HORROR AUTHOR INTERVIEW: 5 MINUTES WITH JEAN GRAHAM

Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?

I’ve been a horror fan since childhood (loved watching The Blob and The Tingler and reading Poe). In junior high, I read Stoker’s Dracula, discovered Dark Shadows on TV, and decided this was definitely my genre. Sold my first story at 17, and have since appeared in several magazines and anthologies, including DAW’s Time of the Vampires, Norilana Press’ Under the Rose, Cold Fusion Media’s Arcane II, and Diabolic Publications’ Dying to Live, among others.

Do you prefer the term Horror, Weird Fiction or Dark Fiction?

Horror, though what I write might be more appropriately called “dark fantasy” or even “horror light.”

Who are some of your favourite authors?

Richard Matheson, Connie Willis, Ray Bradbury, Ursula K. LeGuin, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Edgar Allan Poe.

What are you reading now?

Blackout by Connie Willis; Matheson Uncollected by Richard Matheson.

How would you describe your writing style?

Intense. Weird. Quirky.

Describe a typical day spent writing. Do you have any unusual writing habits?

Outline, write, revise, rewrite, repeat. I write everything in longhand – in a real notebook with a spiral binding – first, then do final drafts on the computer. In WordPerfect. I detest MS Word!

What’s your favourite food?

One word. Chocolate.

What’s your favourite album?

The Moody Blues’ Nights in White Satin.

What’s the most important lesson you have learned about writing?

Practice. Believe in yourself. Practice more. Send it out. Send it out again. Persevere.

Fame and fortune, or respect?

Well, respect, of course. Fame I can definitely do without, though I certainly wouldn’t mind trying fortune on for size.

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

Probably “Walking Tour” in the DAW anthology Time of the Vampires.

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

My two most recent appearances: “Nightcrawlers” in Arcane II, Cold Fusion Media; and “Turning Worms” in Dying to Live, Diabolic Publications. Working on: more stories to submit to more anthologies and magazines. I’m like those pesky poltergeist critters: you just never know where I might turn up next.

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