Today's Dark Dozen interview features Lucas Milliron. Lucas is from South Florida, author of more than a dozen horror and extreme books and is also an artist. Super excited to have him in this year's anthology!
Read more about this extraordinary gentleman below!
Enjoy!
Lucas Milliron: Dark Dozen Interview
If you had three sentences to pitch your most recent book to a new reader, what is your pitch?
Welcome to SoFlo, a collection of weird fiction set in Florida. From alligators on meth and murderous sea cows to evil beach witches and tattoos with unintended consequences. This collection is just as strange and diverse as the sunshine state.
Do you have a favorite book or story of your own that you talk about more than others? What makes it your favorite?
Lost Words in a Dream was a fun project. I worked with a couple great editors including Michael David Wilson and Patrick C. Harrison III, who taught me so much from this process. Designing the book's interior with original graphics, clip art, and artwork was a labor of love. It’s my only book that includes my own artwork.
Have you ever experienced a natural disaster? If so, what was the scariest moment for you?
As a native Floridian, I’ve seen my fair share of hurricanes. Most of the time, it's just a lot of rain, you lose power, and you have to boil your tap water before you drink it. This one time my parents thought the storm was gonna hit as low Cat 1, so we rode it out in our family's trailer. Well, in less than 24 hours, the storm jumped to a Cat 3. Luckily the trailer didn’t lift more than three feet off the ground, but lemme tell ya that was a hell of a way to wake up at 3am in the morning!
Has there been a disaster-based movie or book that has stuck with you since you first watched/read it? What was it and why did it stick?
Honestly, I’ve never been one for disaster films or movies. I like cheesy stuff, so movies like Donte’s Peaks and Underwater come to mind, just cause it’s so fantastical it doesn’t hold a candle to real life. I’m one of those people who prefers my terrors to be fictional.
What’s the one thing that scares you the most in this world and have you ever written about it?
I did. It was for me to turn into the same kind of man as my biological father. We didn’t have a good relationship, and it’s even harder because he had another family who seem to have gotten a much different person than the one I had, so talking about him has always been difficult because I don’t know his other family and don’t want to disparage their experience with him. Mine, however, was not a healthy one. If you want to know how I feel about it, read my short story Skin Deep,6 in the Call me Hoop series available on https://godless.com/
Is there an author that you would like to work with that would be a dream partnership for you?
There’s a few! Mike Ennenbach is one of them, just the way the man’s words always come out, like poetry is amazing. I would love to work on something fantastical with him. The other would have to be Clive Barker, however I know that might not be as realistic as I don’t think Clive is still writing as he once was.
If you had one hour to speak to any living author, who would it be and why?
Clive Barker. Without him, I wouldn’t be writing horror.
What has been one of the proudest moments of your writing journey?
Moments like these. To be included amongst your peers as an equal is the greatest gift I think any author can ask for. We don’t always find our audiences, because there are so many good books and stories to consume out there. Getting seen by your peers, by other writers you admire, it’s good to know that what you’re doing matters to more than just yourself.
Who are you outside of being an author, meaning do you have other hobbies or interests that are your methods of relaxing or for refreshing, creative inspiration?
Most people know me as the eye guy. I’m a licensed optician in the state of Florida, and an expert in everything proscription eyewear, including glasses and contacts. I do find a lot of inspiration for characters, gags, and fears from my day job as a medical professional. Especially if you read the short story Skin Deep as mentioned before. I also paint, play music, and enjoy scare acting for a local horror haunt.
Do you think the horror industry is having a surge of new authors and new readers and if so, do you see this as a good thing?
I’ve been writing since I was in the 8th grade, and publishing since 2014. I’ve seen trends, Facebook groups, podcasts, all come and go. In the last few years, we’ve certainly seen a surge of new readers, which always comes with a surge of new writers looking to join the fun. Competition is always good. I don’t see it as a competition for sales or for readership, per se, but it’s a competition of quality and stamina. When I started publishing, I was close friends with over twelve different writers, of which only three are still active in the community and only two are still writing and publishing stories. Everything has its season, and change is rarely as bad as people think.
Where do you see the industry in ten years with regards to the evolution of tropes, diversity and inclusion, and readers, flourishing or floundering? Explain why.
I don’t want to predict ten weeks out, let alone ten years. Just the tech game alone is set to redefine what it means to be creative. The only thing I will say is there will always be a good story if you look hard enough or write it yourself.
What is a piece of advice that you WISH someone had given you early in your career?
The most important part of writing is the part you don’t get to do enough. Just keep writing.
Bio:
I’ve been through some shit. Haven’t we all? The difference isn’t really the baggage, but how we carry it with us. I’m a born and raised native Florida, oldest of three siblings, to a loving mother and father. Married to my wife and still residing in South Florida.
Find books from Lucas Milliron at the link below:
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