20Q7A: An interview with Chris DiLeo

20 Questions, 7 Answers is an interview series for writers of genre fiction. Each author receives the same batch of 20 questions, but they may only answer 7.

Our latest guest is Chris DiLeo.

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What's your latest book, and how does it differ from your previous work?

My latest book is What Ever Happened to Jo Rose? It's about a young woman who looks after an aging actress, who may be part of a cabal of women hunting male sexual predators. It's different from my other work in a very distinct way: it's the first full length piece I've written from a woman's first person point of view. I'm very pleased with the results and I hope readers will be too.

Who or what is your favorite movie monster, and why?

Hannibal Lecter. I saw The Silence of the Lambs when I was eleven or twelve and I've never been the same. Lecter is such a wonderful monster because he's completely ruthless, intellectually brilliant, and totally civilized. I love that he has no qualms eating human flesh (and tearing off people's faces) and also finds discourtesy "unspeakably ugly." Society needs a Lecter or two.  

Are you most afraid of ghosts, aliens, or clowns, and why?

I'm tempted to say ghost aliens (or maybe ghost alien clowns!), but I'll go with ghosts. They're the most troubling. Can you imagine being a ghost? Don't you think it would drive you insane? And if you're the one encountering a ghost that's gone mad, how the hell are you supposed to deal with it?

Twilight Zone or Outer Limits?

Twilight Zone. When I was a kid, I frequently recited the opening monologue in my best Rod Serling voice. 

What happens when you die?

I love this question. You can't get it wrong! I find great comfort believing that when we die there's nothing else. No afterlife. No ghosts (insane or otherwise). Certainly no Heaven or Hell. We cease to exist and that's it. On the other hand, my imagination is always speaking up, Sure, okay, but what if . . . ? 

What's the most disgusting thing about the human body?

Well, if Jo Rose from my book is answering this question she might say, All the ways it can be debased and mutilated. She's got her reasons. 

What's your secret?

Not sure I have a secret, but when it comes to writing my guiding principle is keep going. The only person who can make me stop is me. I go to the page to have fun and learn something about human nature. Simply, I do it because I love it. Go forth and do it for love.

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Chris DiLeo is the author of numerous novels, an AuthorCon Gross-Out Champion, and a high school English teacher in New York. His work is visceral and emotional, engaging and thought-provoking. He has gathered praise from bestselling authors, including Michael Marshall and Michael Koryta.

"DiLeo is a remarkable writer, with a clear ability to evoke character, conjure dread — and to do whatever it is that drives the reader to keep turning the pages, one by one, and faster and faster." —Michael Marshall

"[DiLeo's work] does what the best supernatural fiction must—ground the terror in the human heart. Chris DiLeo delivers . . . with a skilled, steady hand. Follow him into the dark!" —Michael Koryta

Born to highly educated parents, DiLeo grew up in a house filled with books. His father loved horror and Halloween so much he had a coffin bookcase built to house his horror collection and out of which he would emerge to frighten trick-or-treaters. When DiLeo's father died, eleven-year-old DiLeo dared to read the books in his father's collection. Stephen King. Richard Matheson. Ray Bradbury. Dennis Etchison. Shirley Jackson. DiLeo fell in love.

He wrote his first novel at 19 and never looked back. He loves stories that force characters into extreme situations, those scenarios where there's no choice but to confront the monster. Horror stories for DiLeo are about finding courage and hope in the throes of a nightmare. His novels have been published by Bloodshot Books, Bleeding Edge Press, Journal Stone, and Grindhouse Press. His work has also appeared in Pseudopod, The No Sleep Podcast, and Nightmare Magazine.

He is active on social media. Connect with him @authordileo.

Thunderstorm! Decibel! Crazytimes!

Hi. How are things? I sincerely hope you’re all staying safe and healthy and sane. It’s a strange moment in time, to say the least.

I wanted to drop in here with some little updates, since - despite the somewhat apocalyptic feel of things out there - a number of interesting developments have happened in the last several weeks.

First of all, my book Triple Axe recently received the limited edition hardcover treatment from Thunderstorm Books. This is the first time one of my books has gotten a hardcover edition, and I couldn’t be happier with the result. The jacket art is by Erik Wilson, whose art I’ve admired for years. Sadly, this edition is sold out. Being part of Thunderstorm’s Black Voltage Private Reserve series, most of the 36 copies (talk about limited edition!) went out to series subscribers, and any leftover copies disappeared pretty much immediately. If you got one of these, consider yourself pretty lucky!

Next, I was asked to put together an extreme music playlist for the mighty Decibel magazine, for their regular feature, Tales From the Metalnomicon. I jumped at the chance, and in the process, realized my list was taking shape in '90s-centric form. So I leaned into that, and assembled a group of 9 songs from the '90s, including stuff from Carcass, Godflesh, Morbid Angel, and Skinny Puppy, among others, while Shawn Macomber from Decibel had some incredibly nice things to say about my fiction. You can check out the entire article and listen to the music here.

And finally, this past weekend, my next book, Crazytimes, was announced. Here’s the synopsis:

You wake up Monday morning and everyone is crazy. Everyone was already crazy, though, right? But somehow things are worse today. People are angry, throwing chairs out of office windows, eating rocks, violently scratching their necks, and running naked through the streets. They’re killing each other for no reason and laughing through the carnage. The whole city is like this. And meteors are falling from the hazy skies above. How are you going to survive? Do you even want to? This isn’t just another manic Monday. This is Crazytimes.

If that sounds like your kind of thing, the ebook is up for preorder now, and will be unleashed upon this crazy world through Grindhouse Press, alongside the paperback, on May 19. I’m excited for people to read it, and I hope you’ll consider picking up a copy.

20Q7A: An interview with A.S. Coomer

20 Questions, 7 Answers is an interview series for writers of genre fiction. Each author receives the same batch of 20 questions, but they may only answer 7.

This week's guest is A.S. Coomer.

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What's your latest book, and how does it differ from your previous work?

My most recent published book is The Devil’s Gospel (Wild Rose Press), a thriller set in the rolling hills of eastern Kentucky. This book delves into religious fanaticism and wayward parental expectations, which makes it somewhat similar to The Fetishists (Grindhouse Press) as they’re both subversive in nature. The Devil’s Gospel isn’t quite as extreme as The Fetishists is in its methods though.

I’ve got two new books coming out in the next two months. They’re both different from each other and from the things I’ve had published in the past. I’m deathly afraid of standing still. The Flock Unseen (Clare Songbirds Publishing House) is my first short story collection and these four stories are about the thin line separating hope and loss, a step away from horror & genre writing. My next novel, my fifth, is unlike anything I’ve written. Memorabilia (11:11 Press) is experimental and deals with meaning and meaninglessness and the act of creation. I focused intensely on the prose and the way it correlated with the protagonist’s corroding mental health.

Do you have any creative endeavors other than writing fiction (art, music, knitting)?

I do. I’m a musician as well as a writer. I write and play solo as A.S. Coomer and with my band The Coomers. The Coomers just released a six-song live EP Live at MotherBrain, which was recorded without overdubs in a barn in Evansville, Indiana on a rainy night last April. I also compose and record ambient instrumentals and tone pieces. I haven't released any of these just yet, but that day is coming. I’d like to get my foot in the door scoring films one of these days too.

I also make visual art when time permits. I like pen and ink drawing and oil painting.

Who or what is your favorite movie monster, and why?

Godzilla. Godzilla because Godzilla, though Vigo the Carpathian & Gozer the Gozerian are neck and neck for second place.

Do you listen to music when you write, and if so, what? Is it different than what you listen to when you're not writing?

I do listen to music when I write. The style of music depends on the project. Right now I’m working on something very dark and heavy so the music reflects this: lots of sludge and doom. For Memorabilia I listened to a lot of ambient and instrumental music: composers like William Basinski and bands like Hammock & Explosions in the Sky. The music I listen to when I write is not necessarily different from what I listen to when I'm not writing. I tend to gravitate to musics with less words when I write but this is not a hard and fast rule. I don't like rules for the most part.

If you could invent a new sport, what would it be like?

NASCAR but with hand and land grenades.

What was your greatest Halloween costume?

This year I got away with wearing a Batman onesie. The Coomers played a set at Flywheel Brewing in Elizabethtown, KY and it was probably the steamiest set we’ve played because of it.

What's your secret?

I have absolutely no clue what I’m doing in anything. Life is confusing and I’m out here just winging it. The more I look around the more I think I’m not the only one with this secret.

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A.S. Coomer is a writer, musician, and taco fanatic. A.S. was commissioned a Kentucky Colonel, the highest honor bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, for his literary and creative endeavors & contributions. Books include Shining the Light, The Fetishists, Misdeeds (forthcoming), Flirting with Disaster and Other Poems, The Devil's Gospel, The Flock Unseen (forthcoming), and Memorabilia. He runs Lost, Long Gone, Forgotten Records, a "record label" for poetry, and co-edits Cocklebur Press. He plays guitar and sings in The Coomers.