Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?


I’m a Scottish author with six published horror novels, ranging from cosmic horror to slasher to western to comedic thriller. I’ve been obsessed with horror in all its many varied forms since I was a small child remaking The Evil Dead with my friends and a camcorder in my granny’s living room at the tender age of ten. And yes, I still have the finished film, cleverly titled The Unholy Dead to avoid those pesky lawsuits.
I would be remiss to not mention Boris the Pug, my best friend and writing companion, always ready and willing to lick my ears and snore loudly when I’m at a key moment in the writing process.

Which one of your characters would you least like to meet in real life?


Well, I tend to populate the supporting cast of my books with dreadfully unlikeable jerks and assholes, so there are quite a few to choose from. I have a tremendous fondness for my actual ‘villains.’ For example, Maggie from Maggie’s Grave may well be a terrifying and unstoppable supernatural killing machine, but it’s for a good cause, and I couldn’t stay mad at her, the poor wee thing. But someone like — and I had to look up his name because I have such a terrible memory, and I wrote the book four years ago — Ricky from The Forgotten Island, who is just a sleazy, repulsive scumbag masquerading behind a tired ‘nice guy’ persona. Sadly, I’ve met many, many people like him in real life.

Other than the horror genre, what else has been a major influence on your writing?


Music. It plays an enormous part in my writing. Sometimes even a single song or piece of music can suggest an idea, and when I’m plotting or outlining I listen to music and see the images in my head like a film. When it comes time to actually write, I will curate a playlist that has to be at least five or six hours long, as I’ll be hearing it a lot over the coming weeks. The type of music depends entirely on the story being told, but it can range from classical and film score to jazz, pop, or rock. It also generally has to be era-specific, so nothing from the 90s while I’m writing a book set in the 70s. I know it doesn’t really matter, but also… it does matter.


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?


It’s not something I consider when writing and publishing. I’ve been a fan of horror for close to forty years, and have long since made peace with any negative connotations from people less familiar with the genre. I’ve no great interest in changing their mind, either. If someone wants to tell me that Jaws or Silence of the Lambs isn’t horror, then go ahead. I’m not gonna lose any sleep over it. I have my understanding of horror, and other people will have theirs. My definition tends to be pretty broad, anyway.

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?


We’re at an exciting moment when more and more diverse authors are publishing, so for the first time in a long time it’s hard to say where the genre is heading. I do believe that horror should be political and tackle important, current issues, so I think there’ll definitely be an increase in stories tackling issues like climate change and the (mis)handling of the pandemic. I know some people think that it’s too soon and possibly tasteless to do so, but I have no interest in the concept of good and bad taste. It would be odd to me to live through arguably the most horrifying time in most people’s living memory and not be influenced by it.

Given the dark, violent and at times grotesque nature of the horror genre why do you think so many people enjoy reading it?


Because we’re living in dark, violent, and grotesque times? Who knows. I can only speak for myself, and I have always been drawn to the darkness. I still find it difficult to pass by a cemetery without popping in for a stroll.  It’s just in my blood, I guess.

What, if anything, is currently missing from the horror genre?

It’s not necessarily missing per se, because there are plenty of authors still writing this kind of story, but I would like to see more wildly outrageous horror with a sense of unhinged, anything-goes fun about them. I kinda feel like every second book coming out these days is ‘a haunting meditation on grief and loss,’ which is all well and good, but oftentimes it feels like a book striving for unearned literary greatness and can make for a tiresome slog for the reader. That said, there have been some terrific books in this mould recently, for example Crossroads by Laurel Hightower and Dear Laura by Gemma Amor, among others.


What new and upcoming authors do you think we should take notice off?

One who recently caught my attention is LJ Dougherty. His book Beasts of the Caliber Lodge is an old-school 60s spy thriller, but with added Bigfoot, and was tremendous fun. Aside from the aforementioned Gemma Amor and Laurel Hightower, I’ve really enjoyed the slasher novels of Cameron Roubique and the 80s-splatter-meets-found-footage-J-horror of Bradley Freeman’s REEK. Then there’s Steve Stred of course, with whom I recently co-authored a horror western. Steve is a tremendous writer going from strength-to-strength. Finally, one of my favourite stories I read last year was Ready or Not by Cassie Daly. It was her first short story, and it blew me away with the raw, unflinching nature of the prose.

Are there any reviews of your work, positive or negative that have stayed with you?

I stopped reading my reviews last year, and it has been massively beneficial to my mental health. Of course I still read a review if someone has specifically tagged me in it, but I don’t seek them out. I do remember a few people saying there was too much sex in my books, which always made me laugh, because there’s not enough sex in them, frankly.

What aspects of writing to do you find the most difficult?

Maintaining my discipline. Finishing the damn story and not getting distracted by the shiny new idea undressing seductively in the corner. My current tactic is to get the cover art made way in advance. That way I have to finish the story, because I’ve already paid for the cover and need to make my money so I can afford to eat and keep the pug living the luxurious lifestyle he’s become accustomed to.

Is there one subject you would never write about as an author?

I don’t believe so. I’d never say never, and perhaps there is something out there I wouldn’t write about, but I haven’t found it yet.


Writing, is not a static process, how have you developed as a writer over the years?

I think that’s for the reader to judge and not me. I never reread my own books. Once I hit publish, that’s it, I move onto the next one. I know I’ve become more confident in my style, which is to pare things down to the bone and keep the story moving without distractions like long, dull stretches of exposition or descriptions of clothing and rooms and weather. You can tell by the fact that my books keep getting shorter. Give it a few years and I’ll probably be publishing my stories as eight-page pamphlets.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received with regards to your writing?

This book needs more pugs, a piece of advice I wholeheartedly embraced. Now, every one of my books features at least a cameo by my favourite curly-tailed goofballs.


Which of your characters is your favourite?

Grub from The Forgotten Island. See my answer to the previous question for more details. If, however, you’re going to insist it’s a human character, then I enjoy Elspeth from Night Shoot, who goes through an absolute hell of a time in that book, and Charles from The Navajo Nightmare, because I always enjoy writing people who try to do good but consistently make bad decisions.

Which of your books best represents you?
I have absolutely no idea. Either Night Shoot or Maggie’s Grave, maybe? All my books are fast-paced thrill-rides with brutal violence and lashings of humour, so I don’t think any particular one stands out as most representative of my writing.

Do you have a favorite line or passage from your work, and would you like to share it with us?


It would be any time I manage to ruthlessly shoehorn the title of the book into the text, because I know how much it really winds some people up.


Can you tell us about your last book, and can you tell us about what you are working on next?


My last book was The Perfect Victim, a slight sideways step from horror into the violent thriller category. It’s the story of a kidnapping that spirals out of control, because I love anything that spirals out of control. I’m currently working on three very different novels at the moment, so I have no idea which one will be out first. There’s a slasher, a revenge thriller, and a supernatural love story.

If you could erase one horror cliché what would be your choice?

Right now I’m rather fed up of the crass ‘parents who’ve lost a child and move somewhere new’ storyline. It ties back into my previous griping about every story being about grief. Unless it’s handled well and important to the story and the themes, that particular plot can feel like easy shorthand for engendering reader empathy with the characters.

What was the last great book you read, and what was the last book that disappointed you?


The last great book I read was A Matter of Life and Death by Andy Marr, a fellow Scottish author. Though it opens with the main character watching Texas Chain Saw Massacre, it’s the furthest thing from horror, a gut-wrenching but hilarious family drama that covers everything from cancer and divorce to friendship and enraged peacocks. It’s melancholy, funny, and very moving.

What's the one question you wish you would get asked but never do?  And what would be the answer?


Funnily enough, that is the question I wish I would get asked, and this would be the answer.

Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?

I’m a writer and editor by profession and a father of two. Born in St. Louis, I grew up in Youngstown, Ohio. I’ve lived in Chicago since 1993. My Rust Belt aesthetic populates all of my fiction, which I sometimes call “Northern Gothic”—there’s a certain Rust Belt edge that soaks into anyone from that region, and into their fiction if they happen to write. I’m also a longtime diehard music fan (favorite bands include the Who, Black Flag, Mudhoney, Soundgarden, Swervedriver, Suede, the Horrors, and many others). I’m an enthusiastic cook, and greatly enjoy conjuring up new dishes.

Which one of your characters would you least like to meet in real life?

Probably Mal Lazarus from my novel, Chosen. He’s relentlessly horrible in an undead cult leader sort of way. I would definitely not like him. Even when I created him, I was like “Yeesh.” He’s just not somebody I’d ever want to associate with, which is weird because I created him.

Other than the horror genre, what else has been a major influence on your writing?


Weirdly enough, my sense of humor. I have always had a strong comedic instinct, even as a kid. I studied improv in the 90s and can find the funny (or at least the absurd) in any situation. I think I deal with horrible things through humor, as a kind of defense mechanism. My humor creeps into everything I write in horror and thriller fiction. Nearly all of my horror writing has varying degrees of dark humor in it, and I tend to like horror that makes me laugh as well as be terrified. Not to say I haven’t written dead-serious fiction—only that my “undeadpan” sense of humor sneaks into so much of it when it can, served up with a bloody smirk.


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?

As a kid, I loved seeing the “Horror” category on the bookshelves. I thought it was cool, like a forbidden secret. I’m okay with the term, am glad to see it return to the surviving big bookstores. It’s a big tent with an assortment of freakshows contained within it. I prefer offense to defense in approaching horror—people will haul their own perceptions of horror to the tent, the things that’ll get to them, the things they bring with them. They enter the horror tent at their own risk, and the demons they bring with them will terrorize and horrify them. Horror doesn’t begin with the writers; all we are doing is creating a lens that magnifies something in daily life. If people don’t like being horrified, they should definitely not be reading horror fiction.


I always liked how in Danse Macabre, Stephen King broke down horror, terror, and what he called “the gross-out”—those are like the three rings of the horror circus. Terror is the big show, what he’d optimally strive for. If he couldn’t get that, he’d opt for horror, and if he couldn’t get that, he’d go for the gross-out.


That’s always had resonance for me. Horror’s gonna horror, but I aspire toward infusions of pure terror in my fiction, moments of genuine adrenaline-soaked, hyperventilating dread. I prefer terrifying atmosphere to gross-out stuff. I’ve attained some horrifying scenes in some of my books. I know this because readers will tell me they’ve been haunted by some of the things I’ve written. I take satisfaction in that, like I’ve done my job.

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?


There’s a lot of horrifying stuff going on. People are wrestling with so much right now—climate catastrophe, a global pandemic, political fanaticism, mindless rage, brazen injustice, willful ignorance, and persistent hate. It’s a challenge for anyone writing horror because people are, in many ways, benumbed to continuous outrage.


For example, in the US, the combination of the pandemic madness and the ongoing gun violence, people fall into a fatalistic sense that it’s somehow normal. Not that good people are happy about it, but the horror of it recedes in the face of the brute force of repetition: “Oh, another mass shooting. Oh, some maniacs are getting air rage because they were told to wear their masks. Oh, some people are lobbing death threats at health workers for suggesting they get vaccinated against a deadly virus. Oh, people are driving their cars over peaceful protesters because they’re angry at them” And so on….


The Folk Horror trend is curious and interesting. We’ll see where it goes—whether it’ll expand, endure, or just remain in its feverish little enclave is an open question as I see it.


Underrepresented groups running with horror should offer some good avenues for exploration into less-apparent corners than might otherwise be known by mainstream audiences. New faces mean new horrors, which is for the best.

Given the dark, violent and at times grotesque nature of the horror genre why do you think so many people enjoy reading it?


The manageable and often ridiculous nature of fictional horror can be cathartic. Unlike real-world horror, which can hit you in the face, you can always stop reading (or watching) fictional horror. You’re in control with fictional horror, which allows for some of the appeal: it’s a safe transgression. You can look away without consequence. Reading about a pretend monster is infinitely better than having to deal with real-life monstrosity. There’s no looking away from real-life horror without losing some of your humanity in the process. But fictional horror is a great release of tension and can be weirdly life-affirming.

What, if anything, is currently missing from the horror genre?


Horror has always walked close behind and sometimes beside humanity—in good times, it’s hiding somewhere over your shoulder. In bad times, it’s shambling right next to you, impossible to ignore. We’re all human beings, and on some level, can relate to horror once we become aware of it. Especially as more people gain agency in the fuller expression of their life experience, in sharing what horrifies them. I think horror has it covered in terms of humanity—whatever you value, there is a tailor-made horror waiting for you in the shadows, grinning, showing its teeth, eager to take a bite out of you.


If I had to name something I personally miss in horror, I’d like to see more political horror. There are plenty of horrifying things out there tied to politics—like certain lawmakers in the US writing laws that say it’s okay for people to drive over protestors with their cars. I mean, what the hell? Horrifying. These and other areas are ripe for literary exploration.


Horror is a fairly conservative genre—again referencing Stephen King in Danse Macabre, he invokes the severe moral code inherent in the genre—transgress and bad things will happen to you. The caveat that the unfamiliar is inherently threatening, and everyday “good people” going up against supernatural bad things. I think liberal perspectives of horror should get more attention.


The challenge for a writer is that the liberal frame of mind is rooted in the notion of optimistic progress—that if you put your mind to it, even terrible things can (eventually) get better and everything has a rational explanation if you really think it through. Which is contrary to the conservative idea that if you’re not careful, or if you go too far, things can always get worse—a pessimistic regression—and that hope is the root of ruin, or at best delusional and naïve.


Progressive values and horror are like oil and water, so it would be interesting to see what literary alchemists out there can mix them effectively.

What new and upcoming authors do you think we should take notice of?

I really love Coy Hall’s work. He’s a stellar writer. I also like CW Blackwell’s evocative fiction. Tiff Morris is a really good writer, too, and Tracy Fahey has a marvelous way with words.

Are there any reviews of your work, positive or negative that have stayed with you?


I almost never pay attention to reviews. My focus is on getting stories written. I feel like reviews can be like the scenery rushing past you as you drive. As a writer, if you turn your gaze off of where you’re going, you’ll veer right off the road.


A good review is a wonderful thing, a bad review is a painful thing—both can be perilous, either hobbling your self-confidence if bad or giving you a hubristic and unearned sense of your own success if good. Best to keep your writer’s eyes on the road ahead, if the goal is to get stories written.

What aspects of writing to do you find the most difficult?

Oh, probably networking and self-promotion. I truly love writing, the process itself. People either engage with my work or they don’t, but I keep working while I can.


Part of me doesn’t want to interfere in that process of discovery by readers. I understand that it’s not really interference, but as a writer, it can be hard to push myself in the area of marketing. Find the work, enjoy the work (or don’t), and I’ll just keep creating it. Raising the marketing bullhorn is a necessary part of it, but I’m always reluctant to do it. These days, even trad-published writers are largely left on their own to do this. Given the amount of introversion inherent to writing, that’s a big hill to climb.

Is there one subject you would never write about as an author?

I’m no fan of anything that hurts children. I love kids. I’m also not a fan of cruelty, which might sound odd from a horror-writing perspective. Stories that wallow in cruelty bother me, and I try to avoid narrative cruelty, even as I write about horrible things.


I also have an aversion to horror stories that identify with the killer(s). There is a vein of horror writing that seems to identify with the force of evil as the protagonist in many ways, and I find that dehumanizing. I might have sympathy for some of the monsters I create, but I don’t identify with them.


Writing is not a static process, how have you developed as a writer over the years?

I’m far more disciplined than I was when I first started sending short stories out when I was a teenager. I could never have written novels back then. Nowadays, I write far more novels than shorter works. Novellas have been working their way into my rotation, too. Longer fiction is my baseline, after doing mostly short stories in the ‘90s and early ‘00s.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received with regards to your writing?

“Keep going.”


Which of your characters is your favourite?

I like Paige from Relict a lot. She’s got a lot of determination to survive, and I respect that. Paige didn’t ask to be in the situation she was in, but she rose to the occasion.


I also dig Sonia Gorski from Norm, my latest book. She’s a badass, a lethal librarian werewolf hunter, which I respect. Sonia’s hardcore, knows the stakes of the game she’s in, and never flinches from it.

Which of your books best represents you?

They all have parts of me, obviously, since I wrote them. But I suppose my novel, Suckage, is one of the more personal ones I’ve written. I’m not actually like Nate (the protagonist), but the general smart-assed nature of that story is very me. There is a lot of my attitude in that book. And dealing with challenging relationships.

Do you have a favorite line or passage from your work, and would you like to share it with us?


I don’t really have a favorite line or passage. There are moments when I’m writing them where I am very satisfied with a scene, but when I’m done with a story, I’m done with it. For me, the focus is always on the work-in-progress and/or the next work, trying to get it just right. That’s where my attention’s at.


The Epilogue in Norm really got to me when writing it, but I don’t want to divulge that because there are spoilers in it. I didn’t expect to be hit as hard by it, but I was.


Can you tell us about your last book, and can you tell us about what you are working on next?

I just finished final revisions for Norm, the third book of The Wolfshadow Trilogy. I am really pleased how it turned out, feel like it nicely caps the series.


I wanted to give werewolves a nice series, and I feel like I accomplished that with this trilogy. Of course, while wrapping that up, my brain was already conjuring up several spinoff stories, so I feel like maybe I’ll be getting to those in the next decade or so. I wrote those books as kind of a rebuttal to all the vampire fiction out there at that time. I wanted werewolves to have their day.


Also, I’ve got some nautical horror novellas lurking around in my head, which I will give life to likely in ’23 and/or ’24. For whatever reason, people really seem to enjoy my nautical horror stories. Probably my own fear of the ocean fuels that. I love the ocean, but only a fool isn’t terrified by it, too. That terror fuels my nautical fiction.


If you could erase one horror cliché what would be your choice?

Anything with screwdrivers, hooks, or hammers, and mad scientists. I hate the idea of a mad scientist, which reeks of anti-intellectualism. I mean, what’s the opposite of a mad scientist?

What was the last great book you read, and what was the last book that disappointed you?

Taste is always so subjective. What I like always seems to be stuff that most people don’t like (and vice versa). Much of my reading is writerly research. A few of them include: Cunning Folk by Adam Nevill, The Great Mortality by John Kelly, Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco. I try to triage between books I want to read, books I need to read, and books I should read.

What's the one question you wish you would get asked but never do?  And what would be the answer?


Q: “Would you be interested in your book being turned into a television series?”


A: “Hell, yes!”


Many years ago, I would have wanted various stories to be movies, but these days, I think a television series would be better!