Please welcome Dylan Morgan.
In Blood War you
create an epic confrontation between vampires, werewolves and a hybrid
species. Was it more daunting to create
a new creature or add your own spin to the classic archetypes?
It was definitely more daunting to add my own spin to
classic archetypes. Vampires and werewolves have been around, in folklore and
legend, fiction and film, for such a long time, and the stories have all been
told and retold countless times, so finding something fresh to excite me the
writer in the hope of exciting the reader was certainly a challenge. There are
a number of plots running through the novel, stemming from all three species,
so this was a good way to keep the writing fresh and detailed—there was always
something happening to advance the story.
In addition, I wanted this book to have an international
feel to it, so there are a lot of different locations and settings throughout
the novel. Most of the book is set in Europe, in cities that I’ve visited and
others I would like to visit, so this was a productive way for me to keep the
writing exciting and the characters fresh and enthralling.
My werewolves do not look like wolves—they’re bipedal,
monstrous creatures. My vampires do not sparkle—they’re nimble, devious beings.
A combination of both of these species was a joy to write, and not daunting at
all. Of course, the hybrids were blessed with a combination of both werewolf
and vampire strengths, but they inherit their weaknesses too.
How did the character
Steele from October Rain come into existence?
The entire story for October Rain came from a dream, which
is the only time a dream of mine has so far influenced something I’ve written.
The dream involved one of Saturn’s moons colliding with the planet. My daughter
was on Saturn and I was trying to rescue her. Dreams truly are bizarre
sometimes, but it formed the idea for a story set in space with an unbreakable
connection between the protagonist and his daughter. This is where the basis
for Steele came from, me trying to rescue my daughter, and these family ties
play out in the novella. The story was moved from Saturn to Mars for
convenience purposes and, to breathe more life into the character, Steele
became a determined, ruthless bounty hunter—but with a soft side close to the
surface, which comes tragically to the fore as the story progresses.
October Rain and
Blood War involve incredibly realized and created worlds. What techniques do you use to when crafting
these worlds?
A lot of good fiction has its basis planted firmly in fact,
and this is what I tried to establish in these two books, particularly with
Blood War. It’s vital that the factual information of a story is correct or
else it just won’t seem believable to the reader, particularly if that person
has been to that place.
Of course, October Rain is based on Mars and while nobody
has been there I’m sure everyone knows what the planet looks like. Researching
the planet, the way it fits with the other celestial beings in the solar system
was an important thing for me to do, in order for myself to feel connected with
the story. For the non-factual information in the novella, like the city of
Olympia for example, I designed a blueprint of the city layout so that it
became easy for me to put myself on its streets to watch the action unfold.
Fact was even more vitally important in Blood War, as the
locations used are familiar to a lot of people. The story unfolds in major
European cities like London and Rome, in countries like France, Ukraine and
Poland, so the factual information about the streets and landmarks had to be
correct. I have been fortunate to have traveled to many of the places in the
book so firsthand experience helped me greatly. With the factual information
giving me a genuine feel for the story, it was then easy for the story itself
to develop and unfold in my mind almost like a movie playing before me, which
is an equally important tool for the writer. If I believe I am in the story,
experiencing it, then the likelihood is that the reader with feel the same way.
Your novel Hosts
revolves around an archaeological dig.
Where did this idea stem from?
It stemmed from having a need for a plot device that worked.
The original idea for Hosts had the infection coming initially from food
consumed by patrons in Faulkner Lodge (the name of the hotel in the book), but
then that led me back to the question of ‘How did the food become contaminated
in the first place?’ A few days or weeks of mulling over the idea brought me to
the conclusion that I could use an archeological dig that unearths the remains
of a mummified body which has kept the infection frozen in a cryogenic state
for hundreds of years. The mummy thaws and the infection is unleashed upon the
town of Snow Peak, a much more plausible and exciting plot device than
contaminated food.
In Hosts you use the
classic set-up of an isolated group and a threat that is kept to the
shadows. What do you like most about
this set up?
The futility of the situation is the best part of the set-up.
The two main characters, Sheriff Richard Wade and Doctor Lauren Kemper are
brought together to fight for their lives and the lives of those in the town
against an overwhelming and seemingly unstoppable entity. They’re isolated by a
severe snowstorm . . . throw in the character Malcolm MacDonald—who is possibly
the most hated villain character I’ve created—and the scenario for true horror
arises. As mentioned, it is a classic set-up, and one done numerous times in
the past in horror books and movies, but it’s one that always works.
Aside from your
novels you have a handful of short stories published. How is your process for crafting short
fiction different from full length novels?
The writing process is not much different for me, it’s still
the same: I get an idea which develops and grows characters and a plot before
reaching a conclusion. The main difference is not worrying too much about
sub-plots for a short story, whereas sub-plots are quite important to drive a
novel forward. The main plot almost always isn’t enough to keep a reader
interested. The cast of characters is usually much smaller for a short story,
too, so there are fewer egos to keep under control.
I used to be reasonably prolific at writing short stories,
most of my short fiction was written at the beginning of my journey of learning
this craft. I don’t write much short fiction these days, but I do tend to treat
every chapter of my novels as a short story—they need to start with conflict,
something to grab the reader and pull them further into the book; they need to
have a defined purpose; and if possible they need to end in such a way as to
leave the reader wanting more.
Getting the reader to turn the page from chapter X to
chapter Y and through to chapter Z is often the hardest task a writer has.
Your work seems to
revolve around incredibly dark material.
What was the first book you remember being genuinely scared of? Was your immediate reaction to run out and
find more, or lock the offending text in your closet and never breathe a word
of it to anyone?
Running out and finding more was my reaction. I’d never
consider locking fiction away, any kind of fiction from whatever genre deserves
its place and deserves to be read. My earliest memories of wanting to be a
writer are from my very early teenage years, but the first book that made an
impact on me came in my early twenties: a collection of three novels by Stephen
King. The book contained The Shining, Misery, and Salem’s Lot, and while those
stories didn’t scare me they made a huge impact on me as a writer and set my
mind straight about what excited me as a reader and where I should be heading
as a writer. (I read Misery in 6th
grade and remember thinking nothing could be more intense. I am also a huge fan of The Shining, both the
novel and Kubrick’s) I’ll read anything, but nothing stirs the writer in me more
than horror.
In saying that, I don’t think I have ever been genuinely
scared from anything I’ve read. I’ve been grossed out a few times, have had a
story leave an impact on me, but fear has never really manifested itself in me
while reading. But you’re right; my work does lean heavily on the dark side,
the pained side of life. Hollywood endings are few and far between in my
stories.
What active genre
authors are you currently following?
Dean Koontz has always been a favorite author of mine. I
love the unique way he draws me into the world he creates, every time, in every
story. I still read his novels now with as much desire as I did his earlier
works. From the “small press” world, Kealan Patrick Burke is a writer who
impresses me greatly. He has such descriptive prose it’s very easy to get lost
in the colorful, and often violent, worlds he creates.
Do you have anything
new coming down the pipeline you would like to share with us?
At the moment there is nothing “new”-new to speak of,
unfortunately, but I do have two full-length manuscripts sitting in slush piles
waiting for a chance at life. I am currently almost 40,000 words into a new
novel which is a futuristic piece with heavy splashes of Sci-Fi and Horror, and
there are three other ideas that are spawning and growing in my warped mind,
ready to develop into full-fledged stories.
There are some new re-releases to watch out for, though,
with my debut novel Hosts finally being available on the Kindle platform. My
novella, October Rain, is set to be re-released in Kindle format by Hazardous
Press (www.hazardouspress.com)
with new cover art and a few minor edits.
Hopefully, there’ll be plenty to read from me in the
not-too-distant future.
We look forward to it.
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