Today on the Indie Author Spotlight at the Seventh Star Blog we are featuring Carl. R. Moore, author of the short story collection Slash of Crimson and Other Tales (Alt-mythology, crime noir, horror) , and the forthcoming novel Chains in the Sky (dark fantasy, horror). A gifted storyteller versatile in many genres, Carl is a writer on the rise and we invite you to discover more about him and his writing in this interview!
How would you describe your writing style to a reader who has never read your work before?
A mix of noir and horror with a touch of the surreal may sum it up—I’ve always thought authors themselves aren’t necessarily the best describers of their work, yet knowing how they would describe it can still offer was to engage and understand it.
Since I’m also a musician, I think sound is something important to how I write. I find it’s just important to think about how a word sounds as what it means. Neither element can be ignored. Instead of using the word “hug”, we should consider “embrace” or “cradle”, depending on the context.
What genres are you published in, and what do you like most about writing in those genres?
When I was younger, I wrote mostly poetry, songs, and a few newspaper articles. Way back in the 1990’s I was the Rick Carbonneau Scholar for Poetry at the Stonecoast Writers’ Conference in southern Maine. I also published a story in a crime noir magazine called Thuglit. More recently I have published mostly horror stories, though Slash of Crimson, my 2017 novella, could be called urban fantasy, as could my 2018 novelette, Mommy and the Satanists.
Are there any genres that you would like to explore that you have not yet been published in? If so, then what interests you about potentially writing in those genres?
I am interested in epic fantasy and have been told my stories have strong romance elements (though it would be a very rough and ready sort of romance). I’m a huge Game of Thrones fan, read a lot of fantasy as a kid and play Dungeons & Dragons with my teenage daughter and her friends, so the themes have a nice combination of new yet familiar ripe for exploration.
Tell us about your latest release.
I will have a new novel titled Chains in the Sky released with Seventh Star Press in the fall of 2020. I was working on a different novel when this one leapt full form the mind and demanded to be written. It tells the story of Ray Barrs, a retired detective haunted by the ghost of his granddaughter. At first, he is compelled to save her from apparent damnation, then he discovers her soul is trapped somewhere far worse than hell. Ray confronts enemies earthly and unearthly to rescue Ada’s soul from torment and redeem himself in the eyes of his family. The worst demons of all turn out to be those of his own past and the difficulties of knowing who is a friend and who is a foe.
What are you currently working on, in terms of your works in progress?
I have another novel I am editing titled Red December about a werewolf cult. I’m excited to finish this piece and possible publish it in 2021. This work is about a hunter who tries to save his town from a werewolf cult. I like that it takes place in a rural setting, as I spend a lot of time outdoors and grew up in rural Maine. I am interested in the nuances of the way different writers engage the wilderness, and once wrote a blog-essay about the difference between Stephen King’s Maine and Jack Ketchum’s Maine. I wanted to explore my own thoughts on what wilderness really means and go places I feel are yet uncharted.
I’ve also started a fantasy piece that is in the very early stages of development. It has a steampunk feel and a tech-level that is closer to the Renaissance, with longswords and cannons side by side. So far, it’s been really fun to work on, we’ll see where it goes.
What do you personally find most challenging about the craft of writing?
These days it’s the marketing. I’ve had casual conversations with folks about how they’d just rather watch movies or play games because reading even good descriptions takes too long. So, we as writers just have to be even better!
What do you view to be your strengths when it comes to writing?
This is another one where I don’t think the author is the best person to necessarily know—having said that, and to revisit movies and video games, I write in an addictive manner that mimics how people seem to play games. I sit down and get lost in it and the hours fly by and I feel so alive during those times, it’s like nothing else. It seems that’s got to be a form of strength.
Tell us a little about your path to becoming a writer, including when you decided to pursue writing with a goal of becoming published and what initially drew you toward writing and storytelling.
I think for me started by playing in a rock band and writing songs, and also writing poetry as an older teen and in college. I put myself through school and majored in English because it was something I loved. I was paying for it myself and always working and going part-time, so even at a young age, I had to spend what little money I had on something about which I was passionate. By the time I graduated, I was feeling a little burnt-out on the contemporary poetry of the time and started getting into science fiction, then later, horror and fantasy because it felt fresh and inviting.
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About Carl: Carl R. Moore is the author of Chains in the Sky, forthcoming from Seventh Star Press, as well as the collection Slash of Crimson and Other Tales, also published by Seventh Star. He lives in upstate New York with his wife Sarah and daughters Maddy and Izzy. More information on his new releases along with book reviews can be found at www.deepdarknight.net
Synopsis of Slash of Crimson and Other Tales: SLASH OF CRIMSON AND OTHER TALES offers two novellas and six short stories that combine an intoxicating mix of horror, crime noir, and alt-mythology. Its title story spins a dark maritime yarn about Drew Aldrin, a young guitarist and street rough, who takes a harrowing journey with a red-eyed beauty who claims she’s from Atlantis. The half-dozen brutal and sardonic short stories that follow tell of lost souls tortured by demons and far worse. The final novella, Torn from the Devil’s Chest, serves unsuspecting Sociology student Lyla Banes a deliciously disturbing feast of deception and trust-destroying lust. Indulge yourself in a collection that guarantees to thrill the senses while it shocks the nerves
That was a terrific interview, I love to hear from Carl Moore & my mind is eager to devour his latest!