Lucky 13 Interview With Simon Bestwick

1 – Can you start by telling us a little about your latest book?

The latest one to be published is a short story collection, And Cannot Come Again. The subtitle is ‘Tales of Childhood, Regret and Innocence Lost’, which I think goes a long way to summing it up. Most of the stories have never been collected before, and it includes a previously unpublished novella. It has an introduction by Ramsey Campbell, and I’m very proud of it.

The book I’m currently working on is about a quarter of a million words long, and the biggest, most ambitious thing I’ve read. It’s set in Britain during a plague that wipes out most of the population, a kind of 21st century Black Death, which is being taken over by religious fundamentalists and nihilistic devil-worshippers. It’s told from the viewpoint of a person whom you normally wouldn’t expect to survive long in that situation – a vulnerable, withdrawn young woman with some serious mental health problems, such as being haunted by the ghosts of her dead mother and ex-boyfriend. It all gets quite hallucinatory and strange. I’m very proud of this one too; I’ve just finished the second-to-last draft, so I’m leaving it to one side for a few weeks before I give it a final readthrough with my red pen in hand. Which gives me the time to catch up with various things, such as interviews I should have done weeks ago!

2 – Are you a plotter or a panster?

Plotter. I’d love to be a pantser, and I can sort of manage that with short stories, diving in with only a vague idea of where it’s all going. But with longer stuff, I usually need some sort of outline, although I try to keep it as minimal as I can to begin with.

3 – Savoury or sweet?

If it’s one or the other, savoury.

4 – Three books to a desert Island. Go!

The Therapy Of Avram Blok – Simon Louvish

Billie Morgan – Joolz Denby

The Summer Of Katya – Trevanian.

(Disclaimer; if you ask me tomorrow I’ll give you three different ones.)

5 – Star Wars or Star Trek?

Blake’s 7.

6 – Silence or music when writing?

Music, whenever possible. Classical, rock, pop, folk or jazz.

7 – You’re a professional wrestler. What would your ring name be?

The Arse Of Dearh.

8 – If you could live anywhere in the world, and take everything that you love with you, where would you choose?

I’m tempted to say Barmouth in North Wales; it’s where my Dad’s family come from, was a common holiday destination when I was a boy, where Cate and I went for my honeymoon and generally one of my favourite places on earth. But I’ve hardly been abroad, and there are so many places I want to visit. Vienna, the Greek Islands, Budapest, Denmark...

9 - Your favourite karaoke song?

Lucretia My Reflection by the Sisters of Mercy. I saw it on the playlist in a pub once and nearly picked it, but chickened out at the last minute and picked Mustang fucking Sally instead…

10 – One piece of advice to an aspiring writer?

Be stubborn: write what you love and don’t give up.

11 – You win £1 million, but you must give half to charity. Which charity do you chose, and what do you do with the rest of the money?

Probably Shelter, as we have a massive homelessness crisis here in the UK. Unless there’s a charity raising funds to exterminate the Conservative Party, since those bastards are the main reason we have a homelessness crisis. And so much else, including Brexit.

As for the other half a million; I’d buy a house somewhere (maybe Wales!), travel and write a little first before moving in, help out any friends or loved ones who needed the money, then save the rest so I could avoid having to get a day job again for a bit longer...

12 – Horror films, yes or no?

Hell, yes.

13 - What are you currently working on?

Aside from the Huge Novel, I’ve started a new novella set in the Austro-Hungarian Empire during the last days of World War One. It takes place in an ice fortress on the Italian Front, and I think it’s going to get very strange. And once the Huge Novel is done, it’ll be time to think about the next one…

BIO (if you need one)

Simon Bestwick is the author of six horror, dark fantasy and post-apocalyptic novels, most recently Wolf’s Hill, and several collections and mini-collections of short fiction. His novelette Breakwater was released last year by Tor.com, and his novella Angels of the Silences by Omnium Gatherum Press. His short fiction has been widely published in magazines such as Black Static and anthologies such as The Devil and the Deep, and reprinted in Best Horror of the Year (and Best of the Best Horror of the Year). His previous hobbies included avoiding gainful employment, but this ended in failure and he now has a job again. He is currently striving to escape this awful fate. He lives on the Wirral with the long-suffering fellow author Cate Gardner, and uses far too many semicolons. His latest books are A Love Like Blood, available now from Dark Minds Press and consisting of two all-new novelettes, and a new full-length short story collection, And Cannot Come Again. He’s currently working on a new novel, his first screenplay, and a novella. It keeps him out of mischief. Some of the time, at least.