Horror Aficionados discussion

I'm currently in the middle of watching Brandon Sanderson's series of lectures on fiction writing at Brigham Young University.
I love his style of teaching and it's great to get tips and hone in on skills required for creative writing. I am not a fantasy reader but his knowledge easily transcends genres for anybody wanting to try their hand (no matter how amateur) at writing. Whether it be for personal leisure and fun or to become a pro.
I've recently discovered that BYU is a religious university in a very religious part of America... and from what I hear America has some pretty deeply religious places. Comments occasionally slipped through in his teachings that sent me Googling about him.
I myself am not religious and come from one of the most secular countries in the world. I do however accept people of all affiliations as they are whether they be Catholic, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist.
But coming from such a secular part of the world, I found it fascinating that Brandon could have such a deeply religious background (he also teaches gospel doctrine) and write such out-of-this-world fantasy. It shows such creativity to have his personal life and fantasy life exist at such far reaching ends of the spectrum.

I recently went reading about Patricia Cornwell's very unique upbringing also. And I love reading Stephen King's books set in Maine, knowing that's where he grew up and knowing that he has great childhood associations with such settings that he enjoys having the readers join him in the journey through his books back to his childhood.

I think it's great to delve inside the author's mind and background sometimes after reading their books :)

Another author who draws alot from his personal locale and background (the deep American south) is Joe R. Lansdale. The Deep South is such an interesting blend of cultural, religious, and economical views. It is probably one of the most isolated and misunderstood regions of the US. It has a horrid history of racial and religious injustice yet the people are also known for their graciousness and southern hospitality. Joe R Lansdale places his stories in this setting and handles the dichotomies with such sly humor.

Kathy wrote: "Another author who draws alot from his personal locale and background (the deep American south) is Joe R. Lansdale. The Deep South is such an interesting blend of cultural, religious..."
It would definitely be a fascinating place to see one day and even more fascinating to see how it's reflected in Joe R Lansdale's books.
I'll have to give them a try.
Writing is one of those things it seems where people from any background can jump in at any age and find success. You see a lot of people jump ship from their current careers as solicitors, pilots, doctors, police, teachers etc and jump into writing. Often they use their skills in those professions to draw inspiration but even more interestingly, often they'll go the other way and completely leave it out.

I agree with Kathy re: Joe Lansdale.

Another writer who wrote the south and its people VERY well was Michael McDowell. You may think you don't know him, but if you've seen or heard of the movies Beetlejuice or The Nightmare Before Christmas, you do.
His novels: The Elementals and the entire Blackwater: The Complete Caskey Family Saga series are just incredible, as are almost every single thing he wrote.

I didn't know that Michael McDowell did Beetlejuice or The Nightmare Before Christmas. I have The Elementals and Blackwater on my TBR list. Definitely need to start them soon.

I've never read any of her books, but I find it interesting to know that Mystery writer Ann Perry was convicted of murder at 15 years old.

Mixofsunandcloud wrote: "I've never read any of her books, but I find it interesting to know that Mystery writer Ann Perry was convicted of murder at 15 years old."

Just googled her. Wait, didn't Peter Jackson base his movie Heavenly Creatures on that case?

I'm an author and I draw a lot of what I write from the last 16 years I worked undercover, homicide, and narcotics. I'm still fascinated every day I go to work and I put small pieces of what I've seen into my books or novels. This is a cool thread!

C.L. wrote: "I'm an author and I draw a lot of what I write from the last 16 years I worked undercover, homicide, and narcotics. I'm still fascinated every day I go to work and I put small pieces of what I've s..."

It's good! I think writing about something that gets you excited will get the reader excited. If you're a detective or coroner writing YA romance, I probably wouldn't feel much of a buzz coming through the pages haha.
I really feel it when I read John J. Nance. Former pilot and aviation specialist, his thrillers based around airlines and travel are awesome because you feels his excitement come through.
The same goes for John Sandford and his thrillers/crime novels based in the American cities of Wisconsin/St Paul. I've never been anywhere near that part of the world, but because he's from there you get quite a vivid feel for the place because he's so familiar with it and you can tell he gets excited writing about it.

Ekel wrote: "Mixofsunandcloud wrote: "I've never read any of her books, but I find it interesting to know that Mystery writer Ann Perry was convicted of murder at 15 years old."

Just googled her. Wait, didn't ..."

Yes, but apparently it wasn't until the movie was out that it went public that it was her, since she changed her name.

This is an interesting thread. I love to find this kind of thing.

As for the OP, Orson Scott Card is another LDS author (the religion behind BYU). He's gone as far as writing an entire series of books based on the Book of Mormon retold in science fiction! It's called the Homecoming Saga if you are interested.

Erik wrote: "This is an interesting thread. I love to find this kind of thing.

As for the OP, Orson Scott Card is another LDS author (the religion behind BYU). He's gone as far as writing an entire series of b..."

(At the risk of sounding religiously ignorant), I'm fascinated that a faith can have such a strong Sci-Fri/Fantasy influence. There seems to be a huge number of LDS authors in the genre yet they're so strict on smaller things like not being able to drink coffee!
Perhaps fantasy writing is a way of expressing their faith and views of religious exploration of life and the afterlife? Who knows.