Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Creepy Clown is my first book. I am a live storyteller and SCREENWRITER by trade. I try to write in a very filmic way. Quick and to the point. I wrote a produced screenplay: Just Let Go, starring Henry Ian Cusick. I am a father of four kids living north of Chicago.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Creepy Clown was inspired by all the myriad freaky clown sightings around the world in 2017. I live by a bunch of HUGE pharmaceutical companies. I put them together in a horror story about the human body changing… evolving… for the worse.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I lay in bed for hours and see hear and smell EVERYTHING in a half-sleep state. I snap awake and write my surrealistic visions on large posty notes next to my bed.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I grew up reading MAD magazine, King, Poe, Vonnegut, Bradbury, Keysey, and watching a TON of horror movies: Cronenberg, Japanese horror, Crichton, Polanski, Carpenter.
What are you working on now?
A LONGER novel about an angry Preacher that trains a kid to be the Antichrist after the world has ended with a whimper and not with a bang at all.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve tried them all. Twitter, Goodreads, Facebook, Google. In that order.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I’m new too. Keep working steadily. Even Stephen King only writes about three hours a day or proofs a few hours. Look what he’s done!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“You don’t have to make a masterpiece. Just make a piece of shit.” – Neil Young. In other words, just make art and eventually something good will “float” up to the top.
What are you reading now?
Psycho by Robert Bloch.
What’s next for you as a writer?
REVELATIONS or The Preacher What Trained the Antichrist, an illustrated novel.
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?
Bible. Complete Works of Shakes, Complete works of Bradbury, OR a fully-loaded Kindle!
Author Websites and Profiles
Vance Mellen Website
Vance Mellen Amazon Profile
Vance Mellen’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
Facebook Profile
Twitter Account