Crafting the Creeps through Fiction: Questions for the Authors Who Do It Best

In 2011, the third author in this series published his first novel, and then in 2012 he published his second. Mike Duran has written The Resurrection, The Telling, as well as a novella titled Winterland. I’ve read The Telling and will most likely be purchasing the other two in the near future.

The Telling is not a Horror novel with undertones of Christianity. The story depicts a blunt battle between good and evil. As strange things begin to happen in his hometown, Zeph Walker, a childhood prophet, must decide whether or not to admit the truth he’s been hiding from for years.

Duran regularly posts on his blog, and also has various other types of work that you can find under the Books tab. I’ve read some of his posts and posts he’s written for other sites, and they’re not to be missed. Recent articles have been creating quite a stir for some readers. I definitely suggest you check them out.

Mike Duran was gracious enough to send some great answers for Crafting the Creeps through Fiction.

1) As a writer, do the voices in your head ever overwhelm you?

“Ha! I think that's called "schizophrenia," isn't it? I've heard it said before that writers need to develop a kind of multiple personality syndrome. In other words, we need to learn how to actively cultivate the voices in our heads. I know, that sounds weird. But when it comes to creating characters, the author is the first and best prototype. Most of your better characters will be culled from yourself. But if it's true that we need to cultivate these fictive persons, then it's also necessary to assign rooms for them, so that at the end of each day we can lock them there.”

2) What's something no one will ever say about you?

“Interesting question. I hope no one would ever be able to say I'm boring, uninteresting, or dispassionate. I'd rather have folks say I'm intense, I think too much, and enjoy deep conversations.”

3) What is your least favorite interview question to be asked?

“What's you're favorite color, food, or something like that. Those kinds of questions always seem so lame to me. It's almost like the interviewer did not want to exert the energy to research their subject and ask some provocative, informative questions. You'd think if someone was interesting enough to be interviewed, what their favorite color was would be way down the list of questions one can ask. (And, by the way, my favorite color is green.)”

4) What is your earliest memory of being afraid?

“It probably had less to do with fear than being profoundly disturbed about the nature of the universe. I was probably 5 or 6 years old. My dog, Daisy, was my best friend. She slept at the foot of my bed every night. We had a very close relationship. Well, my mother brought home some chicks one day and we kept them in a little pen out back. I was mesmerized over those little yellow fuzzballs. Until one day I came home and found that Daisy had slaughtered all of them. The back yard was strewn with chicken guts. perhaps the most disturbing element of the event was having to reconcile how the dog I loved could massacre such innocent little things. It scarred me for life.”

To find out more about Mike Duran and his writing, I recommend following his blog. You can also like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.

Blog: http://mikeduran.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cerebralgrump

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/cerebralgrump

Finding God's Glory in the Scariest Places

My mom and I were driving in the car the other day. Out of the blue she feels the need to note, “You know, I’m not sure how I feel about raising possibly the next big name in Horror Fiction.” I thought for a second then asked, “Because of the ‘next big name’ part or the Horror part?” She promptly assured me she meant the fact that I was interested in Horror Fiction. Apparently it kind of “weirded” her out.

It’s not that she’s doesn’t support me; she’s definitely one of the most supportive mothers I’ve ever met.

But that question still lingers in the back of everybody’s mind…Can you uphold your faith, keeping right in the eyes of God, and find enjoyment from the eerie world of Horror?

Personally, I find no conviction when I read through a good scary novel. I do struggle sometimes with the idea of it being wrong to enjoy Horror as a Christian. But I still don’t feel a strong conviction when I read my favorite genre. So recently, when my mom Facebook messaged me an article by Jared Moore titled, “How to Watch a Scary Movie Unto the Glory of God” I was pretty psyched.

The article discusses how movies and novels exploring the more edgy side of things can be appreciated without the fear of losing the Lord’s love. Moore explains ways to “enjoy the Lord” while watching Horror movies or TV shows. He gives a list of things such as admiring the gift of the authors, directors, and actors; finding joy in the fact that most show the good guys winning over the sources of evil; and recognizing that yes, some shows do contradict the Lord, and we have to remember that God is meant to be our security, hope, trust, and life.

Moore also goes into how, as Christians, we DO need to be careful when watching stuff like this. He presents five things that Christians must keep in mind.

“How to Watch a Scary Movie Unto the Glory of God” encourages me. Reminds me to continue doing what I love, but not just because I love it, but because in everything I do, there is a way to honor Jesus Christ. Even if it involves a movie or novel which may or may not give me nightmares. It also serves as a good reminder to keep my eyes where they should be and to keep my heart in line. While it is okay to find enjoyment in a good scare, it is equally important to remember that I am human and apt to sin.

No matter my love for Horror Fiction, Jesus Christ and His truth should still be the center of my focus. If I do stumble upon something that’s going to encourage me or tempt me to sin, as a Christian, I need to be aware of the fact and stay away from it.

So for those of you who also gather a few odd looks from suspicious bystanders, I encourage you to read the article. As for me, my mom may still be a bit "weirded" out by my peculiar pull to this side of fiction, but I see a world of scares and thrills, good over evil, and a place to show the glory of God in drastic and radical ways. 

The choice to participate in this strange genre remains a personal choice that is not so black and white. But the article just might help in figuring things out.

To read this article you can follow the link below: http://jaredmoore.exaltchrist.com/2011/03/09/how-to-watch-a-scary-movie-unto-the-glory-of-god/.

Just Keep Reading, Reading, Reading...

So, I knew Steven James was good.

People kept telling me so.

Well, mostly they just kept talking about how it was a fantastic thrill ride and how graphic, intense, slightly disgusting, and pretty disturbing it was; and that I would probably love it. 

(Hmm…I wonder if that’s a bad thing…)

James’ series, The Patrick Bowers Files (The Pawn, The Rook, The Knight, The Bishop, and The Queen), has been sitting on the shelf for a while. I wasn’t avoiding it, I just didn’t have the time, plus other books kept creeping up on me. Still, the snips and scraps I’d heard lurked in the back of my mind creating a desire to finish the series before I’d even started it.

In May, I attended a writing conference, Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer’s Conference to be exact. It was my first time at anything like that. I took it slow and mainly read the entire week. However, I did choose to take one class: Steven James class.

It was about making your novel writing better. Now, I don’t have plans to start a novel right now, but it was helpful for me to see new ways to diagnose novels and dissect them for my reviews. While I was learning new tricks, that lurking desire grew bigger and bigger. James said a few things about his novels, mentioned a few passages, but thankfully didn’t give out too much information.

At one point I was nervous he’d given away the identity of the uncatchable killer… Then I actually read the first book.

Honestly, I couldn’t figure out why I hadn’t started sooner.

As my stomach turned and played with the idea of nausea…I was trapped. There was absolutely no chance of me not finishing this book. People were right; I loved it.

Yes, it’s detailed; yes, it’s kind of gory; yes, it’s a little gross. But does it catch your eye? Grab your attention? Make you want more? Of course.

After I survived the Prologue and got into Chapter One, I knew this was going to be more than just great imagery. The story was going to be a wild ride of unanswered mysteries, misleading clues, and abundant psychological thrills. I could not have been happier. James doesn’t want to gross you out, make you stop reading, or haunt your dreams, he just wants to write a good, intricate, unexpected, and satisfying novel. 

I will warn you, while his imagery won't haunt your sleep, his cliff-hangers probably will. 

In James’ class, he talked about how to create twists. Basically if you want one twist, you need to create two “worlds” in the story. The real one and the one the reader believes. (He went into much greater detail, but that’s all I’ll say. If you want to inquire more you can send him a question on his website: http://asktheauthor.net/)

Knowing how his thought process works made it interesting to go through the book and try to figure stuff out. Maybe I’d have an upper hand now that I had an idea of what he was up to.

Nope.

That was a lost hope; I should have known it. Reading through The Pawn I kept gathering information, but I seemed to be as stuck as the main character, Patrick Bowers. Even when I thought it was one of those times where the reader knows something the characters don’t, I was wrong. I felt like I was being tricked.

James also mentioned in his class about how a novel needs the emotional connection. He said that there is only a few places in writing where an author can use an intellectual approach. I thought of this as I read The Pawn. The book becomes this intricate balance between the two: emotional and intellectual. James masterfully intertwined the two to keep his readers on edge. (It worked.)

While my heart was breaking for the characters, my mind was spinning trying to guess what was going to happen next. On the contrary, I just couldn’t figure it out. James showed he still had the upper hand by giving the reader an answer that was completely unexpected. It’s worth mentioning when an author can keep you guessing through an entire book and not annoy you. It’s quite a talent.

I said before that at one point I was nervous James gave away who the killer was (that’s a pretty big deal if you’re going to read an entire series about a special agent and a killer). Yet, the book says, “Special Agent Patrick Bowers never met a killer he couldn’t catch. Until Now.” So I was like, “Okay, that makes sense. But then the killer has to survive…still be functional…and still be even better than Bowers.” Even as I finished the last page, I had a good grasp on who this uncatchable killer was…But…There was still that little bit of doubt. That “What if…” scenario that drives everybody crazy.

I didn’t tell you much about the actual book. I kind of have to leave it to the author to do that. However, the gist of it is that Patrick Bowers is a special agent whose technique is a little different, but it usually works. His stepdaughter’s name is Tessa and though she’s a little rough on the edges, you’ll love her too. Bowers gets called in to work on this case, but as the back of the book states, this is one that even he can’t solve. 

In the end, do be aware that there are some pretty vivid descriptions in this book, James isn't trying to disgust the reader, but you have to know it is in there. (Though I've heard many people have made it through.)

In my opinion, the story trumps the sometimes violent imagery. So my advice? As Dory the fish might say, just keep reading.

Crafting the Creeps through Fiction: Questions for the Authors Who Do It Best

The next author, I actually, have yet to read. Though she has confidently made a name for herself in the world of Horror. Tosca Lee is the author of Demon (definitely on my reading list), Havah, and coming out in February 2013, Iscariot. Lee is also co-authoring the series The Books of Mortals with Ted Dekker. The series includes Forbidden, Mortal (releasing June 5), and Sovereign.

I was surprised (and very thankful) for such a fast return from Lee. She has officially become the second author in my new Crafting the Creeps through Fiction project. Her responses give an interesting insight into her books. Even though I haven’t read her work (except for the beginning of Forbidden), the more I learn about her, the more excited I am to dive into her world.

Each author I interview receives a different set of four questions from my list. These are the questions and answers from Tosca Lee:

1) What is your earliest memory of being afraid?

         “My first memory of being afraid is a bad dream I've had since the cradle-- a sense that all was not well, of scary laughter in the background. It's made me quite paranoid and appeared in almost every novel I've written.”

2) As a writer, do the voices in your head overwhelm you?

         “The voices in my head... no. I only hear them when I'm writing, and they're the voices of characters. Telling me to eat bacon and fatty foods.”

3) Are you ever worried about pushing the "horror envelope" too far?

         “The horror envelope... not really. I don't think there's anything I have thought of or experienced that someone else hasn’t.”

4) Do you believe in outlines? Or letting the story uncover itself?

         “Outlines--definitely. No matter how loose. I have to have one.”

If you want more information on Lee or her work you can check out her Facebook page, Twitter account, or her website.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tosca-Lee/176692373117

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/ToscaLee

Website: http://www.toscalee.com/