Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born and raised in an unremarkable town in the north-east of England by a remarkably supportive and well adjusted working-class family. After 14 years of ineffective education I found himself in Art College, which led to twenty years employment as an Archaeological Illustrator in which I produced a wide variety of technical illustrations for publication as well as more general illustration, design and copy work on educational and display materials intended for schools and the general public. Eventually the hunt for a half decent salary within that occupation led me to the Museum of London and a move to the capitol where I still live today in happily married bliss.
I am passionate about genre fiction, film and games, have a fervent interest in history, mythology and folklore and am fascinated by the deeper meanings behind ritual practice, ceremonial magic and occult lore. I am a keen Ripperologist, a devout Lovecraftian and a determined new writer of dark-genre fiction and non-fiction books. A good deal of my spare time is spent online where, under my user-name of choice ‘Harbinger451’, I am creating a website and writing a blog that explore the alternative worlds that encompass my passions. I have one published novel and am currently writing the second.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
‘Rose Blood: The Phantasmagoriad Book One – an Anti-Verse Tale’ is my debut novel and is available
in various ebook formats at most online retailers. I decided to right the sort of book I wanted to read. Rose Blood is indeed that book, inspired by my interest in folklore and the occult, and by my passion for horror and fantasy genre fiction, film and games.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I do most of my writing on my laptop, in a comfortable armchair or in bed, while drinking tea, coffee – or sometimes whiskey – while snacking on various unhealthy nibbles.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The works of Bram Stoker, H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Raymond Chandler, J. R. R. Tolkien, Daphne Du Maurier, Richard Matheson, Shirley Jackson, Michael Moorcock, Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick and William Gibson… among many, many others.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on ‘Moon Shade’, the second novel in the Phantasmagoriad trilogy, following on from my debut ‘Rose Blood’. I’m also finishing off a short occult horror story, ‘The Matter of Time’, the third short story that will make up the Dollar Dreadful Volume 2 ebook with two more of my works of short fiction.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’m pretty new to the book promotional game but it seems GoodReads is a great place to start and of course this awesome Awesomegang site seems to be extremely useful too. Needless to say a strong social media presence is pretty essential, as is getting your book listed and for sale in as many formats and on as many sites as possible – Smashwords can do a lot of this for you, listing it in many online outlets with one submission to them.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Keep reading and writing, listen and learn from the world around you… and always take notes. Get your work out there in as many places as possible. Talk about your work on social media, write a blog – get yourself out there online and keep writing, writing and more writing, hone your skills and be sure to learn from your mistakes.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Not a wasted word. This has been a main point to my literary thinking all my life.” — Hunter S. Thompson.
What are you reading now?
I just started reading Joe Abercrombie’s ‘First Law’ series.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Continuing my Phantasmagoriad trilogy and expanding my Anti-Verse by continuing my ‘Gaea Parallaxis’ web-fiction and producing other short stories, novellas and novels set within that dark Alternate World that’s intrinsically bound to ours, mirroring the myths, legends and folklore of our own.
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 Lord of the Rings’ by J. R. R. Tolkien, ‘The Big Sleep’ by Raymond Chandler, ‘The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch’ by Philip K. Dick and ‘Neuromancer’ by William Gibson.
Author Websites and Profiles
Peter Guy Blacklock Website
Peter Guy Blacklock Amazon Profile
Peter Guy Blacklock Author Profile on Smashwords
Peter Guy Blacklock’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account