The 7Q Interview: Mark Allan Gunnells
AUTHOR BIO
Mark Allan Gunnells loves to tell stories. He has since he was a kid, penning one-page tales that were Twilight Zone knockoffs. He likes to think he has gotten a little better since then. He loves reader feedback, and above all he loves telling stories. He lives in Greer, SC, with his husband Craig A. Metcalf.
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. Stephen King’s It. I read it in high school and it blew me away. It was complex and weird but engrossing. Kept me interested for 1000 pages. And mostly the characters felt real and authentic, people I knew and cared for and worried about. It taught me that character is key. I still gravitate toward King, and I reread It recently and think I appreciate it even more now.
#2. How do you feel about the use of sub-genres in the industry? How do you describe your work overall?
#2. I think we rely too heavily on categories. As a writer, I try not to think, “I’m writing a zombie story.” I just write the story that excites me, and if it has zombies in it, then so be it. I balk when people say they won’t read a sub-genre anymore because there is great stuff being written in every category and to dismiss work because of a label instead of content seems silly to me. My work I describe just as stories. A lot of horror and fantasy and suspense, but also straight drama, some comedy. But all stories, and I hope entertaining ones.
#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 can write anywhere under any circumstances. There was a time when I wrote at work, but in random pockets of free time. Maybe ten minutes here then fifteen minutes there. Now I get up at 4:30 a.m. every morning to write before I get ready for work. I don’t know if it’s unique, but I’ll basically do whatever it takes to get my writing in because it’s that important to me. I think the worst writing advice I ever received was the warning that being openly gay and using gay themes and characters would wreck my chances as a horror writer as it would alienate the “heterosexual male fanbase of horror.” I have found that not to be the case, and in fact many heterosexual male readers appreciate my use of diverse characters.
#4. How does music and media factor into your writing? Do you feel it plays as much an inspirational role as literature?
#4. I’ll admit, I’m not a big music person. I don’t listen to a lot of it anymore. As for other media, modern technology plays a part in my writing because if you’re setting something in modern times, it is so ubiquitous that you can’t ignore it. And I think music and media, any of pop culture, does play an inspirational role in literature because it tends to influence all aspects of society.
#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. I’m a Facebook person, which I’ve recently been told is for old people. I never took to Twitter, and I have never had an Instagram account. I started it for marketing and networking purposes initially, and actually did make a lot of contacts that led to working with certain publishers so I can’t complain there. I also finding it entertaining, and on my Facebook I talk writing, books, movies, TV, politics, my relationship…you get everything that is me on there, no holding back.
#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. I see horror getting more and more diverse, and that is beautiful. Different perspectives can make even old ideas fresh again, and there is no downside to greater diversity in horror. I think it’s an exciting time. I’m also excited to see how young authors use technology in their works. I feel older writers like me are still finding way to get around modern devices that hook us all in all the time because we want to circumvent it. Young writers who grew up with all this tech won’t feel the need to do that but will instead write stories that incorporate it.
#7. What can you tell us about any forthcoming projects? What titles would you like to promote now?
#7. At the end of April Crystal Lake Publishing will release my collection Book Haven and Other Curiosities, which contains the title novella and over a dozen other stories. Then at the end of August, Unnerving Press will release another collection entitled The Daylight Will Not Save You. I have sold two novels, 324 Abercorn and Before He Wakes, but no firm release dates on those yet.
AUTHOR PIC
