Interview: D. Alan Dunn

D. Alan Dunn, a native south Texan, retired from the building and plumbing trades after a bout with cancer. A longtime fan of crime mystery and horror fiction, Dunn’s hidden talent for writing exploded into reality in 2007 when he wrote his memoirs for his grandchildren. Since then, his repertoire of author published works consist of “The Moods of My Heart” – a collection of poems, sonnets and quatrains and “5 After Midnight” – a collection of short stories in the psychological and horror genres.

Q: When did you know you wanted to become a writer?
A: I’ve always had stories rolling around in my head since childhood, but it wasn’t until I was recovering from cancer surgery and wrote my memoirs for my grandchildren that I realized that writing came natural to me.

Q: How did you pick the genre/setting/era you (usually) write in?
A: I think it picked me. Horror is my first love, but I also enjoy writing westerns and crime mysteries. I usually try to combine the three genres to create a unique and fresh storyline. For example, a novel I am writing now, Dead Bone Posse, entangles a group of 1930s bank robbers with a posse of long since dead lawmen.

Q: How did you come up with the idea for your story in History and Horror, Oh My?
A: I was researching serial killers online and stumbled upon a story about a real life serial killer in the Old West. I was therefore prompted to write my own rendering.

Q: Did you encounter any obstacles in researching the setting?
A: Researching for historical fiction is always a difficulty. To be believable, a setting has to be a real place rather than a fictional one, and sometimes the setting you choose is not easily researchable online.

Q: Do you have a favorite historical period you enjoy reading or writing about?
A: Any historical period is enjoyable for me. When you think about all of the untold stories of those time periods, an author’s imagination is infinite.

Q: Who is your favorite author, and what really strikes you about their work?
A: Edgar Allen Poe. Poe’s physiological and dark romanticism styles define me as a writer.

Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m currently writing stories for a collection of short stories entitled Tales from the Netherworld. A series of stories that acquaints the reader to the horrors and hopelessness of hell.

Read D. Alan Dunn's story for yourself!
History and Horror, Oh My! is now available in ebook formats on Smashwords and in print and Kindle formats on Amazon.

History and Horror, Oh My: Chantal Boudreau

Chantal Boudreau is an accountant by day and an author/illustrator during evenings and weekends, who lives by the ocean in beautiful Nova Scotia, Canada with her husband and two children. In addition to being a CMA-MBA, she has a BA with a major in English from Dalhousie University. An affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association, she writes and illustrates horror, dark fantasy and fantasy and has had several of her stories published in a variety of horror anthologies, online journals and magazines. She has also published ten novels to date.

When did you know you wanted to become a writer?
I've been wanting to be a writer since I was six and wrote a handful of bad short stories as a child. I wrote my first novel (my trunk novel) when I was fourteen, and got incredibly helpful feedback from the rare person who took the time to read it. I entered a few writing contests and won a couple of prizes in my teens and young adult years but I never really aspired to being a published writer until I met my dear friend Barb MacQueen, who wouldn't stop pushing until I got my work out there. She had faith in me and my writing talent in a way no one else has had.

How did you pick the genre/setting/era you (usually) write in?
I feel more like it picked me. I was drawn to fairy tales and mythology as soon as I started reading, and I always was inclined to tales with a fantasy element, but I found myself most intrigued by the darkest of these stories. It makes sense to write what you like to read, so that's what I do. Whenever I'm inspired it usually carries me back to familiar places.

How did you come up with the idea for your story in History and Horror, Oh My?
I've played around with a variety of mythologies in several of my short stories and novels, and while I had written a short story set in Egypt, "Dry Heat," I had never dabbled in Egyptian mythology before. I figured it was time I tried my hand there.

Did you encounter any obstacles in researching the setting?
Not at all. Research is one of my favourite parts of writing and there is plenty of information available on Egyptian mythology. I had much more difficulty digging up information on obscure mythologies like Sami, Siberian and Thracian mythologies, for other projects.

Do you have a favorite historical period you enjoy reading or writing about?
The older the better. I love any stories centered on ancient civilizations, especially the ones with tribal mythologies involving shamans and having a strong connection with nature. I love the primitive aspect.

Who is your favorite author, and what really strikes you about their work?
That's difficult to answer because I have different favourites in different genres. My favourite in dark fantasy, for example, is Tanith Lee, and my favourite in sci-fi is Robert J. Sawyer. And I'm more of a "well-loved book" kind of reader rather than a "favourite author" type - I don't necessarily love everything written by my preferred authors. For me, the appeal comes from well-developed, flawed, multi-dimensional characters. To earn my favour, the characters in a story have to feel like real people.

What are you working on now?
I'm in the middle of a dystopian novel and I just finished one steampunk and three Lovecraftian horror short stories. Steampunk is a new endeavour for me so I'm going to have to test it out and probably rework it based on feedback. I like to experiment with new things from time to time.

Learn more about Chantal Boudreau's stories!
Check out Chantal's blog at http://chantellyb.wordpress.com. You can also learn about her other writings on her Amazon Author page. To see some of her illustrations, visit her Facebook page.

History and Horror, Oh My! is now available in ebook formats on Smashwords and in print and Kindle formats on Amazon.

History and Horror, Oh My: Kevin Wetmore

Kevin Wetmore is the author of over a dozen short stories and several books, including Post-9/11 Horror in American Cinema and Back from the Dead: Reading Remakes of George Romero's Zombie Films as Markers of Their Times. He lives in Los Angeles where he also acts, directs, teaches and does stunts.

Kevin contributed "Report on an Incident after the Battle of Malvern Hill" to History and Horror, Oh My! The "Report" tells the story of a soldier's grisly discovery during the American Civil War, but we found his description of the 'normal' events in the war equally gruesome. We decided to learn more about what inspired him to write the story and how he researched it.

How did you pick the genre/setting/era you (usually) write in?
I write horror because I like horror and spend a good deal of time reading and watching that genre, so it is also the one I know best. I wrote this short story about the Civil War era because it is a period that really interests me. It really was the first modern war - the first machine gun, the Gatling Gun, was in use by 1962 by the Union army. It was a very violent and horrific conflict that was well documented through photographs and soldiers' journals and letters. (The description of a the aftermath of a battlefield looking like a single entity came from a soldier's letter home, for example). So there was a lot of material with horrific potential even before adding the monster element. I also wanted to explore a story written as a letter, so the Civil War setting also lent itself to that task.
It don't usually write in this period. Most of my fiction is either set in the present or in the immediate future. It is fun, though, to write about the past. I usually end up doing a lot of research to be accurate. I wrote a story set at Halloween 1955 that was really a tribute to my father's childhood and the first thing he did after reading it was tell me all the things I got wrong - the night that particular TV shows were on, how families ate dinner - just details that someone alive then would know but are not necessarily found in books or websites. So I think I like writing about the Civil War or the Renaissance - nobody tells you that you got the details wrong.

How did you come up with the idea for your story in History and Horror, Oh My?
I recently read James McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom and found myself horrified by the battle descriptions. I also started thinking about the terrible starvation and famine that followed in the South and how deserters would follow the armies looking for food. I also look at the descriptions of the military hospitals and the conditions under which hundreds of limbs would be amputated in a single day after battle and began wondering what would happen if the desperation drove the deserters to feast on those limbs. I think I was also playing with the metaphor of feeding off of others found in slavery. The whole story was intended to convey increasing unease and disgust after the fact as a wounded soldier reports on the horrific battlefield experience, the even more horrific hospital experience, and then finally the realization that someone had eaten your flesh and now had a taste for it. While there are lots of horrible ways to die, I think knowing that you are being consumed by something else is particularly disturbing.

Did you encounter any obstacles in researching the setting?
No, actually. The Civil War is frighteningly well documented. It was just making sure you get the details right. Knowing that a certain unit disbanded on this date and was absorbed into another unit, or that men from a particular unit only came from one town are things you need to get right, because there is always that reader that knows and gets pulled out of the story when the read something they know isn't right, and I want the reader in the story while he or she is reading it. Plus most of my writing has been non-fiction, so I actually really enjoy the research. I keep a notebook on my desk as I am researching things for my non-fiction work, as I come across something that will make an interesting story I make a note of it and then start working on a story later. That's actually how this one began life.

Who is your favorite author, and what really strikes you about their work?
I am a huge Ray Bradbury fan. Love his stuff. He has a gift for language and for detail that just makes him a pleasure to read. I've read Something Wicked This Way Comes so many times I have whole sections memorized. My fiction is mostly short stories, and he is certainly a master of the form, so he has proven an excellent model. I also really like Joe R. Landale's short stories. His novels are fine and fun, but his short stories bite and don't let go. I think "The Night They Missed The Horror Show" is still the most horrific thing I have ever read. It's like reading an accident - everything slows down and you see the bad things coming and are powerless to change the outcome. That story left a mark.

What are you working on now?
As always, many short stories and several non-fiction projects. I've been interviewing the participants of Zombie Walks, Zombie Runs, Zombie Crawls, etc., really anything where people dress up and pretend to be zombies for a book about why we play dead - not just watch zombie movies, but why folks want to pretend to be a reanimated corpse. I have several stories coming out over the next several months and several I am currently revising. Like all writers, I think about a novel, but the short story form is what really interests and occupies me right now.

Okay, so you're an author. What do you enjoy reading?
As an author, anything and everything. Ideas are everywhere, information too. I start the day with the newspaper, then read novels, history, science books, plays, magazines - everything.

Read Kevin Wetmore's story for Yourself!
History and Horror, Oh My! is now available in ebook formats on Smashwords and in print and Kindle formats on Amazon.

Interview with Gloria Alden

Gloria Alden and Her Gnome

Today I am chatting with Gloria Alden, one of the authors in Mystery and Horror, LLC's new anthology Strangely Funny. Gloria has a number of published short stories, including “Cheating on Your Wife Can Get You Killed,” winner of the 2011 Love is Murder contest and published in Crimespree Magazine; “Mincemeat is for Murder” appearing in Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, “The Professor’s Books” in the FISH TALES Anthology; and “The Lure of the Rainbow” in FISH NETS, the newest Guppy Anthology. She is the author of the Catherine Jewell mystery novels and a middle-grade book, THE SHERLOCK HOLMES DETECTIVE CLUB. She lives on a small farm in Southington, Ohio with two ponies, some cats, five hens and her collie, Maggie. She blogs on Thursdays with Writers Who Kill and once a month with the Fish Tales Anthology Blog.

So Gloria, tell us a little more about yourself.

I’m a retired elementary school teacher with a Master’s degree in English. I’ve been writing mysteries for some time and have had five short stories published now and this past year I decided to indie publish the first in my Catherine Jewell mystery series – TheBlue Rose and the 2^nd one Daylilies for Emily’s Garden came out in May. I’m in the final edit of my third. I also have a middle-grade mystery out – TheSherlock Holmes Detective Club based on a writing activity I did with my third grade having them follow the adventures of an elderly woman, who was traveling around the U.S. on the track of two jewel thieves. Because the letters came postmarked and unopened from places she was having her sometimes dangerous adventures – thanks to friends and relatives around the country, they believed in her and their letters to her are funny and precious. I live on a small farm with two ponies, a few hens, two barn cats, two house cats, and my companion, Maggie, a tri-color full sized collie. I’m also an exuberant gardener who doesn’t know when to stop making new gardens which is why my books have a gardening theme. I took up backpacking when I was 60 and only stopped when my younger sister couldn’t do it any longer.

What event in your life helped you know you wanted to become a writer?

A year after my oldest son died of cancer at eighteen; I entered college for the first time to become a teacher. The first essay I wrote for an English class was “Saying Good-bye” about his death. My professor liked it so much that she suggested I submit it to the campus’s literary magazine. I did and it was accepted and from then on I wrote a lot of poetry and submitted it and also had a short story win an award for freshman writing. I also took an overload of every literature and writing class offered in addition to my elementary education courses and did well in all of them. I even enjoyed writing research papers. I think going to college as an older student is what led me to become a writer.

What made you decide on writing mysteries?

That’s easy. Although I’m an eclectic reader, mysteries have always been my favorite reads starting with Nancy Drew. I love trying to solve the problem of who done it before the end as well as getting totally immersed in a place and characters that make me feel like I am there.

You write adult and young adult mysteries. What do you see as the difference in writing for a younger audience?

Actually, I don’t write young adult, but middle-grade. I love middle-grade kids and after teaching that age for 20 years plus having Cub Scouts and then a Girl Scout troop for 10 years, I relate to this age, and in some ways my sense of humor works well for them. But writing for a mature audience is more full-filling for me. I can include topics including murder as well as others that would not be appropriate for youngsters.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I’m more of a pantser; however I do create characters, especially my murderers by writing a biography of them showing what leads them to murder. In doing so, I actually have sympathy for my murderer and wish he/she didn’t take that final irreversible step. Once I start the book, I have some notes of things I want included, I have a plot in mind, but from then on the characters and story kind of take off on their own.

What makes you so sexy?

After I got up from the floor from laughing so hard, I thought about it. Maybe it’s because I wear very little makeup? Or maybe it’s because I’m more comfortable in jeans or shorts? Or could it be my white hair worn in a simple style that I never fuss with? And then I decided it was the barn boots I wear when it’s wet outside for my walks in the woods or cleaning the pony stalls. If I asked my son and daughter-in-law whose house I pass each morning, they might say it’s the raggedy and well-worn, but warm old snowmobile coat I wear in the winter with a red knit hat, although they’ve been nagging me for years to buy a new one even if I have to go to Good Will.

Okay, so you’re an author. What do you enjoy reading?

Mysteries, of course, mostly traditional, but I’ll read others, too. I’ve always enjoyed Jane Langton for her intricate plots, characters and great sense of humor. I like Elizabeth George and Louise Penny, and so many other authors I can’t list them all. I also belong to two book clubs and almost always I enjoy the books that are chosen that I might never have read if it wasn’t for them. I also read TIME magazine and the daily newspaper. I have a library/dining room/office with several walls of book plus book cases in almost every room of my house and where there isn’t a book case, books are still somewhere in the room.

What books have most influenced your life?

I’ve been reading since I was six – a lot of years - so that’s impossible to say. I can’t imagine a life without reading books. If I had to pick one book that I’ve read three times and would be on almost everyone’s list as one of the best, it’s To Kill a Mockingbird.

Do you see writing as a career?

It’s one of the things I really enjoy doing and plan on writing for as long as I can. I have so many stories still inside me. I’m editing my third book in the series and have my plot for the fourth, and actually some notes for future books. My series is on a monthly basis; 1^st in June, 2^nd in July and on. I also write a blog for every Thursday on Writers Who Kill. But do I consider it a career? Not really. I won’t get rich at it, but I have a pension and it’s not so much about the money as wanting to be read. I’m not going to put in hours and hours every day on writing my mysteries. I have a rather large family, friends, and other interests like gardening, volunteering, and reading to name a few. Plus my critters take time, and I can only stand just so much clutter surrounding me. 

 

Thanks for being my guest today. 

Strangely Funny is now available in print, Kindle, and other e-book formats.