Merry meet all,
Welcome everyone to another awesome interview with a horror author! Today Jerry Blaze joins us to chat on horror fiction.
Why horror? Do you have a favorite subgenre in horror?
I write horror because life isn’t always sunshine and happiness, it’s full of chills, thrills and darkness. I think at our basic setup, humans need to be scared and disappearing into a story that scares them can provide that type of emotion rather than going out and doing something potentially dangerous.
My favorite sub genre is Splatterpunk. I love the extreme aspect, the focus on the nitty-gritty and the lack of creating psychological fears that can be mistaken or not have the same bite as having your insides ripped out through a knife wound (hahaha).
Which other horror authors influenced you the most and why?
Richard Laymon is my ultimate influence; the way his stories are fast-paced and direct with action, graphic death and intense sexual imagery spoke to me as a reader and writer. After Laymon, I found myself pursuing the works of Matt Shaw, Judith Sonnet, DE McCluskey and Eric LaRocca; their works were intriguing and different and not like the more classy works of Stephen King or Edgar Allan Poe. I was never big into Lovecraft, but I can’t subtract him from the list because his works inspired a lot of the horror that we see today.
Tell me about your writing/ editing process
That might actually be the easiest question to answer. I set a timer for around thirty to forty minutes and I write a chapter until the timer hits zero, then I stop for a quick smoke and a sip of coffee, returning right away. I typically aim for ten chapters each time.
My editing process is barely existent. I go through with auto-correct on the document after I finish it, I then send it to my beta readers and they usually point out what I missed, then I slap a cover on it and put it out for the world. I never rewrite or do drafts, I used to write erotica and the need for consistent work was always hovering over me, so I got in the habit of writing like a pulp writer from back in the day. Write, do a once over, publish and repeat; its been my process for the last 16 years.
What inspires you to write horror?
Horror is a free field where anything can happen, you can throw in as much as you want and still find something new to put in. Readers love horror, especially splatterpunk, they are the kind of people I really identify with. Horror is fun, its the kind of genre where you never know what’s next and when it happens, it can either shock, upset, arouse or annoy you. Nowhere else have I found those emotions coming up in any other genre.
I write horror novelettes and novellas because I think too many authors out there don’t respect the short fiction market. Everyone wants to write long novels and break into the long-fiction market, but I personally cap at 15K (or on good days, 17K). When I started writing horror, I wanted to bring back the popularity of the novelette, especially in Splatterpunk, I think I’m doing a pretty good job of it.
What do you love about indie publishing?
I love how far it has come in the last twenty years. I appreciate the fact that anyone can acknowledge their dream of being an author. I love that people flock to indie authors who are not being carried by traditional publishers and who push their works out via their own pocket, or by some chance, have a small press backing them up. I love that the books are allowed to be raw, real and not held back by standards enforced by high-rise office editors. Indie publishing is where I see all books coming from in the near future.
Which is your favorite horror movie or book? Which movie or book impressed and inspired you the most?
My favorite horror film will always be the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre film from 1973. My favorite horror books are Beware! by Laymon, Night Shift by Stephen King, the Goosebumps books by RL Stine, and Sardines (in the Dark) by Judith Sonnet.
The films that inspire me would be the Friday the 13th Franchise. I grew up in the woods of the Midwest and always feared a killer stalking me when I was out and about around dusk or nighttime. The eerie feeling of being stalked or watched is something that really provokes me, I like to add the feeling to most of my work, along with the feeling of helplessness when the killing starts up.
Is there any music that helps you to write?
I generally don’t listen to music when I write because I’ll find myself unable to focus or I’ll accidentally write in a lyric from a song to the story and then have to delete the sentence. I don’t go back and delete a word, I delete the sentence and rewrite it with a better word. So music, videos, or audio is a no-no for me.
Do you have any special projects you want readers to know about?
I am always writing! I’m a well-spring of ideas turned into trash! I have books coming out every month until well into next year. I really want to release 2 books a month, but I’m settling on 1 for now (unless another is being published by a small press). I have a few collaborations I’m working on that will prove extremely fun for the communities. At the moment, I’m personally working on a novella about a woman named “Crystal-Meth” who is hunting pedos in the woods, so that’ll be fun to finish.
I am also doing a side-project of writing non-horror erotic guides for people who may be suffering from a miserable love life.
Where can readers find you on social media?
My website, jblazehorror.com, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, X (Twitter), Gmail, just look for JBlazeHorror and you’ll usually find me.
Happy reading!
Indeed!!!! Blessings, Spiderwitch )O(
