Welcome to another Ladies and Gentlemen of Horror 2017 author interview session. Today, I'd like to introduce you to Rick Powell! You'll find his answers in red. Enjoy!
1) Is this your first year participating in the LgoH?
Nope. This is my second run and I could not be happier.
2) If so, tell us what drew you to this anthology.
I was introduced to this anthology through the mutual friend, and past contributor, Hydra M. Star.
3) If you’ve written for previous LGoH anthologies, list the story titles and years.
The Ladies & Gentlemen of Horror 2014 with my story Friends Like These.
4) What is your preferred genre?
Horror, erotic horror, anything along the lines of the strange and the unusual.
5) What other titles do you have published?
I have been in numerous publications throughout the years, but I have been a pretty consistent contributor to Infernal Ink Magazine (edited and compiled by Hydra M. Star), and have two books of poetry titled My Soul Stained, My Seed Sour and More Regrets Than Glories. I also have a collection of short stories titled A Vault of Whispers.
6) Where do you get your ideas?
Anywhere and everywhere. A good number of my poems are inspired by either songs I have heard, personal experiences, or stories I have read. My ideas for stories just pop out of the blue. I have been a lover of the horror genre going on 40 years, so I guess you can say that this is a way of “giving back” to the genre that I love so much.
7) Does writing energize or exhaust you?
Both. There is a point when you are writing a story or poem when you get “in the zone” and everything is flowing with a life of its own. The rush you get when everything is clicking, is something that is hard to describe. It is feeding you and draining you at the same time, and when you are done, it gives you a feeling of accomplishment that cannot be put into words.
8) Do you write for yourself or your audience?
Oh, I write for myself. I tend to write something that I would like reading. My poems, stories, and such are like my family. They are my own little world I concocted and reading some of them now, I see a little of myself in each and every one.
9) What other authors are you friends with and how do they help you become a better writer?
Hydra M. Star has been a friend and like a sister to me for more years than I could remember, and I would not be on this fabulous journey if not for her. She has been there to give me support, advice, or that regular kick in the ass when I needed it. And I will be indebted to her forever. Jennifer Miller (the driving force of The Ladies and Gentlemen of Horror) has been an inspiration to me with all she does with her amazing anthology. What she does with the proceeds of TLAGOH--where they all go to The American Cancer Society—prompted me to do the same with my first collection of poetry, My Soul Stained, My Seed Sour. All the proceeds of that go to The American Heart Association dedicated to my late wife.
10) What was the hardest scene to write?
There are a few. A couple I cannot name here because of the graphic depiction and nature of the subject, but one that does come to mind would be in my story Winston. It involves a scene where a step-father does something unnameable in the middle of the night. I left that scene ambiguous, and left the events be imagined in the mind of the reader, but it still unnerved me nonetheless.
11) Do you Google yourself?
Oh, heck no. I am afraid of what I may find. Haha
12) Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
In my story True Nature, I placed names and references to classic werewolf films all throughout the story. No one has picked up on them yet, but it was fun to place them in there.
13) Do you have any little known facts you’d care to reveal to us now?
One that I always make reference to is that when I was 2 years old, I was lost near the haunted Bachelor’s Grove woods near my childhood home in Illinois. My story The Grove is based on the legend of those woods. I still have the article from my mother when it was in the Chicago Tribune at that time. I was lost for almost 6 hours I believe. I always tell people that “ I got lost in the woods as a kid, and have been there ever since”. Haha
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Rick Powell lives in Oak Forest, Illinois. He is a lover of horror and dark fiction and his poetry and stories have appeared in numerous publications, Don't Look Back: 13 Terrifying Tales of Urban Folklore, The Ladies & Gentlemen of Horror 2014, Infernal Ink Magazine, and the forthcoming cannibal anthology Bon Appetit: Stories and Recipes for Human Consumption.
All the proceeds from his first book of poetry, 'My Soul Stained, My Seed Sour', will go to The American Heart Association.
His other books include his other poetry collection More Regrets Than Glories and his first book of short stories A Vault of Whispers.
He could be found on
Goodreads,
Facebook, or his
Amazon page.
Rick, thanks so much for your participation! I think I am going to have to check out "True Nature" and see what films you've placed in there! Everyone, have a great rest of your week!
And don't forget, tomorrow, October 31, 2017, the Ladies and Gentlemen of Horror Anthologies will be available!
