Horror Anthology: C.C. Adams

The Black Beacon Book of Horror will be released on Friday the 13th of October; the Kindle version is available for pre-order at just $1.99 instead of $3.99 and you can add the anthology to your Goodreads list today. To get you in the mood for a particularly spooky Halloween this year, we’re interviewing the contributing authors. The first Black Beacon Book of Horror is bound to give you the creeps!

Hi C.C.

Why do you write horror?

Villainy. I love the idea of "villainy" in a story - sure, you might get a protagonist with a dark past, or one that's somewhat flawed, but it’s the antagonist - the villain of the piece - that makes for a truly engaging narrative. What makes them so villainous, how do they tax the hero, etc. Think of a U-certificate film, like The Lion King. Arguably made with an audience of children in mind – but that doesn't stop Scar from murdering his own brother. Horror is where you take villainy to truly dark and insidious places. The appearance of the monster is only skin deep. What the monster does, how they do it, and what that does to the protagonist(s)? There’s your horror - all that good stuff; and more. It’s gratifying, humbling and cool to engage your audience. Wow them. And maybe scare the shit outta them.

Is there a story behind your story in this anthology?

Good question! - a couple, in fact. One; when I’d written this story, it was to be very nuanced and menacing - which is my wheelhouse. There’s a nod in this tale to a short story written over 100 years ago (if memory serves) that appears in Aidan Chambers' Book of Ghosts and Hauntings. This is a book I got when leaving primary school, aged 11, and this is important, because this book is the gateway drug that got me into enjoying – and writing – horror. Along with films like Phantasm, Halloween, and John Carpenter’s The Thing. Two; when I’d entered this in a Midnight Echo competition several years ; you were VP of the AHWA (Australian Horror Writers Association) back then. And while the story didn’t win, it got an honourable mention. Fitting, I guess, that after how many years and how many submissions, it should finally land here.

Do you have an all-time favourite horror tale?

Not possible. There are some noteworthy tales though: Incubus by Joe Donnelly is a favourite; to date it’s the only book that made my skin crawl when reading it. Plus it’s got one of the illest taglines: “What kind of baby steals a mother?” Props are also given to Rare Breeds by Erik Hofstatter, which is truly macabre, twisted – and captures the essence of things going horribly wrong in a way that so many other works would like to. Thor by Wayne Smith, The Rising by Brian Keene, Pet Semetary by Stephen King, etc. No way can I pick just one.

What books did you grow up reading?

A variety. Wildlife encyclopaedias. Horror novels; Alien, The Thing, Incubus (the Ray Russell version), Salem's Lot, to name a few. I guess there were some books where I'd taken in the screen iteration first: Jaws, Piranha, Enter The Dragon, Oh Heavenly Dog. Martin Caidin’s Cyborg; the source material for The Six Million Dollar Man – what’s the latest on the reboot? Asterix books. Spider-Man comics. Books on martial arts, weight training, IQ. And some books aimed more at children. The Adventures Of A Two-Minute Werewolf. The Demon Headmaster. Mog And The Rectifier. I took in a whole variety. I probably read more as a kid; one, because kids were encouraged to do so and two, as a grown man, I don’t get that much time to read now.

Do you have any writing rituals?

Sure do. I guess the most elaborate one is that before I start writing a new story (which is usually long fiction) is that I’ll toast the muse and the work to be with a glass of Jack & Coke. To be specific, it’s the honey blend of Jack Daniel’s, Diet Coke – and served in a whisky glass engraved with ‘Get Shit Done.’ I got that glass from a couple of Canadian friends (who I love to bits), because they know what I’m like when it’s time to put in work. I keep meaning to get an additional glass engraved with ‘Got Shit Done’, but I haven’t gotten around to it. So for now, it’s the same glass used to toast the beginning and the end of each story. The usual rituals are less elaborate; it may be listening to a film/TV score beforehand to get me in the zone. The piano theme from Phantasm, for example. Opening credit theme from The Evil Dead, by Joseph LoDuca. I can’t write to music, but it gets me into that zone of creativity and flow. I need quiet and solitude to not just write, but to truly craft something. Doing so at night – when the house and the neighbourhood are still – is when the nuances really stir, creeping to life. Make no mistake, I’m writing to engage, disturb and unsettle the reader. Isn’t that what you came for?

Would you share something about yourself that your readers don’t know yet?

Just in case anyone’s missed it, I don’t watch horror any more. I get the irony of that, but as much as I was raised on a diet of Rabid, Poltergeist, Salem’s Lot, The Evil Dead, Phantasm, et al, there’s no pleasure I get in experiencing that pulse-pounding dread; it’s unpleasant. That tension before someone goes yellow-eyed with a mouthful of fangs, a little girl with an inhumanly deep voice, a rotting face jibbering and grinning at you. You know, I had to work up courage to watch Werewolf By Night (the Marvel short film from a year or so ago) and watch the transformation scene frame by frame to make sure it wouldn’t rattle me? Ditto for when I first watched Lucifer (the TV show with Tom Ellis). And I have no shame in saying this; I can read this stuff, I can write it – but it’s generally unpleasant/disturbing/etc. to watch. There are exceptions though – slasher films, maybe a zombie film or two. I love Shaun Of The Dead; very clever. Dawn Of The Dead (with Ving Rhames) was decent. Scream VI is one I saw recently; was impressed by that for the subway scene alone.

Where can we find you online?

Website is www.ccadams.com . On Facebook at www.facebook.com/MrAdamsWrites and Twitter at www.twitter.com/MrAdamsWrites. But definitely hit me up to talk this, that and the third on the genre; that’s always cool.

Thanks for answering our questions.