The 7Q Interview: J.H. Moncrieff
AUTHOR BIO
J.H. Moncrieff's City of Ghosts won the 2018 Kindle Book Review Award for Best Horror/Suspense.Reviewers have described her work as early Gillian Flynn with a little Ray Bradbury and Stephen King thrown in for good measure. She won Harlequin's search for “the next Gillian Flynn” in 2016. When not writing, she loves exploring the world's most haunted places, advocating for animal rights, and summoning her inner ninja in muay thai class.
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. The books that have impacted my writing most have been non-fiction, but if I have to choose fiction, probably Stephen King’s Different Seasons, which I read when I was nine (I’d been writing books to the best of my ability since five years old, though). I didn’t fully appreciate Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption until I was a bit older, but Apt Pupil haunted me—how King perfectly touched on that creepy voyeur side in all of us. I still read his books, but my enthusiasm has waned in the last few years. I used to have to get the hardcover right away, but now I can wait a long time.
#2. How do you feel about the use of sub-genres in the industry? How do you describe your work overall?
#2. Sub-genres are fine with me. If anything gets more people to give horror a chance, I’m all for it. I describe my work as dark fiction, because I write more supernatural suspense, mystery, and psychological thriller than horror. When someone describes me as a horror writer, I cringe a bit—not because I’m ashamed, but because it’s a small part of what I do. And so many readers are quick to say, “I don’t read horror,” because they have a very limited perception of what horror is.
#3. What about your writing process do you think is unique or quirky? What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever received?
#3. Ha ha—everything? My characters seem like real people and they tell me the story, rarely giving me a hint of how it’s going to end. Even with mysteries. How’s that for quirky? I have to trust them completely (and yes, I know they’re not real—sort of). Worst writing advice—while I can’t think of any that was given to me personally, I dislike any writing advice that is an absolute. You must outline. You must have an agent. You’re an idiot for having an agent—look at all that money you’re throwing away! You must indie publish. You must write every day. You must write at the same time every day. Blah, blah, blah. Few of those who are so absolute about what you must do are successful, making-a-living-at-it authors. A lot are making a living telling other authors what to do. Everyone has their own process. The worst thing you can do is mess with yours because some other writer told you it was wrong.
#4. How does music and media factor into your writing? Do you feel it plays as much an inspirational role as literature?
#4. Not at all, really. I can’t listen to music while I write, though I’d love to. I need to hear my characters speak, and music—even instrumental—takes me out of the story. I rarely have time to watch TV, and I’m pretty far behind with movies. My inspiration mostly comes from traveling, experience, and imagination. (And whatever strange magic brings me the ideas in the first place.)
#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. Quite a bit. I feel like it’s both, but ever since you-know-who got elected, it’s been a lot less entertaining for me. Every day my Facebook and Twitter feeds are an onslaught of horrible news. But it’s still how I primarily keep in touch with people. I’m a highly social person, so one of the most difficult parts of being a writer for me is the isolation. I need to be around people.
#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 keep hearing that it’s going to become popular, and I really hope that’s true. I’d love to see certain thrillers and suspense novels branded as horror, since that’s what they actually are, and have it not affect their success. It would be awesome if the current popularity of horror television shows and movies would trickle into the book world. Where do I see the future of it heading? I’m trying my best to be optimistic that the above will happen, and that someday, readers will be able to name more than Stephen King when asked who their favorite horror authors are. (And yes, I do see the irony in this given my answer to #1.)
#7. What can you tell us about any forthcoming projects? What titles would you like to promote now?
#7. Forest of Ghosts, the latest installment in my GhostWriters supernatural suspense series, was just released. (Each book can be read as a standalone, so it doesn’t matter where you start.) Here’s the blurb: J.H. Moncrieff’s new release, Forest of Ghosts, was inspired by her real-life experiences in Romania, including Hoia Baciu, the world’s most haunted forest.
"Jackson Stone is sick of ghosts. With his love life in shambles, he heads to Romania for a horror writers’ retreat, hoping it will be a break from the supernatural and breathing space from his relationship with medium Kate Carlsson. But as his fellow writers begin disappearing or losing their minds, he realizes he needs Kate’s help. When Jackson loses his own memory, Kate’s love is the only thing that can bring him back. But she’s falling for the man responsible for the evil in Romania. A man who claims to be her soul mate. Will this master of wraiths forever break Kate’s bond with Jackson?" Mysterious Galaxy
I’m also working on Valley of the Sasquatch—another creature feature for Severed Press that will bring back Nat from Return to Dyatlov Pass, and the fifth book in the GhostWriters series, Mask of Ghosts, which will be released in June. Flame Tree Press will release Those Who Came Before, a murder mystery/horror mash-up, in October. Thanks so much, Brian! It’s been fun.
AUTHOR PIC
