S.E.Cox is the new female dark fiction writer who adds a unique bite
in fantasy (vampirism/mythological) horror. Residing in the West Midlands, UK, she burns
the midnight oil once her two young children are sweetly slumbering.
With a collection of short
stories and a novella under her belt, she can entice
the reader into her dark realm, leaving them enthralled and believing that a
world of shadows and dark beings can exist. Love, longing and pain and with that expected twist, she will leave the
reader satisfied and wanting more.
S.E.Cox also owns and is editor of a new fantastic E-zine called 'House of Horrors'. Go to http://www.houseofhorrors.org.uk to view issue one.
With the 'House of Horrors' new anthology entitled 'Mausoleum Memoirs' to be released next month, S.E. Cox has edited 14 tantalizing tales from aspiring and established authors. Each tale has a haunted house theme - surely this will cause some readers an spooky though exciting chill if read alone with the lights dimmed!
A collection of her own stories called 'Twisted Confusion' will be released in the very near future.
Her debut novel Rosella Book 1:
Forbidden Love is available now for purchase.
Rosella is a human - vampire who
falls in love with the son of her family's enemy; Prince Jonas. A forbidden
Love, vampire romance, set in an English high school goes terribly wrong, when
each of their families refuse to accept their love for each other. Romeo and
Juliet for vampire lovers in the 21st Century.
Go to www.lulu.com
and grab a copy now! Will be available on Amazon in the coming weeks.
BH: Welcome! I am thrilled you agreed to take part in this interview, it's always good to see a new British female writer on the scene, and I wish you every success with all your endeavors! Why did you
choose horror/dark fiction as your particular genre?
S.E.Cox: Ever since I can remember, I have always loved horror. As a child, I
read every single book in the ‘point horror’ collection and then fell in love
with a novel by Christopher Pike. The book was called ‘The Immortal and I was
so intrigued by the first person narrative. I guess that’s why most of my work
is produced that way too.
BH: What is your
favourite horror film and why?
S.E Cox: Ooh now that is a hard one, but to be honest, I would have to go
back to when I was 12 years old and first discover Freddy Kruger. My all time
favourite film would have to be Wes Craven's New Nightmare. I had to watch it
several times though to work out what was going on. It’s stupid really. I had
never seen any of the other movies until my friend rented it and we watched it
together at a sleepover. It was then that I went back and watched the previous
films.
BH: What motivates
you to write?
S.E. Cox: To be completely honest, I don’t really need much motivation to
write. It is just automatically instilled within me I think. From the moment I
wake up in the morning, I am usually conjuring up a new story – even writing
out the opening paragraph in my head whilst making the kids breakfast. I am
always writing. I can’t help it. But the downside to never really taking a
break is that I have three unfinished novels and several short stories that I
just can’t seem to finish/edit.
BH: How do you
balance writing with family life?
S.E. Cox: Well, luckily my life is my own. I don’t
share it with anyone so when the kids go to bed at night, I have the whole
evening to write and work. I am very fortunate to have two usually good little
girls. At 7pm, the kids go to bed and that’s it. I am on my laptop. None of
this running up and down the stairs lark. Not for me haha!
BH: Do you have any
pre-requisites before you begin writing? For example, certain music playing, a
drink or a smoke, and if so, why?
S.E Cox: If I am sitting down to write seriously, then
I have quite a routine. First when the kids are in bed, I make myself a nice
meal. Then, I pour myself a large glass of Vodka and Redbull. This keeps my
mind awake enough to follow through. A lot of the time though, I do a lot of
procrastinating. Myspace, Facebook, writing forums. I am terrible for starting
something and then it being too late to finish it. Sometimes I can stay up till
4am writing!
BH: Which authors or
filmmakers inspire you?
S.E.Cox: Wes Craven as a film maker really inspired me
and Christopher Pike as an author. Wes Craven’s New Nightmare was the film that
first put me on the path of enjoying horror and I have never looked back since.
It was Christopher Pike, as I said above, who first inspired me to write horror.
BH: Which incident in
recent news has given you a thought provoking idea and have you taken true
situations to conjure up a story?
S.E. Cox: I had a sense that I would write a story or a
novel even based on child cruelty. There has been a lot on the news recently, I
would like to get deep down to the nitty gritty about how and why these people
can harm such beautiful beings. Something where the victim actually got its own
back. I don’t know I am still thinking about it. I don’t know if I am brave
enough to go there yet with having two young children of my own.
BH: Which character
within film or literature could you indentify with?
S.E. Cox: am probably going to get slated for this,
but I actually identify with Stephanie Meyer for writing the Twilight Saga. I
am a big fan and you know what, I am not afraid to say it. I commend her for
writing what she loves when writing vampire literature was against her. And
look where she is today. She’s sold millions, billions eve of copies all around
the world and even has films coming out. She is a relatively new writer and
broke through that success barrier so quickly. I aim to do the same thing one
day. And, I love vampire romance! There, I said it!
BH: Do you discuss
your story ideas with anybody before you write and if so, who?
S.E. Cox: I try not too because unless they are too
a writer, they just tend to smile and nod and then back away slowly as you are
explaining the most gruesome part in your story haha! No, seriously, a lot of
my ideas for stories and novels come from the top of my head so I don’t
actually have time to speak to anyone about them.
BH: If you were at a
dinner party, who would be the perfect guests that would accompany you?
S.E. Cox: Wow! What a question! I guess if I were to
have a dinner party, I would have to invite Stephanie Meyer and she would sit
next to me and give me all the gossip on the most recent Twilight Saga film (and
Robert Pattinson and Taylor Launtner.) Christopher Pike would be my guest of
honour so I can thank him for leading me down the road of horror writing.
Stephen King, and I would have a lengthy discussion with him about why he is so
wordy and why I can’t seem to get into any of his books although I love the
film versions. He would also have to sit way away from Stephanie Meyer, so she
couldn’t smack him for the recent comments that he made about her. Robert
Englund would also have to be there – dressed as Freddy of course to bring a
little light heartedness to the gathering, and finally Ann Rice, just because
me, her and Stephanie can chat about how hot male vampires are in our books
haha!
BH:Tell us about your upcoming
project and tell us where and when it will be available.
S.E.Cox: Well, I am actually working on two
projects at the moment, three if you count my next novel that has been picked
up and put down more times than a ragged doll! The first is obviously House Of
Horror’s first anthology ‘Mausoleum Memoirs’ and the second is my collection of
short stories entitles ‘Twisted Confusion.’ Both books will be available around
July/ August time. I really could pin point an actual date. Both projects will
be available on Lulu.com and then from Amazon, but to save on the hefty
shipping prices, I will be setting up a pre-order link and anyone who
pre-orders will get free shipping until the book is available for release. Just
keep an eye out on the Myspace Bulletin board if you are interested in getting
yourself a copy.
BH:What are your goals for The House
of Horror Magazine?
S.E. Cox: I guess that my goal for the zine would
to become successful enough to actually be able to pay contributors for their
work. It is great that writers support new zines by submitting their work for
free, but I know that given the choice they would rather be paid for it. I hope
that our first anthology is successful enough to give us the drive to do
another one and also have a few more of those prolific writers out there jump
on board and tour the House Of Horror.
BH:Thank you so much for taking part
in this interview, is there anything you would like to add before we close?
S.E.Cox: Well, House Of Horror is open to submissions all year round and we
are a monthly zine so your work will be showcased one way or another. There are
still a few open places in the anthology ‘Mausoleum Memoirs’ left so please get
those haunted house stories in too me asap.
Thanks Black Hound for inviting me to do
this interview, and I hope that I will be able to appear in some of your
upcoming projects!.