Read Past
Interviews
Tim
Johnson has a B.A. in English from Boston University.
He is a member of the Horror Writers Association, and the coauthor
of Two Die Four. His fiction has been published in dozens of magazines
and anthologies Recently his work has appeared the anthologies COLD
FLESH and TEDDY
BEAR CANNIBAL MASSACRE. A Massachusetts native, Tim is an
avid fan of the Boston Red Sox and the New England Patriots. He
can be found online at CrimsonSlime.com and contacted via email.
Tim loves to hear from his readers.
What are you working on right now?
At the moment I'm working on my second novel, a layered horror
piece entitled SOUR BLOOD. It focuses on the theme of why bad
things happen to good people, and why good people do bad things.
You know—that thing. It will be an all-out horror novel,
I think. The work is now in its early stages; I've been at it
for only the past month. Before that, I was working feverishly
on the final draft of my first novel, MIND MATTER. I'm in the
process of working to get that piece published.
Tell us a little bit about the
recently released TWO DIE FOR. How did this
project come together and where can we find it?
TWO
DIE FOUR is a collaborative work, featuring fiction
by myself and Tim Curran. Silver Lake Publishing released the
book in a wonderful trade paperback edition. The book has two
authors and four stories, so the title seemed fitting.
I've always been a fan of Tim Curran's work.
In fact, when I first discovered the wonderful world of the small
presses, Tim's stories provided me with my first impression. It
was a very good first impression, and it made me realize the top
quality fiction that can be found in some of the smaller 'zines
out there. Tim's fiction made me want to submit my own stuff,
and first sparked my desire to have my work published.
Having published Tim Curran's work in both
issues of Dark Corners, he and I communicated frequently via email.
Eventually we came up with the idea of collaborating on a project.
I had a few novellas that I'd been working on. I let Tim give
them a read, and I read a few of his. We both enjoyed what we
read and realized that all the stories had something in common,
some overlying theme that wasn't at all planned. We put the stories
together in one manuscript and sent it out to publishers. Silver
Lake Publishing picked it up. The book has received nice reviews.
I'm quite proud of it. And, of course, it's an honor to see my
name alongside Mr. Curran's on the cover.
The book is available through Barnes
and Noble, Amazon.com,
and Shocklines.
TWO DIE FOR
isn't your first publication, though. Where has your fiction
appeared before?
TWO
DIE FOUR is my first official book, but it certainly isn't
my first published work. I've been writing and submitting my fiction
for about the past three years. In that time, I've sold stories
to over a dozen magazines and anthologies, some more notable than
others. Recently, my fiction has been published in Teddy Bear
Cannibal Massacre—which is currently carried under Shocklines
"New Voices Guarantee." Also, I have a short story published
in what is being called the zombie anthology, COLD FLESH, published
in mass-market paperback format by Hellbound Books.
Two chapbooks collecting my short fiction have
been published in the past two years. The first is WAKEMARES,
published by D-Press of Whispers of Wickedness. Second is HARVEST
OF HORRORS, released by Naked Snake Press, which—to
my surprise—made the Shocklines bestseller list the week
it was released.
You also
published 'Dark Corners Magazine' with Jeremy Ewing at one time.
Tell us a little bit about that experience. Do you have any plans
to return
to the publishing / editing side of the business?
'Dark Corners' was a lot of fun. But it was even more work.
Jeremy Ewing is one of my closest friends,
someone who I look to for advice and feedback on my own writing.
When I started up 'Dark Corners,' it was perfect to have him sharing
the reigns with me as editor. The magazine was a small publication
with a modest print run, but we published some great authors,
made enough cash from the first issue to offer payment for stories
in the second installment, and sold a good amount of copies in
the process. The magazine received some nice reviews, and was
enjoyed by readers. That made it all worth the effort. Unfortunately,
there's only so much time and effort that can be spread around.
I decided that I needed to put more time aside for my own writing,
so 'Dark Corners' got bumped to the back burner. I'm afraid that
back burner might have burned the magazine up. At the moment,
it doesn't look as if 'Dark Corners' will be clawing its way out
of the grave any time soon. But who knows—as a horror writer
I'm aware that the dead can rise.
Currently, I'm focusing entirely on my
own writing. However, somewhere in the future, I wouldn't
mind returning to the editing side of the game. Working as an
editor allows me to see how the cards are handled from the other
side of the table. I can play my hand as a writer much better
as a result.
Which writers
(genre or otherwise) influence or inspire you? Why?
Many writers inspire me. In fact, I'd say every writer I've ever
read has inspired me in one way or another. Even if a particular
writer sucks, his or her work can inspire me to not write that
way. Good writers are probably better for inspiration, though.
My absolute favorites within the horror genre
are: Richard Laymon, for his boldness, his ability to build such
incredible tension with such a simple style, and quite simply
for writing damn good tales; Stephen King for his brilliant ability
to develop characters—few writers make the reader care so
much about the people in a book, people who are simply printed
words on a page and thoughts jumping from one mind to the next;
William F. Nolan for his mastery of the short story, and the got-to-love-it
twist-endings; and Jack Ketchum, because I honestly don't know
if it can get much better than the work he produces.
Outside the genre, I'm inspired by a
nice grab bag of authors. Ross Macdonald's simplistic style
is something that I find creeping, somewhat, into my own writing.
Macdonald's prose is as tight as an about-to-snap guitar
chord, and you can prick it anywhere throughout his work and it'll
make the same great sound. Arthur Conan Doyle is another inspiration,
for the fact that, to him, creating smart tales of mystery with
clean prose was just so easy. He put out stories like they were
Big Macs at lunch hour. Someday, I want to be able to write great
with such ease. Also, I'd have to say Shakespeare. Yeah,
go figure, right? The man was a literary genius, I think. If I
can create a fraction of the literary depth in my fiction that
Billy boy piled into his plays, I'll be happy.
Tell us a little bit about your writing process.
What's your schedule? Do
you outline your stories? How do you edit / revise your stories?
To describe my writing
schedule in one word: Tight. See, I barely have time to write
about my writing schedule! I've got a pretty full plate during
the day—sometimes more than I can eat. My desert is when
I sit down at the end of the day to work on a novel or a short
story. It's always sweet. But of course, like Mom said, if you
don't finish your dinner, you don't get any dessert. I make sure
to write at least 500 words a day. Sometimes I hit up to 2,000.
When I do write, I like to spend about five
minutes to read the last page or so. I like to get a running start
before I dive right back into the writing waters, otherwise I
have a tough time staying afloat. Loopy metaphors aside, I usually
edit as I re-read. When I finally finish, I put the piece aside
for a while, then edit it thoroughly. This is something I only
started doing recently (with MIND MATTER), and I've found
it to be extremely helpful. I sincerely notice a significant improvement
in the quality of my work.
What are
the most positive trends in genre fiction / publishing today?
I think the most positive trends are that horror is really blooming,
and that it's becoming more literary, too, in some cases. Personally,
I feel that is very important. It's one thing to tell a
story, and another thing to pack that story with depth and meaning.
A lot of the horror being published today has that depth, and
I love it.
What are
the most negative trends in genre fiction / publishing today?
Negative trends, I'd say, are that it's too easy to get published
nowadays. No, I didn't misspeak there. There's a wonderful world
of writing out there in the small presses—but there's a
world of crap, too. Some of the first stories that I've had published,
I have to wonder what in the hell the editors were thinking—I
wouldn't have accept most of it to 'Dark Corners,' I can tell
you that. Every single thing a writer produces and publishes could
be a reader's first impression. We all know how important first
impressions are.
So, just how big of a Red Sox
/ Patriots fan are you?
Not that big—I'm only 5 foot 8.
But seriously, I'm an big Red Sox and Patriots
fan. I was at game four of the 2004 ALCS at Fenway, against the
evil New York Yankees. The Sox were losing, and it all came down
to the bottom of the ninth with two outs. You can't write stuff
this suspenseful. We all know how that turned out: it was the
start of the greatest comeback in sports history. And the start
of the worst sore throat—and loss of voice—I'd suffered
all year. But it was worth it. The excitement in Fenway Park was
electric. I can't describe it. I was fifty yards away from the
field when David Ortiz hit the game winning homerun in extra innings,
screaming myself hoarse, and it truly made me appreciate what
being a Sox fan is all about.
And the Patriots. The dynasty. Let's just say
I'll be at a game this year, only a few rows back from the field.
Prediction: I'll leave my voice in Gillett Stadium that night.
But that'll be a good thing. If I can't talk, I can write even
more. I can whispers ideas to myself in my head, spooky ideas,
and I can write.
Check out Tim Johnson's website at CrimsonSlime.com for updates and more information.
Posted 09.12.05 |
