As a fantasy/horror writer, I took more inspiration from horror than from fantasy. I am drawn to fantasy simply because the genre gives me freedom to explore without having getting bogged down in reality.
I write what I like to call ‘Cracked Mirror’. It best describes the idea that reality is slightly twisted on its head, without openly seeing the evil that’s around us. It’s the image out of the corner of our eyes that we can never see clearly. Did it happen, or was it all a figment
of our imaginations? Are we spiraling into an isolated madness?
I’ve also always enjoyed how Clive Barker builds the tension in his stories until the ultimate climax of grand guiginol violence. Both my fantasy and my horror writing tends to aim for that.
I don’t want to give my characters desk jobs. I don’t want to worry about paying taxes. Yet fantasy also gives me room to create sweeping tales where the characters grow and evolve adventure after adventure.
My literary inspirations are Edgar Allen Poe, Clive Barker (read Dread, the best short story EVER), some Lovecraft, Robert McCammon.
Some of my favourite books of all time:
- The Keep (Paul Wilson)
- Swan Song (Robert McCammon)
- Books of Blood (Clive Barker)
- Hell House (Robert Matheson)
- Dread (short story by Clive Barker)
- The Trial (Kafka)
- Lovecraft’s short stories
- Usher’s Passing (Robert McCammon)
There are many more, but those are the ones that have really touched me. There are many genres I enjoy, but those books are the ones that have altered my way of thinking. I returned to the thoughts and ideas as if they were morsels I couldn’t resist. Each one touched me in a very profound way.