Tag: author interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Kristopher Rufty

megHan

Meghan: Hey, Krist! Welcome back to Meghan’s HAUNTED House of Books. What is your favorite part of Halloween?

Kristopher: I couldn’t imagine not being a fan of Halloween. Next to Christmas, it’s the one day when everyone can be a kid again. People celebrate horror and openly admit to being entertained by it. Plus, it’s just so much fun. That’s never changed throughout all my life.

Meghan: Do you get scared easily?

Kristopher: I don’t know if “easily” describes it. But a lot of things do scare me. Now that I’m older and a father, I have worries that I never thought about when I was younger. Plus, I’ve seen relatives get sick, friends have passed away, and marriages haves ended. I never thought I was indestructible when I was younger, but such fears never crossed my mind. Now they dwell there.

Meghan: What is the scariest movie you’ve ever seen and why?

Kristopher: Probably The Changeling with George C. Scott. I saw it when I was very young and some of it really disturbed me. Even now, I still feel the same way I did as a kid whenever I watch it. The images, locations, and music just really messed me up all those years ago.

Meghan: Which horror movie murder did you find the most disturbing?

Kristopher: Probably the flashback seen in The Changeling. I don’t want to give it away, but that one bothered me when I saw it for the first time. Still does.

Meghan: Is there a horror movie you refused to watch because the commercials scared you too much?

Kristopher: I don’t think so. If anything, it had the exact opposite influence on me. The scarier the better. Especially when I was younger. I’d talk about the trailers with my friends, and we’d imagine what the movies would be like. Usually, they didn’t come close to our imaginations, but sometimes they far exceeded them.

Meghan: If you got trapped in one scary movie, which would you choose?

Kristopher: Probably Just Before Dawn because of the beautiful scenery. I’d just have to make sure I steered clear of the inbred family.

Meghan: If you were stuck as the protagonist in any horror movie, which would you choose?

Kristopher: Maybe the Scream series since, until recently, the core group have lasted so long.

Meghan: What is your all-time favorite scary monster or creature of the night?

Kristopher: The werewolf, for sure.

Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween tradition?

Kristopher: All of it. I don’t think I enjoy one more than the other. It’s all a buffet of scary fun.

Meghan: What is your favorite horror or Halloween-themed song?

Kristopher: Monster Mash. I have loved it since I was a little kid.

Meghan: Which horror novel unsettled you the most?

Kristopher: The Girl Next Door. Nothing comes close. Jack Ketchum was a master, and he stuck to the basics in that story and conjured up a truly disturbing book based on real events.

Meghan: What is the creepiest thing that’s ever happened while you were alone?

Kristopher: A candle flew off a shelf and smacked into a wall right in front of me. I think it was going after my wife at the time. She’d been standing where the candle hit seconds before it launched. I entered the room just as it took flight. Once, in the same place, when I was completely alone, I watched hand-prints appear on the ceiling and vanish within seconds of emerging. Needless to say, we moved out of there first chance we got.

Meghan: Which unsolved mystery fascinates you the most?

Kristopher: I’m fascinated by most with a supernatural element. Unsolved murders and things like that don’t really fascinate me much. But anything with “monster sightings” or paranormal components will hook me in. If it involves a cryptid, even better. Water monster sightings also interest me a lot.

Meghan: What is the spookiest ghost story that you have ever heard?

Kristopher: Surprisingly, I haven’t heard a bunch. But there was a local legend about a Wildman that lived in the woods around my house growing up. When I was a kid, I swore I saw him once. I was in the woods and saw a man just walking around, dressed in ragged clothes and carrying an ax. I told people, and that was when I learned about the “Wildman.” Don’t know how true that story was, but I did see the man.

Meghan: In a zombie apocalypse, what is your weapon of choice?

Kristopher: Unlimited gun supply. I’d want them to be as far away from me as possible. No up-close battles if I can help it.

Meghan: Okay, let’s have some fun. Would you rather get bitten by a vampire or a werewolf?

Kristopher: Werewolf!

Meghan: Would you rather fight a zombie apocalypse or an alien invasion?

Kristopher: Probably a zombie apocalypse. But an alien invasion would be quicker, if I was on the losing side.

Meghan: Would you rather drink zombie juice or eat dead bodies from the graveyard?

Kristopher: Ew! Zombie juice. Unless it was just one bite from a dead body.

Meghan: Would you rather stay at the Poltergeist house or the Amityville house for a week?

Kristopher: Amityville. The Poltergeist house is terrifying!

Meghan: Would you rather chew on a bitter melon with chilies or maggot-infested cheese?

Kristopher: Nasty! The melon, for sure.

Meghan: Would you rather drink from a witch’s cauldron or lick cotton candy made of spider webs?

Kristopher: Give me the cauldron.

Boo-graphy: Kristopher Rufty lives in North Carolina with his three children and pets. He’s written numerous books, including All Will Die, The Devoured & the Dead, Desolation, Pillowface, and more. When he’s not writing, he’s obsessing over gardening and growing food. For more about him, please visit his website.

All Will Die —
A year after a group of teenagers were brutally murdered in the mountains, their parents return to the scene of the crime in hopes of luring the killer out of hiding. Unfortunately for them, they are successful. Though they expect the fight of their lives, they quickly learn how unprepared they are for the savage brutality that awaits them. One by one, they will experience exactly what their children endured in their own night of hell.

Their obsession has led them to this nightmare and their one chance at retribution. But if they don’t succeed…

Bone Chimes 2 —
A woman battles a madman to save the package she ordered…and her life! A Christmas party in the mountains is invaded by otherworldly creatures. A man teams up with his son’s favorite toy to kill someone. And a Halloween prank might lead to the end of two boys’ innocence.

These are just a few of the stories in Bone Chimes 2, the second collection from Kristopher Rufty that features nine more demented tales for fans of monsters and childhood fears brought to life. With an introduction by Aron Beauregard, this collection will leave you squirming with fear and delight!

Bone Chimes

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Lynn Hightower

megHan

Meghan: Hi, Lynn. Welcome to Meghan’s HAUNTED House of Books. It’s an absolute pleasure to have you here today. What is your favorite part of Halloween?

Lynn: Halloween is a family favorite. I love the delicious spooky aura, the costumes, and the candy.

Meghan: Do you get scared easily?

Lynn: No

Meghan: What is the scariest movie you’ve ever seen and why?

Lynn: The Haunting of Hill House – both versions, the oldest and the newest – because of the dark threatening presence that is unexplained and utterly malevolent.

Meghan: Which horror movie murder did you find the most disturbing?

Lynn: The original movie for Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The scene where the hero gets in the truck and finds all the people pods and realizes what has really been going on haunts me to this day.

Meghan: Is there a horror movie you refused to watch because the commercials scared you too much?

Lynn: No, I’m brave. If the story intrigues me, nothing will stop me from watching it.

Meghan: If you got trapped in one scary movie, which would you choose?

Lynn: A vampire movie set in turn of the century Paris.

Meghan: If you were stuck as the protagonist in any horror movie, which would you choose?

Lynn: The Conjuring so I could throw myself on the mercy of Ed and Lorraine Warren to get me out of the mess I was in.

Meghan: What is your all-time favorite scary monster or creature of the night?

Lynn: I always loved Barnabus Collins of Dark Shadows which was a thing when I was a little girl.

Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween tradition?

Lynn: Trick or Treat.

Meghan: What is your favorite horror or Halloween-themed song?

Lynn: Ghostbusters

Meghan: Which horror novel unsettled you the most?

Lynn: The Haunting of Hill House

Meghan: What is the creepiest thing that’s ever happened while you were alone?

Lynn: When I wrote The Piper, I was living in a haunted house and so all the stuff in the book I did not have to make up. That is not as good an idea as it sounds. We moved.

Meghan: Which unsolved mystery fascinates you the most?

Lynn: I love those mothman appearances that happened before the bridge collapsed and all o those people died. So mysterious.

Meghan: What is the spookiest ghost story that you have ever heard?

Lynn: The true life events behind The Conjuring.

Meghan: In a zombie apocalypse, what is your weapon of choice?

Lynn: Shotgun

Meghan: Now let’s have some fun. Would you rather get bitten by a vampire or a werewolf?

Lynn: Vampire

Meghan: Would you rather fight a zombie apocalypse or an alien invasion?

Lynn: I can run faster than a zombie.

Meghan: Would you rather drink zombie juice or eat dead bodies from the graveyard?

Lynn: I’ll take a glass of red wine instead.

Meghan: Would you rather stay at the Poltergeist house or the Amityville house for a week?

Lynn: Poltergeist

Meghan: Would you rather chew on a bitter melon with chilies or maggot-infested cheese?

Lynn: Melon

Meghan: Would you rather drink from a witch’s cauldron or lick cotton candy made of spider webs?

Lynn: Pass on both. I have standards.

Boo-graphy: Lynn Hightower grew up in Kentucky, and graduated from the University of Kentucky, where she studied creative writing with Wendell Berry and earned a degree in Journalism. She also teaches novel writing in the Writer’s Program at UCLA. Survival jobs include writing television commercials, catering waitress, and bartender for one day.

Her books have been included in the New York Times List of Notable Books, the London Times Bestseller List, and the W.H. Smith Fresh Talent Awards. She has received the Shamus Award, and been nominated for the Kentucky Literary Award, the Kentucky Librarians First Choice Award, and the Mary Higgins Clark Award. Hightower’s books have been published in numerous foreign countries, including Great Britain, Australia, Japan, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Israel and The Netherlands.

Hightower spends ridiculous amounts of time curled up reading, but also enjoys small sports cars and tame horses. She is married to The Frenchman, writes full time, shares an office with her Belgian Shepherd, Leo the Lion, plays bad but fierce tennis, loves to dance and is learning to Tango.

Hightower enjoys canoeing and is witty after two glasses of wine. She has studied French and Italian, but is only fluent in Southern.

Hightower is a Kentucky native, and lives in a small Victorian cottage with a writing parlor.

Noah Archer is a renowned neurosurgeon, with an impressive success record. He has a happy home, with his beloved wife Moira, their two adopted sons, and a dog who’s a very good girl.

But Noah keeps a dark secret, shared only with his old friend Father Perry Cavanaugh. When he was just a boy, he was possessed by a demon – and it was only thanks to the exorcist priest that he survived.

Now, Noah works at the cutting edge of medical science and religion, researching the effects of spirituality on the brain. His current research study – The Enlightenment Project – promises breakthrough treatments for depression, addiction and mental illness, and preliminary results are astounding.

But after a late-night emergency surgery, Noah returns to his office to find Father Perry waiting for him, with a terrible warning. The Enlightenment Project may not be closing the door to the darkness at all . . . but instead letting it in.

Demonic possession is now a recognized psychiatric condition, and the number of exorcist priests in the US has quadrupled in the last decade. As well as being a thrilling read, THE ENLIGHTENMENT PROJECT is an intelligent and fascinating view into the complex worlds of both the medical and the supernatural.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Cass Kay & Poppy Minnix

megHan

Meghan: Today we welcome Cass and Poppy to the blog. They have chosen, as podcasters tend to do, to record their answers to the interview. I do hope you enjoy. Ladies, take it away…

Punch Keys is a podcast offering writer support to keep you punching those keys! Novelists Cass Kay and Poppy Minnix chat over their triumphs and blunders of novel writing, writer tribes, navigating the industry, and embracing the voices that keep them up at night. Expect blunt, real talk about writing, why it can be so challenging, but also why punching the keys is worth every word.

Magic, zombies, and leprechauns: any of the three will get Cass’ attention. She’s a dark urban fantasy writer who loves to pull from history, blend in the weird, and sprinkle in deeper relationships of all flavors. Every writer has an arch nemesis and hers is plotting with spreadsheets, they’re the quickest way to send her running.

Cass started her writing career as a journalist in college who moonlighted as a stage actress. Now at home with her husband, two boys, and dog, she’s discovered fiction novel writing combines her two loves–the written word and creating characters.

When not staring at a computer screen, she’s often in the garden planting bulbs, has her nose in a book, or is watching Smallville with her family.

Poppy Minnix is a paranormal romance, contemporary romance, and sci-fi author. Her debut novel, My Song’s Curse, publishing under City Owl Press, won the Paranormal Romance category in the Toronto RWA chapter’s The Catherine Contest in 2018.

Before her fall into an utter obsession with writing, she was a conference manager and also dabbled in veterinary science, corporate sales, waitressing, and was captain of a roller derby team.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Phil Thomas

megHan

Meghan: Hi, Phil. Welcome to Meghan’s HAUNTED House of Books. What is your favorite part of Halloween?

Phil: My favorite part of Halloween is everything. When summer ends its kind of a downer, but with Halloween looming on the horizon, it seems to make everything better. To answer your question straightforward though, my favorite part of Halloween is the memories of the holiday growing up and the amazing times I had. My upcoming novel is actually set almost entirely on Halloween.

Meghan: Do you get scared easily?

Phil: No I don’t, which is why I like Halloween so much. It’s like chasing a high.

Meghan: What is the scariest movie you’ve ever seen and why?

Phil: Honestly I think it might be The Conjuring. It’s unnerving on another level.

Meghan: Which horror movie murder did you find the most disturbing?

Phil: Pretty much anything in the Saw movie franchise.

Meghan: Is there a horror movie you refused to watch because the commercials scared you too much?

Phil: I have to say no. The scarier the better.

Meghan: If you got trapped in one scary movie, which would you choose?

Phil: Halloween 1978.

Meghan: If you were stuck as the protagonist in any horror movie, which would you choose?

Phil: Tommy Jarvis, Friday the 13th part 6.

Meghan: What is your all-time favorite scary monster or creature of the night?

Phil: If we’re talking monsters, then probably Dracula, or vampires in general.

Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween tradition?

Phil: Going to some haunted houses and haunted hayrides.

Meghan: What is your favorite horror or Halloween-themed song?

Phil: The Halloween 1978 theme. It encompasses the spirit of Halloween.

Meghan: Which horror novel unsettled you the most?

Phil: I would have to say either Funland by Richard Laymon, or The Shining by Stephen King.

Meghan: What is the creepiest thing that’s ever happened while you were alone?

Phil: I once heard footsteps on my porch late at night. When I turned on the outside light, no one was there.

Meghan: Which unsolved mystery fascinates you the most?

Phil: The Jersey Devil. We need to find it asap!

Meghan: What is the spookiest ghost story that you have ever heard?

Phil: If we’re talking hauntings, then probably The Conjuring’s story.

Meghan: In a zombie apocalypse, what is your weapon of choice?

Phil: A double-barreled shotgun.

Meghan: Okay, Phil. Let’s have some fun… Would you rather get bitten by a vampire or a werewolf?

Phil: A vampire for sure!

Meghan: Would you rather fight a zombie apocalypse or an alien invasion?

Phil: Probably a zombie apocalypse because they’re slow, and when it comes to aliens, they might have technology far superior to ours.

Meghan: Would you rather drink zombie juice or eat dead bodies from the graveyard?

Phil: Aren’t they the same thing? Ha! Probably drink zombie juice.

Meghan: Would you rather stay at the Poltergeist house or the Amityville house for a week?

Phil: Definitely the Poltergeist house. It’s one of my favorite movies.

Meghan: Would you rather chew on a bitter melon with chilies or maggot-infested cheese?

Phil: I’ll take the bitter melon with chilies.

Meghan: Would you rather drink from a witch’s cauldron or lick cotton candy made of spider webs?

Phil: I’d rather lick cotton candy spider webs. It might even taste good.

Boo-graphy:
Phil Thomas is an author and screenwriter from the suburbs of Philadelphia. He is a member of the International Association of Professional Writers & Editors and The Horror Writers Association. He is also the former co-host of What Are You Afraid Of? a weekly horror and paranormal show that lasted for over 150 episodes. The show still airs on Para-X radio on Friday evenings at 9:00 pm, where you’ll find interviews with wonderful guests such as Lloyd Kaufman, Katrina Weidman, Joe R. Lansdale, Grady Hendrix, Greg Bear, Daniel Kraus, and many more.

Check out his website and sign up for his mailing list so he can further control your mind, and please direct your angry hate mail to him here. You can stalk him on Twitter and Facebook.

His short stories have been featured in several anthologies, including Monsterthology 2, Nightside: Tales of Outré Noir, Coming Through in Waves: Crime Fiction inspired by the Songs of Pink Floyd, Books of Horror: Volume 3, Part 2, and the upcoming collection, Seven Doors of Fate, set to release in 2023.

His debut novel, The Poe Predicament, was published by Foundations Books on October 4, 2021 and hit the bestseller list.

Stuck in another time, Richard Langley just wants to find his way back home.

Richard is a former college professor, wandering a local neighborhood bookstore, where he stumbles upon the find of a lifetime: a signed copy of Tamerlane and other poems.

He is soon swept to another era. He is alone, confused, and his only mission is to get back to where he came from.

While struggling to adapt to his nineteenth-century environment, Richard meets a man he must help exonerate from false accusations in order to restore history’s original timeline and, ultimately, find his way back.

What Richard did not count on, was that man being the owner of the signature—Edgar Allan Poe.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Tommy B Smith

megHan

Meghan: Hey, Tommy. Welcome back. Thank you for joining us here today. What is your favorite part of Halloween?

Tommy: People are apt to exercise their imaginations during the Halloween season, whether inclined toward the zany, macabre, or otherwise, expressing it by costume, decoration, or a visit to a local haunted house or attraction. For a while, horror is more widely recognized than in other times of the year, and marathons of horror films ensue, enjoyable if I have the time to watch. I also enjoy the distinctive autumn weather, when it occurs.

Meghan: Do you get scared easily?

Tommy: Not really.

Meghan: What is the scariest movie you’ve ever seen and why?

Tommy: Not an easy answer. I’ve gone through massive lists of supposed scariest movies ever and couldn’t find a single one that actually frightened me, though I love horror, but there are quite a few I’ve found to be an intense viewing experience, and that’s what I enjoy. I’ve mentioned John Carpenter’s Halloween as a favorite many times, though, and as far as horror films go, consider it top-tier in the way of atmosphere and tension.

Meghan: Which horror movie murder did you find the most disturbing?

Tommy: The gory murders are fun to watch, but it’s the tragic ends that tend to impact me more. Think of the wife from The Vanishing. It’s an end that occurs off-screen. We are given an answer, ultimately, but it leaves the details to the viewer’s imagination.

Meghan: Is there a horror movie you refused to watch because the commercials scared you too much?

Tommy: Never for that reason. If I’ve avoided a horror movie because of advertisements or previews, it’s likely because I didn’t find the idea or scenes interesting.

Meghan: If you got trapped in one scary movie, which would you choose?

Tommy: One where I had a fighting chance. A zombie movie, maybe, with slow zombies. Night of the Living Dead?

Meghan: If you were stuck as the protagonist in any horror movie, which would you choose?

Tommy: Though it’s been a while since I’ve watched it, I remember the action-driven horror movie Feast having some solid protagonists. I think of Ash from the Evil Dead films as well, though I wouldn’t want to lose an arm, even if he is well-equipped despite that. If I’m going to battle a horrific menace, I want weapons.

Meghan: What is your all-time favorite scary monster or creature of the night?

Tommy: I have a few favorites. On past occasions, I’ve mentioned human beings to be some of my favorite monsters. I find Frankenstein’s monster to be an interesting study which I appreciate more within the pages of Mary Shelley’s original tale than in any of the resulting films.

Meghan: What is your favorite Halloween tradition?

Tommy: Decorating, perhaps, though I don’t do as much of that these days. Savoring the weather with a tasty beverage is always nice, though it isn’t necessarily a Halloween tradition but an autumnal one—pumpkin ales come to mind.

Meghan: What is your favorite horror or Halloween-themed song?

Tommy: Some top choices include King Diamond’s Halloween, Helloween’s epic Halloween from the first Keeper of the Seven Keys album, and of course, Type O Negative’s Black No. 1, but I could compile entire albums of Halloween-influenced music I enjoy.

Meghan: Which horror novel unsettled you the most?

Tommy: Some of the most unsettling fiction I’ve enjoyed has arrived in the form of short stories. I think of Clive Barker’s Books of Blood and The Hellbound Heart, but these embody short story collections and a novella.

Others I’ve read more recently include Things Left Behind by Brian Keene and Mary SanGiovanni, Picking the Bones by Brian Hodge, and Bridgett Nelson’s A Bouquet of Viscera, all phenomenal reads, but again, collections, so I digress.

Speaking strictly of linear novels, I have always found Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House to be an immersive, atmospheric, and interesting trip down an unsettling path.

Meghan: What is the creepiest thing that’s ever happened while you were alone?

Tommy: Discovering I’m not actually alone. There were occasions in which I’ve managed to get away for a moment of solitude only to discover someone standing in the dark, hidden in part, staring in silence. While I may not frighten easily, these instances can be startling and yes, creepy.

Meghan: Which unsolved mystery fascinates you the most?

Tommy: Some years ago, as archaeologists explored the Great Pyramid of Giza, a robotics team developed a robot designed to explore one of the pyramids shafts, drill a hole through a door at its end, and record what lay beyond. The results were as mysterious as the initial discovery, as the door led into another shaft with yet another door that could not be bypassed. It’s but one tiny aspect of the whole mystery of the pyramids, but one that springs to immediate memory. I find the history, design, and speculations surrounding the ancient pyramids interesting.

Early history involving the cradle of early civilization, the lore and history of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the vanished civilization of the Norte Chico has always interested me. The latter of these inspired my 2018 horror novel, The Mourner’s Cradle.

Meghan: What is the spookiest ghost story that you have ever heard?

Tommy: The one about the malicious ghost who enters a writer’s home and deletes unfinished manuscripts from the computer, as well as backup files. Absolutely terrifying.

Meghan: In a zombie apocalypse, what is your weapon of choice?

Tommy: 9mm semi-automatic.

Meghan: Okay Tommy, let’s have some fun… Would you rather get bitten by a vampire or a werewolf?

Tommy: Vampire.

Meghan: Would you rather fight a zombie apocalypse or an alien invasion?

Tommy: Zombies.

Meghan: Would you rather drink zombie juice or eat dead bodies from the graveyard?

Tommy: A choice between dead bodily tissue or dead bodily tissue juice? I guess I would go with the juice. At least it’s quicker that way, because I wouldn’t have to chew anything.

Meghan: Would you rather stay at the Poltergeist house or the Amityville house for a week?

Tommy: Amityville.

Meghan: Would you rather chew on a bitter melon with chilies or maggot-infested cheese?

Tommy: Bitter melon with chilies. I’ve never been partial to maggot-infested cheeses.

Meghan: Would you rather drink from a witch’s cauldron or lick cotton candy made of spider webs?

Tommy: Spider web cotton candy. Spider’s webs are woven with protein for the most part, whereas a witch’s cauldron might contain any number of unknown ingredients, depending on the witch who mixed it.

Boo-graphy:
Tommy B Smith is a writer of horror and dark fiction, award-winning author of The Mourner’s Cradle, Poisonous, and the forthcoming Black Carmenia series. His presence currently infests Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he resides with his wife and cats.

Black Carmenia 1:
New Era
Insomnia. Headaches. Fear.

It drove Marjorie down, cost her a career, and almost destroyed her marriage. When she and her husband Terry escaped to the quiet green countryside west of the Mississippi River, their new home, it seemed too good to last.

The snake-ridden adjoining property, bordered by a row of maple trees, hosts a deadly secret. There the blood of fields and innocents stain the crumbling ruins of an old farmhouse, a decaying testament to a web of treachery and murder stretching back to distant times.

The horror in the ruins watches in wait. Marjorie fears the end, and the end is coming.