Welcome Autumn Christian
1 Of the characters you have created or envisioned, which is your favorite & why?
I don’t so much create characters as meet them . They’re a synthesis of my drug-addicted friends, beautifully demented girls, ex-boyfriends, other writers and experiences I’ve had. They come out of evaporated snow. Memory tapes. I don’t have much of a favorite character as they are all really the same person, some twisting amalgamation of me.
If I had to be an adult and actually pick a favorite character, it would be Jolene the swamp monster, inspired by Queen Adreena’s cover of the Dolly Parton song, also named Jolene. She has her own short story (also called Jolene, don’t tell anyone) that never saw the light of day, but is also in my novel The Crooked God Machine. She’s my favorite because she used to haunt me while I was taking a bath. She’d sing songs to me, so I took her from the song and put her into writing.
2. Do you favor one type of genre or do you dabble in more than one?
I’m a horror writer, despite everyone’s objection the contrary. From an Amazon review for A Gentle Hell: “Christian's horror comes in more like an after thought, as something that is just part of these characters' lives now and they just have to adapt to it.” If I was to be honest with myself I’d have to say I was more of a dark speculative fiction writer, as I write a lot of literary and science fiction, but always with a dark edge. Interestingly enough, I was talking to my girlfriend about this while I was hunched over on the bed trying not to drool on myself. I said, “maybe I should stop calling myself a horror writer.” But she said: “I think it suits you. There’s something about the imagery you like. You don’t call yourself a literary writer, or a sci-fi writer. You’re a horror writer. And I think you should own that.” So, horror writer it is.
3.Have you got a favorite place to write?
No, but in my head I imagine it’s in the back of a dirty house in a closet with cigarette-burned walls and drunks screaming. I’ve moved about twelve times in the last year, so I haven’t had time to create a nest and a work space that is really my own. I often find myself going to one of the nearby coffee shops to write, or getting to work early to write.
4.What inspires your stories?
This is the question that always inspires writers to act like assholes. What inspires my stories? Probably that my mother beat me.
5.Do you belong to a writing group? If so which one?
No. I have yet to find a writing group that hasn’t been particularly disappointing to me. I don’t feel as if I belong because it’s mostly been hobbyists and people who are scarily cheerful. Does that sound pretentious? Maybe it’s pretentious. I’m sorry. If it was pretentious.
6.What age did you start writing stories/poems?
I can’t remember exactly. I think I was six years old, sometimes around the first time I started going to kindergarten. My parents bought me a typewriter because only real writers wrote on a typewriter. I was a dark fuck even then.
7.Do you have a book published? If so what is it called & where can readers purchase it?
Yes, I have two. One is a dystopian horror novel called the Crooked God Machine, and it can be found on Amazon and Smashwords. The other is a collection published by Dark Continents called A Gentle Hell, exclusively on amazon here. Both are blasphemous, sexy and dark. Would recommend for the suicide or angry child in your life.
8.If you could meet one favorite author who would it be and why?
Philip K. Dick, as he is the messiah of our people and soon everything will be explained. But no, seriously, A Scanner Darkly is one of my favorite books. It’s absolutely perfect.
9.Where can readers find you and your blogs?
You can find me at autumnchristian.net, follow me on twitter at @autumnxtian follow my Facebook fan page here or subscribe to my newsletter here
10.Who is your best supporter/mentor/encourager?
My girlfriend. We talked to each other through stories. I wove her into the fabric of my universe. When I am being a sad asshole she is my healer, pulls me up out of the dark and wraps me in blankets when the chill overtakes me.
Thanks to Autumn for a eclectic view to the writing art. Enjoy.
Welcome Autumn Christian
1 Of the characters you have created or envisioned, which is your favorite & why?
I don’t so much create characters as meet them . They’re a synthesis of my drug-addicted friends, beautifully demented girls, ex-boyfriends, other writers and experiences I’ve had. They come out of evaporated snow. Memory tapes. I don’t have much of a favorite character as they are all really the same person, some twisting amalgamation of me.
If I had to be an adult and actually pick a favorite character, it would be Jolene the swamp monster, inspired by Queen Adreena’s cover of the Dolly Parton song, also named Jolene. She has her own short story (also called Jolene, don’t tell anyone) that never saw the light of day, but is also in my novel The Crooked God Machine. She’s my favorite because she used to haunt me while I was taking a bath. She’d sing songs to me, so I took her from the song and put her into writing.
2. Do you favor one type of genre or do you dabble in more than one?
I’m a horror writer, despite everyone’s objection the contrary. From an Amazon review for A Gentle Hell: “Christian's horror comes in more like an after thought, as something that is just part of these characters' lives now and they just have to adapt to it.” If I was to be honest with myself I’d have to say I was more of a dark speculative fiction writer, as I write a lot of literary and science fiction, but always with a dark edge. Interestingly enough, I was talking to my girlfriend about this while I was hunched over on the bed trying not to drool on myself. I said, “maybe I should stop calling myself a horror writer.” But she said: “I think it suits you. There’s something about the imagery you like. You don’t call yourself a literary writer, or a sci-fi writer. You’re a horror writer. And I think you should own that.” So, horror writer it is.
3.Have you got a favorite place to write?
No, but in my head I imagine it’s in the back of a dirty house in a closet with cigarette-burned walls and drunks screaming. I’ve moved about twelve times in the last year, so I haven’t had time to create a nest and a work space that is really my own. I often find myself going to one of the nearby coffee shops to write, or getting to work early to write.
4.What inspires your stories?
This is the question that always inspires writers to act like assholes. What inspires my stories? Probably that my mother beat me.
5.Do you belong to a writing group? If so which one?
No. I have yet to find a writing group that hasn’t been particularly disappointing to me. I don’t feel as if I belong because it’s mostly been hobbyists and people who are scarily cheerful. Does that sound pretentious? Maybe it’s pretentious. I’m sorry. If it was pretentious.
6.What age did you start writing stories/poems?
I can’t remember exactly. I think I was six years old, sometimes around the first time I started going to kindergarten. My parents bought me a typewriter because only real writers wrote on a typewriter. I was a dark fuck even then.
7.Do you have a book published? If so what is it called & where can readers purchase it?
Yes, I have two. One is a dystopian horror novel called the Crooked God Machine, and it can be found on Amazon and Smashwords. The other is a collection published by Dark Continents called A Gentle Hell, exclusively on amazon here. Both are blasphemous, sexy and dark. Would recommend for the suicide or angry child in your life.
8.If you could meet one favorite author who would it be and why?
Philip K. Dick, as he is the messiah of our people and soon everything will be explained. But no, seriously, A Scanner Darkly is one of my favorite books. It’s absolutely perfect.
9.Where can readers find you and your blogs?
You can find me at autumnchristian.net, follow me on twitter at @autumnxtian follow my Facebook fan page here or subscribe to my newsletter here
10.Who is your best supporter/mentor/encourager?
My girlfriend. We talked to each other through stories. I wove her into the fabric of my universe. When I am being a sad asshole she is my healer, pulls me up out of the dark and wraps me in blankets when the chill overtakes me.
Thanks to Autumn for a eclectic view to the writing art. Enjoy.
Always appreciate hearing others share their writing life – thanks Mandy for providing these interviews for a glimpse into lives we would not have encountered otherwise.