Interview with gay horror author, Rick R. Reed

Rick R. Reed has been hailed as “the Stephen King of gay horror” (Unzipped magazine, October 2006) and his dark, suspenseful fiction has been called, “a harrowing ride through cutting-edge psychological horror” (Douglas Clegg, author of The Attraction) and having a “knack for presenting the gruesome lower depths of a soul” (New City).

I recently had the pleasure of reviewing a superb novel, Bashed, by Rick R. Reed. When I caught up with Rick to let him know how much I enjoyed his story, he agreed to give me a formal interview. Below is the result of that interview.

Q: When did you start writing and how many novels have you published?

I started writing at age six, wrote and produced my first play in fourth grade and in fifth grade, held my classmates enthralled with a long account (read aloud in installments) about a young girl being kidnapped by a mysterious stranger. I guess it’s always been in my blood, almost something that’s constitutional with me.

With Bashed, my recent release with MLR Press, I can now say I have ten published novels (there are some additional e-book novellas that could also be counted, in addition to that number). My eleventh print book, M4M, a collection of erotic gay romance, will be out in June 2009 from Amber Allure, the GLBT imprint of Amber Quill Press.

Q: Was there someone in your family, a teacher, or perhaps a favorite book, that inspired you to begin writing?

I can remember being pre-school age and begging my mother to read me stories…all the time. I think I have always been fascinated by stories and their telling. Still am. I read voraciously and indiscriminately and I think other writers tend to inspire me, either directly or by osmosis. Some of my favorites are Ruth Rendell, Patricia Highsmith, Flannery O’Connor, James Purdy, and Stephen King.

Q: Do most of your stories have gay or lesbian main characters. If so, why do you write about GLBT character, considering that it limits your audience.

Lately, the answer to that question is yes, although I do have a couple exceptions (Obsessed, my first novel, and High Risk are both straight horror/thrillers; Dead End Street is also a straight YA horror novel). The remainder I would say deal with gay characters and themes.
Why write about gay people? It’s what I know, for one thing. These are the people I know best and can write with the most ease about. I also find that gay people are still not assimilated completely (whether that will one day be the case is open to argument, as is whether it will be a good thing) and writing about “outsiders” is more interesting to me than writing about average, ordinary people.

To read the rest of this interview, click here

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