After recently reviewing Joshua Marsella’s debut horror book Scratches, we caught up with the author about his start in the industry and what’s next. You can find our review here!
Horror Geek Life: I see on social media that you’re an avid reader; what made you decide to take the plunge?
Joshua Marsella: I was inspired after attending a book signing with Richard Chizmar to promote his latest book Gwendy’s Magic Feather. He talked about his decision to start writing after he read Stephen King’s IT. I finally took the plunge after reading Stephen King’s On Writing because he makes the reader feel like anyone that loves to read and has a good imagination can write. I’m glad I took the chance because it has opened many doors for me and given me a new lease on life.
HGL: Has it been difficult getting yourself out there? Who/what has helped along the way?
JM: Being self-published can be a big challenge. You have to convince people that they should: A) spend money on your book and B) read it. That’s tough considering they have no idea whether you can actually write or not. On top of that, you’re competing with so many other amazing and established writers.
I was lucky to have developed a following in the bookstagram community, as well as the Twitter horror/writing community, by showing my support to other writers/reviewers. So many people reached out to me and asked to review my book, feature me on their blog, or just went ahead and purchased the book out of interest. The free promotion is so valuable to a new author.
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HGL: Your 2020 novel Scratches features a preteen boy named Connor who is pretty relatable. Did you put any of yourself in him?
JM: Connor and his home life was loosely based on my own childhood. The idea came to me from my own experience of growing up next to a cemetery, moving my bedroom into the basement, and having a single mother. Of course, I took many liberties to make it a horror story, but the story was easy to write because much of it was autobiographical.
Growing up in Stephen King country, I loved horror movies even though they terrified me. I used those experiences from my childhood to write a somewhat relatable story.
HGL: The book deals with dark, disturbing, and even taboo subject matter. Was it a challenge getting into that mindset and putting those words on paper?
JM: The heart of the story and the two main characters came to me when I brainstormed the original idea. The very first line in the book was one of the first things I thought of before I even wrote them down. The rest of the story came to me as I was writing and it sort of just wrote itself. Plot points would come to me as I lay in bed at night and I would jot them down so I wouldn’t forget them. The finished product is a very different story than what I had originally intended, but it led to the possibility of it becoming a trilogy instead of the stand alone short story I had originally planned.
There were several deplorable situations that took place in the story and I knew I would be walking a fine line by putting them in my debut novella, but I felt that I handled them with care and didn’t elaborate on the more disturbing details. I prefer to let the reader fill in the blanks.
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HGL: You’ve been working on a prequel, Severed, coming next month. Can you tell us a bit about that?
JM: Severed follows George Hanscott – the antagonist from Scratches – and his squad of marines during a pivotal side mission in 1967 Vietnam. It dives deep into the events that turned George into the monster we grow to fear and loathe in the first book. That’s the most I’ll say about that.
HGL: Lastly, can you tell us what’s on the horizon for you as an author once Severed is released?
I am planning a third book in the series to finish the story of Connor, Janet, and George. Many people were surprised by the ambiguous ending of Scratches and my advice to them is to stay tuned. I have also written several short stories that were featured in a couple sampler and charity anthologies last year. I am planning on self-publishing a solo horror anthology sometime in 2021. I currently have an audiobook version of Scratches in the works. I am working with a film production company to turn Scratches into a screenplay to possibly become a movie which I am super excited about. My goal is to keep writing, keep putting new material out there, and keep my readers hungry for more stories.
We would like to thank Joshua Marsella for his time! You can find him on Amazon, Twitter, and Instagram.
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