Author Interview: Vince Churchill: Featured In XBOX Magazine's ZOMBIES: Black Quill Award Winner

Vince Churchill has six published novels: The Dead Shall Inherit The Earth, The Blackest Heart, The Butcher Bride, Pandora, Hyde, and Goodnight, My Sweet. The Dead Shall Inherit The Earth was featured in XBOX Magazine’s ZOMBIES! Collector’s Edition as one of The 37 Greatest Zombie Triumphs.

Vince’s short fiction has appeared in anthologies such as The Undead, The Undead II, The Horror Library ­ Volume One, The Beast Within, and the Black Quill award winning Midnight Walk. He was also a list contributor in the Book of Lists: Horror. Vince’s novella, “Condemned”, anchored The Butcher Shop Quartet II anthology. In the pipeline is the illustrated superhero shocker, Midnight Eternal.

Vince invites you to visit his website: www.vincechurchill.com, and his blog: http://dr­jekylls­laboratory.tumblr.com/ 

Welcome Vince!

Will work for pizza

Your real name and pen name?

Vince Churchill is my real name, & I use it with all my writing.

 Please share some of the best memories of your childhood

Best childhood memories would include having adventures with my neighborhood friends. We called ourselves the Acrobat Club. Collecting comic books (Avengers!) and going to the drive-in. As teenagers, we used to explore the tunnels under the deserted State Hospital buildings which dated back to the Civil War.

Elizabeth, Mo and me

 About your education?

Since it didn't really involve English or Journalism or Creative Writing as  my college major back in the early '80's, the most important thing about my 4 years of college was just the life experiences you can only find at college living on campus for 4 years in the same dorm room...ha ha ha.

 What career did you plan during your education days?

I wanted to be the next Joseph Wambaugh, the great police procedural author. Be a cop for 20 years, retire, and then draw on all my police adventures for script and novel material.

 What languages you can speak and write?

Only English. I've wanted to speak Spanish my whole life.

 What is your biggest source of inspiration in life?

Hmmmm, I suppose all the great books, movies, and television shows I've enjoyed throughout my life.


 What hurts you most in this world?

Seeing my family and friends unhappy with their lives, but not trying to make the necessary changes. That, and all the hungry children all over the world.


 What is the biggest challenge you have faced? How did you overcome it?

The biggest challenge...I'm not sure I've had a really life changing challenge, but I suppose it would be that I don't have to be Stephen King in order to have the life I want for myself as a dark fiction writer. It's
okay just to be me, and that's plenty good enough.


 If you had to live a day of your life as one of the living or dead  personality, who would it be and why?

I think living a day as Bruce Lee would be awesome. He was a legend, an innovator, and a leader.

 What is your favorite genre and why?

Horror, by far. It's just so wide open and ripe for creativity.


 When did you start writing? What is the purpose of your writing?

I have a 2nd grade report card that says I started writing little stories. When I was young I did it for fun, and to mimic some of the great books I'd read from the library. Later on I think I wrote to prove to myself
that I could, and now I write to entertain myself and my readers.


 Which of your work has been published so far? Would you like to share a synopsis of your work?

I've written 6 books - I self-published the first two, though the second novel was later re-published, and the other four have been released through small genre presses. I've had a few short stories published, but I stopped writing them years ago. At my website, vincechurchill.com, I have a section called Fresh Kill, that offers portions of works-in-progress for folks to sample.

 What are your forthcoming writings?

I've had a novella (Hyde) and a novel (Goodnight, My Sweet) published since spring of this year by Dark Recesses Press. Both are thrillers, though completely different. Hyde is an erotic thriller in the vein of
Fifty Shades of Gray. Goodnight, My Sweet is an end of the world thriller involving a sleep plague where everyone who falls asleep one night dies. Probably next up is an illustrated superhero novel called Midnight Eternal.


 What genres you write in and why?

My brain works with the genres I grew up loving: horror, sci-fi, thrillers, and action/adventure. I still love those types of entertainment, so those are the waters where I swim creatively.

 What keeps you motivating towards writing?

I want to get better with each project, and someday I want to write the perfect book, sort of like my own Princess Bride. Something timeless that the whole family can share. Just haven't stumbled into the right idea yet.


 If Writing a Book is taken as a project, What are the key essentials you take care of in Project Management?

That the idea is really exciting to me, and that it has the bones to be a full novel. I know how the story begins, ends, and several key points along the way before I start writing. And that the idea is the best one I have at the moment. And lastly, I finish the book in a timely fashion.

 How do you plan, schedule and monitor your writing commitments?

I usually give myself a loose deadline, based on the number of pages I can reasonably do per week, but writing a book has a certain pattern I seem to follow, so I don't get to caught up if I'm behind at a certain point or ahead later on.


 What are your future plans?

To keep writing novels, try my hands at some original screenplays and graphic novels, and hopefully do a "scary" children's book in the next year or two.


 What is generally your preference in reading – a paper book or ebook?  And  why?

I still like to hold a book. I don't own a Kindle or Nook. Just what I've grown up with, I guess.

 What four top most things you take care of while writing a book?

Four things huh? Well, I think the biggest thing is staying true to the story and not punking out on my readers. I think when you're writing for adult readers, there's an certain expectation that needs to be met. Fans of TRUE BLOOD don't watch it expecting TWILIGHT, know what I mean? Treat the reader with respect and give them what they deserve, whether they really want it or not...ha ha ha


 How much real life goes into a fiction writing?

Not really as much as some readers might suspect, though it depends on the project. I've used my hometown of Jacksonville, Il. as the basis for towns in a couple of my works, and there are some personal experiences sprinkled throughout my latest book, Goodnight, My Sweet. It's generally much easier
to keep fiction, fiction.


 Is high level of imagination important to have for an Author?

It is for me. I hate research, so I depend on my imagination to help me create places, worlds, etc.


 Your dream destination on Earth?

There are so many cool places I'm not sure I could pick one. I'd like to travel Europe, but that's a cheat answer. I want to go to Tokyo, Hong Kong, New York, but I guess if I had to pick one, it would be Rio de
Janeiro.


 Your origin of birth and other countries you have visited/ stayed. What best things you liked in these countries around the globe?

I really haven't traveled that much. I was born in the US, and have only been to the Bahamas and Toronto. Probably only driven through 20 states, tops. I have a long list of places I'd like to visit all over the world.

 Your favorite time of the day?

Nighttime. Late night when the world is really dark and really quiet.


 Your zodiac/ sunsign?

I am a true Aries.


 Your favorite color and why?

Midnight Blue I guess. No real reason.


 What is the last book you finished reading? What is the current book you are reading?

The last book I read was The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson. I'm not currently reading anything.

 Your favorite book and why?

Oh dude...come one now! I'm not sure I have a definitive single favorite. I have a top shelf with my 13 favorite which I could probably pare down to 4-5 books maybe...Among them would be Silence of the Lambs, The Stand, The Relic, Lie to Me, and maybe Swan Song. But if you ask me next week, a
couple of these might be different.


 Your favorite movie and why?

This isn't much easier. There are just too much great flicks. There is no one single all-time fav. Maybe The Ghost & Mr. Chicken, or the original The Nutty Professor, or the original Halloween.


 Your favorite celebrity and why?

You're killin' me. Too many great actors, singers, dancers over the years to chose one.


 Your favorite food?

Hamburgers.


 Your favorite sports?

Track & Field & American Football.


 What is the force that drives you?

I have more stories I want to share than I have time left to write.


 What comes to your mind when you think of India?

The great horror novel from Dan Simmons called Song of Kali, and the great Oscar winning Best Picture Slumdog Millionaire pop into my head.


 Some quickies: Sun or Moon, Laughter or Smile, Morning or Evening, Coffee  or Tea, Mountain or Sea, Long Drive or Short Drive, Silence or Conversation, Water or Fire, Air or Earth, Mars or Jupiter, Tulip or Rose, Red or Blue, Left or Right, Glance or Stare


Moon
Laughter
Evening
Neither coffee or tea!
Sea
Long Drive
Conversation
Water
Earth
Mars
Rose
Blue
Left
Stare





 First thing you do in the morning after waking up?

Go to the bathroom.


 Last thing to do before sleep?

Pray.


 If one fine morning you wake up and find your sex changed to opposite, what will be your first reaction?

This seriously sucks.

 State your signature line/ tagline/ best quote

No spider threw that rock.


 The last line of your autobiography would be…

He lived his life and made it as much his own as he could.


 The title of your autobiography would be…

Jekyll & Hyde

My website link:

http://www.vincechurchill.com/


My Amazon.com Author Page:

http://www.amazon.com/Vince-Churchill/e/B002BLOSKY/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1411945142&sr=1-2-ent


My Goodreads Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/249615.Vince_Churchill


Dark Recesses Press website:

http://darkrecessespress.com/