NUTS & BOLTS: Interview With Kasey and Joe R. Lansdale
By Tom Joyce
Whether they come by way of Oz, Wonderland, or the Brothers Grimm, nightmare-inducing children’s stories are the gateway for many nascent fans into the strange, terrifying, and delightful genre of horror fiction. Joe R. Lansdale took a crack at children’s horror fiction with the Ray Bradbury-influenced Something Lumber This Way Comes, which is being rereleased by Pandi Press this month. Kasey Lansdale, executive editor of Pandi Press, provides some useful information about the publishing industry for aspiring authors in this month’s edition of Nuts & Bolts. And Joe gives some tips on writing children’s fiction.
KASEY LANSDALE
Q: What marketing advice do you have for authors, especially in light of the changing social media landscape?
A: I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Mailing list. Social platforms are too erratic. It doesn’t matter if you have a million followers if, let’s say for example, they ban your audience …
Q: Can you share any insights about publishing that many authors don’t know, but would benefit from knowing?
A: The cream does not rise to the top. The publishers in most cases pick their lead title and put most of their juice behind it, and if something else gets out, it’s by pure magic. There’s no formula or we would all be doing it. There are two kinds of publicists. The ones who shoot out to their mailing list and hope someone answers, and the ones who beat down doors and hope for answers. Unfortunately, the results are usually pretty on par with one another. But that’s not a defeat, that’s a call to action. That means that the author must tell the world about their books, and take the opportunities given to share it and themselves with the world.
Q: How is publishing/marketing a children’s book different from a book for adults, particularly from a writer better known for horror and thrillers?
A: In this particular case, the book is a reprint. So there’s that additional piece of the puzzle as well. Our business model allows us to focus less on promotion, as we won’t be submitting to trades or many of the typical outlets, and are going directly to fans. Even if someone has seen this title before, they’ve never seen it in this edition and format. It’s been out of print in its original form for many years, so we aren’t thinking of it as a promotional item so much as an opportunity to offer it to a whole new audience. It’s fun for adults and kids, so we hope it allows parents the chance to sit down with their kids and experience it together.
JOE R. LANSDALE
Q: Do you have any overall advice for writing children’s fiction?
A: You always give your best and don’t write down, but you of course keep in mind the age factor. I just try and tell a story I enjoy and that a younger version of myself would have enjoyed.
Q: Were there any qualities from Bradbury’s writing that you tried to incorporate?
A: I tried to make it visual, keeping in mind the tone of his novel Something Wicked This Way Comes, which is a Shakespeare quote from MacBeth.
Q: How do you make children’s horror books scary while remaining age-appropriate? Any takeaways for authors of adult horror novels?
A: Think of yourself as a child and what scared you as a child. Oddly, though you need to control how graphic it is, the same stuff scares kids and adults.
Learn more about Pandi Press at www.pandipress.com
Kasey Lansdale has been in the fiction world since birth as a writer, editor, audiobook narrator, and creative professional. Based in Los Angeles, Lansdale is an active voting member of the HWA and currently serves as executive editor at Pandi Press. As an author and editor, she has released numerous short-stories and anthologies from publications such as Harper Collins, Titan Books, and more. Lansdale’s fiction has been optioned and adapted for television as well as comic books. She has just completed her first novel.

Photo Credit: Karen Lansdale
Champion Mojo Storyteller Joe R. Lansdale has written novels and stories in many genres, including Western, horror, science fiction, mystery, and suspense. He has also written for comics as well as Batman: The Animated Series. As of 2020, he has written 50 novels and published more than 30 short-story collections (maybe 40 by now?!) along with many chapbooks and comic-book adaptations. His stories have won ten Bram Stoker Awards. a British Fantasy Award, an Edgar Award, a World Horror Convention Grand Master Award, a Sugarprize, a Grinzane Cavour Prize for Literature, a Spur Award, and a Raymond Chandler Lifetime Achievement Award. He has been inducted into The Texas Literary Hall of Fame, and several of his novels have been adapted to film.
Tom Joyce writes a monthly series called Nuts & Bolts for the Horror Writers Association’s blog, featuring interviews about the craft and business of writing. Please contact Tom at TomJHWA@gmail.com if you have suggestions for future interviews.