Interview by Ron Breznay

Christopher Golden is a prolific author in several genres and formats: horror, suspense, thriller, urban fantasy, young adult, novels, novellas, media tie-in, graphic novels. He has edited many anthologies and has collaborated with other well-known and well-regarded writers.

He has written such stand-alone novels as Wildwood Road, The Boys Are Back in Town, and Straight On ‘Til Morning. Among his series are The Shadow Saga, The Veil, and The Hidden Cities (with Tim Lebbon). His best-known YA series is Body of Evidence, some of which were written with Rick Hautala. Chris edited or co-edited such
anthologies as The New Dead, British Invasion (with Tim Lebbon and James A. Moore), and the recently released The Monster’s Corner: Stories Through Inhuman Eyes. He has written or co-written many Buffy the Vampire Slayer media tie-in novels, as well as non-fiction books about the series, and video games and comics based on the series. With Stanley Wiater and Stephen R. Bissette, he wrote The Complete Stephen King Universe: A Guide to the Worlds of Stephen King and with Hank Wagner and Stephen R. Bissette, Prince of Stories: The Many Worlds of Neil Gaiman.

HWA: Chris, in looking over your bibliography, I counted approximately 100 novels that you’ve written or co-written. How do you keep up such a prolific pace?

CG: It is probably getting up to triple digits now, but you’re actually counting collaborations as well as anthologies I’ve edited. My first book came out on April 1, 1992, so I’m closing in on my twenty year mark. I guess that works out to five books a year, although honestly that’s very simplified math. There are some incredibly short books in there, including
some choose your own adventures, middle grade books, YA books, etc. There are a couple of novellas listed. And, most importantly, fully one-third of those books are collaborations. All of that takes it down to a more manageable level. However, there’s no question it’s still a lot of pages. I have a lot of ideas and a lot of enthusiasm for those ideas and I’ve been incredibly fortunate to be able to get other people enthused about those ideas as well. I used to write a LOT more pages on the average day. These days, when I’m cooking along, it’s maybe nine, and when I’m not cooking, it’s five. At an average of seven pages a day, we’re really only talking about thirty-five pages a week—forty-two if I work on a weekend day, which I do when I’m under the gun. Still, in ten weeks, that’s a good-length novel. Add in revision time, editorial, etc., and I could, conceivably, write four novels all on my own in a given year. I’m sure I pulled it off at least once, but it’s been a long time.

HWA: How long have you been a full-time writer? What kind of “day jobs” did you have before you started writing full-time?

CG: During high school I worked at my uncle’s liquor store, and later at a video store. In college I did telephone fundraising as a work study job and also worked at a video store. During the summers I worked at the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s office by day, and by night I was a bouncer at a bar in my home town. I graduated from college in 1989 during a down economy, but managed to get a job as Communications Associate at BPI Communications, which was then the parent company of Billboard magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, and many others. By the following year I was Licensing Manager for the corporation. It was the coolest job ever, allowing me to work on the very first Billboard Music Awards TV show, among other things. When I sold my first novel in 1992, I quit, and I’ve been a full time writer
ever since.

HWA: Also in looking over your bibliography, I see only two short stories listed. Why do you prefer the longer format of a novel? Any more short stories in the works?

CG: I’ve actually written a lot more than two, although it’s fair to say that I wasn’t a short story writer early in my career. I felt more like a novelist, I suppose. I liked the longer form, so I didn’t spend a ton of time on shorts. Most of my early stories and novellas—everything up until 2007, I think—are available in my collection The Secret Backs of Things. It was published as a limited by Cemetery Dance and is available as an e-book from Necon E-Books. I’ve done more since then, and still do them when I’m asked and have the time, or when I’m especially inspired.

HWA: You’ve collaborated with many other writers. Without naming names, have any writers been particularly difficult to work with and why?

CG: Tim Lebbon is such a diva! No, no. Not at all. I’m not saying everyone has to follow this example, but I don’t collaborate with anyone who isn’t both my friend and a writer I admire. I’ve had disagreements with almost all of them, but only in the mildest sense. If you’re a musician, you can hang out and play with your friends all the time. You can jam. I guess I look at collaboration as jamming with my friends.

HWA: Have any been especially easy to work with?

CG: All of them.

HWA: This summer, you were scheduled to be a guest lecturer at Odyssey Writers Workshop. Please tell us about Odyssey and your experiences lecturing.

CG: Actually, this summer was complicated. I’ve lectured at Odyssey before and had a wonderful time. Unfortunately, I had some troubling health issues over the past year, culminating around the time of Odyssey, at which point I felt awful and there was some talk about potential surgery. Fortunately, surgery was avoided, I feel much better, and I’m quite well, indeed. I felt terrible about having to miss Odyssey, but I did do phone sessions with four of the writer/students who were there, during which I critiqued their stories and provided editorial feedback. I hope that helped.

HWA: Tell us about your recently released anthology, The Monster‟s Corner: Stories Through Inhuman Eyes.

CG: I’ve always loved monsters, and many times I’ve sympathized with them. As a child, I cried when Frankenstein’s monster threw the little girl in the lake, and again when King Kong died. Jessica Rabbit wasn’t a monster, but I’ve always loved her line, “I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way.” The same is true of some monsters. From their point of view, they might be perfectly justified. It’s only that our desire not to be killed and/or eaten makes their sense of survival dangerous to our own. The anthology is a cross-section of stories either seen through the monster’s eyes or at least presenting the monster as protagonist, written by an eclectic array of fantastic authors from various genres, including Kelley Armstrong, Kevin J. Anderson, Chelsea Cain, Simon R. Green, David Liss, Jonathan Maberry, Lauren Groff, Sharyn McCrumb, Tananarive Due, Gary Braunbeck, Nate Kenyon, Sarah Pinborough, Tom Piccirilli, Heather Graham, David Moody, Jeff Strand, Michael Marshall Smith, and Dana Stabenow.

HWA: Tell us about your upcoming publications.

CG: Late winter/early spring will bring two books I’m very excited about, both of them collaborations. In February, Harper will publish The Sea Wolves, which is the second volume of The Secret Journeys of Jack London, a trilogy I’m writing with Tim Lebbon. Then in March, St. Martin’s pubs Joe Golem and the Drowning City, my second novel-length collaboration with Mike Mignola. I’m currently working on a novella with Mike, also for St. Martin’s, the third Jack London book with Tim, and the first in a trilogy of graphic novels with Charlaine Harris entitled Cemetery Girl.

HWA: Why did you re-join the HWA and what benefits are you looking for from your membership.

CG: HWA was important for me when I was starting out as a young writer. I’m happy to say that I’ve been asked to serve for the second year in a row on the HWA Lifetime Achievement Award committee. It’s an honor.

HWA: Thanks, Chris, and welcome back to the HWA.

Steve Alten is well-known for his bestseller MEG: A Novel of Deep Terror, several follow-up MEG books, and other novels of “natural” horror. He is the founder of Adopt-an-Author, a program designed to interest teenagers in reading.

Steve grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and now calls southern Florida home. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Education from Penn State, a Master’s degree in Sports Medicine from the University of Delaware, and a Doctorate of Education from Temple University. While struggling to support his family of five, Steve decided to write MEG, the idea for which had been circling around in his head for years. Shortly after he lost his day job, his agent secured a two-book, seven-figure deal with Bantam Doubleday. MEG eventually hit every major bestseller list, making it to #19 on the New York Times list.

Steve followed up MEG with several more bestsellers: The Trench (a sequel to MEG), Domain, Resurrection, and more. Three of his novels have been optioned for the movies, and his novel Goliath is being considered for a TV series. Steve has also written several screenplays.

Let’s give Steve a hearty welcome to the Horror Writers Association.

HWA: Your bibliography includes several novels, but I don’t see any short stories listed. Have you written any short stories? Why do you prefer writing novels over shorter works?

SA: I have written a few short stories for different venues, but I don’t see a big market in writing collections of short stories—at least not enough to sustain a living. Short stories are great for writing, but this is how I earn a living. Maybe one day should I reach a higher plateau of sales, but not now, especially while I am enjoying writing powerful novels like GRIM REAPER: End of Days.

HWA: Your bibliography also includes several screenplays. Which was more challenging to write: a novel or a screenplay? Why?

SA: Both are challenging. A novel takes far longer but is easier for me to sell. A script takes less time, but is harder to sell, then even harder to get greenlit. Plus studios often bring in other writers to make changes. If I write two novels back to back, I usually take some time before the next book to write a few scripts.

HWA: Your novels are very visual and filled with action. Is this your preferred writing style, or did you write with the idea of their being eventually adapted to the screen?

SA: Both. I try to place the reader in the scene as visually descriptive as possible.

HWA: Any news on the movie version of MEG?

SA: We have a great script and a private funding commitment in excess of $200 million. We need to find the right director.

HWA: Domain and The Loch have also been optioned for film. Any news on those movies?

SA: Domain’s producers are working on the script, which I haven’t read. The Loch has funding; the script is still being tinkered with.

HWA: Tell us about Adopt-An-Author.

SA: Adopt-An-Author is a nationwide non-profit teen reading program I started ten years ago when I became inundated with middle and high school students’ e-mails, all telling me they hated to read…until they read MEG. Then teachers began using my books in their curriculum. After MEG was named a top book for young adult readers (even though it is adult fiction) I created the program, which combines free curriculum materials, posters, etc. with direct contact with myself and other authors. We now have over 10,000 registered teachers. More info for interested educators is at www.AdoptAnAuthor.com.

HWA: Why did you join the HWA and what benefits are you looking for from your membership?

SA: I joined HWA to become a part of the horror writers community. I hope to gain greater access to my fanbase and lend my support to the organization.

HWA: Tell us about your latest work.

SA: GRIM REAPER: End of Days is a modern-day Dante’s Inferno, which is considered one of the greatest and most revered works of world literature. Divided into three distinct parts (Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven), the poem describes Dante’s journey through Hell, depicted as nine circles of suffering. Allegorically, the Divine Comedy represents the journey of the soul towards God, with Inferno describing the recognition and rejection of sin. Dante composed his life’s work while Europe was suffering through war, famine, the corruption of the Church, and the evils of the pogrom—murderous acts that brutally massacred tens of thousands of Jews. Shortly after Dante’s passing, the Black Plague would strike Europe and Asia—a near “End of Days” event that killed off half the world’s population while giving birth to a new legend depicted in paintings and dance: The Grim Reaper.

What few people know is that Dante Alighieri was a student of Kabbalah, a guarded wisdom that dates back 4,000 years to Abraham, the patriarch of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Dante’s poem draws inspiration from the Zohar, an ancient text that reveals the spiritual heritage of all humankind. The Zohar also warns of the End of Days, a supernal event brought on by the corruption of man that will be the modern-day equivalent of Noah’s Flood. According to the Zohar, the event will follow the destruction of “strongholds belonging to the future Rome” on the 23rd day of Elul…a date equating to September 11, 2001.

GRIM REAPER: End of Days is a classic hero’s journey of good versus evil, transformation, and redemption. Far more than it seems, the story draws frightening parallels between the lack of morality that corrupted Europe preceding the Black Death 666 years ago and the present-day greed that has mired our own society in economic collapse, two endless wars—and a very real covert biological program, exposed by the author, which could lead to global pandemic and our own self-destruction.

HWA: Tell us about your upcoming books. I understand a fifth MEG novel is in the works as well as Phobos, the third volume in the Domain trilogy, and more GRIM REAPER novels.

SA: Phobos will be published in fall 2011 by Tor/Forge. I love the storyline, which melds perfectly back to Domain and Resurrection and takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride that is quite frightening. As for MEG 5, I want to time a release with a movie. Here’s hoping!

HWA: Thanks, Steve. And again, welcome to the HWA.

———————–

Steve Alten’s Bibliography

MEG SERIES
MEG: A Novel of Deep Terror
The Trench
MEG: Primal Waters
MEG: Hell’s Aquarium
MEG: Night Stalkers (forthcoming)

2012 DOOMSDAY SERIES
Domain
Resurrection
Phobos (Fall 2011)

Goliath
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea meets 2001: A Space Odyssey as a victim of
oppression hijacks the world’s most dangerous weapon, unaware that its bio-chemical computer
has become cognizant.

The Loch
A modern-day Loch Ness Monster thriller.

The Shell Game
The end of oil; the next 9/11 event.

GRIM REAPER: End of Days
Exactly 666 years after the Black Death nearly wiped out humanity, a man-made plague takes
Manhattan, forcing a war vet to cleanse his soul in Dante’s nine circles of hell.

The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is proud to announce it will present the Bram Stoker Vampire Novel of the Century Award at the Bram Stoker Awards Banquet in 2012. The Banquet will be held at World Horror Convention in Salt Lake City on 31 March next year.

The Award will mark the Centenary of Bram Stoker’s passing in 1912. Stoker was the author of the iconic novel, Dracula and HWA is giving this special Award in conjunction with the Bram Stoker Family Estate.

A Jury, chaired by Leslie S. Klinger, one of the world’s foremost authorities on Dracula, has been appointed, including Jo Fletcher, Ron Breznay, James Dorr, and Linda Addison. The Jury will shortly call for recommendations for possible nominees from members of the Horror Writers Association.

HWA President Rocky Wood said, “HWA is proud to present our iconic Award on the centenary of Bram Stoker’s passing and pleased to be doing so in conjunction with the Bram Stoker Family Estate. While Stoker’s novel is undoubtedly the most influential of all vampire fiction, we look forward to recognizing the vampire novel that has had the greatest impact since publication of Dracula.”

The Jury will determine six nominees for the Award and select the overall winner. The nominees will be announced in late January 2012. To qualify, a work must have been originally published in any language during the years 1912-2011, but must have been published in English as well. Although there are numerous excellent series of vampire fiction, the Jury will select a single book, not a body of work.

Works originally published in serialised form and later collected in book form will be considered as well as those published originally in periodicals or as books. There is no minimum word count for qualification, although short stories will not be considered.

JURY BIOS

Chair Leslie S. Klinger
Considered one of the world’s foremost authorities on Dracula, Klinger is the editor of The New Annotated Dracula, published by W. W. Norton in 2008 to critical acclaim. He has also edited In the Shadow of Dracula: Classic Vampire Tales, 1819-1910, an annotated collection to be published shortly by IDW Books, and wrote “Vampire Love” for Playboy Magazine. He teaches a course on Dracula at UCLA Extension and has lectured extensively on vampires and supernatural fiction. His introductions and essays have appeared in numerous books, graphic novels, academic journals, newspapers, and magazines; he also reviews books for the Los Angeles Times. He is Treasurer-Elect of the Horror Writers Association and a member of the Transylvanian Society of Dracula, the Vampire Empire, and the Dracula Society.

James Dorr
Mr. Dorr is a short story writer and poet with three to four hundred publications from ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S MYSTERY MAGAZINE to XENOPHILIA. An active member of HWA and the Science Fiction Writers of America, Dorr’s latest book is a collection of vampire poetry, VAMPS (A RETROSPECTIVE), published in August 2011 by Sam’s Dot Publishing.

Linda Addison
Ms. Addison grew up in Philadelphia and moved to New York after college and has published over 200 poems, stories and articles in a variety of media. She has always loved the concept of the undead, subsisting off the blood of the living. Who wouldn’t want to transform into a bat or mist and be irresistible to others? Linda is an HWA Trustee, a Bram Stoker Award winner, and looks forward to (re)reading books about one of her favorite subjects.

Ron Breznay
Mr. Breznay is a writer from Wilkes-Barre, Pa., USA, and was introduced to the horror genre by reading a vampire novel. He’s read quite a few since and looks forward to reading even more now. Ron serves as HWA Trustee and has published dozens of articles in the genre. He has researched and written about many classic horror writers.

Jo Fletcher
Ms. Fletcher is publisher and director of Jo Fletcher Books, the sf/fantasy/horror imprint of Quercus Publishing Plc. She is also an award-winning poet and writer, and spent many years as a Fleet Street journalist. She was won both the World Fantasy Award and the British Fantasy Society’s Karl Edward Wagner Award. She lives and works in London.