Hallo!
Well, it’s getting nearer isn’t it? My favourite time of the year. All Hallows’ Eve. Mischievous night. HALLOWEEN.
I love it!
Look, proof! Halloween party at ours in 2009.
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So, some time back, I asked for submissions for the ‘dark side’ of SMoD&L. Phew! What a mistake that was!
Scared? You will be! I didn’t sleep for a week. There’s some strange people out there. Dexter has nothing on some of them! 
Anyway, once I had sifted through the submissions (and changed my address and phone number) I stumbled across this one from Jesse Petersen.
It is perfect for this blog and captures beautifully the whole theme. So, Jesse, without further ado..
Back in June Saffina put out the call for independent paranormal writers and I raised my hand, waved it around and thought, ok I’m going to write about a “dark” subject. And I thought about it. And thought about it. I started writing things and I stopped. Along the way, I realized something:
I’m Jesse Petersen, I write urban fantasy with zombies and post-apocalyptic subjects, I kill friends and neighbors and loved ones of my characters. And I don’t write dark books.
Ok, that’s not strictly true since my books do include all those elements I listed above. I do kill people (zombies and people). It’s pretty ghoulish and gross, which is so fun to write. But I do it all with a tongue firmly in cheek. I joke in my books. A lot. My characters are snarky and although they are changed by their circumstances, they all keep a pretty healthy sense of humor. That’s the kind of horror I like to read or watch as a movie or TV show.
It’s not that I don’t love DARK dark. I am a huge fan of The Walking Dead, 28 Days Later, a lot of true crime… stuff that makes your toes curl and gives me nightmares if I dare to watch it when I’m home alone. I love that stuff. I love that tingle up my spine and the nervousness is right at the back of my throat. But when it comes to writing “scary” or dark… I just have to add something funny. For example:
My heroine Sarah comes back from her first encounter with a zombie and has to pee. In the bathroom, she finds her neighbor, totally zombied out. Without a weapon, what does she do? Scream? Cower? Pull out a gat? Not so much. In my world, she beats him to death, first with a Dr. Phil book and then with a toilet seat. Yeah. That’s how I roll. Dark? Sure. But also funny. And fun to write. In my latest release, the independently published IN THE DEAD: Volume 1, I have video gamers who have no idea there is a zombie outbreak, sisters looking for a way to go home with the help of a MacGyver-esque character and even feral children in trees who are compared to Justin Beiber.
So that’s my version of dark. Do you like humor with your darkness? Or are you just for the terror.
Thanks, Jesse
If you want to check out Jesse Petersen, here’s the linky stuff:
My kinda gal!
Anyway, thanks for stopping by and taking time out of your busy stalking schedules.
Pop back in a few weeks and check in for a fab Halloween special!
Stay dark.
Saffi
