Guest Host: Mark McLaughlin: "What Will You Write Next...?"

Hello Trickyverse,

As promised, today I am happy to bring to you a guest post, written by Bram Stoker award-winning author Mark McLaughlin.  I was thrilled when Mark graciously accepted my invitation to post, and I hope you enjoy his writing advice as much as I did.

Without further ado, I bring you--

What Will You Write Next…?

by Mark McLaughlin

These days, the world of horror literature is filled with zombie books. I know this because I’m one of the authors who have contributed to the current glut of undead literature. Last year, Wildside Press released my story collection, BEACH BLANKET ZOMBIE. People have asked me if I wrote that book expressly to capitalize on the current zombie trend. Honestly, the answer is “No”: the stories in the book were written over a period of around 17 years. I’ve been writing about zombies long before the trend ever began.

Mind you, I’m not complaining about all the other authors who have chosen to write zombie books. I enjoy creating zombie stories and wouldn’t want to deny any other writers that pleasure. Based on conversations and emails with other authors, I know that many writers have written zombie books simply to jump on the undead bandwagon. But, I’m not complaining about those folks, either. Everyone should be able to write whatever they want to write. In fact, that’s the point of this blog entry: everyone should write what they WANT to write.

Now, let’s say you don’t really WANT to write a zombie book, and you’re only thinking about doing it because you want to ride the current trend. If that’s the case … well, you probably shouldn’t do it. For one thing, the trend is already on the downswing, and by the time you finish your book, the trend will probably be deader than a zombie’s brainless victim. Plus, if you’re not really into the topic you’re tackling, it won’t be your best work.

My most recent book is BEST LITTLE WITCH-HOUSE IN ARKHAM, a collection of Mythos-inspired horror stories, and I wrote it because I’ve always enjoyed reading and writing stories of cosmic horror. Do I think that cosmic horror is, or will become, a huge national trend? No: it’s too complex of a subgenre and definitely too much of an acquired taste. But hey, lots of people do like it … there’s certainly a readership for it … so that makes it a win-win situation for me. It’s a subgenre I enjoy writing about and that others enjoy reading.

With all that in mind, you may now be thinking: “I like a lot of different genres and subgenres. If I don’t jump on the zombie trend, what trend should I jump on?”

My answer is this: If you must jump on a trend, do some research and find a trend that speaks to you. A trend that excites you. Or, forget about trends and write whatever the hell you want! Who knows, you may write something that will initiate the next big trend, whatever it might be. Every trend has to start somewhere, and maybe what you create will become popular and inspire other authors, because you wrote it with passion and sincerity.

I will add this cautionary note: If you do decide to write within the boundaries of a trend, make sure you are well-read within that trend and its genre, so you don’t end up reinventing everyone else’s plotlines. Fans of that trend will be able to tell if you’re faking it, and they’ll be disappointed if you get any of the details wrong, so do plenty of research. Also, push yourself to be innovative and energetic. If you add something new to the trend and do it with enthusiasm, readers will pick up on that energy and truly enjoy your work.

Good luck -- and get to work! The next big thing ain’t gonna write itself!

-- End --

About Mark McLaughlin: Mark's fiction, nonfiction, and poetry have appeared in more than 1,000 magazines, newspapers, websites, and anthologies, including GALAXY, FANGORIA, LIVING DEAD 2, WRITER'S DIGEST, CEMETERY DANCE, MIDNIGHT PREMIERE, DARK ARTS, and two volumes of THE YEAR'S BEST HORROR STORIES (DAW Books). His latest releases are the story collection, BEST LITTLE WITCH-HOUSE IN ARKHAM, the two-author poetry collection, REVENGE OF THE TWO-HEADED POETRY MONSTER (with Michael McCarty), and the story collection BEACH BLANKET ZOMBIE. Feel free to visit Mark on Facebook at www.facebook.com/markmclaughlinmedia.

Book Launch: Best Little Witch-House in Arkham by Mark McLaughlin

With the book launch of Best Little Witch-House in Arkham, I've been fortunate enough to pluck from one of the stranger, more perverse galaxies of the Trickyverse, One Mark McLaughlin to join us today on Writing is Tricky (WiT).

Mark is a Bram-Stoker Award-winning author (the "oscars" of horror writing if you will), witty, horrific, and hilarious.

Is he more genius than madman or more madman than genius?  After reading Best Little Witch-House in Arkham, you'll understand why the answer is not important.   

Read on to learn about Mark's latest book launch and stop back soon as Mark himself will be handed the reins here on (WiT) to blog something special just for demented, little us.

-Tricky

Welcome to the Best Little Witch-House in Arkham. In this midnight den of dread and doom, you will find twenty-five rooms, each with a story of its own to tell. Here you will enjoy a delectable variety of otherworldly nightmares and blasphemies ... enough to satisfy even your most eldritch desires.

Here you will find evil pop-stars longing to devour their fans. You will meet a sophisticated secret agent in search of supernatural super-villains. 

You will learn the vile secrets of Kugappa, the writhing octopus-god, and Ghattambah, a grotesque insect deity whose soul dwells beyond time. 

You will smell the unhallowed stench of the Odour out of the Terrible Old Man. You will drink the creamy Milk of Time, an unholy substance which flows through the depths of a forbidden house of horrors known as Der Fleischbrunnen. You will even travel through deep space to a futuristic restaurant for alien connoisseurs, where you will sink your teeth into the monstrous specialty of the house.

You will find all of these horrors, and so much more ... in the Best Little Witch-House in Arkham. New from Wildside Press.

Check out the book (paper and on Kindle)...

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Little-Witch-House-Arkham-McLaughlin/dp/143444208X/

...and some of Mark's regular haunts online 

Mark's Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/markmclaughlinmedia

The Witch-house:

http://www.facebook.com/BestLittleWitchHouse

Mark's Bio 

Author Mark McLaughlin's latest releases are the story collection, BEST LITTLE WITCH-HOUSE IN ARKHAM, and the two-author poetry collection, REVENGE OF THE TWO-HEADED POETRY MONSTER (with Michael McCarty).

Mark's fiction, nonfiction, and poetry have appeared in more than 1,000 magazines, newspapers, websites, and anthologies, including GALAXY, FANGORIA, LIVING DEAD 2, THE BEST OF ALL FLESH, WRITER'S DIGEST, CEMETERY DANCE, MIDNIGHT PREMIERE, DARK ARTS, and two volumes each of THE BEST OF HORRORFIND and THE YEAR'S BEST HORROR STORIES (DAW Books).

Other collections of Mark's fiction include BEACH BLANKET ZOMBIE, MOTIVATIONAL SHRIEKER, SLIME AFTER SLIME, PICKMAN'S MOTEL, RAISING DEMONS FOR FUN AND PROFIT, and AT THE FOOTHILLS OF FRENZY (with coauthors Shane Ryan Staley and Brian Knight).

With regular collaborator Michael McCarty, he has written MONSTER BEHIND THE WHEEL (their latest horror novel), PARTNERS IN SLIME (their latest collaborative story collection, packed with monsters), ALL THINGS DARK & HIDEOUS, PROFESSOR LaGUNGO'S CLASSROOM OF DOOM, and more.

Mark is the coauthor, with Rain Graves and David Niall Wilson, of THE GOSSAMER EYE, which won the 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Poetry. He writes a blog on cinematic horror called BMovieMonster. And, he is also a marketing and public relations specialist, writing articles for business journals, newspapers, trade publications and websites.

What others are saying about Mark

What critics and colleagues have said about Mark McLaughlin's work over the years:

"In the most devious manner, McLaughlin's stories achieve a high degree of demonism by perpetuating a sinister 'humor' at the gallows of the human comedy."

-- Author Thomas Ligotti

"Listen up. Noel Coward is back. Salvador Dali is back. Dylan Thomas is back. And they're all rolled into one in the shape of Mark McLaughlin who writes stories that are wonderfully witty, surrealistic and ineffably strange. Absolutely fabulous. .... If your palette is jaded, come to the feast that is Mark McLaughlin."

-- Author Simon Clark

"Mark McLaughlin's prose never disappoints. It might shock, dismay, puzzle, leave you rolling out of your seat laughing or sitting back in amazement, but it never disappoints."

-- David Niall Wilson

"McLaughlin's tales are laugh-out-loud assaults on consensus reality."

-- Paul Di Filippo, ASIMOV'S

"Reading Mark McLaughlin is a little like stepping out of the door of an airplane in mid flight. The view is pretty amazing, but the shock of impact may do you in ... gruesome, funny and touching. Top that: anybody...."

--Matthew Nadelhaft, TANGENT