HORROR LEGEND ​GUY N. SMITH CHATS TO GINGER NUTS OF HORROR

Thank you for taking part in this interview, Guy.
I wonder if you could take us right back to the beginning of your career and tell us how you got started writing horror?
 
In my early youth I was writing stories for the “Tettenhall Observer” of which my Mother was editor of the children’s page.

My ambition was to become a novelist and a contact at New English Library informed me that they were seeking a werewolf novel. So I wrote Werewolf by Moonlight” (1977) and “Son of the Werewolf” (1978). Now all 3 have been published in “Werewolf Omnibus”, plus an original short story, by Sinister Horror Company.
 
You’ve had a long career with a prolific output, and you’re continuing to write now. How do you still come up with ideas? And where do you get your ideas from?
 
I always carry a notebook with me. It is amazing how ideas strike me on my travels. I jot them down and when I am considering a new novel I go through my notes. Usually something strikes me, so I expand on it and often it is the basis for a novel.
 
Is there one subject you would never write about as an author?
 
I am always careful to ensure that there is nothing racist in my novels or anything else which might cause offence.
 
Talks us through your writing process. Do you plan a story out in detail, or do you invent the story as you write it?
 
I always compile a detailed synopsis, plot, characters etc before I start a book. Hence when I start to write it, I can go straight through it. Of course, I make changes as it progresses, and further ideas come to mind. All my books are hand-written, I find this much easier and faster than typing them. Then I pass the finished novel over to my assistant who types it. I then proof-read it, make any changes which may occur to me and it goes to my publisher.

Do you find any aspects of writing challenging, and if so, what are they and why?
 
Writing a novel is always challenging. There is always detailed research before I put pen to paper, but every aspect is completed before I begin writing a novel.

How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning?
 
Names are also carefully chosen. Often common names are used for minor characters. I try to avoid names for leading characters which do not suit their roles in the book.
 
A lot of your books have detailed descriptions of countryside, and particularly the surrounding area where you live. How important is your environment and surroundings for inspiration?
Can you detail some particular inspirations and how they appeared in your books?
 
My environment, deep in the Shropshire/Welsh border hills, has given me a lot of scope. There are legends which I have used such as the Black Dogs, mythical canines which herald death if seen. The dark mysterious forest was ideal for werewolf plots.

Other than the horror genre, what else has been a major influence on your writing?
 
I have written countryside non-fiction books on field sports. Over the years I have kept cattle, goats and donkeys. The latter feature in one of my children’s books “Cornharrow”. My land is also managed as a small nature reserve hence I have an opportunity to see and write about many species of wildlife.

Have you seen your style/writing change over the years? If so, how and why do you think that is?
 
Basically my style of writing has not changed over the years. My readers are familiar with it, a story told simply, easy and fast reading. Long and complicated passages are not for them.

Thinking about the horror book market, how have you seen trends change over the years?
 
The horror market at large has seen changes over the years, lengthy works, diversions on the main theme etc. Personally I prefer to keep it simple, tell a straightforward story.

How do you view the current horror scene?
 
The horror scene is not what it was when I began writing. Certainly it went out of fashion in the early 1990s with some publishers excluding it, along with the former category market. Now it seems to be undergoing a resurgence.

You’ve worked with a lot publishers in your time, and most recently the Sinister Horror Company. What has been your experience working with different publishers? Can you tell us about any good or bad stories over your career?
 
Over the years different publishers have had different ideas on the type of horror they published. One experience I had in the early 1990s when a USA publisher dropped their horror section. My books were selling exceedingly well but they decided that horror was no longer in fashion. I simply changed publisher and continued as before very successfully.

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?

Horror these days incorporates a much wider field. No longer is the short, snappy plot used. As for my own books they are still selling extremely well. “Night of the Crabs” has gone to many reprints and is currently being filmed in New Zealand. There are around six sequels in print with a new novel being published shortly. My Sabat series first published in 1982 is still a best seller. No. 5 was published last autumn and No. 6 is scheduled for release at my Fan Club Convention on September 1st. My Black Fedora novels are also best sellers with a new one in the pipeline.                                                                                                                                                                                       
Personally I see no reason to change. My readers buy and enjoy these books.       

It appears anthologies are very popular these days. I am repeatedly asked to contribute short stories to them.

What does your family think about the gruesome stories you create?
 
My family take all my gruesome stories in their stride. They are long accustomed to them. Would they expect anything different from Dad? Apparently not.
 
With all these stories of monsters and the supernatural what are your personal beliefs on the subjects? Do you believe in ghosts? Do you believe in cryptids such as bigfoot, the loch ness monster etc?
 
I have a framed photo taken by a fan on the shore of Loch Ness. It shows a creature swimming away with a long neck upraised. It was confirmed by Arthur C. Clarke as undoubtedly being the legendary monster.  
Ghosts : My mother came to live with us for the last 2 ½ years of her life. Our grandson (aged 6) came to stay a few years after her death and slept in the room which had been hers. One morning he enquired “who was that old lady who was in the room just after it got light?” He had never seen my mother but his description of his visitor was that of her in every detail.

For years afterwards there were unexplainable happenings, items vanishing and then turning up again. One Sunday morning hearing footsteps upstairs I dashed up and there was my mother standing outside her former bedroom, clad in night attire. Then before my eyes she just faded away!

Big Cats: Big cats have been around my land for years. One day I was contacted by a neighbouring farmer asking me if I would go and look at some tracks in the snow. These were in a single line and crossed two fields before disappearing into the forest. I photographed them and they were confirmed by A. J. de Nahlik a wildlife expert as having been made by a caracal. Since then a caracal has been seen on my land by many people.
One February afternoon I looked out of the window and saw what I thought was a large black sheepdog sniffing around. When it turned sideways on I saw that it had a long tail and was undoubtedly a huge feline. I followed it down the lane and then it turned up into the forest and was lost to sight. I fully believe that it was a black leopard.

On another occasion an identical Big Cat was seen on my land in pursuit of a muntjac deer. It passed within a few yards of the trio who observed it.
 
Do you watch horror films? And if so can you name three of your favourites and why?
 
Although I am a fan of horror I find the diet dished up virtually nightly on TV somewhat boring. I prefer the classics “Dracula”, “Frankenstein” and more recently “Hannibal”. Early horror has a greater impact on me.
 
A writer is nothing without their readers. How important are your fans to you, and how you keep them engaged?
 
My fans are very important to me. Many of them have become personal friends, rather than simply readers of my books. I hold a Fan Club Convention every year on the first Sunday in September at my home. I feel that this location adds to the atmosphere. We always have a theme, last year was the haunting of my own home where I was able to show fans the actual location of numerous inexplicable happenings over the last 20 years.
There is no problem in maintaining an interest throughout the day. We have an auction of GNS collectibles and a prize draw for some unique item.
 
Have you ever received any unusual requests from your fans?
 
On two or three occasions fans have asked if they can be featured in one of my books. I usually agree to this but I warn them that they will usually meet a sticky end, dismembered by a giant crab or torn to pieces by some other creature. They love it!
 
On the flipside of that, have you ever received any unusual gifts from your fans?
 
Often fans bring me gifts. I have many but one of the most fascinating was a 6ft snakeskin.

Also a 1942 novel by Constana and Gwyneth Little “The Black Shrouds” rebound in a rattlesnake skin.
 
Aside from horror you’ve written in various other genres. How did it come about that branched out into different genres? And what do you enjoy about writing them?
 
I have written in many genres, principally children’s novels and countryside books. These are a welcome break from horror, crime and suspense and I find that I come back refreshed to the latter.
 
Is there a genre (or sub-genre) you haven’t tried but would like to?
 
I think I’ve written in most genres, if we include the 4,000 short stories and articles I have penned over the years. I can’t think of anything different which appeals to me. If it should then I will write it!
 
What are you currently working on?
 
A new Black Fedora novel.
 
What’s next to be released?
 
Another Crabs novel “The Charnel Caves”.
 
Of all the books and stories you’ve written what are your personal favourites?
 
My personal favourite is “The Knighton Vampires”. Living only 7 miles away from this town I was familiar with all locations in the book. In fact after I had written it I used to feel slightly uneasy when I visited the town after dark!
Another favourite is a western “The Pony Riders”. This features the notorious gunman J. A. Slade who fascinated me in my boyhood.
 
Do you have a book that you’ve written that was unfairly ignored or didn’t get the attention/success you’d hoped?
 
I cannot honestly say that I have had a truly unsuccessful book. Most sold out their initial print run and many more were reprinted.
 
Are there any reviews of your work, positive or negative that have stayed with you?
 
I have 16 large scrapbooks containing reviews from innumerable publications. Virtually all are very good except – “The Star” (Johannesburg October 23 1982) which featured a full page closely printed list of “undesirables”.

This was compiled at a Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Pretoria. At the top of this list is “Graveyard Vultures (Sabat No. 1 . Guy N. Smith)”

Clearly these bishops did not like the plot, witchcraft etc. There was a warning that anybody found selling this book would face prosecution. So it became an “underground” best seller!

The paper was sent to my mother by a friend in S.A. She was shocked. I was delighted that Sabat had made such an impact!
 
What advice would you give any writers out there at the moment trying to make a name for themselves and forge a career?
 
Keep on writing, don’t be discouraged by rejections. Rejections don’t necessarily mean that a book is no good. In all probability the publishers have a full list so try and try again. Keep on submitting it to other publishers.
 
What tools do you feel are must-haves for writers?         
 
Just a word processor/computer and a handy notebook.
 
What's the one question you wish you would get asked but never do?  And what would be the answer?
 
I’m still waiting for that question to turn up. I have been asked about virtually everything else. On social gatherings other than literary events I get asked “what are you writing at present?”

At book events I’m repeatedly asked about something in one of my 120 books. It is often difficult to remember!
 
One of our regular features on Ginger Nuts Of Horror is ‘The Book That Made Me’. What book was a big influence of you?
 
My Mother was a published historical author in the 1930s.  In the late 1950s she was editing the children’s page of the “Tettenhall Observer” and encouraged me to write short stories for it. In all I contributed over 50.

However, my Father was a bank manager and he insisted that I followed in the family tradition. Consequently, I spent 20 years in this profession.

In 1963 I acquired the shooting rights of the Black Hill on the Shropshire/Welsh border. Here there was the legend of the Black dogs; if one was seen then somebody was destined to die.

Around this time, I acquired a book entitled “The Mystery Book”, (1934) an anthology which included a short story entitled “The Werewolf” by Frederick Marryat. I was hooked! Could there be werewolves on the creepy Black Hill with its dark forests? If not, then I would introduce some! So, I wrote my first horror novel “Werewolf by Moonlight” (1974) set there. It was a big success and was followed by two sequels “Return of the Werewolf” (1977) and “Son of the Werewolf” (1978). These are now long out of print and avidly sought by collectors. Hence, they are now reprinted in an omnibus “Werewolf Omnibus” together with an original short story.

In the mid – 1970s I sold the film rights for “Night of the Crabs” and this enabled me to resign from banking and move from Tamworth, Staffs, with my wife and 4 children, to the Black Hill. I am still living there.

My successful writing career saw 120 novels and around 4,000 short stories, horror, mystery, historical, children’s and articles on the country side. Recently published is the “Guy N. Smith Bibliography” by Shane Agnew, over 300 pages and 950 photographs.

So, a second hand book, published in the 1930s was instrumental in launching my long and successful writing career. I hope to continue writing for a few more years yet.
 
 
Guy N. Smith has been a best-selling author for over 40 years and continues to release new works, with his latest ‘killer crabs’ book, The Charnel Caves, released on 22nd June 2019 by the Sinister Horror Company.