Post by angelac on Apr 1, 2015 9:09:31 GMT -6
Glenn Rolfe is an author, singer, songwriter and all around fun loving guy from the haunted woods of New England. He has studied Creative Writing at Southern New Hampshire University, and continues his education in the world of horror by devouring the novels of Stephen King and Richard Laymon. He and his wife, Meghan, have three children, Ruby, Ramona, and Axl. He is grateful to be loved despite his weirdness.
He is the author the ghost/mystery/thriller novella, ABRAM'S BRIDGE (Samhain Publishing, Jan. 2015) and his latest novella, a Horror/Sci-Fi mash-up, BOOM TOWN (Samhain Publishing). A full-length novel, BLOOD AND RAIN, will come out this Fall from Samhain Publishing and THINGS WE FEAR, a novella, is set to publish from Samhain in 2016.
His debut novel, THE HAUNTED HALLS (James Ward Kirk Publishing, 2014), is available now, as well as his short story collection, SLUSH (Alien Agenda Publishing, 2014).
I was introduced to Glenn Rolfe by the fabulous Erin from Oh, for the HOOK of a Book! When she asked me to review Glenn's short story collection Slush. I was hooked! You can find my review of this awesome collection Here.
I was lucky enough to be able to interview Glenn for the upcoming Hook of a Book blog tourfor Boom Town, a great little novella that proved to me that Glenn is a writer that knows his stuff.
Now join me for a cup of coffee as we get to know this fascinating writer,,,,,
1. Tell me a little about yourself.
My name is Glenn. I’m a fun loving goofball. I love Horror books. I love comedy movies. I love Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, and Guns N’ Roses. I have three kids (Ruby, 8-Ramona, 5- and Axl, 2) and an amazing wife. I love them so much. They make me old and keep me young at the same time.
2. What do you like to do when you’re not writing? Hobbies?
I love hanging with my wife and our three children. They keep me pretty busy when I’m not at work or writing. I also play in a punk rock band. Everyone should check out The Never Nudes (we’re outta Portland, Maine)
3. You recently got to meet one of my childhood hero's William Katt, star of the show The Greatest American Hero. Can you tell me what that was like?
Yeah, at the Horror Hound Weekend (which was a blast!) I got to meet William Katt. I was completely STAR STRUCK! I couldn’t talk. I got up for my turn with him and everything just collided in my mind. All the stories and questions. He stood up and came around the table, grabbed me by the arms and shook me. He said, “just spit it out”. I managed to tell him that he was my hero and that I used to sing the theme song for hours. Oh, and that my mom made me a doll of him. Pretty awesome. We talked briefly about my favorite episode, The Beast in the Black. He talked about how that was one of his favorites and that the network got a lot of complaints from parents that the episode scared their kids. Since it was a show with a large kid fan base, the network told them not to do any more episodes like that. I remember it scared the hell out of me, but I’d watch that episode every time it was on. I got the series on DVD and that was the second episode I watched (I had to watch the pilot again!) My mom got a huge kick out of this picture. She was so happy for me.
4.How long have you been writing?
I started writing Horror in 2011. I’ve always been the main songwriter in the bands I’ve played in, so there is a little storytelling involved in crafting good lyrics.
5. Who or what inspired you to be a writer?
Leisure Books Horror Club! I loved King and Rice first, but all of those Leisure Book titles were so fun. The stories and styles were different from one another, but they were held together by one commonality–quality. They were so consistently good. Authors like Brian Keene and Richard Laymon were so good each time out. It was very inspiring. When Leisure died in the Dorchester Publishing mess, we (the readers) were left with a void. I decided that writing my own stories might help me put something in that place.
6. What do you find most challenging and enjoyable as an author?
The biggest challenge is finding the time in the day to write. I have so many things I’d love to tackle, but not enough time to get to them all. Marketing is also a steep climb. That’s one I’m really trying to figure out. I have a feeling that these stories would be liked by Horror Lit fans like me, but how do I get MY work in front of them? It takes patience, perseverance, and a strong network of author and reader friends.
I enjoy creating characters. I like putting them into this world that is swirling somewhere in my head and watching (and recording) what happens to them. I’m always in awe when I really get into something that came from my own head. I feel so lucky and privileged to be able to tap into that crazy place that stories come from. It takes work and commitment. You have to keep going after it, but the more you do it, and the ore advice you listen to from the people who have done it before you, the more you learn, and hopefully, the better writer you become.
7. What do you enjoy in your free time?
I increased my reading quite a bit last year. You can learn so much just from doing that. You see the way authors lay things out and some things that inspire you to be better than you are. You also see the things you don’t like and that you don’t want to do.
8. Who is your favorite author/book and why?
Stephen King, ‘Salem’s Lot. The characters and King’s magical ability to tell a story. Every one of his characters seems real. ‘Salem’s Lot feel like a true story to me. I try to re-read it every couple of years. It is still as amazing as the first time. It is the best.
9. Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Read, read, read, write, write, and read some more. And if you want to have a wide and accurate array of stories, don’t be afraid to read outside of your genre. Don’t put chains on your creative voice. Some people only want to do Horror, or Romance, or Fantasy…and that’s fine. Me, I base all of my stuff in Horror, but I’m not afraid to let the characters and the story take me elsewhere. Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Write fearless.
10. Can you tell us about any of your new work?
Boom Town is my first dip into the Horror/Sci-Fi world. I’ve always loved when Horror and Sci-Fi crash into each other. Usually, for me it’s movies and TV. I haven’t read much outside of a couple of Whitley Streiber novels, but movies like Predator, Alien, Fire in the Sky, and more recently, The 4th Kind, really stir up something inside of me. I mean, we can’t be the only ones in the universe. There’s no telling what aliens are going to be like. Are they cute and friendly like E.T.? Or are they up to no good like the ones we see in Signs? Boom Town is my first adventure into the alien world. It’s a bit of a First love-type story, mixed with Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I can’t wait to hear what people think.
After Boom Town, my next two pieces with Samhain are my werewolf novel, Blood and Rain (fall, 2015) and my next novella, Things We Fear. Things We Fear hasn’t gotten a release date yet. I’m guessing beginning of 2016. I love both of these pieces. My take on werewolves kind of follows the way I look at ‘Salem’s Lot. It’s more about the characters and the story rather than the monster, yet the monster is still scary as hell. I’m super proud of it. Things We Fear is a story about four main characters and their fears. It’s a look at how these characters each deal with these as their worlds collide into one another. It started off about my fear of drowning and grew into its own journey.
11. What question do you wish someone would ask and what is the answer?
What’s your favorite thing about great Horror stories: My answer is heart. You have to feel more than fear for a story to resonate. At least, I do.
12. Where can your fans find you? Website? Facebook? Twitter?
Glennrolfe.com(wordpress/website)
Facebook:
Glenn Rolfe
Glenn Rolfe Horror
The Never Nudes
@grolfehorror (Tweetersville)
Thanks for the great interview Glenn!!
The more of Glenn's books I read the bigger fan I become. You'll be able to read my review for Boom Town on April 9 and Abram's Bridge April 13