Although I’m not opposed to reviewing short works, J.C. Martin’s The Doll (review here) and M.Pax’s Semper Audacia were the only ones that have made the cut thus far.
I realized this week, while going through some routine maintenance, that I had not yet received the interview responses from J.C. Martin. A query revealed the answer as to why; in a genius move on my part, I never sent them to her.
So, with my greatest apologies, (and an awesomely prompt response from J.C. Martin once she received the questions), here is her five minute interview.
Enjoy!
As a kid, I drew my own comic strip starring our pet dogs. That soon graduated to a love of writing stories in English class, where I’d churn out 2,000 words in an hour-long exam. I wrote one novel long-hand in a notebook when I was 14 (think it was YA mystery, alaR.L. Stine), but absolutely hated it. I gave it to a friend, and I’d like to think it may be worth something to him one day! 
University put a bit of a damper on my writing, but I picked it up again afterwards when I toyed around with writing fanfiction. My longer works and novels are all in the crime and thriller genre, but somehow my short stories always tend to descend (or ascend?) into horror. I just find horror so conducive to shorter fiction. My goals when writing a piece of horror fiction is to play with the reader’s mind, to affect them on a more psychological level rather than an all-out gorefest. I want them to look over their shoulders after reading it!
2.) Okay, the story is creepy. How did you conceive of the plot?
I am planning a horror story collection. Initially, I wanted the anthology to have a global theme by setting each story in different parts of the world. I Googled “scariest places on Earth” and the Island of the Dolls kept cropping up. I was suitably spooked and mesmerised by the island and its legends, and because I’d also recently read a book about the South American religion of Santeria, and it’s darker cousin, Palo Mayombe, the idea of a possessed doll crafted from black magic naturally sprang to mind.
3.) What was the hardest part during its creation? What was the easiest?
Scary dolls are far from a unique concept, so the challenge was to to write a story that wouldn’t seem like it’s been done before. Hopefully, I achieved that by making the threat less “in your face”; readers don’t actually see the doll move and cause mayhem, but everything is implied, invisible, and left to the imagination.
Not that any part of writing is ever easy, but the descriptive bits of the story went the smoothest: the foreboding aura around the shrine, the decomposing dolls hanging from the trees, the eerieness of the island… I have one morbid imagination.
4.) What are some of your personal weak/sore points as a writer, and how do you work around them? Do you have any advice for people working on the same things?
Tense shifts and participles. And overusing the word “was” in my writing. Lots of re-reading and editing can help weed out most of these errors, but the rest is up to having an eagle-eyed beta reader. As for “was”, using the CTRL + F function will highlight how often you use the word. Consider replacing it to form more active, immediate sentences.
5.) Do you have any interesting or unusual writing habits?
I have my entire story plotted out, scene by scene, chapter by chapter, before I even write the title page. Of course, this outline will change and evolve as I get new ideas, but I find that having a map makes my destination clearer. Oh, and despite advice to the contrary, I do edit (a little) as I write!
Bonus Question: If I liked The Doll, what else of yours might I like? Can you make some recommendations?
I’m glad you asked that. Yes, and the best thing is, they’re all FREE! I don’t have much else published at the moment, so my other horror offerings are flash fiction I wrote for writing challenges. You might like:
Just Another Day (not horror, but still psychological, with a hopefully ‘gotcha!’ twist)
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