– Interview by Linnea Linton

Denver Horror Collective member, Bobby Crew.

1. Name one horror author you admire and explain how they helped you become a better writer.

I have wanted to become an author since I was eight years old, and that desire is credited entirely to R. L. Stine. I hated reading as a kid until my father convinced me that I just needed to find a genre I was interested in and “forced” me to read my first Goosebumps book. Needless to say it worked, and I soon had a collection of Goosebumps and Fear Street books.

2. What author did you dislike at first but grew into?

Shakespeare. I hated reading Shakespeare in high school, but then found that I actually loved it in college. It goes to show that a teacher can make or break a subject by the way that they teach it.

3. As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot?

My familiar is a bull snake named Bacchus. I adore snakes and I love that they have such a varied symbolic representation. Snakes appear in almost every branch of mythology. Sometimes they represent evil beings, or tricksters, and to some they are temple guardians. I choose snakes because their symbolic meaning is as varied as the different stories I try to tell. Snakes also appear in many of my stories.

4. What kind of research do you do before beginning a book?

Mythology appears in almost everything I write, whether explicitly or just fragments. I have a collection of books to use as a reference and I love to try to base some of my tales on these ancient stories. I often research for an hour before I start a story, but I also go back to research when I get stuck. Sometimes doing a little research is just what I need to bounce back from writer’s block.

5. Have you been published? Describe your outlook on the industry.

I’ve been published in magazines and online, but that was for journalism and not creative writing. I’m starting my own indie publishing press called The Horror Crew Productions. I’ve spent the last few years working for an author resource organization, and I’ve learned the pros and cons to both Indie and New York styles of publishing. I’m just getting started, but I’ve got my game plan and marketing strategy down. It’s going to be an insane amount of work, but I’m ready for it.

6. Name six of your favorite horror movies or books. Elaborate on your number one.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It’s not exactly horror, but it’s horrifying, and so dark and heavy. I love his writing in the story and how it makes you feel while you are reading it.

Hereditary. One of the best new horror movies in my opinion. I love the slow burn and how they carry the dread throughout the movie.

The Witch. I love this movie for the effort they put in to making the dialogue so true to the time period. I loved the tone, language and acting.

It Follows. The concept of this movie was sheer genius in my opinion.

Phantoms by Dean Koontz. The book was amazing, but the movie was mediocre at best. I read it in middle school, and it terrified me back then.

Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn. This isn’t a horror book, but it taught me so much about how to write from the perspective of a character you absolutely despise. The book is written from the perspective of the abuser in a relationship, and it has stuck with me all these years.