Dan Soule Unearthed—Horror and Spec Fiction Author: Member Interview

The Writers’ Mastermind is thrilled to introduce you to another of our wickedly talented members! Dan Soule crafts multi-dimensional horror, scifi, and supernatural fiction. Though his stories are full of all that is disgusting and terrifying, his characters are real people and his plots explore the heart of human relationships.

Dan has also been an instructor here in the Writers’ Mastermind with his mindblowing workshop, Are There Ethical Uses of AI for Fiction Writers?, in which he showed us how to use specific prompts to effortlessly pitch and market your book.

Meet Dan Soule

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from? Where are you now? What has your life been like?

I’m Dan, a middle-aged man, who was born in England, met his wife in Scotland and now lives in Northern Ireland with said wife, as well as two children. I used to be an academic. I suppose I still am in that I have a business that devotes half my time to teaching research writing to graduate students and researcher faculty. The other half of my time is spent as a stay-at-home dad.

2. What kind of stories do you like to write?

I mostly write horror/supernatural thrillers. The last novel I finished, ACROSS THE DUNES, which is currently querying agents, is more of a contemporary fantasy/magical realist novel with strong horror undertones. However, the book I’m just about to finish, HOUSE OF TEETH, is a murder mystery/regional police procedural.

3. What sets you apart from other writers in your space?

Gosh, I’m British and couldn’t possibly answer that.

4. What drives your writing? What do you mean to accomplish with your stories?

What drives my writing is merely that I like doing it. If feels like something I should and to an extent feel compelled to do. In terms of what I’m trying to accomplish, I think I try to write stories I wish someone had already written. I want to write stories with an exciting plot, that contain some cool concepts and ideas, which are populated by interesting characters that are more than two dimensional cutouts.

5. Who are you favorite writers and books? What are your other creative influences?

Graham Joyce, Neil Gaiman (give recent disclosures, the books not the man), Stephn King, Dean Koontz. Those are the writers I have read the most, along with Terry Pratchett and Nick Hornby when I was a teenager.

6. Tell us about your writing space. When and where do you write? Do you work in silence? Or music?

This is a moveable feast. I have a family and a job; I write wherever and whenever I can grab a moment. To this end I bought a lap-desk to be able to write sitting on a sofa or the bed. Equally you might find me at the kitchen table, in a café or an airport lounge writing as much as I might be in my home office – which is really just a glorified shed in my back yard. Sometimes I like silence, sometimes music, sometimes the ambient noise of a coffee shop. I feel an ideal writing space is a nice thing to have but it can also become an excuse not to do the work.

7. What is your favorite thing to do when you are not writing?

Hanging out with my wife and kids, watching movies, martial arts (I have three black belts), playing drums (though I’m rubbish), reading novels (slowly, because I’m dyslexic, but it isn’t a race, right?!).

8. Who or what is your current artistic muse?

I’m really enjoying the British band Sleep Token. They also have instrumental versions of their albums which I like to write too. The band’s mythology (yes, they have one, and yes, it is a marketing gimmick) is very horror-esque. Their drummer Adam Pedder (though he’s supposed to be anonymous!!!) is brilliant. Apart from that, I think just about everything, the whole world and the people in it, the good, the bad and the many greys in between, are a great source of inspiration.

9. Why do you think it’s important to write fiction?

Hmm, I’m not sure it is, for me, I mean. I’m sure if I never wrote another book, the world wouldn’t miss it. However, fiction and art in general, I think, are essential for the flourishing of the human spirit. Imagine a world where all art was made to serve only the political fashion of the day, what a nightmarish vision that would be.

10. Who would be the best writer, alive or dead, to tell the story of your life?

I’m not sure it would be a terribly interesting story. But let’s go with Terry Pratchett because he’d throw in some gags and add some fantastical flair.

11. How had being in the Writers’ Mastermind helped you? What’s the best part of being with a writing group?

It’s always nice to hang out with a gaggle of kindred spirits.

12. What are you working on right now?

I’m about 10-15k from the end of a murder mystery/police procedural novel called HOUSE OF TEETH.