Where do you live?
I'm from Wigan (northern English town that always seems to get a laugh...) but now reside in south London, where I write whenever I can find the time.
What’s your home life like?
I live in an apartment with my long-suffering lady friend, who is admirably tolerant of my writing and various other nerdy pursuits! Picture a pleasant London flat with loads of horror paraphernalia lying around (creepy mannequin, replica skull, Silent Hill poster)... all for inspiration of course!
What genre(s) do you like to write? To read?
I read anything that might be described as 'dark fiction', so my tastes range from crime through science fiction and fantasy all the way to full-blown horror. Basically if nasty things are happening to people in a story, I'm into it... not sure what that says about me!?
Why did you start writing?
I can't remember, because I've been doing it since I was literally about five years old! I think perhaps there was a bit of a 'positive feedback loop' in that I wrote things, grown-ups told me they were really good, so I carried on writing things... then at some point my tastes started to veer towards the dark and sinister (I can remember listening to horror stories on audio cassette when I was literally about seven years old) and I started relishing any school creative writing assignment where I could shock my teachers with some unspeakable twists!
What do you do when you’re not writing?
Sadly I spend some of the time masquerading as an accountant called Dave in order to pay the bills, but when I'm not doing this I consume as many stories as possible - whether they're in the form of books, films or video games doesn't matter!
Where do you like to go when looking for a new book to read?
I know it's a cliche but I genuinely like nothing more than just pottering around a bookshop looking at what catches my eye. Although sometimes I'll get a very specific recommendation, or stumble upon something intriguing (if you like x then you should read y...) and my lack of patience will lead me straight to the internet to get it ordered asap!
At what point do you call it quits when reading a new book?
I think there are two main ingredients to a book: the story, and the writing style (I'm including 'the characters', 'the setting' etc as part of the story). If both are strong, BRILLIANT. If one is lacking, I can usually keep going because of the other (I've read a number of gripping books that were not particularly well written, and similarly I've enjoyed some very well-written books whose stories were perhaps a little predictable or uneventful). However, if either is below a certain threshold, it sadly makes the book unreadable, and I'll put it down at that point.
Are you independently or traditionally published?
Both! I have two traditionally published crime thrillers, while my short horror fiction is very much a self-published labour of love. Sadly it seems there is such a limited market for short fiction that it's very difficult to get traditionally published, which I remain baffled by - I love short stories, and find them absolutely perfect for a commute, or a short (and ideally horrifying) distraction. With attention spans growing shorter every year, I keep predicting a sudden explosion in the popularity of the short story, but it doesn't yet seem to be forthcoming...
How many books/stories have you published so far?
I have released two crime thrillers (Deadly Burial and Never Rest) and two short horror collections (Jon Richter's Disturbing Works, Volumes One and Two), with another crime thriller and also a science fiction noir detective story on their way later in 2020.
What’s the elevator pitch?
My short horror anthology, Jon Richter's Disturbing Works: Volume Two, is a collection of deliciously twisted short stories that features psychological thrillers, grisly horror, science fiction, fantasy and more. These dark tales are perfect for anyone who likes their reads sinister, chilling, and with an occasional dash of black humour, and have been described as 'Black Mirror meets Tales Of The Unexpected'.
How long have you been working on it?
I write short stories whenever I'm not working on a novel-length project, and this latest collection represents the best of my output in the last few years.
When will it be available to buy? Where?
How can readers find you?
They can search for me on Amazon, or alternatively check out my website where you can find my other books, my fortnightly blog, and a sinister A.I. that would love to meet you... Finally, I co-host a fortnightly horror podcast called Dark Natter, which you can find wherever you get your podcast fix!
What inspires you to keep writing?
I'm afraid this is not quite a quote (sorry!) but I'm always inspired by Stephen King's explanation of the three types of horror, from his book Danse Macabre. The first is 'terror', also known as dread, which is the slowly-building sensation that something is very wrong... it could be likened to the feeling you get when standing in a pitch black room, suddenly convinced that someone is in there with you... The second is 'horror', which is something shocking, horrifying and hard to comprehend - to continue the above example, this is equivalent to flicking on the light switch in the dark room to find a dead body in the corner... or a monster! Finally, the third is 'the gross out' - sometimes viewed as a cheap option, this is where writers (or filmmakers, or video game developers) introduce gruesome images and bucketloads of gore to disturb the reader. I think this can still work, but only when used sparingly - I try to keep my horror fiction largely in the 'dread zone'.
Anything you’d like to add?
Only a huge thank you for the opportunity to be featured in your site, and to your readers for taking the time to read this interview - I hope it's been interesting!
My thanks to Jon Richter for taking time out of his busy writing and accounting schedules to participate in My Laughably Inane Blog. I wish him the best in all his future endeavors.
Sincerely,Nicholas P. AdamsJust a small-town boy with an overactive imagination.
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