R.R. Haywood currently lives on the Isle of Wight, but was born in Birmingham, England.  The early years of his life were spent moving frequently, living in diversely different cultures.  Picturesque rural south coast of England where front doors were rarely locked to inner cities where front doors were triple locked, bolted, barred and not opened after 9pm.

Having travelled widely and after a few minimum wage jobs, he became involved with law enforcement some 15 years ago and only started writing in May 2012 with The Undead Day One.  The Undead series has since become the bestselling UK based zombie horror series currently available with a strong cult following.

Presently, the series is available as e-books on Amazon, and The First Seven Days compilation edition is also available on Sony, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Diesel and iBooks..  

The author is actively seeking representation from an agent or publisher.

Find out more at Richard's website 

Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?

I was born in London. I’m a filmmaker, and I write horror stories and screenplays. I love horror films.

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

Horror!

Who are some of your favourite authors?

James Herbert, Stephen King, Richard Matheson, Shirley Jackson, M.R. James, Edgar Allan Poe.

What are you reading now?

His Red Eyes Again – a short story collection by members of The Dracula Society edited by Julia Kruk and Tracy Lee, No Monsters Allowed – a short story anthology edited by Alex Davis, and Necronomicon: The BestWeird Tales of H.P. Lovecraft.

 Which book do you wish you had written?

The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Or Simon’s Necronomicon (that way I’d still be alive).

If you could use any other author’s creation in your own work, who or what would you use?

Stephen King’s Carrie. One poor, scary girl! Perhaps a zombie version of her once she leaves her grave.

How would you describe your writing style?

A cross between Jane Austen and Shaun Hutson.

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

I write whenever I am able, which is often at night. I write on my laptop, on the sofa, frequently with the TV on, and the sound turned low. Seems to work for some reason.

What’s your favourite food?

Milk chocolate.

What’s your favourite album?

Probably Slayer’s ‘South of Heaven’.

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

Don’t stop. The more you write, the better you get. Plus, once you stop it’s very difficult to start again. And keep re-writing.

Fame and fortune, or respect?

Respect. Although fame and fortune would probably help me get a feature film made.

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

The screenplay adaptation of my novelette The Bloody Tower. I think it’s a good screenplay and would make a great film.

What do you like to do to relax?

Watch horror movies. And sometimes crime dramas or haunted house stuff.

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

My last book is a short story collection called FOR THOSE WHO DREAM MONSTERS. It’s for all those people who, like me, suffer from nightmares and/or have a fascination for the dark side and monsters of all types. I am currently working on a screenplay adaptation of my novelette TEATIME, which should hopefully come out next year in my next horror story collection, working title: BLOODY BRITAIN.

Thanks! J

Anna Taborska was born in London, England. She is a filmmaker and writer of horror stories, screenplays and poetry. Anna has written and directed two short fiction films, two documentaries and award-winning TV drama 'The Rain Has Stopped'. She also worked on seventeen other films and was involved in the making of two major BBC television series: 'Auschwitz: the Nazis and the Final Solution' and 'World War Two behind Closed Doors - Stalin, the Nazis and the West'.

 Anna's stories have appeared in various anthologies, including the 'Black Books of Horror' and 'Terror Tales of London' in the UK, and 'Best New Writing 2011', 'Best New Werewolf Tales Vol.1' and 'The Best Horror of the Year Volume Four' in the US. Anna's short story 'Bagpuss' was an Eric Hoffer Award Honouree, and the screenplay adaptation of her story 'Little Pig' was a finalist in the Shriekfest Film Festival Screenplay Competition, 2009. 

Anna's debut short story collection, 'For Those who Dream Monsters', is due out in late 2013, with the release of a novelette collection, 'Bloody Britain', planned for 2014. 

You can view Anna's full resume here: 

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1245940/, 

watch her films and book trailers here: 

http://www.youtube.com/annataborska 

and learn more about her short stories and screenplays here: http://annataborska.wix.com/horror.

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.

Scarlet has  been writing short stories and books since she was 11, and published her  first short story at the ripe old age of 13. When she looks back on the stories she created in those days  she realizes how naive she was but also how creative. Her  writing has changed become more adult and less childish, it is dark and more often than not contains erotic material as well, but the tingle of excitement she received as a child when writing or reading has never changed. She  tries to keep the happiness for writing and the imagination she has alive in everything she writes. She prefers writing horror stories and horror will always be her first love

Kane Gilmour is a Vermont-based author and editor–that devilishly good looking fellow in the banner art. He has finished his first thriller novel, Resurrect, and he’s now working on his first mystery novel and a YA paranormal adventure novel. He writes short stories and webcomics too. He’s also the co-author of the upcoming Chess Team novella CALLSIGN: DEEP BLUE, with series creator Jeremy Robinson.

Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?

I’m primarily a thriller author, working on my own series of action/adventure novels, featuring a mountaineer, and working with Jeremy Robinson on his Jack Sigler/Chess Team series. But I also write nostalgic horror novellas, and I’m writing horror short stories under the name Edward Phantom. When I’m not writing, I’m editing for several thriller authors. When I’m not doing that, I’m publishing New Pulp, Space Opera, and Erotica stories for some other author friends. When I’m not doing that, I’m wondering what sleep would feel like.

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

I much prefer the term Horror. I have an issue with it, in fact. Pisses me off when the genre doesn’t get the respect it deserves. Bothers me to hear horror authors calling themselves psychological thriller authors, or some other thing, because it further removes some of the respect the genre should have. I hate it when I see something like Justin Cronin’s The Passage shelved in Literature, when the store in question has a horror section. I get the Weird Fiction title from its association with the Weird Tales magazine, and I have respect for that, but Dark Fiction or any other variant bothers me. Horror has good writing in it as a field. It’s worthy of respect. So I use it where it’s warranted.

Who are some of your favourite authors?

I like a wide swath of authors in different genres. Stephen King, Clive Barker, Bentley Little, Simon Kurt Unsworth, and the New Duke of Spook, Stephen M. Irwin in horror. I’m a big fan of Robert B. Parker in mystery, and Matthew Reilly and Jeremy Robinson in thrillers. Neil Gaiman and R. A. Salvatore in fantasy. I also really like Arthur C. Clarke in sci-fi. Had the chance to meet the man a few times in Sri Lanka. He was quite funny in person, and loved to talk about anything but himself in his latter years.

What are you reading now?

King’s Doctor Sleep, and the as yet unpublished Jeremy Robinson sequel to his Kaiju novel Project Nemesis, David Wong’s John Dies at the End, Carol ‘ Pixie’ Brearley’s Rise of the Dark Angel, and a few manuscripts from newbies. I’m usually reading several things at once.

How would you describe your writing style?

Most of the things I write have a style that fits the project. I tend to throw in something gross and disturbing in nearly everything, and there’s usually a lot of action toward the end of a Gilmour or Phantom story. Beyond that, I’m just trying to fit the scenery and time, whether it’s 210 BC, WWII Japan, or 1899 in Hungary.

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

I don’t have typical days. Every day is a new adventure in finding time to write in a house with two fantastic (but wild) kids, a freelance editing career, and a small publishing venture. When I do write, I tend to do so for anywhere between a two to ten hour stretch. I can generally knock out a thousand words (that are keepers) in an hour. So a lot of my work has been done in a very short amount of time, once it gets started. I alternate between a standing and sitting desk, and I try to listen to either metal (where I’m so familiar with the lyrics that I’m not concentrating on them while writing) or film and video game scores from a variety of composers. Following the lead of my mentor and friend Jeremy Robinson (horror’s Jeremy Bishop), I’ve gotten to the point where a single film or game score becomes the soundtrack to a story or novel. Going back to that music brings those characters back to mind rapidly. I wrote The Crypt of Dracula to Health’s score for Max Payne 3 and Christopher Young’s score for the 2011 film ‘Priest.’

What’s your favourite food?

I was born in New York, so I think by law I have to say Pizza.

What’s your favourite album?

The eponymous album by the Riverdogs from 1990. Soulful singing from Canadian singer-songwriter Rob Lamothe, excellent guitar from Irish phenomenon Vivian Campbell (before he joined Def Leppard), and great bass and drums as well. They were a short lived thing, as they came out right before Grunge pretty much executed hard rock and metal, just when a lot of hair bands decided to get serious about songwriting and were becoming influenced by the blues. Riverdogs were a truly great band that slipped away too soon.

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

To shut up and do it. Otherwise the books don’t get written.

Fame and fortune, or respect?

You can keep the respect and the fame. Right now I’d settle for Fortune. Actually, right now I’m grateful for the fans I have, who are the best fans you could ask for, and who relentlessly hound me for more. That’s a great feeling. But being so famous you couldn’t walk down a street without being mobbed isn’t something I aspire to. I like to please fans and I like to please reviewers, but as for the respect of peers or academia? I’ll live just fine if I don’t have it.

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

I dig all my stuff, but oddly the thing I’m most proud of is the anthology I co-edited with Scott P. Vaughn, Warbirds of Mars: Stories of the Fight! The book was a labor of love, and has some amazing stories from a wonderful list of creators covers a slew of genres from action and adventure to noir, new pulp, weird western and horror. So basically it has something for everyone.

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

My most recent book is OMEGA, with Jeremy Robinson. It’s the finale to the existing storylines in the series, and for the monster fans, it has the team battling an animated Colossus of Rhodes. I’ve really enjoyed writing with Jeremy on his Chess Team series. We make it balls-to-the-wall action and then get to throw in whatever wacky sauce ideas we can come up with. I’m currently writing a Kaiju story for the excellent upcoming anthology Kaiju Rising: Age of Monsters, which just blew the doors off with a Kickstarter campaign that earned out in seven days and then went on to meet all of its stretch goals. After that story, I’m hoping to get another nostalgic novella done and out in e-book format for Halloween, called The Monster of Frankenstein. It will be a direct sequel to Mary Shelley’s story, showing the creature coming back for the corpse of his creator, and Captain Robert Walton fulfilling his vow to the doctor, to hunt down the creature and attempt to destroy it. Once that story is done, I plan to package it with The Crypt of Dracula and offer the two books in one compilation. I’ve also just started releasing one horror story a month under my Edward Phantom name. Two stories out so far (“The Firmament of Night” and “The Wound in the Woods”), with “Lunar” on the way in November. The latter features an astronaut on a mission to a space station in Lunar orbit, who was bitten by a werewolf before the mission. If the sight of a full moon can turn a man into a werewolf, what does he turn into when he’s just 50 miles above the Lunar surface?

Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?

I have worked in the films industry for 11 years. During that time I have written a number of short stories and scripts, but never did anything with them because I was too busy with sound FX editing and doing music. Later I became a stay at home dad raising my daughter. I Enjoy working at home so much that I decided I should try my hand at earning an income with writing, and now I have my book.

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

Horror is the best term. That is the purpose of a scary story to install horror. The other terms sound like sugar coating a nightmare.

Who are some of your favourite authors?

H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, J.R.R. Tolkien, Ray Bradbury, Joe Hill

What are you reading now?

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

How would you describe your writing style?

Right to the point, dialog driven, I won’t bore you with endless descriptions or a character’s thoughts that wander.

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

My work days comprise of sitting behind my computer from 9 to 5 typing away at the story. I do write my first draft in a notebook in script form first. This gets the story out faster and gives me a guide for what to type, even when I don’t feel motivated.

What’s your favourite food?

Ice cream, I know it is bad for you.

What’s your favourite album?

Roller by Goblin. Great mood music for writing.

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

Do plenty of research before getting into writing. Writing a book is the easiest part of being an author, it’s the sales part that is the real killer.

Fame and fortune, or respect?

I’ll take any of the above. The point of writing a book is to have an impact on others, those three options are sure signs that it is working.

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

One Dark Halloween Night – It’s my first novel and something I am not embarrassed to show to others.

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

One Dark Halloween Night is a tale of ultimate Halloween horror, full of nightmares, mysteries, suspense, action, and a whole lot of monsters. I’ve tried encompassing all the aspects of Halloween in my book and deliver a real entertaining read. For such a major holiday there aren’t any real definitive Halloween stories out there. You could say it’s The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury, but it reads like a kid’s history lesson on the holiday. Or John Carpenter’s Halloween which is just a serial killer movie. So there is a void out there needing to be filled. Christmas has several stores that does that, A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Story, etc. I hope my novel will fill that void. As for what’s next you have to read my book to find out.

Joseph D’Lacey is best known for his shocking eco-horror novel Meat. The book has been widely translated and prompted Stephen King to say “Joseph D’Lacey rocks!”.

His other published works to-date include Garbage Man, Snake Eyes, The Kill Crew, The Failing  Flesh and Splinters – a collection of his best short stories. He won the British Fantasy Award for Best Newcomer in 2009.

When not realising his fantasies on paper, he dabbles with Yoga and continues a quest for the ultimate vegetarian burger recipe.

Leigh M. Lane has been writing for over twenty years. She has ten published novels and twelve published short stories divided among different genre-specific pseudonyms. She is married to editor Thomas B. Lane, Jr. and currently resides in the beautiful mountains of western Montana.

Her traditional Gothic horror novel, Finding Poe, was a 2013 EPIC Awards finalist in horror. Her other novels include the supernatural thriller, The Hidden Valley Horror, inspired by Barker, Bradbury, and King; World-Mart, a tribute to Orwell, Serling, and Vonnegut; and the dark allegorical tale, Myths of Gods.




Could you tell the readers a little bit about yourself?

I’m a bit eccentric, reserved and reclusive, although I’m also painfully empathetic and honest to a fault.  I sang in a few bands in my younger days, even sang the National Anthem for the opening of a Dodgers’ Game (with my twin sister, with whom I spoke a “twin language” during childhood).  I’m married to a wonderful man who also happens to be an editor (which works well for a writer) and we have an extremely spoiled Maine coon cat named Kadie.

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

I think each really describes its own subgenre.  Horror evokes a thrilling sense of shock or fear.  Weird fiction explores the bizarre; it’s the brain teaser that uses the twisted and unusual to elicit the shocking and the profound.  Dark fiction doesn’t have to be particularly scary or bizarre, working instead to disturb on a more subtle level.

Who are some of your favourite authors?

On the top of my list are Stephen King, Kurt Vonnegut, Edgar Allan Poe, George Orwell, H. G. Wells, Louise Erdrich, and Roald Dahl, although I also enjoy Lisa Mannetti, Trent Zelazny, Dana Fredsti, Billie Sue Mosiman, Bryan Hall, Dan O’Brien, Robert S. Wilson, Jeffrey Kosh, Michael Meeske, Clayton Bye, Rob M. Miller, Tom Piccirilli, Peter Giglio, Joe R. Lansdale, Lori R. Lopez, and Jaime Johnesee.

What are you reading now?

I’m currently reading Christine Sutton’s The Prodigal Son.

How would you describe your writing style?

I would describe half of what I write as dark, psychological horror, the other half twisted political or psychosocial thriller, with both containing a literary slant.

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

I don’t really have a typical writing day.  Some days, I stare at the screen for a while, labor over every sentence as though trying to squeeze blood from a turnip, and then retreat to Facebook in defeat after only a few hundred words.  Other days, the words flow like water and I lose track of the hours, forgetting to eat and writing until I can’t see straight.  In the past, I’ve written an excess of 8000-12,000 words during these “writing binges.”  An average day is around 1000 words.  No matter which type of day I happen to have, I must have my coffee.

What’s your favourite food?

Fresh steamed crab … or maybe baked salmon.

What’s your favourite album?

Bowie’s Space Oddity.

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

Be true to yourself.  Write what you feel compelled to write, not what you think might be marketable.  I made the mistake once to try to write something mindlessly mainstream, and I will never make that mistake again.

Fame and fortune, or respect?

Hands down, respect.

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

I’m most proud of my Gothic horror, Finding Poe, which integrates bits and pieces of his best works into an original story that takes place during his dying days.  I spent months studying Poe’s works, his language, and his style before writing it, and I believe the novel did justice to his legacy.

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

My last published book, The Hidden Valley Horror, was that attempt at mainstream horror I mentioned above and, while it’s not terrible, I’m also not especially proud of it.  I’m currently shopping my latest novel, titled The Private Sector, which is one of those twisted political thrillers I mentioned.  It contains some elements of horror, but is more disturbing that terrifying (for the most part).  I’m currently working on a series of dramatic horror novellas, which I hope to sell as an on-going episodic saga of sorts.

John F.D. Taff is an author with more than 25 years experience in all sorts of writing…public relations, marketing, sales, journalism and creative.  He’s a published author with more than 65 short stories and seven novels in print.  His writing tends to be categorized as “horror,” though most of it has a weird, pulpy Twilight Zone vibe to it.  He also writes fantasy, suspense and some science fiction.  Over the years, four of his short stories have been awarded honorable mentions in Datlow & Windling’s Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror.

Michael Hibbard (1970 – ) is originally from New Jersey and he has lived all over the United States, Canada and Germany. He studied at DeSales University in Allentown, Pennsylvania, majoring in English Literature and Theology. For many years, he has studied the major world religion, philosophical disciplines and various branches of physics in a quest to understand the nature of the universe from one unified philosophy — which became the impetus for developing the Waking Dream Universe. The Waking Dream is the culmination of fifteen years of research, studies and collaboration with his son Kyle, in an attempt to describe the ill-understood aspects of our existence, exploring how we as conscious creatures mold the fabric of reality. He has taken so long to publish because the storyline spans thousands of years of history, and explores the centuries of years to come. It is more than just a story, it is an attempt to Awaken the Dreamer within us all, and bring our world to a new way of thinking.

In addition to writing, Michael is addicted to Idiot Guides, armchair physics, books from the early 20th century and collecting things. His hobbies include illustration, gaming of all varieties and playing electric guitar. During the day, he is a senior business analyst for a state agency, and can code in 11 different programming languages.

Michael is a member of the Author’s Guild and the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.

Michael is on

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