Eye on Ashenclaw: May 2018

Thursday, May 3, 2018

Peter Guy Blacklock Interview

First off, tell us a little bit about you

I was born and raised in an unremarkable town in the north-east of England by a remarkably supportive and well adjusted working-class family. After 14 years of ineffective education I found himself in Art College, which led to twenty years employment as an Archaeological Illustrator in which I produced a wide variety of technical illustrations for publication as well as more general illustration, design and copy work on educational and display materials intended for schools and the general public. Eventually the hunt for a half decent salary within that occupation led me to the Museum of London and a move to the capitol where I still live today in happily married bliss. I am passionate about genre fiction, film and games, have a fervent interest in history, mythology and folklore and am fascinated by the deeper meanings behind ritual practice, ceremonial magic and occult lore. I am a keen Ripperologist, a devout Lovecraftian and a determined new writer of dark-genre fiction and non-fiction books. A good deal of my spare time is spent online where, under my user-name of choice ‘Harbinger451’, I am creating a website and writing a blog that explore the alternative worlds that encompass my passions. I have one published novel and am currently writing the second.

Tell us about your books/What genre do you consider your books?

I have one published book so far – Rose Blood: The Phantasmagoriad Book One, the first in a proposed Gothic Horror, Dark Fantasy trilogy. I write dark speculative fiction that covers the gamut of horror, fantasy, sci-fi, occult, noir and weird ... usually with a twist of humour (that’s not always black) and a frisson of sex (that’s not always erotic), for such is life.

When did you start writing?

I wrote the first draft of my debut novel a long, long time ago after leaving Art College, then shelved it as life and work took over. A little over a year and a half ago I decided to look at that first draft again, edited it, rewrote parts and added a whole lot more - then figured I would publish. I started approaching agents with that end in view but soon became disenchanted with the whole process and self-published instead, and boy is it a steep learning curve – writing it was the easy part.

Why do you write?

I write because I’m so full of ideas that it is often the only way to get them out.

What would be your choice for a superpower?

Speed-writing.

Who is your favorite author?

Raymond Chandler.

What are you reading now?

I’m reading ‘Mabon and the Mysteries of Britain’ by Caitlin Mathews and ‘Chronicles of the Black Company’ by Glen Cook.

Who is your favorite character to write?

Arkturon, a wizard and agent of the state in my Phantasmagoriad trilogy. Wizards are a blast and writing them is equally so.

Do you have a writing process?

I try to write something every day whether it’s just a few words, lines or, if I’m lucky, pages. Failing that, I at least try to read through something I have already written and edit it.

What advice would you give to an aspiring author?

Keep reading and writing, listen and learn from the world around you... and always take notes. Get your work out there in as many places as possible. Talk about your work on social media, write a blog - get yourself out there online and keep writing, writing and more writing, hone your skills and be sure to learn from your mistakes.

What inspired you to pursue writing?

I’m driven to writing by a desperate and vain-glorious need to be loved by a certain cultish clique and thought to be absolutely and dangerously notorious by everyone else.

What are your favorite TV shows/Movies to watch in between writing?At the moment I’m watching two TV series, Altered Carbon and Knightfal, interspersed with practically any classic horror movie you could mention.

What are your current projects?

I'm working on the second book in my debut trilogy, The Phantasmagoriad, it’s called Moon Shade and I'm hoping to release it at Halloween this year (fingers crossed). I also have an ongoing work of web-fiction, Gaea Parallaxis: the chronicles and testaments of Citizen No Name Kane - a FREE tech-noir, Gothic, sci-fi, fantasy-horror-comedy which is up to chapter five at the moment, working on the sixth. AND - working on a third short story that will complete my publishing house's second volume of their Dollar Dreadful ebook series.

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to readers?

I’d like to warn all my potential readers that my work will invariably contain extreme themes and situations of a profane, violent, horrific and sexual nature. Expect adult language and situations as well as overt violence and gore!

Quick Fire:Cats or dogs? - Cats definitely ... though I don’t mind dogs.
Coffee or tea? - Both
Favorite food? - Fish ‘n’ Chips with Curry Sauce.
Vanilla or chocolate ice-cream? - Neither, don’t really do ice cream, rather have cake ... mmm, cake.
What are 3 things you never leave home without? - Keys, wallet, mobile.
Laptop or desktop? - Laptop
Who are 3 famous people you would like to hang out with? Lemmy, Johnny Cash and Hendrix.
TV or Movies? - Movies, TV shows usually get boring after 6-10 episodes ... and that’s the good ones.