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The 7Q Interview: John F. Leonard

AUTHOR BIO

John was born in England and grew up in the midlands where he learned to love scrawny cats, the sound of scrapyard dogs and the rattle and clank of passing trains. He studied English, Art and History and has, at different times, been a sculptor, odd-job man and office worker. He enjoys horror and comedy (not necessarily together). Married with two astonishing sons, he now lives a few miles from the old Victorian house in which he was born. Scribbling scary stories seems to keep him vaguely sane (accurate at time of writing).

QUESTIONS

#1. Looking back, what’s one fiction book that you feel truly made an impact on your writing? Do you still gravitate towards that author?

#1. There are a number of books and authors which undoubtedly influenced me. The Fog by James Herbert, Salem’s Lot by Stephen King, The Damnation Game by Clive Barker. Others as well. Too many perhaps to pick one so I’ll try to think outside of my own box.

Answer: Radix by A.A. Attanasio.

Not sure what genre it’s in - science fiction/fantasy I suppose. Who knows, genres are a sometimes meaningless and moveable feast in my opinion. It’s got some horror - everything has some horror.

I’ve chosen it because of the effect it had on my life and therefore my writing. Radix was a book that lifted me when I was young and at a low point. There was a vastness to the story and a poignancy to the ending. It embodied the torture of becoming. Spoke of hope and apocalypse and incomprehensible cosmic forces. The kind of forces which are beyond our control and yet insist we determine our own fate. Everything is personal and at the same time the cosmos doesn’t care.

It broke the rules. For me anyway. Huge concepts rendered small and sweaty. Great language. Make up your own ancient idioms and splice poetic phraseology into the paragraph.

I need to reread Radix although I doubt Attanasio will ever leave me.

By the way, on another day I might have said The Stand or Summer of Night…or something else.

#2. How do you feel about the use of sub-genres in the industry? How do you describe your work overall?

#2. Don’t get me started with genre, or the even more perplexing sub-genre. Take the Amazon taxonomy for example. Not all apocalyptic stories belong in Science Fiction. I’m going to rein myself in here, turn off the doolally tap, and attempt a reasonable explanation of what I mean.

Genre and sub-genre are absolutely necessary given the proliferation of fiction writing. But it’s a flawed system.

They ultimately serve the merchant more readily than the reader or writer. The merchant will flog stuff irrespective. The reader often gets less than perfect results from their attempts at navigation. The writer an impossible choice coupled with limitations on their work. Keywords help, but that whole shooting match is dependent on whatever algorithm is employed.

So, far from satisfactory …and better than nothing.

I’d describe my own stuff as a mixed bag. Some apocalyptic fiction and some old school horror stories.

#3. What about your writing process do you think is unique or quirky? What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever received?

#3. I stand up to write for one thing. I know, make myself sound like one of those hyperactive newsreaders or deranged call centre salesmen.

There are good reasons. One is that it generates energy. A cliché, but true nonetheless. Also, sedentary pursuits need all the exercise they can get.

More important is I’m a bit effed up physically. Banging away at a keyboard in an office chair gets old fast - my neck or stomach start giving me jip after no time at all - long story, too long for this.

Bad writing advice? No idea really. I tend not to store stuff that won’t help. Not on my hard drives or in my head. Once I’ve identified that useless little nugget as unhelpful it’s consigned to junk. Done and dusted. Gone for good.

The best? You haven’t asked, but it’s irresistible (damn, typed irritable yet again).

Anyhow, I somehow managed to connect to a well-known author when I started out. He implied that getting a good agent, let alone a publisher, was less likely than grabbing a seat on the first passenger plane to the moon. It was one of the things which gave me the impetus to get something published.

#4. How does music and media factor into your writing? Do you feel it plays as much an inspirational role as literature?

#4. They’re factors without doubt. I don’t listen to enough new music these days. It’s something I look to when I’m floundering or when it seeps into my head from my surroundings - basically echoes of yesteryear or snatches from the current swamp.

For me, media represents the all-pervasive news/TV saturation to which we’re all exposed. I absorb that like everyone else. Luckily, it’s subjected to my own unique nonsense/logic filter. That helps me stay rational.

There are downsides. Voting is tough because no party represents my views. The anarchists had a good take on it - whoever you vote for, government wins.

I’ve exempted movies from media on purpose. They fall into my visual/art category and that’s very important.

Writing projects need a visual connection for them to take flight in my mind. One of the first things I do before getting too far into an idea is imagine a cover or illustration. Once that happens, I’m good with it. Some sort of imaginary picture helps immerse me in whatever will follow.

#5. As an author, how much do you engage in social media? Do you feel it is more for your own entertainment, or for marketing and networking?

#5. Before I published anything it held no interest for me. My work at the time (internet related) meant I had a certain involvement, but that was as far as it went - entirely business.

I was a little scornful to be honest. Not bothered what somebody was having for their dinner and no desire to share my own mundane rubbish.

Somebody advised me it was a necessity if I wanted to give writing a shot. Also to concentrate on one platform.

So, I registered on a lot (Effbook, InstaGrim, SpewTube etc) and chose Twitter as the primary focus. My social home if you like.

Deadly, absolutely deadly. I very quickly developed an addiction which I’m still fighting to this day. I’ve grown to love and mildly detest Twitter. The hate comes when it chews into my time and distracts the hell out of me.

As for its purpose, I think all three are valid. It’s immensely enjoyable, useful for wider communication and a fantastic place to connect with fellow writers and like-minded folk.

The marketing element needs qualifying. There’s a balance to be achieved. I look at some accounts and they’re just an endless stream of me, me, me.Buy my thing, buy thing, buymy thing.

It’s as if they’ve had sublimal defined for them and then decided ‘right, I’m gonna do the polar opposite of that.’

A bit of selling is okay. We all need to eat. We all want a smattering of sales. But focusing on it to excess is simply tiresome.

I scroll down some of those pages and glaze over. Wouldn’t look at their book if it was the best thing since The Great and Secret Show.

I could be wrong - they may be shifting squillions of copies.

#6. Where do you see the future of horror fiction heading? In turn, what changes would you love to see, either socially or technologically?

#6. Save the hardest for last eh? Sneaky.

There’s nothing new under the sun. I sometimes think we over-analyse and over-intellectualise everything nowadays. A good story is a good story. There are fundamental themes that always resonate with us. Style and subject matter vary with the age, but our basic emotions are immutable.

Society and technology scare me at the moment. We’re overwhelmed with the pace of change. One of the results is an infatuation with instancy. We’re becoming stimulation junkies. Now isn’t soon enough. The ante is being continually upped. Appreciation of nuance is one the casualties. Bombarded with learning, we’re somehow getting dumber by the day.

Readers aren’t immune - we want that sublime hit right here, right now.I guess there’s no need to worry. The wheel turns. Attention spans will lengthen again …when the power shortages kick in and food becomes scarce : )

#7. What can you tell us about any forthcoming projects? What titles would you like to promote now?

#7. I’m hoping to publish a couple of horror pieces in the first half of 2019. All up in the air after that. A collection possibly. And I really want to pen a full on zombie novel. Yeah I know, zed is zero credibility. I don’t care, I love zombies.

In terms of promotion, the Doggem short story is closest to my heart at the moment. Definitely NOT a zombie story by the way. It’s something of which I’m proud and I’d love people to read it. The writing is decent and I think it has an appeal broader than the horror genre. The inspiration is quite personal and it feels as close as I’ve come to getting what I wanted from writing. So far anyway.

AUTHOR PIC

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