Halloween Haunts 2013: Stoker Spotlight on Gene O’Neill

Gene O’Neill is the recipient of the Bram Stoker Award® for Superior Achievement in Long Fiction for his book The Blue Heron.

1. How would you describe The Blue Heron?

The Blue Heron is a dark thriller, with perhaps a slight hint of fantasy.

2. Tell us about what inspired you to write The Blue Heron?

I’d just finished writing Rusting Chickens. And I remembered an old Marine Corps incident. Also, a couple of writer friends suggested, I should write more about my military background.

3. What most attracts you to writing dark fiction?

I studied psychology in college and have always been more interested in the darker side of man.

4. What are you writing now?

I’m working on a novel, The White Plague, which is a loose expansion of my novella, Operation Rhinoceros Hornbill.

5. What advice would you share with new horror writers? What do you think are the biggest challenges they face?

I think every writer should always focus on making the reader really care about what happens to his main character(s). That is a big challenge.

6. Name three of your favorite horror stories.

“The Man from the South” by Roald Dahl, “The Pear-shaped Man” by George R.R. Martin, and Children Of The Kingdom by T.E.D. Klein.

7. What’s your favorite Halloween memory or tradition?

This is corny I know. But I remember making popcorn balls as a kid and giving them out as treats. Later, when our kids were little, we gave them out—but it was the moms and dads who liked them.

8. Given a choice, trick? Or treat?

Of course now, I love the kids coming in costumes and giving them treats.

Gene O’Neill, a multi-award nominated writer of science fiction, fantasy, and horror fiction, has seen 150 of his short stories, novelettes, and novellas published in professional venues. In addition, four short story collections and six novels have appeared. He has been nominated for the Bram Stoker Award eight times, winning twice for best collection, Taste Of Tenderloin, in 2010, and best long fiction, The Blue Heron, in 2013. He is currently at work on another novel, The White Plague. O’Neill’s professional writing career began after completing the Clarion Writers Workshop in 1979. His short stories have appeared in places like Cemetery Dance Magazine, Twilight Zone Magazine, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and many anthologies. His many occupations besides writing include postal worker, contract specialist for AAFES, college basketball player, amateur boxer, United States Marine, right-of-way agent, and vice president of a small manufacturing plant. He also holds two degrees from California State University, Sacramento and University of Minnesota. He currently writes full-time and lives in the Napa Valley with his wife, Kay.

Read an excerpt from The Blue Heron by Gene O’Neill:

Carefully aiming through the tube sight, Big O fired one-by-one all four rockets, placing the final pair of shots low into each shed–

Boom, bang, bang, bang,…boom, boom.

After the last shot, VC ordinance began exploding in both sheds, dirt and smoking fragments blowing up through the thatch roofs, twisting high, the air above the sheds soon looking like a 4^th of July fireworks show. This pyrotechnic display was followed a few seconds later by a thundering pair of deafening ka-booms, both flimsy sheds blown completely apart; and the debris soon engulfed in roaring fireballs.

Slinging the launcher to his back and picking up his grease gun, Big O led Brown and Palamalu back to where Garcia lay.

With the help of the entire team, two of them catching Garcia’s body weight under his shoulders, the other three supporting his lower body and both legs, they eased him as carefully as possible onto the rickety cart.

But before the Marines could catch their breaths, a large elegant bird swooped down into view, flying gracefully over the team, circling west over the first hut, and then gliding through the lingering smoke back toward the first rice paddy, as if nothing unusual had taken place. The team, including the groggy Garcia, all paused and watched in frozen fascination as the bird finally landed in the nearest unplanted check. The creature cocked its head, and peered down into the muddy water, obviously hunting for frogs or fish. A surreal moment.

“I think it’s a blue heron,” Brown whispered in an almost reverent tone. “I’ve seen quite a few of them along the Sacramento Delta back home.”

“Uh-uh,” Lieutenant Hotsko replied. “No, I don’t think there are blue herons anywhere in all of French-Indo China. Other various kinds of smaller egrets and herons,  but no blue ones.”

“Well, it looks like there’s at least one here, now, Lieutenant,” Brown insisted stubbornly.

By that time a few villagers had begun to reappear from the distant jungle and some coming out of the nearby huts, curiously watching the Force Recon team frozen in place as if taken hostage by the surreal appearance and landing of the great blue heron.

O’Toole finally said that he didn’t think it a good time to remain in place arguing the marsh bird’s species. Lt. Hotsko agreed.