#AuThorsday with Michael J. Elliott

Today I’d like to welcome Michael Elliott, master of story titles and horror author of Portraits of Dread.

Can you give us your quickest description of your book?

Portraits of Dread is my first collection of short horror/thriller stories.  The collection contains twelve stories ranging from supernatural to dystopia.

(I’ve been eyeballing your cover for a while, and I smile every time, btw.)
It’s interesting to see a single author’s collection with a range of genres.   What gave you that idea, or did it just happen naturally?

Actually, Sunshine, it happened naturally.  I don’t consciously think, “Oh, I must write a ghost story.”  The ideas pop into my head and the genre is already there.

What are you working on currently?

I’m currently working on the prequel to Mr Westacott’s Christmas, entitled Mr Westacott’s Holiday.  I’ll be writing a whole series of novels based on Mr Westacott.

A whole series – cool.  How many books do you have floating around in your head already?

Mr Westacott’s Holiday will be my first supernatural thriller dealing with a ghost of a child from 1900 making a connection with Bernie’s wife Jean in 1970.  The other ideas I have for the series are Mr Westacott’s Birthday which deals with the Grim Reaper.  I’ve just come up with the idea for Mr Westacott’s Anniversay which deals with alternate realities.  In between the series, I’m writing a novel which will be  a mash up between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hydes and Jack the Ripper which will be set in 1900 Australia.

Those all sound like amazing ideas.  What is your favorite scene you’ve written?   Can you give us a peek?

Well, I have to say, my favourite story in Portraits of Dread is “Reconstructing Teddy.”  I can’t give any spoilers, but the story revolves around two rather creepy young twin boys who are working on a secret project in the basement.  I’ve also thrown a mentally unhinged Mother into the mix!

That title and description give me an idea of what it COULD be about… Now I have to read this. 🙂  Do you find you have favorite bits of every story you right?

Yes, almost always.  There is always a line of dialogue or a scene that makes me smile, and without sounding too big-headed, I usually think, “Oh yes, that’s good!”

What is one question about your books that you wish more people would ask?

Where can I buy them?  lol.

A common wish!  Haha.  Where do you direct people to purchase?  Amazon?

Yes, although my shorts and Portraits of Dread are available on all ereader platforms.  I find most of my sales come from Amazon.  To cater for all readers with different reading devices I usually direct customers to my website, which has links to all the major distributors.

Who inspires you to write?

Authors like Dean Koontz, Clive Barker, but closer to home I’m always inspired by authors such as Stewart Bint, Rocky Rochford and DM Cain.

The “closer to home” availability of author friends is a great resource.  What would you say is the best part of being plugged into the author community?

Apart from the awesome support, I’ve also discovered some fantastic authors who are also now friends.  I get to read a lot more novels from genres I wouldn’t have normally considered simply because I have a good connection with the author.

In a perfect world where you could cast your book for a movie, who would you pick for your main characters?

Well, even though it’s only a short story, I think Geoffrey Palmer would make a great Mr Westacott.  He works very well with Dame Judy Dench, so she’d make a wonderful Jean Westacott.

Nice pairing.  🙂

I thought so.  I’m not very familiar with a lot of elder British actors but I love the work of these two.

Thanks, Michael, for sharing!

WHERE TO FIND Michael J. Elliott:
Website:  Tales from the Dark Realm
Goodreads:  Michael J. Elliott
Amazon Page: Michael J. Elliott
Facebook: Michael J. Elliott
Twitter:  @thewriterbloke