Today on Black Haven Reviews I interview Luke Walker, author of the upcoming novel Hometown. 

Luke: I live in England with my wife and have been writing for more or less my entire life. Even as a kid, I liked to make up stories that were fantastical or creepy. The older I got, the creepier the stories became. Writing seriously as in wanting to have stuff published…that’s been about twenty years. I’m 38 now and haven’t stopped writing in that time. And as for spare time, there isn’t a lot of it with a 9-5 job and all the books to write. When I am free, I watch bad films and read good books.

Natasha: Tell us a little about your upcoming book titled Hometown. What was your favorite scene to write? What was your least favorite scene? 

Luke: It’s a horror story about a group of friends who become trapped in another version of their hometown after the suicide of a mutual friend. The reasons why she killed herself create a nightmare made physical and trap her friends inside it. Their only way out is to discover why she took her life. At the same time, there is a threat in the normal world that’s coming after the wife of the main character. Favourite scene was probably the build up to the climax. Of course, I can’t say what happens other than I had a precise image and order of events and everything came together as I planned which can be quite rare with writing. Least favourite – I had to go into some dark places and research ugly issues. None of that was much fun but it was needed for me to tell the story honestly. I didn’t want to belittle any of the reasons someone might take their own life or cheapen the backstory and motivations for that character. It was a relief to come out from that.

Natasha: Do you have any other exciting projects coming out? 

Luke: I’ve got a couple of short stories I’m proud of that will be published soon. HUNGRY and ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD will be available in the next few months. HUNGRY is a short, sharp shock while ALL THE TIME… is a Twilight Zone sort of thing. I’m happy with both so I hope others like them, too. Other than that, I’m probably going back to an older book that was published a couple of years by a now defunct publisher and see about doing it myself. It’s more of a fantasy than horror which is a little different for me.

Natasha: Do you have any advice for other authors trying to get published?

Luke: 1. Finish what you start even if it feels like you’re writing crap. Finish it, polish it to the best of your abilities and get feedback on it from people who will be honest with you. There’s no point letting your mum read it if all she’s going to do is tell you how good you are.

2. Listen to the feedback and act on it if it’s best for your story.

3. You don’t count; your story counts.

4. Be patient. Just about nobody is an overnight success and writing something decent takes a lot of time.

5. Research your markets and be professional when dealing with people. Every submission is like a job interview so present yourself and your work well. Then, if doesn’t work out, move on to the next publisher or agent.