1) Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you get into writing?

I was used to making up short and funny stories for my daughter, Rachel. When she was about ten  she wanted a story about a really, really nasty witch. For the first time I put pen to paper and what started off as a tiny scrap of an idea got bigger. It became my middle-grade fantasy about magic and witches, The Doomspell, which was eventually published in 26 languages. I just wanted to stay in more contact with my daughter. I was separated from her at the time, and though she spent every other weekend with me it was not as much as I wanted. Discussing the story ideas gave me an opportunity to spend more time with her.

It was only during pandemic that I turned to adult horror writing.  

2) What inspired you to write your book?

I’d done a bit of  online dating. The idea of a woman who just wants to creatively carve men up but they keep misinterpreting her meaning seemed like an amusing premise.

3) What theme or message do you hope readers will take away from your book?

Read the online profile carefully.

4) What drew you into this particular genre?

I’ve always loved SF, fantasy and horror. Comedy horror is hard to pull off, and I was drawn to give it a go.

5) If you could sit down with any character in your book, what would you ask them and why?

I’d ask them why they like particular knives over a variety of other killing tools.

6) What social media site has been the most helpful in developing your readership?

Facebook. Most of my readers know me form my children’s novels, and they are still mostly on Facebook.

7) What advice would you give to aspiring or just starting authors out there?

Write what you enjoy and don’t expect to make any money. If you adhere to that you won’t go too insane.

8) What does the future hold in store for you? Any new books/projects on the horizon?

I have several projects ongoing – a film treatment for my ghost novel BREATHE, a new middle-grade ghost novel which should come out next year, and also several new horror and fantasy stories for adults.

About the Author

I was born in Sunderland, a city in the north-east of England.

I don’t recall too much about my first 8 years of life other than I loved being outdoors especially in the woods near our house. I came home every night covered in scratches. 

My first real book memory is being given C.S. Lewis’s The Magician’s Nephew by my English teacher, Mrs Baldwin. I loved that, and all the other Narnia books.

So how did I become an author?

As a parent I was used to making up short and funny stories for my daughter, Rachel. When she was about ten, however, she wanted a story about a really, really nasty witch. This time I put pen to paper and what started off as a tiny scrap of an idea got bigger and bigger and BIGGER. It became The Doomspell. 

After I finished it, I continued my love affair with fantasy by creating The Silver Sequence which I still think is probably my best and definitely my most original work. Following that, I tried to scare everyone half to death with a couple of ghost novels – Breathe and The Hunting Ground.

I could tell you more about myself, but the truth is that perhaps the biggest gift we can give anyone is our imagination and everything important I have to offer you about that is in the novels.

https://www.cliffmcnish.com