Today the blog is hosting an interview, this time with talented horror author Jacob Rayne. He chats about his books, the horror genre and more. Enjoy.
Interview with Jacob Rayne
Why don’t you begin by sharing a
little about yourself.
I’m a huge fan of horror and heavy
music. I love rollercoasters and anything that gets the adrenaline pumping. According
to my friends I have a knack for telling really
bad jokes. And I’m clumsy as hell. If it can be broken, I’ll manage to break
it.
You’re primarily a horror writer.
What appeals to you about that genre and what are your favourite aspects of
writing horror?
I always remember watching horror
films as a kid and getting a rush from them that I didn't get from any other
type of film. I think the feeling of being scared makes you feel more alive which
probably explains why I enjoy some of the things I do in everyday life.
I love everything about writing horror
but I guess my favourite bit is the action scenes. That’s what I find most
interesting in films and books, so I try to keep a heavy emphasis on the action
in my work.
Can you tell us a bit about your
books?
Most of my books have a relentless
pace. I like to cut out the long, shambling introduction and get straight to
the carnage. I prefer short chapters (I discovered this as a reader: I came
across a book with short chapters with cliff-hanger endings. I could not get
through the story quick enough and the chapter length kept me saying, ‘Ah I’ll
finish this one then go to sleep’. Fifty pages later…) and try to keep the scares
coming all the way through. I try to write a book I’d love to read myself. I
always find myself skimming when a writer is describing the weather or a character’s
outfit for five pages.
My aim is to scare the hell out of
every reader as much as humanly possible. I want to get under their skin, into
their heads. I want them to lie awake at night, with something I've written still
making them squirm.
One of the best compliments I've
ever had was when a hardened horror reader told me that my novel, Becoming…, had given her nightmares. I’m
still grinning about that six months later!
Horror can often be viewed as a
violent and bloody genre. Where do you, as a writer, fall on the gore scale? Do
you tend to tone down the blood and guts, in favour of more psychological
scares, or do you feel comfortable with the splatter? Or do you include it how and
if the story dictates?
Right at the deep end: I love the
splatter! I think of a horror story like a good burger. You've got a nice juicy
chunk of beef in a bun. Now that’s great as it is, but it’s much better with a
generous dose of ketchup!
I do like psychological horror too;
my novella, Digital Children, is a
bit more restrained than the others, but I always find myself coming back to those
stomach-churning, blood-up-the-walls style scenes. Again, I guess it’s because
it’s what I enjoy in the work of others.
Can you tell us about your writing
process? Where do your ideas
originate?
The vast majority of the time I
make it up as I go along. I've tried planning, but I find that doesn't produce
an effective story for me. I've learnt to just start it, and let it go where it
wants to go. Nine times out of ten, the story takes you to the right ending
anyway and usually catches me by surprise in the process. It makes it a lot
more fun for me and hopefully for my readers too.
As far as ideas go, they seem to
appear and I sure am glad of them. The idea for Flesh Harvest, for example, just came from waiting for my wife at a
spa in the middle of nowhere, very similar to the beginning of the story. The
thoughts – What’s taking so long? How
long should I leave it before I go in and check everything’s ok? Would anyone
know we were here if anything has happened? – popped into my head and then
the story was developed from there.
I've always been blessed with a
hundred and one ideas (often appearing all at once). I wish I had the time to explore
all of them. I tend to go with the most appealing one and just have fun with
it.
What do you find most challenging
about being a writer?
Definitely the promotional side of
things. It makes me a bit uncomfortable pestering every man and his dog about
my books, but it needs to be done, I guess. There’s a very fine line between keeping
people updated and being all ‘Buy my book! NOW!’ every time you get on the
internet. I’m not sure if I get that balance right, to be honest, but I do try
to be considerate with it.
What do you enjoy as a pastime when
not hard at work writing?
I spend a lot of time with my
family. Apart from that, watching TV. 24
and Sons of Anarchy are my favourite
shows ever. I’m a hopeless addict for both of those. Walking Dead is good too and I’m loving American Horror Story more with every episode.
I read, but not as much as I would
like to. I tend to spend my downtime on my own work.
I love heavy metal, so there aren't
many things in the house that don’t have that as a soundtrack.
I also enjoy playing guitar, eating
and spending far too much time messing about on the internet.
Who (or what) has inspired you as
an author?
One thing that has always stuck
with me is the scene from The Shining
with all the blood falling out from the elevator doors and flooding the
corridor. It’s just such a powerful image and has stayed with me all these
years. I’m sure my love of horror started with that film.
Reading a really bad book by a
well-established author was a powerful motivator. It was a real ‘I can do better than this’ moment!
Other writers have been
inspirational. Stephen King. It and Pet Sematary in particular. The late,
great James Herbert and Richard Laymon. And I’m getting a good collection of Shaun
Hutson’s now too.
Tarantino films. I love his style,
the dialogue and the action scenes. He’s cool as a cucumber!
What’s your next project?
I’m currently working on the sequel
to Flesh Harvest, one of the first
books I released. A lot of my readers have said that’s their favourite, so it’s
time to give them chance to catch up with old friends.
The blurb is:
‘Ex-policeman Thomas Campbell is
struggling to come to terms with the horrific events that took place in the
barn last summer.
But his nightmares are about to
again become reality.
The thing in the barn bred…
And its offspring are ravenous.’
It should be available for pre-order
very soon.
I'd like to thank the author for joining us today, and you can find out more about Jacob Rayne and his books at his website or on his Amazon page.
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