On the Hot Seat: 5 Questions with Horror Author Patrick C. Greene

As a toddler, Patrick C. Greene was creating horrors in crayon and magic marker upon every available surface. Not surprisingly, he soon discovered comic books and immersed himself in the fantastic worlds found therein. Horror fiction and films came next, and despite spending nights of terror hiding under covers, he always found himself drawn back to tales of dark fates.

Greene cut his fangs in the screenwriting business but found his true calling in the world of prose fiction of the kind his heroes King, Barker and Koontz create.

Living at night, deep in the mountains of Western North Carolina, Greene answers the call of his morbid muse when not enjoying monstrous helpings of horror, kung fu and doom metal.

Links: Amazon / Website / Facebook / Twitter 

Q: What’s inside the mind of a horror author?

A: Many surprisingly bright and cheery thoughts, actually. If I may speak for purveyors of the genre, I find my colleagues to share with me a wish for social equality and peace, for beauty/ truth. The horror, with its allusions to the unknown and Unknowable, is both a distraction from mundane bothers and a reflection of the current world state; how it could be so much better with just a little effort.

Q: Tell us why readers should buy The Crimson Calling.

A: Vampires are endlessly fascinating because they are the monster closest to us, in terms of emotional complexity, desire and ambition. They too can feel love of a kind –or try to reject it. The vampires of Crimson are both terrified of and fascinated by us “warmies,” just as we are of them. We are on the cusp of a time when vampires and mortals can find a kind of peace, but the road is fraught with treachery and danger. It’s a close parallel to some of our current social issues, and even mingles with those at times. Oh yeah – the question. Readers should buy The Crimson Calling because it is literally the Single Greatest Accomplishment in Human History.

Q: What makes a good vampire horror novel?

A: The element that makes a book of any genre good, is its characters first, and how they handle the conflicts of the story second. It’s not enough for vampires to be scary in my opinion, they must also have very human thoughts and feelings. A werewolf or zombie for example, isn’t necessarily evil, just hungry and unconcerned with what it destroys in satisfying that hunger. A vampire must be aware of the lives of their victims and either ignore them or relish the pain and change they reap.

Q: What is a regular writing day like for you?

A: Not really a “day” at all. I’m very much a night creature, like the vamps of The Crimson Calling, but without the sometimes messy habits. I’m up in the early evening, off to the gym for a couple of hours, and then on to work on the latest project, wrapping up by dawn. The training settles my body so that my mind can be active, and also helps me to clear stress so that the writing time is most constructive.

Q: What has writing taught you?

A: It’s a constant reminder of the theory of relativity, that every reaction has its opposite. But also, that the opposite can be something wildly unexpected. It has instilled in me the appreciation of having a long term goal and seeing it realized past the doubts and fog of the early stages. So, patience, mostly.

Meet Anne K. Edwards, author of 'This and That—Collection of Light and Dark Tales'

Anne K. Edwards enjoyed the printed word from the time she learned to read. In the third grade she got an honorable mention in a class writing contest where one had to add an ending to a story.  That was when she found how much fun and freedom there was in writing stories of her own and how much she loved writing them. Her twin loves of reading and writing finally brought her deep satisfaction when she was signed to that first publishing contract.  

Q: Please tell us about This and That—Collection of Light and Dark Tales, and what inspired you to write it.

A:  This particular book was written over a period of years in the form of short stories about a wide variety of subjects in various genres.  Each one was inspired by some new story idea or a twist to an old theme.

Q: What themes do you explore in This and That—Collection of Light and Dark Tales?

A: The themes of the stories vary according to subject. For instance, the old idea of vampirism--what would happen to a vampire if he drank his own blood? Or that old idea of the devil attempting to take over the world and outsmarting himself. Or what would happen if Death had to hire a detective to help him? I know those aren’t standard themes, but I actually like to write “What would happen if—“ stories using that as the theme.

Q: Why do you write?

A: Because I can’t not write. Ideas keep coming and in order to save what others might laughingly call my sanity, I must try to flesh them out. Writing can be called an addiction or something that won’t let me be until I get that idea down on paper.

Q: How picky are you with language?

A: I prefer to use a relaxed form of language as the formal version would never fit in fiction. And even in nonfiction, formal or proper language can be stiff sounding. Writing as one would speak is much easier and much more readable, particularly in fiction.

Q: When you write, do you sometimes feel as though you were being manipulated from afar?

A:  I don’t know. I do often wonder where ideas originate and how they reach my consciousness. It happens when I write, the results seem to be someone else’s words. 

Q: What is your worst time as a writer?

A: Starting a new work and getting that first chapter right. And though I know how a tale ends, I often have trouble reaching it and the result is the characters have other ideas and a new ending is necessary. Thus, doing things over and over is what I’d say is my worst time as a writer.

Q: Your best?

A:  Reaching those final words ‘The End’ and being really satisfied with the way the story is written and its outcome.

Q: Is there anything that would stop you from writing?

A: Only if I were to lose the ability to create. Scribbing for its own sake gives no reward.

Q: What’s the happiest moment you’ve lived as an author?

A:  The happiest moment would be the first contract as with most writers, but finishing a book is also a moment of great satisfaction. This however is balanced by the immediate intrustion into that happiness of new ideas and new characters demanding to be heard.

Q: Is writing an obsession to you?

A: It comes close. I have tried to quit a few times when disappointed in results only to find it nagging at me to start again and again and again.  Writing is a nagging voice demanding audience and only shutting up when the writer takes up a clean sheet of paper and starts to write or turns on the computer and presses those first keys. So I’d likely say the force that makes us write is the obsessive while the writer must let themselves be manipulated by it to find any peace.

Q: Are the stories you create connected with you in some way?

A: No. I find an interest in many things that have nothing to do with me personally, such as worrying about the end of the world as in one story, or what will happen to civilization as we know it if greed in its many forms takes over. Those things aren’t likely to happen in  my lifetime so I see no connection except the desire to write the story. I have reached into my past to select characteristics for people, and perhaps some places as backdrops for a tale, but that’s the limit.

Q: Ray Bradbury once said, “You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” Do you agree?

A: I don’t think so. Reality is living everyday life, family, jobs, friends, and so forth and enjoying it.  Unreality is the fiction that can be based on reality, but isn’t the same. To write, one uses forms of reality as a base and then stretches it, like emotions in reality may run a course and then we move on, but characters in a thriller may become so locked in grief they become serial killers of the most horrible kind.  I know people suicide from reality, but it is usually a twisted perception that drives them or some experience that scars their psyche so badly they cannot bear the pain and this has nothing to do with writing.

Q: Where is your book available? 

A.    Amazon and perhaps the publisher First Realm Publishing.

Q: Do you have a website or blog where readers can find out more about you and your work?

A: Yes. www.AnneKEdwards.com  Be sure to meet my muse, Swamp Thingy in his column, One Muse’s Opinion

Book Review & $100 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway: ‘Mind Games,’ by Christine Amsden

Mind Games is the much awaited third installment in the new adult mystery series, Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective. Talented author Christine Amsden keeps delivering a great story filled with interesting characters, romance, mystery, and the paranormal, lots of it.

In this episode, Cassie still doesn’t know why Evan broke her heart two months ago, and the mystery gnaws at her big time. She decides to keep busy and make herself useful at the sheriff’s department. She also meets charismatic mind mage Matthew Blair…much to Evan’s distaste. At the same time, Eagle Rock is teeming with hate from the religious community, a reaction to the recent murder of a much-esteemed pastor’s wife by what the people believe was a sorcerer. The town is about to snap, with tensions between the magical and non-magical communities.

And in the center of all this, is Matthew, whom Cassie finds irresistible. But can she trust him? According to Evan, no way. But then, Evan isn’t the most objective person when it comes to Cassie. Evan and Cassie have a history, as well as a secret connection, that keeps them bound in spite of themselves.

Will Cassie discover the real culprit or culprits behind the pastor’s wife’s murder, as well as the real face behind the anti-magical propaganda and demonstrations? Most importantly, will she wake up and see Matthew for who he really is…and find the courage to face Evan for what he did to her—when she finds out?

I love this series and thoroughly enjoyed this instalment! There’s something about Cassie’s voice that makes her really likable. She has a good heart and is witty, too. But best of all, she is just an ordinary girl next door trying to do her best in spite of everything that happens around her—which is usually pretty remarkable, as is often the case in paranormal stories.

Her relationship with Evan keeps evolving organically and there’s a major revelation in this book about their connection and the secret behind their rival families. Matthew is a great addition to this episode, adding tension with his charismatic personality and inciting sparks of jealousy from Evan. The conflict between the religious and the magical communities is also well done.

Mind Games kept me reading late into the night, wondering what would happen next. If you haven’t read any books in this series before, I urge you to pick up book one first, Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective. The books are best read in order. You won’t be disappointed.

Purchase links: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Connect with the author on the web: 

Website / Newsletter / Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Google+

My review was originally published on Blogcritics. 

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*The giveaway begins on April 15, 2014 at midnight and ends on July 16, 2014 at midnight.