Veterans In Horror Spotlight 2023: Mark Allen

Mark Allen Biography Born in Jacksonville, Texas, 1961. I can remember when LBJ was President. U.S. Navy, retired 1980-2001. I was a U.S. Navy Independent Duty Hospital Corpsman (HM-8425) and a Fleet Marine Force (FMF) Warfare Specialist. Deployments included the Middle East, North Africa, Central America. We went to a few places; we did a few things. Retired May, 2001.   Book Recommendation: Just Before Dawn  My new novel, Just Before Dawn, dropped on Friday, October 6, 2023. In this sequel to my critically acclaimed debut novel, Nocturnal, the Vampire once again aids the police, this time looking for a…

VETERANS IN HORROR SPOTLIGHT: THIS NOVEMBER

The time has come again. The HWA is going to be running the month-long Veterans in Horror Spotlight this November, coordinated by David Rose and Chance Fortune. We’re talking books this year. If you are an HWA member and a military veteran (defined as a former service member of any uniformed, national military), we invite you to join us. Please send us an email message to veterans@horror.org by October 20, 2023. In this message, please include: Your name Headshot (we didn’t keep the ones from last year) Bio (under 100 words) A write-up (under 250 words) on a horror book…

Veterans of Horror: Interview with William R. D. Wood

William R.D. Wood traces his love of science fiction and horror back to a childhood filled with Space: 1999 reruns, frequent visits to the Night Gallery, and a worn-out copy of Dune. A good writing day finds him at any of several overlooks on Virginia's Blue Ridge Parkway deeply immersed in new works of cosmic horror. His short fiction has appeared in Nature, Daily Science Fiction and Cosmic Horror Monthly. His artwork and poetry are usually kept locked away. Will lives with his wife, children and assorted ghostlike enigmas in an old farmhouse turned backwards to the road. Tell us…

Veterans in Horror: Interview with Jay Whales

Jay grew up in small town, southeast Missouri, battling sasquatches, rednecks, witches, booger eating bastards, drinking Spine Likker fresh from the spigot and just having fun.  Jay rode in the back of pickup trucks, never heard of a seat belt until he started working and he and his best friend watched shitty horror movies every chance they got, before Jay up and ran off to the US Army. Tell us a bit about your military service. Years? Branch? Specialty? I joined the US Army in 1983 and spent the next 25 years as a Military Policeman and then a federal…

Veterans in Horror: Interview with Richard Wall

About Richard Wall: Born in England in 1962, Richard grew up in a small market town in rural Herefordshire before joining the Royal Navy. After 22 years in the submarine service and having travelled extensively, Richard now lives and writes in rural Worcestershire. His first short story, “Evel Knievel and The Fat Elvis Diner” (available on Kindle), was soon followed by “Five Pairs of Shorts” a collection of ten short stories, and another short story called ‘Hank Williams’ Cadillac’. Richard's latest venture is a collaboration with UK musician, 'Half Deaf Clatch', in which Richard wrote a short story to accompany…

Veterans in Horror: Interview with Richard Schiver

Richard is the author of eight novels, three novellas, and a collection of short stories. His most recent work is a paranormal ghost story titled Cursed. He is a member in good standing of the Horror Writers Association, and the Maryland Writers Association. Married with four children and eight grandchildren he and his wife provide a secure home for a yellow lab named Max, who spends his days napping. Tell us a bit about your military service. Years? Branch? Specialty? I served in the U.S Army from 1976 to 1981 as an armor crewman manning the M-60 Main Battle Tank.…

Veterans in Horror: Interview with David Rose

David Rose is the author of Amden Bog, The Scrolls of Sin, and Lovecraft's Iraq. That last one was included in the 2022 HWA Bram Stoker Award® Reading List. He lives in Orlando, Florida. Tell us a bit about your military service. Years? Branch? Specialty? I was in the Marine Corps from 2002 to 2006 (plus a little volunteer service back in 2009, but it was so brief I hardly count it). I'd started in artillery but kicked and screamed until I was finally allowed to try out for Marine Recon. Upon passing its hellacious vetting I became a Recon…

Veterans in Horror: Interview with Chris Reichard

Chris ~Cliff~ Reichard has always been a creator of dark works, but their writing has been stripped raw and refined over and again through hardships experienced in war, activism & the discrimination that intersectional queer punks face. They live a life of semi-seclusion in this increasingly chaotic world, while still taking time to enjoy life's little pleasure. Tell us a bit about your military service. Years? Branch? Specialty? I served as a Signal Support Systems Specialist in the U.S. Army from 2004-2012. In that time, I spent nearly three years deployed to Iraq.   What role, if any, did reading…

Veterans in Horror: Interview with Weston Ochse

The American Library Association calls Weston Ochse “one of the major horror authors of the 21st Century.” His work has won the Bram Stoker Award, been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and won four New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards. A writer of more than forty books in multiple genres, his Burning Sky Duology has been hailed as the best military horror of the generation. His military supernatural series SEAL Team 666 has been optioned to be a movie starring Dwayne Johnson and his military sci-fi trilogy, which starts with Grunt Life, has been praised for its PTSD-positive depiction of soldiers at…

Veterans in Horror: Interview with Deke Moulton

Deke Moulton (she/they) (rhymes with geek, short for Diklah) has had some incredible journeys in her life - from being a punk rock hitchhiker living on top of buildings to an ancient book conservator apprentice at the Adler Planetarium to living in a college learning Arabic to even being a drill sergeant with the US Army. Originally from Chicago, they have traveled all over the United States and the world -living for three years in Italy! as well as in Monterey, California and Columbia, South Carolina - before finally settling in the Pacific Northwest with their spouse and two children.…

Veterans in Horror: Interview with Sirrah Medeiros

Sirrah Medeiros is a dark fantasy, horror, and thriller writer. Over the past decade, several anthologies published her horror short stories and poems. She also published a poetry collection in 2014. Most recently, Sirrah has published two books in her dark urban fantasy series, The Emerald Curse and Secrets of Mother. Having grown up in Ohio, Sirrah is the youngest of seven children and the only daughter. After living in a house full of brothers, joining the Marine Corps didn’t sound so difficult, and it offered an opportunity to explore the globe. Since then, she raised a family, completed a…

Veterans in Horror: Interview with John Lane

John Lane’s fiction has appeared in THE DISAPPOINTED HOUSEWIFE, PAGE & SPINE, VERSIFICATION, dyst LITERARY JOURNAL, 101 WORDS, BLACK HARE PRESS, THE BIRDSEED, THE DAILY DRUNK and many other venues. “The Visit” was published in 81 WORDS FLASH FICTION ANTHOLOGY, which won the Saboteur Award for Best Anthology. “The Monster Inside” was part of the Horror Writers Association’s Mental Health Initiative anthology, OF HOPE AND HORROR. Tell us a bit about your military service. Years? Branch? Specialty?  I enlisted in the Army as a 39T Computer Technician between January 1988 to 1992. After basic training in Fort Jackson, SC and…

Veterans in Horror: Interview with C.R. Langille

C.R. Langille spent many a Saturday afternoon watching monster movies with their mother. It wasn't long before they started crafting nightmares to share with their readers. They are a retired, disabled veteran with a deep love for weird and creepy tales. This prompted them to form Timber Ghost Press in January of 2021. They are an affiliate member of the Horror Writer's Association, a member of the League of Utah Writers, and they received their MFA: Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. Follow them at: https://biolinks.heropost.io/CRLangille Tell us a bit about your military service. Years? Branch? Specialty? I spent…

Veterans in Horror: Interview with K.P. Kulski

K.P. Kulski is a Korean-American author born in Honolulu, Hawaii. She’s embarked on many career adventures: the U.S. Navy and Air Force, video game design, and history professor. Her fiction is often inspired by stories of the past; most evident in her gothic horror novel, Fairest Flesh, from Strangehouse Books and novella, House of Pungsu, from Bizarro Pulp Press. She now resides in Northeast Ohio with her husband and children in a house in the woods. Find her online at garnetonwinter.com and on Twitter @garnetonwinter. Tell us a bit about your military service. Years? Branch? Specialty? I served in two branches, active duty Air Force…

Veterans in Horror: Interview with Brandon Ketchum

Brandon Ketchum is a speculative fiction writer from Pittsburgh, PA who enjoys putting a weird spin or strange vibe into every story, dark or light. He is a member of SFWA and the Horror Writers Association, and his work has been published with Air & Nothingness Press, Perihelion, Mad Scientist Journal, and many other publications, including the short story collection Legio Damnati. Tell us a bit about your military service. Years? Branch? Specialty? I was officially in the military from December of 1994 through July of 2002. I signed up for the Army Reserves initially, went to Fort Lost in…

Veterans in Horror: Interview with Verona Jones

V.L. Jones is a paranormal enthusiast and a horror writer. She grew up in a haunted house in Washington state, which fueled her passion for the supernatural and monsters. Verona now lives in Casa Grande, Arizona, which she uses as her home base to explore haunted sites with a history. Verona enlisted in the Navy out of high school, and her first duty station was in the highlands of Scotland. Talk about hitting paydirt. Scotland and England abound with urban legends and ghostly hauntings. Fascinated by the history of these places, she often writes about her spooky findings. Her explorations…

Veterans in Horror: Interview with LP Hernandez

LP Hernandez is an author of horror and speculative fiction. His stories have been featured in anthologies from Dark Matter Magazine, Cemetery Gates Media, and Sinister Smile Press among others. He is a regular contributor to The NoSleep Podcast and has released two short story collections. His novella, Stargazers, was published under the My Dark Library banner with Cemetery Gates Media. When not writing, LP serves as a medical administrator in the U.S. Air Force. He is a husband, father, and a dedicated metalhead. You can find links to LP’s work at his website: www.lphernandez.com He is most active on…

Veterans in Horror: Interview with Bryn Grover

I grew up in an age when the Soviet Union and communism were generally conceived to be the enemy. "Bomb" drills were generally held as we ducked and hid under desks and learned to count 'flash to bang' times. Culturally, this was accented by B Movies of monsters resulting from 'atomic' problems and nuclear explosions. I grew to love those movies whether it was Gamera, Godzilla, & Mothra or giant Gila monsters, spiders, and other mutants. Combine that with a love of the work of such authors as H.P. Lovecraft, Arthur Machen, Clark Ashton Smith, Lord Dunsany, T.E.D. Klein and…

Veterans of Horror: Interview with Owl Goingback

Owl Goingback has been writing professionally for over thirty years, and is the author of numerous novels, children’s book, screenplays, magazine articles, short stories, and comics. He is a recipient of the HWA Lifetime Achievement Award, and has won the Bram Stoker Award for novel and first novel. He is also a Nebula Award Nominee, and a Storytelling World Awards Honor Recipient. His books include Crota, Darker Than Night, Evil Whispers, Breed, Shaman Moon, Coyote Rage, Eagle Feathers, The Gift, and Tribal Screams. In addition to writing under his own name, he has ghostwritten for Hollywood celebrities. Tell us a…

Veterans in Horror: Interview with Jonathan Gensler

Jonathan Gensler writes dark slipstream and speculative fiction inspired by his decades of wildly varied life experiences as a combat veteran and clean tech entrepreneur.  After growing up in a haunted house in WV and living in several corners of the world, he now resides in Nashville with his wife and three children. You can find him on Twitter @jgensler. He may have stopped writing long enough to get his website working at jonathangensler.com, but maybe not. Tell us a bit about your military service. Years? Branch? Specialty? I graduated from West Point in 2000 and served as an Army…