I am honored and excited to share with you all my good friend and very talented writer, Dean Harrison's first novel, "These Unquiet Bones." The dark and creepy story is bound to make you all shiver with the heebeegeebees.
I recently spoke with Dean and conducted an interview where he talks about his writing process, influences and he dishes on his great book.
I want to personally congratulate Dean and I am damn proud of him. Enjoy the interview and make sure you check out the links and pick up "These Unquiet Bones".
Tell the reader's a little about
yourself?
I’ve been a fan of horror fiction
since I was a little boy. Stories about monsters and ghosts have
always fascinated me. I have four short stories and one novella
published. More is on the way. My first novel is These Unquiet Bones.
It was released on Monday, January 28.
What got you into writing?
My mother always said I was a good
writer, even as a little kid when most of my writing was done in
letters to relatives and cards. However, I always had a love for
scary stories, and I read all the spooky fiction I could get my hands
on. I also used to make up stories in my head to help me fall asleep
at night. Those stories sometimes resulted in some pretty frightening
nightmares. It wasn’t until my teenager years—when I discovered
such writers as Douglas Clegg and Robert McCammon—that I decided to
actually try my hand at fiction writing.
What are some of your favorite books
and authors?
Reading Douglas Clegg’s The Halloween
Man was what inspired my first attempt at novel writing. Halloween
Man is still one of my favorites. It’s difficult to pinpoint my
favorite Robert McCammon novel because they’re all so damn good.
But Usher’s Passing, The Wolf’s Hour, Boy’s Life, and Gone
South definitely rank among the top.
Two of the writers who had a direct
influence on These Unquiet Bones, however, are actually Thomas Hardy
and William Faulkner. My favorite novels by Thomas Hardy are Tess of
the d’Urbervilles and The Mayor of Casterbridge. By William
Faulkner, Sanctuary, As I Lay Dying, A Light in August and The Sound
and the Fury. During the time I was writing These Unquiet Bones, I
was also reading a lot of John Farris (Son of the Endless Night), Tom
Piccirilli (Choir of Ill Children), and Stephen King (Carrie). So
inspiration came from there as well.
Recently I’ve been reading a lot of
T.M. Wright and H.P. Lovecraft. T.M. was actually kind enough to
write a blurb for my novel. My favorite works of his (so far) are
Carlisle Street, A Manhattan Ghost Story, and Strange Seed. Whoever
has yet to read his stuff, I highly recommend you start there. T.M.
Wright is the master of quiet horror, in my humble opinion.
How would you describe your writing
style?
Literary and poetic at times, visceral
and blunt at others. I try for a healthy mix between the two. Though
lately I’ve been leaning more towards the subtlety and creepiness
of quiet horror.
Tell the readers about your first
novel?
It is not just a horror novel. It has
elements of psychological suspense and drama as well. I like to
consider it a Southern Gothic.
In the novel, trying to get behind the
truth of her mother's death, Amy Snow unleashes the skeletons lurking
in the dark of her father's closet, and learns a terrible, twisted
truth about her family tree. Meanwhile, a man named Adam is on a
mission to restore Paradise to its former glory. To accomplish this,
he must find "The Lost One", a girl he calls Eve, and
sacrifice her to the god she betrayed the day a talking serpent
slithered into the Garden of Eden.
T.M. Wright had the following to say
about These Unquiet Bones: [it] “takes the reader on a unique and
well-crafted roller coaster ride of horror and suspense. You won't be
able to put this one down until you've finished it. His characters
are as creepy as any I have read in a long time. Keep your eye on
this writer; this book is unforgettable.”
Where did the idea for you story come
from?
Honestly, I’m not really sure. The
themes and characters have been with me since I started writing
seriously, though a stable plot and storyline took longer to come by.
I guess I would say that the idea came through stories I’ve read,
people I’ve met, and things I’ve dreamed, witnessed or
experienced. Ideas mostly come through living. Unless you’re Emily
Dickinson, if you don’t get out of the house often enough then you
probably don’t have much to say about the world around you.
Describe your process and any stumbling
blocks, how long did it take you to complete the book?
Writing the book, I went through many
drafts, plot summaries, character outlines and edits that it was
enough to drive a man insane. But hey, that is the writing process.
And I experienced many stumbling blocks caused by plot holes and
character issues. It took me three years to complete. A long time,
yes, but I was distracted by school, work and other writing projects.
While I wasn’t working on my novel, I’d like to say I was still
productive. But I never liked being away from it for too long. I was
actually worried that it would never be finished.
Thankfully, I pushed myself hard
enough, persisted, and made it to the final page. I also couldn’t
have done it without a little help from my friends and family.
Writers truly need a support group, or else the fear of failure
and/or rejection will drag them so far under that they just might not
make it to the next paragraph, let alone the next page.
What are you planning for the future?
I have two novellas in the works, but
I’m taking them one at a time. The one I’m currently working on
contains elements of Celtic mythology and vampire lore. And though I
prefer the freedom provided by the length of novels and novellas, I
do have some short story ideas tucked away for a rainy day.
How can the readers buy your new novel
and find out more about you?
They can order my book on Amazon at:
Or visit my website and Facebook author
page. Links are below:
Dean's official Bio:
Dean
Harrison is a longtime fan of horror fiction. Though he’s spent
time in the “real world” working as a shoe sales- man, a security
guard, an investigator, a loss prevention detective and a journalist,
he’s consistently returned to what he loves doing most— writing
horror stories. His published work can be found in the anthologies
FEM- FANGS, FELL BEASTS, RELICS & REMAINS, CHRISTMAS IN HELL and
TWISTED TALES FROM THE TORCHLIGHT INN. More is to come. He lives with
his family in his hometown of Mobile, Alabama, a city rich in ghost
stories.
