenzied psychological and vicious battle that will test the very limits of their instinct to survive.

Saturday 19 Feb @ 21:00 – DEVIL (2010) *Channel Premiere
Five strangers' day begins with an elevator ride in a Philadelphia office tower. But, what happens next is anything but ordinary. The elevator gets stuck, and the trapped passengers, who expected to be together just a few minutes, now face the revelation of their secrets and transgressions. Frightening events turn annoyance into terror, as they begin to realise that one of them is Lucifer himself. This supernatural thriller is based on a story by M. Night Shyamalan, who also produced the film.

Friday 25 Feb @ 23:05 – PERIPHERAL (2018) *UK TV Premiere
Bobbi Johnson (Hannah Arterton) is a young literary sensation facing her difficult second novel. Already dealing with a crazed stalker and her junkie ex-boyfriend, Bobbi is convinced by her publisher to use new smart editing software and finds herself going head-to-head with an artificial intelligence determined to write her book for her. Bobbi must keep writing, fighting her own addictions and hallucinations as she rushes to beat her deadline without selling her soul in the process. This dark sci-fi horror also stars Jenny Seagrove, Tom Conti and Rosie Day.

Saturday 26 Feb @ 21:00 – ZOMBEAVERS (2014) * Channel Premiere
A group of college kids are staying at a riverside cabin in the woods for a weekend of fun. Little do they know they are right next door to a lodge of beavers mutated by toxic waste into rabid zombie critters? The ferocious fur flies and the blood flows as the terrified friends planned romantic liaisons get hampered by the rampaging rodents on a flesh-eating frenzy.

TV: Sky 317 / Virgin 149 / Freeview 70 / Freesat 138

COMPETITION: Win Séance on Blu-ray

Séance - Released from 17th January

And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 1 copy on Blu-ray to give away.

Synopsis: 

From the creators of You’re Next and Orphan comes Séance, a twisted tale of dark and dangerous dabbling with the dead, from director Simon Barrett (co-writer of You’re Next and The Guest) in his feature film debut. Chilling audiences on its Shudder Exclusive premiere, this hair-raising horror arrives on UK Blu-ray, DVD and digital on 17 January 2022 courtesy of Acorn Media International.

Suki Waterhouse (Assassination Nation, Insurgent) plays Camille Meadows, the new girl at the prestigious Edelvine Academy for Girls. Desperate to fit in and make new friends, when a group of girls  invite her to join them in a late-night ritual, she feels obliged to join in.

They set up a séance to try and summon the spirit of a dead former student who is said to haunt the school halls, but little do they know the devastation they’re about to unleash.  Before dawn, one of the girls is dead, and the rest of them are left others wondering what they have awakened.

Also starring Madisen Beaty, Ella-Rae Smith, Inanna Sarkis and Seamus Patterson.

 

Pre-Order from Amazon at https://amzn.to/3HQOSPq

For your chance to win just answer the question below.

COMPETITION CLOSED

Quick Terms and conditions - For full T&C click here
1. Closing date 24-01-22
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

5. Entries that come directly from other websites will not be accepted.

COMPETITION: Win Jakob's Wife on Bluray

Jakob's Wife  - Released from 10th January

And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 1 copy on Blu-ray to give away.

Synopsis: 

Legendary Horror star Barbara Crampton takes the lead in Travis Stevens’ (Girl on the Third Floor) bloody brilliant vampire feature Jakob’s Wife a Shudder Exclusive that’s set for its UK Blu-ray debut from Acorn Media International on 10 January 2022. It will also be available on DVD and digital.

Anne (Crampton – Re-Animator, From Beyond) lives in a small town and is married to minister Jakob (Larry Fessenden The House of the Devil) but, after 30 years, life is rather dull and she yearns for something more.

Following a chance encounter with ‘The Master’ she discovers bite marks on her neck and suddenly an overwhelming sense of power and an appetite to live bigger and bolder than before consume her.  But Anne soon discovers these changes come with a heavy burden… An ever-increasing body count and a serious toll on her marriage.

For a vampire feature with real bite take a pew and view Jakob’s Wife, a marriage made in hell.

Pre-Order from Amazon at https://amzn.to/3tbxBfC

COMPETITION CLOSED

Send your name, address and of course the answer to competition365@outlook.com

Quick Terms and conditions - For full T&C click here
1. Closing date 24-01-22
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

5. Entries that come directly from other websites will not be accepted.

Interview with Goh Ming Siu and Scott C. Hillyard - Directors of REPOSSESSION

From directors Goh Ming Siu and Scott C.Hillyard, the provocative horror-thriller fixes on 50-year-old Jim who has constructed a perfect life in the world’s most expensive city. When he is unexpectedly laid off, he desperately clings onto the symbols of his success, while wrestling with resurfacing demons from his past.  


Where are we speaking to you from today?

Scott: We both live and work in Singapore.


And was the pandemic as punishing on you, as a filmmaker, as it was most others in the game?

Ming Siu: Work-for-hire pretty much dried up, and I didn’t have income for over half a year. Then writing trickled back in slowly as production started up again with safety measures.

Scott: The entire industry was put on pause for awhile. But when restrictions began to lift, everything started pouring in. We were actually in the middle of our festival run when the pandemic hit. And it’s kind of funny because we were in a lot more festivals once everything went virtual.

Ming Siu: That meant we could actually “attend” most of the festivals and do online Q&As, which we wouldn’t have been able to do if they were physical events, given the high costs of international travel. Scott: During the pandemic, we also saw many short films that were made under lockdown conditions appear online, like the horror shorts David F. Sandberg made. So we decided to give it a go as well. Problem was, we had to do everything remotely, including write, direct, edit, and score, since all of the team were living separately.

Ming Siu: That was a bit of a nightmare, because we would have several devices lined up in a row, so that the actors could shoot themselves on their phones, while showing the phone screens to the camera of a laptop on which we were having a video call.

Scott: The short turned out quite well. It’s called “The Shape of You” and has also played in several festivals around the world.


Are you back at it even more so now?

Scott: Right now I would say that things are returning to normal? Just with new rules.


How different is it, with all these covid protocols and changes?

Ming Siu: In Singapore it was challenging for a while, because the regulations were actually changing every few weeks, depending on the situation, and productions had to adapt very quickly. And it’s great that people view safety as a priority, but sometimes that makes it hard to create a bond on set when everyone eats alone, for example.

Scott: Yeah, there was a period of time when the social distancing protocol made it really hard to block actors in a natural way, because we weren’t allowed to position actors close together. Now at least that rule’s gone. But we’re still not allowed to have more than a certain number of people in a frame together. I actually still don’t quite understand that one.

How did you come up with the idea of “Repossession”?

Scott: We wanted to make a relatable film, so we began by asking ourselves, “What scares you the most?” And we realised that our answers weren’t necessarily the supernatural, ghosts, spirits, and so on. It was real life, where the stakes can be tremendously high. Then it became clear to us that Repossession had to be grounded in reality, even the horror needed to be. For our exorcism scene, we actually consulted someone who’d done that work before, for authenticity.

Ming Siu: We also took some inspiration from actual events that happened in Singapore. For example, around the time we conceptualized the story, there were some massive layoffs at prominent companies that took place almost exactly like how we depicted it. When you ground the film like that, then tether otherworldly encounters to characters who are three-dimensional and real to the audience, the stakes become that much higher, and juxtaposition of the two worlds creates a very interesting tension. And we’ve found out from audiences that the groundedness makes our film very relatable – painfully so at times.

Scott: With Repossession, ambiguity was also important to us. It’s quite a unique situation where on the one hand, we’re adamant on grounding everything, including the horror, in reality. But at the same time, we’re also trying to say that not everything that happens needs to have a reason. 

Ming Siu: Because life isn’t so neat and tidy. It’s innately human to desire answers, but there’s often no clear answer to be found in life. Sometimes it seems that people go overboard in demanding answers, with articles and videos explaining What Really Happened in Pan’s Labyrinth or Does the Spinning Top Fall in Inception. Perhaps it’s a symptom of consuming only a certain kind of media diet? Scott: We prefer to lay out evidence for the audience, nudge them towards making the connections, and leave the rest of the interpretation up to them, instead of spoonfeeding them. And some people love that sort of thing, while others get angry…


Did you sit down and watch some similar films? Heck, I can’t even think of what we’d call.. similar?

Scott: Not “similar” per se… We wanted to draw inspiration from the films we liked, but not copy them slavishly in any way. So the watching of films was done earlier on in the creative process, so that by pre-production, we were already very clear on our vision for the film. What we were aiming for was something that got under your skin and stuck with you for a long time, because we wanted to challenge ourselves. Besides, we couldn’t afford to splash tons of money on flashy VFX.

Ming Siu: We were inspired by different aspects of various films. For example, the handheld cinematography of European arthouse films, the social realism of Ken Loach, the mood and tone of Kiyoshi Kurosawa, the compositions of Edward Yang and Wong Kar-Wai, where the framing of the shot enhances the thematic elements.

Scott: We also love the oppressive mood of The Blackcoat’s Daughter by Oz Perkins, and the way the supernatural is handled in that film. And of course, the bold structure of Audition, with its abrupt midpoint tonal shift. That was a key inspiration for our structure.

Ming Siu: So as you can see, our inspirations were very broad, not just from within genre film, and they’re from different eras too. Although all art builds on what came before, so I’m sure many of these filmmakers have firm foundations in the classics as well.


Are any of the characters based on anyone you know? 

Scott: Well, in the film, Jim is laid off and desperately seeks work because of his mounting bills, since Singapore is the world’s most expensive city. But he’s “overqualified” for everything, which is a nice way of saying that he’s too old. The same thing happened to my father. As for basing characters on people we know, it’s not necessarily a one-to-one thing, but more of an amalgamation. Putting traits of people we know, or what we observe about people of a certain generation, into the characters.

Ming Siu: And we certainly have things to say about individuals and the systems that they’re trapped in – which we ourselves are living in, so it hits close to home. We were also heavily invested in authenticity in the depiction of different aspects of Singapore life – the languages, social strata, details of realism, and so on, not just the glossy Hollywood version like what you see in Crazy Rich Asians.


As a director, I imagine you get most of the say in casting? Anyone you especially fought for? 

Scott: Producers often have more power than directors, but we’re also the producers, so we had all of the say. We’ve been working in the industry in Singapore for a long time, and know many actors personally. As we were writing, we already began to see certain actors in specific roles. Our leads Gerald Chew and Amy J Cheng, we asked them very early on, and they actually read early drafts and offered feedback to help mold their characters.

Ming Siu: Almost every actor that has a speaking role in the film is an established stage or screen actor in Singapore; we went through our contact lists and asked for their help directly. And we’re so grateful that almost everyone said yes right away. For example, we were at a play when we ran into Lim Kay Siu, who’s playing Gyatso in the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender series from Netflix (Scott: We’re super excited btw). I’ve known him and his wife Neo Swee Lin for years, so we just flat-out asked them to be in our movie, even when we didn’t know what roles they’d play yet. Kay Siu ended up being Gerald’s new boss, and Swee Lin played Sister Agnes at the nursing home.


Do you do a Hitchcock and cameo in the film?

Scott: Both of us do. I play a promoter who tries to get Gerald’s character to become a driver, and Ming Siu plays his concerned colleague early in the film. It saved us a couple of bucks since we didn’t have to pay ourselves.

Ming Siu: Besides, Scott is an actor, and I was a theatre nerd in high school, so it wasn’t like we didn’t know how to act.


Can you envision this turning into a franchise?

Scott: Not really. It’s going to be challenging to even make the first one profitable. From audience reactions, we learned that we’d made a polarizing, divisive film, even if we didn’t set out to do so. We had walkouts, but we also had Q&As with intelligent, incisive questions that showed that those who had connected with the film had thought deeply about it. That was very gratifying.

Ming Siu: The thing is, we don’t handhold, and audiences have to infer and read between the lines. Some of the context isn’t explained, and is conveyed more through mood and character behavior. In an Asian society, people react and behave differently; there’s a lot less free expression of emotions and a lot more self-repression. Our main character, being of an older generation, only knows how to operate in that particular mode. One of the comments we’ve gotten from audiences is that he isn’t an active protagonist, but that definition of “active” is from a conventional Hollywood perspective. From an Asian perspective, he’s tremendously active, trying and trying his best, but his problem is that he can’t escape the invisible restraints in his mind.

Scott: And some people love the restrained, subtle acting, while others call it “wooden”. We’ve won awards at prominent festivals for our writing and direction, but conversely, others have slammed the exact same things. So the response really depends on the individual viewer and how open they are to different filmic experiences. Many of our strongest supporters are in the US, so we hope that there are many like-minded individuals out there who will give our film a chance.

Ming Siu: The one thing nobody seems to have a problem with is music. So props to our composer Teo Wei Yong! He’s won the Chinese cinema equivalent of an Oscar, a Golden Horse Award, for the 2018 film A Land Imagined.

Scott: Maybe some sharp-eyed viewers will catch some faces they recognize too. Amy J Cheng, our female lead, was in Crazy Rich Asians. And Lim Kay Siu who appears in a few scenes in our film is playing Gyatso in the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender series from Netflix.

REPOSSESION is now available on digital from Kamikaze Dogfight and Gravitas Ventures

Horror Channel ushers in New Year with zombie invasions

January weekends on Horror Channel are invaded by the undead with the UK TV premiere of Lin Oeding’s newly-flavoured zombie horror-comedy OFFICE UPRISING, and the two highly acclaimed Zombie apocalypse road movies – STAKE LAND, receiving its Channel premiere, and the sequel THE STAKELANDER, enjoying a UK TV premiere.

Plus, there are channel premieres for the bone-chilling THE WRETCHED, directed by The Pierce Brothers, Sam Raimi’s classic EVIL DEAD 2, once again starring the demon battling Brue Campbell and the original Dolph Lundgrem / Jean-Claude Van Damme futuristic thriller UNIVERSAL SOLDIER.

Full film details in transmission order:

Saturday 8 January @ 22:25 – UNIVERSAL SOLDIER (1992) *Channel Premiere

Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren play embattled Vietnam soldiers who killed each other in combat and are revived 25 years later as semi-android "UniSols" in a high-tech army of the near future. This popular science fiction thriller, directed by master of disaster Roland Emerich, hits home with energetic action sequences and explosive tough guy performances from its two powerhouse leads.

Sunday 9 January @ 21:00 – OFFICE UPRISING (2018) *UK TV Premiere

Desmond, an underachiever working at a major weapons manufacturing firm finds that his co-workers have been “weaponized” by Zolt, a new energy drink designed for the military. He must then set off to rescue his one true love from an office building full of psychotic zombie co-workers armed with tomorrow’s deadliest tech

Saturday 15 January @ 21:00 – STAKE LAND (2010) *Channel Premiere

America has fallen. A vampiric scourge sweeps the nation, turning brother on brother and parent on child as the blood-hungry beasts take deeper and deeper hold upon the land. It’s hard for the survivors to know whether to be more afraid of the creatures themselves or the violent religious groups that have sprung up in response, but there is clearly only one choice: fight or die. This is where we find Martin (Connor Paolo), a young man traveling with only his taciturn mentor – a hardened fighter known simply as Mister – as protection against this blasted earth in search of the rumoured safe haven of New Eden.

Saturday 22 January @ 21:00 – THE STAKELANDER (2016) *UK TV Premiere

When his home in New Eden is destroyed by a revitalized Brotherhood and its new Vampire leader, Martin finds himself alone in the badlands of America. Roaming the wilderness of a steadily decaying country, Martin searches for the one man who can help him exact revenge - his mentor, the legendary vampire hunter Mister. Once reunited, they prepare to confront the ravenous Brotherhood and its monstrous overlord. But it’ll take more than the two of them to battle this terrifying new threat, and with the future of humanity hanging in the balance, the stakes are higher than ever before.

Sunday 23 January @ 21:00 – THE WRETCHED (2019) * Channel Premiere

A defiant teenage boy, struggling with his parent's imminent divorce, faces off with a thousand year-old witch, who is living beneath the skin of and posing as the woman next door. Directed by The Pierce Brothers (Deadheads, the film enjoyed a run of five consecutive weeks at the top of the US box office,

Saturday 29 January @ 21:00 – EVIL DEAD 11 (1997) *Channel Premiere

In this sequel of the original cult classic, Bruce Campbell again stars as brawny wise guy Ash, as he and a group of people are trapped in a cabin while ancient evil lurks outside and threatens a fate worse than death. Can Ash save the day, or will his dead girlfriend come back to cause more trouble? Director Sam Raimi once more gleefully stomps on the entrails of good taste with his unique blend of black humour and horror.

Interview with Alistair Cross - By David Kempf

When did you first become interested in writing?

I seem to have been born with a burning need to write -- not just recreationally, but professionally, as well. I felt it in my gut at an early age and I still feel it now. I was born to do this -- I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life. At the time I decided to get serious about writing, I figured I couldn't be any unhappier than I already was, so I might as well take the leap.

It’s the best decision I’ve ever made. It’s never felt like work for me, even though it is -- it’s very hard work. I’m always learning and looking for new, stronger ways to tell the story I’m working on.


How did you get involved in fantasy/horror?

While I’ve always been a fan of the genre, I never set out to be part of it. I just wrote the stories that wanted to be written and let the publishers, readers, and bookstores decide what to call it.


Tell us about your first publisher.

Like so many others, my first publisher is now out of business -- a fact that I didn’t even know for nearly a year after they’d closed their doors. If that’s any indication of the nature of this business, you can see why so many authors choose alternative routes to publishing. For me, it was a learning experience. My first publishing experience taught me the importance of taking my career into my own hands. I was lucky to realize early on that no one was ever going to care about my work and my career as much as I do, so I’d better be involved in every part of it. Knowing this and living by it has probably helped my career more than anything else.

How would you classify the genre you write?

I try not to think in terms of genre, but I guess the best description would be dark fiction. When you say “horror,” most people think of slashers and torture porn, and that’s not what I do. If you say suspense or thrillers, people think of crime fiction and characters racing against a ticking clock. That’s not exactly what I do, either -- so I don’t think about what genre I’m writing in. I just want to write the stories I need to tell. I want to entertain, of course, but I want it to mean something, too. I want it to be good, I want it to matter -- how it’s classified and categorized isn’t important to me.



Why do you think horror and fantasy books remain so popular?

I can’t speak for fantasy, but as for horror, I think it remains popular for a lot of reasons -- mainly, though, I think it’s because horror is a safe way for readers and viewers to give expression to their own anxieties. I also suspect there’s a voyeuristic part of us that just wants to see how other human beings respond in life-and-death situations and how much they can endure. Finally, I think horror will never go out of style because it asks the hard questions about life and death and right and wrong -- questions that humans have been seeking answers to since the beginning. Horror requires its audience to ponder human nature, morality, and often, spirituality. Not many other genres do that.


What inspires your stories?

As for plot ideas, they’re literally everywhere. People. Places. Music. Books. Television. Dreams. Everything’s a story to me. I can’t walk into a room without running into an idea and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I always say I’ve never met an idea I didn’t like because there’s always a way to put an interesting spin on even the dumbest one out there.

If you’re asking what really inspires me to write and to keep writing, it’s the process itself as well as the outcome. Writing is my therapy and my characters are my friends. I don’t write for money -- I never did -- and I feel grateful that I’ve done as well as I have, but I do it because I love it, and nothing makes me happier than a finished product that I know is good.


How did you begin your collaboration with Tamara Thorne?

After reading some of my previously published work and getting to know me a little, she just came out and asked me if I’d like to write something with her. I was speechless, but at some point I must have said yes, because that was nearly 10 years (and just as many Thorne & Cross novels) ago. I grew up reading Tamara’s work and aspiring to be like her, so it was a real dream-come-true for me. I’m sure of myself as a writer -- I’m sure of my talent, but no matter who you are, when your hero asks if you’d like to work with them, it’s pretty intense. I was starstruck.

And I’m still starstruck. Not only because of her talent but because you could search the world over, and you’ll never find someone who doesn’t love her. She’s warm and open, talented and smart, and one of the most genuinely kind, decent people I’ve had the honor of knowing. We’re very close, and she is, in many ways, my best friend. I’m a better person for knowing her.

It helps, too, that the creative and business end really works. You never know if that magic is going to be there until you dive in, but from the moment we sat down together, the chemistry was absolute and immediate. Originally, we’d planned to try a short story, just to test the waters, but a greater power seemed to step in and make it into much, much more. That short story quickly became a full-length novel, and the moment we finished it, we started working on the next one -- and the next one after that.

I think that kind of personal, professional, and creative synergy is absolutely vital to the success of any group project, and I’m very lucky to be working with Tamara. What we have is incredibly rare. She and I share the same goals, our creative styles merge together seamlessly, and our egos are such that we can create something mutually without rivalry or possessiveness. I’ve always thought of our work together as a perfect two-part harmony. If we were singing instead of writing, we’d be the Righteous Brothers, Simon and Garfunkel, Sonny & Cher, the Mamas and the Papas. Well, the Mama and the Papa, anyway. You get the idea.

What are your favorite horror books?

Rebecca, Dracula, and Violin -- what I refer to as the Unholy Trinity. These are the books I love -- and have learned from -- the most. Du Maurier’s Rebecca has all the quiet creeping horror I love about the Gothic genre, Anne Rice’s Violin has ghosts, and Dracula, of course, has vampires. Squish them all together and that’s basically where I was born.

I love reading for the sake of reading and devour just about anything I can get my hands on, inside and outside of horror. Reading is what inspires me to write -- it’s what keeps me going -- and I use my Instagram page and my blog to pay my respects to the works that have influenced me with (almost) daily book reviews.


What are some of your favorite horror movies?

I grew up in the big horror boom of the 80s and 90s, so I teethed on slasher franchises like Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street. The first horror movie I truly fell in love with, however, was Carrie, when I was ten years old. It wasn’t all about blood and guts, and I liked that. It had a plot, and a damned interesting one -- not to mention, fascinating characters.

From there, my love of horror bloomed but I found myself more attracted to the subtler offerings of the genre. It isn’t that violence ever bothered me -- I just like movies that tell a good story. Some of my all-time favorites are Rear Window, The Omen, Misery, Rosemary’s Baby, Don’t Breathe, 100 Feet, The Silence of the Lambs, Psycho, Wait Until Dark, The Others, and, of course, Carrie. I still can’t get enough of that one.


What do you consider your greatest accomplishment as an author?

That I did it. If I died tomorrow, I’d be able to say that I got to see my dreams come true, and at the end of the day, that’s all I ever really wanted.


Do you have any advice for new writers?

You don’t need to live in chaos to be creative -- in fact, if anything, the opposite is true. Try to live a calm, quiet life and save the drama for the page. Let yourself feel everything to the core -- the good, the bad, and the ugly -- and channel it into your work, but live a calm life.

Also, know your worth. There’s value in what you’re doing and money to be made. Take your writing as seriously as you would any job. That starts by surrounding yourself with people who believe in your dreams. If the people around you don’t support you or believe in what you’re doing, get rid of them and start over with people who do.


What is your opinion of the new self-publishing trend?

I think it can work in many authors’ favors, provided that they’re writing quality material and have a solid marketing plan. I also think it’s a necessary movement for the world of publishing. It’s no secret that the publishing industry is painfully out-of-date, and the advent of independent publishers and self-publishers has given them the choice to either go extinct or step up their game. As evidenced by recent events, many have opted to go out of business -- but thanks to all the other options that are now available to authors, that’s fine.


What are your current projects?

I’m always working on three books at a time -- a solo novel, and two Thorne & Cross collaborations. Right now, Tamara Thorne and I are working on a haunted house novel called Spite House which, after some hiccups, is coming along nicely. This has been, by far, the most difficult book we’ve done -- mainly, because there have been so many new ideas and possibilities along the way. We’ve had to really whittle it down and get to the core of the story we want to tell. But Spite House is nearing completion and will be released in 2022.

Our second collaboration is the next book in The Ravencrest Saga, our ongoing gothic horror series. Book four, Shadowland, came out in September of 2021, and we immediately launched into book 5. In this installment, we’re exploring more of the ghostly lore of Ravencrest Manor while our young governess, Belinda Moorland, continues bringing her supernatural talents into focus.

Also, I’m working on my next solo novel, which is the 4th book in the The Vampires of Crimson Cove series. Book three, The Black Wasp, was released in June of 2021 and I went straight into the next one from there. For now, I refer to it as “TMR,” and in it, my protagonist, Cade Colter, and his mentor, Father Vincent Scarlotti, are on the trail of a rogue vampire with a taste for human hearts. I’m having a lot of fun with this one because so much of it takes place in Santa Cruz, California -- one of my favorite places.

“TMR” is nearing the midway point and I’m hopeful for a 2022 release.

Aside from that, Tamara and I are continuing our podcast, Thorne & Cross: Carnival Macabre, where we talk about everything from ghosts and hauntings to serial killers and crime. If it deals in darkness, you can find it there.

Finally, we’ve updated our monthly newsletter, which we call the Purple Probe. This free newspaper-style periodical now includes character interviews, behind-the-scenes tell-alls, a gossip column that sheds light on the darkest monsters in the Thorne & Cross Universe, and much, much more. You can sign up at: http://eepurl.com/ckaBrr or by visiting our websites at tamarathorne.com or alistaircross.com.

Please in your own words, write a paragraph about yourself & your work.

I’m just a boy, sitting in front of an empty page, asking it to love me …

COMPETITION: Win The Krays - Code of Silence on DVD

The Krays - Code of Silence DVD - Released from 27th December

And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 2 copies on DVD to give away.

Synopsis: 

Britain’s most notorious gangsters The Krays have gained legendary status with their brutal reign over 1960s London, which continues to fascinate and shock to this day – but who was the man who brought down the infamous gangsters? Now a brand-new, hard-hitting British feature Krays: Code of Silence, from director Ben Mole, produced by Lucinda Rhodes Thakrar and Jeet Thakrar of Picture Perfect, sees Hollywood star Stephen Moyer take on the role of the driven and determined Detective Nipper Read, the person who took on the seemingly impossible and dangerous mission of bringing down Ronnie and Reggie Kray (Ronan Summers). But the operation came with a price...

The sixties, London: hemlines are up, and so is the crime rate, the highest level on record. As the Beatles rule the airwaves, heading for world domination – The Krays are on the rise too… using their inimitable violent ways to gain power over the city. Extortion, robbery and murder are rife throughout the capital. Everyone knows the criminals responsible, but will anyone risk it all and speak out against them? One man, the fearless Detective Nipper Read, is sent in to tackle the unenviable task… bringing the city back under the rule of law and taking on the country’s most feared mobsters in the process.

As he faces bent coppers, political backstabbing, and terrified witnesses, Nipper becomes increasingly obsessed, putting everything and everyone he knows at risk.

Pre-Order from Amazon at https://amzn.to/3yGIWoI

For your chance to win just answer the question below.

COMPETITION CLOSED

Quick Terms and conditions - For full T&C click here
1. Closing date 03-01-22
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

5. Entries that come directly from other websites will not be accepted.

Interview with Abigail Blackmore - Director of Tales from the Lodge

Thanks to Horror Channel, TALES FROM THE LODGE recently had its UK TV premiere on British TV. How did that make you feel?

So excited! I know a huge amount of people watch the Horror Channel so I’m hoping it opens TFTL up to a whole new audience.


Looking back to its showcase screening at FrightFest in 2019, what are your abiding memories?

It was a wonderful experience! FrightFest has long been one of the highlights of my year. It was thrilling enough to have my short film Vintage Blood play there in 2015 so to have my debut feature accepted (for the main screen, no less) was massive!


Horror comedy is notoriously difficult to get right. What were the biggest challenges for you as writer & director?

It really is a fine balance but my biggest challenge was in making the moments of horror convincing, even when they’re ridiculous. I didn’t want the audience to think it was lame! I have to give the actors credit too. They knew what genres they were playing in and they knocked it out of the park.

Yes, the cast is amazing – so many gifted actor-comedians. Did you have to overcome many obstacles to get who you wanted?

The worst thing about casting is it takes a loooong time. You have to be really patient.

This was a particularly challenging film to cast because we needed six funny people who are brilliant actors and could be convincing as old friends. They needed to be roughly the same age, available for the shoot dates and willing to do it for the money we were offering. Impossible? Almost!

We also asked the cast to direct their own character’s short ‘tale’ in the film and I think for one or two of them that was the deal-maker.


The film was shot in Northumberland during the winter months. That must have been a bit challenging!

The weather was brutal! It was sunny until the first day of shooting then all hell broke loose. First torrential rain, which turned the entire location into a mud bath - our production designer Mike McCloughlin had an impossible task keeping the cabin floor mud-free - then snow, epic hailstorms and freezing winds that blew in off the lake. I’m eternally grateful to the actors for their unbreakable good humour and (frozen) stiff-upper-lipness!


You won the 2019 FrightFest Screen International Genre Rising Star. How has that accolade influenced your career?

That was the icing on the cake! I’m very, very proud of that award. I don’t know if it’s influenced my career but I’ll always mention it if I think it’ll impress someone.


You both starred in and directed your wonderful short VINTAGE BLOOD. How did you find combining both roles?

That shoot was fun. Five days working with friends in a great location close to my home. (Note: do that again!)

I think I was just so excited to be working with the incredible cast and crew and directing from my own script that I didn’t think about whether I could pull it off or not! You’ve just got to get on with it.

I’ve directed myself before so I knew I could work with me. Also I’m cheap.


Ed Barratt has been credited as producing both VINTAGE BLOOD and TALES FROM THE LODGE. Is Ed someone you plan to collaborate with again in the future?

Definitely! I love Ed. Half-man-half-lager. Not your average producer. He’s laid back and incredibly kind, but he’s no pushover either. We have a similar sense of humour and we generally like the same movies and stuff. I respect him. Man, he’s going to hate me saying all this…Good.

Tales from the Lodge is available now on DVD at - https://amzn.to/3yrluvK

Interview with Barbara Crampton

On the eve of the UK TV premiere of SACRIFICE, actress Barbara Crampton reflects on the early days of her career, tackling a Norwegian accent and the rise of pagan horror.

Can you recall how you felt the first time you stepped onto a TV or film set?

BC: Yes, it was for the soap opera, ‘Days of Our Lives’, and it was my very first job, and I had one line, “Hi. I’m your cousin Trista from Colorado”. It was to the character Marlena Evans and subsequently I had whole storylines that lasted for about a year.

I had extensive experience on stage but the first time I was on a television set it frightened me to death and I didn’t know if I was going to be able to get through that first line out of my mouth and I thought I was going to forget it, that I was going to screw it up. Then the spell was broken, and I was able to go on and start my career on screen.


Days of Our Lives had been going for so long was it surreal to be on that set?

No, because as an actor you usually watch the show to get to know the characters. I knew about a month before that I was going to be on ‘The Young and the Restless’, so I was watching it almost every day, getting to know the characters and the actors to get the flavour of that show for about a month to get to know the characters.


Can you remember the first time someone asked you for your autograph?

BC: I think I was probably on a plane; I can’t remember exactly. In the very early days of my career, I worked on a number of soap operas, and they were very big 35 years ago, and I think something like 15 million people a week used to turn into soap operas. So if you were on a soap opera you were quite famous, and I do remember being on different planes and everybody would recognise me. The Stewardesses would be very fond of soap operas for whatever reason, maybe to do with their schedules of overnights, and between flights and things, so I always got bumped up to First Class if there was an extra seat. Perks of the job



Your career has lasted far longer than some, and apart from being such a fine actress, why do you think it has lasted so long?

BC: Well, I think careers wax and wane, as they always do in a business that is always freelance. You’re always looking for your next job and I think the trick is just to stick with it Many times, in my career I’ve thought, “Oh well, that’s it”. I never said to myself that I was going to give up though. When I was in my early 20s I worked a lot up until I was 30, and then maybe the roles weren’t coming as much between 30 and 40, but then after that I started to get more roles and now, in my 60s I’m getting roles more than I ever have!

 

Let’s talk about Sacrifice, how did you become attached to this movie?

I got an email from Sean Knoop who was one of the producers and he and I had worked on a movie called ‘Replace’, and he said that he was putting together this film called ‘Sacrifice’ and it feels a little Lovecraftian although it’s not based on any particular story and that they were thinking of a role for me and would I like to read it. So, he sent it to me and I read and I thought it was great, I loved it. They were shooting it in Norway and they told me who else was going to be in it and I thought that it sounded like a nice adventure and I said yes.

It was quite exciting to be in Norway where I’d never been to before and that’s one of the perks of the job too as you get to go to places you wouldn’t normally get to and experience it almost like a local. I was also really enamoured of all the actors I worked with on set; especially Sophie Stevens, because the weight of the picture really rests on her and she has such a wealth of humanity and heart to her performance.


Did it take you long to prepare to play the character of Renate Nygardand and work on the accent?

Yes. I hired somebody who was a Norwegian speaker, she taught Norwegian at the Scandinavian School in San Francisco so she came over to my house and I worked on my accent with her and I said I really wanted a heavy accent, really want her to feel like she’s really embedded in this town, and she’s really from this place and she’s more of an old world Norwegian person so a lot of my accent was probably heavier than some of the others. I said if I’m the head of this cult I really need to be steeped in the history and lore of this town, and the place we’re from and the mythical island that we lived on. I prepared for it heavily for about two months.


Did you and the cast have much time to rehearse together?

You never have enough time. I remember on ‘Re-Animator’, one of my first movies, we had a three-week rehearsal period, and we worked every day, 5 days a week so we had 15 days of rehearsal 3 to 4 hours at each time. In my early career I thought that was the norm but that’s never happened to me since. So usually you show up on a set, maybe 2 to 3 days before you start filming, do wardrobe fittings meet the director and get to know that cast a little, and if you’re lucky you’ll get an hour here or there to run the scene with the other actors and hopefully the director. Most of the time you just need to grab the other actor or actors when you can and talk about the upcoming scenes, and work with them and run the dialogue so you’re really rehearsing as you’re filming. That’s normaly how it works.


I have to ask, how cold was the water?

It was really cold! We had wet suits on underneath our robes that we wore, those ceremonial robes, it was freezing. Thankfully there are only a few scenes in the movie where we have to be fully submerged, and the wet suits were really welcome. I don’t think we could have done it without them because its many hours of being in the water (laughs) for three minutes of film and so we were in that water for many hours for a few days.


What’s it like shooting a film entirely on location?

It’s fantastic. I don’t think I work in LA that much anymore, I don’t think a lot of people do.


There are a lot of folk/Pagan style horror movies at the moment, why do you think everyone seems to be looking towards nature and the environment for their horror kicks?

The world has gone topsy-turvy and crazy and we all seem to be in our different camps trying to understand the nature of humanity and we all have our own feelings and thoughts on life and what it means, and ideologies are split more than they ever have before, or maybe they always have been and we’ve not noticed before. I don’t know. I think people sometimes look to religion and some deeper meaning and where does it come from and I think Pagan horror is at the top right now and there’s been so many movies of late that have come out, and ‘The Wicker Man’ is one of my favourite movies and this harks back to those types of films. We are all looking for our place in the world and where we fit in, and I think movies like ‘Sacrifice’ ask those questions and allow you to kind of look deep in yourself and find what’s important to you.


‘Sacrifice’ is having it UK TV premiere on Horror Channel on the 12th December, how would you describe the film to our audience?

I think it’s a film about a couple who are trying to find their roots, especially for Ludovic’s character and finding where he came from and understanding who he is as a person, and then finding out that what you think about your life is not really what it was at all. It’s a shocking film, it’s a dangerous film and it’s also a fun a human film.


What are you up to at the moment?

Well, I’ve moved into producing over the past couple of years. I produced ‘Beyond the Gates’ with Jackson Stewart, and, most recently I produced ‘Jakob’s Wife’. I’m working with a film company now, Amp Films, to develop some other projects and we’ve just finished filming a movie which hasn’t been announced yet and that will be exciting news when it comes out. Also, I have two movies coming out next year, one is called ‘King Knight’ where I play Matthew Gray Gubler’s mother and the other film is ‘Alone With’, where I play somebody else’s mother (laughs). Those are coming out in the first quarter of next year, so you’ll be hearing about those pretty soon. I’m also n development on another couple of films I may be in, or I might just help produce.

SACRIFICE is broadcast on Horror Channel on Sunday Dec 12, 9pm.