The Writers Chair

He finished a 90,000-word manuscript, typed "the end," read it back, and thought: that's shit. Then he threw the laptop to the end of the bed, walked away for a few weeks, and started the entire novel from scratch — no notes, no rescue job, just a clean slate. That book, The Devil's Tree , is now the one he's proudest of. This week's guest doesn't write in a quiet office with a closed door. He wri...

There's a difference between scaring a reader and haunting one — and most horror writers never stop to think about which they're actually doing. Scaring is a jump on page 40. Haunting is the thing that's still in your head three weeks later. This week's guest has built his whole approach around chasing the second one, and it's changed how he writes, drafts, and even decides which books to write ne...

Four years of ebooks, Amazon ads, and feeding the algorithm — and Dan is done with it. Not dramatically. Just honestly. In this behind-the-scenes episode, Daniel and his co-writer R.P. Howley take stock of where Devil's Rock Publishing actually is in 2026: four Twisted Tales novellas out, a charity anthology closing submissions, and a growing suspicion that the readers they've been chasing are act...

Writer's block doesn't exist. That's not a provocation for the sake of it — Jasper Bark will tell you exactly who invented the term (a Freudian analyst who blamed it on potty training) and why the only cure for not writing is, stubbornly, to write. Anything. A laundry list. A page of you yelling at yourself. The words come. This week Daniel sits down with Jasper Bark — author, former freelance jou...

Dan Howarth didn't set out to write a novel about far-right violence tearing communities apart. He set out to write what he knew — the north, the landscape, the idiotic magnificence of men — and the wound was already open. Lion Hearts is the book that nearly broke him during the writing, nearly got him an agent three times, and has now landed him on the 2026 British Fantasy Award shortlist for Bes...

Kayleigh Dobbs turned up to her first horror convention too nervous to speak to anyone, accidentally called Ramsey Campbell "Mr. Ramsey," and somehow came away with a fire lit under her that she hasn't stopped feeding since. Four years later, she has a short story in a Bram Stoker Award nominated collection, heads on semi-regular cake-and-coffee trips with Tim Lebbon, and is a well-revered reviewe...

Dan Soule couldn't read properly until he was 11. He was profoundly dyslexic, functionally illiterate through most of his childhood. He went on to get a PhD in English and linguistics, spent seven years as a university academic, taught writing, quit — and then finally had enough free time to figure out how to write fiction. Horror wasn't the plan. It just kept buying his stories. Dan Soule is a ho...

Jonathan Janz didn't read a single book until he was 14. He'd convinced himself he wasn't smart enough. Then he picked up a Stephen King novel — one King himself doesn't particularly like — and was completely transported. He's now written over a dozen horror novels, been championed by Brian Keene, Jack Ketchum, and Joe Lansdale, and still pumps his fist alone in his office every time he writes som...

Julie Hiner emailed Daniel years ago to ask if she could read one of his short stories on YouTube — in full Gothic makeup, to her own audience, for free. That's how they met. Now they're co-writing a novel together. It's a pretty good case study in what happens when you just reach out to people you admire and lead with genuine enthusiasm rather than an ask. Julie Hiner is an author, storyteller, a...

What if the most important thing you ever do as a writer is something nobody else ever sees? Josh Malerman has 33 rough drafts sitting in a crate behind his desk. Nine are out in the world. The rest — finished novels, written and set aside — are what he considers the real work. Not the Netflix deal. Not the New York Times list. The crate. Josh Malerman is the author of Bird Box , Mallory , Goblin...

KEY LINKS: Devil's Rock Books: https://devilsrockbooks.com Daniel Willcocks: https://danielwillcocks.com Twisted Tales Books: https://twistedtalesbooks.com SHOWNOTES In this episode, Daniel sits down with C.M. Forest — award-winning horror author, atmospheric storyteller, and creator of deeply unsettling, isolation-driven fiction. Together, they explore Christian’s unconventional path into writing...

In this episode, Daniel sits down with Matt Serafini — screenwriter, author, and one of horror's most compelling new voices, hailed by grandmaster Brian Keene as one of the best in the genre. Matt's books include Rites of Extinction , Feral , Under the Blade , and his brand new social media horror novel, Feeders . Together, they dig into the obsessive joy of tracking down obscure slasher films, th...

In this episode, Daniel sits down with Jennifer Barnes — managing editor of Raw Dog Screaming Press, longtime champion of off-kilter horror, and a key force behind two decades of cross-genre, boundary-pushing publishing. Together, they dig into what it really takes to keep a small press alive for twenty plus years, how Raw Dog Screaming Press grew out of the early online zine era, and why “gatekee...

In this episode, Daniel sits down with speculative fiction powerhouses Tiffani Angus and Val Nolan — writers, educators, and co-authors of the bestselling Spec Fic for Newbies series from Luna Press. Together, they dive deep into the ever-expanding world of speculative fiction, exploring how genre works, why it matters, and how writers can better understand where their stories fit. With the releas...

In this episode, Daniel sits down with Tim Lebbon — award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of more than fifty novels across horror, fantasy, thriller, and tie-in fiction, including The Secret Lives of the Dead, The Silence, and novels set in the Alien, Predator, Firefly, Conan, and Halo universes. Tim returns to the chair for a wide-ranging, candid conversation about building a long-term...

In this episode, Daniel Willcocks sits down with the legendary Paul Tremblay — Bram Stoker Award–winning and internationally acclaimed author of A Head Full of Ghosts , The Cabin at the End of the World , Survivor Song , The Pallbearers Club , and his latest novel, Horror Movie (Titan Books, 2024). Paul opens up about the origins of his horror obsession, the long road to “overnight” success, and w...

In this episode, Daniel sits down with Tim Lebbon — award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of more than fifty novels across horror, fantasy, thriller, and tie-in fiction, including The Secret Lives of the Dead , The Silence , and novels set in the Alien , Predator , Firefly , Conan , and Halo universes. Tim returns to the chair for a wide-ranging, candid conversation about building a lon...

In this behind-the-scenes Twisted Tales Diaries episode, Daniel Willcocks and his co-author R.P. Howley sit down to reflect on five months of their “Goosebumps for grown-ups” horror series — from the chaos of launch day to the lessons learned from writing, publishing, and growing the Twisted Tales brand. They share an honest look at the realities of indie horror publishing, co-authoring across bus...

In this episode, Daniel sits down with James Kennedy — author of the genre-bending horror novel Bride of the Tornado , which was selected by The Guardian as one of the best SFF/horror books of September 2023. James shares how he created one of the most original and unsettling horror tales of recent years, blending Ray Bradbury nostalgia, Lynchian dread, and the visceral terror of the American Midw...

In this episode, Daniel revisits a decade of storytelling with longtime friend and creative collaborator Luke Kondor — filmmaker, podcaster, comic creator, and co-founder of Hawk & Cleaver and The Other Stories podcast. Together, Luke and Daniel reflect on 10 years in writing and publishing — the highs, the failures, the pivots — and share the biggest lessons they’ve learned about writing, col...

In this episode, Daniel sits down with the iconic Eric LaRocca — Bram Stoker Award-nominated and Splatterpunk Award-winning author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, We Can Never Leave This Place, Everything the Darkness Eats, and The Trees Grew Because I Bled There (Titan Books, 2024). Eric opens up about the viral rise of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, the challenges...

In this episode, Daniel sits down with the authorial powerhouse Michael David Wilson — founder of This Is Horror , host of the award-winning This Is Horror Podcast , and author of The Girl in the Video , They’re Watching (with Bob Pastorella), House of Bad Memories , and his latest wild release, Daddy’s Boy . Michael opens up about the chaos and catharsis behind his newest book, blending dark come...

Welcome back, wordsmiths and story seekers! In this episode of The Writer’s Chair , I sit down with Birmingham-based author J.D. Parker to talk about his debut dark historical novel, Ignis Sacer . Jonny (JD) shares his journey from writing screenplays to finally tackling long-form fiction, why he considers his first unpublished novel the “first pancake,” and how Ignis Sacer became the book he was...

Welcome to a brand-new feature on The Writer’s Chair — the Twisted Tales Diaries ! In this first diary entry, I’m joined by my co-conspirator R.P. Howley (aka Rob) as we pull back the curtain on our new horror series, Twisted Tales . Think Goosebumps… but bloodier. We talk through the origins of the idea, what it’s like co-writing fast, punchy horror together, and the long-term vision behind...

In this roundtable episode of The Writer’s Chair , Daniel welcomes three phenomenal authors from Eerie River Publishing’s dark new anthology, The Earth Bleeds at Night . Joining the discussion: Christopher O’Halloran ( Water Drops on the Stone Hearts ) Em Starr ( Dolly Rocks ) Richard Thomas ( Supplication ) Whether you’re a reader, writer, or horror fan hungry for behind-the-scenes insight, this...