On behalf of Halloweenpalooza, thanks so much for agreeing to participate. Before the tops of our heads blow off from excitement, let’s start with some quickies:
Favorite color: Black. If you don't count that as a color, blue.
Favorite fictional stalker: Ray Pye from THE
LOST. Hell, I created him.
Dogs or cats: Cats.
Male or female friends: A few of each.
Guilty pleasure: Coffee
ice cream.
Favorite Halloween candy: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
Have you ever carved a pumpkin: Dozens.
Halloween costume your alter ego would choose: Elvis. Not the dead one.
1. With so many types of horror out there,
what does Jack Ketchum bring to the horror picnic table? What makes your potato
salad so unique?
It's
seasoned with the blood of sociopaths -- murderers, politicians, con men,
honor-killers, bankers, big-game hunters and the like.
2. You’ve described writing a book as a marriage and writing a screenplay
as having an affair. Since there are so many lousy adaptations of great horror novels
out there, what’s the
biggest key in turning the respectable woman you married into a wanton slut of
movie to ensure it keeps its authenticity and flavor?
It's all about being
true to the characters and themes of the original.
3. Okay, so I have this friend who insists
that the seeds for becoming a horror writer are planted as a child. Think it’s true? The Jack Daniels talking? Are there any vivid memories you recall that
might have warped you enough into becoming a master of horror?
It may have been the
Jack Daniels talking but sometimes in vino veritas. Sure, it all begins in
childhood. When you first become aware that the world's a scary place and that
in large part your business on earth is to avoid, defeat and brave all those
things that make it that way. My parents warped me. By indulging me and loving
me...and one another, not so much.
4. The paranormal. Tarot cards, Ouija
boards, haunted houses … ever had an encounter of the supernatural kind? We’d
like to hear because this is a night for ghost stories.
My encounters with the
supernatural are mostly pretty much catalogued in SHE WAKES.
Greece to me was scary-big, haunted as hell. But in a good way. Huge with
spirits and timelessness. But then so is the deep Maine woods. Wander them some night without a flashlight.
Find a clearing and lie down and watch the stars.
5. Greek mythology raises its contradictory
heads in SHE WAKES. Do you regularly indulge in reading esoteric material? Occasionally
bathe in it? Are there any non-fiction books that rocked your world that you
could share?
I read all over the
place, all kinds of stuff. Just recently finished James L. Swanson's MANHUNT, about the search for John
Wilkes Booth. The guy's a hell of a writer and if you think you knew a lot
about Lincoln's assassination, you didn't. Fascinating read...pounce!
6. Word has it that you’re the male
equivalent of a crazy cat lady. True? Not true? An internet rumor started by
you? Spill. How many kitties presently claim ownership of you and why the love
for the furry sociopaths who probably sleep on your head?
Guilty as charged. [Editorial Note: Ha! I knew it!] I
have five now, George and Gracie, Lily and Samantha (sisters), and Emma. Didn't
plan on five, believe me, it just sorta happened. Emma, for instance. When she
was a six-week-old kitten we found her hiding terrified in the median between
the north and southbound lanes on Broadway, of all places. How the hell she got
there is anybody's guess. Mine is that somebody just tossed into the bushes.
And yeah, there's occasionally one on my head at night. But more often they
prefer the extremities and interstices created therein -- crotch, armpit....
7. Since cats are among the world’s best stalkers, and since
stalking is this year’s theme,
are there any insights you’ve gleaned that would help us understand a stalker’s
psychological profile? Who is this “perfect” stalker that we should all fear
and what does that bastard really, really want? (Besides a nice baseball bat
across his knees.)
Who the hell knows what
these wackos really want. It probably varies, from a desire to be loved,
noticed, right down to some unconscious compulsion. The perfect stalker,
it would seem to me, is the one you never hear about, who never gets caught,
whose victim doesn't even know he's there. A shadow crossing your path.
And nobody the wiser for it.
8. Okay, so you’ve heard my friend’s theory, now one of mine. While
the perception for horror is that a dead body and lots of blood will satisfy
readers, I’ve always
maintained that readers of horror are some of the pickiest fans out there. It’s HARD to please them and a
difficult genre to succeed in. What does your magic eight ball say about that?
I've found that most of
my readers are, first and foremost, good readers, period. Which is very
gratifying. You can sit down and talk with them and the talk will range way,
way out of the bounds of "genre." Gore for gore's sake gets pretty
boring, don't you think? You can put up with it in a movie that runs an hour
and a half, but you live with a book for days, and those writers who have those
licks but not much else get as dull as dishwater. And most of them
fall by the wayside pretty quickly. You really need to dig into the human
experience to stick around as a writer.
9. What’s your take on Halloween? Do you get your werewolf on by
shapeshifting? Perform rituals? Or sleep through it? Is there one best memory
you have of this momentous holiday?
Here in New York there
are streets blocked off for Halloween so no cars can get through for two or
three blocks, and they're always packed with trick or treaters of all ages. So
it's a lot of fun to hit your neighborhood bar for a drink or two and then go
mingle.I like to wear my tux and a black half-mask, slick back my hair and
carry a very large, very lifelike rubber insect – a cockroach or a black ant --
behind my back. I pull it out and scare the hell out of folks. Kids love it.
The ones who really get scared are their mothers. My favorite Halloween,
though, was when I was in my late twenties and staying in Laguna Beach. Three
of us went out masked and costumed and handed out treats door to door. People
were very puzzled and often quite delighted by the reversal.
10. Since it’s Halloween, and since you own this day, the platform is yours.
Any upcoming projects you’d care to
tell us about? How about an All Hallows’ Eve thought that’ll scare
the crap out of us and ruin our sleep for the rest of our lives?
Come November Lucky
McKee and I will have a new novel out called THE SECRET LIFE OF SOULS. I've
also got a new collection of stories due from Cemetery Dance called
GORILLA IN MY ROOM, which should also be out in early
wintertime. A Halloween thought that will scare the crap out of you? Sure.
Donald Trump is the U.S. President and...well, fill in the blanks.
GIVEAWAY
Today’s
giveaway is TAILS
OF WONDER AND IMAGINATION,
the second autographed book that Mr. Ketchum has kindly donated to the noble
cause of Halloween! This is the last chance to snag an autographed copy for
your very own!!! Because this is a print copy, WINNERS ARE LIMITED TO THE U.S. and CANADA.
To win: go to the
Official FB Event Page; find the post announcing today’s giveaway; and
comment, “I WANT TO WIN” in that post and you just might!!!
We’ll also be drawing the rafflecopter winner of THE SECRET LIFE OF SOULS later tonight!!! All I can say is good luck to you all!!!!
TAILS OF WONDER AND IMAGINATION
Through
the Looking Glass (excerpt) - Lewis Carroll
No
Heaven Will Not Ever Heaven Be... - A. R. Morlan
The
Price - Neil Gaiman
Dark
Eyes, Faith, and Devotion - Charles de Lint
Not
Waving - Michael Marshall Smith
Catch
- Ray Vukcevich
The
Manticore Spell - Jeffrey Ford
Catskin
- Kelly Link
Mieze
Corrects an Incomplete Representation of Reality - Michaela Roessner
Guardians
- George R. R. Martin
Life
Regarded as a Jigsaw Puzzle of Highly Lustrous Cats - Michael Bishop
Gordon,
the Self-Made Cat - Peter S. Beagle
The
Jaguar Hunter - Lucius Shepard
Arthur's
Lion - Tanith Lee
Pride
- Mary A. Turzillo
The
Burglar Takes a Cat - Lawrence Block
The
White Cat - Joyce Carol Oates
Returns
- Jack Ketchum
Puss-Cat
- Reggie Oliver
Cat
in Glass - Nancy Etchemendy
Coyote
Peyote - Carole Nelson Douglas
The
Poet and the Inkmaker's Daughter - Elizabeth Hand
The
Night of the Tiger - Stephen King
Every
Angel is Terrifying - John Kessel
Candia
- Graham Joyce
Mbo
- Nicholas Royle
Bean
Bag Cats(R) - Edward Bryant
Antiquities
- John Crowley
The
Manticore's Tale - Catherynne M. Valente
In
Carnation - Nancy Springer
Old
Foss is the Name of His Cat - David Sandner
A
Safe Place to Be - Carol Emshwiller
Nine
Lives to Live - Sharyn McCrumb
Tiger
Kill - Kaaron Warren
Something
Better than Death - Lucy Sussex
Dominion
- Christine Lucas
Tiger
in the Snow - Daniel Wynn Barber
The
Dweller in High Places - Susanna Clarke
Healing
- Benjamin Dennis Danvers
The
Puma - Theodora Goss
AUTHOR BIO
(EDITORIAL NOTE: WTH? DO
I REALLY HAVE TO TELL YOU WHO JACK KETCHUM IS?!!!!)
Jack Ketchum has
published twelve novels and several short story collections. He has won
numerous Bram Stoker Awards, and four of his books were recently filmed as
movies: The Lost (2001), The Girl Next Door (2005), Red (2008) and Offspring
(2009). He lives in New York City.
Link to Amazon Author Page
Link to Amazon Author Page
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