Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?


My name's Jon and I'm a novelist who believes that every piece of art should have a little horror in it to feel complete.  My debut book, Winterset Hollow, a contemporary dark fantasy with a twist and a terrifying edge, is due to be released in September.


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


Edward Addington, the author of the book within my book, Winterset Hollow.  Nothing scares me more than an entitled person with enough money to fulfill his deepest desires.


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


The fantasy books that I read as a child—books like The Chronicles of Narnia, A Wrinkle in Time, and alllll of Roald Dahl's stories.  All of the things I write seem to twist on some sort of fantasy element, and I'm pretty sure that's where I get it from.


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 see fantasy horror being the next big thing.  I think people are craving escapism right now, and I think the last thing they want to read about is reality closing in on one character or another, because we've all been feeling that in the real world for too long at this point.


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


Morbid curiosity is a powerful thing, and it's always been a driving force in the entertainment we seek.  Violence and darkness pique a part of our psyche that nothing else does, and that muscle needs to be exercised every now and then just like any other for us to feel whole.  It's just general maintenance if you ask me, and if it was two thousand years ago, we'd be lined up at the coliseum rather than at the bookstore.


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


That's a really tough question to nail down as there's sooooooo much content out there right now.  But honestly, I would say that there's still room for a more literary edge to a lot of the horror that I've seen.  Don't get me wrong, I love a good, schlocky horror novel…but it's been a long time since I've read a new release in the genre that's rang academic to me, and I think that would be a breath of fresh air.



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


They all stay with me, to be honest.  I'd like to think that I'm good at brushing aside criticism and soldering on, but the truth is that I'm not.  I remember every review, and sometimes it feels like they're all running through my head at all times and there's no way to shut them off.  Positive and negative, it seems like they all have endless echoes.


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


Choosing which story to write in the first place.  Hanging a year (or so) of your life on one idea is a terrifying though for me, so the initial choosing of which book to write next is allllways the most nerve-wracking thing.


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


An in-depth minority experience that I haven't personally been through.  It's not that I don't think I could write about that sort of thing…I just don't feel like it's my place to.  It would feel dishonest to me and so that's something I wouldn't really ever want to undertake.


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


I've gotten more comfortable with my own voice…and more comfortable with the idea that I'm writing for me and that's it…the idea that I'm writing things that I want to read in a way that I want to read them…and that I don't need to change what I do to accommodate anything or anybody else.


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


Stay on the story as long as you can…and tell it in the truest way possible.


Which of your characters is your favourite?


Runny, the rabbit, from Winterset Hollow.  Very complex and very flawed, but in a very believable way.  I don't know, I'm a sucker for a villain that you can't help but sympathize with lol.


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


"There are no answers in this life, Eamon.  There are only moments in the sun…and moments in the shade…and the trick is to understand where you stand in time enough to make yourself at home.  I wish you peace in the fields beyond, because I am certain you will not find it here."


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


Well, my last book is Winterset Hollow.   It's a really fantastic story with a horror edge and I think people will really enjoy it and I can't wait for it to get out there and make some readers happy…or frightened…or anything in between.  Next up is a book called Hollywoodland which deals with an artist getting what seems to be everything he's ever wanted from a mysterious muse…of course, that's not quite how it all shakes out.


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


The ghost of the young girl standing in a hallway in a white night gown.  Please go away.


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

The last great book I read was 11/22/63 by Stephen King, and the last book that disappointed me was The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown…to be fair, I hate all of his books, but I read them anyway for some unknown reason.


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


How do you deal with the anxiety that comes with being an artist?  Well… I don't.  I try to, believe me—I eat healthy, I work out like a beast, I try to get enough sleep, and I go easy on the mind-altering substances—but the anxiety is always there and it always will be.  And as much as I hate it and it claws at my better nature day in and day out, it let's me know I'm alive… so there's that.

Jonathan Edward Durham was born near Philadelphia in one of many satellite rust-belt communities where he read voraciously throughout his youth. After attending William & Mary, where he received a degree in neuroscience, Jonathan waded into the professional world before deciding he was better suited for more artistic pursuits.


He now lives with his partner in California where he writes to bring a unique voice to the space between the timeless wonder of his favorite childhood stories and the pop sensibilities of his adolescent literary indulgences.  His debut novel, Winterset Hollow, an elevated contemporary fantasy with a twist, follows in that same vein and is available everywhere late 2021.   

​Everyone has wanted their favorite book to be real, if only for a moment. Everyone has wished to meet their favorite characters, if only for a day. But be careful in that wish, for even a history laid in ink can be repaid in flesh and blood, and reality is far deadlier than fiction . . . especially on Addington Isle.
Winterset Hollow follows a group of friends to the place that inspired their favorite book—a timeless tale about a tribe of animals preparing for their yearly end-of-summer festival. But after a series of shocking discoveries, they find that much of what the world believes to be fiction is actually fact, and that the truth behind their beloved story is darker and more dangerous than they ever imagined. It’s Barley Day . . . and you’re invited to the hunt.
Winterset Hollow is as thrilling as it is terrifying and as smart as it is surprising. A uniquely original story filled with properly unexpected twists and turns, Winterset Hollow delivers complex, indelible characters and pulse- pounding action as it storms toward an unforgettable climax that will leave you reeling. How do you celebrate Barley Day? You run, friend. You run.

Norma Boe is the most supernatural author in the iPulp Series. Her collections of stories are somewhere between horror, revulsion, and nervous laughter, ideal for spending a night of fear.

Norma is a frontier woman. Tex-Mex at heart and in words. One fine day she decided to start writing because, as she tells us, she didn't want to end up dry and moth-eaten like Norman Bates' mother without leaving the world a legacy. It was somewhere between that and patchwork quilts. Fortunately for iPulp, she decided to take up literature.

She likes Poe and Vincent Price, but she likes Vincent Price playing Poe best of all. He also has a devotion to Ambrose Bierce, a writer to whom she has dedicated a little shrine at home. Consequently, his chills move between the macabre and the sophisticated.

It's time to interview her.

How would you introduce yourself?

"As a southern lady with a beatnik spirit who fills her loneliness with Kentucky Bourbon, Paquita la del Barrio songs, and cats. Deep down, I have simple habits: I like to sit on the porch in the evenings and drink lemonade, while Grandma's rocking chair swings by itself beside me."

Really?

"Yes, although I'm more than used to it. My life has never been very conventional... There is, for example, the dad thing..."

What was wrong with your dad?

"He suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder. His experience in the Vietnam War really scarred him. He was never the same. Soon after he came back, he set up a sort of diorama of the Indochinese jungle in the basement, with a bunch of plants and vines. When he had one of his flashbacks, he would lock himself down there for days. From upstairs we could hear the shots from his rifle. In his deranged mind, he was still fighting charlies. In Vietnam he took a lot of acid."

Gee, sorry... Now seriously, all of us iPulp fans were hoping you'd publish another volume of stories for Halloween, but it looks like you didn't.

"I know," she replies cryptically. "Like I say: always do the opposite of what everyone expects of you. Never lose the ability to surprise. It's another collection of my short stories... But it won't be set on Halloween, it will be set at Christmas."

At Christmas? Why Christmas?

"First, because of not being predictable, which is something that bores me to death. Second, because as I heard Sabrina Spellman say, 'Christmas is perfect for ghosts. The veil between the living and the dead is thinnest during the solstice.' I couldn't agree more. Christmas is a time for horror."

You hear music in the background, what's playing?

"Oh, it's a classic, a song I listen to a lot. Not just these days, all year round. It's I put a spell on you, in the voice of Nina Simone. A jazz piece made of black velvet, like the one on the catafalque."

OK, and what can we find in this volume of scary stories for Christmas?

"There will be eight, as usual. It's not a random number. I'm very Chinese when it comes to numerology; I'll leave it there. Among the stories there will be Christmas-themed ones and others that may not have much to do with the holidays but that will make your family gatherings less terrifying, because they will overcome it. Fear knows no boundaries, nor holidays. Fear is the most transversal emotion that exists. It can be felt at any time, in any place, on any occasion. Fear doesn't discriminate, so why should I?"

Good point, indeed. And what's the title?

"It's called Radioactive Christmas, but I almost called it Twitter Killed the Christmas Spirit."

Any title is good. Your judgment is always exquisite. Anything else to add?

"I want to adopt Daruma Neko. Cats, like dogs, are most reliable bio-indicators of paranormal activity. And now I'll leave you, I have to go feed my carnivorous plants."

Bye for now, Black Lady. It’s been a guilty pleasure.

​This volume is composed of the following mutant stories:

1. The Elf on the Shelf
2. Santa Claus go home
3. The Christmas tree
4. Panic in the disco
5. Fatberg attacks!
6. Where the wild roses grow
7. The ghost of Christmas parallel
8. Last Christmas (killing me softly with your song)

It was all jolly jingle bells until Norma Boe arrived.
Still, the spirit of Christmas lived to tell the tale.