FIVE MINUTES WITH PENNY JONES
16/5/2019
 Penny Jones knew she was a writer when she started to talk about herself in the third person (her family knew when Santa bought her a typewriter for Christmas). She loves reading and will read pretty much anything you put in front of her, but her favourite authors are Stephen King, Shirley Jackson and John Wyndham. In fact Penny only got into writing to buy books, when she realised that there wasn’t that much money in writing she stayed for the cake. Q: Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself? A: Sure. I’m currently in the process of moving house, to live by the coast which I’m very excited about. My husband and I both lived by the sea when we were younger and have been dying to get back, we’ve spent the past twenty odd years in the Midlands. Other than that I love to travel, and I’m obsessed with rabbits, I had a couple as pets when I was growing up and loved them. Though I don’t have any now as I can’t even keep a houseplant alive. Q: What do you like to do when you're not writing? A: I read a lot, my favourite genre is horror, but I will read anything that takes my fancy, whether it’s contemporary, literary, sci-fi, whatever. With our move back to the coast I’m also looking forward to taking kayaking back up. I’ve also recently taken up indoor flying, which is amazing fun. Q: Other than the horror genre, what else has been a major influence on your writing? A: I love the work of John Wyndham. I have most of his work, but I’m currently on the lookout for the first American edition of The Midwich Cuckoos as it has an extra chapter in, which our British edition doesn’t contain. I also really enjoy literary fiction, whether that’s Gothic classics such as Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre or more modern tales such as Donna Tartt’s The Secret History. I’m also a bit of a sucker for a psychological thriller, so really enjoy the works of Patrick Redmond, Dennis Lehane, and Patricia Highsmith. Q: 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? A: I’m actually a bit squeamish, I don’t really like torture (I’ve been goading myself to watch the Saw films, as I think their concept is brilliant), emotional torture is especially distressing for me to watch or read. My husband jokes that I make him watch horror movies, then hide behind my cushion and ask him to tell me when it’s over. I am definitely more of a fan of the quiet, creeping horror; than the, in your face gore and chainsaws. I actually find it strange when people turn their nose up at horror as if it is something unnatural, but will then happily watch Game of Thrones, which I find far more horrific. I’m not sure how we can break this assumption, other than letting people know that the majority of “Horror” is less horrific than their mainstream reading and viewing. Q: 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? A: I see dehumanization and a loss of self, a lot in the current horror market, but I think what is interesting is that horror has started to edge its way across into more mainstream viewing. The popularity of the television adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid's Tale” or the Oscar nomination for “Get Out” is a case in point. It is only understandable that as our socio/political climate becomes more fraught, then more people will want to immerse themselves in this kind of fiction. Q: What new and upcoming authors do you think we should take notice off? A: I have a habit that if I read something that I love, I wake my husband and tell him I hate that particular author (only because of my intense envy of their writing), the writers that have caused that particular disturbance have been Priya Sharma, Tracy Fahey, Laura Mauro, Georgina Bruce, Cate Gardner and Tim Major. My husband is very understanding, as he realises I have to vent my frustration somehow, and it is wake him or throw the book across the room, and that would never happen. Q: How would you describe your writing style? A: I’m still trying to find my writing style. I always say I’m a bit of a writing whore, I’ll write anything, in any style, for anyone. Q: What aspects of writing to do you find the most difficult? Starting. Each day when I sit down to write I tense up. After a couple of hundred words everything is fine, but for that initial ten minutes or so each day, writing is hell. I get really bad impostor syndrome, and each time I turn on the computer it hits me afresh. It is why you will usually find me on Facebook or Twitter, I’m definitely no impostor at procrastination. Q: Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? A: No. I will write about anything. My collection is themed around children, and I know a lot of authors who say they draw the line killing children in their stories, but I feel that if we are writing horror then we should look at those subjects that scare us the most. As long as it is done sympathetically, I don’t believe any subject should be taboo in writing. Q: How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning? A: I hate names. The names in my book mean nothing. They are actually the bane of my writing life, as I usually forget what my characters are called, or discover that they’ve changed name throughout the story. Q: Writing, is not a static process, how have you developed as a writer over the years? A: I hope I’ve become better. I’ve certainly learnt some techniques when writing first drafts that make the latter stages of rewrites and editing easier. Q: What tools do you feel are must-haves for writers? A: A kettle, mug, and a tea caddy. Q: What is the best piece of advice you ever received with regards to your writing? A: When I was really struggling through the first draft of my novel, Mark West told me to stop trying to write 1,000 words a day, and just aim for 500. Mark said that he used this tip, and it meant that if he only got 650 words a day it felt that he had succeeded instead of failed. He was right, as soon as I did this I found I was usually writing around 1500 words a day, instead of my usual 1000. But even on a difficult day 500 was achievable and I didn’t feel like I’d failed. Q: Getting your worked noticed is one of the hardest things for a writer to achieve, how have you tried to approach this subject? A: I’ve not really thought this process through yet. Though I did suggest to my publisher that I was going to walk round EdgeLit shouting “Buy my book!” Q: 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? A: I don’t actually have one. I don’t have a maternal bone in my body, so as far as I’m concerned both stories and children are parasites that are born and then should be thrown out into the big, scary world to stand on their own two feet. Q: Can you tell us about your last book, and can you tell us about what you are working on next? A: The last book I was working on was my debut collection “Suffer Little Children” which is being released by Black Shuck Books on 16th May. I tend to find that children are often central to my stories either as the antagonist or the victim. The whole vulnerability of the child fascinates me. The fact that they are often unheard, that if they raise concerns or fears they are told to grow up, or that it’s a phase they will grow out of. But also on the flip side of that I remember the sheer maliciousness of children, the pack mentality. I look back on my childhood, the situations I was in, the behaviour of myself and others. As children we haven’t yet learnt that our actions have consequences, or at least haven’t got an understanding of the depth of those consequences. I look back on my childhood and I can see so many moments that could have gone differently and ruined peoples lives. A: I’m currently packing up my house to move, so I haven’t got anything I’m working on in particular at the moment. But I find I work better if I have some sort of deadline, so this year I have set myself the goal of writing and submitting one short story a month to open submissions. Q: What's the one question you wish you would get asked but never do? And what would be the answer? A: It’s not really a question I don’t get asked. But I certainly don’t get asked it enough. It’s “Would you like to write a story for our anthology?” It’s a question that never gets old, and my answer is always yes. Suffer Little Children (Black Shuck Shadows Book 13) |
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