Sisters of Slaughter: Horror is a haven to us because we’ve always been interested in spooky things. We are at home here amongst the other horror fanatics.
Meghan: Have any new authors grasped your interest recently?
Meghan: How big of a part does music play in creating your “zone”? What do you listen to while writing?
Sisters of Slaughter: We like to listen to a variety of music from black metal to blue grass. We usually find tunes that set the mood of the story and let it play in the background. On occasion we write with no music at all, it’s just whatever we feel like on particular days.
Meghan: How active are you on social media? How do you think it affects the way you write?
Sisters of Slaughter: Michelle is more active on social media. We feel it’s important to connect with fellow writers and readers. Social media has definitely helped get our names out there.
Meghan: What is your writing Kryptonite?
Sisters of Slaughter: We don’t have much that stops our writing unless one of our kids get sick or we get sick and can’t over to the keyboards. Haha. We usually don’t write on weekends, we dedicate them to being with our families.
Meghan: If you were making a movie of your latest story/book, who would you cast?
Sisters of Slaughter: We just finished a novella which is a sequel to Mayan Blue, so these would be our choices.
Meghan: If you had the choice to rewrite any of your books, which one would it be and why?
Sisters of Slaughter: We probably wouldn’t change much, we’re proud of our work so far.
Meghan: What would the main character in your latest story/book have to say about you?
Sisters of Slaughter: She would probably say we’re sadistic bitches. Haha.
Meghan: Did you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
Sisters of Slaughter: There aren’t really any secrets other than a few scenes were taken from nightmares we’ve actually had.
Meghan: How much of yourself do you put in your books?
Sisters of Slaughter: We add a little bit of our sick humor to most of our manuscripts.
Meghan: Are your characters based off real people, or did they all come entirely from your imagination?
Sisters of Slaughter: Mostly imagination, but there are a few modeled after people we’ve known in real life.
Meghan: How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?
Sisters of Slaughter: With each book we write we feel our writing has gotten better from a technical standpoint.
Meghan: What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
Sisters of Slaughter: The most difficult part of our process is just making time. There’s never a perfect time to write, we just dive in and do the best we can amidst noisy children and all that.
Meghan: Does writing energize or exhaust you?
Sisters of Slaughter: The act of writing can be exhausting and most of the time right afterwards you feel drained but after you sit back and look at what you accomplished then you get a burst of energy, you get the feeling you can concur anything.
Meghan: Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with the bad ones? Have you ever learned something from a negative review and incorporated it into your writing?
Sisters of Slaughter: We read them when we get time but we don’t obsess over them. Anything constructive we take it to heart and try to remember it but anything based only on opinion, like someone saying they don’t like our books, we let that roll off. We appreciate ALL reviews no matter what.
Meghan: What are your ambitions for your writing career? What does “literary success” look like to you?
Sisters of Slaughter: We just want to keep pushing ourselves to make our names bigger. We already feel really accomplished because our objective when we decided to try getting accepted was just to get published and we have been by some of the best in our community. We’re really happy so far, just gotta keep hustling.
Meghan: Hi, Tommy. Welcome to Meghan’s House of Books. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Thomas R Clark: My writing name, Thomas R Clark, is an homage to both Robert E. Howard and Cormac McCarthy, who doesn’t like using punctuation.
I’m a journalist, podcast engineer & producer, musician, and author. I’ve written entertainment journalism for This Is Infamous & Rue Morgue to name a few.
I love animals, dogs in particular. A trio of Jack Russell Terrorists, er I mean Terriers, cohabitate with my wife and me.
Meghan: What are five things most people don’t know about you?
Thomas R Clark: Since we’re all friends here…
I like Lima Beans. I don’t care if they’re in butter and bacon.
My favorite lunch as a boy was potted meat sammiches with yellow mustard, spaghetti oh’s, and strawberry quick milk.
My nickname as a boy was ‘Toot.’ If you have to ask, then you’re daft…
I like cottage cheese, too. No. You can’t have any. It’s mine.
I stopped watching baseball for 10 years after Thurman Munson died.
Meghan: What is the first book you remember reading?
Meghan: What made you decide you want to write & when did you begin writing?
Thomas R Clark: I read an anthology called More Science Fiction Tales when I was in third grade. It led to me writing my own stories down. The first story I remember writing was about alien crab creatures attacking an underwater city.
Meghan: Do you have a special place you like to write?
Thomas R Clark: Yes. My office nook in my bedroom. The dogs can sit on my bed and watch me.
Meghan: Do you have any quirks or processes that you go through when you write?
Thomas R Clark: I make soundtracks and fake covers for every piece I write.
Meghan: Is there anything about writing you find most challenging?
Thomas R Clark: I have ADHD, so sitting in one space and focusing on the work at hand is difficult.
Meghan: What’s the most satisfying thing you’ve written so far?
Thomas R Clark: Bella’s Boys, my cosmic horror novella. It was fun to write.
Meghan: What books have most inspired you? Who are some authors that have inspired your writing style?
Thomas R Clark: This is fairly direct, and each line answers both:
Meghan: What does it take for you to love a character? How do you utilize that when creating your characters?
Thomas R Clark: I have to be able to bond with them in some manner. In my own characters, I try to place common traits that might be shared by a large demographic.
Meghan: Which, of all your characters, do you think is the most like you?
Thomas R Clark: None of them are… yet.
Meghan: Are you turned off by a bad cover? To what degree were you involved in creating your book covers?
Thomas R Clark: Yes. I hate bad book covers. Thus far in my career, I’ve had complete creative control over my cover art.
Meghan: What have you learned creating your books?
Thomas R Clark: This is too broad. I am under mentoring and in workshops constantly. So I’m always learning. So… what I can say is this: I learn every day. And this is the advice I give to my peers. We can always learn more.
Meghan: What has been the hardest scene for you to write so far?
Thomas R Clark: A reimagining of when I was nearly abducted by a bad person.
Meghan: What makes your books different from others out there in this genre?
Thomas R Clark: I think outside of the boxes we have pigeonholed cliche tropes into. I blend genres, which makes me difficult to pin down and typecast. With the exception of Good Boy, most of my fiction is related in some manner, yet the subject matter of each is vastly different. Bella’s Boys is a cosmic horror story. Its follow up, Epic Fail is a slasher killer piece. Whirlwind, my current WIP, is a monsters on a rampage eating people book…
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)?
Thomas R Clark: Book titles grab a person’s attention as much as the cover art. I take a cue from King and look for simplicity. Good Boy is pretty forthwith. Bella’s Boys uses alliteration. Epic Fail is a vernacular of the modern era. All are memorable, each tells you something about the story.
Meghan: What makes you feel more fulfilled: Writing a novel or writing a short story?
Thomas R Clark: Although I love writing short stories, I’m finding the more I write longer pieces, the more comfortable I am becoming with them. So, I’ll go with novel/novella for my answer here.
Meghan: Tell us a little bit about your books, your target audience, and what you would like readers to take away from your stories.
Thomas R Clark: I’ve already answered a bit of this, regarding my books. My target audience is horror and dark fantasy fans. And I’d like my readers to learn a moral lesson or two in my narratives.
Meghan: Can you tell us about some of the deleted scenes/stuff that got left out of your work?
Thomas R Clark: Much of my “deleted scenes” go into a file for me to pilfer from when needed. I believe in recycling.
Meghan: What is in your “trunk”?
Thomas R Clark: My trunk is overflowing with bits and pieces of fiction from over 30 years of writing. Actually, the piece I’m working on now is a trunk piece I keep shelving. And I kept doing it because the book was getting too long and I was losing track of where I was and what to do. The last year I’ve learned a few new tricks to help me get over this hump, regarding note-taking on index cards and in a handwritten notebook.
Meghan: What can we expect from you in the future?
Thomas R Clark: After Good Boy and Bella’s Boys, I have Epic Fail and Imaginos: The Eternal Light Anthology, a collection of short stories based on the music of Blue Oyster Cult, coming in 2020. It features some pretty big names in horror and the music industry. I’m also finishing a novel, Whirlwind, and two other novellas: a dark fantasy period piece called The Witch of November, and Falls Brook, a 70s grindhouse homage.
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?
Thomas R Clark: Nope. Read my stuff.
Thomas R Clark is a musician, writer and podcast producer & engineer. His podcasts, including the popular Necrocasticon, can be heard on the Project Entertainment Network. He is the author of the novellas Bella’s Boys and Good Boy, published through Stitched Smile Publications. You can find Tom’s short story collection, A Book of Light & Shadow, on Amazon through his personal imprint, Nightswan Press. Tom lives in Central New York with his wife and a trio of Jack Russell terrier companions.
Meghan: Hi, Tristan. Welcome to Meghan’s House of Books. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Nick Botic: I’m Nick Botic, an author/publisher from Milwaukee, WI. I’m 30 (it still feels weird to say that), and I’ve been writing since I was about 13 years old, but I’ve only really been taking it seriously since 2015.
I’m a huge fan and proponent for the horror genre, and have been my entire life. I’m a film/TV fanatic, an “aficionado” of sorts.
I am a proud and unabashed crazy cat lady. I might be 6’5” and covered in tattoos with a history of violence, but when I see a kitty, I can’t help but fawn over it like a little kid.
Meghan: What are five things most people don’t know about you?
Nick Botic:
My girlfriend’s nickname for me is Penguin. Still have no idea why.
I have 10 cats.
I’m four years sober.
I’ve spent over a year of my life in jail.
I once spent $400 on boomerangs.
Meghan: What is the first book you remember reading?
Nick Botic: The Giving Tree. It’s one that I read again as an adult, and when I did, I really understood it. It’s a good book for both kids and adults in terms of themes.
Meghan: What are you reading now?
Nick Botic: I just finished the entire 193-issue run of The Walking Dead, and have since moved onto the ongoing Absolute Carnage storyline. And in preparation for a project I have coming up, I’ve been reading all of the classic “creepypasta” stories.
Meghan: What’s a book you really enjoyed that others wouldn’t expect you to have liked?
Nick Botic: A People’s History of the United States. Learning about the different cultures that all commingled to make the country we know today was fascinating
Meghan: What made you decide you want to write? When did you begin writing?
Nick Botic: I’ve liked writing since I was young, but I didn’t start taking it seriously until I found the Reddit community r/NoSleep. The stories there fascinated me, but the ones I found effective were few and far between (which is simply a matter of personal preference, I don’t mean that as an insult to any writer’s work). I continued going through the stories and thought “I can do this”, and somewhere around March of 2016, I began writing short horror stories.
Meghan: Do you have a special place you like to write?
Nick Botic: Most of my writing gets done in bed with a cat and my girlfriend next to me.
Meghan: Do you have any quirks or processes that you go through when you write?
Nick Botic: Not really a quirk or process per se, but I can’t write in silence. I always need to have a TV show or movie playing in the background.
Meghan: Is there anything about writing you find most challenging?
Nick Botic: The most challenging part for me is filling in the blanks. I know the story I want to tell, but actually getting the words down always feels like such a chore. Other than that, endings.
Meghan: What’s the most satisfying thing you’ve written so far?
Nick Botic: I have a story I wrote called “I Found Something Impossible in my Backyard”, that I’ve always been quite happy with. I think it’s the fact that even as the writer of the story, I have no idea what was going on in the story.
Meghan: What books have most inspired you? Who are some authors that have inspired your writing style?
Nick Botic: As far as the type of writing I do, the books of other authors who write in similar styles have always been particularly inspiring, particularly Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell and PenPal by Dathan Auerbach.
Meghan: What do you think makes a good story?
Nick Botic: A good story needs to make the reader care about what’s happening. They need to be able to relate, to find a bit of themselves in the characters, in order to really get immersed.
Meghan: What does it take for you to love a character? How do you utilize that when creating your characters?
Nick Botic: As I mentioned, to love a character, there needs to be an aspect to them that the reader can empathize with. To accomplish that, I find it easiest to give characters flaws, be they small (such as a character who habitually bites his/her nails), or large (such as a character who is in recovery). Something that the reader can look at and think “ah yeah, I do that too” or “oh, my friend/family member has that same issue”.
Meghan: Which, of all your characters, do you think is the most like you?
Nick Botic: All of my first-person perspective work has a narrator who is essentially me; I find it easiest to imagine a situation and its outcomes when I can imagine myself in it. The character telling the story in Daughter’s Drawings, especially so.
Meghan: Are you turned off by a bad cover? To what degree were you involved in creating your book covers?
Nick Botic: A cover is the first part of a book someone sees, and it sets the tone for what lies within, so yes, I would absolutely say I’m turned off by a bad cover. For my first release and its second edition (The First Collection and later The Things We Fear), I created the covers entirely on my own (probably why they aren’t very good!), and for the group anthologies and other author’s work I’ve released under my imprint NBH Publishing, I’ve been lucky enough to have the incredible Scott Savino to do the covers.
Meghan: What have you learned creating your books?
Nick Botic: The devil is in the details. From both a writing standpoint and a publishing standpoint, making sure there are no holes anywhere in the book is key. As far as the story goes, that means making sure there are no loose threads, no plot points that lead nowhere or have been left unresolved. For publishing, it means going over the book with a fine-tooth comb, reading and rereading every word as many times as necessary to make sure everything is in order.
Meghan: What has been the hardest scene for you to write so far?
Nick Botic: Not necessarily a scene but a whole piece. There’s a story I wrote called “My Little Sister’s Beautiful Imagination”, and despite writing in horror and having the strongest stomach of anyone I’ve ever met, the subject matter of a child being sexually abused made me sick to my stomach. I ended up removing the story from r/NoSleep and my website. It’s not that I don’t think it’s a well-written story – I feel as though I’ve both written far better work and work that wasn’t nearly as good – but it’s just something I’d rather have not written. I don’t think any subject is taboo in horror, if that subject is broached in a responsible, tasteful, respectful way. If I’m not 100% that’s how I’m addressing a particular topic, I generally won’t continue until I am. That’s a story I’m not 100% sure on.
Meghan: What makes your books different from others out there in this genre?
Nick Botic: I feel as though I have a unique perspective when it comes to human suffering. I know real terror, I’ve seen true vulnerability. Combine that with what Kimmy calls “an encyclopedic knowledge of all things horror”, and I feel like I’m able to produce stories that haven’t yet been told. I’m able to, hopefully seamlessly, mix and match the most effective aspects of several different other works, to what I hope is an original final product.
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)?
Nick Botic: A title is most definitely important. It should hint at what the story is going to deal with but of course not give too much away. It should be the enticing appetizer that leads to a delicious meal. Titles have always been something of an issue for me. Being one of the many horror authors who got their start on r/NoSleep, I’ve been almost conditioned to writing informal titles (for example, the original title of Daughter’s Drawings was “My Family Has Been Stalked For Four Years”), and breaking that habit has been a task in and of itself. For the book I re-release every Halloween, I chose the title A Halloween in Glarus because it’s straightforward, it tells the reader what the book is about, it doesn’t give anything besides the most general plot away, and at least for me, it rolls off the tongue quite nicely.
Meghan: What makes you feel more fulfilled: Writing a novel or writing a short story? (Explain.)
Nick Botic: I’m currently writing my first novel, but I can already say with complete confidence that that will be the more satisfying completion of the two. I can write a short story in a few hours, and while it always feel great knowing I’ve completed a piece of writing, the process of writing a novel is much more grueling and cumbersome, and therefore I know the weight lifted from finishing it will be extremely fulfilling
Meghan: Tell us a little bit about your books, your target audience, and what you would like readers to take away from your stories.
Nick Botic: My target audience is anyone who likes horror. Horror has so many subgenres, be it psychological, comedic, occult, folk, Lovecraftian, and I try to make my books, at least my anthologies, include as many of those subgenres as possible. I aim to give every fan of every aspect of horror something to enjoy. As far as what a reader takes away? I hope each reader takes away something different from every story.
Meghan: What is in your “trunk”?
Nick Botic: At the moment, I’m working on my first two novels. The first is an extended version of my viral short Daughter’s Drawings, the other another offshoot of an earlier project called “The Agoraphobic Journals, which is going to be an experimental novel, something I’m really excited about. Beyond that, I have two podcasts I’m currently in the writing phase of, one of which is the project I’m by far most excited about. I can’t say what it is yet, but I have no doubt it’s going to interest the fans of the genre to no end.
Lastly, I’ve been slowly but surely compiling ALL of my work from 2016-present, and I plan to release one huge book that showcases my improvement as an author. It’s going to include pictures, behind-the-scenes stuff, anecdotes, all of which I’m really excited about.
I also am working on my first podcast, entitled “100% True: The History of Creepypasta and Internet Horror”, in which I take a deep dive into the internet’s most famous stories. I’ve been forunate enough to have the authors of the most widely recognized creepypastas answer questios for me, as well as Nick Antosca, the creator of Channel Zero (a TV show that ran for four seasons, each of which was based off of a different creepypasta), and the star of seasons 3 and 4 of the show, Brandon Scott. I have an interview with the man who wrote what many people consider to be the very first creepypasta, “Ted the Caver”, the creator or an longest-serving moderator of r/NoSleep, and the creator of the SCP Wiki. In addition to them and the creator of Slenderman and Marble Hornets, I have a breadth of information I can’t wait to share. I’m really excited for it!
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?
Nick Botic:
If you don’t think Black Widow is the most hardcore and talented Avenger, watch the entire MCU again.
Don’t declaw your cats.
SUPPORT INDEPENDENT AUTHORS.
Nick Botic is a 30 year old author and publisher from Milwaukee, WI. Following a stay in a rehabilitation facility in order to rid himself of a years-long heroin addiction, Nick began writing after discovering the Reddit community r/NoSleep. His first series, an 8-part saga about a hotel worker, received rave reviews, and prompted him to continue writing.
Since then, he has written over 100 short stories and series, including the viral, award-winning hit Daughter’s Drawings. His stories consistently find their way to the top 5 spots on the 13 million-plus member Reddit community, often receiving awards. His work has been published in over 10 collections, including his own anthologies The Things We Fear and An Ode To Terror and his novella A Halloween In Glarus.
Towards the end of 2018, Nick ventured into the world of publishing. His first release, the erotic horror anthology Goregasm, reached the top 10 in the new releases category on Amazon, while David Feuling’s The American Demon Waltz has been met with overwhelmingly positive reviews.
In 2019, Nick has secured adaptation deals, with several of his stories in various stages of production. His next release, the 25-author anthology Sirens at Midnight is due July 1st, and has already been met with positive reception.
Nick plans to continue balancing the responsibilities as publisher while also writing new material to keep his fans happy and horrified.
Sign up for his mailing list to receive updates as new stories and books are released.
Meghan: Hi, Tristan. Welcome to Meghan’s House of Books’ Halloween Extravaganza. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Tristan Drue Rogers: I live in North Texas with my wife and 7 ½ months old son. My son is planning on becoming a multimillionaire entrepreneur, while my wife has accepted her first full time art teaching position. I am myself a man of so few talents that the likelihood of being hired beyond entry-level is completely out of the question. In another life, I was an amateur photographer who made some waves in Las Vegas before settling down back in Texas where I figured I might as well keep up with this writer thing. This is my second year working as a writer semi-professionally and it has been one crazy ride as I’ve been welcomed into so many different circles that were previously unknown to me, allowing me to learn and shape my craft in ways that I honestly couldn’t even fathom before.
Meghan: What are five things most people don’t know about you?
Tristan Drue Rogers: I would assume that most people don’t know a whole lot about me as I am quite reserved if I’m being truthful, but I suppose I could relent and discover a few possible gems that may be worth it for someone to become privy to. Here goes:
Although I’ve lived a vast majority of my life in Texas, I was actually born in Missouri before moving to California, Illinois, and then to Texas, Nevada, and back. I need to see more of this country as well as the world.
I am both obsessed and downright mesmerized by the vast majority of animated Disney films. In general, I just enjoy cartoons more than almost any other predominantly visual media.
Everyone knows I love hip-hop, but in case you don’t, there ya go. Embarrassingly, I even tried my hand at rapping for a time. I was terrible and I thank the stars that I never really recorded anything.
And lastly—I had to have my wife help me with another tidbit—I suppose that I have a soft spot for farm animals, wanting a pet pig, a duck, and a goat one day. And they’ll be best friends forever.
Meghan: What is the first book you remember reading?
Tristan Drue Rogers: I don’t know if it actually was the first book that I ever read, concerning my mother allowed me to bring most of my old books home with me now for my son, it’d likely be a Dr. Seuss story, but the first book that I vividly remember ever reading was Mike Mulligan & His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton. I have the original that my mother used to read with me as well and I can’t wait to see how my son reacts to it. It’s a simple tale, yet somehow I grew to love and cherish it in my childhood. I remember a time that I was super excited to present the book to the elementary school library, in front of the class as we were all instructed to bring a book of our own, and I did just that. Unfortunately, soon after the children got a little too excited and rowdy, discussing your favorite reads will do that to you, and the librarian told us all to “shut your asses up.” What a misadventure that turned out to be for her. Also, depending on the time frame, maybe Garfield’s Scary Tales was the first book I remember reading. I’m bad at real life timelines.
Meghan: What are you reading now?
Tristan Drue Rogers: I am currently attempting to read The Complete H.P. Lovecraft. I think I have 700 or so pages to go. His name kept popping up and I had apparently never tackled any of his work before. I try to read at work on breaks, so it will be a while before I finish this one, but, like Poe, I have enjoyed watching his skill set evolve as the stories go on to his more final and substantial works..
Meghan: What’s a book you really enjoyed that others wouldn’t expect you to have liked?
Tristan Drue Rogers: That’s a fun question. I’ll really have to think about that one. I may have spoken about this briefly before, but it’s maybe worth noting that the structure of my own novel Brothers of Blood—which is a dark fiction/thriller/crime story with blood, gore, and psychological elements—was at least in part inspired by the two Little Women volumes. For a time while I wrote my book, I was reading Little Women and enjoyed it a lot, especially the way the characters interacted with each other.
Meghan: What made you decide you want to write? When did you begin writing?
Tristan Drue Rogers: I remember when I was a kid, probably around the age of 10 to 12, my mother helped me get a subscription to Ultimate X-men and Ultimate Spider-man. I remember waiting and waiting for those first issues to arrive and in the meantime I started writing. I wrote about kids who stood up to bullies with the help of a magical spoon and another one about a guy who killed people whenever he judged them as inferior, even though these inferior qualities were things like jaywalking or smoking. Eventually, his friend had to take him down. Ever since then, I’ve just been writing whenever a cool story happened, but only in the past 10 years or so did I really look at it as a way out to something more meaningful than escapist fun.
Meghan: Do you have a special place you like to write?
Tristan Drue Rogers: I’ve written atop my bed, under my bed, in the car, at the library, in a closet, and so many other places for writing that I’ve never really looked for anything more than enough space for a notebook or laptop to begin the journey. Although, as of late, my wife was kind enough to present me with her late grandfather’s writing desk, so I have become far more comfortable and aware of my need to sit before it instead of the other options. In my eyes, that desk commands more than a throne and I am fortunate to have it.
Meghan: Do you have any quirks or processes that you go through when you write?
Tristan Drue Rogers: This one time I told a friend that I look at my writing as method, similar to what actors like De Niro or Brando popularized. This meant that depending on what the story was about I would consume everything and partake in anything that I could which would then inform the first draft and the character s in any way possible. For instance, I have written a dark story, as of yet unpublished, about a homeless man who fancies himself a super hero, so I watched The Maxx, interviewed people I knew who had been homeless or had friends who were homeless, etc, while learning about the language and lingo that they used and if they had signs or postmarks indicating safe spaces and all that jazz. Only some of this was actually put into the manuscript, but it helped me understand what state of mind someone like my main character might have had. So, I try to do that as much as possible. Just dive deep, forget about gasping for air, and learn to open your eyes when below the murky depths.
Meghan: Is there anything about writing you find most challenging?
Tristan Drue Rogers: All of it. Simply all of it is an immense challenge. I cannot stress that enough. I love having written, but working on it is ground zero.
Meghan: What’s the most satisfying thing you’ve written so far?
Tristan Drue Rogers: Wow, I don’t know. Recently, I finished a novella that I’ve sent out to publishers about the not-so-distant future and an aimless young black man in college who had just learned that one of the candidates running for presidential office is hoping to bring reparations to and for descendants of slave families. The young man smells a rat and he ain’t wrong.
Meghan: What books have most inspired you? Who are some authors that have inspired your writing style?
Tristan Drue Rogers: I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that for a time I was just obsessed with Joe Hill’s writing. Even his stories some think of as weaker, such as Heart-Shaped Box, were and still are fantastic to me and certainly inspired a lot of my early writing as it was during high school. Amelia Gray showed me that a writer can experiment to outstanding results and that the reader doesn’t have to know everything. Neil Gaiman let me realize that I could still write in genre fiction and have something meaningful to say. I mean, the list could go on and on. I become inspired by every book I read, even the God-awful ones, so I really think that naming them off would be a monumental endeavor that would just turn into a list of books that everyone should already know are worth the time and effort.
Meghan: What do you think makes a good story?
Tristan Drue Rogers: Characters make the most memorable stories and conflict elevates them to greatest status. You can have all the ideas in the world, but without attention to this, there is nothing else to really chew on.
Meghan: What does it take for you to love a character? How do you utilize that when creating your characters?
Tristan Drue Rogers: My favorite characters are those that react to what they don’t like in the world and actually do something about it. Becoming proactive, even when within the story they don’t always see it that way themselves, allows us to see in the characters that which we don’t often see in ourselves: the ability to change our predicaments. Often we are so scared of having the status quo come out negative because of what we’ve done that we don’t take any chances at all. This isn’t to say that characters that only have things happen to them are bad, per se, but I do think a distinction must be made. In my own writing, I try to have my characters be defined by clear goals. Sometimes they don’t change or they don’t even accomplish that goal, but in the end they will have known what they wanted and their relationship with it will be the struggle in which we’ve been following. For instance, in a new and upcoming project from the makers of Weird Mask, called M, I have a serialized short story within that entails a young body builder who really doesn’t want to work out anymore. He’s tired of it. His best friend will just not let him quit, however, and so our main character decides to chop off his hand to reach his goal of a sloth lifestyle. He thinks to himself, who can work out and lift weights without the use of a hand? Soon, he learns that his friend will find a way to work around that, but hey, props for thinking outside the box, my guy. Creative problem solving ensues for the body builder, just as equally destructive as before. That one’s fun.
Meghan: Which, of all your characters, do you think is the most like you?
Tristan Drue Rogers: The easy answer is that they’re all like me. They may come from my mind, but they all do things that I would probably never do. I’m just an ordinary guy.
Meghan: Are you turned off by a bad cover? To what degree were you involved in creating your book covers?
Tristan Drue Rogers: I used to be, but now that I’ve been in the publishing game for more than a year now, I say that it’s not really the author’s vision anyway for better or for worse. The story is the story and the cover is there just to entice those that are into that specific genre, or however the publisher sees it. I hope to have more of a say next time, now that I know what I do. I just love a good cover, no matter the style. Regardless, people can always make their own covers with cardboard paper or something.
Meghan: What have you learned creating your books?
Tristan Drue Rogers: Hire an editor. No matter how often or thorough I read through my novel before it was published, I still find errors and it isn’t just embarrassing, it’s disrespectful to the readers. If I could go back, I’d actually save up the money to hire a real editor. The publisher doesn’t always do it for you. Never assume anything. Do as much yourself and professionally as possible.
Meghan: What has been the hardest scene for you to write so far?
Tristan Drue Rogers: In Brothers of Blood, the climax of where the latter half of the story had been heading included the ending from multiple character’s perspectives leading into it. As murders piled up, betrayals fostered into resentment, and more. This was my first time attempting such a thing on this scale and to have it all be in a chase sequence, in the woods, with both good intended characters and the bad, but main characters, was so difficult and fun to complete that I am still in awe that it came out the way it did. I’m proud of that one.
Meghan: What makes your books different from others out there in this genre?
Tristan Drue Rogers: Without sugar coating the lives of high school students, particularly in the way they speak and bridge their own lives with each other, one must become aware of what can actually happen by their hands if demented enough to act on their desires. Brothers of Blood was an attempt at realizing a realistic portrayal of the world in which we live where children can prosper without the active involvement of their parents.
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)?
Tristan Drue Rogers: The book title above even the cover is the first sign of what your book might be to potential readers. Yet, there are book titles out there that aren’t that imaginative and somehow are still followed by groundbreaking and cherished novels. End the end, what matters is the story. The title will come, hopefully. With Brothers of Blood, I had the title before I even started writing. That doesn’t always happen. Maybe 50/50, but I was lucky as it helped me carve a path in the direction of dark fiction that deserved such a title.
Meghan: What makes you feel more fulfilled: Writing a novel or writing a short story? (Explain.)
Tristan Drue Rogers: I enjoy both to ever really get more enjoyment out of the other. Short stories are only short stories until they aren’t. That’s how most novels work for me; they all most likely started out as short stories. I’ve had some short stories that were supposed to be novels, but they ended early. I really don’t have much say in how long they’ll take to end, but every story is my baby and I try to take care of them until adulthood.
Meghan: Tell us a little bit about your books, your target audience, and what you would like readers to take away from your stories.
Tristan Drue Rogers: Knowing your audience is very important. I only wish I knew that then when I first attempted to gain readers for it. I’d say now that my book is aimed 17 and up, for dark fiction/thriller readers, at those who love My Favorite Murder podcasts, or Mindhunters on Netflix. If you obsess over serial killers, fictional or from the real world, my book is perfect for you.
After having read my book, I’d say that I want readers to discover the intelligence that high school kids have, the different lives that they all may hide from their friends, the vindictive nature of the most well put together kids, the brotherhood and camaraderie that is special when it fits just right in the time of your lives that will most affect you, and that I want readers to realize that anyone can want you dead, but it takes an extra type of person to gather a gang of murderers to then kill you in a show of peppy teamwork and brotherly love.
Meghan: Can you tell us about some of the deleted scenes/stuff that got left out of your work?
Tristan Drue Rogers: Sure! In my book, there was a scene early on in a dream sequence—I always have to cut my ridiculous dream sequences—whereas before one of our main characters, Beau, was playing with the puppy that he got for his little sister before they went out to stalk and kill someone. Beau falls asleep and starts witnessing himself down on all fours, with his stomach facing the sky, twisted all about, as he began to echo the same bark that little puppy did. I don’t know what I was thinking when I wrote that, but I put a giant X through it on the notebook and moved on as I was typing the manuscript. Sometimes, your head creates different ways to communicate something that you need to come across in the story, such as this guy is crazy. In this case, I knew that his actions both before and after represented that well enough that I didn’t need to resort to some cheap dream sequence that only the readers would be aware of for the entirety of the book.
Meghan: What is in your “trunk”?
Tristan Drue Rogers: I’ve wanted to work on so many projects that I’ve only half started. The big one right now that keeps popping up into my head is a dark fantasy story set in another world where giant monsters roam with a deep history that entails the shifting of continents and so much more. I’m really intrigued by this one so it may not stay in the trunk for long.
Meghan: What can we expect from you in the future?
Tristan Drue Rogers: I have some stories popping up here and there in that M zine that I’ll announce soon and another in Weird Mask about the time a gun was pulled on me and a friend before we went to a party on Halloween. I also have a poem in the July (pushed back until August 16) print edition of Genre: Urban Arts. My work is everywhere nowadays at least comparable to last year, so don’t forget to check back on my sites and stuff to keep up with me.
I am also a Site Contributor at Genre: Urban Arts, where you can find posts by me, typically in the poetry and flash fiction category.
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?
Tristan Drue Rogers: My fans? That would be nice to imagine that I do have any fans at this point. Well, if they’re out there I hope they enjoy my work. I’m all over the place, but I’m slowly finding a path that works for me and fulfills my need to play around with the ways in which I perceive the world. Keep in touch and interact with me! I’m always online lurking somewhere and I’d love to speak with anyone about a good story.
Brothers of Blood follows Belle Whynecrow in her final year of highschool. Her best friends Josue, Xavier, and Jesus the hobo welcome the new kid, Chris, with welcome arms. The only catch? To quell their boredom, Belle tells them to create a kill list, marking off the names as they complete their goal before senior year ends. While struggling to pass their classes with flying colors, this band of merry murderers seems to be on a delightfully bloody roll until Belle’s long imprisoned older brother, Beau, arrives at her doorstep. Now a devout man of God, the brotherhood schemes for his return to his original, and highly exaggerated, bloodlust. That is, if Chris’s jealousy doesn’t destroy Belle’s ranking in the gang first. Not everyone will survive, but those who do will certainly have a year to remember because those that kill together live forever.
Meghan: Hi, Michaelbrent. It is an absolute pleasure having you here today. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Michaelbrent Collings: Billionaire playboy by day, dark vigilante by night. Or maybe that’s Batman. Shoot.
As for me, much less cool.* I’m a writer. I am best known for horror, in which genre I’m an international bestseller, multiple Bram Stoker Award finalist, and one of the top indie authors in the US, but I have also written bestsellers in sci-fi, fantasy, thriller, suspense, urban fantasy, and even Western romance. So though I’m not Batman*, I do apparently have a multiple personality thing going that even he would be proud of.
*I SAY I’m not Batman, but have you ever seen me and him in the same room together? So there you go.
Meghan: What are five things most people don’t know about you?
Michaelbrent Collings: Hmmm… tough one. I’m a pretty open book, so that’s a great question! Here goes:
1) I abhor coconut, which I can only assume was created as a practical joke. 2) My favorite movie is Harvey. 3) My favorite movie STARS are Cary Grant and Bob Hope. 4) I asked my wife to marry me 10 days after our first date. 5) I am typing this in my in-laws’ house. And if you already KNEW about this one, then GET OUTTA MY IN-LAWS’ HOUSE, YA CREEPY STALKER!
Meghan: What is the first book you remember reading?
Michaelbrent Collings: This one is IMPOSSIBLE. Because I grew up in a house of books – my dad was the head of Creative Writing in a major university when I was a kid – I have no memory of life without books. I do remember my mom reading the Narnia books to us on the front lawn, and being bored of the whole Dick & Jane thing in kindergarten because I already knew how to read. But first book? That’s like asking about my memories of a first breath.
Meghan: What are you reading now?
Michaelbrent Collings: I read tons of different thing. I tell people that the depth and breadth of my reading habits are limited only by the square footage of the tops of my toilet tanks. Because I’m a dad, so my best reading is typically done in the one room my kids have not claimed as a “team sports” kinda space.
Meghan: What’s a book you really enjoyed that others wouldn’t expect you to have liked?
Michaelbrent Collings: Probably Les Miserables or Winnie the Pooh. Since I’m best known as a horror guy, that kind of thing surprises a lot of people. But both are masterfully written, full of lyricism, and are built around themes that wove themselves into my mental DNA when I read them for the first time.
Meghan: What made you decide you want to write? When did you begin writing?
Michaelbrent Collings: See above re house of books and Dad’s job. My earliest memory of writing is taking a red crayon to unlined paper and writing a one-page “story” about a bird. My dad then very kindly took it and helped me with some great critiques about the story, and how I could make it even better. He was and is my best writing teacher.
Meghan: Do you have a special place you like to write?
Michaelbrent Collings: Pretty much anywhere with wifi access and a refillable Diet Coke policy. ;o)
Meghan: Do you have any quirks or processes that you go through when you write?
Michaelbrent Collings: Mostly it’s pretty drudge-like. I tell people who yearn to be full-time writers that as soon as you GET that job, you realize how much like OTHER jobs it really is. It’s a great job, don’t get me wrong, but it is work, and most work is by nature boring and banal.
My one quirk would probably be in the “coming up with idea” stage I do a lot of walking in tight circles and mumbling to myself. My wife and kids are used to it, and say nary a word when I will suddenly sit up straight at dinner, blurt a phrase that means nothing to anyone other than me, and then rush away to write whatever the idea was on a note card or something.
Meghan: Is there anything about writing you find most challenging?
Michaelbrent Collings: Almost all of it. But it’s a challenge that I love; that stretches me and forces me to always try to be better than I was the last time.
Meghan: What’s the most satisfying thing you’ve written so far?
Michaelbrent Collings: The most satisfying thing I’ve written – now and forever – is whatever book I just finished. So right now it’s Scavenger Hunt. In a few months it’ll be something different. Each book is terrifying in its own way – not just story-wise, but to me as an author – and so finishing each one is like discovering and then conquering a brand new mountain.
Meghan: What books have most inspired you? Who are some authors that have inspired your writing style?
Michaelbrent Collings: Books that inspire me:
1) The Bible – regardless of theology, it’s the single most influential book in the English language, and has some of the most stunning imagery and language. 2) Winnie the Pooh and Peter & Wendy – both are beautiful mixes of laughter, whimsy, and adventure. 3) Les Miserables 4) Too many others to list
Meghan: What do you think makes a good story?
Michaelbrent Collings: I can only answer that one for myself. And for myself I’d say: a plot that is fun on its face, filled with interesting characters who do NOT make stupid or irrational decisions for no good reason other than authorial laziness, and themes I can unpack on later readings.
I read a lot of different genres, and any book that has those things in it will definitely get a second look from me.
Meghan: What does it take for you to love a character? How do you utilize that when creating your characters?
Michaelbrent Collings: Two different kinds of love here: 1) admiration 2) envy
For the first, I love characters who are good. Who desperately try to do what is right, and whose passions and decisions are all channeled through a moral lens that helps them find truth – both for themselves and for the reader.
For the second, I love villains that do and say things that I would love to do or say were I to give into my most awful moments. The ones who would slaughter the person who goes through the 15-items-or-less line with 16-items-or-more.
Meghan: Which, of all your characters, do you think is the most like you?
Michaelbrent Collings: That one’s easy: Ken Strickland from my series The Colony Saga. He and his family are explicitly modeled on me and mine. It’s a zombie apocalypse series, and I wanted to really ground it in reality – no supermen, no cops who have access to caches of weapons. Just normal folks. So I made the story a seven-book “what would I do in that situation?” story.
Meghan: Are you turned off by a bad cover? To what degree were you involved in creating your book covers?
Michaelbrent Collings: I am definitely turned off by a bad cover – more in indie works than in traditionally published stuff. In trad-pub, the author has little or no say over the cover, so I won’t judge the words by some outside factor he or she did not control. In indie stuff, a bad cover just says to me that the person involved either a) doesn’t care or b) isn’t competent. Neither of those encourages me to hand over my money.
I do my own covers, so I’m always watching for good and bad covers so that I can mimic the traits of the former and avoid the pitfalls of the latter.
Meghan: What have you learned creating your books?
Michaelbrent Collings: Mostly that it’s work. Always and forever. When I started out, I remember sitting on a panel at a writing con with James Dashner and Brandon Mull and feeling like a fraud. Now I sit on panels as someone who’s sold many many books and has been up for awards and even written movies… and I still feel like a fraud as often as not. I never feel like I’ve learned enough or done enough, and I suppose that in the final analysis that’s a good thing, because it keeps me growing as a writer and a person.
Meghan: What has been the hardest scene for you to write so far?
Michaelbrent Collings: Definitely the one in The Colony Saga where one of Ken’s children dies. No spoilers, but since that family was modeled on mine, the moment I realized that one of the kids was going to die – as a hero, but dead at the end just the same – writing that was incredibly draining emotionally. I came home a wreck, and when my wife asked what was wrong I told her I’d had to imagine how our child would die in that situation. She understood – bless her heart! – and helped me through a pretty dark moment or two in the coming days.
Meghan: What makes your books different from others out there in this genre?
Michaelbrent Collings: I think that one of the things is that because I DO write in so many genres, my books are able to draw on a lot of different genre elements to enrich whatever book I’m writing. My YA fantasy has dashes of horror, my science fiction exists in a thriller world, my romance understands that high stakes make ultimate triumph more valuable. Also, I genuinely like people, and I think that shows through in how I treat characters. All of them – even the villains – are folks who have made rational decisions given their life experiences, and I think that recognition allows me to write characters who have more verisimilitude and definitely are more capable of being sympathetic to the audience.
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)?
Michaelbrent Collings: Ugh. Titles are SO HARD and SO IMPORTANT. I think I’m getting better at them, but they still cause me misery.
Most of the time I will try to put multiple layers in the title. Predators is about a safari that goes wrong and its survivors are tracked by a pack of hungry hyenas… and also about a group of women scarred by emotional predators. Terminal is about a group of people in a bus terminal who are made to choose one of their number to survive the night… and so the decisions the make are final, terminal ones in the truest sense. Scavenger Hunt is about a group of people who find themselves in a horrific scavenger hunt where the tasks or horrible and cruel… and then they find out that they have already been involved in a different – and much more cruel – kind of scavenger hunt in their own lives.
Titles should tell the audience what they’re in for at the very least – give them a sense of the genre, the “feel” of the book. But it’s nice to make one that they read before starting the book and say, “Sounds cool!” and then they read it after they’ve finished and go, “Ohhhh! NOW I get it!”
Meghan: What makes you feel more fulfilled: Writing a novel or writing a short story?
Michaelbrent Collings: Novel, definitely. I feel like they’re less ephemeral, and because of the length I can certainly take up more real estate in the readers’ brains. I get to settle in and move things around over a longer period of time and – hopefully – make that much more of a difference in their lives at the end.
Meghan: Tell us a little bit about your books, your target audience, and what you would like readers to take away from your stories.
Michaelbrent Collings: My target audience is anyone who likes a good yarn. Simply that. I try to make my books entertaining on their face, and hope that the first thing readers take away is a bit of escapism and fun. I also hope that they can go back and re-read them, see foreshadowing and clues I layer into all my books, and pick out the themes I try to use to shore up the walls of my plots.
Meghan: Can you tell us about some of the deleted scenes/stuff that got left out of your work?
Michaelbrent Collings: There aren’t really that many. I have an editing process that really works, and most of my books end up in final draft pretty close to how they finished out as first drafts.
Meghan: What can we expect from you in the future?
Michaelbrent Collings: Hopefully years of writing. Like I said, Scavenger Hunt hit on October 31, and in the future I’ll probably be releasing a middle grade fantasy called THE DYING IMMORTALS, then a prequel to my apocalyptic thriller THIS DARKNESS LIGHT.
Meghan: Where can we find you?
Michaelbrent Collings: I’m pretty easy to find. First of all, I’m the only “Michaelbrent” in the world, so just google that and I pop up right away. Failing that:
You can also sign up for my email list (and get some free books).
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?
Michaelbrent Collings: Only this: thanks for letting me chat with you!
One of the most versatile writers around, Michaelbrent Collings is an internationally bestselling novelist, produced screenwriter, and multiple Bram Stoker Award finalist. While he is best known for horror (and is one of the most successful indie horror authors in the United States), he has also written bestselling thriller, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, humor, young adult, and middle grade works, and Western Romance.
As a novelist, Michaelbrent has written dozens of bestsellers that have also received critical acclaim, and he and his work have been featured on everything from mom-and-pop podcasts to Publishers Weekly, The San Francisco Book Review, and NPR.
Find more about him at his website or sign up for his mailing list (and get a free book!).
“I already know all your names. As for me… you can call me Mr. Do-Good.”
Five strangers have woken up in a white room. A room with no doors, no windows.
A room with no hope.
Because these strangers have been kidnapped, drugged… and brought here as the newest contestants in the world’s most high-stakes scavenger hunt. Run by a madman named Mr. Do-Good, the game offers only two options: win or die.
All they have to do to survive is… complete every task… on time… and not break any of Do-Good’s rules.
Playing the game will bring the players to their breaking point and beyond. But play they will, because Do-Good has plans for these strangers, and their only chance to live through the night is to discover what’s really behind his Scavenger Hunt.
Meghan's House of Books 