The author of my current read, Something Stirs,
graciously offered to be interviewed for this series. Thomas Smith has made
himself known in a variety of literary scenes. His website states that he is
the published author, essayist, travel writer, short story writer, among other
things. Smith’s writing has also made itself known in the TV world. He was a TV
news producer as well as a comedy and joke writer.
Smith’s novel, Something Stirs, has a
strong meaning and potent message.
As the fifth author to join the Crafting the
Creeps through Fiction series, I’m happy to post the interview responses from
Thomas Smith.
1) What is your earliest memory of being afraid?
“It would have to be the day I almost drowned. I
was about five years old and we were at the beach. I couldn't swim, so someone
was always nearby, keeping an eye on me in case something happened. A friend of
the family put me on a raft and started pulling me around in the surf and I was
having a blast. I wasn't afraid of the water, I just didn't know what to do in
it. At one point, the friend slipped and accidentally grabbed the raft. when he
did, I pitched over the side and was caught up in the wave. I distinctly
remember trying to scream and feeling the water run into my mouth, nose, and
throat. I was flailing in the green water, still trying to scream when my
father came up under me and lifted me out of the water. I couldn't let him go
for the longest time. And while I have snorkeled all over the Caribbean and
even have a house at the beach, I never go in the water that I don't have a
momentary flashback of seeing the surface and not being able to reach it.”
2) Are you ever worried that you push the
"horror envelope" too far?
“I don't really worry about that because (1) I
have a pretty good idea of what I can “get away with” and where the edge is
under the current publishing parameters, and (2) if an editor sees something
that he/she feels is pushing things a bit, they will tell me. A scene can
always be rewritten, or I can make the case for keeping it the way it is
written and see what their response is.
For example: In Something Stirs I had a
particular scene that disturbed my editor to the point that she emailed me,
told me her concern, and after I thought about it, I was able to tone it down
enough to meet their standards and still keep the creepy factor pretty high.
Also,
I never write anything just for the shock value. I will write something that I
hope is frightening, scary, even terrifying, but even at that level it must be
in line with and essential to the story. There's really no point in writing
something just because you can. Horror is simply an emotion (not really a
genre) as is love, amazement, fear, calm, and hate...and any of them can be
used to move a story along or act as a roadblock to the tale you're trying to
tell. It is in the utilization of every element of the story that the message
is able to speak. So, horror can make an inroad for redemption. Horror for the
sake of the gross out or trying to be visceral for no good reason silences the
real voice of the story. And I always try to keep that in mind.”
3) What is something no one will ever say about
you?
“Do you think he's a member of Mensa?”
4) What character surprised you most with
something they said or did?
“Actually there were two. The first was Jim Perry
when the Ben and Rachel told him about the son they lost a few years earlier.
His response, while supportive and empathetic, was also pretty direct. I really
didn't know how that would play out until I actually went back and read the
scene once it was finished.
The other was Piggy Ann. When the final
confrontation began, I had no idea what she/it was going to do. I hadn't
thought that far ahead, so I was pretty much just along for the ride.”
For more information about Thomas Smith and his
plethora of works, check him out on Facebook, Twitter, or his website.
Website: http://www.thomassmithonline.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tsmithwriting
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tsmithwriting
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