Q&A with Nico Bell

I have a guest on my blog today. Nico Bell writes awesome horror stories and she's dropping in for a Q&A.

Hi Nico. Congratulations on your latest release.

 

1. What was the inspiration behind your new book?

My insomnia mixed in with my addiction to Zillow! These two ended up sparking my idea to write a haunted house story but in a mansion where all of the locks are controlled by smart tech. This was an important element of the story and one that gave the villain a little more latitude with their scheme. 

2. You described your novella as 'a twist on a haunted house' story, can you expand on that? 

Haunted house stories are a blast because there’s so many ways the plot can turn! For example, in the movie Poltergeist, we see a supernatural haunting, while in Shirley Jackson’s House on Haunted Hill, a case can be made that the real haunting was happening within the mind of the protagonist. Sometimes ghosts aren’t exactly who they seem to be, like in the movie The Others (2001), or sometimes the ghosts are family, like in The Amityville Horror. When I say a “twist” on a haunted house, I’m referring to the way a ghost story can be so much more than a spooky spirit lurking in the shadows, just as they are in these examples.

3. If you were only allowed three adjectives to describe your book, what would they be?

Wicked, wild, and fast! It’s a quick fun read!

4. What came first Caleb, the mysterious woman, or the house?

The house started the brainstorming process. I wanted to dive into the haunted house world and come up with something fun! Then, I developed Caleb, and it’s actually my first time publishing a book with a male protagonist. I typically write largely femme, if not entirely women, casts, but it just made sense to write from his point-of-view. The mystery woman was always lurking around in my brain, but I developed her last. It was important to get her motives right, so she required a bit more work. 

5. If your book was made into a movie, who would play the leads?

I envisioned Caleb as a smoothing talking, young, arrogant man who cares a little too much about his appearance. I think an actor like Timothée Chalamet would pull that off. The mystery woman is a clever antagonist who is the perfect match for Caleb’s ego. In my mind, I was picturing Scarlett Johansson.

6. Are you a plotter, a pantser, or a combination of both?

When I started writing, I was 100% plotter. Outlines were my lifeline to story writing. As I’ve gotten a little more comfortable with writing and character development, I’ve be able to incorporate a bit of “pantsing” into the process. I usually do fast drafts of the first act and the middle of the book, and then I go back and plot everything out. This helps ensure that there is enough material to work with.

7. Authors always have the best (and most disturbing!) Google search histories. What kind of research, if any, did you do for this book?

I researched a lot of million-dollar homes. I saw one with its very own spa and hair salon, which was wild to me. I also researched home security systems and how smart tech has been incorporated into those.

8. How much research do you do for your stories?

The amount of research usually depends on the project. For example, I have a sci-fi horror novella coming out October 2023 entitled Static. That one required a bit more since I wanted to explore technology and the supernatural. I’m currently working on a sapphic vampire horror which I’ve been researching a ton in order to have a strong foundation for my vampire lore. For Open House, I researched a few key ideas and then got to drafting!

Nico Bell can be found online at www.nicobellfiction.com or on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube @nicobellfiction.

Open House comes out 6/15/2023 by PsychoToxin Press

A New Interview!

Today, I stopped by The Haunted Cinema for an awesome interview.

I had a great time answering all of the very cool questions. Seriously, this was a great interview full of great questions. It had been ages since anyone asked me about Sierra Fox.

You can read the interview HERE.

Thanks for checking it out! 😊

Q&A with Hunter Shea

I have a guest on my blog today.

Hunter Shea writes awesome horror stories and has a very impressive backlist. And he's dropping in for a Q&A.

 

Hi Hunter. Congratulations on your latest release from Flame Tree Press.

Slasher movies are some of my favorites. Is SLASH a throwback to the 80s subgenre us horror fans know and love so much?

Absolutely. I’ve always wanted to write a slasher novel, but I needed to come up with the right killer. I was a teen in the 80s and feasted on everything from Friday the 13th to Maniac, The Slumber Party Massacre, and Microwave Massacre (a terrible movie, by the way). My ten best times in a movie theatre mostly involve watching Jason carve campers up while the crowd went wild. What people growing up today miss by watching horror movies at home is the shared experience. They were wild, wild nights. So, needless to say, a lot of ideas have been rattling around my brain pan for many years. Driving past the old, abandoned Nevele Resort in the Catskills, I suddenly had this concept of a killer called The Wraith. Wouldn’t it be cool to make a crumbling resort his home base? And wouldn’t it be fun to start the book through the eyes of a final girl who barely escaped The Wraith some years earlier? What would that do to not just her, but her friends and family and everyone associated with The Wraith’s victims? Once all of those questions started buzzing around, I had to sit down and write. 

When did you realise horror was the genre for you? 

Way too early. I mean, I was begging my father to wake me up when I was 6 so I could watch The Night Stalker with him. I’d been taken to drive-ins and local theaters to see every conceivable movie since I was a baby. Horror is the genre that stuck with me the most. As a teen, my walls were filled with either posters of girls in bathing suits (yes, I had the Farrah Fawcett in the red suit) or still shots of gory movies ripped from the pages of Fangoria. One wall would have a shrine to Victoria Principal next to heads being lopped off and Nazi werewolves from An American Werewolf in London blasting people away. I lived and breathed scary movies back then, and I still do now. 

I’ve noticed you have a thing for monsters and cryptids, when did your interest/fascination begin? 

Good old Leonard Nimoy and his series, In Search Of, got me hooked on Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster. That show was both informative and downright creepy. I read every book I could find in the library about cryptids and monsters (there weren’t many). To me, it’s a natural progression from horror movies to potential real life monsters. It’s fun to write books about creatures people are familiar with and taking them to places maybe most people never even considered. 

It’s October, and for me that means celebrating Halloween all month. What do you do to celebrate the spooky season? 

First, I renamed the month many moons ago to Horrortober. Trademark pending. 😉 My goal each year is to watch at least one horror flick a day. When I’m done with each, I tweet out the movie and my rating system, which is x number of 9 tana leaves (for you Mummy fans). I also pick out certain books throughout the year that I save to read in Horrortober. My family and friends always meet up at the Chiller Theater con at the end of the month. And Halloween at the house is crazy. Last year, we got almost 600 trick or treaters. It’s a huge event for the neighborhood and the perfect way to cap off the season. 

What are you working on at the moment?

Right now, I’m working on my next Flame Tree Press novel, Misfits. It’s tense and it’s dark and it has a villain that I think quite a few people will recognize. It’ll be all complete and wrapped in a bloody bow by December. Your readers can follow my progress, and insanity, over at www.huntershea.com. 

Thank you so much for answering all of my questions. I look forward to reading more of your awesome books.

----- 

I hope you enjoyed reading Hunter's very interesting Q&A as much as I did. 

SLASH will be available on 24th October

You can already pre-order a copy from Amazon

You can also find out more about Hunter Shea on his website and 
check out his author page at Flame Tree

Thanks for reading!

This week, I visited Kendall Reviews

That's right. This week I was featured at Kendall Reviews. Twice! And it's SO exciting.

If you're interested, these are the links:

Here's my interview.

You can read my answer to Why Do You Write Horror? here 

Both were a lot of fun, and I had a great time answering all the questions.

In the interview you can find out a bit more about Breaking the Habit, as well as my writing, reading and a bunch of other stuff.

And the guest blog is about my long love of horror, and why I enjoy writing in this great genre.

I LOVE stopping by Kendall Reviews.
Not only is it an awesome blog to visit, but Gavin is a very cool guy and is super supportive of all things horror. 

So, you should be checking out this website anyway. There are always a lot of cool reviews, very interesting interviews, and a bunch of other features.

Have a great weekend!

😁

Another Week

That's right! It's Friday. And this week, I'm happy to say that I completed several writing projects I had on my to-do list. Yay. 😁

These are things I've had on my mental to-be-done list for a while. Things I constantly carried in the back of my mind but, for one reason or another, I kept (unintentionally) pushing them back. So, last weekend I decided to move these things from my mental list to my handwritten to-do list.

That way, I actually set deadlines for myself, which always pushes me to complete the tasks. I don't know why, but when I write things down on paper, I hold myself accountable.

So, what were these things? Here's the list:

• Complete third draft, read-thru & sub latest short story WIP.
• Proofread the previously contracted story I recently got my rights back for.
• Write two guest blog posts & email.
• Answer interview questions & email.
• Reach the halfway mark on IT.

This list might not look/sound like much, but I broke everything up into different days, and it took most of the week to get through. I managed to cross everything off by the end of Thursday. Plus, I have another two finished short stories on file. 👍

Then, we celebrated by going to one of our favourite thrift stores. Where I found a LOT of awesome books. Our apartment is slowly becoming a books and games library, and I love it! 😁

I also (really) like productive weeks. It makes me feel quite accomplished. Especially when it involves writing pieces that were stuck in my brain for ages. 

Although my mind is never clear--because there are always ideas and plans and stuff jammed inside--I'm now in a place where I can start thinking about other projects. And that's what I'd like to concentrate on next week: planning my next project/s.

I have a pretty good idea what I'd like to work on next, but need to get pen + paper to sort through my thoughts on paper before getting stuck into a nice lot of brainstorming.

But first, I'm going to enjoy the weekend.

I hope you do too. Have a good one!

Q&A with Kayte Nunn

Welcome!

Today I have a guest on my blog. 

Kayte Nunn is the author of contemporary fiction, and her latest novel also delves into an intriguing historical adventure.

THE BOTANIST'S DAUGHTER is a wonderful mystery story about family, secrets, promises and love. 

The concept for The Botanist's Daughter sounds intriguing, how did the idea develop into a book?

I was walking with my young daughter in the Sydney Botanic Gardens one hot, sultry January afternoon and we came upon the herb garden, where there is a beautiful bronze sundial with carvings of herbs all around it. I put my hand on the warm metal and immediately, as if a bolt of lightning went through me, I had a vision of a young woman in a walled English garden where a similar sundial stood. I walked around the rest of the day in a daze, wondering what this might mean. Over the following months I began to piece her story together.

What made you decide to tell the story in two different POVs during different centuries?

There were a couple of reasons: firstly I love stories that interweave, with their connection only fully known at the end, a mystery from the past is finally solved in the present.

I also love the way tangible objects can really bring history alive. The thought that someone several hundred years ago would have created and used an object that still exists in the present day brings the past to life for me in a way that reading about battles or treaties doesn’t.

I also liked the idea of having two strong female protagonists who would almost have been better suited to each other’s time – one is headstrong and flouts convention, and the other is quieter and more introverted. The book became about courage, and I wanted to depict an obvious, bold act such as a perilous sea voyage to an unknown country, with smaller, but no less valid, actions.

Who came first: Elizabeth or Anna?

Elizabeth – she was the young woman I pictured in the garden, but Anna followed closely behind. However, I chose to write each narrative separately, as I wanted each to be a fully realised story capable of standing on its own.

I love the cover. It's so pretty! Do you feel it represents the story well?

Thank you – I love it too! Yes, I think it tells the reader that it is about a particular flower, and the typeface indicates an earlier era, but the overall effect is still fresh and modern. It looks to me like the kind of book you would love to receive (or give) as a gift.

What's next for your readers?

I am deep in the copyedits for a novel set in the 1950s and the present day, an impossible love story about a forgotten cache of unsent love letters found on a remote British island.

Thank you so much for answering all of my questions. I look forward to reading more of your books.

---

I hope you enjoyed reading the Q&A as much as I did. 

I'd like to thank Kayte for stopping by today and answering all my questions. And a huge thank you goes to Hachette Australia for sending me a copy of this lovely book. :)

THE BOTANIST'S DAUGHTER is now available

You can find out more about Kayte Nunn on her website

Here's my review of THE BOTANIST'S DAUGHTER

Thanks for reading!

Q&A with Sophie Hardcastle

Today I have a guest on my blog.  

Sophie Hardcastle is a young Australian author. I had the chance to read her debut YA adult novel and loved it. So when Hachette Australia asked if I'd be interested in doing a Q&A, I jumped at the chance.

Hi Sophie, congratulations on your first fiction book release, and thank you for stopping by.

Grace and Ben aren't just brother and sister, they're twins. I'm curious, what made you write a story about fraternal twins?

I started writing a version of this book when I was fourteen. At the time, I was skating and surfing every day with the boys in my neighbourhood. I hung out with girls at school, my best friend was a lot like Mia, but on the weekend and after school, I spent most of my time hanging out with boys. They were some of my best friends, so I think writing a character that was, in many ways, one of the boys came naturally to me. I had always wanted a twin brother growing up. My sister has always and will always be my best friend, but I thought it would be awesome to have a twin brother to go surfing with. Writing this story at fourteen, I almost experienced what it’s like to have a twin brother, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

I've read that you spent some time in Bali while writing this book. Is that true? And if it is, what made you take such a step instead of writing the story in Australia?

The early version of this book was called Horizons. When I returned to it after writing Running Like China, I realised my fourteen-year-old self had known nothing about life, love or death so I left it in the cupboard and decided to write a story based loosely on the original. By this point, I’d fallen in love and understood how terrifying, heartbreaking and beautiful it is. In a way, you could also say I’d experienced loss when I became mentally ill and lost myself for a long time. But I don’t think I’d ever experienced loss and longing the way Grace had. I’d obviously never wish the events she experiences on myself, but I wanted to get as close to the feeling as I could. I decided to remove myself from the people I loved to see how it felt to truly yearn for someone. I put an entire ocean between us and felt the weight of that distance. Missing my love made my feel small, like the earth was getting bigger, pulling apart, like the sky was endless. He felt impossibly far away.

By chance, I also had to come off my medication after a toxic reaction and my emotions spiraled out of control. I experienced some of my deepest depressions and highest highs and I had no one around to help me get my bearings. Some days were so god dam awful, but when I came back to Australia, I had a wide breadth of emotional experience to draw on. It helped me to connect emotionally with my characters.

The surfing angle is very vivid, are you a surfer yourself? Or is surfing just something that captured your imagination?

I learnt to surf when I was four-years-old and was out surfing by myself on my fiberglass board by the time I was ten-years-old. Growing up, I surfed most mornings, most afternoons and all weekend. I couldn’t get enough. Surfing is unlike anything else, you’re part of something greater than yourself. You learn to read the waves and move in sync with the swells. It’s a love affair with something so powerful it has the potential to drown you, but also the promise to liberate you.

There were times during Grace's story that I didn't like her very much. She was totally spiralling out of control and frustrated me so much. Which was great, btw, because it's probably the emotion her actions were supposed to invoke. So my question is: did you do this on purpose? Or did Grace's actions develop while you wrote the story?

The part I enjoy most about my writing is when the story writes itself. My characters came to life for me in the second or third chapter and took control of their own lives. I feel like I know them as friends, and I have so much compassion and time for each and every one of them. I’d like to take credit for the emotions Grace’s actions invoked for you but the truth is, I feel like she did that all on her own.

And finally, what's next for you? Are you currently working on a new book?

I’ve just started working on my next YA novel. It is also set in Australia, which I’m really excited about. I’m only two chapters in and I’m still trying to get to know my protagonist. I don’t think I can give too much away, but I will say this…

Grace learnt to read the swells on the sea.

My new character learns to read the wind on Open Ocean.

---

There you have it! I hope you enjoyed reading the Q&A as much as I did. Also, I can't wait to find out more about Sophie's new story. It sounds interesting!

I'd once again like to say thank you to Sophie for stopping by today and answering all my questions. I look forward to reading more of her books. Plus, a huge thank you goes to Hachette Australia for sending me an ARC and passing on my questions. :)

BREATHING UNDER WATER will be released tomorrow!

You can find out more about Sophie Hardcastle on her website.

Or check out her Hachette Australia page.

Here's my review of BREATHING UNDER WATER.

Thanks for reading!

Interview at SF Signal!

Hey, how are you today?

The other day Andrea Johnson from SF Signal interviewed me. I always love popping in when Andrea interviews me because she comes up with great, fun questions. This time we chatted about my latest SFR release, my upcoming UF release, and some of my reading habits.

 

You can check it out HERE.

Have a great weekend!

 

All DASH Release Week Stops:

SFRB Author Monday

Smart Girls Love SciFi

SFR Brigade

Delilah Devlin's Blog

Robyn Bachar's Author Thursday

Veronica Scott's Blog

The Galaxy Express

 RECAST, Book 4 is now available:

She escaped the arena of death, but trusting him might be the death of her.

Samhain Publishing | Kindle | NOOK Book | ARe | iTunes | Kobo | Google Play

OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES:

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE SERIES: 

Next stop is an interview!

Today I'm taking part in Robyn Bachar's Author Thursday! She always asks some pretty cool questions, so go over and check it out!

Also, Robyn is an awesome author. So you might want to peruse her book page while you're there.

Mind Meld at SF Signal

Today, I'm over at SF Signal.

I'm taking part in their awesome Mind Meld feature.

The topic happens to be about TV shows in 2014. So stop by and check out which genre show really caught my eye this year.

The Sierra Fox Blog Book Tour Is over BUT here are all the stops...

To help celebrate the upcoming release of Sierra's fifth and last book, A STITCH ON TIME, I'll be stopping by several places during this month.

October 1: Fallen Angel Reviews

eBook: Samhain Publishing | Kindle | NOOK Book | Kobo | iTunes | ARe

I'll also be posting these:
October 5: A Stitch on Time Excerpt #1

October 8: A Stitch on Time Excerpt #2
October 11: A Stitch on Time Excerpt #3

 

October 12: All Things Urban Fantasy

October 13: Manga Maniac Café

  

October 14: RELEASE DAY! 

 

Samhain Publishing | Kindle | NOOK Book | Kobo | iTunes | ARe

                       

October 15: Wicked Little Pixie

October 16: Sizzling Hot Books--Bump in the Night Fest

October 18: Fang-tastic Books

October 19: The Book Nympho

October 20: Team Tynga's Reviews--Paranorm’All Hallows Eve

 

 

I hope you stop by and find out a little more about Sierra's world...

The Sierra Fox Blog Book Tour: Team Tynga's Reviews

It's time for...

 

 

Check out my Halloween Q&A!

 

 

The Sierra Fox Blog Book Tour: The Book Nympho

 Next stop:

 

 

 It's interview time! ;)

 

The Sierra Fox Blog Book Tour: Manga Maniac Cafe

My next stop is at...
 

Check out the Top 5 Things I Learned from Sierra.    

 

Interview @ FAR!

Check out my interview at Fallen Angel Reviews.

The Sierra Fox Blog Book Tour: October 2014

To help celebrate the upcoming release of Sierra's fifth and last book, A STITCH ON TIME, I'll be stopping by several places during this month.

October 1: Fallen Angel Reviews

eBook: Samhain Publishing | Kindle | NOOK Book | Kobo | iTunes | ARe

I'll also be posting these:
October 5: A Stitch on Time Excerpt #1

October 8: A Stitch on Time Excerpt #2
October 11: A Stitch on Time Excerpt #3

 

October 12: All Things Urban Fantasy

October 13: Manga Maniac Café

  

October 14: RELEASE DAY! 

 

Samhain Publishing | Kindle | NOOK Book | Kobo | iTunes | ARe

                       

October 15: Wicked Little Pixie

October 16: Sizzling Hot Books--Bump in the Night Fest

October 18: Fang-tastic Books

October 19: The Book Nympho

October 20: Team Tynga's Reviews--Paranorm’All Hallows Eve

 

 

I hope you stop by and find out a little more about Sierra's world...

To celebrate the release of RECAST, Volume 1...

 

I visited a few places:

SF Signal
Enjoyed a fun interview!

 

Smart Girls Love Scifi

I took part in their Fast Five.

 

Robyn Bachar's Blog

Where I chat a little about Guardians of the Galaxy and SFR.

 

Veronica Scott's Blog

I stopped by for a very cool interview.

 

SFR Brigade

Where I share my adventure in getting the Recast series published.

 

 

Also, if you buy the book from Samhain Publishing, you can get 50% off!

 

 

I'm very excited about this print volume.

 

And look how beautiful it looks:

 

 

 

Sierra Fox Blog Book Tour

Today I'm at

MY BOOKISH WAYS

for a little Q&A.

 

Sierra Fox Blog Book Tour

Join me @Robyn Bachar's blog for

AUTHOR THURSDAY!