Horror
Date Published: 04/15/2019
Publisher: Lost Hollow Books
Lost Hollow constable Graham Gordon just walked into his abandoned childhood home for the first time in twenty years. Local teenagers have been spreading rumors about disembodied screams coming from inside. Now, thanks to a rickety set of cellar stairs and the hateful spirit of his dead father, he might never escape.
Meanwhile, Channel 6 News feature reporter Afia Afton—whose father is the victim of a local decades-old hate crime—is meeting with town administrator Patsy Blankenship. Her mission is to develop a ghost story feature for a special to air on the station’s Halloween broadcast. When Patsy tells her about the screams at the Gordon place, the past and the present are set on a collision course with potentially catastrophic results.
Can Graham come to terms with his father’s past and redeem his own future? Can the murder mystery that has haunted Afia for most of her life finally be solved?
It’s a fight for the future and the past when spirit and flesh wage war at the Gordon place.
Interview with Author Isaac Thorne
As a
writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
I have three: a wolf, a raven, and an owl. There are characteristics of each animal that play into what I write. Wolves and ravens are both hunters and scavengers. Alone, they scavenge and together they hunt. One species hunts and scavenges from the air, all-seeing, and one from the ground, where the experience is more personal. Owls, on the other hand, prefer to hunt and prefer to do it at night. They also kill silently. They are the slashers of the animal kingdom.
I have three: a wolf, a raven, and an owl. There are characteristics of each animal that play into what I write. Wolves and ravens are both hunters and scavengers. Alone, they scavenge and together they hunt. One species hunts and scavenges from the air, all-seeing, and one from the ground, where the experience is more personal. Owls, on the other hand, prefer to hunt and prefer to do it at night. They also kill silently. They are the slashers of the animal kingdom.
How
many hours a day do you put into your writing?
Two at the very least. I have a day job that also involves writing so, technically, I’m doing that somewhere between eight and ten hours per day. However, my fiction gets at least two hours in the late afternoons or evening. On days that I can devote more time to it, I’ll go on a six-to-eight-hour marathon. Usually, those marathons are more about rewriting than first draft.
Two at the very least. I have a day job that also involves writing so, technically, I’m doing that somewhere between eight and ten hours per day. However, my fiction gets at least two hours in the late afternoons or evening. On days that I can devote more time to it, I’ll go on a six-to-eight-hour marathon. Usually, those marathons are more about rewriting than first draft.
Do
you read your book reviews? If yes, do they affect what you write in the
future?
Yes, I do read them. For now. I enjoy feedback, whether positive or critical, because I think it seeds my thought processes for the next time I write. Many times, the more critical reviews come from people who either couldn’t relate to the characters or couldn’t relate to the situation. That makes me want to make more of an effort to find a way to relate to the critic the next time around. Sometimes a scene I’m working on will trigger the memory of some criticism about a particular way I handled things in another story, and that might cause me to think harder about what I’m doing. However, I rely much more on beta readers than straight-up reviews for the type of feedback that is bound to change the words I’ve put down.
Yes, I do read them. For now. I enjoy feedback, whether positive or critical, because I think it seeds my thought processes for the next time I write. Many times, the more critical reviews come from people who either couldn’t relate to the characters or couldn’t relate to the situation. That makes me want to make more of an effort to find a way to relate to the critic the next time around. Sometimes a scene I’m working on will trigger the memory of some criticism about a particular way I handled things in another story, and that might cause me to think harder about what I’m doing. However, I rely much more on beta readers than straight-up reviews for the type of feedback that is bound to change the words I’ve put down.
Do
you leave hidden messages in your books that only a few people will find?
The term for that is Easter Eggs, and I don’t typically do that. In my latest novel, The Gordon Place, there are a few things here and there that only people who have read my previous short story collection Road Kills might get. However, I only put them there as part of my world building process. The little town in which The Gordon Place is set has been lurking in my imagination for many years now, so it several of my short stories have connections to it. While I was writing the novel, I wanted to keep one foot grounded in the foundation for the town that I had already laid in previous stories. The little nods to my short stories were my way of doing that.
The term for that is Easter Eggs, and I don’t typically do that. In my latest novel, The Gordon Place, there are a few things here and there that only people who have read my previous short story collection Road Kills might get. However, I only put them there as part of my world building process. The little town in which The Gordon Place is set has been lurking in my imagination for many years now, so it several of my short stories have connections to it. While I was writing the novel, I wanted to keep one foot grounded in the foundation for the town that I had already laid in previous stories. The little nods to my short stories were my way of doing that.
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in The Gordon Place?
The book is set in a small Southern town called Lost Hollow. The central
character, Graham Gordon, was recently elected town constable, a position that
the town council had previously considered eliminating. Graham didn’t want the
job, but was kind of goaded into it. That’s part of his problem: many of his
choices throughout his life have not really been his choices, but choices that others have made for him.
There are two other primary characters in the story: Joe “Staff” Stafford and
Afia Afton, both of whom work for a regional television station. Afia is a
reporter and Staff is her cameraman. They’ve been sent to Lost Hollow to obtain
a Halloween-related puff piece because some local kids have created a bit of a
legend around Graham Gordon’s now-abandoned childhood home. Afia has her own
issues with the town, having spent her first twelve years of life there as the
only black girl in a predominantly white area. Her mother disappeared when she
was eight, and her father was murdered when she was twelve. Those events
resulted in Afia’s placement in the state foster program. She hasn’t been back
to Lost Hollow since. Staff, on the other hand, has never been to the town, and
isn’t very impressed when they get there.
There are quite a few other characters in the novel, at least two of which are
supernatural. One is most decidedly a villain. The other? Well, our heroes
aren’t sure about the other. You’ll need to check out the book for more
information about them.
Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have
planned for the future?
I’m not done with the little town of Lost Hollow, although I should point out
that I’m not writing a Lost Hollow series.
My next novel is not directly related to The
Gordon Place, but is going to be set in the same location. While The Gordon Place is set in the current
year, my next is going to go all the way back to 1955. Lost Hollow has been
beleaguered by its demons for a long, long time.
Do you allow yourself a certain number of hours to write or do you
write as long as the words come?
I try to write a specific number of words in a session, not a certain number of
hours. However, as long as the words keep coming and I don’t have somewhere
else I have to be, I’ll keep going.
Do you have a certain number of words or pages you write per day?
As I said previously, I usually end up writing for about two hours in the late
afternoon or evenings. Those two hours usually turn up something between 1,500
and 2,000 words. On days that I have more time to devote to it, I like to shoot
for at least a 4,000-word session.
What inspires you to write?
I wouldn’t call it inspiration. It’s more like a need. The stories I tell help
me process a lot of crap that I do not necessarily understand. The nightly news
and basic living give me enough things to process to keep the fires burning.
It’s not an addiction, really, because I can put it down and go about other
things. When a story takes root in my head, though, I process…and process…and
process until I either have an answer or far more questions than I could ever
hope to answer.
Would you rather
Read fiction or
non-fiction?
Fiction, definitely. I do read non-fiction, but it’s much more difficult for me to get through a 200-page work of non-fiction than it is a 400-page story.
Fiction, definitely. I do read non-fiction, but it’s much more difficult for me to get through a 200-page work of non-fiction than it is a 400-page story.
Read series or
stand-alone?
Stand-alone. I know the trend for some time has been to write series tales. I just can’t summon enough interest in a given character to want to read seven or eight books about that character. I’m a huge Stephen King fan, but I very nearly put down his Dark Tower series after I read Wizard and Glass. The magic of the first three book got lost somehow during the long stretch of time between The Waste Lands and Wizard and Glass. I’ve often wondered if that magic might have been better sustained if King had written the fourth book earlier. When King inserted himself as a character later on, finishing the series became more of a “Well, I’ve come this far” thing for me than my having any actual interest in the story. I felt the same way when J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series reached the fifth book. I actually very much regret reading Thomas Harris’ last two books featuring Hannibal Lecter. I feel like the character suffered immensely from them.
Stand-alone. I know the trend for some time has been to write series tales. I just can’t summon enough interest in a given character to want to read seven or eight books about that character. I’m a huge Stephen King fan, but I very nearly put down his Dark Tower series after I read Wizard and Glass. The magic of the first three book got lost somehow during the long stretch of time between The Waste Lands and Wizard and Glass. I’ve often wondered if that magic might have been better sustained if King had written the fourth book earlier. When King inserted himself as a character later on, finishing the series became more of a “Well, I’ve come this far” thing for me than my having any actual interest in the story. I felt the same way when J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series reached the fifth book. I actually very much regret reading Thomas Harris’ last two books featuring Hannibal Lecter. I feel like the character suffered immensely from them.
Read Science fiction
or horror?
Horror. I enjoy science fiction, too, but not nearly as much as horror. Too much modern science fiction insists on building worlds that are difficult to relate to as a reader. I think horror does a better job of creating characters and settings that are relatable, although I’m sure sci-fi fans would disagree.
Horror. I enjoy science fiction, too, but not nearly as much as horror. Too much modern science fiction insists on building worlds that are difficult to relate to as a reader. I think horror does a better job of creating characters and settings that are relatable, although I’m sure sci-fi fans would disagree.
Read Stephen King or Dean
Koontz
King. I’ve read at least three of Dean Koontz’s novels over the years, but there are many other horror authors I would bump ahead of him in my to-be-read list (John Skipp, Cody Goodfellow, Danger Slater, Richard Matheson, Peter Straub, Jeff Strand, and so many more).
King. I’ve read at least three of Dean Koontz’s novels over the years, but there are many other horror authors I would bump ahead of him in my to-be-read list (John Skipp, Cody Goodfellow, Danger Slater, Richard Matheson, Peter Straub, Jeff Strand, and so many more).
Read the book or
watch the movie?
Read the book, THEN watch the movie.
Read the book, THEN watch the movie.
Read an ebook or
paperback?
ebook. I understand people who prefer physical copies. I really do. But I’ve spent more than four decades collecting physical books. I have so many that if I want to reference something, I have a difficult time finding it. Also, reading ebooks on a reader like the Kindle Paperwhite is a much more comfortable experience than a physical copy. The Paperwhite is the device that actually converted me. You can read in any light conditions and there’s no struggling to position yourself so that you’re comfortable and it’s easy to turn pages. The Paperwhite makes physical books feel unwieldy to me.
ebook. I understand people who prefer physical copies. I really do. But I’ve spent more than four decades collecting physical books. I have so many that if I want to reference something, I have a difficult time finding it. Also, reading ebooks on a reader like the Kindle Paperwhite is a much more comfortable experience than a physical copy. The Paperwhite is the device that actually converted me. You can read in any light conditions and there’s no struggling to position yourself so that you’re comfortable and it’s easy to turn pages. The Paperwhite makes physical books feel unwieldy to me.
Be trapped alone for
one month in a library with no computer or a room with a computer and Wi-Fi
only?
Computer and wi-fi only. The library’s a great place, but it’s easier and faster to get information via Google. There’s a reason the Card Catalog and the Dewey Decimal System have primarily become a thing of the past.
Computer and wi-fi only. The library’s a great place, but it’s easier and faster to get information via Google. There’s a reason the Card Catalog and the Dewey Decimal System have primarily become a thing of the past.
Do a cross-country
book store tour or blog tour online?
I’d totally prefer a cross-country book store tour, but that’s only because I like to visit new places.
I’d totally prefer a cross-country book store tour, but that’s only because I like to visit new places.
About the Author
ISAAC THORNE is a nice man who has, over the course of his life, developed a modest ability to spin a good yarn. Really. He promises. Just don’t push him down a flight of stairs.
Isaac reviews films for TNHorror.com and TheHorrorcist.com. He is the host of Thorne’s Theater of Terror and Classic
Cuts on 24/7/365 horror-themed SCRM Radio at scrmradio.com.
More of Isaac’s work is available at isaacthorne.com and wherever books are sold.
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1 comments:
thanks for hosting
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