HORROR AUTHOR INTERVIEW - JEREMY THOMPSON

 Jeremy Thompson is a Southern California-based writer of horror, SF, thrillers and bizarro fiction. His bibliography includes The Phantom Cabinet, The Fetus and Other Stories, and Into the Darkness: Volume One's closing tale.

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Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?

I am a Southern California-based writer of horror, SF, thrillers and bizarro fiction. My bibliography includes The Phantom Cabinet, The Fetus and Other Stories, and Into the Darkness: Volume One's closing tale. I earned a Marketing degree from San Diego State, and own more comics than any sane person would.

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

I enjoy skateboarding, reading, watching Blu-Rays, and playing my Wii U.

What’s your favourite food?

The Deluxe Treat at Benihana, washed down with plenty of hot sake.

Who would be on the soundtrack to your life story?

The Raveonettes, Pixies, MF Doom, Kool Keith and The Doors. Aw, who am I kidding? The soundtrack to my life story would probably be John Cage’s 4′33″ repeated on an infinite loop.

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

I prefer the term Weird Fiction. Horror sounds too much like “whore,” and Dark Fiction sounds vaguely racist.

Who are some of your favourite authors?

H.P. Lovecraft, Grant Morrison, Stephen King, Alan Moore, Thomas Ligotti, Bentley Little, Peter Straub, J.D. Salinger, Peter David, Chris Claremont, Clive Barker, Warren Ellis, Jonathan Hickman, Michael Marshall Smith, Robert McCammon, Rod Serling, Richard Kelly, David Lynch, John Carpenter, Ray Bradbury, Neil Gaiman and Richard Matheson

What is your all-time favourite horror novel, and film?

Stephen King’s The Tommmyknockers and John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness.

If you could erase one horror cliché what would be your choice?

Sexy male vampires.

Which fictional character would be you perfect neighbour, and who would be your nightmare neighbour?

My perfect neighbour would be Dr. Muñoz from H.P. Lovecraft’s “Cool Air,” a reclusive individual who keeps to himself, quietly decomposing. My nightmare neighbor would be Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby. How could I get any sleep with that asshole always throwing parties?

What do you think of the current state of the genre? 

While some of weird fiction’s bigger authors seem to be putting out shittier versions of their greatest hits these days, I believe that small presses are keeping the genre interesting.

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

I just finished reading This Book is Full of Spiders, which I found to be a great sequel to John Dies at the End. The last book that truly disappointed me was William Hope Hodgson’s The Night Land. I had read The House on the Borderland just prior, and enjoyed it so much that it influenced my story, “Sacrificial Version.” The Night Land, however, while being filled with amazing imagery and prose, was too ponderous and repetitive. At a third of its length, it could be a masterpiece.

How would you describe your writing style?

Crazy, sexy, cool. Wait, that’s TLC. My writing style can best be described as bipolar, ranging from quiet Lovecraftian tales to full on splatterpunk.

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

A Goodreads reviewer described one of my stories as “relentlessly innovative.” I try to live up to that.

What aspects of writing to do you find the most difficult?

Avoiding artistic pretensions. At the end of the day, a story is just a story.  

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

I would never write about sexy male vampires. I prefer male vampires to resemble the dude from The Night Flier.

If you could kill off any character from any other book who would you chose and how would they die?

I would kill off Tim and Alexis "Lex" Murphy from Jurassic Park. Not that they bothered me in the novel too much, but for every second of screen time they get in the film, I find myself grinding my teeth in annoyance. As for their method of execution, picture this: Tim and Alexis arrive on the island. As the helicopter that brought them prepares to take off, a Stygimoloch comes out of nowhere and head-butts them up into the rotors.  

What do you think makes a good story?

I like stories that surprise me, and not in the sense that they’re surprisingly bad. If you can predict where the plot is going, and guess the dialogue before you actually read it, then you know that the author was half-assing it.

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

I wouldn’t say that they’re especially important to me. Generally, I try to use names that sound like real people, as opposed to names such as Thunderclap McNulty or Onomatopoeia Carlin.

How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?

My earlier stuff was influenced by a small number of writers. Now, I draw inspiration from everything: novels, comics, movies, music and science magazines.

What tools do you feel are must-haves for writers?        

A laptop, plenty of free time, a Keurig, and an imagination.

What is the best piece of advice you ever received from another author?

“Your mental hospital scene is contrived.”

How do you market your work? What avenues have you found to work best for your genre?

I’ve been contacting reviewers, posting on the Goodreads and Amazon message boards, and arranging a few giveaways. Thus far, I believe that the email promotion Necro Publications sent out to its customers has proven the most effective, as the limited edition The Phantom Cabinet hardcover sold out two days after it was sent out.

Who is your favourite character from your book and why?

My favourite character from The Phantom Cabinet is Douglas Stanton, as I am a bit self-absorbed, and he reminds me of myself.  

How about the least favourite character?  What makes them less appealing to you?

My least favourite character from The Phantom Cabinet is the porcelain-masked entity. While she works great for the story, the entity came from a recurring childhood nightmare of mine, one that plagued me for about a month straight.

Fame, fortune, or respect?

Fortune. The other two can be bought.

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

My currently unpublished sequel to The Fetus.

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

The original webcomic of The Fetus. I am not much of an artist, and believe me, it showed. 

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

I would say The Fetus and Other Stories, as the stories range from bizarro horror to SF.

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

The Phantom Cabinet: Space Shuttle Conundrum collides with empty atmosphere, passing from known reality into the realm beyond life. At the same time, a dead newborn is resurrected amidst a hospital-wide poltergeist infestation.

What connects these ghastly occurrences, and how can the fate of humanity rest on a single boy’s shoulders?

As the haunted Douglas Stanton spends his adolescence an outcast—his only friend the ghost of a long lost astronaut—a porcelain-masked entity lurks in the shadows, planning Douglas’ demise. Because Douglas is the key… the key to the door… a door between what we know and what we fear. And when the key is turned…realities will come crashing together.

When Heaven and Hell don’t exist…what does?

Step into The Phantom Cabinet…

Currently, I am editing two novels (one horror, one thriller) and writing a new story, the triumphant return of Professor Pandora from “Sacrificial Version.”

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

“How about a date tonight?” Scarlett Johansson would ask, wearing her Black Widow outfit. “Sure,” I’d reply. “The only thing is, I left my wallet at home.”

Purchase The Phantom Cabinet from this link

Space Shuttle Conundrum collides with empty atmosphere, passing from known reality into the realm beyond life. At the same time, a dead newborn is resurrected amidst a hospital-wide poltergeist infestation. 

What connects these ghastly occurrences and how can the fate of humanity rest on a single boy’s shoulders? 

As the haunted Douglas Stanton spends his adolescence an outcast—his only friend the ghost of a long lost astronaut—a porcelain-masked entity lurks in the shadows, planning Douglas’ demise. Because Douglas is the key… the key to the door… a door between what we know and what we fear. And when the key is turned…realities will come crashing together. 

When Heaven and Hell don’t exist…what does? 

Step into The Phantom Cabinet…

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Amazon Author Page:

 www.amazon.com/author/jeremythompson

Goodreads:

 https://www.goodreads.com/JeremyThompson

THE HEART AND SOUL OF HORROR