Yes, this is a new series of posts and yes, I started in the middle and will be going back to post more of these posts on some of my favorite episodes.
Please indulge me as I have been remiss in updating my personal blog, as I have been swamped with the Uncomfortably Dark website and other duties.
However, this one was pretty special to me as were several others that I will talk about as I continue to post these. Being a part of this podcast has allowed me to interview people that I never would have dreamed of being able to speak to, let alone form friendships with, for that alone, I'm eternally grateful for this show.
Long ago, before I ever wrote a novel or a short story, I was reading horror, consuming it by the boatload and sometime in the early 2000s, I discovered Blake Crouch, Scott Nicholson, Jack Ketchum, Richard Laymon, Ronald Malfi, Jeff Strand, and soon after, Kristopher Rufty. I was hooked on all these authors, read their every word, but something stood out about how Kristopher wrote, his voice, the rawness of his stories, the emotion in them. I became a devout fan and reader. I found myself reading his stories, over and over again.
Flash forward to 2021, and I am suddenly standing in front of him, about to do my first Splatterpunk panel to speak about being an author and creating an anthology titled THE BAKER’S DOZEN, that was currently up for a Splatterpunk award, which I did ultimately win.
But there I am, nervous, shaking, terrified, and sitting in a room that contained not one but two of my favorite long-time horror legends, Rufty and Strand, as well as an utter who’s who of horror authors in the industry, and me. Terrified does not begin to describe how I felt.
As the panel started, Kristopher recognized how nervous I was and kept being kind and encouraging during the entire thing, helping to keep me calm and focused. I am not sure if he ever realized how much that simple gesture meant to me and how much he helped me get through my first public speaking event, ever. Somehow, I managed to speak coherent words that made sense, and the panel generally went well.
Afterwards, I was able to officially meet him and had some books signed, all while I stood there like a lunatic, near tears and overwhelmed. Flash forward again and a year later, we had become friends. He had become one of my biggest mentors, an inspiration, and a huge source of advice and sanity for me as my own career took off.
This week, I was able to interview my friend on his incredible career in horror. We discussed his early radio show, his screenwriting, his movies, and his writing career. He shared advice and experiences. He talked about some of my favorite novels and where those characters came from, how those ideas evolved and what he has planned for 2024. I am beyond excited about what he has in store, and I hope you are, too.
Please check out the episode at the link below:
Check out his work here:
And order signed copies here:
Read more on Kristopher here in this article I wrote about some his work:
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