The prompt was, “Write a poem about spiderwebs.”
Spiders wait in corners
of intricate webs —
their trappings
lovely
by design.
Once, I thought,
“What a fool to be stuck,”
but now,
older
(and none the wiser, by any means),
I see their elaborations
and think myself a fly.
Chad Ryan resides in the desert of Arizona and spends his days cooking up stories. He loves blending genres and breaking rules to make something fresh. He mostly dabbles in horror, fantasy, and dark fiction. He is a member of the Horror Writer’s Association, and co-founder of Lost Boys Press, an independent publishing house. His debut horror novel, Ghost River is available at major retailers. Online, you can find him on social media platforms under the handle: @writingiswar.
What attracted you to the horror genre?
Since childhood, I’ve been a fan of fantasy and horror in story-telling. Scooby-Doo probably started me off. Using make-believe, whether fantastic or horrific, to explore compelling issues and the human condition is my jam. To me, horror is more than just scary monsters and things that go bump in the night. It’s about pushing boundaries and diving deep into the core psyche of what makes us human. Fear. Isolation. Repression. Horror touches so many concepts that other genres are not necessarily suited to grapple with.
How do fellow authors help improve your writing?
I think being a writer is being an eternal student. I am constantly enamored by the work of others. Style, voice, imagery, technique, you name it. I’m trying to read more lately in the pursuit of sharpening and broadening my own skillset. Being humble and receptive to the work and success of your friends and peers is a great way to improve! If you’re not willing to accept there’s always more to learn, you’ll never push yourself to get better.
When did you first discover you wanted to be an author?
I knew at 16 years old. That’s why I dedicated my first novel Ghost River to myself (at 16). Not to be arrogant, or self-congratulatory, but to recognize that young man and his dreams had finally arrived. Sadly, I lost my way for a lot of years and that boy’s dreams fell by the wayside. Luckily, in my late 30s, I decided to chase those dreams once and for all. It seemed fitting to give that book to him. It was his to begin with. Imaginative, wily, and explosive like he was.
What does your family think about you writing horror?
Ha! I’ll let you know when they find out. I haven’t shared my writing with them. The time is coming though. It’s getting harder to hide what I do behind closed doors, and it *probably* isn’t healthy to do so in the long run. I’m planning on stepping out from behind the curtain when my next book drops. I want them to share in my success too. It’s been quite a journey for all of us.
What is your biggest fear?
Maybe this is corny, but it’s true. My biggest fear is fear. I spent a lot of years repressing my dreams and self-destructing because I was afraid to be myself and embrace the writerly voices in my head. Fear is the killer of dreams and it needs to be shivved.
Welcome to Spooky Sundays. Today’s interview is with Brian Paone. Brian is the founder of the Facebook group, Fiction Writing, which has played a fundamental part in my role from an amateur writer to a multi-published author. For the past seven years, this group has been growing its membership from its grassroots beginnings to nearly 145,000 members.
Brian Paone, a Massachusetts native, has been a published author since 2007. Brian has, thus far, released seven novels: “Dreams Are Unfinished Thoughts”—a memoir about befriending a drug-addicted rock star; “Welcome to Parkview”—a macabre cerebral-horror novel; “Yours Truly, 2095”—a time-travel romance novel (which was suggested for a Hugo Award, though it did not make the finalists); the “Moonlight City Drive” trilogy—a supernatural crime-noir series; and “The Post-War Dream”—a historical war fiction novel.
Brian has been a professional editor since 2014 and has edited almost 700 manuscripts for authors from all over the world, in all genres.
Brian currently lives in Fort Belvoir, VA with his wife—a Commander in the US Navy—and their four children. He is a retired police officer and worked in law enforcement for sixteen years from 2002 – 2018. He is a self-proclaimed rollercoaster junkie, a New England Patriots fanatic, and his favorite color is burnt orange. And, in 2019, he fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming the proud owner of a 1981 DeLorean!
You have what a lot of people might consider an unconventional, or even spooky, childhood. You grew up living in a funeral home, right? Can you share any spooky experiences from your childhood? Has your upbringing influenced your writing in any way?
Yeah, growing up in a funeral home and having parents who worked there (my stepdad is a funeral director and my mom is the property caretaker) made sleepovers pretty fun! Sometimes, and don’t let my parents read this, I would have friends sleep over and we would sneak downstairs to play hide and seek throughout the funeral home, and I would be the only one brave enough to hide inside the showroom caskets.
Spooky experiences? We would need a whole separate interview for that. We experienced everything from appliances turning on, knocking on doors, footsteps in the hallways, glimpses of movement from the corner of our eyes, and a lot more. I don’t think my upbringing has influenced my writing per se, but it has affected my view on death.
What is your biggest fear?
Mirrors. Seriously. I’m always terrified of seeing something behind in the reflection that might not be there if I turn around.
I know you write rock fiction. What inspired you to take that route? How are the stories influenced by the music? Do the lyrics come into play or is it the sound of the song?
Music is my #1 love in life. I was in 4 bands (released 7 albums total) and spent years playing shows. I have attended over 500 concerts. I listen to almost 600 different bands. However, being an author is my actual career, so I wanted to brand myself as someone who wrote about music. But not “about” music (like non-fiction or biographies.)
I have spent my whole life listening to albums and thinking about how some of them would make awesome movies (like a reader thinking a novel would make an awesome movie.) But I’m not a filmmaker. I’m an author. So I thought, why not novelize all these amazing albums instead of waiting for someone to adapt it into a film? So I take the lyrics as my outline, then make it my own and expand on everything. At the end of the day, the album may be the “source material,” but all my novels are truly my own voice and tone, the same as when a director adapts a novel.
If you could be a ghost or a vampire, which one would you be? Why?
Vampire for sure. They are way sexier. And my life goal is to bring sexy back.
What’s your favorite scary movie?
The Exorcist and Insidious are probably tied for my favorite horror film, that is not Stephen King (my favorite author) or David Cronenberg (my favorite director).
What is the plot of the Moonlight City Drive trilogy? What music inspired it?
A detective is hot on the trails of a Jack-the-Ripper-style killer, but there’s a 300-year-old witch and her army of ghouls manipulating both the detective and killer against each other. The detective gets wind of this and has to make a decision: side with the witch to take down the killer or side with the killer to take down the witch. It is a completed trilogy, and part 1 is a novelization of Dog Fashion Disco’s concept album, “Adultery.” However, part 2 and 3 do not use any source material; they are completely fresh ideas from my brain.
Where can readers find you?
Personal Website: http://www.brianpaone.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PaoneBrian
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianpaone_author/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrianPaonesNovels
Hey Stargazers, welcome to Spooky Sundays. Today, I chose to interview an author, editor, and publisher, Donise Sheppard. I have had a short story, Something Beyond, published by her publishing imprint, Pixie Forest Press. I am honored to get a chance to interview this woman I admire.
Donise Sheppard is a romance and horror writer residing in southern West Virginia with her husband and four children. Donise found her passion for books at an early age and has been chasing stories ever since. She is an author, editor, and co-owner of Pixie Forest Publishing. Love and romance are her first passions, but who can resist a scary story? When she isn’t working, she’s reading for pleasure, baking, or singing off key.
You are both a publisher and a writer. How have you found the two roles influence one another?
I decided I wanted to become a publisher because as a writer, I was seeing more and more unpaid anthologies and it was frustrating. Writers work hard, dedicating hours upon hours for their art. They deserve some form of payment.
Also, I think being a writers makes me more objective when reading and choosing stories. I can set aside what I enjoy as a reader and look at the writing itself.
As a publisher, I choose themes for upcoming anthologies. These themes aren’t always something I’m familiar with writing, which puts me out of my element and makes me a stronger writer.
Your publishing imprint does fantastic anthologies. I was honored to be featured in “Phobia” last year. In honor of spooky season, what’s your biggest fear?
As a parent, my biggest fear is losing my children.
I’m afraid of most things, but my absolute biggest normal fear would be of rats and mice. I can’t even look at a picture of them or I start to panic.
Why do you write?
I’ve loved books and stories since I was six years old. I dreamed of being a publisher in New York and writing on the side. I write for myself as well as others. I am a very emotional person and writing helps me work through them. I also dream of inspiring someone, making them love literature as much as I do, or just giving them an escape from their own lives and emotions.
Are there any “little things that go bump in the night” that keep you awake? Worries, fears? If so, what are they?
I am a worrier. I worry about everything, almost nonstop. I’ve actively been trying to learn to let the little things go, but I’m a work in progress. I constantly worry about failing or finding new readers or just being good enough so I can show my children they don’t have to settle in a job they hate to survive.
I’m that mom who worries about the house burning down while we’re sleeping and I can’t get to my kids, or someone breaking in.
Banned books is a hot topic right now – and one that some authors fear. How would you feel if you received a notification that one (or several) of your anthologies had been banned? What would your response be?
Honestly, I’m not sure. I would definitely think it was a bit odd, but when I think back to some of the content of a few of the stories, mine included, I could understand why they would. I’m not a fan of banning books, though. If a child is reading, they should be allowed to read. It should be up to the parents to decide what is appropriate.
What does your typical day look like? How do you divide your time between writing, editing, and publishing?
Well, I’m not sure if you know this, but I’ve recently enrolled in college to get my bachelor’s degree, so my schedule looks a lot different this year than it did last year. I usually dedicate about two hours a day to my publishing company (right now I’m hunting for images for the Scars cover), and about two hours for my own work, whether editing or writing. Editing for clients takes precedent, right after schoolwork, and I usually spend three to six hours a day on that, depending on the length and deadline.
Where do you get most of your writing done?
I have three desks, but I usually sit at my kitchen table to work. I like the lighting in there better, and it’s closer to the coffee pot. 😉
In the summer, I love to write by the lake.
If you could have dinner with any person who has influenced your career, who would it be, why, and what would you be eating?
Honestly, my mom, grandma, and dad influenced my career the most. My mom and grandma were storytellers and always encouraged me. And my dad was my biggest supporter in everything I did.
If I chose a professional author who influenced my career, it would be RL Stine. He was my very first favorite writer and made me love spooky stories. I’m not sure what we’d eat. I’d just be happy having coffee with him and chatting about stories.
What projects are you currently working on?
I am currently editing a dystopian romance novel I wrote a couple of years ago, hoping to publish it in January. I’m also writing a romance novel with no set date for publication. I have four novels written and waiting for editing, so hopefully next year you’ll be seeing a lot of me.
Where can readers find you?
Personal Website: www.donisesheppard.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/donisesheppard
Instagram: www.instagram.com/donisesheppard
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authordonisesheppard
Isabelle Palerma 