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DD: Hello Paul, your story: Where The Wounded Trees Wait, which opens the anthology, seems to be a very personal story and is dedicated to a family member. Can you tell us a little about the subject and how you came to write about it? PE: The story is dedicated to my great-grandfather on my father’s side, William “Billy” Edwards. Billy actually fought in World War II, and was one of the Desert Rats who helped defeat the Germans in North Africa. In his dying days, he expressed a great deal of regret over something that he had done as a soldier; he was hugely remorseful and frightened of death as a result. My father later came into possession of a wallet that had belonged to Billy, containing a picture of a swastika and photographs of Berlin – a spoil of war, perhaps. For my story, I wanted to explore the impact and horror of being put in the position of having to kill or be killed, whilst paying homage to my great-grandfather’s memory. I also wanted to write a weird tragedy around how the events of the past can inform the present, and vice versa. DD Did you have to do a lot of research – if so, was it just a case of going on ‘google’ or did you have to visit libraries, read primary sources, watch films etc etc? PE: I visited the battlefields in and around the Somme in October of last year, exploring Mametz, Danzig Alley Cemetery, Thiepval Memorial – all the places that I basically mention in my tale. It was a humbling, fascinating experience, although the smaller, more personal stuff captivated me most – diary entries and first-hand accounts of frontline soldiers in particular. I found these accounts extremely moving, and they inspired me to take a diary-entry approach with my own story. I was also influenced by the macabre and disturbing art of Otto Dix, which I came across in the museum in Peronne. Finally, Owen Sheers’ poem Mametz Wood provided the setting and a much-needed spark of inspiration to get my story going. DD: What were your challenges when writing the story? PE: One of the biggest challenges I found was trying to capture the voice of the soldier. Visiting various war museums in France and reading those diaries and first-hand accounts certainly helped. Also, it took me a while to get the ending right; originally (and without giving too much away) I had a much more optimistic ending in mind, but it just didn’t work out. I’m much happier with the ending that I settled on, even if it did take me a while to figure out! DD: While you were writing it, did you ever feel as if you were one of the characters? Are there parts of it which are based on events in your own life? PE: I think there’s always a little bit of me in my characters, as well as other people that I know and am close to; things people say or do in real-life have a habit of popping up again in my writing. When someone says something to me that sparks off an idea, I tend to zone out, turning glassy-eyed and vacant, much to the exasperation of whoever’s talking to me!vI don’t think there are any parts of the story based on events in my own life, but there are strong echoes of me in how certain characters think and feel, I guess. DD: Do you have a specific writing style? Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing? PE: My fiction usually revolves around relationships; stories set within the weird, insular world that a damaged couple might forge for themselves. I’m not entirely sure why, but I seem to gravitate towards writing about broken relationships in a horror context. I find editing the most challenging aspect – the first drafts tend to come fairly quickly (I write first drafts longhand), then I can slave away for months, sometimes even years, until I finally have something half-decent to show for it. I have a fulltime job and a family, so I don’t have as much time to write as I would like, but I keep going because I still get a massive kick out of being published. DD: Which authors / what books influenced you do you think? If you had to choose, which writer could you consider a mentor? Who is your favourite author and what strikes you about their work? PE: I do mainly read horror as I am a big fan. My favourite writers include Ramsey Campbell, David Almond (children’s author, so a slight deviation there!), Poppy Z. Brite, Jack Ketchum, Joel Lane, M. John Harrison, Gary A. Braunbeck, John B. Ford, Simon Clark and many, many others. I’m not sure I have a favourite writer, but I do hugely admire the work of the late Joel Lane. His stories are strange and downbeat, but utterly compelling and beautiful, too. His stories are definitely an inspiration to me. DD: So what next – what are your current projects? Can you share any of it with us? PE: I’m currently working on a 50,000-word collection, tentatively entitled We Are the Void. It’s taking quite a while to get right, but I’m hoping to send it out to places in 2019. I’ve also started a novel, a cosmic horror story about a PCSO (Police Community Support Officer) investigating some weird goings-on on his beat… DD: Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? PE: I suppose I’m lucky in that I’ve never suffered from writer’s block. I’ve always got loads of ideas floating around inside my head; it’s just having the time to get them all down! DD: Do you write an outline before every story you write or do you just go for it? PE: I don’t tend to write outlines, although I am hesitant in jumping into writing a story unless I have a clear beginning, middle and end in mind. I have written a very brief outline for the novel, but I’ve deviated from that already and am now just going for it! I love being creative and find writing stories cathartic; I can’t imagine ever not-writing. DD: Thanks for your time Paul - good luck with everything! If you're interested in discovering more about Paul, please check out: Website: https://www.pauledwardshorror.net/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paul.edwards.3979 Twitter: https://twitter.com/PaulEdwards23
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CategoriesArchives
November 2023
AuthorDean M. Drinkel |