Monday, 29 August 2016

Men in Horror: LEE ALLEN HOWARD

Blog Questions - Men Writers in Horror Month

Lee Allen Howard

1. When did you start writing horror?

I wrote my first story on ruled tablet paper in second grade. (I would have started sooner, but I didn’t know how to print yet.) My teacher passed it on to the elementary school principal, who read it at a meeting of the local Lions Club, of which my father was a member. As president of the chapter, Principal Sprunger fined my father a dime because “the preacher’s son wrote such a sordid tale full of skeletons, witches, and blood.” That was 45 years ago.

In third grade I wrote stories on three-ring notebook paper, binding them with construction paper covers. One memorable piece, titled “Eyeballs Only,” was about a mad scientist who turns into a monster that goes on a rampage to pluck people’s eyes out and eat them. They pop when you chew them, you know.

2. Have you written in any other genre?

A few years back I wrote a pseudonymous erotic gay romance that did fairly well. But I usually haunt the shadier literary neighborhoods: dark fantasy, paranormal (The Sixth Seed), supernatural crime (Desperate Spirits and Death Perception), dark crime (“Mama Said,” my most popular short), and psychological thrillers (Call of the Piss Fairy).

3. What makes you uncomfortable?

Underwear that I’ve mistakenly run through the clothes dryer.

4. Does your family read your work?

A few cousins have read my books and stories. My father the pastor has hasn’t. My saintly mother, who has read little besides recipes, crocheting and sewing instructions, and children’s Sunday school lessons, read Death Perception. She remarked, “That was a good story, but did you have to use all those bad words?” I told her, “Bad characters say bad things.” God bless her.

5. Does your writing make you uneasy?

Sometimes it does, but as a writer, I must honor the inspiration, tell the story, and remain true to my characters. The abuse scene in “Mama Said” always haunted me. The evil sexuality in “How I Was Cured of Naïveté” (in Desperate Spirits) disturbed me. And the entire concept and execution of the idea of a bedwetting cat-skinner jonesing to shave women with electric trimmers made me squirm all the way through. Please, Mom, never read Call of the Piss Fairy…

6. Who would you say you write like?

Some have compared my style to Stephen King’s, but there’s no one writer that I emulate. I hope my style and voice are uniquely mine, but that’s hard to judge from this side of the keyboard.

7. Who are your favourite authors?

I loved early King. Others include Thomas Tryon, Patrick McGrath (Asylum is a favorite), Cormac McCarthy, Ramsey Campbell, Joe R. Lansdale, Trent Zelazny, Dustin LaValley, Stephanie M. Wytovich.

8. Who influences you as a writer?

My favorite authors above, of course. Basically anything I read that strikes a creative chord. I’m also inspired by news stories, television shows, and movies—whatever sparks my idea-generator or impresses me with writing skill or visual style. More recently, Joyce Carol Oates’ Zombie (1995), Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me (1952), and Barbie Wilde’s The Venus Complex (2012) gave me the crazy guts to write Call of the Piss Fairy.

9. Do you remember what your first horror book was that you read?

A fond memory from elementary school was running home with the little pulp flier that Teacher handed out periodically, the one that listed books with an order form on back. How to spend my 35 cents…? One of my first and favorite reads bought that way was the humorous and horrific How to Care for Your Monster (1970) by the late Norman Bridwell, better known for Clifford the Big Red Dog.

Later, Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural (1944) greatly influenced me, as well as Thomas Tryon’s The Other (1972) and James Herbert’s The Rats (1974), all of which I read when I was about 13. I deal with some of the classic tropes in my collection Night Monsters.

~~10. How old were you?~~

~~I was probably started in third grade, but I really got into reading horror as an adolescent.~~

11. Is there any subject you will not touch as an author?

Apparently not. “Mama Said” and “How I Was Cured of Naïveté” deal with child sexual abuse. Call of the Piss Fairy introduces 26-year-old bedwetter Russell Pisarek, who grew up different from other young men because his vicious mother punished him for wetting by shaving his head. After being betrayed by his girlfriend, he took out his frustration by skinning neighborhood cats. Now fixated on paying women back, Russell fantasizes about finding just the right girl—so he can shave her bald. Armed with a military fighting knife, things go from bad to worse.

Sick stuff, but any subject needs to be treated thoughtfully and responsibly, and and I feel I’ve achieved that in my writing, although some might say the stories in Severed Relations are purely for cheap, blood-sticky thrills. I can’t argue.

12. What was the best advice you were given as a writer?

“There are no magic formulas. Do your best, continue learning, and keep trying.” I can’t attribute that quote because I just made it up, but that’s the gist.

13. If you had to start all over again, what would you do different?

I would study the craft of fiction writing more seriously much sooner in life. I tried for 20 years before I really understood what a story was. It took me another decade to hone my mechanics. However, in the process, I became a better writer and a fantastic editor and publisher: Thou Shalt Not….

14. How many books do you read a year?

It varies from year to year, but I read an average of 30 books a year, and this includes fiction and non-fiction. I typically read at least an hour a day (more in the winter, less in the summer).

15. Do you write every day?

I do write daily, although I don’t write fiction every day unless I’m working on a project. I’ve been a technical writer for the software industry since 1985 (some consider this qualifies as horror fiction). I also write non-fiction, do freelance editing, serve as a publishing consultant, and blog regularly.

Besides being a writer, I’m also a Spiritualist minister, channeler, and psychic medium, providing intuitive counsel for writers and other human beings.

Please provide Amazon, Twitter, Linked In, Facebook, Blog Links

Lee Allen Howard’s Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Allen-Howard/e/B004U7773C/

Twitter: @LeeAllenHoward

Facebook: Lee Allen Howard, author

Writer’s site: http://leeallenhoward.com

Editing site: http://wordsmithereens.net

Metaphysical blog: http://building-the-bridge.com

YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh4nqffbXM6bkDKoFR6wTBw

Men in Horror: KENNETH GOLDMAN

From Ken Goldman ("What I Said To Richie Was..." for Expiration Date)

1.When did you start writing horror?

It happened by accident. I was taking a creative writing course back in the early '90's and wrote a horror tale called "PANDEMIC" for a homework assignment. The instructor asked me if I copied the story! It was a non-credit adult course, so I told her I would have had no sane reason to copy the story. She told me that with a little polishing I could probably get it published, but at the time I had no idea how to do that. I got a copy of The Writers Guide and found a contest, The Rod Serling 2nd Annual Memorial Writing Contest, soI sent the story in. Months later I got a phone call that I had come in second place. I was floored, but I figured, hell I can do this. Turned out I could. That was 750 published stories ago! Thank you, Rod.

2. Have you written in any other genre?

I've written some Fantasy tales, a little sci-fi, some humor pieces too, and I've managed to sell them. But horror for some reason comes easy to me. I've tried writing Romance tales but they

always wind up drifting into horror --- much like my own love life.

3. What makes you uncomfortable?

I hate (hate!) getting needles, whether flu shots or when I'm giving blood. Back when I was a high school teacher there was a blood drive at our school. The deal was that the first advisory that got

100% of its students to donate blood would get a pizza party. I told the kids I would be the first in line if we got the 100%, and sure enough we did. So there I was, number one in line in front of

dozens of kids, and I'm rolling up my sleeve like a big shot hero. Well, not quite. The needle went in, and I fainted dead out on the floor. But we got the pizza!

4. Does your family read your work?

My family and friends hate horror, so I have to practically tie them in a chair to read my stuff. My brother is a professional writer himself, and he reads some of my stories if I ask nicely. He actually

arranged a book signing for my first novel, OF A FEATHER.

5. Does your writing make you uneasy?

Not for the reason that you may think. I get uneasy when I put a lot of work into a story, because I worry that it won't sell. I've been very lucky because almost everything I've written has been accepted

somewhere. I'm hoping I can stay on that roll because I'm currently working on a new novel, and I'm putting a lot of time and energy into it. I'm hoping to have it done by the summer. Then comes the

fun task of getting the damned thing published. Until it happens, THAT makes me uneasy!

6. Who would you say you write like?

I'm told I have a very visual style, almost like you're watching a movie. Maybe that's the Stephen King influence, but I don't like being compared to him because there already IS a Stephen King,

and he's pretty good. My biography profiles sometimes mention that I look forward to the day when King and I are called to the dais for some horror award, and someone in the audience asks "Who is that

guy standing next to Ken Goldman?" Just a little fantasy of mine!

7. Who are your favourite authors?

Okay, Stephen King, of course. That's required by law for a horror writer. But I like a lot of the small/independent press writers too; in my opinion, some of them are as good as the pros. I also read

a lot of biographies and autobiographies, and I'm a sucker for the humor of Dave Barry, Woody Allen, and George Carlin. I've read almost everything they've written. As a former English teacher I like the

classic American writers too, especially Poe, Hawthorne, Steinbeck, and Fitzgerald. I don't think I ever had a class in which I didn't teach Ray Bradbury's stories. The man's imagination was limitless.

8. Who influences you as a writer?

As a film buff I'm probably as influenced by movies or t.v. as I am from books. I loved Rod Serling's TWILIGHT ZONE and the way he hid socially significant messages in his stories. Alfred Hitchcock's

films were masterpieces, and PSYCHO probably was the film that influenced my writing the most. (I love going for the twist you don't see coming.) The old EC comics like Tales From The Crypt were an

enormous influence on me. There's this ghoulish sense of macabre humor in those old comics I try to create in my own tales. It's like the roller coaster that scares hell out of you, but you love it!

9. Do you remember what your first horror book was that you read?

It wasn't really horror, but I remember William Golding's LORD OF THE FLIES. I was really moved by the theme of man's potential to revert to his violent nature when the law

isn't around to curb that impulse. It's still a scary concept to me because it's so real and so accurate. (So, of course, that book went on my reading list when I became a teacher.)

10. How old were you?

I was a pimply fifteen year old, and I still remember Piggy's head being smashed by the rock, his head splitting open, and him falling into the ocean. Sorry for the spoiler.

11. Is there any subject you will not touch as an author?

Nope. It's the politically incorrect subjects that make you squirm the most, right?

12. What was the best advice you were given as a writer?

Writing is really rewriting. Your first draft is just the beginning. Be your own worst critic, because your mom and your friends won't be honest with you if your writing stinks.

13. If you had to start all over again, what would you do different?

I would have started writing (with the purpose to publish) a lot earlier. Until the early '90's most of the writing I did, I did for myself with no intent whatsoever for anyone else to read it.

14. How many books do you read a year?

I do most of my reading during the summer months. I hit the beach with my trusty Kindle and read all day. During the winter months I focus mostly on my writing, although I'll read a book or two every few

weeks.

15. Do you write every day?

Most days, yes. I reread whatever new story I've written, then rewrite what I've written, then I write something new.

Please provide Amazon, Twitter, Linked In, Facebook, Blog Links

Facebook Page :

http://www.facebook.com/kenneth.goldman1

Linkedin Page :

http://www.linkedin.com/profile/edit?trk=tab_pro

Amazon.com Page :

http://www.amazon.com/Kenneth-C.-Goldman/e/B004QVWTTE

Goodreads Page :

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6154308.Ken_Goldman

OF A FEATHER Amazon.com Page :

http://www.amazon.com/Of-A-Feather-Ken-Goldman/dp/0957010362

Men in Horror: JEFFREY KOSH

Jeffrey Kosh

1. When did you start writing horror?

Let’s start from the beginning.

My first short story wasn’t horror. It was science fiction, of the space opera genre. I wrote it for a contest at school in 1979. It was roughly inspired by Star Wars, but with giant, Japanese-style robots. The schoolteacher liked it.

I wrote my first horror story the following year. I literally scribbled it down on three thick notepads – the one we used at school for math, exactly – then, as I was crazy for scary art long before I went to art school, I designed a cover and my grandpa had it printed. It was a stupid story, inconsistent, and unedited, but my family loved it. I don’t have it anymore; can’t even remember its title.

After that, life got in. The stormy teen years dragged me full into parties, socializing, and getting the girl of my dreams. And art school. Yes, I loved drawing, especially horrible things. My mother was always worried about my drawings, but then she had to accept that her boy had a dark side that he funneled down into his art. With good results.

I roped the girl of my dreams after finishing my studies and we married five years later. I was busy building up a family and creating a life, so there was not much time to put on paper all the crazy stories that populated my mind. The only place where I could express my creativity was role-playing. I became a Game Master (those role-playing games referees that conduct game sessions, create adventures for the players, and, generally, act as gods in their game-world) for different rpg systems. Dungeons & Dragons, Vampire: The Masquerade, Call of Cthulhu, and many more. I did this for more than twenty years, as an hobby, obviously, yet, it took me a lot of my spare time every day to create my own stories. And I wrote them. All of them. But I never published them. They are still with me, in my memory, and they resurface in my published work. Character names, places (Prosperity Glades, the town I detailed so much in my first novel – Feeding the Urge – I created for a Vampire campaign; that’s why I know all its nooks and crannies), and events from those never published stories become part of those I write now.

Officially, I started writing horror in 2012. I self-published the first edition of Feeding when I was living in Thailand, then, it was reprinted by Alexandria Publishing Group.

Oh, and I parted ways with the ‘girl of my dreams’ when my dreams turned into nightmares. Now I have another ‘girl of dreams’. She is a writer and understands me better.

2. Have you written in any other genre?

I have. I wrote two erotica tales; a novelette and a short story. And they are my biggest success too! Home Invasion brings in the money every month, followed close by Thrill of the Hunt. Honestly, I’m not a fan of the genre, and the first one I wrote was just an exercise at naughtiness, but I don’t regret it. I’m proud of the quality of the stories and the fact that they are well-structured and with interesting twists. Erotica is where the leprechaun’s gold pot is. I should write more of them, but my passion is horror. I can’t change that.

3. What makes you uncomfortable?

Lack of courtesy and bad manners. I absolutely hate that. If I’m gentle with you I expect the same level of courtesy back. I can’t stand people attacking others out of the blue. Especially online, on their blogs, or on networks. Unjustified attacks to gender, race (is there a race?), or beliefs just drive me mad. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but this opinion must be respectful of others.

4. Does your family read your work?

No. They will never do. They can’t read English, and even the one I translated to Italian they will not read for different reasons. My father used to like horror (he was the one who initiated me at it) but doesn’t like eBooks. My mother … well, my mother is easily scared; she avoids horror like the plague. She is frightened by most of the covers I create. I think the only one who has read one of my stories is my niece, Francesca. She translated Road Off to Italian.

Oh, and my partner has read all of my stories. She was a fan before we met, now … I don’t know. I’m joking.

5. Does your writing make you uneasy?

Honestly? Only my erotica. It embarrassed me writing some scenes and descriptions, even if I had already written a spicy scene in my first novel. Horror never makes me uneasy. On the contrary, it’s my natural habitat: there, it’s the only place I breathe and move freely.

6. Who would you say you write like?

Hard question. I would say that my style of writing is similar to H.P. Lovecraft, with a lot of adjectives and ‘dead’ words. But it’s others that must judge me. I have already been labeled as ‘pretentious and arrogant’ (in a good way) by a famous writer, so, far from me to say I write like the great man from Providence. It just happens that we have a similar voice.

7. Who are your favourite authors?

Mary Shelley, Michael Slade, Edgar Allan Poe, Thomas Harris, Michael Crichton, David Brin, Stephen King, and … Franklin E. Wales. What? No Lovecraft? Yes, I like his style and cosmos, but I’m not a fan of his stories. Weird, isn’t it?

8. Who influences you as a writer?

The poetry of Poe, the language of Lovecraft, and the twisted mind of Michael Slade. I would really like to write a thriller, with no supernatural elements, but it’s hard for me. Every time I try to start one, dark spirits and strange things creep inside it. The problem is, I’m not the master of my stories, I’m their scribe; they dictate to me what I must put into them.

However, I try to write my stories in the style of the era they are set in. For example, a story set in the Victorian age I will write in an epistolary format or in journal entries, and the language would be very similar (I research the slang of the times) to the penny dreadful. If I write a story set in the roaring twenties, the style – and the language – will be similar to that of Lovecraft. When I wrote Dead Men Tell No Tales – The Full Tale, my second novel, I wrote it in the style of science fiction writers of the nineties, keeping the dialogue in a cinematic ‘piratey’ style. Though it’s a horror-fantasy story, for my narrative I used the kind of voice you expect in stuff like Star Trek, Babylon 5, or Firefly. Those are all space opera TV shows, but the narrative, being adventurous, is clearly based on the format of the cliffhangers of the forties-fifties; something that was revamped by the nineties’ screenwriters.

9. Do you remember what your first horror book was that you read?

Does Little Red Riding Hood count as a horror story? I was afraid of the Big Bad Wolf when I was a kid. The fact that he was killed by the Hunter, then he came back from the dead in the Three Little Pigs …

No, seriously, my first ‘horror’ book was Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus. But I don’t consider it horror, I consider it a Tragedy. Straight horror for me was Dracula. Yes, I think that was my first horror book. I read Jaws before it, but that is adventure to me.

10. How old were you?

I have read Frankenstein when I was fourteen. In Italian, then, I reread it in English, years later. Dracula I read at fifteen, again in Italian. My first English language book was Ghoul by Michael Slade.

11. Is there any subject you will not touch as an author?

I don’t know. Clearly, there are things that upset me, but I think a writer should never stray away from the things he doesn’t like. A writer is like a movie director and an actor rolled into one: you act out characters, that doesn’t mean you are like them.

12. What was the best advice you were given as a writer?

Stop acting like a dork. Seriously. That came from my writing mentor, Franklin E. Wales.

I was, and still am, a very humble guy. I don’t consider myself a writer, I consider myself a storyteller. I like to put out my stories; if people like them, good, otherwise, no problem.

When I started interacting with other writers I used to feel like I didn’t belong among them. So, I was humble to the point of being … fastidious. My mentor called me and yelled at me to stop acting like I was the waiter at a writer’s party and to be proud of my accomplishments. They were my peers, not my masters.

Frank still kicks my behind from time to time, but I kick back.

Sometimes.

13. If you had to start all over again, what would you do different?

I would submit all my work from the start. I was new to the publishing world and I didn’t know the ins and outs of it. I regret self-publishing REVENANT. That is one of my best stories, for the language used in it, and it deserved more exposure. Alas, you can’t go back in time and it’s hard to sell reprints. For the rest, no regrets.

14. How many books do you read a year?

It depends. I used to read as much as fifty-sixty books per year. Now, my maximum is five-six. Still, I’m always reading. Sometimes it’s a novel, sometimes a short story collection. Newspapers, articles, comics, books for research.

15. Do you write every day?

I would like that. But it’s not possible. I have a full-time business (connected with books, so, yay!) My graphic art keeps me busy most of the day. Clients can be very demanding, and sometimes, I have to amend a graphic jig even three or four times per day. I have to check my email constantly for possible queries and commissions. My custom-made book covers are very detailed and the search for every single element is lengthy and difficult. I have gained a reputation for delivering my finished product in one day. When I start a graphic project I do my best to create the cover my commissioning writer dreams as fast as possible. I stay in contact with the client all day.

Then, there’s life. Lately, I have settled my roots back in my home city, Rome. Still, Lorraine (my partner) and I move from time to time to go to England and France. So, it’s a busy, but pleasant life.

Last, inspiration. My personal advice: don’t write when you don’t feel it. If you force it because you have set a schedule every day you’re bound to write bad stuff. Let the fire blaze inside you. When you feel that fire, write. Your most beautiful sentences will surely come out.

Please provide Amazon, Twitter, Linked In, Facebook, Blog Links

Jeffrey Kosh Graphics Website: http://jeffreykosh.wix.com/jeffreykoshgraphics

Official Author Website: http://jeffreykosh.wix.com/jeffreykosh

Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0074F2VGU

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JeffreyKosh

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5763856.Jeffrey_Kosh

Stage32 (as an actor and artist): https://www.stage32.com/profile/368353/jeffrey-kosh

Facebook Personal Account: https://www.facebook.com/jeffrey.kosh