Interview with Horror Author, Beverley Lee
/Welcome, everyone, to a very special author interview. As Halloween is just days away, I'm here with an absolute master (or should I say mistress) of all things bone-chilling. Beverley Lee has graciously agreed to spend some time in my little corner of the interwebs, so let’s get right to it.
Beverley Lee, the Queen of Darkness herself
D: Can you take a moment to introduce yourself, please? Who are you and what’s your background, writing or otherwise?
B: I feel like this is one of those scary interviews where you sit opposite a panel like The Apprentice! Okay, my name is Beverley Lee and I’m a dark fiction author (which encompasses all things horror/dark fantasy/supernatural suspense related). I live in the south east of England, close to rolling countryside, and I’m owned by one cat, Milly, who is a Diva of the feline world.
I cut my writing teeth on fan fiction many years ago, but it wasn’t until 2015 that I penned my first novel. Before that I’ve worked in banking (even though I’m hopeless at numbers!) and education, as a children’s reading co-ordinator.
When I’m not writing you can find me trampling around woodland and exploring ancient places, both of which give me little seeds of ideas, and I’ll often run through a plot hole or dialogue as I’m walking, which probably makes me seem quite crazy to any onlookers.
D: Given that your books are spooky (seriously, your atmosphere is on point!), what is it about writing spine-tingling stories that interests you?
B: Thank you, Dana ☺ I think we all like to be frightened a little bit. It takes us away into that primal place of instinct, so different from our closeted modern lifestyle. And as a writer, I too like to walk along that thin blurred line between darkness and light. I’m never quite sure what lurks at the other side, and countless times my characters have sent shivers down *my* spine. It’s also about exploring human psyche; how we react to a certain set of terrifying circumstances and what emotions that brings to the surface. We can imagine ourselves in that same situation, experience the same fears, and it takes us out of our normality, heightening all of our senses. That’s a little bit of magic right there.
D: People have told stories about otherworldly things pretty much since the beginning of time. What do you think it is that makes paranormal/supernatural (ghosts, vampires, etc.) such a perpetually popular genre?
B: As in my reply above, I think it’s because we truly like to be scared. The paranormal is something that has been with us since people first started telling stories gathered around a camp fire. There’s a little part of us that thinks ‘maybe it *is* true, and that’s why it’s existed for so long’.
We go into adulthood still remembering that there might be a ghost under the bed or a monster in the closet, and this bleeds into our reading and viewing preferences.
D: When you’re writing a scene meant to really lean into horror aspects, how do you approach it?
B: I always know just when a scene is about to tip over into horror, as I’ve built it up over the course of the story. I lead my character onward, paying particular attention to how they feel, whilst heightening the dread factor of the setting. It’s a bit like watching a horror movie, you know there might be something behind that door and you both want to see and want to run away. Which leads me onto the next question….
D: And follow up, what advice do you have for someone who wants to give their readers the chills?
B: It’s all in the atmosphere. Atmosphere takes your reader from the outside and places them right in the middle of the page. Their senses are tuned into what your characters are experiencing. It can apply to settings (think a fog covered graveyard on an October night) or objects. In the first of my series, The Making of Gabriel Davenport, the story starts with an antique box bought by a young couple. By placing this box in the safety of their home and creating the feeling of dread around it, I was able to use all the strengths of atmosphere—what it looked like to my protagonist, the feel of it in her hands, the emotion it dragged up in her—to pull my readers in. When atmosphere is done right, your readers *are* your characters.
I always put as much atmosphere as I can into my first draft, because it helps me to see things more clearly. I’ve had many epiphanies when delving deeper into it, and it’s thrown up new paths for me to wander down that maybe I wouldn’t have discovered if I’d glossed over it until a later draft.
And I build the atmosphere around my characters and their actions. What they are experiencing can sometimes pinpoint the tiniest of details which really resonates. In The Purity of Crimson, the last book in my series, two of my characters are waiting on a hill with the snow softly falling on the moorland around them, waiting for a signal. That intense cold and the bleakness of the setting, the hopelessness of their situation – and then the sudden flare of a beacon in the unforgiving darkness.
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I’m also a huge fan of using weather and climate as an atmospheric tool. Any kind of intense weather/climate works. I’ve used raging thunderstorms and white-out blizzards, the close sticky heat of an English late summer and the frost-laden biting cold of early spring. All of these can be worked into whatever setting you have created, be it urban, fantasy or historical.
And whilst I’m rambling, don’t forget to use taste. Think about biting into a rotten peach, that bitter, skin-crawling moment, use it!
Sensory details are some of the best ways to get inside your readers’ heads
D: Do you have a process for writing? A certain place you go to be alone or any rituals to get you into the right mindset?
B: The only ritual I have is tea, lots of it ;) But I do love a grey, rainy day. It gets me in the mood for hibernating inside, and as autumn/winter is my favourite time of year, right now is my happy place.
But I can imagine scenes in my head anywhere – and frequently do. Whilst driving, stood in the supermarket queue, listening to music – all of these have given me ideas. And there’s a writing law that says the most exciting of those ideas happens when you can’t write them down!
D: What do you think is the biggest pitfall for writers? To what habits or weakness do we fall prey most often? Conversely, what do you think we can utilize or do to best help ourselves?
B: Self-doubt is definitely one of the biggest pitfalls. It’s so easy to set yourself up for failure by thinking that what you’re writing is absolute rubbish. And I don’t think it matters if you’ve got successful books already out there, doubting that what you’re working on isn’t good enough plague our days (and nights!) And then there’s the comparison trap – Joe Blogg publishes a book every six months and he’s always at the top of the rankings; Jane Blogg has ninety hundred followers on social media and posts three times a day – you have to pull yourself up and realise that you’re not Joe or Jane, and that maybe somewhere someone is thinking the same about you. Your journey is yours alone.
I don’t think there are any steadfast tips and tricks, just whatever you find works for you, but one is definitely build up a network of writers who will support you. Whilst writing Gabriel I had a wonderful support crew on Twitter, and sometimes just having someone to rant at is all you need, because writing is a lonely process, and you sometimes feel like you’re screaming into the void.
Other writers are not your competition. They are the only ones who understand the frustration and panic writing can bring, and I’ve found that most are only too happy to help you out if you’re stuck, or join your crew to promote your new release.
Find your community and keep them close.
D: On a more fun note, what would you say is the funniest/most curious thing you've ever done for your books (skydived to know what it feels like to fly, acted out a fight scene in your living room, etc.)?
B: I’m not brave enough to skydive! But I’ve definitely twisted my body into all kinds of awkward positions to see which muscles hurt. And I’m a stickler for detail, so if there’s a fight scene I’ll go through every paragraph, freeze frame fashion, and make sure limbs can actually do what I’ve said.
D: Since we're so close to Halloween, do you celebrate it? Dress up? If so, what's been your favorite costume?
B: I have grandchildren, so I’m either out trick-or-treating with them or I have a huge basket of sweets and chocolate at home, waiting for small guests. I leave a carved pumpkin outside and sometimes I dress up, although this seems to scare the adults more than the children!
Then I’ll either put on a favourite movie or read until midnight.
One of my favourite Halloween’s was spent in the French Quarter of New Orleans, and that’s the very best place to be.
My favourite dress up ever was when I went to the Dracula Society Ball in Whitby and cross-dressed in a gold and black frock coat as Lestat from Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles.
D: If your characters were forced to dress up for Halloween, what would they go as?
I’m sure most of the vampires would flat out refuse to dress up. All they’d have to do would be to flash a fang and they’d win any fancy dress contest! But then you have Emron D’Grey, who would use it as an excuse to be overly flamboyant in his own inimitable style. Gold brocade frock coat with frilled lace cuffs – check. Long leather duster coat with leather accompaniments ala Hugh Jackman’s Van Helsing. Check. And, of course, his beloved red ringmaster’s coat ;)
D: Imagine your vampires Clove, Moth, Teal, and Gabriel and my vampire Kieran met up in a pub. How do you imagine that meeting going?
B: It would have to be a cosy, little country pub somewhere with dim lighting and a big, log fire ☺ I’d imagine that Clove and Kieran would be incredibly polite whilst sizing each other up. Teal would be engrossed in studying the oil painting on the opposite wall. Moth would be brooding as far away as he could get from Kieran, without getting disapproving looks from Clove, and Gabriel would be…I don’t know....maybe gazing into the flames and having a few flashbacks about The Manor as he listened in to Clove and Kieran’s conversation.
D: Okay, pop quiz time. You're stuck on a deserted island. What three books do you want with you?
B: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon as I feel like I could read that twenty times and still find something new and beautiful to flail over. Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot because it’s one of the few books to ever scare me, and it has vampires and King’s signature brilliant characterisation. Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere to remind me of England, and who doesn’t need some magical realism if you’re stuck on a desert island ;)
D: Coffee or tea?
B: Do you even need to ask? ;) I’m a Brit so it’s always tea. I don’t dislike coffee but the only time I drink it is if I’m out. And I have a tea routine (don’t laugh!) English breakfast in the morning. Earl Grey in the afternoon. And Rooibos with vanilla in the evening. Creature of habit here ☺
D: One male and one female character you most relate to and why?
B: Noah Isaacs in my Gabriel Davenport series, as he carries a lot of my characteristics – always wanting to do the right thing even though it sometimes goes against what he really wishes. He has incredible loyalty to those he calls family and the courageous heart to put himself in danger to save them.
Vic McQueen from Joe Hill’s NOS4A2. A woman who not only has strength, ferocity and courage but a deep emotional vulnerability. She has a wonderful mix of both typical masculine and feminine energy, and a protective streak a mile long.
D: Bacon. Yea or nay?
B: Absolutely yes! I’ll take it either as the healthy option with avocado and poached eggs, or the extremely unhealthy but oh so delicious option of fried to a crisp, and sandwiched between white bread or rolls, slathered in brown tangy sauce.
D: Enemies who become friends or friends who become enemies? Go!
B: Definitely enemies to friends. I just love playing with the dynamics of this, and all of the angst and soul searching incurred.
D: You’re a student at Hogwarts. What’s your favorite class and why?
B: I’d have to go with Defence Against the Dark Arts, because it would come in really useful if I somehow managed to summon up the odd malevolent spirit whilst researching for my writing. All of this graveyard wandering at dusk must mean something will follow me home eventually….
D: And finally, favorite sweet and favorite savory food?
B: Sweet would have to be either a beautiful, fluffy scone with strawberry jam and clotted cream or sticky toffee pudding with custard. Savoury, Sunday roast with all the trimmings!
D: How can people learn more about you, find you online, and/or help support your writing?
B: All my books and where to find them are listed on my website https://beverleylee.com/ where you can download a free short story, a dark and twisted fairy tale, by signing up to my mailing list.
My favourite place to hang out is on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theconstantvoice/
But you can also find me on –
Twitter - https://twitter.com/constantvoice
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14969899.Beverley_Lee
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/beverleyleeauthor/
Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.co.uk/theconstantvoice/
Bookbub - https://www.bookbub.com/profile/beverley-lee
In a nutshell, the Gabriel Davenport series is about a boy hunted by darkness, thrown into a world of buried secrets and terrifying new realities. But that is only the tip of the iceberg. It’s about love and loyalty, and the courage to face impossible situations with your head held high. It’s about who you call family, whether that be human or vampire, and what you will sacrifice to save them.
It has vampires and demons, witches and ghosts, mythology and creatures raised from the dead, but it will make you question everything you thought you knew about them.
It’s a banquet of horror and darkest fantasy, all wrapped up in a black ribbon, and waiting on your doorstep ;)
And there’s a new project, scheduled for release early in 2020. The Ruin of Delicate Things - a story of loss and grief, revenge and introspection, all set against a background of a haunted house and a still, dark lake.
D: Thank you so much, Beverley, for taking this time. This has been so great. And to all of you, dear readers, Happy Halloween!
Related Entries: Interview with K.J. Chapman and Interview with Sarina Langer.
Next Time’s Entry: Punching Up Your Characters and Character Relationships.
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