Saturday, April 30, 2016

Author Interview: J. G. Clay, Author of Tales of Blood and Sulphur

Born in the leafy peaceful surroundings of Leamington Spa, J.G Clay is the Midlands Master of The Macabre. Now in his early forties and residing in the leafier English county of Northamptonshire, Clay’s boyhood dream of bringing his unique combination of cosmic horror, dark fiction and science fiction to the masses is being realised. With the first volume of The Tales of Blood And Sulphur under his belt, he is poised to unleash Gods, Monsters and weird events upon the world. Under Clay’s guidance, the Dark will become a little darker and Horror will go One Step Beyond.

When he is not destroying worlds, J.G likes to spend time with his family and friends, exploring the world of bass guitar, adding to his eclectic collection of music and watching as much geek TV and film as his eyes and brain will allow. He is an avid reader and a long suffering but ultimately optimistic fan of Birmingham City FC.

He hates cucumber, extremists of all stripes and colours, and reality TV shows.

Tales of Blood and Sulphur   
   Eleven Tales steeped in Blood and reeking of Sulphur.

   J.G Clay takes you on a journey through the voids of Reality and into dark places where demons, mutants and inter-dimensional creatures taunt, taint and corrupt Humanity. Survival is not guaranteed, sanity is not assured and death lurks in every corner. These are the Tales of Blood and Sulphur: Apocalypse Minor; eleven twisted tales of terror and mayhem……
   There are cracks in the skin of Reality. Some are microscopic, others are as wide as a four-lane motorway. As the fault lines increase and widen, the door to our world shines like a beacon in the darkness, a warm and inviting sight to others beyond our understanding. When They cross over into our realm, The Tales begin......
   A gambler taking one last desperate throw of the dice. A struggling writer making an unholy alliance. An eternal being fighting to stay alive in the financial capital of India. A man burdened with a terrible town secret. The Law Enforcers who must never cry. The End of Days live and direct from the rural heartland of England.
   The blood is warm, the sulphur is burning, the tales will be told, the Apocalypse Minor is imminent!

Who are your influences?
The usual horror suspects; King, Barker, Herbert, Ramsey Campell, Graham Masterton. I’ve recently discovered Ray Garton and Kealan-Patrick Burke so we can add them onto the list. Outside of the printed word, John Carpenter’s films have had a massive effect on over the years, as has the British sci-fi comic 2000A.D.

When did you begin writing?
Professionally, I’d say about two years. I’ve written for my own amusement since I was about 13 years old. Needless to say, the early stuff wasn’t that good.

How do you come up with your stories, characters, character names, POV, etc?
Everything I write stems from one solitary question – ‘what if....’ The plot and characters could be inspired by other works I’ve read, songs I’ve heard and people I’ve met. It’s a difficult process to describe. It’s a process that kind of happens of its own accord.
 
Do you work from an outline?
A very rough one. I’ll make a rough arrow diagram just outlining the direction I want the story to takes. I also outline the characters. I’ve found that detailed plotting and planning makes my job more difficult.

Tell me about your favorite scene in your novel.
My favourite has to be the moment The Smiling Men reveal themselves in the story The World Stops When the Smiling Men Cry. They are cybernetically enhanced police men in a dystopian version of England. The Smiling Men are meant to look reassuring with their permanent smiles but they actually look quite sinister. As I wrote the scene, I could see it play out in my head like a movie.

Can you tell us a little about your writing philosophy?
My philosophy is to tell a story without fear or favour. I’m not here to cosset the reader or to tiptoe around sensibilities. I have tales to tell and tell them I will to the best of my ability and with honesty.

Have you ever tried writing in any other genres?
Not yet. Horror is, and always will be my passion. Maybe one day in the future, I’ll give science fiction or crime a go. But until then, I’m all about the terror.

J.G. Clay can be found at his website: www.jgclayhorror.com, on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jgclay1973, and on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JGClay1

Tales of Blood and Sulphur is available from: Kindle US : http://amzn.to/1TX8Jhu, Paperback US: http://amzn.to/1CZpm7F, Kindle UK: http://amzn.to/1RYqLlM, Paperback UK: http://amzn.to/1KoFNKP, Nook (Barnes & Noble): http://bit.ly/1CUUYMd, and Apple iBooks


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