FIVE MINUTES WITH AUTHOR JOHN F LEONARD

Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?

I’m a family man - don’t do anything very wild these days (other than write). Quietly proud of my Irish heritage. Love reading, writing, art. Needless to say, my taste tends towards the darker end of the spectrum.

Also interested in politics, but the interest is waning - the level of bare-faced lying seems to have risen to an all-time high and it’s putting me off.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

Love to read, although that suffers when I’m writing a lot - I need some space between the two activities. Vegetate in front of the television. Twitter - that’s deadly. Some sort of Twilight Zone that eats hours.

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

In terms of reading matter, science fiction and some fantasy - mostly when I was younger. Comedy is something else that’s very important to me - the world is full of horror, we all need to laugh sometimes. I tend to go for English comedy.

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 know what you mean, but I’m not sure how we get past it. Think I’d like to see more emphasis placed on how broad ‘horror’ can be. Just how much the genre encompasses. To my mind, there’s an element of horror in a lot of fiction, but it doesn’t always get tagged as such.

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 on the brink of a technological revolution which will radically change how we live. I don’t believe we can fully comprehend the consequences, but they’re bound to spawn new angles on horror. I’m hoping they also include a redefinition of Capitalism because the current version has gone astray.

My cynicism aside, a good story is a good story - there’s still a lot to be said for old school horror. I don’t think the basic concepts really change. Death, darkness. The unknown and unknowable.

What are the books and films that helped to define you as an author?

Films, are easier than books. As a kid, it was Hammer Horror, The Birds, Quatermass and the Pit, Invasion of the Body Snatchers. That kind of stuff.
More recently - Alien, The Godfather, The Thing, Rising Damp (I know, a weird one).

Books get tough. There are a lot and my answer will be different on any given day. The Fog - James Herbert. The Stand - Stephen King.  Weaveworld - Clive Barker. Radix - A. A. Attanasio.
I’ll stop. The list will get silly.

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

Honestly? I’m ashamed to say I haven’t read enough of late to give an informed answer. Sounds like a cop out, but it’s the truth and I’m far from proud of the fact.

How would you describe your writing style?

Quirky. Conversational. Throw in some poetic flourishes. Willing to play a little fast and loose with grammar when I think breaking the rules works for what I want.

Voice is important - finding your style. Mind you, retaining it a different kettle of fish. Refining yourself, being receptive to criticism, and using it to get better. Your own sound can get diluted, if you aren’t careful.

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

Quite a few! It’s difficult to properly explain the impact of reviews, both types. I’m lucky in that most have been positive. The review for Bad Pennies on GNOH springs to mind. I was a bit down at the time and it really lifted me:
Also one for Call Drops from Leonard Tillerman. Again, just great that someone seemed to get it:

I can live with negative, whether I agree or not, if it’s constructive and gives me something to consider. Bugs the hell out of me when it’s just a flat statement - ‘didn’t like it’. Fair enough, but throw me a bone. Give me something to go on.
 
What aspects of writing to do you find the most difficult?

Probably time management. I’m not prolific in terms of daily word count and it hits me hard when I lose control of my schedule. Need to be more disciplined I suppose, but even then there are only so many hours in the day.

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

Interesting question - never thought about it in depth. I tend to have an idea for a story and let it grow. It’s quite organic, so I don’t rule anything out.

How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning?

For me, hugely important. They have to feel ‘right’ so I guess sound is a big factor. I’ll sometimes try to hide a meaning in them as well. I usually research so they fit the age/background of the character. It’s a tricky balance - memorable, without standing out so much as to feel false. I have my own (secret) theory about assonance and syllables with names and it hasn’t let me down yet.

I sometimes tweet requests for suggestions. Not necessarily because I’m expecting to be gifted the name - just that the suggestions will shift my thinking. Plus, it’s fun. There are some brilliant replies.

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

I wanted to write from my late teens and didn’t do much about it. Scribbled bits and pieces and binned most of them. Then, a few years ago, I was seriously ill. It made me realise none of us have very long. Certainly not as long as we might think. So I got cracking and published something! Now I’m simply trying to do justice to each project/idea.

What tools do you feel are must-haves for writers?     
    
A thick skin and a broadband connection.

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

I had some contact with a well-known author when I started (won’t say who, it’s not fair). Anyway, he alluded to how difficult it was getting an agent, let alone a publisher. Basically, get your finger out and just do it.

Getting your work noticed is one of the hardest things for a writer to achieve, how have you tried to approach this subject?

Friends. Social media. The two merge in some happy instances. Not trying to be a lick-hole here, but sites like GingerNuts of Horror are a godsend. Finding folk who are approachable and willing to help - it’s priceless. That said, the effort involved in marketing your own work can be daunting.

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?

Right now, two favourites - Ronald Hodge from Bad Pennies. He is one nasty piece of work. So dark that he needs to live again in a new book. It might not happen, simply because I don’t want to ruin him.

The other is Doggem. Can you believe it, a toy dog? There is so much potential with Doggem. I’m not ready yet, but I think I might do more with him.

None I genuinely dislike writing. Don’t tend to enjoy characters who are too ‘nice’. I want some nastiness to play with.

What piece of your own work are you most proud of?

Writing quality? I’d say Doggem. I indulged myself there and it worked.
In terms of concept, I’d have to go for Bad Pennies. It’s the book where different strands of thought began to coalesce into an over-arching idea. A meaningful way forward.

And are there any that you would like to forget about?

Collapse - not forget, but revise. My first book, 160k words of flawed, bitey goodness. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a decent read and it did okay. Got a fair few five star reviews. But I think I could make it outstanding.

There’s a part of me that resists doing the revision - better to leave it as a marker. Something to remind me of where I came from and let people see the progression.

For those who haven’t read any of your books, which of your books do you think best represents your work and why?

That’s difficult - what I’ve produced so far is quite varied. Let’s go with Call Drops 
It’s old school horror. I’m not a gore merchant - nothing wrong with that, just it’s not me. Call Drops has some gruesome elements, but it’s also a well-constructed story.

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

How about something from A Plague of Pages (my new one and I like this):

“The woman was hanging from the highest point in the middle of the room. A length of cord stretched from her neck and looped round a metal beam. The cord might have been washing line. The steel stuff encased in green plastic. It periodically shot viridian glints into the shadows as she slowly rotated.

There must have been wind, although Adi couldn’t feel it.

It was there nevertheless.

Slight, unseen and unfelt. Invisible disturbance, touching and twirling her. Eddies playing tag with the grey-faced lady.

Not just the one line around her throat. She was a regular maypole. Ribbon chokers trailing upward. Attached to the end of each was a red helium balloon. They bobbed and swayed above her. Forever drifting beyond reach. Or maybe just yearning for freedom.

Her arms were drooping wings. Pages instead of feathers. Stapled or glued together and fastened to her limbs. Impossible to tell precisely how at this distance.

Graceful curves of script arcing downward in contrast to the rising balloons.

“My guess is a Stephen King fangirl. That film with the clown in the library. Beep Beep Sadie, we all float in Oakhill.”

Adi didn’t speak, he was still trying to take it in.

Many of the shelves had been stripped of books. They sat now in a jumbled pyramid below her dangling feet.

He absently registered one of her shoes had fallen off. Presumably lost in a sea of hardbacks.

A piece of cardboard was pinned to her chest.

 the world is better without me - there is no kindness in my soul “


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

I’ve been a busy boy. Doggem was quite recent, but A Plague of Pages is the latest. It’s a decent sized novella. Set in the same world as Bad Pennies and Call Drops. About a guy who has hit some tough times in life and needs to redefine himself. He wants to be a horror writer (by the way, it’s not auto-biographical).

My work in progress is a cosmic horror story. Hope to publish that in the near future.
 
If you could erase one horror cliché what would be your choice?

I’m a bit fed up with spooky children. You watch, now I’ve said that, I’ll come up with a red hot idea that needs a spooky kid.

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

I really enjoyed Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar. Horror, with an understated quality. There was a subtly to the darkness - lovely piece of work.

Sleeping Beauties by Owen and Stephen King was a disappointment. I love apocalyptic stories and am a huge Stephen King fan.

 So what could go wrong? This ticked all the boxes, surely?

Sadly not - great concept, great writing style, and then it runs into trouble. The story is riddled with virtue signaling. Plus, the some of the reasoning in plot struck me as thin in places. Something that could have been a new ‘The Stand’ ends up being clumsy and hard to finish. Shame, could have been a brilliant book.

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

Has there ever been a better detective series than The Sweeney? The answer is obviously no!

Seriously though, I loved your question about names.

John F Leonard

​John was born in England and grew up in the midlands where he learned to love the sound of scrapyard dogs and the rattle and clank of passing trains. He studied English, Art and History and has, at different times, been a sculptor, odd-job man and office worker.

He enjoys horror and comedy (not necessarily together). Married with two astonishing children, he now lives a few miles from the old Victorian terrace in which he was born. Scribbling scary stories seems to keep him vaguely sane (accurate at time of writing).

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To find out more and to follow John on social media please follow the links below 
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/john_f_leonard
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/l/B01BHUE6Z6
Amazon Author Page US: https://www.amazon.com/John-F-Leonard/e/B01BHUE6Z6

call drops 

Vincent likes nothing more than rootling round second-hand shops in search of the interesting and unusual. Items that are lost and forgotten.
Why not? He needs the diversion. Time on his hands and money to burn. His life is affluent and empty. Little on the horizon and memories tinged bittersweet.
That’s all about to change. He’s about to find something that is perhaps better left unfound.

CALL DROPS is a darkly swirling mix of horror and mystery that will stay with you long after the reading is done. It’ll maybe make you think twice about impulse buying, those moments when you simply must have something, even though you don’t need it.
It might cause you to look again at the apparently mundane and everyday ...and possibly, just possibly, wonder at what twisted marvels lurk within your mobile phone.

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