Join Patrick Lacey as he discusses his love of Halloween…
If you’re anything like me, you know that Halloween is the greatest night of the year. Just imagine explaining it to someone new to the concept. Yeah, I get dressed up like a witch or a goblin and I hand out candy to children I’ve never met and they’re dressed up too and later on, when the big kids come out, my town looks like the scene of a crime. Toilet paper. Eggs. Shaving cream. It’s kinda like legal vandalism.
And that’s only the night. What about everything leading up to it? What about seeing plastic skulls and ceramic demons in your local department store while it’s still grilling weather? What about pumpkin beers and cereals that turn milk green and certainly what about candles that smell like candy corn and cost more than your car payment?
It’s most wonderful time of the year. That’s why on Halloween night, I do precisely one thing and one thing only.
Nothing.
The spooky season has become an assignment for me. With social media, everyone has a micro-blog of their own. My followers and the people I follow, they’re posting pictures of Halloween ephemera the moment it sneaks into stores. It becomes an adventure. It becomes my civic duty. I want to document all of the hub-bub because, in some corner of my delusional mind, people have actually come to expect and, dare I say, look forward to me posting pictures of pumpkin spice Cheerios.
And then there’s the movies. We live in a golden age of media if you’re a collector like me. Thousands of horror movies are available in special editions at the click of a button. And don’t even get me started on streaming services. You’ve got endless content on your hands. Your seasonal viewing is infinite but time is not. So you whittle it down. But do you only watch Halloween-related films or do you watch movies that remind you of Halloween? Something nostalgic or do you take a chance on a new release?
And in between mainlining slashers and inhaling Mellowcreme Pumpkins, if you’re anything like me, you’ve got to take in a haunt or seven. Everybody’s doing them these days, from local churches and farm stands to elaborate production companies who’ve paid a few big ones to rent out that abandoned hospital your city wants to convert into a mall. It’s hard to choose. The bigger guys have the budgets but those locals affairs are oozing with charm. So you do the logical thing. You attend them all.
I’m exhausted. Aren’t you? That’s why, come October 31st, the last thing I want to do is get dressed up and head to some party where there’s always that one guy, dressed as a gorilla, that no one seemed to invite. Instead, I get takeout. Something greasy and fried. Something I’ll have to pretend I didn’t eat the next time my doctor checks my cholesterol. I turn off the lights, leave a bowl of candy on the porch with a note that says Take One, like that’ll keep ’em in line. I light up the ol’ Jack O’ Lanterns and those pricey pumpkin candles. Then I throw on something spooky. Something I’ve seen a billion times so that it becomes background noise. I eat and watch, eat and watch, and outside the mayhem filters into the mix and it becomes a trance, one you only feel once each year, if you’re like me, and then all of the noise and visuals come to a boil and I’m—
And I’m sleeping on the couch and my wife is waking me up because it’s November 1st and while I’m more than a little bummed that the cycle has once again ended, I’m also relieved.
Besides, if you’re anything like me, you’ll just finish off the candy corn for breakfast and throw on some scary movies.
Patrick Lacey was born and raised in a haunted house. He currently spends his nights and weekends writing about things that make the general public uncomfortable. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, his over-sized cat, and his muse, who is likely trying to kill him. Follow him on Twitter, find him on Facebook, or visit his website.
That’s the note left behind for Ivy Longwood when infamous killer Tucker Ashton murders her boyfriend. Several years later, after Tucker vanishes from his jail cell, Ivy travels to Ashton’s hometown of Marlowe, Massachusetts. Not for closure or therapy. She’s being called there. Steered by forces beyond her control. What she’ll find is not the quiet suburban town Marlowe once was. It’s something new. Something dark. Something that answers the question: Where did Tucker Ashton go?
Melvin Brown sees things that aren’t there. Monsters with tentacles and razor-sharp teeth. Ever the social outcast, he is bullied to the point of suicide. And his hatred of those who did him wrong does not die with him.
One decade after Melvin’s death, something strange is happening to Lynnwood High School’s smartest and most popular students. They begin to act out and spend time at the former high school, now abandoned and said to be haunted. And their numbers grow at an alarming rate.
Is this just a passing fad or are the rumors true? Does Lynnwood really have a teenage cult on their hands?
Liam Carpenter spends most of his time above his aunt’s garage, watching obscure horror movies and drinking cheap beer. But this week’s different. This week, things are getting weird. First, there’s his favorite director, Clive Sherman, showing up in town unannounced. Then there’s the string of murders that all seem like something out of Clive’s popular Pigfoot movie monster franchise. Throw in Liam’s mysterious new crush and the cough-syrup-addicted private investigator chasing her down and you might gain somewhat of a clue of what’s going on in Bass Falls lately.
And don’t even get him started on she-demons and blood sacrifices. Bone Saw studios is in town and they’re bringing you the bloodiest sequel featuring a pig-human hybrid killing machine you’ve ever seen.
Meghan: Hi, Patrick. Welcome to Halloween Extravaganza. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Patrick Lacey: Hi, I’m Pat Lacey. I’ve been publishing horror fiction since 2012 and I have a six-foot tall Freddy Krueger cardboard cutout in my office.
Meghan: What are five things most people don’t know about you?
Patrick Lacey: I absolutely love to cook. I drink around three cans of seltzer a day and can stop whenever I want to. Even though October if my favorite season, I do prefer warmer weather. I cry very easily during movies. I once got a mole removed.
Meghan: What is the first book you remember reading?
Patrick Lacey: I want to say it was a Dr Seuss book involving the ABC’s but I might be confusing it with Crime and Punishment.
Meghan: What are you reading now?
Patrick Lacey: I just finished up Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes, who was new to me and will certainly be on my TBR for the rest of time. An actual perfect mix of horror and crime, a combination that can so easily go wrong if not done right. She does it right.
Meghan: What’s a book you really enjoyed that others wouldn’t expect you to have liked?
Patrick Lacey: American on Purpose by Craig Ferguson is one of my favorite memoirs of all time (I say this like I’ve read more than three) and one of the only books I actually devoured in one day.
Meghan: What made you decide you want to write? When did you begin writing?
Patrick Lacey: The first thing I wrote was The Curse of the Scorpion, a knock-off Goosebumps novel. I was in third grade. It never got published. I liked the process and toyed with writing off and on until college, when I gave it the old… college try. Sorry.
Meghan: Do you have a special place you like to write?
Patrick Lacey: I typically write in my office, which is a hoarder’s dream if you like horror memorabilia and action figures. But I can and do write anywhere. In my car, in coffee shops, on the back porch. I don’t like being tied to any one place. I think that creates this idea that if you’re not in your favorite writing spot, you can’t get anything done.
Meghan: Do you have any quirks or processes that you go through when you write?
Patrick Lacey: Procrastination. I like to do literally anything to avoid writing before I actual sit down and work the magic.
Meghan: Is there anything about writing you find most challenging?
Patrick Lacey: All of it. I’ve written something like fifteen novels now and they never get easier. To be honest, I don’t particularly love the process of writing. I find editing subsequent drafts much more enjoyable. On the flipside, if I go more than two days without writing, I get cranky. I just can’t quit you, written word.
Meghan: What’s the most satisfying thing you’ve written so far?
Patrick Lacey: Trick question. It’s usually the thing I’m currently working on. So in this case, it’s the thing I’m currently working on.
Meghan: What books have most inspired you? Who are some authors that have inspired your writing style?
Patrick Lacey: I think it’s totally subjective, all of it, except for this: if you want to keep turning the page, the story did something right—or write, if you will. Sorry again.
Meghan: What does it take for you to love a character? How do you utilize that when creating your characters?
Patrick Lacey: I’m 95% pantser, meaning I don’t outline before I write. So sometimes, I don’t even know if I like a character until I’m well into the first draft. Usually, they’ve got to have a quirk. For example, though extreme, in Bone Saw, there’s a private detective who’s addicted to cough syrup. I wasn’t sure why when I first started writing, but as it went on, that addiction makes total sense.
Meghan: Which, of all your characters, do you think is the most like you?
Patrick Lacey: The main character in We Came Back is a dead ringer for me. We both lost our fathers in high school, and we both tried lifting weights with little to no results.
Meghan: Are you turned off by a bad cover? To what degree were you involved in creating your book covers?
Patrick Lacey: Yes. Judge that cover all you want. I usually had a good amount of say in the covers of my books. I’ve learned over the years to speak up if something doesn’t gel with me and to give as much feedback as possible.
Meghan: What have you learned creating your books?
Patrick Lacey: Books are really hard to write.
Meghan: What has been the hardest scene for you to write so far?
Patrick Lacey: There’s a car crash scene in We Came Back where we learn about the death of major character and it wasn’t very enjoyable to write. Definitely one of those kill-your-darlings moments. Literally.
Meghan: What makes your books different from others out there in this genre?
Patrick Lacey: Tough to answer this one without sending pretentious, but I guess I try take what might seem like a pulpy concept and treat it as serious as I can. That doesn’t mean I can’t have fun with it (see cough-syrup-addicted-private-detective for more information). It just means when I’m writing it, any general weirdness is (hopefully) serving the story instead of being there for the sake of it.
Meghan: How important is the book title, how hard is it to choose the best one, and how did you choose yours (of course, with no spoilers)?
Patrick Lacey: I do think it’s important and for me, it’s never easy. I usually jot possibilities down as I’m working on the first draft but I rarely choose one until the book is done. Sometimes they’ll change once the publisher gets on board. I usually lift a line or concept from the book and take it from there.
Meghan: What makes you feel more fulfilled: Writing a novel or writing a short story?
Patrick Lacey: Both. With novels, I’m working on them for the better part of a year and like I said: it’s never easy. So when they’re done, it’s hard not to look back and nod in approval. But short stories? They’re like instant mac and cheese: quick and delicious and, oddly, sometimes orange. And since my writing style tends to be on the slim side, they just feel right.
Meghan: Tell us a little bit about your books, your target audience, and what you would like readers to take away from your stories.
Patrick Lacey: Someone once called my stuff “pulp with heart” and I can dig that description. As for my target audience, literally anyone who wants to read about haunted amusement parks, teenage cults, or god-like serial killers.
Meghan: Can you tell us about some of the deleted scenes/stuff that got left out of your work?
Patrick Lacey: Oh, there’s tons of stuff. I usually cut about 10,000 words from my novels. It gets cut for a reason (i.e., it’s boring), so there wouldn’t be much to tell.
Meghan: What is in your “trunk”?
Patrick Lacey: I do not have a trunk novel. I have six of them. When I first started writing, I wrote six books without even thinking of submitting them. I looked at them as practice. They’ll never see the light of day because a.) they’re mostly terrible and b.) I’ve since mined characters and plots to use in my published work.
Meghan: What can we expect from you in the future?
Patrick Lacey: I’ve got a super-secret surprise coming in October, so if you’re reading this after it’s out, that’s what I was talking about and if not, I think I just vaguebooked. I also have a new novel coming out early next year through Grindhouse Press. It’s called A Voice so Soft and in a word(s), it’s what happens when Satan wins American Idol.
Meghan: Where can we find you?
Patrick Lacey: There’s a bar down the street from my apartment that serves half-price apps on Wednesdays. Otherwise, I’m on Twitter and Instagram.
Meghan: Do you have any closing words for your fans or anything you’d like to say that we didn’t get to cover in this interview?
Patrick Lacey: Thank you for having me! And thanks to everyone who’s read even a sentence of my work. Let’s all have the best Halloween ever!
Patrick Lacey was born and raised in a haunted house. He currently spends his nights and weekends writing about things that make the general public uncomfortable. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, his over-sized cat, and his muse, who is likely trying to kill him. Follow him on Twitter, find him on Facebook, or visit his website.
That’s the note left behind for Ivy Longwood when infamous killer Tucker Ashton murders her boyfriend. Several years later, after Tucker vanishes from his jail cell, Ivy travels to Ashton’s hometown of Marlowe, Massachusetts. Not for closure or therapy. She’s being called there. Steered by forces beyond her control. What she’ll find is not the quiet suburban town Marlowe once was. It’s something new. Something dark. Something that answers the question: Where did Tucker Ashton go?
Melvin Brown sees things that aren’t there. Monsters with tentacles and razor-sharp teeth. Ever the social outcast, he is bullied to the point of suicide. And his hatred of those who did him wrong does not die with him.
One decade after Melvin’s death, something strange is happening to Lynnwood High School’s smartest and most popular students. They begin to act out and spend time at the former high school, now abandoned and said to be haunted. And their numbers grow at an alarming rate.
Is this just a passing fad or are the rumors true? Does Lynnwood really have a teenage cult on their hands?
Liam Carpenter spends most of his time above his aunt’s garage, watching obscure horror movies and drinking cheap beer. But this week’s different. This week, things are getting weird. First, there’s his favorite director, Clive Sherman, showing up in town unannounced. Then there’s the string of murders that all seem like something out of Clive’s popular Pigfoot movie monster franchise. Throw in Liam’s mysterious new crush and the cough-syrup-addicted private investigator chasing her down and you might gain somewhat of a clue of what’s going on in Bass Falls lately.
And don’t even get him started on she-demons and blood sacrifices. Bone Saw studios is in town and they’re bringing you the bloodiest sequel featuring a pig-human hybrid killing machine you’ve ever seen.
Meghan: Armand, you’ve been interviewed by me a couple of times now and Chuck has not, so I’d like to spend the first few questions focused on him, if you don’t mind.
Chuck, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Chuck Buda: I’m a boy trapped in a man’s body. I love pizza and Black Metal. And when I’m not writing, I can be found watching The Big Bang Theory, Ancient Aliens, Ghost Adventures, or NASCAR races. Secretly, I’m in love with Armand Rosamilia.
Meghan: What are five things that most people don’t know about you?
Chuck Buda: Wow! A tough one right off the bat. I have to dig deep for what most people don’t know about me. Let’s see, I’m an Eagle Scout. I cried like a baby when the New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994. I’m a momma’s boy. I’m a sucker for beautiful eyes. And I can hold my breath under water for ninety seconds.
Meghan: Tell us a little bit about your books, your target audience, and what you would like readers to take away from your stories.
Chuck Buda: I like to write different types of stories. My work ranges from psychological thrillers to splatterpunk, depending on the story. To date, I have written four series of books: The Debt Collector Trilogy (psychological thriller), the Gushers Trilogy (occult/splatterpunk), the Zombie Lockup series, and the Son of Earp series (supernatural western horror). I think my target audience is someone like me, a person who enjoys their horror in all kinds of flavors, shapes and sizes. The overarching theme in most of my work deals with the fact that humans are the most frightening monsters.
Meghan: Now, for questions that both of y’all can answer:
Are y’all reading anything good lately?
Armand Rosamilia: I’m always reading. Mostly nonfiction, but I’ve recently read a couple of really good horror books: The Dark Game by Jonathan Janz and Will Haunt You by Brian Kirk. Wait… was I supposed to mention a couple of Chuck’s books instead?
Meghan: I am obsessed with offices lately. What makes yours “you”?
Armand Rosamilia: My office has to feel like chaos, with papers and Post-It notes all over my desk. But I know where everything is and what everything is. When we have company over my wife yells at me to at least straighten it all up, but then it takes me a few days to get it back to stuff on the floor and on my bookshelves so I can work.
Chuck Buda: I work from the dining room table. It’s the only place in the house where I have enough room to spread out all my work materials. Someday, when my kids graduate from college, I will convert a bedroom into a soundproof studio so I can have a legit office space and a place to sing out loud without harming anyone. I’ve collected lots of cool art over the years, too, which I would love to hang on my office walls.
Meghan: What do you think makes a good story?
Armand Rosamilia: For me it starts with the characters. You can have a great plot but with so-so characters it falls apart, while a so-so plot can really be dragged along with great characters and is entertaining. Now, have great characters and a great plot and I’ll keep reading.
Chuck Buda: I think compelling characters with a plot that leaves the reader wanting more, each scene and chapter, is the best kind of story. Too much description loses me, pulling me out of the story. I like to feel as if I am sitting around a campfire listening to an entrancing storyteller.
Meghan: Which, of all your characters, do you think is the most like you?
Armand Rosamilia: Easily James Gaffney from my Dirty Deeds crime thriller series. He has the same quirks and sense of humor I have. He’s a bit overweight and not your typical hero-type and knows he has his limitations but makes the best of it. He might not be as sexy as me but he’s fiction.
Chuck Buda: It’s a tie between Michael Wright from my Debt Collector series and James Johnson from my Son of Earp series. Michael Wright is a semi-autobiographical character in a semi-autobiographical story. James Johnson is a younger version of me, when I was naïve and rebellious and full of adventure.
Meghan: What makes you feel more fulfilled: Writing a novel or writing a short story?
Armand Rosamilia: Finishing a story. It doesn’t matter the length to me. I get that sense of accomplishment whether it’s a flash fiction piece or a full-length novel. When I first started in this business thirty years ago, I wrote so many opening scenes or chapters and never finished any of them. You hear about and talk to so many fellow writers who never complete projects. Sometimes they never complete a single work. Getting a story started is the easy part. Getting to the end and knowing you’ve finished something you’re proud of is always my goal.
Chuck Buda: I feel more fulfilled writing novels but I am more satisfied completing short stories. Oddly, I find short stories much more difficult because you must convey the same amount of tale in an economy of words. It is really challenging for me and I struggle each time I work in the shorter medium.
Meghan: What is your writing kryptonite?
Armand Rosamilia: Depression. I know that’s kinda heavy and gloomy, but it’s the truth. Usually I am very good and getting my ass in the chair and writing something most days. But sometimes I get inside my head and it’s either because something in my life has derailed me or I get imposter syndrome and feel like a hack writer who will never sell another damn book. I mentor a few new authors and they always ask me when imposter syndrome finally goes away. I tell them when it happens for me I’ll let them know.
Chuck Buda: Hands down, self-doubt. As writers, we live inside our heads far too much. And our minds are always fighting imposter syndrome, second-guessing our abilities and questioning our self-worth. Many peaks and valleys in the writing life but we must keep doing it. To stop writing is to stop breathing.
Meghan: And now some “group” questions:
Y’all podcast together and do some writing together. Tell us about that.
Chuck Buda: I just do what Armand tells me to. He is my mentor and close friend. Everything I’ve learned and achieved in this craft is a direct result of his guidance. Every day we work together is a dream come true for me. I got to sleep with him once. Not like that. Or maybe it is like that…
Armand Rosamilia: She said Y’all. I love living in Florida, too. Chuck and I are like the same entity right now except one of us is slightly older and one of us is sexier. I’ll let the audience decide.
Meghan: What is it like working together?
Chuck Buda: When Armand and I are together, it’s like two best friends or brothers. We laugh, we tease each other, we fight (I always lose) and we share so many common interests. The Mando Method Podcast is really a chance for us to goof off each week. We talk for an hour before and after the show. During the show… it is all business… like our mullets in the 80’s.
Armand Rosamilia: Truthfully, Chuck and I clicked as soon as we met. It was a bromance and I knew he was someone who wanted to succeed in writing, took his work seriously and had a ton of ideas. He’s a dreamer like I am.
Meghan: Tell us a little bit about the latest release.
Chuck Buda: We published Keyport Cthulhu 2 earlier this year which was a wild ride. H.P. Lovecraft weirdness set in New Jersey! The book has so many Cthulhu tropes, yet it feels fresh and tossed gently in a New Jersey dressing. I really like the vibe and I believe we both did an excellent job of staying true to the first book.
Armand Rosamilia: Chuck just told you about Keyport Cthulhu 2, so all I’ll say is it was a pleasure writing this story with him and I think he treated the source material from Lovecraft as well as playing in my version of that world with respect as well as upping my game with some key scenes in the book.
Meghan: Why should we read it?
Chuck Buda: Cosmic horror is different than most of the monster and ghost tales one finds on the market these days. The setting and the mood are more like active characters. Readers will get a chance to peak into the Lovecraftian universe without having to sift through the original artist’s writing style, which I find interesting, but for some, it is an acquired taste. Our book is more relatable and digestible for the modern horror fan.
Armand Rosamilia: I really don’t remember giving you a damn choice. I mean…
Meghan: For anyone who hasn’t read book one, how would you get them to buy a copy?
Chuck Buda: I recommend buying the first paperback because the artwork is excellent and we’ve included collectible seaweed from the Jersey Shore between chapters. But the eBook will play nicely too!
Armand Rosamilia: You should really read the first book before the second, which is why I number the books. So it’s hopefully not confusing. But if you were just starting the series or thinking about it? I’d do it. This stuff is life-changing. Probably the best book you’ll ever read in your entire life, and I’m not biased at all.
Meghan: Can we expect another Rosamilia-Buda collaboration in the future?
Chuck Buda: I would love to collaborate with Armand in the future. We’ve been tossing around some ideas about a Viking/Black Metal series but Jay Wilburn is vying for dibs. I could see Armand and I working on a same-sex Romance novel based on a true story… Oh, and many more Keyport Cthulhu sequels!
Armand Rosamilia: I really hope so. The obvious goal is for Keyport Cthulhu 2 to do so well we write a third book in the series or at least in this world for next year.
Meghan: And now down to the nitty gritty (haha):
I follow Armand on Instagram just so I can see all the different foods that him and his amazing wife eat, so there has to be a food question in this interview – What’s your favorite sandwich?
Armand Rosamilia: Pork roll egg and cheese at a New Jersey diner at midnight.
Chuck Buda: Ditto. The only difference is I would be really drunk while eating it.
Meghan: Which one of you is the smart one and which one of you is the cute one?
Armand Rosamilia: I hate to say it (because I’m so humble) but I got the brains and looks in this relationship. Now, by any other standard, Chuck would be a smart good-looking man… but when you’re comparing him to me it’s no contest. Again… I am humble enough to tell you the truth.
Chuck Buda: Armand IS the total package. I’m fine with that. But what I lack in looks and brains, I make up for in extra effort (wink, wink).
Meghan: Who would push who down first so they could escape a hoard of zombies?
Armand Rosamilia: I would beg Chuck to knock me down and survive. The world deserves to have a living Chuck Buda and not a zombie Chuck Buda. I’d sacrifice myself for a true friend. Plus, who wants to live in a world without easy access to M&M’s?
Chuck Buda: I just have to outrun Armand, so I wouldn’t need to push him down. I would miss him after the zombies got him. But probably not for too long as I would get eaten, too. I’m like a Thanksgiving feast for the undead.
Meghan: How many third graders would it take to overwhelm the two of you in hand to hand combat?
Armand Rosamilia: Seven. Trust me, I already know this. It wasn’t pleasant, either. Those little monsters swarm like ants on a fallen praying mantis. In this scenario I was the fallen praying mantis.
Chuck Buda: I’m a Hungarian and we are known for being mad. I’d give the third graders the first shot and then I would obliterate them with my old-country rage and fists of fury. Then I would buy them ice cream cones and teach them my moves.
Meghan: I need some stalker links – where do you want people to find you?
Armand Rosamilia: You can find me on most social media, especially on Twitter, with @ArmandAuthor. I am also here and Project Entertainment Network carries The Mando Method Podcast, which we co-host.
Chuck Buda: I spend most of my time on Twitter. My new secure website is here. And like Armand said, come check us out on The Mando Method Podcast.
Armand Rosamilia is a New Jersey boy currently living in sunny Florida, where he writes when he’s not sleeping. He’s happily married to a woman who helps his career and is supportive, which is all he ever wanted in life…
He’s written over 150 stories that are currently available, including horror, zombies, contemporary fiction, thrillers and more. His goal is to write a good story and not worry about genre labels.
Chuck Buda explores the darkest aspects of the human condition. Then he captures its essence for fictional use. He writes during the day and wanders aimlessly all night… alone.
“The painting forced him to move back with such suddenness, he nearly fell over the side of the old wooden railing. It depicted a grisly scene, as if your worst nightmare had been splattered on canvas. Despite his mind screaming to look away, he could not avert his eyes” – Ancient
Set in the New Jersey fishing village of Keyport, where the Esoteric Order of Dagon has been planning for the awakening of the Deep One all these years…
Welcome back to Keyport, where something is still in the water…
For the survivors of the horrific night when The Esoteric Order of Dagon attempted to unleash their dark god from the bay, the nightmare seems to be only beginning.
What new cosmic horror does Keyport have for those who look too closely under the veil of this small fishing village, seeing what cannot be unseen?
Another journey into madness awaits readers in this thrilling sequel!
Halloween in the Bible Belt, circa late 1980s through the 90s (and beyond):
I have a single memory of going trick-r-treating as a child. I know, that’s odd, even for folks who grew up in rural East Texas like I did. Every year I would see hundreds of kids out in their costumes of ghouls and devils and vampires and other various monstrosities, all carrying a bag or a bucket or a tub of some kind to store their candied spoils. And even with my single memory of trick-r-treating, I was never with any of those other kids. Not the ones going door to door, holding their containers out and open with a cheery, “Trick-r-Treat!” coming from them in a totally jarring contrast to the looks of their costumes. Not me. Not in my family, or in the families of any of the other people I knew growing up.
None of them?
That’s right. None. You see, when I was old enough to start school, I wasn’t put into public school. Public schools produced nothing but drug addicts and sex fiends, or so I had been informed in my upbringing. Teachers were active agents of the “enemy” (I always deduced this enemy must be the devil, though he was never specifically named), trying to dissuade children from any thoughts of higher powers or deity of any kind. So, when I started school, I was put into a private Christian school. Now, you might be thinking that even in a private school, there’s lots of kids and lots of different points of view, lots of diversity. But that wasn’t the case at Victory Baptist Academy. I think there were a total of around 15 students there, and that included Kindergarten through 12th grade. 15 kids. And about six of those were the children of the principal (a Baptist pastor), and one of the supervisors (we didn’t really have teachers, just workbooks we studied from and took tests from, and when we had questions, the supervisors would help us out).
I attended this school from Kindergarten through second grade. It was then that the school shut down due to lack of funds (the church that ran it couldn’t afford to keep it going any longer), and then I homeschooled my third-grade year. VBA reopened and I went to 4th grade and the start of 5th there once more, but they again ran into financial difficulty and had to shut down again. I finished out 5th grade homeschooling and spent 6th going to the home of a parent who wanted to homeschool, and we had a total of four students. So it wasn’t until 7th grade that my parents finally succumbed (claiming I was a monster of a student at home…utter nonsense to anyone who knows me 😉 ) and sent me to public school where I actually started meeting kids and people who were living their lives very differently from my family and who had some radically different points of view.
So, what does any of this have to do with Halloween?
I’m glad you asked.
As I was growing up, anytime “the devil’s birthday” came around (I have no idea how anyone ever came to this idiotic conclusion, but it was a standard mantra in our circles), we would typically attend what was called a “Harvest Festival” either at the church we attended or at the private Christian school I was in at the time. They had booths where you could bob for apples or toss ping pong balls into cups to win a goldfish or some candy, other various fair-style games. Candy and prizes. And we all dressed up as various Bible characters. NO ONE was to dress up as an evil monster. That would offend the Holy Spirit…or something.
It was like that every year. I can’t remember a time I didn’t want to get into one of the cool Jason or Michael Myers costumes I’d see in Wal-Mart (I’d never been allowed to watch any of those movies or horror movies of any kind, so I had no idea what they were about other than the looked really cool), but if I even asked I was met with the “I’m so disappointed you would want to do that” treatment from my parents. Like I had asked to smear turds on Billy Graham’s face or something. It was absurd.
BUT… it was my childhood. Yet, I DO have one memory of going trick-r-treating, and I didn’t achieve it by sneaking away with friends or anything. My dad took me. Me and my sister. I’m not even sure how it happened, but I was young enough I wasn’t in school yet, so perhaps they hadn’t gone fully into the “Halloween is bad, m’kay?” mentality at that time. But in any case, I did go the once.
I was Superman. I still couldn’t be a ghoul or a goblin, but Superman was cool enough. My dad made up this little trailer that could attach to the back of our four-wheeler, and me in my Superman getup and my sister in pillow case with eye-holes meant to make her look like Casper the friendly ghost loaded up in the trailer and my dad fired up the quad.
I need to pause here just a moment and explain the topography of where I grew up. We lived LITERALLY 15 miles from ANYTHING. There were four towns near us, and we managed to land right smack in the middle of all of them. Last house at the dead end of a black top county road, at least after my grandfather passed and my grandmother moved away. Our house was over a mile back into the woods from the highway, and there were maybe a dozen homes or so back in there.
So, we got rolling, my sister and I bouncing around in the trailer behind the four-wheeler, and we started making stops. Now, I’d seen other kids doing this around town when we’d be in town for church or events or visiting friends. I was anticipating getting all kinds of candy and was even practicing my “trick-r-treat!” for when we got to the doors and held out our bags like tiny little addicts.
The first three houses we stopped at were vacant. Nobody home, no answers to the door. Bummer. So, on we went down this old blacktop road, the rumble of the quad’s engine dancing and echoing through the pines and oaks all around us. We found a house with some lights on and pulled in. An old lady answered and was shocked to find there were kids out trick-r-treating way back on this country road. She looked a little embarrassed when she said, “I-I don’t have any candy set out… let me see if I can scrounge something up.”
She went to work hunting for something to give us, finally returning with a fistful of Werther’s Originals butterscotch candies for us. Woohoo. On to the next place.
Several other houses were likewise unoccupied that night, and in total, we scored candy from three houses. And only ONE of those actually had some candy out and ready for kids such as us. And this was the last one we stopped at.
We rode back a little lackluster as my sister and I looked over our meager spoils. It wasn’t much. Hardly enough to cover the bottom of the bag. But it was something. I had gotten to go trick-r-treating with my dad, and I had something to show for it, even if it was only a little. I remember looking forward to the next year where I was going to figure out a way to get my parents to take us to one of the towns we lived near and go trick-r-treating with some large groups of kids and REALLY make out like bandits. I would work on my parents through the next 365 days and I’d get to dress up like one of those really cool horror movie baddies I saw at the store and I’d get so much candy I’d make myself sick eating it.
I remember all of this, can remember the smile that was on my face as we pulled into the dirt track driveway of our home at the end of the county road, the one I was still sporting when we came inside and showed my mom what we’d gotten while we were out.
There was always next year.
Only, there wasn’t. Not for me. The next year and all the ones that followed were “Harvest Festivals” where we got plenty of candy but could only dress as Bible characters or—maybe—a decent superhero like Superman (since he’s a lot like Jesus…or something). I can remember too being able to look out the windows of the churches where these “festivals” took place and seeing all the kids going door to door with their cool costumes and getting candy and not having to settle down but getting to run and jump and skip and have such a great time…
It’s sad. There’s no big reveal here at the end, nothing we’ve been building towards where you see I finally got to take part in an ages-old tradition with all my peers. Nothing. Even when I was older and in public school, I still wasn’t allowed to partake in any of the school’s Halloween festivities. When I was told to write a paper about my favorite memories of Halloween, I had to sum it up with a single sentence: my family doesn’t celebrate Halloween. When my teacher saw this, her face scrunched, and I thought for a moment she might cry as she looked at me with sympathy oozing out of her by the gallon.
She gave my single sentence essay a 100. God bless her.
But that’s why we have kids, right? So we can do better than the generation before us did, to put the world into the hands of people who are better equipped than we are and who will make the world a better place than it was when we handed it over to them. And that’s what I’m doing. Halloween is a BIG event for us every year in our household and we trick-r-treat and we decorate and have a huge cauldron of candy we set out for other trick-r-treaters (our street alone gets between 700 and 1000 visitors every Halloween). My wife makes kick-ass margaritas and we watch Halloween (1978) and its sequels and anything else filled with flesh and blood until we can’t stay awake anymore. And my kids get to dress up as they like. Funnily enough, they’ve never chosen a ghoul or a goblin or a monster. Not yet. We’ve been princesses and superheroes and animals, but no monsters. But I’m working towards that. Maybe I’m trying to relive my childhood through my kids vicariously. I can own that. And, is it really so wrong if we do? When we miss something in our own lives, we really build it up in our heads as to what it was supposed to have been, and because of this we’re more equipped to orchestrate it for others later on. To really go all out.
I’m sad I didn’t get to experience these things when I was growing up, but the way my children get to experience them with my wife and I, that’s priceless. Their faces, their excitement, their copious amounts of candy, all of it. Knowing they are getting more than I did lets me know I’m doing something right.
And because of that, I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Chris Miller is a native Texan who has been writing from an early age, but only started publishing in 2017. Since the release of his first novel, A Murder of Saints, he has released a novella – Trespass – another novel – The Hard Goodbye – a single short story – Flushed – and has been inducted into multiple anthologies, including the acclaimed And Hell Followed from Death’s Head Press, where his story “Behind Blue Eyes” appears alongside stories from Wrath James White, Jeff Strand, and The Sisters of Slaughter, just to name a few. He has another new novel coming soon, the first part of a trilogy of horror, and will be featured in more anthologies throughout the year. He is happily married to the love of his life, Aliana, and they have three beautiful children.
Sophie Fields is a little girl tortured by her memories of Damien Smith, a much-loved and respected church elder with a secret lust for the unmentionable. After his misdeeds are covered up by church leaders, she climbs to the roof of her house and jumps to her death, right in front of her shocked brother, Charlie.
Twenty years later, detective Harry Fletcher is still haunted by the personal demons associated with the church cover-up. After losing his faith, his wife, and now his partner, Fletcher learns that Charlie Fields has come back to town with one mission: to kill everyone responsible for his sister’s death. It is Fletcher’s job to track and stop the crazed killer. But as it becomes clear who the main targets are, Fletcher finds himself in the midst of a moral quagmire. Although he sees justice in Charlie’s crusade, the killer seems to be taking out others not responsible for his family’s destruction. As Fletcher and his new partner battle each other in a test of ideology and limits of the law, the real demons show up and change everything.
As the old axiom goes, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
John Savage realized that too late.
Following the biggest job of their lives, John and his small crew think they’ve got it made. But a lawyer, a junkie, a crooked cop, Savage and his girlfriend have unknowingly opened Pandora’s Box. And they won’t know it until it’s too late. As the brutally tortured bodies of their partners come to light, tensions rise all the way to the screaming, chaotic conclusion of this bloody crime thriller.
High risk brings high reward, but the safe bet is usually the smartest. Stick to the plan, or get ready for the hard goodbye.
An adrenaline pumping, nerve wracking, intense thiller that will leave you breathless. Frank took his son hunting and what was supposed to be a pleasant time of bonding turned into an absolute nightmare. Out in the middle of nowhere, on their own property, They stumble upon a group of trespassers trying to get rid of a secret so damning they’re willing to kill anyone that sees it. Get ready for a relentless page turner as Frank dares to fend off the assailants, while racing to get his son help before he bleeds to death.Chris Miller tells a story that any father could relate to. Trespass has what it takes to be a thriller best seller.
You’ve had a bad day before. We all have. But Marty is in a whole other level of shit. Literally.
Following a drunken night of sex with the office secretary, Marty’s guts are rebelling after his personal hangover remedy, nachos with jalapenos and hot sauce.
Marty has to go. And he’s got to get across the office to do so. Standing in his way are Nikki, the secretary from the night prior, Brad, the vape enthusiast douche, and possibly even his boss. The office door is always open, after all.
Join Marty on his trek, like a vulgar Lord of the Rings. The distance may be shorter, but the stakes are just as high.
A small town with dark secrets. A house hidden in the woods that holds horrors unimaginable. Four friends on summer break fighting off a group of bullies dead set on ruining their summer of fun. The little town of Winnsboro has buried its secrets beneath years of history and faded memories. But, it’s about to be unearthed releasing ancient creatures as a budding psychopath blooms Will they survive what comes for them and possibly the world or will The Damned Place end it all?
Meghan: Hi, Chris. Welcome to my Halloween Extravaganza. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Chris Miller: Well, I’m 36 years old, so in the final year of my mid-thirties (it’s all downhill from here, I’m told). I work for a water well company my father started the year I was born as my day job, but by night—and Saturday mornings—I write books! I’m married with three beautiful kids and we live East Texas.
Meghan: What are five things most people don’t know about you?
Chris Miller: I’m a major softy is one thing. I think a good gin is the height of perfection for liquor. I really despise all political parties and the candidates they put forth. I’m deeply religious (Catholic). And I cannot stand to see—much less even touch—wet paper, specifically paper napkins, straw covers, tissues that have gotten moist somehow… I can’t deal.
Meghan: What is the first book you remember reading?
Chris Miller: Stinger by Robert R. McCammon. Very good so far, as is all of McCammon’s work. Phenomenal writer.
Meghan: What’s a book you really enjoyed that others wouldn’t expect you to have liked?
Chris Miller: A little gem called Letters Written in White by my friend Kathryn Perez. She’s local too, lives in my hometown. Terrific little book. Tore my heart from behind my meat shirt and made me weep. Not suspense, not horror, not thriller. Just a well written drama with some strong elements of romance. And I loved it.
Meghan: What made you decide you want to write? When did you begin writing?
Chris Miller: I’ve always liked telling stories, and I get really animated when I do. Like idiotically so. And I would tend to embellish a lot, and it just made more sense to start telling fictional stories. First thing I wrote was an unofficial sequel to the Narnia series which would ignore everything after the first one. But it sucked hard and fast and I didn’t make it ten pages. But I was only about ten at the time. At 18 I wrote a short story. That was my first real and complete story I’d written. I’ve been on and off since then, and really got serious about it about 5 years ago, and I write as much as I can every week.
Meghan: Do you have a special place you like to write?
Chris Miller: I don’t know if it’s special, but it’s where I normally write, which is my front living room where my iMac is. I’ve done it at work as well when things are slow enough, but that’s rare and there’s always distractions and interruptions. It’s nice and quiet at my desk at home.
Meghan: Do you have any quirks or processes that you go through when you write?
Chris Miller: I prefer to write with a glass of gin and soda with lime in front of me. I just sip it when I slow down for a bit or rest my fingers. But when it isn’t there, I feel naked, and only my wife and satanic perverts want to see me naked. Actually, not even sure my wife does. Coffee is a good substitute for this.
Meghan: Is there anything about writing you find most challenging?
Chris Miller: I wrote a story called “In The House”, which is in the anthology Killers Inside. I was writing about a home invasion, which is the scariest thing in the world to me. But as I was writing, I realized that one of the villains was going to rape and brutalize the mother of the home. I don’t write extreme horror, so I wanted to insinuate as much as possible without flat out saying what was happening, you know, let the reader fill in the gaps. But in parts it just wasn’t possible. After the scene was done, I felt almost sick. I can’t think of a more humiliating and horrible thing a person could do to another person. But the story is king, and drives all the action and terror that follows. But I had to stop writing on that story for the rest of the day and go shower.
Meghan: What’s the most satisfying thing you’ve written so far?
Chris Miller: The Damned Place, which was published earlier this year. I’m REALLY proud of that book. And it’s my longest one at this time.
Meghan: What books have most inspired you? Who are some authors that have inspired your writing style?
Chris Miller: Good characters. They’re more important than the plot. You can take a ho-hum idea, but if you have great characters, you could very well have a great book. Of course, ideally, you’ll have great characters and a great story as well.
Meghan: What does it take for you to love a character? How do you utilize that when creating your characters?
Chris Miller: Realism. Flaws. Insight into why they are the way they are. You can even love the vilest of villains if they’re properly drawn and developed. That’s a total must.
Meghan: Which, of all your characters, do you think is the most like you?
Chris Miller: Harry Fletcher and Jim Dalton are both pretty good candidates, but if I had to pick just one, probably Harry.
Meghan: Are you turned off by a bad cover? To what degree were you involved in creating your book covers?
Chris Miller: A bad cover sucks. I don’t let it be my deciding factor, but it’s sure nice to not cringe when you look at a book. So far, I’ve been very involved in all my covers, going back and forth with the designer and what I wanted until we finally saw it materialize. Who knows if that will continue, but so far that’s been the case.
Meghan: What have you learned creating your books?
Chris Miller: A LOT. I’ve learned about shaping worlds and characters and learned how to listen to them and let THEM tell the story. Follow their lead. I’ve also learned a lot on the technical side of things as well as marketing and networking.
Meghan: What has been the hardest scene for you to write so far?
Chris Miller: The rape scene from “In the House”. It just hurt.
Meghan: What makes your books different from others out there in this genre?
Chris Miller: The level of suspense and intensity to the stories. I’ve figured out how to really ratchet up the tension and take things to a really explosive, satisfying climax. Even some of the best out there seem to miss this mark sometimes. It was another of the myriad reasons I started writing myself, because this is what I wanted to read, and no one out there was doing it quite the way I wanted it done. So I’m filling that void.
Meghan: How important is the book title, how hard is it to choose the best one, and how did you choose yours (of course, with no spoilers)?
Chris Miller: It’s important. Quite important. Sometimes the title comes more easily than others. Sometimes you write a line in the story and realize you just found your title. Other times it comes to you with the idea for the book. Yet other times, you have several ideas you have to bounce off people. It should convey something about the story, but not give anything away. And when the reader finishes they should ‘get’ why the title is what it is.
Meghan: What makes you feel more fulfilled: Writing a novel or writing a short story?
Chris Miller: A novel. Reason being it just feels good to finish a large scale story, especially when it really comes together and works. I can pump a short story out in an afternoon, and some that I have are in anthologies. I love doing that as well, and I’m proud of my shorts, but I’m even more proud of my longer work.
Meghan: Tell us a little bit about your books, your target audience, and what you would like readers to take away from your stories.
Chris Miller: I tend to call myself a suspense writer. Most of my short fiction falls into the horror category, and my longer fiction are thrillers, supernatural thriller, hard-boiled crime, and now with The Damned Place a full-blooded horror story. But even with my thrillers, they are written in a horroresque manner of prose. They always brush elbows with horror, even if they’re technically more properly labeled as thrillers. Anyone who loves suspense and can handle some gore should love my work. As for what I want them to take away, more than anything, entertainment. I have some morals weaved into the work and some things to think about for sure, but if I don’t entertain you, I’ve failed. Books should be fun before they’re anything else. And that’s my goal.
Meghan: Can you tell us about some of the deleted scenes/stuff that got left out of your work?
Chris Miller: The original version of A Murder of Saints was actually written to be “Christian Fiction” because it’s inspired around some things that actually happened in a youth group at a church I was going to as a teenager, and dealt with some heavy things. So I didn’t have any coarse language and it had this happy sunny ending. Then I looked at it and said, “That’s shit.” So I fixed it. Chopped out four entire chapters, put a LOT more story into what was left, let the dirty words fly, and made an ending that stays with you long after you finish. It’s the only novel I’ve written that I did such an overhaul on, and I don’t plan to do that again. Don’t need to, either, since I won’t be writing for the CF market directly again. That story may have been set around a church scandal and had some heavy Christian influences and debates in it—I am a Christian, after all—but it really wasn’t that sort of story you’d file in Christian Fiction.
Meghan: What is in your “trunk”?
Chris Miller: I have a fantasy novel finished in first draft, a suspense horror novella finished in first draft, and another suspense novella that is unfinished. I’ll get around to them eventually, I’ve just been so busy with everything else that I haven’t really given them the attention they need. One day they’ll see the light of day.
Meghan: What can we expect from you in the future?
Chris Miller: A lot more horror. I’ve created a universe with all my books where all the characters exist together and sometimes cross over into other stories or are mentioned here and there. I’ve also developed a multi-verse that I plan to explore as these other novels come out and set the stage for what’s to come. And I do plan to write a lengthier comedy. I’ve done two short stories which were comedy, and they were hilarious. I’d like to see if I could manage that with something longer. Maybe a novella.
Meghan: Where can we find you?
Chris Miller: You can find me on Facebook or search and add me. If you’re not a creep, I’ll add you. Twitter. Instagram. I have a patreon page as well if anyone would like to support me there. And of course my Amazon page with links to everything I have available.
Meghan: Do you have any closing words for your fans or anything you’d like to say that we didn’t get to cover in this interview?
Chris Miller: I just appreciate everyone who reads and gives me a shoutout, letting me know they liked the book. Or that they didn’t. Either way, those reviewers help put the book on the map and help me grow and learn as I navigate my way through this business. God bless all of you!
Chris Miller is a native Texan who has been writing from an early age, but only started publishing in 2017. Since the release of his first novel, A Murder of Saints, he has released a novella – Trespass – another novel – The Hard Goodbye – a single short story – Flushed – and has been inducted into multiple anthologies, including the acclaimed And Hell Followed from Death’s Head Press, where his story “Behind Blue Eyes” appears alongside stories from Wrath James White, Jeff Strand, and The Sisters of Slaughter, just to name a few. He has another new novel coming soon, the first part of a trilogy of horror, and will be featured in more anthologies throughout the year. He is happily married to the love of his life, Aliana, and they have three beautiful children.
Sophie Fields is a little girl tortured by her memories of Damien Smith, a much-loved and respected church elder with a secret lust for the unmentionable. After his misdeeds are covered up by church leaders, she climbs to the roof of her house and jumps to her death, right in front of her shocked brother, Charlie.
Twenty years later, detective Harry Fletcher is still haunted by the personal demons associated with the church cover-up. After losing his faith, his wife, and now his partner, Fletcher learns that Charlie Fields has come back to town with one mission: to kill everyone responsible for his sister’s death. It is Fletcher’s job to track and stop the crazed killer. But as it becomes clear who the main targets are, Fletcher finds himself in the midst of a moral quagmire. Although he sees justice in Charlie’s crusade, the killer seems to be taking out others not responsible for his family’s destruction. As Fletcher and his new partner battle each other in a test of ideology and limits of the law, the real demons show up and change everything.
As the old axiom goes, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
John Savage realized that too late.
Following the biggest job of their lives, John and his small crew think they’ve got it made. But a lawyer, a junkie, a crooked cop, Savage and his girlfriend have unknowingly opened Pandora’s Box. And they won’t know it until it’s too late. As the brutally tortured bodies of their partners come to light, tensions rise all the way to the screaming, chaotic conclusion of this bloody crime thriller.
High risk brings high reward, but the safe bet is usually the smartest. Stick to the plan, or get ready for the hard goodbye.
An adrenaline pumping, nerve wracking, intense thiller that will leave you breathless. Frank took his son hunting and what was supposed to be a pleasant time of bonding turned into an absolute nightmare. Out in the middle of nowhere, on their own property, They stumble upon a group of trespassers trying to get rid of a secret so damning they’re willing to kill anyone that sees it. Get ready for a relentless page turner as Frank dares to fend off the assailants, while racing to get his son help before he bleeds to death.Chris Miller tells a story that any father could relate to. Trespass has what it takes to be a thriller best seller.
You’ve had a bad day before. We all have. But Marty is in a whole other level of shit. Literally.
Following a drunken night of sex with the office secretary, Marty’s guts are rebelling after his personal hangover remedy, nachos with jalapenos and hot sauce.
Marty has to go. And he’s got to get across the office to do so. Standing in his way are Nikki, the secretary from the night prior, Brad, the vape enthusiast douche, and possibly even his boss. The office door is always open, after all.
Join Marty on his trek, like a vulgar Lord of the Rings. The distance may be shorter, but the stakes are just as high.
A small town with dark secrets. A house hidden in the woods that holds horrors unimaginable. Four friends on summer break fighting off a group of bullies dead set on ruining their summer of fun. The little town of Winnsboro has buried its secrets beneath years of history and faded memories. But, it’s about to be unearthed releasing ancient creatures as a budding psychopath blooms Will they survive what comes for them and possibly the world or will The Damned Place end it all?
Meghan's Haunted House of Books 