MEMENTO MORI INK AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: JOHN EVERSON

Ninetoes got in touch with horror author John Everson on the week of his newest release, The Witching House, and he agreed to answer out Author Spotlight Questions. Did Ninetoes learn anything?

I have been a fan of John Everson for 22 years now, and I have no intention of stopping. In my honest opinion, he has not written a bad one yet, and when he sent me an ARC of his newest book, The Witching House, I asked if he dared to answer our “Author Spotlight” questions. He readily agreed. Let’s see what he has to say!

Q: What do you want readers to know about you as an author?

I guess I’d like them to know that I try to write stories that are creepy and fun. I’m not a big “literary” author – I like books that are pulpy and full of action and suspense. Because when I read, I’m not looking for something full of serious “issues” to consider. I read to be taken on a fun ride.

Q: What inspired you to start writing? When did you start?

I used to bring books home from the library by the bagful when I was a kid. My favorite part about going to my grandparents’ house was that they’d take me to the bookstore and let me buy whatever I wanted to read for the weekend. I have always loved books and so as I grew older, I wanted to create stories for other people and entertain them like authors enthralled me.

Q: What works do you currently have available (solo and anthologies)?

A LOT, LOL. I have written 16 novels and 5 full-length short fiction collections, as well as a couple of standalone novellas. All of them are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and you can see all of them on the books page of my website: http://www.johneverson.com/books. Some notable titles are probably Covenant, my first book and a Bram Stoker Award winner that spawned a trilogy. NightWhere, my sixth novel, was a Bram Stoker Award finalist, as was a story in my third collection Needles & Sins. My novella Living Death Race won the Splatterpunk Award last year and my fifth collection was released last year from Cemetery Dance (All Triggers, No Warnings). Other titles include Voodoo Heart, The House by the Cemetery, Five Deaths for Seven Songbirds and many more!

Q: What was your gateway into horror?

I used to read mostly science fiction as a kid… but I did buy some ghost story books through the Scholastic Book catalog I recall. And I watched a lot of TV anthology programs that specialized in horror, like Night Gallery, The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone, and One Step Beyond. Those TV episodes really helped inspire my early short stories.

Q: What are your favorite subgenres of horror?

I love the supernatural – demons, witchcraft… anything that is “beyond our realm.” I also write a lot of erotic horror. I guess I like things spicy and hidden!

Q: If you didn’t write horror, what other genre do you think you’d be in?

I have written a couple books that I thought were horror, but because they’re not supernatural, they were labeled as Mystery/Thriller in bookstores. So I guess that! (Those books were Five Deaths for Seven Songbirds and The Bloodstained Doll, homages to the Italian giallo horror-thriller films of the ‘70s). My first love was science fiction, as I said but… I always thought the few sci-fi stories I tried to write were pretty hokey so I stopped trying and just did what seemed to come naturally – creepy tales.

Q: What are some authors (traditional or indie) that have inspired you or helped you along your journey?

My first inspirations were authors like Clive Barker, Anne Rice, Stephen King and Nina Kiriki Hoffman (who wrote wonderful light magic / fantasy books). Then I discovered authors like Edward Lee, who is one of the only authors whose books have made me sit in a chair all day to read a novel start-to-finish. And then I became friends with W.D. Gagliani, Dave Benton, Martin Mundt, Brian Pinkerton and Bryan Smith, who have all supported me even though they are all better writers than I am! I love all of their works.

Q: What’s on your TBR? Anything coming out soon that you’re looking forward to?

Well, my 16^th novel, The Witching House, was just released from Flame Tree Press on October 20. It’s about a girl who unleashes the vengeful ghost of a witch by writing her name on a mirror in blood.

As for TBR, I just finished Bryan Smith’s Monstrous last month, which was awesome. My TBR pile has dozens and dozens of books on it, but somewhat recent additions that I’d really like to get to are Dan Brown’s The Secret of Secrets, Carl Hiaasen’s Skinny Dip, Richard Laymon’s The Stake, and Claire Dederer’s exploration of ‘can we like the art of bad people,’ Monsters. I’ve also got a big film book on my shelf I’d like to get to: Italian Giallo in Film and Television.

Q: What are you working on now?

I am currently working on a sequel to my novel Voodoo Heart which is tentatively titled Voodoo Soul. It’s kinda funny because Voodoo Heart began as a short story called “Vigilantes of Love” and when my editor said “that should be a longer work” I said “nope, that’s it.” Fast forward 20 years and I’m more than halfway through a second novel with Detective Ribaud and the voodoo queens of New Orleans… and those creepy zombie vigilantes!

Q: Where can readers follow you and find your books?

I’m pretty easy to find since I’ve been publishing for over 30 years. My website is www.johneverson.com. On Facebook I am at www.facebook.com/johneverson. On Instagram I’m at https://www.instagram.com/nightwhereman.

I’m also on X and BlueSky as @JohnEverson and on TikTok as @johneversonauthor though I haven’t been using those platforms as much lately.

Darren “Ninetoes” Perdue is a book and media reviewer. When he is not reading, he is watching true crime shows, cooking for his family, or working on a plan for universal domination. If you see him on his porch, say hi. He does not bite…much.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing, nor do the views or opinions of Crystal Lake necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or its staff. Thank you for understanding.