HORROR AUTHOR INTERVIEW ADAM P. LEWIS
27/3/2014
 THE CHAPMAN BOOKS Adam P. Lewis immersed himself within the world of horror at an early age. Whether reading writers Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, and Ambrose Bierce, or watching movies like The Legend of Boggy Creek, Halloween, and Dawn of the Dead, Adam has not just enjoyed these mediums; he became inspired to create his own horror fiction. Adam’s work isn’t merely based on fictional monsters, but also historical figures such as Lizzy Borden, Edgar Allan Poe, Lewis and Clark, and Sacagawea. Adam’s work has been published with anthologies featuring Wrath James White, Mike Oliveri, Steven L. Shrewsbury, Jeff Strand, John Everson, Jason Sizemore, and Gord Rollo. Currently, Adam is working on historical horror novellas, short stories, and collaborations. When not writing, Adam resides in the heart of the Adirondacks reading, watching baseball, and being a husband and father.  ADAM P. WEST Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself? I reside in the foothills of the Adirondacks, married, and the father of two boys. Do you prefer the term Horror, Weird Fiction or Dark Fiction? I prefer horror as a generalized term. I don’t tend to break down what I write into a sub-genre. If the story has plot elements of horror regardless if it’s steampunk, alt-horror, or paranormal, I consider it horror. Who are some of your favourite authors? In horror I read mainly Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Ambrose Bierce, Richard Laymon, and Brian Keene. I can go back through the classics of Poe and Lovecraft and read the same stories over and over and still feel the same thrill as though it’s my first read through. Science Fiction, I’m mainly a Star Wars expanded universe reader, John Jackson Miller has blown my mind with his story telling as well has Joe Schrieber and Timothy Zahn. I’ve recently started reading old X-Files novels by Kevin J. Anderson I’ve purchased when the series was popular. I had to wipe the dust off the book spines, but they still feel new. Which fictional character would be your perfect neighbour, and who would be your nightmare neighbour? My perfect neighbour, there isn’t one. My real neighbours annoy me now so I can’t image a fictional character that would be perfect. My nightmare neighbour would be Laymon’s version of Jack the Ripper. As a person who has studied the topic and written essays on it, Laymon wrote the best passages and brought out the killer’s true brutality. What do you think of the current state of the genre? In movies it’s cookie cutter shit. The movies now are the same formula; quick stuttering images, ghostly occurrences, and close-ups of creepy kids. It’s boring. I’ll stick to the old Hammer Films for a good horror flick or something Rob Zombie puts out. His movies are generally different to where I can get into them. In print or e-format, to me it’s not wavering. There is a demand out there and it shows with the competition I and my fellow writers are working against. What was the last great book you read, and what was the last book that disappointed you? The last great book I read was Kenobi by John Jackson Miller. The last book that disappointed me, Revan by Drew Karpyshyn. I had to force myself to finish Revan. How would you describe your writing style? I’m not sure I have a style. I just write what reads good to me. Are there any reviews of your work, positive or negative that have stayed with you? Nope, I’ve read reviews of my work and none of them have stuck with me. I write for myself and what I want to read. Everyone has an opinion and that’s their right. What’s your favourite food? I don’t have a favourite food. I have favourite drinks, Ommegang Three Philiophers and my own half and half mixture of Coke and dark roasted black coffee. Who would be on the soundtrack to your life story? Black Sabbath, 311, Extol, Alice in Chains, Cannibal Corpse, Opeth, and The Clash. What’s the most important lesson you have learned about writing? Richard Laymon sums this up perfectly: http://horror.org/writetips/writetips-laymon.htm What aspects of writing to do you find the most difficult? Editing, I hate it. I let the editors fix my mistakes. I just go along with their suggestions most of the time. How do you think you’ve evolved creatively? My evolution has turned into what I would want to read rather than opposed to finding an audience when I first started to write. I thought I had to be Poe but I realized I had to be myself. So far so good. What is the best piece of advice you ever received from another author? Again, http://horror.org/writetips/writetips-laymon.htm Who is your favourite character from your book and why? All of them, this is the first finished work where I look at it in print and don’t think I should’ve done something differently with this character or that character. How about your least favourite character? What makes them less appealing to you? I don’t have a least favorite. Fame, fortune, or respect? Neither of the three, I’m content with my life. What piece of your own work are you most proud of? Other than The Chapman Books, my short story Some Words with a Corpse. It’s a short mystery featuring Poe as a character. But in this case he’s dead and he’s revived through a primitive electrical experiment where he has limited mobility which allows his to speak and answer questions pertaining to the night he died. It was fun to write and is still fun for me to read. It’s been published but it needs a bit more work. I’m thinking of fixing it up and resubmitting it. And are there any pieces that you would like to forget about? Yes, about 90% of my first collection. I pretend it doesn’t exist. It’s no longer in print, thankfully. Can you tell us about your last book, and can you tell us about what you are working on next? My last book was a short story titled “Centuries of Torment” that appeared in Relics and Remains. The anthology is selling for $164 new on Amazon, that’s a steal. Go buy one, apparently it’s a collector’s item. Right now I’m working on a few novellas. One features Lewis and Clark as main characters fighting werewolves. Also I’m working on a new publishing venture with another writer called Neophyte Press. I’d share details on it but we haven’t hashed them all out yet. What's the one question you wish you would get asked but never do? Hi, Adam, would you like to write a Star Wars novel?  THE CHAPMAN BOOKS It's dangerous to be a doctor... ...Or a member of the Chapman family in this collection of three loosely tied together tales of the macabre by authors Aaron J. French, Erik T. Johnson, and Adam P. Lewis. Aaron J. French starts this weird progression with "The Chapman Stain," a kind of horrorized version of the nature vs. nurture debate. Is it genetics or is it demonic possession? The story moves quickly, with hints of both A Christmas Carol and The Exorcist lending touchstones to the proceedings. The story's end is a heady blend of spiritualism and gore. Erik T. Johnson's "The Chapman Delirium" is a euphoric, phantasmagoric trippy trip through the world of a patent medicine called Etcetracaine. Johnson's writing is, as always, mind-bendingly good, with passages you will read, stop, read again, then curse yourself for not having written. And finally, the Chapman Family's bad luck runs its course in Adam P. Lewis' "The Chapman Remains," a horrific tale of revenant corpses and life-draining ghouls. Lewis manages a shivery Fall of the House of Usher feeling throughout, which gives this tale of grave disturbance and...well...grave disturbances a nice depth. "Interesting to see what three talented authors can do with a shared-world theme, The tales are different enough to hold your interest completely, but tethered enough to each other that they lend some deeper, more twisted meaning to their companion pieces. Highly recommended!" --- John F.D. Taff, author of Little Deaths For more great interviews and reviews follow the links below HORROR AUTHOR INTERVIEWSHORROR NOVEL REVIEWSTHE HORROR WEBSITEComments are closed.
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