Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I write stories that are often on the unusual side. The Filing Cabinet of Doom is my first book but my writing has appeared in several anthologies and websites including American Nightmare, Polluto Magazine (issue 10), Weird Year, Strange House Books, The Strange Edge (magazine and online) and Bizarro Central.
I also write erotica which is available on forbidden-fiction.com and anthologies The Darker Edge of Desire and The Big Book of Bizarro. I’ve written articles for Bizarre magazine and The Dark Side among others, and I love kittens.
My bio includes a lot of ‘bizarre,’ have you noticed?
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Filing Cabinet of Doom has just been published by Burning Bulb. It includes a novella of the same name and several short stories, which I hope show both the disturbing and jolly sides of my brain.
While the main novella is inspired by spooky, silent German films (it’s set in a black and white soundless world) I’ve tried to include my sense of humour as much as possible. The other stories range from magic realism to bizarro to horror to weird tale and were inspired by fairly mundane experiences which my brain took to a new place.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love Neil Gaiman, Kafka, Heather Fowler, Margaret Atwood, Haruki Murakami, Anais Nin, John Lawson, Daphne Du Maurier, Saki, Robert Aickman and Jeremy Dyson to name a few.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on a YA novel and another collection of short stories.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Roald Dahl once said he was always worried the reader would lose interest and wrote each sentence as if he had to grab their attention. That’s probably a good thing to aim for.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Probably from Neil Gaiman: “write stories people will want to read.”
What are you reading now?
I’m actually reading a book on the psychology of lying by Ian Leslie. I am! It’s not my usual thing but it’s very interesting.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Hope people like my book, and move quickly onto the next project.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Sherlock Holmes collection, The Giant Book of Zombies (I can’t help it, I’ve loved that book for a very long time) and Man Ray pictures. Or Robin Ince’s Bad Book Club I haven’t decided yet.
Author Websites and Profiles
Madeleine Swann Website
Madeleine Swann’s Social Media Links