 Darren J Guest was born in London in 1970 and currently lives and writes in Suffolk. His debut novel Dark Heart is a psychological supernatural chiller set in the fictional town of Mundey, but also a written account of one man's quest to find the answer to the eternal question that haunts all men of a certain age: Who is the best James Bond? His latest novel Through the Eyes of Douglas (read our review) is a moving supernatural suspense that is as heartwarming as it is haunting. Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself? DG: I started out originally as a professional snooker player back in the nineties, and that’s where I saw my future… until my sponsor went bust and I had to get a real job as the tour was just way too expensive for me to go it alone. But living out of a suitcase allowed me to get through a lot of Stephen King novels, and I suppose, whetted my appetite for a new career. What do you like to do when you're not writing? DG: Reading, obviously, but I’m obsessed about food, cooking and nutrition. Basically do the opposite of what the government guidelines tell you to do, and you’ll be okay. Other than the horror genre, what else has been a major influence on your writing? DG: I read everything, and borough from everything, but I’m heavily influenced by film too – I think it’s why I love writing dialogue so much. 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? DG: I must admit I was guilty of this myself in the early days. A friend suggested I read a book called The Tommyknockers by Stephen King, and I said I didn’t read horror. The book completely changed me and my perception of the genre, but it was a tough sell and it took a friend I trusted to make me try it. I don’t think there’s anything “Horror” can do about its image. Readers need to read the educated reviews and realise it’s all just fiction, good and bad. 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? DG: The mainstream will follow the trends, as it always does – be that publishing or filmmaking, and horror will take the backseat until something breaks out and starts a new trend. Then the mainstream will rebrand it and call it something else, and back-a-the-bus horror goes once again. What are the books and films that helped to define you as an author? DG: William Goldman’s Magic was a biggy for me, as it was one of the first horror novels I read that wasn’t Stephen King, and I loved Anne Rice’s vampire chronicles, up until she actually lost the plot. And films that play with timelines never fail to please me. Memento, Donnie Darko, Triangle. Love a twist. What new and upcoming authors do you think we should take notice off? DG: I’m sorry to say that I only seem to read the dead guys these days. How would you describe your writing style? DG: Somewhere between Stephen King and Cormac McCarthy, and by that I mean my prose is easy-ish, leaning towards King, but I try to stay out of my characters’ heads as much as possible, like McCarthy, and let action and dialogue reflect their thoughts and feelings, rather than having them tell you. It means the reader has to do a bit of heavy lifting, but I hate being spoon-fed, so I have to assume the reader won’t appreciate it either. Are there any reviews of your work, positive or negative that have stayed with you? DG: I had a number of reviews for my first novel that said the plot was complicated, and I took that onboard for my second novel, as best I could. The best compliment I ever received was from Rodney T Smith, the Pulitzer-nominated poet and editor of Shenandoah , a literary publication in Virginia that has published works from Pulitzer and Booker prize-winners. Rodney bought a Sothern Gothic horror short story of mine, and when I sent him my payment details he came back and said there was a tax problem and he would have to send me a cheque. When he’d bought the story, which is set in the 1920s Deep South, he’d thought I was American. What aspects of writing to do you find the most difficult? DG: Sitting down, and just generally getting the first draft finished. Composition is nothing short of hard labour. Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? DG: If it served the story, no, but anything can be written tastefully. How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning? DG: I agonise over names, and try to pick them in such a way as to convey a personality type – a first impression that I can build upon or subvert, but something that the reader can instantly relate to, just not in the way that Dickens does it. Writing, is not a static process, how have you developed as a writer over the years? DG: I think I write quicker these days, because I don’t feel weighed down by the musicality and cadence of sentence structure. My ears seem attuned. That’s down to reading a lot and writing a lot, and listening to better writers telling me when a paragraph chimes like an old piano falling down a flight of stairs. What tools do you feel are must-haves for writers? DG: Empathy and wine. What is the best piece of advice you ever received with regards to your writing? DG: Not necessarily advice but a lesson I learned. Somebody tried to tell me once that my writing was just a hobby because it didn’t earn me a living wage. I learned to keep my mouth shut when non-writers try to give me their opinion on what it is to be a writer. Getting your worked noticed is one of the hardest things for a writer to achieve, how have you tried to approach this subject? DG: In the time-honoured and thoroughly British way: apologetically and embarrassed. To many writers, the characters they write become like children, who is your favourite child, and who is your least favourite to write for and why? DG: Douglas Duffy, the main character in my latest novel, is a tragic and complicated mess of a man-boy, and it was sometimes tough putting him through the shit he has to go through, but I suspect he’ll always be my favourite because I know him the deepest. The first draft of all of my characters earn my scorn at some point though, because there’s the unavoidable period of not knowing them. If I still don’t know who they are by the end of the second draft, I regrettably have to say goodbye to them. What piece of your own work are you most proud of? And are there any that you would like to forget about? DG: Through the Eyes of Douglas is by far my proudest piece, and not that I would want to forget about Dark Heart, but it’s flawed and unfortunately was published before it was ready. I recently had the rights returned on that book, so I may wipe its arse and put it back out there. For those who haven’t read any of your books, which of your books do you think best represents your work and why? DG: Through the Eyes of Douglas is all me. I strive for emotion above all else, and I think I get there with Doug. But I also got lucky with the story idea and was struck midway in the first draft with genuine inspiration, there’s no other way to explain it, it just came out of nowhere. It cost me a hefty rewrite and probably added another year onto the writing of it, but it became this other, beautiful thing, and I hope readers agree. Do you have a favorite line or passage from your work, and would you like to share it with us? DG: ‘Sweet!’ JJ said. ‘We have a basement, Doug – I mean – you have a basement, Doug. Promise me we’re not gonna cram it with shit. Nothing but fine wines and dead bodies.’ Can you tell us about your last book, and can you tell us about what you are working on next? DG: I’ve just completed a time-travelling post-apocalyptic sci-fi fantasy called The Outcast Gully Morgan, which is the first novel in a planned trilogy and tells the story of Gulliver Morgan, a biologically cloned robot with responsibility issues who is sent back in time to retrieve six others of his kind and return them to the future. The full manuscript is out with a few agents at the moment, so the life of the next two novels in the trilogy is in their hands. Meanwhile I’ve been working on a crime thriller, tentatively titled Hyper. If you could erase one horror cliché what would be your choice? DG: That ghost stories have to be short to be effective. What was the last great book you read, and what was the last book that disappointed you? DG: Both the same book, actually: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Reading it was like listening to Jessie J – I could see the brilliance at work, but I just wasn’t moved by it. What's the one question you wish you would get asked but never do? And what would be the answer? DG: Q. Can I buy you a glass of wine, Darren? A. I’ve had far too much already, but thank you anyway. READ OUR REVIEW OF THROUGH THE EYES OF DOUGLAS HERE  BOOK REVIEW: THROUGH THE EYES OF DOUGLAS BY DARREN J GUEST
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