Mit zwei Romanen (”Samhane” und “Come Into Darkness”) des australischen Horror-Autors Daniel I. Russell startet der Voodoo Press Verlag in den Sommer 2010.  Für das Phantastik-Journal durfte ich dem erfolgreichen Autor vorab schon ein paar Fragen zu seiner Person und zu seinen Projekten stellen. Ein kleiner Hinweis vorab, hier kann man nur das Original-Interview in Englisch lesen. Die deutsche Ãœbersetzung findet man simultan auf Phantastik-Journal.ch.

Please tell me, who is Daniel I. Russel?
Just a guy. Nothing too special! I´m a horror writer originally from England and now live in Western Australia. My work has appeared in various avenues and I’m the associate editor for the horror magazine Necrotic Tissue (www.necrotictissue.com).

When did you begin to write and what was the reason for it?
I enjoyed writing in my teenage years, but thought little of it. Back then I had dreams of being a musician and touring the world! I only started writing for my own enjoyment at around the age of twenty three. I lived in a creepy apartment in an old market town, which I guess was my muse. I wrote a series of short stories based on some of the local landmarks.
At the time I was a substitute teacher, and on occasions this is a very boring job with not a lot to do. I’d always have a notepad with me to write down ideas. Perhaps the stress and anger of dealing with teenagers fueled the blood soaked violence?

What kind of stories do you write and what kind of genre do you like to read the most ?
I’m a horror man through and through, but like the cross-genre horror can have with fantasy, science fiction and the fantastic. My novels are filled with splatter but with a slight fantastic element. A masked man with a knife has been done too often, and it’s nice to stretch the imaginative wings. My novels have seen cyborg nurses, babies with tentacles, slime filled sacks giving oral sex and a man collecting souls from another dimension! Quite a mix. My short stories can be even more bizarre because I’m not tied to one idea for such a long time.
I like to read in the genre I write, in particular Ed Lee, Richard Laymon, Jack Ketchum, Clive Barker, Bentley Little, etc.

By which writer have you been impressed the last years?
My editor at Necrotic Tissue, R. Scott McCoy wrote one hell of a novella called FEAST from Shroud Publications. Part horror, superhero and adventure story… it was a great read that I finished in a day.
A bit late in the day, but this year I discovered Graham Masterton and love what I’ve read so far. Jonathan Maberry is also pretty hot at the moment. His Pine Deep trilogy had the elements of traditional horror but done in a way to make it read fresh. Highly recommended.

Which story of yours would you recommend to read, if somebody doesn’t know anything from you and why?
I would recommend the digital ebook FLUFFS, which is available in the download section of my site at www.danielirussell.com. Why? Because it’s absolutely free! It gives readers the chance to sample my style without paying up first. I would hate to take someone’s money if they truly hated my writing style. It would be like me buying a sandwich and finding it was tuna. I hate tuna.

You got an invitation from the German Voodoo Press to publish two of your novels. How has that happened and what do you feel about this?
This is what I know so far…
Michael Preissl, the owner of Voodoo Press emailed me with a request to appear in an anthology, follwoing the success of Rose Noire which he´d previously released. We exchanged a few emails and he is to include my short story Streiche, Unfug und Chaos in the new anthology. He also wanted zu see some of my novels. I have two books to come out this year in English: Samhane with Stygian Publications and Come Into Darkness with Skullvines PRess. I sent the manuscripts to Michael and hist editorial team reviewed them over a long weekend. The following week, Michael had contracts drawn up to purchase the German translatoin rights for each book.
When I asked him why he had chosen me, he said he´d read one of short storys in an anthology called Malpractice (also from www.necrotictissue.com) and thought he´d look me up.
I´m very happy about signing with Vodoo Press. The other authors signed with them speak very highly about the quality of the books. Michael has been a great editor and already Streiche, Unfug und Chaos is translated and ready for the anthology. I can´t wait.

What is “Samhane”, your debut novel, all about? And what should the reader expect, when he is grabbing for “Come Into Darkness”?
Samhane is the town featured in the novel, and the story follows two very different men: Donald, who is searching for his missing fiancée, and Brian, a lowbrow exterminator of supernatural pests. Samhane may look like a nice, quiet town, but it’s one fucked up place! The two men find themselves facing a shadowy cult and the god of chaos, Zandathru! Hopefully readers of splatter and dark humour might like to visit Samhane. The German edition should be available in summer.
Come Into Darkness is a much different story, following an adult movie star Mario who, after living to excess, is bored with his life. His agent organizes him to attend a party that will ‘change his life forever’. Mario enters Metus House for the party, but will he ever escape? This story is like a messed up Alice in Wonderland. Not for the squeamish!

Publishing Ebooks: Is that a hopeful opportunity for you as a writer or absolutely no go? What do you think about the new medium “Ebook”?
I had two ebooks out, the first edition of Samhane and a thriller ebook called Shutterbug for several years. I don’t have anything against ebooks, but for now, I think the printed page will always come out on top. Ebooks are good to have available also, but not only.
The problem I see with ebooks is the same as self publishing. It costs no money to do and anyone can do it. That doesn’t guarantee quality compared to a book released from a legitimate publisher which has been professionally edited. It can give ebooks a bad name.
Also, I don’t have a Kindle or anything like that, so I have to read ebooks from my computer monitor. I spend too much time sat at my desk! I prefer a comfortable place to read. Maybe if I had a Kindle, it would be different…

Planning for the future: What will be your next project?
Hmmmm. Tricky question as I’m never really sure!
I have another three chapters to go on a brand new novel and then I want to write some more short stories to send to magazines and anthologies. After that? Maybe an even more fantastic novel or novella. I don’t know until I start!

Thanks a lot for the interview and good luck.

Wer mehr über den Autor Daniel I. Russel erfahren möchte, kann dies auf seiner Homepage www.danielirussell.com oder beim Voodoo Press Verlag tun.

Der Voodoo Press Verlag wurde im November 2008 mit jenem Ziel gegründet, dem Leser hochwertig, qualitative Werke aus den Genren Horror, Urban Fantasy, Thriller, Dark SF zu bieten. Durch die Autorenauswahl, die aus nationalen, als auch internationel Autoren besteht, sorgt Voodoo Press für spannende Unterhaltung, bei der für jeden Leser etwas dabei ist.