HORROR INTERVIEW : 5 MINUTES WITH JOSEPH A. COLEY

Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?

I am a 33-year-old EMT-Enhanced, living in the hills of Southwest Virginia. I have worked in the EMS field for 15 years. I am married with one child and two stepchildren whom I love very much. I started writing at the behest of a partner at work, who pushed me to start writing down ideas and a story about what I would do in the event of a zombie apocalypse. Those ideas became the first Six Feet From Hell book. As I finished writing the first book, more and more ideas came flooding in, fueling the action for the next several books.

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

Horror, simply because horror can be dissected down into so many sub-genres that actually describe what the book is. It shouldn’t be pigeonholed into a sub-genre that it doesn’t fit in. By putting it into generalized horror, the fans and readers can make their own distinction as to what it belongs to.

Who are some of your favourite authors?

Stephen King, Brian Keene, Michael Crichton, James Rollins, D.J. Molles.

What are you reading now?

I’m about a third of the way through a dozen different books … I tend to jump around quite a bit from one to another. I am a little over halfway through “The Remaining – Fractured” by D.J. Molles right now, and I really want to finish it before I move on to another.

How would you describe your writing style?

Random … and a touch disorganized. That’s why I have such a wonderful editor (Monique Happy) to make sense of the random ramblings in my brain.

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

I really don’t have any writing habits other than I write when the mood and the ideas are hitting me. I don’t pressure myself into saying, “Well, I need to do 2,000 words today, or I will never get caught up.” When that happens, you lose some of your best ideas to the pressure of simply filling in words for a word count.

What’s your favourite food?

Steak and eggs with home fries. Steak medium-well and eggs over medium … Delicious!

What’s your favourite album?

Metallica – The Black Album

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

Have fun! There is no sense in pressuring yourself into doing something that isn’t fun to do. Writing a story shouldn’t feel like a chore; if it does, then maybe it’s time to stop.

Fame and fortune, or respect?

Respect. There is an overabundance of rich, famous people that no one has any respect for. I would rather be looked on with respect than have money.

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

I’m very proud of every piece that I’ve done, but my favourite story hasn’t been released yet. I have a Sci-Fi novel coming out in 2014 titled Lost Between that is a completely original story, unlike anything that I have read or written before. I am very excited to see what people’s reaction to it will be. It is also the first non-horror story that I have done.

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

The last book that I released was Six Feet From Hell: Crisis, the 4th book in the series. It is set nine years after the first three books, with the same characters but with an entirely new story. It was released a little under a month ago and is doing very well, making the top 100 in horror and post-apocalyptic science fiction on Amazon. As I said before, I have a Sci-Fi novel titled Lost Between that is currently about 25% done, as well as the next installment of the Six Feet From Hell series which will be Six Feet From Hell: Unity. Unity will be released in the first quarter of 2014. I will be releasing a serial novel, R.I.P. Van Winkle, over the next year or so. It will be done in 3,000-5,000 word installments once a month. It is a modern-day retelling of Washington Irving’s classic, with some zombies thrown in. It will be free on my blog at www.sixfeetfromhell.blogspot.com starting October 1st. I have several stories on the back burner, both zombie and non-zombie related.

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