Exclusive: Nick Cutter and Andrew F. Sullivan Talk ‘The Handyman Method’

Author Nick Cutter (pen name of Craig Davidson) is best known for his novels The Troop (2014) and The Deep (2015). Now, he’s back with The Handyman Method in collaboration with The Marigold author Andrew F. Sullivan. Saga Press will publish the book on August 8, 2023.

The Handyman Method follows the Saban family, who “moves into an unfinished development community, as cracks begin to emerge in both their new residence and their lives. As a father wrestling with his unemployment and uncertain place in the world, Trent Saban’s attempts at DIY home repairs lead him down an online rabbit hole—where a paranormal radicalization surreptitiously takes hold. Stepping into the sole bread-winner role, his wife Rita tries to hold the family together as matters spiral out of control, going from bad to worse, even as their son Milo, a boy left to his own devices, exhibits the sinister side effects of far too much screentime…”

You can check out our review here!

Horror Geek Life: Craig, this is the first time you’ve co-written a novel with someone. How did you two come together for The Handyman Method?

Nick Cutter: It’s a tricky thing to navigate, I think, the co-writing process. I know Andrew’s done some screenplay writing, and I’ve done some screenplay stuff with buddies. The navigation of it has always started with, like, I’m friends with someone. I admire their work. Often we’re physically nearby to one another.

For me and Andrew, we’ve known each other for over ten years. So before my first child was born or right around that time is when we walked into one another’s lives. We’ve just been buddies and admired each other’s work, playing poker together. We had a chance obviously to talk a lot about writing. I think I approached Andrew before the pandemic with like, hey, we should write something together. I’ve got this idea. And then, my wife and I had our second child, and the pandemic happened. Everything kind of went ass ways on many different levels. The line just stayed in the water.

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We got a chance to get together again, and I said, yeah, this idea that I’d had, I think it kind of sucks. Do you have any ideas? And Andrew had this awesome idea, which within its infancy, was this guy out on his own in a housing development, and he logs on for help with a minor home repair. He gets to this channel that slowly unravels him. So that was the seed of it. And I thought, oh, okay, that’s awesome. I’m into that. I really liked the YouTube angle, and that’s where it started for the two of us. It sort of morphed in several different directions, obviously to become the book it became.

Horror Geek Life: So this totally differs from the idea you originally approached Andrew with?

Nick Cutter: Oh, yeah. We tossed it around, and then I woke up one day and thought that sucks.

Andrew F. Sullivan: I think there’s still tendrils of it. We did find a way to bring in certain things, like a box.

Nick Cutter: You’re right. We did sort of backpack that one over, but otherwise, the main core of the idea is Andrew’s.

Horror Geek Life: I love the inclusion of the YouTube channel, by the way. It was my favorite element in The Handyman Method, and how creepy it got. How do you think your two styles complement each other?

Andrew F. Sullivan: Craig has a broad and deep understanding of horror novels. I always tell this story where he was going to interview Kevin Barry, who’s this great literary writer from Ireland. He had Swan Song tucked in his back pocket on the way in there—a 900-page Robert R. McCammon horror novel. Craig’s knowledge of horror and influence is from guys who are coming back around that Craig never really surrendered. And I see that in his work, and it really comes through in work like this, where it’s about the body, and it’s really confrontational in that way. And it’s visceral.

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In my own work, I’m influenced by guys like [Stephen] King, [Clive] Barker, and those guys, but I’ve only read the greatest hits. I don’t know everything as deeply as Craig, and I’ve read a lot, but just not everything that was ever on the shelf. I’m coming in with guys like Nathan Ballingrud or Brian Evenson. The storytelling roots are there, and it’s the same thing of luring people into a place and then showing them a true face, if that makes sense. I think we both do that in our work. And so it’s those influences combining if that answers your question, Melissa.

Horror Geek Life: Absolutely, and you two are well-matched for a horror collaboration. The Handyman Method takes on themes of toxic masculinity and this fear that men are losing their “manly ways.” This topic has lingered throughout the decades and is more relevant than ever. What made you decide to take this theme on, especially as men?

Nick Cutter: So this is a good question. We both have our own perspectives on this. And as you’re right, Melissa, it’s something that men do go back to sort of stupidly, their place within the firmament. Whether that be at their jobs or in their family. And my thinking on this has been that men are having a more difficult time dealing with their place within the family because it’s changing. To some men, it would feel like they’re being marginalized. But that’s only because they are looking maybe at their fathers or their grandfathers and their place within their family. And they were playing with a stacked deck because that’s just sort of the way it was. It wasn’t like women were accepting of it because, over time, it’s been clear that that’s not the case. It’s been a continual forward movement toward some level of parity, and I wouldn’t claim that we’re there yet.

I’ve always told the story that my mom, who was as good at her job as my father was at his; she was a nurse, and he was a banker. Still, every time there was something going on with my father’s career, it took precedence, and it was not even discussed. It wasn’t like my dad was a hard ass about it. It just felt like, at least from my perspective as a child and even now as an adult, this is just how it went. I asked my mom while I was writing my part of this book, like, why was it like that, anyways? And she said, “You know, Craig, every day when we woke up, the men down the block would get into their cars, back out, and go to work. And then, 45 minutes later, the wives and mothers would come out and take the kids to school. And I would look up and down the block and feel like this was just the normal way of things.”

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It shouldn’t have been the normal way of things. And women of successive generations have decided that that’s not going to be the way of things. And so you’ve got these guys looking at past generations and feeling displaced from their own sense of manhood within the family setting, with their partners, their children, earning potential, and all these sorts of things. It often expresses itself through really disastrous and foolish carcinogenic ways that infect the family and relationships.

Horror Geek Life: As the issue worsens, sections of this book can be difficult to read, but I also couldn’t put it down. I admire writers who are bold enough to make us squirm. Does it ever become tough to think about things like abuse and express it in writing?

Andrew F. Sullivan: We are doing things that are upsetting. It is horror, and there’s horror for all speeds. I do think it’s a bit different from the extreme edge of things. And I think we bump up near there, but it’s usually very grounded in the storytelling and the house. It’s an expression of sorts that is an extension of the confrontation in the story. So, for me, that’s why it’s there or why I’m happy with it. I’ve always found Cutter stuff to be really intense but also very connected to the storytelling.

Horror Geek Life: Craig, we recently discussed your upcoming adaptations. Is The Handyman Method one that you both think could be adapted?

Nick Cutter: Yeah. It’s not like we did this on purpose or for a director or producer, but it’s in a single setting. It’s in a house. There are certain things that I think probably would aid it towards being potentially produced outside of its trappings that they find narratively interesting. Before the writers’ strike and now the actors’ strike, we were talking to people. We won’t mention any names because, ultimately, those names might not be attached once this whole thing is over. Interest can cool, and things can change. But we were having some really interesting discussions with some people, and it would be great. I mean, we would be super excited to see this.

Andrew F. Sullivan: Yeah. I think especially because, as you noticed, Melissa, this is a story about screens and video. The storytelling itself is structured around video, and it also has a very tight cast. We didn’t do that necessarily like, oh, it’s going to be a movie, but it is about isolation and fear, and are you able to measure up to the world around you? The internet and our interactions with it can give us a really distorted view of our place in the world and who we’re connected to. A movie would be a great translation of that.

I think it’s also fun in its way. It has a lot of big character moments, and Handyman Hank is such an over-the-top character and on purpose. He’s already at 10; we just need someone to crank him to 11. I think there’s a great dynamic there, and the way Trent evolves over the story is also really interesting. These characters change, maybe not in the best way, but they’re characters going through something. They’re not static, and that’s also compelling for a film. So, yeah, I think it’s really got the bones for it.

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Nick Cutter: I think, too, horror can feel a bit dour in certain hands. Handyman does get bleak, as you know, but it also has this underlying satire along the edge of the blade a little bit. So yeah, it could be interesting. It’d be dark satire for the first two-thirds, making a wrenching turn into the third. But what this comes down to, I’m sure you also know, is a director. If you have someone who really gets the material and has a thoughtful throughline of how to commit that to a film, then you’re going somewhere.

A lot of it’s just luck, getting the right pair of eyes on it at the right time. And something might spring forth from that. So let’s hope.

Horror Geek Life: I do hope because I’d love to see Handyman Hank and his antics on screen! I know you both have a lot going on professionally. Is there anything else you’d like to tell our readers about?

Nick Cutter: I would promote Andrew’s book, The Marigold. It’s great. I read it months ago, but I was at the vanguard of what other people are now experiencing. I would recommend anybody who likes dark fiction, eco-fiction, or fiction, in general, to pick it up.

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