We like to push new talent here so what better way to give you, the readers of snakebite, an insight on some of the brightest stars in short fiction today. Today we speak to Nathan Robinson a writer who has appeared on many sites and in online Magazine. He is known for his stories such as TOP OF THE HEAP and EAT YOUR HEART OUT LORENA which was showcased in the Film4 FrightFest e-Magazine.
Welcome to snakebite horror Nathan, for the people out there who don’t know of your work can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?
Well, I'm 28 and I live in Scunthorpe, England with a patient wife/editor and two beautiful twin boys. By day I deliver office furniture, while at night I write. I've had six monthly winners on www.spinetinglers.co.uk , five stories published from Panic Press and a amazing podcast adapted from one of one stories by www.psuedopod.org. I've very proud of that one. I've only been properly writing since January last year.
Now I know you best for your addition to the frightfest e-Magazine ‘EAT YOUR HEART OUT LORENA’ so I have to ask: what inspired you to write it?
The idea for 'Lorena' came about when I saw the submission call for it's original publication, 'Tales of a Woman Scorned' I thought about what's the worst thing a wife could do to her husband without killing him. Cheating won't really affect a man that much unless he's truly in love with his wife, besides he can always find somebody new; so it had to be something worse. Castration. I remember the case of John-Wayne Bobbit, who had his errrm . . . bobbit cut off by his wife and then thrown from the window of a moving car into a darkened field. Of course they managed to reattach it, so that's where I wanted to take the story a little further. If you read it, you'll know what happens. On a side note, Bobbit's wife was called Lorena, so the inspiration for the title should go to her.
What got you interested in writing horror?
I saw 'Jaws' when I was about six or seven, and the music got me straight away, I was at my Aunties flat and I think I begged my parents to let me stay and finish watching it. From then on I was hooked on horror. I think next I watched 'Alien' with my Dad, when the Xenomorph jumps out from the darkness and takes Dallas in the tunnel, I literally jumped out my seat and head butted my Dad in the jaw from shock. You can't bottle fear, it just takes you when it's wants. Since then I've been pretty much obsessed with the horror genre.
I remember picking up a copy of Guy N Smith's 'Night of the Crabs' at a car boot sale, the artwork was just so visceral and gory it appealed to the nasty little boy in me that all males have to be at some point in their life. I bought it, read it and fell in love with it. It was so adult, yet I could understand pretty much everything that was going on. Next thing I knew I was hunting down copies of Smith's books at car boot sales. Then I moved on to Peter Tremayne's 'Swamp', wishing Christ, why has nobody made this into a film! I could see the characters in my head and it was just a wonderful experience to go on this terrifying adventure with them.
English was the only subject I was good at school, and pretty much the only subject I got any praise in. Even though I got a C when I passed my GCSE's, I was proud of that C, I knew that I'd earned it, despite doing crap in every other subject. Then came college, where I failed English, then University where I discovered I was partially dyslexic (thank god for spell check!), which shed some light on why I'd done bad in my exams. So I quit University, and stuck out a few labouring jobs, attempting to write at weekends, but getting nowhere. Then I met my wife, who got pregnant. Now this made me think, 'If I 'm going to write for a living, I should really pull my finger out and have a good go!' So I did. The best advice they give writers is 'write what you know.' So I did. I used to work in a chicken factory so I wrote a story about factory worker who has to contend with a roomful of zombified chickens. I subbed it to www.spinetinglers.co.uk and surprise surprise! It came first and I won £100, the rest is history, (or soon will be.)
I ask this every time if i do an interview. What is best Books or Film?
Books, you can read them anywhere. And it takes more effort to read a book, it requires imagination, not just a pair of eyes and finger to push PLAY.
What is your Favorite Film of all time and the worst film you have ever seen?
I'd say my favourite film is a toss up between Jaws and The Big Lebowski. Maybe even Evil Dead 2. Don't make me choose.
Worst film. I Heart Huckabees. I think I fell asleep at one point. I think the best bit is when Jude Law is sick in his hand. That was the only redeeming bit. Now I read reviews if I'm going to watch a film. I've learnt my lesson. Avoid Jude Law
What is your Favorite Book of all time?
I'm a big fan of Island by Richard Laymon. The twist at the end blew me away, so simple yet so wicked. Honourable mentions go out to Level 7 by Mordachai Roshwald. Down to a Sunless Sea by David Graham. Anything by Roald Dahl, he's a big influence on me. And Brian Keene of course, he's going to be a new master (if not already) of the genre. I couldn't read Stephen King when I was a kid, The Shinning freaked me out, haven't read it to this day. Love the film, love all King's adaptations.
Also- The Walking Dead comics, just epic.
Are you more a fan of writing short fiction or would you like to get a few novels out there?
The only reason I started writing shorts was because I saw that I was getting nowhere sending off full manuscripts to publishers. You rarely get anywhere. I'm building up to completing a full novel. I'm just trying to establishing a fan base of my short fiction before I make anybody read 100+ pages of something I've written.
What is next for Nathan Robinson?
Well, I'm currently in process of compiling a collection of short stories and novellas, which I hope to get out there later this year. It's called 'Devil let me go' essentially its stories of how evil can manifest itself in our world. Some have been published before, but most will be all new stories.
I've four pieces coming out in three anthologies by Static Movement, a few bits for my local paper. A charity anthology from Panic Press called 'Monsters doing something for Money' in aid of Comic Relief.
Finger pies, fingers pies . . .
Nathan Robinson can be contacted through his Facebook page-
www.facebook.com/NathanRobinsonWrites.
Welcome to snakebite horror Nathan, for the people out there who don’t know of your work can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?
Well, I'm 28 and I live in Scunthorpe, England with a patient wife/editor and two beautiful twin boys. By day I deliver office furniture, while at night I write. I've had six monthly winners on www.spinetinglers.co.uk , five stories published from Panic Press and a amazing podcast adapted from one of one stories by www.psuedopod.org. I've very proud of that one. I've only been properly writing since January last year.
Now I know you best for your addition to the frightfest e-Magazine ‘EAT YOUR HEART OUT LORENA’ so I have to ask: what inspired you to write it?
The idea for 'Lorena' came about when I saw the submission call for it's original publication, 'Tales of a Woman Scorned' I thought about what's the worst thing a wife could do to her husband without killing him. Cheating won't really affect a man that much unless he's truly in love with his wife, besides he can always find somebody new; so it had to be something worse. Castration. I remember the case of John-Wayne Bobbit, who had his errrm . . . bobbit cut off by his wife and then thrown from the window of a moving car into a darkened field. Of course they managed to reattach it, so that's where I wanted to take the story a little further. If you read it, you'll know what happens. On a side note, Bobbit's wife was called Lorena, so the inspiration for the title should go to her.
What got you interested in writing horror?
I saw 'Jaws' when I was about six or seven, and the music got me straight away, I was at my Aunties flat and I think I begged my parents to let me stay and finish watching it. From then on I was hooked on horror. I think next I watched 'Alien' with my Dad, when the Xenomorph jumps out from the darkness and takes Dallas in the tunnel, I literally jumped out my seat and head butted my Dad in the jaw from shock. You can't bottle fear, it just takes you when it's wants. Since then I've been pretty much obsessed with the horror genre.
I remember picking up a copy of Guy N Smith's 'Night of the Crabs' at a car boot sale, the artwork was just so visceral and gory it appealed to the nasty little boy in me that all males have to be at some point in their life. I bought it, read it and fell in love with it. It was so adult, yet I could understand pretty much everything that was going on. Next thing I knew I was hunting down copies of Smith's books at car boot sales. Then I moved on to Peter Tremayne's 'Swamp', wishing Christ, why has nobody made this into a film! I could see the characters in my head and it was just a wonderful experience to go on this terrifying adventure with them.
English was the only subject I was good at school, and pretty much the only subject I got any praise in. Even though I got a C when I passed my GCSE's, I was proud of that C, I knew that I'd earned it, despite doing crap in every other subject. Then came college, where I failed English, then University where I discovered I was partially dyslexic (thank god for spell check!), which shed some light on why I'd done bad in my exams. So I quit University, and stuck out a few labouring jobs, attempting to write at weekends, but getting nowhere. Then I met my wife, who got pregnant. Now this made me think, 'If I 'm going to write for a living, I should really pull my finger out and have a good go!' So I did. The best advice they give writers is 'write what you know.' So I did. I used to work in a chicken factory so I wrote a story about factory worker who has to contend with a roomful of zombified chickens. I subbed it to www.spinetinglers.co.uk and surprise surprise! It came first and I won £100, the rest is history, (or soon will be.)
I ask this every time if i do an interview. What is best Books or Film?
Books, you can read them anywhere. And it takes more effort to read a book, it requires imagination, not just a pair of eyes and finger to push PLAY.
What is your Favorite Film of all time and the worst film you have ever seen?
I'd say my favourite film is a toss up between Jaws and The Big Lebowski. Maybe even Evil Dead 2. Don't make me choose.
Worst film. I Heart Huckabees. I think I fell asleep at one point. I think the best bit is when Jude Law is sick in his hand. That was the only redeeming bit. Now I read reviews if I'm going to watch a film. I've learnt my lesson. Avoid Jude Law
What is your Favorite Book of all time?
I'm a big fan of Island by Richard Laymon. The twist at the end blew me away, so simple yet so wicked. Honourable mentions go out to Level 7 by Mordachai Roshwald. Down to a Sunless Sea by David Graham. Anything by Roald Dahl, he's a big influence on me. And Brian Keene of course, he's going to be a new master (if not already) of the genre. I couldn't read Stephen King when I was a kid, The Shinning freaked me out, haven't read it to this day. Love the film, love all King's adaptations.
Also- The Walking Dead comics, just epic.
Are you more a fan of writing short fiction or would you like to get a few novels out there?
The only reason I started writing shorts was because I saw that I was getting nowhere sending off full manuscripts to publishers. You rarely get anywhere. I'm building up to completing a full novel. I'm just trying to establishing a fan base of my short fiction before I make anybody read 100+ pages of something I've written.
What is next for Nathan Robinson?
Well, I'm currently in process of compiling a collection of short stories and novellas, which I hope to get out there later this year. It's called 'Devil let me go' essentially its stories of how evil can manifest itself in our world. Some have been published before, but most will be all new stories.
I've four pieces coming out in three anthologies by Static Movement, a few bits for my local paper. A charity anthology from Panic Press called 'Monsters doing something for Money' in aid of Comic Relief.
Finger pies, fingers pies . . .
Nathan Robinson can be contacted through his Facebook page-
www.facebook.com/NathanRobinsonWrites.
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