The 7Q Interview: C.V. Hunt
AUTHOR BIO
C.V. Hunt is the author of several unpopular books and the owner of Grindhouse Press.
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. I think Bentley Little’s The Association made a huge impact on me. Before then I was reading Anne Rice and my brother had left a slew of Dean Koontz, Stephen King, and John Saul books behind when he enlisted in the Navy. When I read The Association I remember thinking, What the fuck am I reading? I still read Bentley Little’s books and highly recommend them.
#2. How do you feel about the use of sub-genres in the industry? How do you describe your work overall?
#2. Amongst writers I can see the need to specify the type of stories you’re writing. It helps to find other authors and publishers that you’d be interested in working with. But I find it becomes too convoluted when discussing your books with non-writing readers. Your average reader will walk into a bookstore and if they want horror they’ll head to the horror section. They’ll figure it out from there. I used to get super specific about what I wrote when selling books at an event and found I spent more time trying to explain certain additional labels I’d given my writing like surrealism and absurdism. I keep it simple now. I write horror and dark fiction.
#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’m a picky writer. Writing a book for me is like a never-ending game of Tetris. I will write and rewrite a sentence three or four times. Write a few more sentences. Then realize a sentence I just completed would work better if I moved it to the top of the paragraph. I’m constantly moving pieces around to make them fit correctly. I’m amazed by writers who use typewriters. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to write in a linear fashion. I’m too scatterbrained and constantly edit while writing.
As far as bad advice? It was never said directly to me but I don’t believe in shitting on self-publishing. Yes, there are some terribly written self-published books out there. But there are also some really good ones. I self-published my first three books and there was a negative association attached to that. Before I was a publisher I overheard other publishers discouraging writers from self-publishing and knowing how much I was making as a self-published author all I could think was, Yeah, because you want a cut of what they’ll make.
#4. How does music and media factor into your writing? Do you feel it plays as much an inspirational role as literature?
#4. Music and movies are inspirational to me but I think they’re more of a driving force. Discovering new music and movies will sometimes energize me to work on something I’ve been kicking around for a while or to finish up something I’m currently working on. For me I think music is more inspirational than literature.
#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 probably engage in my own social media more than I should. It’s sort of a time suck and I should be working on writing. On my personal accounts it’s definitely more for entertainment and keeping touch with family and friends. But I also run the social media for Grindhouse Press, which is strictly more for marketing and networking.
#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’m hoping for a resurgence but I actually think technology and social media may keep that from happening. People spend more time reading social media feeds or random articles their friends post and I think they’ve sacrificed the time they’d spend reading a book to do so. I’d love to see readers returning to books but I believe more of them will be turning to audiobooks.
#7. What can you tell us about any forthcoming projects? What titles would you like to promote now?
#7. I’m actually not currently working on anything as I’m preparing to open Grindhouse to submissions. I did release Halloween Fiend earlier this year. If anyone is interested you can check it out on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Halloween-Fiend-C-V-Hunt/dp/1941918433
AUTHOR PIC
