www.morpheustales.com snuffed out completely. In short, B-Movie Reels kicked the pity party out of my head. And I love horror movies, even if they’re cheesy or so bad they’re good. The novel’s really an outlet for my obsession with horror movies.
Yes! I think all writers like to hear from people who enjoyed their work, but I also like to hear from the naysayers. Their reactions can help me become a better writer. But if it’s a review that just says “It sucks” it doesn’t do the reader or the writer any good. And sure, it can be tough when someone doesn’t enjoy your work, but once you get back in that writing chair and belt out the pages, the negative feelings go away pretty fast. I have to hand it to the readership, though, because once someone pays cold hard cash for your book, they absolutely have a right to their opinion. It’s not fair to expect everybody to love you.
If you could go back in time to when you started writing and give yourself one piece of advice what would it be? “Hold off on sending manuscripts, young man,” that’s what I would’ve said. I also would’ve taken a lot more time really learning my craft, how to tell a story better, and most of all, how to self-edit. I was very lucky to have my experience with Damnation Books and Tim Marquitz’s direction. With that said, The Body Cartel needed serious work when I submitted it. After working hard to fix the novel postacceptance, I about had a breakdown because it was so much work and so much re-thinking everything. I was determined never to go through that again if I didn’t have to. That meant working much harder the next time. But at the same time, how else do you get that experience except through making those mistakes first? It’s a damned if you, damned if you don’t situation.
What book are you reading now? I read a lot of books at once. I went through a phase where I was reading nothing but crime fiction, authors like Ed McBain, Christa Faust, Jim Thompson, and Duane Swiercyznski. Horrorwise, I had a lot of fun with Donor by Elena Hearty, Pretty Little Dead Things by Gary McMahon, and Angel Board by Kristopher Rufty, to name a few. What is your proudest moment as a writer? My proudest moment was when I got the balls to release my own book, Cider Mill Vampires. I asked the artist who did The Body Cartel cover if he’d be interested in making a cover for me, and he agreed. From there, it kept snowballing. I could do
Do you read reviews of your work? How do you deal with criticism? 51