Paul Cleave

“I spent years only ever reading horror and then trying to write horror - and deep down, a horror writer is still what I'd love to be. But it wasn't until I started writing crime that things began to work for me.”

“Sometimes I think, 'Why should I care about doing well in New Zealand?'”

“There's a bunch of Stephen King books I love. 'Salem's Lot' was always one of my favourites. 'It.' 'Needful Things.' Moving away from King, and 'Silence of the Lambs' is always a good choice.”

“'Cemetery Lake' was an interesting book to write.”

“You simply couldn't make a living as an author if New Zealand was your only market.”

“I had to sell my house and make a lot of sacrifices to become a writer, and it sucks not to get taken seriously.”