 Jack Bantry is the editor of Splatterpunk Zine. He resides in a small town at the edge of the North York Moors. Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself? Hello. My name is Jack Bantry. I’m the owner/editor of Splatterpunk Zine, and I writing horror fiction. What do you like to do when you're not writing? When not working (I’m a self-employed tradesman, doing anything from painting & decorating and tiling to fitting kitchens, bathrooms and wetrooms), I spend time with my family. I also dabble in a bit of publishing. Most recent being a couple of anthologies co-edited with Kit Power, (Splatterpunk Fighting Back and Splatterpunk Forever). Other than the horror genre, what else has been a major influence on your writing? My writing is influenced by the books I read and real life occurrences. For instances, the type of books I read influence the type of fiction I write. My favourite writers are people like Jack Ketchum, Ray Garton, Richard Stark, Richard Laymon, Max Allen Collins, etc. I like my fiction short and straight to the point. 200 page books that read like a film. For example: I prefer James Herbert over Stephen King. And I find real life occurrences scarier than supernatural horror. For instance, the sex trade and the abuse of women and children is probably the worst thing imaginable. Probably why THE GIRL NEXT DOOR by Jack Ketchum is one of the scariest books ever written. The term horror, especially when applied to fiction always carries such heavy connotations. What’s your feeling on the term “horror” and what do you think we can do to break past these assumptions? I think horror is just a title. Some people stick to it and won’t associate with anything else. I tend to go with whatever I enjoy. It’s like music. Some people will only listen to one genre. I like a wide variety of music, (from Bad Religion to Miley Cyrus). Book and films are the same. Horror probably is my favourite. I certain was my favourite, but I also enjoy reading and watching a lot of crime, particularly noir or hardboiled crime. After the success of horror in the 70s and 80s it became a bit of a joke, now though it’s made a resurgence. Just look at the amount of horror on Netflix. A lot of good horror movements have arisen as a direct result of the socio/political climate, considering the current state of the world where do you see horror going in the next few years? I’m a punk, so I enjoyed politics and I think the political climate gives us a lot of stories. Not sure if it’s really being addressed at the moment, but there’s definitely scope for it. The western world is on a downward spiral, like what happened to the Roman Empire, for example, it’s had its time and we are witnessing its demise. I can see a whole new world out there. Probably not for the better. But it sure would make a good backdrop to some stories. The apocalypse is coming. Bring on Mad max… What are the books and films that helped to define you as an author? I started reading horror fiction when I saw a film review for King’s PET SEMETERY on Barry Norman’s FILM TV programme. Read loads of King after that, scoured the car boot sales for second hand books and discovered great writers like Clive Barker, James Herbert, Richard Laymon, Graham Masterson. Reading Herbert’s THE FOG and the rats trilogy made me fall in love with the genre. As far as films go, I was brought up in the Fangoria generation and loved the slasher films. Chainsaw Massacre being my favourite, but there’s too many good films to mention. What new and upcoming authors do you think we should take notice off? Kit Power, Paul Shrimpton, Brendan Vidito, Matt Phillips… How would you describe your writing style? Being the editor of Splatterpunk Zine I’m probably associated with modern splatterpunk but I really love hardboiled crime. POINT BLANK by Richard Stark is one of the best books ever written. As is THE LIGHT AT THE END by Skipp & Spector. Mash them together and that’s the sort of stuff I’d love to write. It’s hard to define my writing style as I haven’t had much published and the books I have coming out this year were written 3-4 years ago. One is a crime/horror/thriller and the other (yet to be announced) is more comedy horror. But I’m currently working on a crime thriller… so there’s loads of diversity. They’re all short-ish. I write what I read. Something that plays out like a film and doesn’t go on a tangent. What aspects of writing to do you find the most difficult? Just finding time and getting motivated to sit at the laptop… Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? No! How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning? I like the way they sound. Like Jack Burton! Now that’s how you name a hero! Writing, is not a static process, how have you developed as a writer over the years? I just write. I come up with an idea and it develops itself, if it doesn’t and I like what I have then I send it to Robert Essigand we collaborate. I think we grow as people and writing is the same. Who knows where it’s gonna lead? I have no idea as long as I’m enjoying what I’m doing. Along with AIN’T WORTH A SHIT, I have two more books coming out this year. One is a novella, co-written with Robert, and the other is a collection. I’m also editing an anthology. Then there’s the crime thriller I mentioned. I have no idea what will come next. I might not write anything else? I might publish more. I quite enjoyed it, but then again I might be working on something else with Robert. I enjoyed the collaborating process. I don’t even know what day of the week it is. Ask me something else… What tools do you feel are must-haves for writers? I think it’s like anything in life. People just need to get off their asses and do what they enjoy. So you’ve got to have motivation. You’ve also got to be able to tell a story and not expect immediate success. I failed English at school. I don’t know the difference between a verb, noun or adjective. I just love reading books and getting the chance to tell a story. You can do anything if you try. What is the best piece of advice you ever received with regards to your writing? Nothing stands out when it comes to writing advice. I remember hearing a song titled Never Give Up, by The Swellbellys, from Edinburgh. Sums it up really. Getting your worked noticed is one of the hardest things for a writer to achieve, how have you tried to approach this subject? Getting noticed is very difficult, much harder that writing a book, anyone can do that. But getting noticed is the hard part. There’s so much competition and not enough outlets. There’s no zines anymore. Magazines don’t last 5 minutes – probably cos they don’t make enough in revenue to pay the author rates. Publishers can’t afford to advertise in them etc. There’s a few anthos, but you’ve got to be good enough or somehow make yourself popular enough to get in there. And when you manage to write a book there’s so many people sending books to publishers. Self-publishing is an option but then how do you market it if you’re unknown? Getting reviews is very difficult. Again, there’s so much competition and not enough outlets. The answer is: edit your own zine! It’s relatively cheap, gives you a platform and helps create more outlets for writers. Win win! Also, make your books look good, or pay for a decent cover artist and get a good editor. What piece of your own work are you most proud of? AIN’T WORTH A SHIT. I also really like my short story, THE ITCH, which appeared in The Blackroom Manuscripts Vol. 3, published by The Sinister Horror Company. And are there any that you would like to forget about? Yeah, I’ve wrote a few shorts which didn’t make the upcoming collection, and they will remain buried! For those who haven’t read any of your books, which of your books do you think best represents your work and why? Start with AIN’T WORTH A SHIT. It’s my new one. Then, when you’ve read that I’ll have another book out (in time for Edge-Lit), followed later in the year with the collection. The next book is also a collaboration with Robert Essig, as is the collection. But the collection also contains some of our “solo” shorts. It’s like a “best of”. Do you have a favorite line or passage from your work, and would you like to share it with us? When I was writing AIN’T WORTH A SHIT I finished writing chapter three and I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach. It’s the only time my work has left me feeling like that. (In fact I very rarely get that from fiction). I won’t share any of it here. You’ll have to buy the book… Can you tell us about your last book, and can you tell us about what you are working on next? My last book is AIN’T WORTH A SHIT. It’s about a young man who is a small time drug dealer, just making enough to get by, then he loses some money and finds himself in debt to his supplier. He’s forced to work for them at their hotel in Soho to pay off the debt. It’s not a nice hotel. Our hero finds himself in a whole lot of shit… I’m currently working on a crime thriller set on a small island in the Gulf of Thailand. A couple of travellers decide to rob the local mafia. Yeah, you guessed it, things don’t go to plan… What was the last great book you read? Now that’s a difficult question! My favourite book of 2018 was MONSTERS AND ANIMALS by JF Gonzalez and Wrath James White. Particularly the second story, ANIMALS. What a great conclusion to JFs SURVIVOR series. Ain't Worth A Shit by Jack Bantry, Robert Essig From Jack Bantry, editor of Splatterpunk Zine and author of The Lucky Ones Died First and Robert Essig, author of Death Obsessed, In Black and People of the Ethereal Realm comes a story of gut-wrenching noir.Issy has become used to her new life in the UK, away from poverty in her native land. New beginnings weren’t without struggle, and sometimes the past comes back when you least expect it.Mark dealt a little weed on the side, just enough to get him a few bucks and provide some for personal use. No big deal. Not until he makes a little mistake. Sometimes even the smallest error can turn into a dire situation.There’s another world under the veneer of city streets in London’s Leicester Square, streets people walk every day without suspicion. Issy and Matt find out about this world in the worst ways imaginable, and they must fight for their lives to get out.In this underworld, people Ain’t Worth A Shit!   Comments are closed.
|
Archives
May 2023
|
RSS Feed
|
|