Paul G. Tremblay

“A large part of the appeal of this novel when I was lucky enough to stumble across the story idea for 'A Head Full of Ghosts' was that I'd finally be writing a horror novel. In a lot of ways, the book is both my criticism of and love letter to horror.”

“My first book deal was for two Mark Genevich novels. I hadn't planned on writing a second Genevich novel, but I was contracted to do so, and so there I was being introduced as a crime writer.”

“There are many talented and worthy writers engaging horror in new, imaginative, and yes, terrifying ways.”

“Horror is often about how we live in the liminal, whether we want to or not.”

“I won't call 'Cabin' an anti-home invasion story, because that's not exactly true, but the home-invasion subgenre is one I generally don't gravitate toward as a reader or film viewer.”

“My first two novels were quirky detective stories followed by a couple of SF/Fantasy novels.”

“While being a parent has been the most fulfilling experience of my life, it comes with a price. Besides the onslaught of worries and fears that can be paralyzing, more personally there is a struggle with identity, or the fear of loss or usurpsion of identity, if that makes sense.”

“The response to 'A Head Full of Ghosts' has been amazing and thrilling. I'd be lying if I said I don't feel a little extra pressure trying to follow it up.”

“If what needs to get done is going to get done, then I can't screw around with the luxury of writing rituals or waiting for pristine writing conditions to magically materialize.”

“I think I got serious about writing in the late '90s. The first stuff I wrote was terrible and got rejected, but I started getting more encouraging rejection letters.”

“When you trust your subconscious enough to put something in a story and then figure out why it really needed to be there later, when that works out, aye, that's the stuff.”

“As an adult, I've learned to cope and pull the plug on the worst what-ifs before my mind takes me to a place from which I can't return.”

“I feel like too many horror writers and filmmakers sort of just assume that the default is, 'The horror movie must be all atmosphere first and everything else second.'”

“I was a good boy in high school , and I read for English class, and I vaguely remember reading, as a kid, 'Choose Your Own Adventure' stuff, but I didn't really read for pleasure.”

“I don't consciously sit down thinking I'm blurring genre lines, for the most part. I try to stay focused solely on serving the needs of the particular story on which I'm working.”

“Marshmallows are kind of weird. I'm not a huge fan. I mean, they're fun when they get molten and melty at the end of a stick, but I always burn my mouth because I'm not all that smart or patient.”

“I became a reader - never mind a writer - because of Stephen King.”

“I want folks to take horror seriously.”

“I'm harsh on myself. But let's be honest: I'm not as harsh as the online one-star critic who says, 'This book is boring and stupid and smells like poo.'”

“Pop country definitely frightens me, how popular it is.”