 I’m currently working on something I can’t easily explain just yet. It’s about a young man who’s mother and father met under mysterious and tumultuous circumstances. As he’s coming of age in the 1970s, he learns more about his mother’s and father’s murky background and the past comes rushing forward to drag them all down. It’s a mix of SciFi and horror with a love, black power, and COINTELPRO backdrop. Errick Nunnally was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, he served one tour in the Marine Corps before deciding art school would be a safer—and more natural—pursuit. He is permanently distracted by art, comics, science fiction, history, and horror. Trained as a graphic designer, he has earned a black belt in Krav Maga/Muay Thai kickboxing after dark. Errick’s work includes: the novels, blood for the sun, All the Dead Men, and Lightning Wears a Red Cape; Lost In Transition, a comic strip collection; and first prize in one hamburger contest. The following are some short stories and their respective magazines or anthologies: Uniform (Fiyah Literary Magazine), Penny Incompatible (Lamplight, v.6, #3 and the Podcast Nightlight); Jack Johnson and the Heavyweight Title of the Galaxy (The Final Summons); Welcome to the D.I.V. (Wicked Witches); A Few Extra Pounds (Transcendent); and A Hundred Pearls (PROTECTORS 2: stories to benefit PROTECT.ORG). Eventually, Errick came to his senses and moved to Rhode Island with his two lovely children and one beautiful wife. Visit erricknunnally.us to see his work. WEBSITE LINKS http://www.erricknunnally.us Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself? I was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, but currently prefer Rhode Island. Married with two children, my career is built around graphic design. I’ve been writing most of my life, but seriously leaned in around 2012 before getting my first publications in 2014. I have served in the Marine Corps, graduated from art school, and earned a black belt in Krav Maga. Somewhere in there I won a hamburger contest by 5 Napkin restaurant. I’m a big fan of cocktails, food, and comics—sometimes all at the same time. Which one of your characters would you least like to meet in real life? The Lathe. It is a dystopian cyborg built to demoralize and kill the state’s perceived enemies. There’s only one way to stop it and I ain’t it. Other than the horror genre, what else has been a major influence on your writing? I started out reading quite a bit of SciFi, but I was undirected. Since I lived in something of a book desert, there wasn’t a network of friends, family, or classmates reading and recommending reading. As a result, I sort of missed most of the “must read” books in various genres. Still, I’d say some milestones would be Bradbury’s The Illustrated Man, Asimov’s Caves of Steel and sequels, Gerrold’s War Against the Chtorr series, Collins’ Sonja Blue novels and the first few of Hamilton’s Anita Blake series. 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? As the only genre titled after a feeling, I consider horror to be a thrilling escape. Whatever people envision for their novels and short stories can’t outdo history. What we’ve actually done or experienced as a species will always outshine fiction! Therein lies the true horror. A lot of good horror movements have arisen as a direct result of the socio/political climate, considering the current state of the world where do you see horror going in the next few years? I hope folks stay away from pandemic stories for a while. That said, I bet there’s going to be even more wily stuff that deals with the socio-political conflicts in societal cultures around the world. We’re seeing the rise of writers from a far more diverse pool and their experiences are coming with them. Given the dark, violent and at times grotesque nature of the horror genre why do you think so many people enjoy reading it? It’s an escape. As I mentioned earlier, I consider horror—and other genres—an escape from reality. Our existence is the most soul-crushing thing we experience, fiction is our release, our way out for a while. What, if anything, is currently missing from the horror genre? A broader diversity of experiences. What is it that engenders horror in people who are not like us? What new and upcoming authors do you think we should take notice of? Cadwell Turnbull, Chesya Burke, John Goodrich, Gerald Coleman, Erin Roberts, Kenesha Williams, Zin E. Rocklyn, Teri Clarke, uh… Are there any reviews of your work, positive or negative that have stayed with you? It’s the random reviews that always stick with me, regular readers taking a moment to share their feelings. Recently, I’ve had a few pop up on Twitter for my short story, Uniform in FIYAH Lit Mag and it has been super-cool. What aspects of writing to do you find the most difficult? Consistency. For a number of factors. Family responsibilities, work, exercise, other obligations. It’s tough enough to manage all that and write at the optimal times with a damned pandemic and protests against police brutality ravaging the nation, insisting that it change. It’s a powerful force that certainly draws the attention. Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? Probably rape or child abuse. But if it fits a story and eventually satisfies my basest needs for vengeance… Writing, is not a static process, how have you developed as a writer over the years? Getting better at pinpointing the emotional condition of characters and conveying it. It seems to be what people find most compelling. The stories that seem to get the most attention are the ones that dwell in the suffering of the characters the most. What is the best piece of advice you ever received with regards to your writing? I think, as it pertains to editing, what to cut away in order to leave the most streamlined story. It’s definitely difficult and takes time to hone. I’m not all the way there just yet! Which of your characters is your favourite? Alexander Smith from the Blood for the Sun/All the Dead Men/The Headless Woman trilogy. Which of your books best represents you? I haven’t completed them yet, but a series of short stories intended to make up two novellas. One is a horror-thriller about a woman who works in animal control and finds herself up against unusual aspects of nature. The other is science-fiction about a Marine Warrant Officer serving as the head security officer on an orbiting combat satellite in Earth’s on-the-brink future. I wrote it as a piece of military-noir, flinging the detective role into a crumbling future where joining the military (or an international corporation) is the best option for survival. Do you have a favorite line or passage from your work, and would you like to share it with us? Maybe this one, for now: He didn’t have to look up to see the night sky stretching forever in all directions, a pitched blanket smothering the world. Can you tell us about your last book, and can you tell us about what you are working on next? My last book was, All the Dead Men, a sequel to Blood for the Sun, both books are about a werewolf with a kind of supernatural Alzheimer’s who puzzles out cases of missing or murdered children in order to keep his mind intact. They’re supernatural crime, noir, pulp, and horror. I’m looking forward to writing the third book! I’m currently working on something I can’t easily explain just yet. It’s about a young man who’s mother and father met under mysterious and tumultuous circumstances. As he’s coming of age in the 1970s, he learns more about his mother’s and father’s murky background and the past comes rushing forward to drag them all down. It’s a mix of SciFi and horror with a love, black power, and COINTELPRO backdrop. If you could erase one horror cliché what would be your choice? Weak-ass flashlights. What was the last great book you read, and what was the last book that disappointed you? The last book that I felt was truly great—above and beyond entertaining, well-written, etcetera—was probably The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull. I mentioned my origins with SciFi earlier and this one was on par with Childhood’s End, by Arther C. Clarke. Better, in fact, considering where we are in history. It’s a modern and engaging take on first contact and the consequences of Colonialist empires. What's the one question you wish you would get asked but never do? And what would be the answer? Oh, shit…  The plot was broken, but something more sinister has taken its place: a vampire church built around the image of a woman who seems strangely familiar to Alexander. These zealots are hellbent on restoring what they believe the status quo to be, one of vampire over human, and Alexander wants nothing to do with it. Until a child—one he’d rescued decades ago, now an adult—turns up in a pornographic video made by a film crew that has been slaughtered. His adopted daughter, the vampire Ana, seems to be missing. At wit's end, Alexander has few allies. With Majispin in hiding, the pack decimated, and only a few willing to both hate and help him, Alexander must confront The Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Death and deal with the unexpected threat of Ana’s grandsire, an old and powerful vampire who has consumed his own soul. The monster wants nothing more than to possess the only love Alexander has left in the world. THE HEART AND SOUL OF HORROR REVIEW WEBSITES
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