The Cemetery Dance (Video) Interview: Richard Christian Matheson

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cover of Scars and Other Distinguishing MarksRichard Christian Matheson is a multi-faceted creator best known for his screenwriting achievements. Even if you’re unfamiliar with his work, I all but guarantee you’ve experienced it at some point in your life, either directly or by proxy. RC has written for such classic television properties as Knight Rider (1982), Three’s Company (1978), Tales From The Crypt (1991) and The A Team 1983-1986) as well as films like Three O’Clock High (1987), Sole Survivor (2000), Bid Driver (2014), and Nightmare Cinema (2018) to name but a scant few. According to his Wikipedia page, RC has published short stories across 150 anthologies, with more coming out each year, and is often listed in best of the year themed anthologies. His own collections, Scars and Other Distinguishing Marks, Dystopia and Zoopraxis are highly praised with Zoopraxis having since been released as an updated, expanded edition. Continue Reading

Rising Icons of British Horror: A Chat with Catriona Ward and CJ Tudor

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Horror is happening right now in the UK and women are right there on top of the book charts. I was honored to chat to two absolute icons, Catriona Ward and CJ Tudor, and find out if it is all heaving bosoms and beguiling men in cloaks or if these British babes are breaking the mold?

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Celebrating OCTOBER NIGHTS with author Kevin Lucia

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This October, Kevin Lucia fulfills a dream with the release of a new collection of Halloween-themed short stories, October Nights. Crystal Lake Publishing will be releasing the collection on October 22, so this seemed like the perfect time to ask the author a few questions about his work, and to pick his brain about his — and our — favorite holiday, Halloween.

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HALLOWEEN KILLS: Tim Waggoner writes the book on Michael Myers

cover of Halloween Kills by Tim WaggonerAfter a long, COVID-prompted delay, Michael Myers is set to once again stalk movie (and television! ) screens in Halloween Kills, the sequel to the 2018 reboot/sequel Halloween.

Being the literary types that we are here at Cemetery Dance, we’re just as excited for the novelization of Halloween Kills as we are for the film. I reached out to author Tim Waggoner, the man tapped by Titan Books to pen the novelization, to see if he’d take us inside the process of bringing the Boogeyman to life on the page, and he was glad to oblige.Continue Reading

Devon Sawa looks back at FINAL DESTINATION, and Ahead to CHUCKY

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Devon Sawa

The year was 2000. It was date night and a young couple sat in a sold-out movie theatre waiting to see if the feature, something called Final Destination, would live up to the awesome looking trailer…

Of course it did, and it remains one of my Top Ten horror movies of all time, also being my favorite franchise. I will never forget the collective oohs and ahhs, jumps and indeed screams in the cinema. It was possibly the best atmosphere of any film I’ve seen on the big screen.

Cue 21 years later and somehow, I find myself chatting with the star of that movie and many, many more since, Devon Sawa. Having followed his career, I have always been impressed by how into horror he seems to be and now I get the chance to find out more just in time for two new big releases.Continue Reading

The Cemetery Dance Interview: Stephen Graham Jones’s Heart is a Chainsaw

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Stephen Graham Jones

Stephen Graham Jones is to slashers what peanut butter is to jelly. Separately they are still awesome, but together they are perfection. With the popularity of the genre on the rise again due to movies such as Fear Street and the new Halloween Kills, and books from powerhouses such as Grady Hendrix, I got to sit down to chat with Stephen about his own latest release, My Heart is a Chainsaw.

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Interview: Rayne King, New Kid on the (Horror) Block

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Rayne King

You’re a lifelong horror fan and avid reader. You’ve dipped your toes into social media, followed some of your favorite authors. Now you have written your own novella and self-published it. Cue tumbleweed? Just how do you get yourself out there and seen? I sat down and chatted with Rayne King who has recently been through this very process. Continue Reading

Interview: Janine Pipe looks into Glenn Rolfe’s August Eyes

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Glenn Rolfe

In which Janine Pipe talks to indie author Glenn Rolfe about his latest Flame Tree Press book, August’s Eyes, and what it is like to be the second most famous writer out of Maine.

Glenn was one of the first authors I stumbled across in the indie horror scene and he immediately became a firm favorite of mine. I have read almost all of his work (including some as-yet-unreleased manuscripts) and was positively frothing at the bit to get my hands on August’s Eyes, due for publication this August. It is always a pleasure to talk with Glenn, who selflessly shares his experiences with others and has been a much-needed mentor and friend. We sat down and chatted about the new book, the almighty Don D’Auria, and what might be next for him.

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Interview: Ride or Die with James Newman

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James Newman

James Newman is that rare breed of storyteller where reading him is akin to being transported to the other side of his kitchen table as he recounts his latest experience. You can just about feel a cool breeze blowing in from an open window to carry his voice far beyond the written pages they were intended for. His natural, intimate writing style easily pulls in all who read him so that they’re not just enjoying his tales, but made to feel a part of them. 

From his critically acclaimed debut novel, Midnight Rain, to several novels and novellas since including Ugly As Sin, Animosity, and Night of the Loving Dead, to the film adaptation based on his novella The Special (co-written with Mark Streensland), Newman continues to prove why he’s worth keeping a sharp eye on. Continue Reading

Interview: Barry Hoffman on his Silent Scream

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Barry Hoffman (photo by Dara Hoffman-Fox)

Barry Hoffman is a veteran author who isn’t afraid to speak or write his mind when it comes to the darker, more troubled side of society’s core. Founder of the Bram Stoker award-winning specialty press, Gauntlet Press, Barry is well known for his Eyes series and several outstanding stand-alone novels such as Track of My Eyes and, most recently, Silent Scream. Never one to shy from controversy, Hoffman often pushes the envelope on the personal turmoil of his characters while navigating them through the streets of Philadelphia, whether it’s to track down human monsters or fight to survive a force that’s not quite human at all.Continue Reading

All Hail the Popcorn King….and Queen! An Interview with Joe R. Lansdale and Hansi Oppenheimer

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poster for All Hail the Popcorn KingAfter decades of cranking out high-caliber, genre-smashing literature, and with a badass martial arts pedigree to boot, it’s remarkable that no one tackled a documentary about East Texas’ reigning champion of mojo storytelling, Joe R. Lansdale. Along came intrepid New York City filmmaker Hansi Oppenheimer, a self-described fangrrrl who grabbed her camera and jetted to the source, joining Lansdale in his hometown Nacogdoches, Texas, to film All Hail the Popcorn King. It was a journey — what Lansdale’s rabid fans might call a pilgrimage — to East Texas, the site where the local color echoes through Lansdale’s masterful tales of blue-collar anti-heroes, two-bit criminals, and voracious monsters lurking in raucous honky-tonks, musty movie houses, and swampy bottom lands frequented by their fictionalized counterparts. Through her lens, Oppenheimer grants us an intimate visit with our favorite raconteur, inviting us into the oldest town in Texas, and the place Lansdale calls home.Continue Reading

Interview: Brian Keene Sinks His Teeth into the Vampire Genre

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Brian Keene
(Photo by John Urbancik)

Brian Keene is a multi award-winning author of over fifty books in the horror, fantasy and crime fiction world. Heavily influencing the resurgence of current zombie popularity, he also writes comic books in the same DC and Marvel universes he grew up loving. He also organizes the charity event Scares That Care, is a family man who enjoys fishing along the borders of Casa Keene and routinely supports his fellow writers to usher in a new era of dark scribes to help keep this thing of ours trucking along.

Most recently, I sat down with Brian to discuss his newest novella, With Teeth, a breakneck vampire tale several years in the making. Along the way, we also discuss the inner workings and eventual conclusion of Keene’s own Labyrinth mythos, what he’s working on next, his favorite vampire, and a whole lot more.Continue Reading

Interview: Ray Garton on Re-releasing Ravenous

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Ray Garton

Ray Garton is a World Horror Convention Grand Master award-winning author with over sixty books and approximately a ton of short stories to his credit — so far. Although I have been hearing about Ray’s work for the past twenty years, I only first got around to reading him earlier this year with his monumental vampire novel, Live Girls. Man, have I been missing out and clearly have much reading to catch up on. Suffice to say the hype is real and if you haven’t read this man’s work yet, do yourself a favor and don’t wait as long as I did.

Most recently, I was lucky enough to get a hold of his werewolf novel, Ravenous. Originally published in 2008, Gauntlet Press is giving it the limited signed hardcover treatment, complete with gorgeous cover artwork by the always outstanding Harry O’Morris. With the same treatment being given to its sequel, Bestial, this is a great time to jump on board the beast train and find out what nightmarish thrills Ray Garton has in store for you.

Get ready to whet your appetite as Ray and I discuss his werewolf novels, revisiting old haunts, the danger of censorship, and so much more.Continue Reading

The Cemetery Dance Interview: Illustrating the Necronomicon with George A. Walker

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NECRONOMICON illustrator George A. Walker (Photo courtesy Michelle Walker)

An Associate Professor at OCAD University of Toronto, George A. Walker is an award-winning Canadian wood engraver, teacher, book artist, author and illustrator who resides in Toronto, Ontario. Elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Art for his contribution to the cultural area of Book Arts, George has exhibited his wood engravings and limited-edition books internationally for over twenty years through such presses as Cheshire Cat Press, Porcupine Quill Press, and Biting Dog Press. George has also created highly collectable, revered works such as The Mysterious Death of Tom Thompson (2011), Book of Hours: A 9/11 Story (2008) and The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe (2005) among many others. George continues to carve his visionary style and prowess into the woods of Canadian Maple, often making his paper by scratch, and inspires awe and wonder with every groove of his engraving tools.

Most recently, I sat down with George to discuss his design work on Necronomicon: A Manual of Corpse Eating, written by Martin Llewellyn. Originally published in 2019, it’s promotional push was interrupted by our current pandemic, but a proper launch party is planned for the near future. Sit back and enjoy as George and I discuss what drew him to this morbid and fascinating world of sacrifice and scientific controversy. Continue Reading

The Cemetery Dance Interview: Unearthing the Necronomicon with Martin Llewellyn

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Author Martin Llewellyn

Martin Llewellyn is a graduate of King’s College in London, UK, where he studied literature and earned his doctorate. His novels include House of the Missing and Necronomicon: A Manual of Corpse Eating, which I was fortunate enough to chat with him about.

Necronomicon is a metafictional representation of Abdulah Alhazred polarizing medical practices as he evolved into ritualistic religious practices which eventually drove him insane during his pursuit to communicate with the Old Gods and achieve life beyond death.

Join Martin and I as we discuss teachings and inspirations surrounding his newest book, poignantly illustrated by the award-winning wood engraver, George A. Walker.Continue Reading