Computers, Zombies, and the Wonderful Wizard of Oz: An Interview with Mark Allan Gunnells

Fellow small press author and horror scribe Mark Allan Gunnells was kind enough to sit down with me for an exclusive interview for Sleepless Nights. Here, he describes his influences, his inspirations, and much more.

How long have you been writing?

I think I started writing at approximately age 10, little one page horror stories that were sort of Twilight Zone rip-offs, and also my attempt at a novel (which was probably 20 pages) about a child miillionaire that kept his riches under his mattress who was kidnapped. I modeled the character after Ricky Schroder of Silver Spoons fame. In Junior High I mostly fell into angsty, melodramatic, really bad poetry, until rediscovering my love of fiction in high school.

Can you remember what initially drew you towards the horror genre?

I'm not sure if I can pinpoint what exactly drew me to horror, but it was a love affair that started at a young age. I remember my mother agreeing after much begging to let me stay up and watch The Exorcist when it aired on TV. By the time Linda Blair was floating over the bed, I was hiding behind the sofa and my mother sent me to my room, but I was hooked from then on. I would walk down to the local theater to see every new Friday, Nightmare, and Halloween film. And as for reading, I always went for the dark tales, the spooky tales, the ones that made me want to sleep with the lights on. Maybe it was just that I found horror tales more exciting, perhaps I got a kick out the adrenaline rush of fear. I also think it's possible that I was drawn to the limitlessness of horror, how there were no rules and anything could happen. And my favorite horror has always been the ones that focus on suspense over gore, that sense of being on the edge of your seat just dying to know what's going to happen next. I guess I try to create a little of that in my own writing.

So you try to concentrate more on the psychological aspect of horror when it comes to penning your own works?

I like to think I try. Not that I'm above going for the gross-out from time to time. But I like horror that comes from character. Meaning villains that are 3-dimensional and complex, protagonists that you can relate to and who you become invested in. I've never been a fan of the kind of horror where you root for the killer to off a bunch of obnoxious unlikable characters. In my own work, I aim to put regular people in extraordinary situations and the fun comes from watching how they react. That isn't perhaps the most original approach, but it is what I enjoy.

You currently have 2 books out at the moment. What was your inspiration for them?

My zombie novella, Asylum, came from my love of the Romero films, the formula of the group of people all from different backgrounds with different views banding together, barricading themselves in to try to ride out the onslaught of the undead. As a gay man, I would sometimes watch them and think, "Where are all the gay people? How come we never survive anything?" So I wanted to write a zombie story set in a gay club, give the reader a cast of characters he or she may not be used to seeing in that kind of tale.

My other book collects two novellas. Whisonant was actually inspired by a trip to the graveyard near my house, wandering among the tombstones and I thought suddenly how creepy it would be to happen across the grave of someone who died the day I was born. An idea came to me, and I combined it with my love of college campus horrors. The other novella, Creatures of the Light is a creature feature and was actually inspired by something my partner said after we'd watched a couple of movies that dealt with creatures that could only come out at night. He said, "Why are there never any creatures that can only come out in the sunlight?" That gave me the germ of an idea.

Which authors are you most inspired by?

I am in awe of Lansdale. I admire how eclectic he is, crossing genres and subject matters. I also think he shows how artful simplicity can be. He can create fully realized characters and really make you see the locations of his story with real economy of words.

Neil Gaiman is another favorite of mine. There seems to be a touch of magic in everything he does.

It may seem cliche but I also really admire King. I think his character work is amazing, and despite all his fame and fortune, I still get the impression that he still writes because he just loves telling stories.

I could go on naming authors all night. There are a bunch of writers I've only recently discovered in the small press market--Michael McBride, Gene O'Neill, James Newman, Brian Knight--that are really impressing me.

Every writer has at least one or two dog-eared novels they've read countless times and can't get enough of, either because they find it helps inspire them, or they simply love the story and characters. What book(s) would you say falls under that category for you?

First one that comes to mind is Stephen King's Misery. I think it is a near perfect novel. A very tightly plotted thriller, two wonderful characters, but what I think really makes it stand out for me is the fact that it has a lot of very intelligent things to say about writing and why storytellers do what we do.

Another is Gaiman's Neverwhere, it's an absolutely delightful fantasy novel, sort of a post-modern Wizard of Oz where Dorothy figures out that Kansas sucks and she wants to be with all the freaks and magic.

Speaking of which, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is one I've reread as an adult and still find charming and engaging. .

What helps get you in the mood to write?

All I need is a good idea that gets me excited. Then I just want to sit down and tell that story.

Do you ever write longhand?

In the early days, I used to write longhand then type up my stories on a typewriter. Nowadays I really need to be at a computer. If I'm in a bind, somewhere without a computer and inspiration hits, I can write longhand, but my hand can't seem to keep up with my mind. Computers have spoiled me, I guess.

How many drafts do you usually write before deciding a manuscript is done?

It really varies. I have actually finished a story and submitted it as is without any changes at all, and even had a few accepted like that. Other times I tinker and tinker, changing this and that, retooling and polishing, before I'm satisfied. The story itself usually tells me when it's done, and if I don't listen to it, I can really mess things up.

What advice do you have for struggling genre writers desperate to get their names and their work out there?

My advice is simply to have fun. When you sit down to write, don't get bogged down by worrying about market trends and what publishers might say. That kind of thing locks you up and leads to dry, flat prose. You have to enjoy what you're doing, there has to be joy and passion in your writing. So I always say write to entertain yourself or else you won't be entertaining anyone else. .

Scroll down to check out Mark doing a brief reading of his latest book and don't forget to pick up your copy of Asylum, now available on Amazon.com, and Whisonant/Creatures of the Light, available from Sideshow Press. Thanks again to Mark for taking the time to sit down for an interview!