Interview questions
Please introduce yourself and describe your role in the Summoning project.
I’m Dr. Stuart Knott. I came up with the idea of The Summoning, mapped out the main plot, wrote the character of Frederick Brandis and his short story, The Peak, and wrote the vast majority of Mikhail Orlov’s character.
1. Which of your co-authors would you stay in a haunted house with?
I’d probably stay in there with Harriet; I’m we could distract ourselves with horror films or just general tomfoolery, and that she’d face down any spooky ghouls without any hesitation.
2. If you had to enter a horror movie right now and had to choose one character from the book, who would you choose?
I’d probably choose Mikhail. Not for his rousing company or people skills, but as a sacrificial lamb in case the worst should happen. Best case scenario would be stumbling across his dismembered body and taking it as a sign that it’s time to leave!
3. Is there a scene from the book that scares you the most?
There’s a few chilling scenes in the book but I’m quite biased and found the horrors Brandis writes about in his short story quite scary. Basically, a group of friends are trapped in a snowstorm and haunted by an onryō, a mythological spirit from Japanese folklore. I was very much inspired by the Grudge and Ring movies and I wanted to try and capture that otherworldly, ethereal horror that could go from alluring to terrifying in a heartbeat.
4. Are there any horror subjects that you’d be hesitant to write about?
Not off the top of my head. Probably subjects I don’t really know a lot about or require a great deal of medical insight, like pathogens and epidemics and the like. I’ve never really written anything that’s properly sadomasochistic or Lovecraftian, or anything too splatter-horror, so maybe that’s something to look into!
5. Do you have personal fears that influence your work?
Occasionally, yeah. A lot of my personality makes it into my work, including my likes and dislikes and fears. In The Summoning, I tried to capture the feeling of a couple of nightmares I’ve had before that were about a suffocating, endless, malevolent blackness and infuse it with a central figure, something elusive and vindictive, just lurking behind it all.
6. Who would be an ideal celebrity to play your character?
If he loses some weight, grows out his hair and beard, and messies himself up a bit, I reckon Aaron Taylor-Johnson could be a good fit.
7. Is there anything more you’d like to share about your character?
Brandis is in a bad place at the start of the book; all he has left to shoot for in his life is his writing, and he’s not been able to make anything of it so he’s very disillusioned and depressed. He isn’t the type of guy who just expects things to be given to him, but he’s put everything he has into his writing and has nothing to show for it. He’s often overlooked by others, despite the fact that he has a lot to say, and has an uncanny ability to rile people up just by being in the room, all of which weighs heavily on him and swamps him with self-doubt.
8. What is your favourite part about writing horror?
I like the freedom it offers; you can really go nuts with horror and indulge in the darkest parts of your imagination without limit. It has so many layers and possibilities and can applied to all kinds of subjects, from psychological horror to supernatural, slashers, home invasions, science-fiction… It’s just such a fantastically diverse genre and I really enjoy exploring it in different ways.
9. If you were to have a big writing retreat, where would be your ideal location to have it?
Ironically, it wouldn’t be anywhere too isolated as I’d need a stable internet connection for my downtime! I’d probably just go somewhere away from hometown distractions, maybe down to the beach or something so I could hit the arcades to relax!
10. Are you like the character you created in any way?
Oh, absolutely, yeah. Not physically (this may be the first time my character doesn’t physically resemble me) but he’s all of my neurosis and doubts dialled up to eleven. All the frustrations I’ve had with writing and the whole process are reflected in Brandis, and he’s basically me at my very lowest, without any snark and having completely given up on trying to make a good impression.
11. If you were going to LaVey House what would you bring?
A wi-fi booster!
12. Are there any specific songs that inspired your writing?
There actually was; when writing for The Summoning, I found Breaking Benjamin’s “Never Again” really hit home for me, and “Shadows” by Red.
13. Would you like to share any final thoughts on the project?
Honestly, I have no idea that it would be as big a sit ended up being. Originally, it was just going to be a way for me to dust off some old, under-developed ideas but, thanks to Harriet pushing me, it grew into a really exciting project with some very creative people involved. It’s been a very different process, one that I hope everyone has enjoyed and learned something from, and I’m really excited to help shine a light on indie authors everywhere through it.
Hello, I’m Harriet Everend, and I am a co-author who wrote Aster Callahan’s parts in ‘The Summoning’.
1. Which of your co authors would you stay in a haunted house with?
Do I have the option to pick all? Greater chance in numbers and such, haha. Otherwise, I think I’d rather go at it alone…because I’m a bit insane like that!
2. If you had to enter a horror movie right now and had to choose one character from the book who would you choose? In all fairness, I’d choose my own character (Aster) and to avoid spoilers, if you know, you know why I choose her.
3. Is there a scene from the book that scares you the most? There are two specifically, but the one I’ll go with is when Mikhail’s wife murders their son and he is powerless to stop it from happening. Probably not the scariest scene in the book, but after reading it, it definitely hit something inside my soul.
4.)Are there any horror subjects that you’d be hesitant to write about?
Yeah – I could never write splatter punk or really graphic torture scenes (I avoid movies like Terrifier and Hostel, for example.)
5.)Do you have personal fears that influence your work?
Not sure if you call it a fear per say, but after enduring some traumatic personal events and the fear of absolute abandonment play a significant factor in my horror pieces.
6.)Who would be an ideal celebrity to play (insert character)
An ideal celebrity to play Aster…that’s really hard. I would have to choose Emma Stone or Hayden Panettiere.
7.) Is there anything more you’d like to share about your character?
Aster knows her fiance is a horrible person and has been wanting to leave him for at least a year, but combined with abandonment issues and a belief that everyone has good inside them, she thinks she can try to change him for the better
8.) What is your favourite part about writing horror?
I like to scare people when they least expect it. They think they might be reading a nice, innocent little story…then BOOM! Someone’s horrific death or a terrible scenario happens, changing the tone of the whole book for the reader. But by that point, they’re so drawn in, they can’t stop reading until they finished the book.
9.) If you were to have a big writing retreat where would be your ideal location to have it?
Internationally: would love to have it somewhere in Norway or maybe Tokyo. Domestically: at a lodge near Glacier National Park, Montana.
10.) Are you like the character you created in any way?
Aster is about 75% real life me. A lot of her quirks and traits were either actual bits of me, extensions of myself or extensions of friends I have. The remaining 25% is bits and pieces taken from real people I know and their relationships/experiences.
11.) If you were going to Lavey house what would you bring?
Let’s pretend I don’t know about the horrors that await me inside LaVey House: two suitcases full of clothes and other necessities, laptop, lots of notebooks and pepper spray…because you can never be too sure.
12.) Are there any specific songs that inspired your writing?
- While I don’t like to listen to music while I write, I do pull inspiration from a variety of artists: Disturbed, Muse, Five Finger Death Punch, Red Sun Rising, Die Antwoord to name a few.
13.) Would you like to share any final thoughts on the project.
I think it went really well and I loved working with all my co-writers/contributors and if I had the opportunity to do this again, I would definitely take that chance!
Jess
Please introduce yourself and describe your role within the summoning project.
My name is Jessica Huntley, I’m 33, currently live in Edinburgh and am a stay at home mum to a nearly 3 year old. I was offered one of the lead writer roles for the project. I wrote the character of Rhiannon Hughes, all her dialogue and the short story “The Devil’s Graveyard”. I’ve also been doing some of the marketing posts for the project, helped design the front cover and completed the formatting for the book.
1. Which of your co authors would you stay in a haunted house with?
Well, considering I’m such a big wimp when it comes to haunted houses and Stuart apparently isn’t afraid of anything, I’d have to say Stuart! Seriously…if any of the others said they’d want to stay in a haunted house with me…then it’s the biggest mistake they’ll make, because I’d spend the entire time screaming!
2. If you had to enter a horror movie right now and had to choose one character from the book who would you choose?
Definitely my character, Rhiannon Hughes. She’s actually quite tough and I feel like she’d be good with a weapon (although Aster is decent with a sword…to find that out read the book).
3. Is there a scene from the book that scares you the most?
The scene where Brandis is attacked by the ghoul-like-creature. It’s similar to the woman in The Grudge horror movies and those films scare the life out of me. When I read that scene for the first time I got chills. Also Rhiannon’s death at the end is pretty gruesome (without giving too much away I have a severe fear of what kills her…and that’s why I wanted to keep it in).
4. Are there any horror subjects that you’d be hesitant to write about?
Not really. I’ll happily write anything horror related. I may get freaked out by things I read sometimes, but it wouldn’t stop me writing about it. In fact, I think it makes what I write more real if there’s some emotion behind it.
5. Do you have personal fears that influence your work?
I do have several phobias (heights, spiders, vomit, flying) and I’ve also suffered with mental health issues in the past. I always try and bring some sort of relevant experience to my writing, so if that happens to be something I’m afraid of then I’ll use that on the page.
6. Who would be an ideal celebrity to play Rhiannon?
Oooh…I never like these questions because I can never think of anyone! But I’m thinking maybe Reese Witherspoon or maybe Rachel McAdams or Katie Holmes.
7. Is there anything more you’d like to share about your character?
Rhiannon does act like a bit of a bitch in the later parts of the book, but don’t let that tarnish what you think of her. Also I’ve based her background on my own upbringing and her short story is actually based on a real graveyard and legend in the village where I grew up.
8.What is your favourite part about writing horror?
This is my first proper horror book I’ve been a part of, although my debut novel The Darkness Within Ourselves does include elements of horror. I like to push boundaries and scare myself. Hell, when I was writing my debut novel I had dreams about The Creature for weeks! Not everyone can relate to horror, not everyone enjoys it, but I think getting out of your comfort zone once a while is good for you.
9. If you were to have a big writing retreat where would be your ideal location to have it?
Definitely not LaVey House! It would be a nice little cabin in the country somewhere, near a lake, away from hordes of people.
10. Are you like the character you created in any way?
Yes! As mentioned in question 8, I based her upbringing on my own. I’m not Rhiannon’s age, but I do like to keep fit (although not running…lifting weights instead).
11. If you were going to Lavey house what would you bring?
A weapon…and a notebook.
12. Are there any specific songs that inspired your writing?
So this is an interesting question because I hear of so many writers who say that songs inspire them and they have a particular soundtrack to the book they’re writing, but I don’t. I need silence when I write! So no…I’m not a big music fan anyway.
13.. Would you like to share any final thoughts on the project.
Just that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with other authors on this book and I think it’s very different to anything you’ll ever read. It’s an anthology of stories…but also a novel. If you’re looking for something different…this is it.
First off please introduce yourself and describe your role in the Summoning?
My name is Shantel Brunton and I wrote the short story It’s all in your head. This is the short story for Mikhail.
1.)Which of your co authors would you stay in a haunted house with?
I think I’d choose Stuart. I know he’s watched a lot of horror movies and written some fantastic horror books. I think he’d make good decisions.
2.)If you had to enter a horror movie right now and had to choose one character from the book who would you choose?
I’d choose Mikhail because I want to use him as a human shield and sacrifice him to any monsters.
3.)Is there a scene from the book that scares you the most?
Is it bad to choose a scene from my own story.
Being eaten alive by rats is a little too much for me.
4.)Are there any horror subjects that you’d be hesitant to write about?
I don’t like writing about animals dying as it makes me feel pretty sad. I also don’t think I could write a straight up splatter punk horror book. I’m not sure if I have a strong enough stomach for all the gore.
5.)Do you have personal fears that influence your work?
Yes. I’m absolutely terrified of the dark, and I have lots of nightmares.
6.)Who would be an ideal celebrity to play (insert character)
I’m not sure to be honest. I’d need a tough as nails child actor to play Josephine.
7.) Is there anything more you’d like to share about your character?
Josephine is a little fighter and I think she’s strong for just being a little girl. I think appearances can be deceiving.
8.) What is your favourite part about writing horror?
My favourite part about writing horror is it’s a Great Way to explore ones fear in a kind of “safe space” To me it feels a lot like exposure therapy.
9.) If you were to have a big writing retreat where would be your ideal location to have it?
I would choose a cabin in the middle of Siberia. Where it’s so cold that you wouldn’t want to step foot outside and you’d only write.
10.) Are you like the character you created in any way?
Yes I am in the way that I struggle with nightmares.
11.) If you were going to Lavey house what would you bring?
A big big sword, my own reference material, a fuzzy blanket, and a hazmat suit.
12.) Are there any specific songs that inspired your writing?
For this story in particular
Scared by Three Days Grace
13.) Would you like to share any final thoughts on the project.
I just want to say it was an honour to get to be apart of this project with such talented and amazing authors.
Social media- Click here to find the social media accounts for the various authors