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Welcome back to SCARY OUT THERE, the Horror Writers Association’s new blog on scary fiction for teens.

My guest this week is Holly Black, author of bestselling contemporary fantasy books for kids and teens. Some of her titles include The Spiderwick Chronicles (with Tony DiTerlizzi), The Modern Faerie Tale series, The Good Neighbors graphic novel trilogy (with Ted Naifeh), the Curse Workers series, Doll Bones, and her new dark fantasy novel, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. She has been a finalist for the Mythopoeic Award, a finalist for an Eisner Award, and the recipient of the Andre Norton Award. She currently lives in New England with her husband, Theo, in a house that (I’m reliably told) has a secret door.

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JONATHAN MABERRY: Holly, thanks so much for swooping by to chat with me. With the blog we’ve been exploring the nature of fear, so let’s jump right in. What scares Holly Black?

HOLLY BLACK: Everything scares me.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Nice. Anything in particular?

HOLLY BLACK: Zombies, especially, but I am very easily frightened.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Do you know why?

HOLLY BLACK: I grew up in a creepy hundred-year-old Victorian house, like the house in the Spiderwick Chronicles, which my mother believed was haunted.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Was it?

HOLLY BLACK: My great grandmother had lived in the house for most of her life and my mom told stories about how she used to play with a ghostly boy in the attic. Whenever she lost something she’d yell for the ghost to bring that thing back. One time, I swear I sat on a sofa for an hour, not moving, because I thought there was a ghost in the other room.

JONATHAN MABERRY: What happened?

HOLLY BLACK: It turned out to be the way a sunbeam lit one of the curtains.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Kind of points to the emergence of a powerful imagination. Apart from the house, what else triggered your childhood fears?

HOLLY BLACK: When I was really little, Mom told me that DRACULA was the most frightening book she’d ever read. She described the way the vampire had crawled down the wall, head first and it creeped me out so much that I turned a bunch of my Barbie and Ken dolls into “good vampires” so they could protect me from the bad ones that I believed were out there.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Smart. I did that with my GI Joes.

HOLLY BLACK: Also, I believed that the trees were going to snatch me up in their long branches like the trees in the Green Knowe books. Remember those?

JONATHAN MABERRY: Oh, yeah. Lucy Boston wrote them and her son, Peter, illustrated them. Very creepy. THE CHIMNEYS OF GREEN KNOWE came out in 1958, the year I was born. My grandmother bought a copy and put it away to give me when I was old enough to read. Scared the hell out of me. So, yes, I remember those.

HOLLY BLACK: Then you remember that rhyme you’re never supposed to say? Green Knowe / Demon tree/ Evil fingers / Can’t catch me.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Um, you aren’t supposed to say that. You just gave me chills.

HOLLY BLACK: Yeah, that scared me too. In fact, I didn’t even have to look that poem up; it is lodged in my brain forever. So yeah, that’s me: easily scared.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Do you think we need to protect our kids from books that are too frightening?

HOLLY BLACK: I don’t think books harm readers.

JONATHAN MABERRY: What’s your take on it?

HOLLY BLACK: I have read some awful books — and sometimes I put them down and sometimes I read them all the way through– but no matter how much they upset me while I was reading them or how much they should have upset me, I was never harmed by the experience. I believe books give us the opportunity to try on someone else’s life, to be someone else, and, ideally, to learn how to empathize with different people in different circumstances than our own.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Is there value, then, in reading horror?

HOLLY BLACK: There are many useful things to take away from horror. We have an intense experience with no risk to ourselves at all. We experience catharsis. We are scared, but we survive being scared. I think those things are good for all of us, but I think they have a special appeal for teenagers.

JONATHAN MABERRY: What is ‘horror’, as you see it?

HOLLY BLACK: I think horror is an exploration of the shadows. And I believe that it creates a visceral feeling, a shivering up the spine, hair standing up along the arms. It gets to the gut as well as the head.

JONATHAN MABERRY: I’ve heard a similar definition used for dark fantasy.

HOLLY BLACK: I’ve heard that the difference between horror and dark fantasy is the difference between fear and awe, but I believe there’s room for both in horror fiction.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Rumor has it you have two teen horror books scheduled for this year. What’s up first?

HOLLY BLACK: The first one is a middle grade, called DOLL BONES about three kids — Jack, Poppy and Alice — who go on a road trip to bury a doll that may or may not be haunted, but definitely needs to be put to rest. It’s half ghost story and half about the time in one’s life when everything and everyone is forcing you to grow up, but you’re not ready to leave everything you loved and everything you were behind. That comes out May 7th.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Creepy. Dolls in general are creepy, and creepy doll stories doubly so. What’s after that?

HOLLY BLACK: The second one is a teen novel. THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN is set in a world where monsters, mostly locked away in walled Coldtowns, have become famous via video feeds. One day, Tana Bach wakes up the morning after a party, having passed out in a bathtub while avoiding her charming ex-boyfriend, to find almost all the other partygoers dead, their throats ripped out by monsters. She could be infected herself. She has to go on a road trip through the night with her aforementioned ex, who is raging with infection and thirsty for blood, and one other person — the first monster she’s ever met who hasn’t been on the other side of a TV or computer screen. Tana has had the world presented to her one way, but being among the monsters, is very, very different.

JONATHAN MABERRY: That’s sounds intense.

HOLLY BLACK: THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN is full of stuff I love – messy, messed up stuff. But it’s mostly about a girl, who, as the media lays her out before others like a feast of disaster, is discovering her inner monstrousness and learning to appreciate it.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Anything else scheduled after that?

HOLLY BLACK: For me? I’m not sure. I am working on a faerie book called THE DARKEST PART OF THE FOREST and I am really excited about it.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Is it horror?

HOLLY BLACK: It definitely has horrific elements, but I am still trying to work out more details. And I am co-writing a middle grade with Cassandra Clare. The first book is going to be called THE IRON TRIAL and it’s a magic school book with an extra heaping of darkness. I’m interested in joining horror elements with fantasy ones and I am hoping to push myself to explore all the things that scare me, of which, as we’ve established, there’s a lot.

JONATHAN MABERRY: If you had to recommend just three YA horror novels –past or present—which books make your must-read list?

HOLLY BLACK: My first pick would be Neil Gaiman’s THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, which is brilliant and beautifully written and opens from the point of view of a knife. That’s right, a knife! Which is being used to kill people! It’s awesome. I’m a long time fan of Gaiman’s and this might be my favorite of his books.

JONATHAN MABERRY: I talked with Neil about that at the Baker Street Irregulars dinner a year or so ago. He said he wrote that book for his adult readers and was surprised to learn that he’d written a Middle Grade book. What’s your second pick?

HOLLY BLACK: The second would be I HUNT KILLERS by Barry Lyga, in which the teenage son of a serial killer and explores his own inner darkness and uses what his father taught him about “prospecting” to find other killers. Lyga exploits all the holes and contradictions in the research on serial killers to create finely drawn characters that feel shudderingly real.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Agreed. I interviewed Barry a few weeks ago. Heckuva writer, heckuva good guy.  And your other pick?

HOLLY BLACK: And the third would be Robin Wasserman’s forthcoming THE WAKING DARK, which is a bad town novel, a la Stephen King, but also lyrical, adrenaline-soaked and amazing. Wasserman weaves together multiple storylines expertly to create a terrifying portrait of a community falling apart.

JONATHAN MABERRY: I’ll make sure I grab a copy. And thanks for stopping by, Holly. Best of luck with the new books!

Find Holy online at her website at blackholly.com and her tumblr at hollyblack.tumblr.com.

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Tune in next week when my guest will be Charlie Higson, one of the top teen horror writers in the UK. Author of the Young James Bond books as well as the deeply creepy THE ENEMY and its sequels. Until then, don’t forget to say the monster words before you turn off the light. Otherwise they’ll get you while you sleep!

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Jonathan Maberry is a NY Times bestselling author, multiple Bram Stoker Award winner, and freelancer for Marvel Comics. His novels include EXTINCTION MACHINE, FIRE & ASH, PATIENT ZERO and many others. His award-winning teen novel, ROT & RUIN, is now in development for film. He is the editor of V-WARS, an award-winning vampire anthology. Since 1978 he’s sold more than 1200 magazine feature articles, 3000 columns, plays, greeting cards, song lyrics, and poetry. He is the founder of the Writers Coffeehouse, and co-founder of The Liars Club. Jonathan lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with his wife, Sara Jo and a fierce little dog named Rosie. www.jonathanmaberry.com Find him on Twitters at @JonathanMaberry and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jonathanmaberry

Welcome back to SCARY OUT THERE, the Horror Writers Association’s new blog on scary fiction for teens.

My guest this week Darren Shan has published over 30 books for YA and adults, including Cirque Du Freak, The Demonata, The City trilogy, and his new series Zom-B. His books have sold over 20 million copies worldwide. He lives in Ireland. Website: www.darrenshan.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/darrenshan Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darrenshanofficial

JONATHAN MABERRY: You write some creep stuff, but how well do you take it? Do you scare easily?

 DARREN SHAN: I actually scare a lot easier now than I did when I was younger.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Why’s that?

DARREN SHAN: Maybe it’s because I’m more aware of death, and accepting of the fact that it’s on the cards. Of course I knew as a teenager that I was one day going to die, but I still kind of didn’t truly believe it.

JONATHAN MABERRY: So, fear changes?

DARREN SHAN: I think as you grow older, you start to accept that this is the ride you are on, and that there’s a price to be paid for enjoying all the cool stuff that life has to offer.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Do spooky stories still give you the same jolt as they did when you were a kid?

DARREN SHAN: I still enjoy a good horror tale, but I don’t relish them quite as much as I once did, as they make me wince too much. Most of us get a bit more squeamish as we age – it’s reality biting. Some days that depresses me a bit, and I long for the nothing-can-touch-me attitude of my youth. But most days I’m fine with it – just part and parcel of growing up and growing old. As long as I don’t grow old too gracefully, I’m happy enough…

JONATHAN MABERRY: Horror fiction has been around for a long time. What’s the key to its longevity?

DARREN SHAN: I think horror stories probably played a key role in our evolution towards the thinking, imaginative, creative beings that we are today.

JONATHAN MABERRY: How so?

DARREN SHAN: My guess is that mankind’s first literary stirrings came on long, dark, cold nights, when humans who knew little of the world sheltered from the dangerous darkness and started wondering about the source of all the noises they could hear.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Riffing off of that, do you think horror gets the respect it deserves?

DARREN SHAN: Horror gets short shrift in most critical circles, but at the risk of drawing their ire down upon me, I think that critics are to stories as bottom-feeders are to creatures with bottoms.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Yeah, I’m with you on that.

DARREN SHAN: Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but if you’re not in the game, you opinion is of no more value than anyone else’s. Like any writer with a conscience, I self-censor.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Do you worry about your horror going too far?

DARREN SHAN: I think long and hard about my young audience, and what might and might not be appropriate for them. If I feel I’m going too far with a story, I’ll rein myself in. If I write something that I would feel uncomfortable reading out live to a group of teens, I go back and re-write.

JONATHAN MABERRY: There are some non-writers there who seem to think that it’s their responsibility to tell writers how much is too much.

DARREN SHAN: When it comes to a mass audience, I believe that writers know best, and that their view should be respected. When it comes to individuals, each child is different, and I fully respect the rights of every parent, teacher and librarian to decide what their own child should be exposed to – in terms of that one child, they know best. But I don’t think any individual has the right to lay down the law for the great reading public.

JONATHAN MABERRY: I’m one of those people who learned to read because of horror and fantasy fiction. I’ve met a lot of folks like that.

DARREN SHAN: Horror is a great way to get children interested in reading, and to point their minds in interesting, questioning directions – for instance, in Zom-B I write very gorily about a zombie invasion, but the books also hopefully encourage readers to think about racism, the abuse of power, the manipulation of the media. If certain individuals dispute that, I’m perfectly happy for them to keep my books out of the hands of their wards. But I don’t think that other readers are their business. For me it’s a broad mandate.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Nice. And, I think your message comes across quite clearly, and with zero trace of peachiness. The message is in the story. Loved it.

DARREN SHAN: I love horror.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Why is horror so important?

DARREN SHAN: I feel that any story that explores the darkness of the human condition can be classed as a horror story. But I don’t think it should be limited to “scary stories.” Sure, some of my favorite horror novels are all about the scares and the gore, but others simply terrify me because they force me to look into the dark reflection of the human soul. We’re creatures of great promise and love, but also great threat and violence, and the best horror stories are those that reflect and help us think about this. So I would include the likes of Macbeth and Lord of the Flies and The Chocolate War in the horror pantheon.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Zom-B isn’t a standalone, right? So…what’s next.

DARREN SHAN: Zom-B Underground is the second of a 12 book series about zombies, but it’s a very different type of zombie story – you won’t find a lot of the standard humans vs. living dead storylines in here. The books are short, almost every one ends on a cliffhanger, and they come out at a rate of one every three months. Next up in April is Zom-B City.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Any plans for teen horror beyond that?

DARREN SHAN: At the moment I’m just looking to get to the end of Zom-B. With 10 more books to go, that’s far enough ahead to be planning!

JONATHAN MABERRY: Like some of the other authors I’ve interviewed, you tend to look beyond the boundaries of what’s popularly defined as ‘teen fiction’. That said, what books do you think teens should read?

DARREN SHAN: Any collection of Edgar Allen Poe’s finest stories. 1984 by George Orwell. The Stand by Stephen King.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Thanks, Darren. Congrats on the success of Zom-B, and best of luck with what I have no doubt will be a groundbreaking and enormously popular series. Great to have to stop by for a chat.

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You can find Darren everywhere online, including his website: www.darrenshan.com, Twitter: https://twitter.com/darrenshan, and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darrenshanofficial

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NEXT TIME: Tune in next week when I sit down to talk with mega-bestseller Holly Black, author of bestselling contemporary fantasy books for kids and teens. Some of her titles include The Spiderwick Chronicles (with Tony DiTerlizzi), The Modern Faerie Tale series, The Good Neighbors graphic novel trilogy (with Ted Naifeh), the Curse Workers series, Doll Bones, and her new dark fantasy novel, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown.

Until then, hurry home before it gets too dark!

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Jonathan Maberry is a NY Times bestselling author, multiple Bram Stoker Award winner, and freelancer for Marvel Comics. His novels include EXTINCTION MACHINE, FIRE & ASH, PATIENT ZERO and many others. His award-winning teen novel, ROT & RUIN, is now in development for film. He is the editor of V-WARS, an award-winning vampire anthology. Since 1978 he’s sold more than 1200 magazine feature articles, 3000 columns, plays, greeting cards, song lyrics, and poetry. He is the founder of the Writers Coffeehouse, and co-founder of The Liars Club. Jonathan lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with his wife, Sara Jo. www.jonathanmaberry.com   Find him on Twitters at @JonathanMaberry and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jonathanmaberry

Welcome back to SCARY OUT THERE, the Horror Writers Association’s new blog on scary fiction for teens.

My guest this week is Tonya Hurley the New York Times and international bestselling author of the GHOSTGIRL young adult series and author of THE BLESSED.  Tonya has also created video games, two television series, written for film and is a contributor to The Huffington Post.  She lives in New York with her husband and daughter.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Let’s jump right in and talk about. With Scary Out There we’ve been exploring that nature of fear and what makes each of us afraid. What scares you, Tonya?

TONYA HURLEY: I’ve always been terrified of death, since I was a little girl.

JONATHAN MABERRY: There are a lot of ways to die. Is there a particular kind of death that pushes your buttons?

TONYA HURLEY: Death from the inside, like an undetected aneurysm, a sudden heart attack, an incurable acute illness, or anything that occurs without warning.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Was there something that ignited that fear in you?

TONYA HURLEY:  Yes. I remember being a little girl in the shower and screaming for my mother that my eyes were falling out of their sockets.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Yikes.

TONYA HURLEY: I was a terribly morbid child.

JONATHAN MABERRY:  No kidding. Does anything else scare the bejeezus out of you?

TONYA HURLEY: Sure, possession.  The idea of losing control was a big one with me.

JONATHAN MABERRY:  In what way?

TONYA HURLEY: The “monsters” inside. This is probably the same reason I am drawn to writing young adult.  There is so much going on inside mentally, emotionally, hormonally when you’re a teen that you have absolutely no control over.  It’s the best of times and the worst of times.

JONATHAN MABERRY: That speaks to a recurring topic here on Scary Out There. Some critics have voiced concerns about scary stories for teens, suggesting that they’re bad for kids. Do you agree with that view?

TONYA HURLEY: No, I don’t agree with the concerns.

JONATHAN MABERRY:  Why not?

TONYA HURLEY: Scary stories can often be our best teachers, especially when we are young.  They help us to understand the actual horror in the world and how to process and deal with it. I think that is one of the reasons why the fairytales of childhood are so brutal.  They are all just cautionary tales to one degree or another. Not to mention they are incredibly entertaining and they get teens reading.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Yup. So, makes good horror fiction?

TONYA HURLEY: I define ‘horror fiction’ simply as a story that scares you.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Is that an across-the-board view?

TONYA HURLEY: In a way. Everyone has a different fear threshold, so I don’t think we can limit it to tales of ghosts, monsters, real or imagined, and the supernatural.  Growing up, some of the most frightening stories I ever heard, and horrific images I ever saw, were in church on Sunday. My favorite horror fiction books mix horror with heart and humor.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Where you influenced by teen horror fiction?

TONYA HURLEY: Absolutely.  CARRIE by Stephen King is why I do what I do.  I read it when I was young.

JONATHAN MABERRY: That’s young adult fiction?

TONYA HURLEY: I think it’s the first YA novel before they were classified as such. All the elements are there.  High school, teenagers, peer pressure, parental conflict, fitting in, bullying, buckets of blood, sex, mayhem, murder and of course the supernatural.  It has influenced my work greatly.

JONATHAN MABERRY: As you see it, is horror fiction different for adults and for teens?

TONYA HURLEY: I don’t think it needs to be although you do want to take into account how graphic you can be without turning a younger reader off completely.  Teen readers perhaps react and relate more to characters like themselves and prefer to see those characters in familiar situations, i.e., high school, summer camp, because their life experiences are necessarily more limited than an adult’s.  But I don’t think the essence of what frightens us – the unknown – ever really changes.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Apart from an influence of CARRIE, what drew you to write horror?

TONYA HURLEY: I never set out consciously to write YA horror. I set out to write a trilogy that reimagined the martyr stories through three modern, confused but ultimately empowered, female characters who were chock full of badassery.  What I didn’t fully appreciate was how frightening those legends could be once I’d dragged them out of the past and into the present.

JONATHAN MABERRY: What’s the basic story?

TONYA HURLEY: The Blessed is the story of three Brooklyn teens at the lowest point in their lives, who fall for a mysterious guy who believes they are the modern-day incarnation of ancient female martyrs Lucy, Cecilia and Agnes.  Those saints died horrific, brutal and bloody deaths at very young ages as punishment for their defiance, so to stay true to those legends I really had to go there with my story and these characters and make no apologies.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Pretty intense stuff.  Kind of suggests that we’ve had horrific stories for teens for a long time.

TONYA HURLEY: For me, these legends are probably the first YA stories we have, and definitely some of the first YA horror stories we have.  As I was writing it, I kept thinking: Girls meets the Exorcist with a Tarantino twist.

JONATHAN MABERRY: That’s one hell of a tagline. So, what’s next?

TONYA HURLEY: I’ve got two more books in Å trilogy.

JONATHAN MABERRY: When will we see them?

TONYA HURLEY: The first paperback ,PRECIOUS BLOOD, will be released June 25^th. The second book, PASSIONARIES, will be released early 2014.  Aside from that, I am working on a ghostgirl ‘Day Of the Dead’ novella.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Nice!  Okay, apart from CARRIE, hit me with a couple of other YA horror novels that you feel are must-reads.

TONYA HURLEY: I’m not sure if these qualify as ‘YA horror’ since they pre-date the genre, but they are nevertheless scary as hell and shaped me as a person while I was coming of age, and certainly as a writer.  Kickin’ it classic with The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. As frightening and memorable as the film was (and still is), you haven’t truly been scared out of your wits until you read it.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Why so?

TONYA HURLEY: Is there anything more horrifying than being taken over by an evil spirit? For many of us raised Catholic, this is not a fantasy but a distinct possibility and gives the story even greater power over the imagination. The slow roll out of the story requires patience but somehow makes the whole thing more unsettling.  I had to hide the book before I went to bed each night so I couldn’t see it!

JONATHAN MABERRY: And what else?

TONYA HURLEY: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.  It always comes back to this one somehow. We all know the big themes addressed and the cultural impact they’ve had over the years but at the core of its horrific plot is a mad scientist turned grave robber who lives to stitch together parts of corpses and reanimate them.  The stuff of nightmares.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Yes it is. Thanks for swinging by to open a vein for us, Tonya. Best of luck with THE BLESSED novels!

You can find Tonya at www.tonyahurley.com, Twitter @TonyaHurley, or www.facebook.com/Tonya.Hurley

And visit these sites for more on her writing: www.facebook.com/ghostgirl, www.facebook/TheBlessed, www.theblessed.com, and www.ghostgirl.com

Also, here’s a trailer for BLESSED trailer on EW / also on youtube if you prefer:

http://shelf-life.ew.com/2012/09/14/tonya-hurley-the-blessed-exclusive-book-trailer/

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NEXT TIME: Tune in next week when I sit down to talk with Darren Shan, internationally bestselling authors of thirty novels for teens (and adults), Cirque Du Freak, The Demonata, The City trilogy, and his new series Zom-B.  Until then, hurry home before it gets too dark!

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Jonathan Maberry is a NY Times bestselling author, multiple Bram Stoker Award winner, and freelancer for Marvel Comics. His novels include EXTINCTION MACHINE, FIRE & ASH, PATIENT ZERO and many others. His award-winning teen novel, ROT & RUIN, is now in development for film. He is the editor of V-WARS, an award-winning vampire anthology. Since 1978 he’s sold more than 1200 magazine feature articles, 3000 columns, plays, greeting cards, song lyrics, and poetry. He is the founder of the Writers Coffeehouse, and co-founder of The Liars Club. Jonathan lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with his wife, Sara Jo. www.jonathanmaberry.com   Find him on Twitters at @JonathanMaberry and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jonathanmaberry

Welcome back to the Horror Writers Association’s new blog on scary fiction for teens.

My guest this week is JAMES ROLLINS, the New York Times bestselling author of thrillers whose books have sold to over thirty countries. His Sigma Force series has earned national accolades and hit bestseller lists around the world. Jim also writes a middle-school adventure series featuring Jake Ransom, boy archaeologist, and has finished the first book in a collaborative adult horror series with award-winning mystery writer, Rebecca Cantrell, titled The Blood Gospel (published in January 2013). Jim also wrote a number of notable fantasy novels –The Banned and the Banished series and the Godslayer series–under the pen name of James Clemens. Aside from his writing career, Jim is also a veterinarian.

He’s also a new active member of the Horror Writers Association.

JONATHAN MABERRY: With Scary Out There we’ve been exploring fear in its many forms and how that is presented in fiction. What’s your take on the nature of fear?

JAMES ROLLINS: I guess you can categorize fears as phobias and as real-life concerns of disease, disability, and death.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Gotta ask. Do you have a phobia?

JAMES ROLLINS: I don’t like driving over drawbridges.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Is that the result of some trauma?

JAMES ROLLINS: Not really. Phobias aren’t grounded in reality, so they’re the same whether you’re a kid or an adult.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Is this different for teens and adults?

JAMES ROLLINS: Sure. I think what scared me more as a kid (like ventriloquist dolls) was often tied to supernatural elements, but as an adult, it’s more about what really goes “bump” in the night that sets my teeth on edge.

JONATHAN MABERRY: As an author you’re new to horror fiction. Were you a fan before that?

JAMES ROLLINS: I certainly grew up reading horror.

JONATHAN MABERRY: A frequent topic of conversation lately has been the increase in horror fiction for kids. Some folks want to keep scary stories away from teens. What’s your take?

JAMES ROLLINS: I think it does kids a disservice to believe they must be insulated against things that might frighten or challenge their sensibilities.  Horror stories are a way for teens to dealing with the emotional rollercoaster of growing up.  It’s an outlet for blowing off steam, a way to safely deal with fear, a method for broadening their perspectives about life and people.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Even though there are a lot of subgenre in which dark and strange things happen, we tend to group them under the umbrella of ‘horror’. Is that a fair assessment?

JAMES ROLLINS: That is certainly a large umbrella under which many stories could be sheltered, but at its root, I would define ‘horror’ as stories where the express purpose is to disturb a reader’s sensibilities of security and normalcy and create a feeling of menace and fear.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Why are these scary elements so common in thriller fiction?

JAMES ROLLINS: Fear is a survival instinct.  It’s that tingle of hairs on the back of the neck that warns of impending danger.  So it’s almost impossible to write a thriller without thumbing that bowstring of fear, of survival.

JONATHAN MABERRY:  What separates horror for adults and teens?

JAMES ROLLINS: I think there are only two elements that separate adult and YA horror.  First, the level of descriptive gore is likely dependent on your audience. Second, certain subject matters may be more appropriately “adult” (i.e., sexual themes).  But beyond that, I don’t think a writer should water down their prose, their themes, or the level of terror to suit a teen audience.  Kids can smell falseness on the page.

JONATHAN MABERRY:  What draws people to scary fiction?

JAMES ROLLINS: I think it goes back to fear being a survival instinct.  People live defined, orchestrated lives and enjoy the titillation of putting themselves into the jeopardy found within the pages of a story.  It’s the thrill of the rollercoaster ride, where you “feel” like your life is in danger, but at the same time, you know you’re safe.

JONATHAN MABERRY:  Is there a line in fiction between acceptable scary and too much?

JAMES ROLLINS: I don’t believe there is a line in regards to the “scare” level. I think every story needs an ebb and flow of its frightfulness to be effective, so it doesn’t read one-note.  But in regards to the heights of terror reached at those peaks of storytelling, I don’t think there should be boundaries, and I love writers who deliberately push them.

JONATHAN MABERRY:  Tell us about your YA thrillers.

JAMES ROLLINS: My books feature Jake Ransom the son of a pair of archeologist parents, who vanished during a dig in Mexico.  Three years later, a parcel arrives on their doorstep containing the logbooks from his parents.  This sets young Jake on an adventure that spans time and space in a quest to discover the true fate of his parents.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Loss of parents is scary as well to a lot of teens.

JAMES ROLLINS: It’s a primal fear.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Will Jake Ransom be returning for more thrills and chills?

JAMES ROLLINS: Yes, in fact, next up is Jake Ransom and the Cauldron of Doom. The release date isn’t set yet, though.

JONTHAN MABERRY: Tell us about your new horror novel for adults.

JAMES ROLLINS: Written with the award-winning Rebecca Cantrell, The Blood Gospel is a new twist on vampire mythology. An earthquake in Masada reveals a tomb buried in the heart of the mountain, where the body of a young girl is found crucified and where an ancient text, written in Christ’s own blood, might have once been buried.

JONATHAN MABERRY: Yeah, that’s creepy. Okay, last question: If you had to recommend just three YA horror or thriller novels –past or present—which books make your must-read list?

JAMES ROLLINS: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan, Feed by Mira Grant and Uglies by Scott Westerfield

 JONATHAN MABERRY: Thanks, Jim. Great stuff, and best of luck with your first adult horror novel, Blood Gospel. I read it and it’s a killer.

Find James Rollins online at www.jamesrollins.com, or follow him on Facebook. And for information and updates, join his YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/authorjamesrollins

NEXT TIME:

Tune in next week when I sit down to talk with Rick Yancey, author of the chilling MONSTRUMOLOGIST series.

Until then, make sure you check under the bed and keep that closet door locked!

********

Jonathan Maberry is a NY Times bestselling author, multiple Bram Stoker Award winner, and freelancer for Marvel Comics. His novels include EXTINCTION MACHINE, FIRE & ASH, PATIENT ZERO and many others. His award-winning teen novel, ROT & RUIN, is now in development for film. He is the editor of V-WARS, an award-winning vampire anthology. Since 1978 he’s sold more than 1200 magazine feature articles, 3000 columns, plays, greeting cards, song lyrics, and poetry. He is the founder of the Writers Coffeehouse, and co-founder of The Liars Club. Jonathan lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with his wife, Sara Jo. www.jonathanmaberry.com   

2011 Bram Stoker Nominee

Kenneth Oppel

Author bio:
Kenneth Oppel is the author of numerous books for young readers. His award-winning Silverwing trilogy has sold over a million copies worldwide, and been adapted as an animated TV series and stage play. Airborn was winner of a Michael L Printz Honor Book Award, and the Canadian Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature; its sequel, Skybreaker, was a New York Times bestseller and was named Children’s Novel of the Year by the London Times. His most recent books are THIS DARK ENDEAVOR and SUCH WICKED INTENT, prequels to the gothic classic Frankenstein. Born on Vancouver Island, he has lived in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, England, Ireland, and now lives in Toronto with his wife and children.

Book synopsis:
Victor Frankenstein leads a charmed life. He and his twin brother Konrad and their beautiful cousin Elizabeth take lessons at home and spend their spare time fencing and horseback riding. Along with their friend, Henry, they have explored all the hidden passageways and secret rooms of the palatial Frankenstein chateau. Except one.

The Dark Library contains ancient tomes written in strange languages, and filled with forbidden knowledge. Their father makes them promise never to visit the library again, but when Konrad becomes deathly ill, Victor knows he must find the book that contains the recipe for the legendary Elixir of Life.

The elixir needs only three ingredients. But impossible odds, dangerous alchemy, and a bitter love triangle threaten their quest at every turn.

Victor knows he must not fail. But his success depends on how far he is willing to push the boundaries of nature, science, and love – and how much he is willing to sacrifice.

Buy This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein on Amazon

This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein, was published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

For more information, please visit:
http://www.kennethoppel.ca/

Or email Kenneth Oppel at Kenneth.Oppel@sympatico.ca

Bram Stoker 2011 Nominee

Patrick Ness

Author bio:
Patrick Ness is the author of the Chaos Walking trilogy. The Knife of Never Letting Go, book one of the trilogy, won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize and the Booktrust Teenage Prize. The Ask and The Answer, the second book in the trilogy won the Costa Children’s Book Award 2009. The third book, Monsters of Men, was released in September 2010.

He has also written a novel (The Crash of Hennington) and a short story collection (Topics About Which I Know Nothing) for adults, has taught Creative Writing at Oxford University, and is a literary critic for the Guardian. Born in Virginia, he lives in London.

Book synopsis:
At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting– he’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It’s ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd– whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself.

Buy A Monster calls on Amazon

A Monster Calls, a Bram Stoker Nominee, was published by Candlewick

For more information, please visit: http://www.patrickness.com

Or contact Patrick Ness at: publicity@candlewick.com

Bram Stoker 2011 Nominee

Daniel Kraus

Author bio:
Daniel Kraus is a Chicago-based writer and filmmaker. His novel THE MONSTER VARIATIONS (Random House, 2009) was selected to New York Public Library’s “100 Best Stuff for Teens.” Fangoria called his acclaimed, Odyssey Award-winning, Bram Stoker-nominated second novel, ROTTERS (Random House, 2011), “a new horror classic.”

Upcoming novels include SCOWLER (Random House, 2013) and TROLLHUNTERS (Hyperion, 2013), co-written with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro. Kraus has written regularly for such magazines as Cosmopolitan, Playboy, Maxim, and Salon.com. Visit him at www.danielkraus.com.

Book synopsis:
Grave robbing. What kind of monster would do such a thing? It’s true that Leonardo da Vinci did it, Shakespeare wrote about it, and the resurrection men of nineteenth-century Scotland practically made it an art. But none of this matters to Joey Crouch, a sixteen-year-old straight-A student living in Chicago with his single mom. For the most part, Joey’s life is about playing the trumpet and avoiding the daily humiliations of high school.

Everything changes when Joey’s mother dies in a tragic accident and he is sent to rural Iowa to live with the father he has never known, a strange, solitary man with unimaginable secrets. At first, Joey’s father wants nothing to do with him, but once father and son come to terms with each other, Joey’s life takes a turn both macabre and exhilarating.

Buy Rotter on Amazon

Rotter, a Bram Stoker nominee, was published by Random House

For more information, please visit: http://danielkraus.com/

Or contact Daniel Kraus at: mail@danielkraus.com

2011 Bram Stoker Nominee

J. G. Faherty

Author bio:
A lifelong resident of New York’s highly haunted Hudson Valley region, JG Faherty grew up amid Revolutionary War graveyards, haunted roads, and woods filled with ghostly apparitions. His varied professional career includes working as a resume writer, laboratory manager, accident scene photographer, zoo keeper, scientist, and salesman. He began writing fiction in 2001, and his short stories, poetry, and articles- have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies.

Book Synopsis:
By all accounts, 16-year-old Maya Blair is a typical teen-age high school student. She hangs out with her best friend Lucy, has a turbulent relationship with her ex-boyfriend Stuart, and works at her family’s diner – the main restaurant on the island of Coronado Bay.

But Maya has an extraordinary secret – she can see, hear, and talk to ghosts. And when spirits are near her they revert back to solid form. She is what her deceased grandmother Elsa calls a Seer.

For years, Elsa was the only ghost Maya knew. But that changes when the century-old wreckage of the Black Lady, a ship that capsized in Coronado Bay’s waters, is raised from the ocean floor and placed on display in the local museum. During a school tour of the Black Lady exhibit, Maya meets Blake Hennessy, a young, fair-skinned boy to whom she is instantly attracted. Shortly thereafter, a sensual, gothic young man named Gavin Hamlin crosses her path, and she is equally smitten. Her feelings bloom before she realizes they are both ghosts – Blake, the kind- hearted spirit who cares for Maya’s well being, and Gavin, the dark wizard who thirsts to finish the evil task he longed to complete 100 years before.

To accomplish his nefarious plan, Gavin has to be human again. And for that, he needs the blood of a virgin witch. In his mind, Maya is the perfect candidate. Now it’s up to Maya, Lucy, and Blake to save Coronado Bay and the world from destruction. But time is running out, people are dying, and Gavin’s powers are growing.

Things were so much simpler when all she had to worry about was a date for the dance.

Ghosts of Coronado Bay, A Maya Blair Mystery, was published by Amazon Digital Services

Buy Ghosts of Coronado Bay on Amazon

For more information, please visit:
www.jgfaherty.com

Or contact J. G. Faherty at:
jg@jgfaherty.com

2011 Bram Stoker Winner

Nancy Holder

Author bio:
Nancy Holder is a Los Angeles Times bestselling author and a charter member and Trustee of the Horror Writers Association. A Bram Stoker Award-winner, she has written more than 63 books.

Book synopsis:
The gutsy heroine of Possessions and The Evil Within returns for another year of boarding school at the haunted Marlwood Academy. Lindsay wakes to find herself strapped down in the infirmary. She had a breakdown and might have tried to kill her nemesis Mandy or Mandy’s boyfriend, Troy-or both. The details are hazy, but one thing is certain: she is possessed by a spirit she cannot trust.

Lindsay soon realizes that nowhere on campus is safe. Then, she finds a surprising ally in her former rival. Together, Lindsay and Mandy must figure out who can be trusted-and who wants them dead. But when Lindsay’s ex-boyfriend shows up at Marlwood, she is given a chance to get away and be free of the curse. Will she take Riley’s hand and run, or team up with a new love to save Marlwood from the evil spirits forever?

Buy The Screaming Season on Amazon

The Screaming Season, BRAM STOKER WINNER (TIE), was published by Razorbill

For more information, please visit:
http://nancyholder.com/

Or contact Nancy at:
http://nancyholder.com/contact/

2011 Bram Stoker Winner
Jonathan Maberry

Author bio:
Jonathan Maberry is a New York Times bestselling author, multiple Bram Stoker Award winner, and Marvel Comics writer. He’s the author of many novels, including Assassin’s Code,Dead of Night, Patient Zero, and Rot & Ruin. His nonfiction books cover topics ranging from martial arts to zombie pop-culture. Since 1978 he has sold more than 1,200 magazine featurearticles, 3,000 columns, two plays, greeting cards, song lyrics, poetry, and textbooks. Jonathan continues to teach the celebrated Experimental Writing for Teens class, which he created. He founded the Writers Coffeehouse and co-founded The Liars Club, and he is a frequent speaker at schools and libraries, as well as a keynote speaker and guest of honor at major writers’ and genre conferences. Jonathan lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Sara, and their son, Sam. Visit him at JonathanMaberry.com and on Twitter (@jonathanmaberry) and Facebook.

Book synopsis:
Six months have passed since the terrifying battle with Charlie Pink-eye and the Motor City Hammer in the zombie-infested mountains of the Rot & Ruin. It’s also been six months since Benny Imura and Nix Riley saw something in the air that changed their lives. Now, after months of rigorous training with Benny’s zombie-hunter brother Tom, Benny and Nix are ready to leave their home forever and search for a better future. Lilah the Lost Girl and Benny’s best friend Lou Chong are going with them.

But before they even leave there is a shocking zombie attack in town, and as soon as they step into the Rot & Ruin they are pursued by the living dead, wild animals, insane murderers, and the horrors of Gameland—where teenagers are forced to fight for their lives in the zombie pits. Worst of all…could the evil Charlie Pink-eye still be alive?

In the great Rot & Ruin, everything wants to kill you. And not everyone in Benny’s small band of travelers will survive….

Buy Dust and Decay on Amazon:

Dust and Decay

Dust and Decay was a Bram Stoker WINNER (TIE) and was published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

For more information, please visit:
http://www.jonathanmaberry.com/

Or contact Jonathan at:
jonathan_maberry@yahoo.com