 BIO I can’t remember exactly when I started writing stories, Various fantasy novels found their way into my library, and if a book combined science fiction, horror, and fantasy I was home. I took a break from writing for many, many years, though occasionally I’d start a story only to put it aside without finishing. I caught the writing bug again when I started reading fan fiction, then writing a few of my own, and received great reviews. Before too long I penned a few short stories and submitted them into competitions. I was fortunate enough to win or place highly and took the leap to write a novel. The novel received several offers to publish it when it was only about a third of the way through, spurring me to finish and submit it. And the rest, as the saying goes, is history. WEBSITE LINKS https://www.carolineangel.com/ https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13955689.Caroline_Angel https://www.instagram.com/ucat42/ https://twitter.com/ucat42 https://www.facebook.com/ucat42/ Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself? Gosh, boring answer. I live alone on a small property in rural Australia. I have Arabian horses that I love riding, a whippet and a Boston Terrier. I love horror movies, science fiction and sometimes fantasy (think Lord of the rings). I read when I can, but not when I am writing as I find I tend to take on the voice of the particular writer I am reading. To get the ball rolling and get everyone relaxed, here is a hopefully lighthearted question to break the ice, which one of your characters would you least like to meet in real life and have them complain at you about they way you treated them in your work. This is hard, really hard, as I don’t think of my characters that way. They have taken so much of my time that I don't need to talk to them at all, really. I think, as I tend to give my characters a very hard time, that I really wouldn’t like to meet any of them, I don’t think they would be very nice to me! Other than the horror genre, what else has been a major influence on your writing? Science fiction, and the occasional sweeping fantasy series. You know, the Game of Thrones type saga. 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? I think there is so much trash out there, the C and D grade horror movies, that people asscoiate all horror with that. Or worse, the lovey dovey glittery vampire romance young adult rubbish. It’s hard convincing people that those stories are not horror! We need to keep writing smart, well thought out plots, develop our characters and completely steer away from the cheesy stereotypes. 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? Honestly, I don’t know. I think we will get more techno, maybe? Hopefully horror will find a new audience and become more stylish and well written. Given the dark, violent and at times grotesque nature of the horror genre why do you think so many people enjoy reading it? I think it is because it makes our own problems seem so much easier to deal with. I don’t find monsters, ghosts or aliens scary. They aren’t real. I can sleep easier knowing that it is all just a product of an overactive imagination. People, and the things they can do, really scare me. What, if anything, is currently missing from the horror genre? Restraint. There are so many trashy, unedited tomes of rubbish out there that need to be pulled, rewritten or thrown away, and just leave the more clever, polished and completed works. What new and upcoming authors do you think we should take notice off? Dave Attwell. Awesome zombie series! And P.J. Blakey-Novis, he has a clever twist of words. What are the books and films that helped to define you as an author? Believe it or not it isn’t horror that I feel helped define me. It was my earliest experiences, reading Black Beauty and The Silver Brumby series. They got me hooked on the narrative, and the way to tell a story. Asimov then opened up whole new worlds for me after that. Are there any reviews of your work, positive or negative that have stayed with you? Two! The very first review I got on a fanfic I wrote. They just said “Let’s see where this goes.” It was a first chapter, about 3,000 words, and I was so excited that someone had taken the time to actually leave a review that it spurred me on to writing the next chapter. I also had one negative review that was upset that I had given them nightmares. It was that review that won me a competition, the prize being a Macbook! What aspects of writing to do you find the most difficult? I get really burned out working my ‘day job’, a necessity until book sales pay the bills. Trying to stay motivated can be a battle I don’t always win. Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? No, not really, but there are a few I won’t go into details, like child abuse. I will allude to it, or hint at what happened, but not go into gruesome detail.  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 in my book, with very few exceptions, are all changed after I write to those of my friends, family or co-workers. There have been one or two characters that have kept their own names, I can’t explain why. One of those is Harriet in my book Madman Across the Water. Writing, is not a static process, how have you developed as a writer over the years? I have become more conscious of sentence structure and use of filler words. I notice that many people get caught up in describing a scene, entranced with their own prose and colorful descriptions. I try not to do that, now. What is the best piece of advice you ever received with regards to your writing? Don’t use ‘had’ so much. I think I had overused it in pretty much every paragraph, often multiple times! To many writers, the characters they write become like children, who is your favorite child, and who is your least favorite to write for and why? Harriet, from Madman Across the Water is a favorite. Why? She was meant to die, be killed off very early, but not only did she not die, she became one of the major characters. She also kept her name, though I can’t answer as to why she did. I also love my Angie character from Origin of Evil, my new horror/sci fi series. She is a character I have played with since I was a kid, and featured in my most successful fanfiction. She has a life of her own. For those who haven’t read any of your books, which of your books do you think best represents your work and why? Madman Across the Water. It’s my first book, and I guess it really represents my style of creepy, eerie horror. I like to write in the show, don’t tell style, and I prefer suspense to up in your face slasher type horror. Do you have a favorite line or passage from your work, and would you like to share it with us? Gosh I can’t pick just one! Can you tell us about your last book, and can you tell us about what you are working on next? My book Madman Across the Water is a creepy, supernatural horror that spans many generations of one family as they fight to destroy a curse that kills off almost every member of that family. The town they live in also suffers from the curse, and the story takes you from the time it all started, to an epic battle against a supernatural monster. I am currently writing a sequel to my story Origin of Evil, a horror/sci fi with a twist of fantasy. It has multiple protagonists, and is based on a story I started when I was twelve years old. If you could erase one horror cliché what would be your choice? That Vampires are troubled, misunderstood glittery romantic teenagers. What was the last great book you read, and what was the last book that disappointed you? I think George Martin’s saga that Game of Thrones was based on fitted both parts of that question. I was both enraptured and disappointed, some parts of the books were great, while others left a great deal to be desired. Bit like the television series, I guess. What's the one question you wish you would get asked but never do? And what would be the answer? Would you like to sign this contract for the movie rights to your book? And the answer, obviously, is yes!  For generations one family has been haunted by something... something that stalks. It sees and listens, it watches and follows. In the shadows and mist it waits, to take you, to hurt you, perhaps to kill you. If it doesn't kill you, you'll wish it did. A creepy, suspenseful saga of family, horror, and mystery, this is one story sure to leave you frightened of the woods at night, fog, and all things tall and slender.
Second Edition - Republished by Red Cape Publishing Comments are closed.
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