Author Spotlight: Craig Saunders

Dale Eldon

Today I interview Craig Saunders. He is another author form EJP, among other presses. He will be appearing in several anthologies which I will be promoting on here as well. He has sold a couple of novels that will soon be out to buy.

Craig Saunders

I live in Norfolk, England, with my wife and three children, who I pretend to listen to while I make up stories in my head.

I started out writing fantasy, followed by science fiction, then humour. It took eight novels before I figured out I was a horror writer, but I haven’t wasted any time since, with more than two dozen published shorts. My first novel will soon be published by the Library of Horror Press, and my first novella was recently published by Blood Bound Books.

The Interview:

When did you first want to write for a living?

I don’t. I always wanted to be a lumberjack.

Nah, not really.

I’m not sure there was any kind of thunder and lightning moment. I used to write poetry as a youngster, and I wrote my first novel when I was around 22-23 years old. It was rubbish. I lost it. I think I started writing semi-seriously when I was around 30...I’m now around 40. Around 40’s close enough. No, you don’t need to know which side...

I love writing. Love making up stories, learning...everything to do with it. I even like submitting now. Might be something to do with people finally saying ‘Yes’ though!


What made you decide on horror/Sci-Fi/Thriller?

I think I write horror, for the most part, because that’s where my head takes me. My writing suits horror, my morbid fascination with insanity, in particular, lends itself to horror. Much of my horror is about the human mind, the characters. I’m rubbish at quoting people, but I read G.R.R. Martin’s Rretrospective a while back, and he wrote about horror being more about the characters and their humanity than the monsters. I find that idea intriguing – not in a kind of Hollywood jokey way, but to explore what motivates the people, to see how they fare in such extreme situations, and to bring those situations above and beyond the everyday, and keep them credible...that’s a trick. I like pulling it off.
That said, I also write humour, fantasy, mystery, literary fiction (ug) and I’ve dabbled with science fiction. By and large, if it comes into my head, I write it. I just write whatever I have an idea for. Most of the time it turns out alright. Not for the characters, but for me.


What kind of inspirations do you have? 

It’s a really boring answer, but I don’t, really. I think of things and put them down on paper. If I can’t think of anything, then I start writing until I do. I approach it as a job. If you’re a brain surgeon and you don’t feel like working, you can’t just down tools halfway through a job. I approach it the same way. The story’s there, somewhere in the page, like an open brain pan...you’ve got to get the tumour out. A gross metaphor, maybe, but in some ways a story is a tumour...it’ll grow in your head, and if you don’t get it out it’ll keep growing, growing...


Favorite authors/or books?

As for the big guys, I really, really like Stephen King, Terry Pratchett, and Lee Child. I think they’re all masters in their respective fields. I’ve learned a lot from reading and re-reading their work. I like plenty of other authors, too, though I’m the world’s most impatient reader – if it doesn’t grab me in the first few chapters, I won’t finish it. Life’s too short to read crap books. I tend to read a lot of short fiction, which I prefer, overall, to long fiction. See above – lazy reader. But then I’ll read a whole anthology in one sitting where I’d put a book down, even if it was good. I recently discovered Joe Hill and I really like his work. I’ll read most genres if the book grabs me. I love Joe Abercrombie, too, and Masterton, Reynolds, Banks, Martin, Lansdale, D’Lacey – plus a ton of YA authors – I like a lot of YA fiction.

For those writers newly risen or on the rise, She’s not a massive star yet, but I love Tonia Brown’s work, specifically her rolling serial, Railroad! I think she’s on the rise. I’ve had the pleasure of reading a lot of Gregory L. Norris’ work, too, and I’d go as far to put him right up with the big guys for favourites. Both of these guys have talent to spare.

On the short fiction front, there’s just too many to name. I love reading the new Stephen Jones ‘Year’s Best’ anthologies...it’s a good spur for any horror writer, to see who’s hitting the high notes and what’s selling big.


What can we expect to see from you in the near future?

I’ve sold two novels this year. One to Twisted Library Press, a novel called ‘Rain’. I’ve sold another, subject to contract. I also have out a novella with Robert Essig, another of my favourite writers. The novella, Scarecrow (released as a double-feature with Essig’s ‘The Madness’) is available from Amazon right now. This time next year my Amazon Author’s page will look a hell of a lot healthier as I’ve had over a dozen short stories accepted this year.

Thanks Dale!

Summary of Scarecrow and The Madness

SCARECROW - It’s holiday weekend in the English Fens, the long weekend. The Gypsies are passing through and setting up camp in the nearby fields. Madge can’t understand all the fuss, can’t understand that gypsies are their own kind of people; people are just people. But Madge and her husband, Bernie, are about to learn something about people when they meet the Mulrones, and if they aren’t careful, it just might become the longest weekend of their lives.

PLUS

All Tony wanted was to get out of Colorado, or even just to his house, before the storm hit. All Dan wanted was to quiet that little tickle in the back of his brain—the one he couldn’t quite itch without the help of a bottle—and keep things the way they were with his family. But when the biggest snow storm since the blizzard of 2003 brings these men together, nobody’s going to get what they want. And before the storm blows over, both men will be in a struggle for their lives, and sanity. Who will survive THE MADNESS?

Amazon Link:

http://www.amazon.com/Scarecrow-Madness-Craig-Saunders/dp/0984540873/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316111712&sr=8-1

Amazon Author's Page:

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003TYAKFO (US)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B003TYAKFO(UK)
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