ash.reads.horror | Author Interview: Annie Neugebauer

Author Interview: Annie Neugebauer

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Author Interview: Brian McAuley

Hi everyone and welcome back to another author interview! This week I'm joined by the Hash Slinger Slasher... the AMAZING Brian McAuley. McAuley is a super talented author who loves exploring horror through slashers.

1. I always like to use my first question as a chance for you to introduce yourself! Tell us as little or as much as you want.

   Oh hello! Brian McAuley here. I'm a USA Today Bestselling author of horror novels and a WGA screenwriter who has written everything from Lifetime movies to sitcom reboots. Born and raised in the Garden State, but now slowly melting in the Arizona desert, where I'm a screenwriting professor at ASU.

2. You're the author of several books, i.e Curse Of The Reaper and Breathe In, Bleed Out, and I love that all your books are slashers in their own unique way. What keeps drawing you back to the slasher genre?

   There's something about the structure and tropes of a slasher that just feels like a warm blanket to me. As a writer, I have a lot of fun crafting those elaborate death set pieces where you know a character is about to die, but you're not quite sure how it's going to unfold.

3. To follow up question two, are there any other subgenres of horror that you want to dabble in one day? Or does the slasher genre forever hold your heart?

   So far, I've been most interested in exploring different subgenres through a slasher lens. CURSE OF THE REAPER is rooted in psychological horror, CANDY CAIN KILLS and its sequel are religious horror, BREATHE IN, BLEED OUT dips a toe into cults and folk legends, and my upcoming book FAIRLY BAD WAYS TO DIE plays with the fantasy genre by virtue of being set at a Renaissance Faire.

4. Out of all your books, do you have a favorite? What about one that was harder to write?

   CURSE OF THE REAPER was the hardest to write because it was my first attempt at writing a novel, ever. For that same reason, it remains my favorite. I lived with those characters for years in screenplay form before I adapted the story into a book, so I'll always be grateful to Howard Browning for helping me expand my artistic horizons.

5. I saw your most recent announcement about your newest work, Fairly Bad Ways to Die, which is a slasher involving a plague doctor at a renaissance festival. Care to tell us a little more about it?

   This book focuses on a band of college students who have been performing at their local Renaissance Faire for years, waiting for their big break. Unfortunately, that opportunity arrives the same year as a mysterious killer who's dispatching patrons with medieval brutality. It was incredibly fun to write because of the world building and large cast of colorful characters.

6. Are you working on/plotting anything else at the moment?

   I'm presently doing a final polish on what I hope will be my first YA horror novel. You'll be shocked to hear that it's a slasher, but I can't say anything more at the moment, so stay tuned!

7. Any favorite horror reads from this year?

   Speaking of slashers, I loved FATALLY YOURS by Jessica Lacy. On the non-slasher front, BAT EATER AND OTHER NAMES FOR CORA ZENG by Kylie Lee Baker blew me away.

8. Do you have any writing rituals or routines that help you get in the writing headspace?

   I'm primarily a morning writer, so a big pot of black coffee is absolutely necessary. If I've still got energy after my teaching day, I'll bring my laptop to my favorite local brewery, pop a movie soundtrack playlist into my ears, and have an IPA-fueled writing session in the evening.

Thank you again, Brian, for your amazing answers and time!