I’ve always
been fascinated with horror movies and the paranormal. As a child, I tortured
my Barbie dolls and loved going to video stores to look at the covers of horror
movies, hoping that I would be able to see them one day. Writing horror was a
natural progression.
Tortured Barbie dolls? How could you? LOL. How did you come up with
the title for A Good Man?
A Good Man is about
an altruistic vampire - a vegetarian who feeds the homeless, takes care of
animals and is concerned with the ecological future of the planet. He is a good
man, but if he doesn't feed on the blood of humans, he'll be paralyzed for
eternity.
Talk about conflict! Is there a message in A Good Man
that you want readers to grasp?
A Good Man makes
the reader wonder about his or her own behavior and interactions with people.
We all have good motivations to behave the way we do, but they don't always
justify negative results.
It must put your vampire in a bit of a dilemma because he needs to feed which obviously hurts another person. Did you write A Good Man entirely
with paper and pen or is it all on the computer?
I almost never
write with paper and pen. I only use it when I’m stuck for ideas as switching
from computer to paper and pen helps to order my thoughts. A friend of mine,
Daph Nobody, does exactly the opposite. He writes his entire novels in a
notebook and only uses his computer to transfer his text once the book is
finished.
What is the most productive time of the
day for you to write?
The most
productive time to write is the evening. Nighttime stimulates the right
hemisphere, while daytime is for tasks that require the activation of the left
hemisphere, such as editing and rewriting.
Hey, looks like we're similar. I get creative after everyone goes to bed. I'm really excited for you! It looks like A Good Man has been
picked up to become a French film. How did that happen?
In 2010, my
short story The Strangers Outside was brought to the screen. The main
actor in that film, Pierre Lekeux, is also a producer. He loved what I had done
with The Strangers Outside and he asked if I’d agree to write their next
feature film. He wanted to jump onto the wagon of the current vampire-craze and
he thought that I was the ideal person to bring this project to life. The movie
will be shot later this year - starting in September - and will be released as Un
homme bien.
Some people feel that when their
screenplay/book is made into a film, they don’t do a good job bringing the work
to life, Stephen King for example. Are you nervous or excited to see your work
on the big screen?
The problem is
that the filmmaker's view on what the movie should look like doesn’t usually
correspond with the author’s view. That doesn't mean that the filmmaker is
doing a bad job. The film adaptation of The Strangers Outside doesn't
resemble my short story either. The director made a slasher movie out of it
whereas my story was serious horror with a philosophical twist.
I do like psycho thrillers, but I suppose it is hard to get the philosophical twist into action. I have read some places that you are the
female Stephen King. Do you feel that is a fair comparison? And are you a
Stephen King fan?
That quote
shows up in almost every article about my books and screenplays. It intrigues
people and it helps to sell books, so I don't complain. Old-school Stephen King
stories are still my favorites: Salem’s Lot... Christine... It...
Sound good to me! What were you in a former life?
A cat,
naturally. I love cats, I have almost all the characteristics of a cat and most
days I wish I could be a cat.
It's no wonder that your Good Man has a cat then. If you could have any supernatural
power, what would it be?
I’d like to
have all of them: being invisible, reading people’s minds, talking with the
dead… But I can only choose one, right? Then it’ll be talking with animals. I
have a very special relationship with the animals in my life and I know that
there’s so much more to them then what I currently know. Oh, and I’d like to be
able to cure people and animals miraculously. Who wouldn’t?
You're cheating and trying for two. But since we're fantasizing, why not have it all? Actually I don't think I'd want to read minds, then I'd know what people were really thinking about me! Which books are on your bedside table
right now?
Kelly Creagh's
Nevermore... I really loved the beginning of this book, but the ending is
dragging a bit...
And lots of
books my boyfriend got me as a present lately, such as Joe Hill's Horns and
20th Century Ghosts...
Miss
Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children...
And the first
two books in the Chi's Sweet Home series...

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(http://www.facebook.com/ pages/Vanessa-Morgan/ 50159391888) or Twitter
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Yay for vegetarian vampires! Sounds like a great read, and I love the cover!
ReplyDeleteHi Vanessa. Very interesting interview. I love horror films, too! And congratulations - Un homme bien. Book to movie; it must be exciting :D
ReplyDeleteRachelle, great interview as always :D